7 GIFs That Explain How TopGolf Works

By Luke Kerr-Dineen

A brief explanation of how golf's newest, most tech-savvy, increasingly popular driving range works.

Step One: Swipe

Each bay at TopGolf is equipped with a computer screen that tracks your score. To activate it, swipe your membership card (which you likely paid for at the front desk when you arrived), in that little slot thing.

Step Two: Choose

Once you've swiped, a screen with all the possible games you can play pops up. Here, I'm choosing TopGolf's signature game -- TopGolf.

Step Three: Read

Next, they make you read the rules (though you won't need to if you're reading this slideshow), but really they're pretty simple: the further the target, and the closer to the center you hit it, the more points you get. After that, your scorecard pops up.

Step Four: Wave

You don't pay for balls at TopGolf, you pay for time -- it's $20 per hour before 6pm on weekdays (or before noon on the weekends), and $40 per hour any time after that. To get a ball, you have to wave your club over the red light-thing until one rolls out of the green light-thing.

Step Five: Swing

Then you swing, hopefully hitting your ball into one of the targets.

Step Six: Results

I managed to hit it into a white target. As you can see here, I know that because a pop up window told me where I hit it, how far I hit it, and how many points I got.

Step Seven: Drink

The most important step, without a doubt. Reflecting on your good shots is paramount, and at TopGolf, there's no better way than with an alcoholic beverage of some sort (but only if you're over 21). Because I'm in Austin, I went with an Independence Austin Amber draft beer, which hit the spot quite nicely.