SF golf fans go underground for indoor golf

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- It's been eight years since SOMA's beloved Mission Bay Golf Complex shut down. It left a void for city dwellers looking for a quick golf fix. In January of last year, a new option popped up, underground.

On Howard Street in Downtown San Francisco, a little piece of golf heaven can be found.

"I like that they had wine when I walked in. It's very hospitable, very open. Everybody can kind of talk to everybody else whether you know the people next to you or not," Eagle Club patron Chelsey Seippel said.

Eagle Cub Indoor Golf welcomes golfers of all skill levels to work on their game and for many it's a welcomed diversion in the middle of a busy work day.

"It's a place of convenience for golf. Since we're in Downtown, it's hard to get out to ranges so a lot of our customers they work right in this area and they'll just come down from the office real quick and get half an hour of practice in. Others will come in and play a quick 9 and just go back to the office. Get a little stress out," Eagle Club co-owner Michael Sharratt said.

Eagle Club is more than just an indoor range, it offers players the chance to get better.

"We use a launch monitor that measures the ball and it can calculate the rest of the ball flight," Sharratt said. "So they're very accurate because they're designed for club fitting."

"Apart from it being handy and close by, I think I like that you can see the swing angle and the left spin and right spin, so that's good to show me what I'm doing wrong, whereas on a normal range you wouldn't have that data," Eagle Club patron Mike Newstead said.

"We have 10 stalls and then we also have a larger simulator in the front just generally where our pros are going to be giving lessons," Eagle Club co-owner Daniel Sill said.

From the weekend hack, to the serious golfer, to those looking for an activity out of the norm, the clientele there varies.

"You have people that come in here that really do pay attention to the data and you have people that come in here because they want to have fun and hit some golf balls. What we've found is we do have larger groups that'll come in, generally on a Friday to hang out, do something before they end up going out," Sill said.

You can play 30 different courses from all over the world including San Francisco's Olympic Club.