Indoor golf coming to Camas

James Hafer got into golfing after his baseball career, which included a stint at Millikin University in Illinois, ended. But eventually, as work and family responsibilities piled up, the Ridgefield resident found that he couldn’t take four hours out of his day to play 18 holes as easily as he used to. Even getting out to a driving range to hit a quick bucket of balls was not as feasible as it once was.

“I was really struggling to get golf back into my life,” said Hafer, who works for Nebula, a New York-based streaming service provider.

He sated some of his desires by joining the Professional Disc Golf Association for a few years, but he still maintained a desire to play “ball golf” and improve his skills. To do so, he used his entrepreneurial talents to bring golf’s newest technological advances to Clark County.

Hafer is set to open the Camas Indoor Golf Club in March, expanding his business after launching the Salmon Creek Indoor Golf Club in August.

“What’s beautiful about this model is it can appeal to everybody,” Hafer said. “If you’re a serious golfer, it can improve your game. If you’re a casual golfer, it allows you to have fun and play more quickly.”

The locations feature TrackMan simulators, which use dual radar and high-speed cameras to capture every detail of a golfer’s swing, providing pinpoint accuracy on metrics like club and ball speed, launch angle, spin rate and more.

“Golfers are getting real-time feedback on every single shot,” Hafer said.

The simulators also allow golfers to play or practice on ultra-realistic renditions of the world’s most famous courses thanks to high-definition graphics and three-dimensional renderings.

The business offers 24/7 availability and several membership tiers, including unlimited golf for $250 per month. Members have used the Salmon Creek facility in various ways, including quick lunch break sessions, group outings, networking and private practice, Hafer said.

“There’s so many creative ways that people are using their memberships,” Hafer said. “It’s been really cool to see how people have fit this into their lives.”