City of Wasilla celebrates Duff's Golf Lounge with ribbon-cutting ceremony

Duff’s Golf Lounge celebrated their ribbon-cutting ceremony with Wasilla Mayor Glenda Ledford on Friday. Father and son team Chad and Zach Roush are taking a swing at bringing an indoor golf simulator to the Valley for all to enjoy.

“It makes it feel official, like it’s finally open,” Zach said about the ribbon cutting and open house. “It’s exciting to say the least.”

Located in downtown Wasilla, the space is operated more like a social club where friends and family of all ages can enjoy playing a few rounds of golf. Participants not only have fun, but learn about how to become more proficient at their golf game.

“I think Wasilla’s been dying for something like this,” Chad said. “A lot of people come in and they’re really happy that they don’t have to drive into Anchorage because a lot of them did the pilgrimage twice a week, all winter long.”

Chad and Zach have been playing golf for several years and spend much of their time at Settlers Bay Golf Course. They operate the food truck Daniellos Cheesesteaks during the summer and can be found at the intersection of KGB and Clapp.

With not much else to do during the winter in Wasilla, Zach explained that this new opportunity will give people something new and exciting to occupy their time.

The golf lounge started as an idea a year and a half ago, Zach explained. The process included choosing the right simulators, finding a location large enough to house them, gathering equipment and establishing the business with the City of Wasilla. Duff’s Golf Lounge has been operating since August 15.

The lounge is currently in week two of their men’s and women’s league matches. They currently have 50 people participating in two-person teams. Teams compete against each other every week for a chance to win tickets to play a few in-person rounds at a course in the Lower 48. Their next 10-week league will begin in January. Leagues are $400 to compete in 10 rounds.

The only major technical issues they’ve encountered so far have been during setup. Some minor glitches may shut down one of their three simulators temporarily, Zach said, but they are quick to get it back online.

The simulator, made by TruGolf, features 120 different courses golfers can choose from. A series of cameras and sensors display club speed, smash factor, club path, launch angle and more after each swing. Alaska Sim 72 Golf, previously Divots Golf Anchorage, has the same system and allows golfers to compete against each other in different locations.

Friends Taysean Sales and Daniel Tischner have become regulars at Duff’s Golf Lounge. Sales said the two stopped by one day after seeing that the business had opened its doors and decided to try it out. The two have since become more invested in golf and encourage anyone else to come in and try it out.

“Once you’ve found a knack at something you’re really good at, and you find a place where you can go and go practice it, why not go better my skill at it?” Sales said. “There’s really nothing else to do.”

Tischner, who had never played golf before stepping foot in the lounge, has now been coming in every day for over three weeks. He’s purchased his own clubs and started playing with, and against, his friends.

“I’d never played golf in my life,” Tischner said. “I didn’t even have a liking for golf or even been somewhat decent at it. Chad started teaching us certain things, like how to practice your swing, read certain things on the chart, helping us out with what clubs to grab and telling us what we needed to do. It really helped us get better, helped me like golf.”

Since opening, the lounge has welcomed golfers as young as eight and as old as 70. Beginners, immediate golfers and seasoned pros can all find a space here. Participants can call ahead to book a time and it only takes a few minutes to sign up. Simulator bays are $50 per hour and can accommodate four to six golfers at a time. Clubs and balls are available for rent and they’re starting to expand into retail.

“There’s no judgement. [If] you’ve never played before, you played a million times, anybody can come in and play,” Zach said. “We have clubs for you, we got the balls, we have everything. Come in and we’ll hook it up for you. Might as well give it a shot.”

“We are proud to have you as a business in Wasilla,” Ledford said to the group.