Tee it up all winter
Published 10:38 pm Thursday, December 8, 2011
Benny’s Barber Shop has added slicing to cutting.
Benny Peters cuts hair in the front of his shop at 126 S. Front St., but the back has been transformed into a simulator where golfers play with their clubs and tee up real balls.
They don’t have to put their bags away for winter anymore.
In fact, someone who has never golfed before could learn to play and be ready for real links by spring with instructional analysis the simulator offers.
Nine virtual courses are available for play weekdays and weekends by appointment. Call Benny’s at 782-8304 for tee times.
“All nine courses have 18 holes,” Peters, who golfs left-handed, said Thursday afternoon. “I charge by the hour. Eighteen holes takes about 55 minutes.”
Simulated golf is the opposite of real golf outdoors in that the player stands at the tee while the panoramic course moves.
Each “tee” is a sensor, which evaluates the swing, showing how the club head came through and at what speeds.
Not only can he accommodate foursomes, but Peters plans league play.
“I’ve wanted to do one for about four years,” said Peters, who for seven years has sponsored a golf tournament at Spruce Ridge, which benefits Relay for Life’s cancer fighters.
Peters has played at the nearest golf simulator he knows of in Schoolcraft, “but that dome gets cold in the wintertime. The swing analyzer teaches you if you haven’t golfed. Kids. Women. I don’t want to make women think they can’t do it just because it’s in a barber shop.”