The outdoor golf season is winding down, but for Andrew Krauseneck, the season is just beginning, and with the recent bad weather, it may drive indoors even more business.
Krauseneck runs the Albatross Indoor Golf Club, 2950 10th Ave. N., in Grand Forks. Fresh off a business expansion, he is looking forward to the winter -- indoor-- golf season.
“When I first started the business back in 2012, I started with two golf simulators, and, then back in 2016, I added another,” Krauseneck said. “Then last week I got in and remodeled and I made room to add a fourth one. I’ve been so busy the last few years I wanted to be able to get more people in and not have to turn away as many people when it’s really busy.”
The indoor golf season usually opens at Albatross in October, with league play beginning in November. Krauseneck admits that the beginning of the season is “not crazy,” though the weather plays a factor as to when he decides to open for business.
“If the weather is really nice outside, I might not get open until closer to November, but the past few years it’s been pretty brutal for weather,” he said.
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His season runs until roughly it’s time to golf outdoors again.
“I go until the golf courses open, so usually it’s at least through March, and then April is kind of a wild card,” he said. “The last couple years I stayed open almost the entire month of April because of the weather.”
Krauseneck admits bad weather can be good for him -- though he genuinely doesn’t seem to wish for it.
“I wouldn’t say I hope for it, because I want people to have a decent summer, but it’s nice to be able to provide something when the weather is bad, and then business is definitely better," he said.
He touted the merits of his golf simulators, the benefits of which provide the user with data to help keep them ready for outdoor golf. The multiple camera system tracks the ball to a high degree of accuracy and projects the image on a wide screen, from a high-definition home theater projector.
Golfers can hit the ball full-speed with any club from a driver down to a putter.
“(The cameras) are able to factor in the launch angle, the speed, the spin,” he said. “A lot of the older simulators don’t have a spin function factored in, so they are not as accurate, but they have really gotten better now.”
The driving range function allows golfers to gather data to help their game, such as averages and club and ball data.
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“It’s really good practice,” Krauseneck said.
The simulators aren’t just for those wishing to stay on top of their game during the winter however, they’re also for fun.
“The interesting thing is that I get even more people that come indoors that either rarely or never golf outside,” he said. “Because it can be, besides being really accurate for the avid golfer, it’s kind of an entertainment thing for some people, too.”
