A recent Yelp news story that named Napa as the second most family-friendly travel destination in the U.S. had many locals reacting — in disbelief.
Most said it’s the exact opposite — there’s not nearly enough for children and teenagers to do in the Napa Valley.
Three Napa locals — Zack Sims, Kevin Anderson and Brandon Duncan — aim to do something about that. They’re launching a new “game” in town: Purefect Golf Club.
The indoor golf facility features three hitting bays equipped with “full-swing” simulators, golf clinics and individual lessons “with a heavy focus on growing junior golf in Napa,” said Sims.
Located at 2480 Oak St., Unit B, Purefect Golf Club officially opened on April 21. Directors were still adding finishing touches and final pieces of equipment in early April.
Sims is the son of Tom Sims, director of golf at Napa Valley Country Club. The entrepreneur most recently returned to Napa after working as an assistant golf professional at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Ohio. He’s also caddied for Sahith Theegala, a professional golfer who won last year’s Fortinet Championship at Napa’s Silverado Resort and Spa.
Sims, 30, said he quickly realized Napa was lacking an indoor golf facility for training, especially for juniors.
“I wanted to create a golf community where we’re introducing kids, but also adults, to golf,” said Sims. Golf is such an individual game, he said. “It’s nice to have a group or a place where people can practice, bounce ideas off each other, build new friendships and get a taste for golf.”
Duncan, 32, is the director of instruction at Purefect Golf Club. The golf pro taught for 12 years at Silverado and currently teaches at Napa Valley Country Club.
The two have known each other since they were in middle school. Golf has made a big difference in their lives, said Duncan. “It’s molded us. We want to be able … to give that back to our community” and encourage more kids to learn to golf, he said.
Anderson found the commercial space on Oak Street for the new facility. His business, DN Anderson Construction, is right across the driveway from the new Purefect Golf Club. Anderson built all the golf bays and the entire interior, and invested in the business, explained Sims.
“Without Kevin and his team, this would not have been possible,” he said. “They did a great job.”
The 2,000-square-foot facility features the two indoor hitting bays to one side and a third “teaching” bay on the other.
Besides hitting and training, Purefect Golf Club will host elite nights, off-campus retreats, golf events with members, and team-building group rentals and clinics.
Kids’ clinics would include eight to 12 youths, playing three days a week for four weeks. Age groups range from 7 to 12 and 13 to 17.
Sims and Duncan said they can help both kids who aspire to play in high school and those aspiring to play at the college level.
Sims said if it weren’t for a golf scholarship to Holy Names University in Oakland, he likely wouldn’t have gone to college.
“It’s tough getting to college from high school golf,” he said. “And so we would definitely be helping (students) get to the next level, whether their next level is high school or college or pro golf.”
While it’s not a retail golf store, Purefect Golf Club will sell merchandise and some equipment and can order other kinds of gear. The business will also offer club repair, such as new grips.
Another part of this equation is the cost, since golf can definitely be expensive, according to Duncan.
“We don’t want kids to not be able to play golf because it costs too much,” he said. “We don’t want them to turn down golfing because they didn’t have the guidance (or) because they couldn’t afford it.”
It costs $50 to rent a hitting bay for one hour at Purefect Golf Club and $10 for additional players. Up to four can play at a time.
Junior golf lessons are $50 per hour at this new club. Monthly memberships will be $175 and include seven hours of hitting per month. There is also a discount for buying an annual membership.
Duncan said he played many different sports growing up and that it’s important to bring young and new players into the game.
“Golf was different than the rest because it taught you a different type of responsibility and independence,” he said. “It creates a little bit more maturity in the kids. So that’s why I fell in love with it.”
Golf offers variety as well.
“Every course you play, every hole you play, will never be the same twice,” said Duncan. “The soccer field is always the same size. The hoop is always the same size. The court’s always the same size. (With golf) there’s a lot of variables, a lot of creativity.”
Sims said golf also teaches accountability. “You keep your own score; there’s no referee. And there’s also manners; you have to wait for your turn; you have to fix your ball marks. It teaches you stuff that other sports don’t.”
Not to mention seeing new places. “I’ve traveled all over the world playing this game,” said Sims.
“Without golf, I definitely wouldn’t be the same person I am today. It’s taught me a lot about myself and creating this community.”
Yes, the team could have opened a bigger indoor golf facility at a lower rent in cities such as Fairfield, Vacaville or Sacramento.
“But again, it’s going away from the locals that we want,” said Duncan. “We want to help these kids in this town. We don’t want them to have to drive an hour and a half to come see us. We’re local, and we want to be local. We love Napa.”
Sims also addressed the Yelp claim — and the swift local pushback.
Compared to other communities, “there’s not much for kids going on” in Napa, agreed Sims. “But I do think with this, we’ll be able to maybe start a trend of helping kids out, instead of just helping wineries out or tourists out. So yeah, this will be a good building block for Napa.”
One very kid-friendly activity is hosting birthday parties.
For $499, as many as 12 young golfers can have a two hour party at the facility. That includes two instructors, golf and other games, said Sims.
