If you expect to start a driving range and seek investment, it is likely that you will need to approach investors with a professional business plan. Pro Business Plans has worked with many driving ranges to prepare professional business plans for investment and strategy. This article outlines what is typically included in a driving range business plan and how it is structured.

When creating a business plan for a driving range , there are several things that you will need to consider. Whether or not the driving range will be indoors, its location, any additional products/services provided will also be positioning factors. For instance, a driving range located in an affluent urban area will be completely different than one in a rural location with relatively low demand and overhead costs. Investors will want to understand the unique elements of your driving range and how they combine to create competitive positioning that they can profit from.

The business model for a driving range is relatively straightforward, providing golfers with a place to practice their performance. However, there are several other elements that should be included in your business model to demonstrate the unique positioning of your driving range. One of our clients started a fully digital indoor driving range that simulated an outdoor environment. They also had an indoor sports bar with alcoholic beverages that would be inaccessible on-demand in a traditional outdoor setting. This unique positioning can help a driving range to enter the market when others have preceded them.

The marketing strategy for a driving range should be tailored to acquiring and retaining new customers at the lowest possible cost. In the early stages, this is likely to include extensive public relations to alert the area that the driving range has opened. After the grand opening, ongoing promotions may include getting search engine presence so you appear at the top when users search for you and targeted social media promotions. For instance, Facebook allows you to target people that ‘like’ Golf within a 12-mile radius of your driving range.

The financial projections for a driving range will vary in complexity depending on the range of services offered. For instance, now everyone will order food and beverages while playing golf and some will have large tabs. The range of these factors will cause financial variance, but the best approach to forecasting is using the performance of comparable driving ranges or the prior operating history if yours has it. These assumptions are packaged into three to five-year projections to form an income statement, cash flow projections, and a balance sheet .