As courses close, a new virtual golf lounge has opened in Kelowna’s brewery district

October is upon us, which means Kelowna golf courses are starting to shut down for the winter.

It’s typically a sad time of the year for golf fanatics, but it doesn’t have to be.

Okanagan Virtual Golf (OVG) has officially opened up its new Kelowna location at 730 Vaughan Ave., right in the heart of the city’s thriving North End brewery district.

For Andrew Baron, it’s a homecoming of sorts.

“I was kind of done with the drive to Penticton every day,” he told KelownaNow with a laugh.

Baron and his business partner Cole Marchant started their venture into virtual golf lounges with OVG Penticton two years ago.

After a successful opening winter in 2023-24, they joined forces with Marchant’s sister and brother-in-law to open up Kamloops Virtual Golf last fall.

Now it’s Kelowna’s turn and Baron is excited to be bringing this kind of facility to golfers in the Central Okanagan.

“Kelowna does have other options, but this area is kind of underserved,” he explained.

When you walk through the doors of OVG Kelowna you’ll find four virtual golf bays, a lounge area, several big-screen televisions and a fully functioning bar.

OVG Kelowna uses the highly-rated Uneekor EYE XO2 launch monitor for their golf bays and that’s what produces your shot on the screen after the ball is hit.

With that, they run the GSPro software, which provides you with around 2,000 courses around the world to play.

Those options range from top-ranked Kelowna and BC courses like Tower Ranch, Predator Ridge, Greywolf and Shaughnessy to world-famous tracks like Augusta, Pebble Beach, TPC Scottsdale and St. Andrews.

While you can certainly enjoy a dream round of golf at an incredible course, OVG Kelowna is also a great place to simply work on your game.

Each bay has two cameras for training purposes. One gives you a down-the-line view from behind and another provides a look at your body, while the launch monitors also have an overhead camera.

“It films your club coming through in slow motion, hitting the ball and then freezing on the ball so you can kind of see if you're open or closed,” Baron noted. “It’s unreal, super helpful. You can make those adjustments in real time.”

There are also several different modes you can take advantage of like closest to the pin, long drive competitions, pitch and putt, kids’ games and more.

However you decide to utilize the golf simulation bays at OVG Kelowna, you’ll be able to enjoy a bar experience at the same time.

The business is fully licensed and has a nice selection of both local craft and mainstream beers, cocktails, mocktails, seltzers, wine and shooters.

Snacks are available as well and they’re working on a kitchen that will serve some light food options, which Baron says will “give people an option to have something while they’re here.”

But much like a brewery that doesn’t have a full kitchen, patrons are welcome to bring their own food or even order in to OVG Kelowna while they’re enjoying the golf experience.

Drinking a couple of beers while playing some golf may be enough to draw people in, but what really sets OVG Kelowna apart is their league play.

Before beginning his venture into virtual golf lounges, Baron spent a decade working in the City of Kelowna’s recreation department.

He’s taken inspiration from city recreational leagues for sports like softball, basketball, volleyball and soccer, and used that to create popular weekly golf leagues.

They’re starting season three in Penticton, maxed out at 24 teams with others on the waitlist, and the same concept will kick off in Kelowna this winter.

While many virtual golf lounges with league play will let teams come in and get their matches done whenever they’re able to, OVG Kelowna does it a bit differently.

Leagues run Sunday through Thursday evenings in a “structured” manner, meaning teams will pick a specific day and time slot.

They’ll play at the same time for five weeks in a row before a two-week break, then things kick up again for the next session. There are three sessions over the four-month winter period.

According to Baron, people love the structure and ability to work their schedule around a job or kids, while also building a community with others who play that night.

"You'll have four teams and you're playing 16 people that you see every week – maybe you're competing with them, just chatting with them – and then you also have 16 people coming in after waiting to play the next time slot,” he said.

“So you're really meeting like 30 people on a weeknight and playing with those people throughout the year."

OVG Kelowna is also shaping up to be a popular spot for private events and Baron says they’ve already seen some success in that regard through trial runs before opening to the public.

“We’ve had like six events and they’ve all been a riot,” he noted.

The space can accommodate 50 people right now and they’re hoping to bump that up to 100 soon, making it a great spot for staff parties, birthdays, corporate events and more.

Anyone who books OVG Kelowna for their event will get to enjoy full access to the four golf bays, the lounge area with the ability to set up yard games like cornhole, bar service and whatever their heart desires on the TVs or music-wise over the speaker system.

Beyond private events and league play, it costs $60 an hour, not per person, to rent one of OVG Kelowna’s four golf simulator bays after 5:30 pm or on weekends.

The price is only $45 before 5:30 pm on weekdays, providing an even more cost-effective option for retirees or people with flexible work schedules.

Guests are encouraged to bring their own clubs, but there are also four rental sets available from Haywood Golf, a small Vancouver-based company that makes custom-build clubs.

They’re also available for people who are considering buying their own set of Haywood golf clubs and want to try them out before travelling to the Lower Mainland for a custom fitting.

OVG Kelowna is open from 9 am until 10:30 pm daily and is shaping up to be a popular spot in one of the city’s most exciting neighbourhoods.

Click here to learn more about the business, including how to book a tee time or private event, join a league or take advantage of discounts through punch passes or the loyalty club.