CHS Golf opens on Savannah Highway offering golfers the chance to improve their game while having a good time
by Lorne Chambers | Editor
Whether you want to seriously practice your golf swing or just play a quick round with a couple of buddies after work, West Ashley’s newest entertainment hot spot CHS Golf has got you covered. The 5,000-square-foot space features four TrackMan golf simulators, a 25’x25’ indoor putting green, a stretching cage, pool tables, a regulation-sized shuffleboard table, foosball, darts, and a menu featuring clubhouse-style food, such as sandwiches, salads, jalapeno poppers, chicken tenders, and wings. CHS Golf also has a full bar, which is slated to open at some point this month.
Longtime restaurateur Doug Allison brought his new concept to the area last month with the opening of CHS Golf, located at 1919 Savannah Hwy. He also owns Southside 17, Ireland’s Own/Jägerhaus Pub, and Whiskey Jack’s all along Savannah Highway in West Ashley.
“I know West Ashley. My client base is here,” says Allison. “I’ve been in this industry for 30 years and just really thought that West Ashley, not just Charleston, but West Ashley in particular, needed something more. Something different.”
Just down the street at Ireland’s Own/Jägerhaus Pub, Allison has seen a notable increase in people’s desire to play games and be more interactive while out at a bar.
“I just feel that interactive part is the biggest thing. People are on the phones so much now. This is something they can actively do,” he says. “It’s good father and son time, family and friend time, and corporate events and team building time.”
At CHS Golf, the main events are clearly the four simulation bays, which feature four top-of-the-line TrackMan golf simulators, allowing golfers to play dozens of famous golf courses from around the world, including Pebble Beach, Quail Hollow, Royal St. Andrew’s, and many others.
“These are the Rolls Royce of golf simulators,” says Allison proudly as he scrolls through all the bells and whistles it offers, including serving as a caddy for golfers and offering in-game shot and put analysis. The TrackMan simulators are each equipped with radars that use Doppler principles, which allow the launch monitors to track and display the full trajectory of any shot, from short putts to 400-yard drives, pinpointing the precise landing position. Golfers can bring and use their own clubs and balls or they can rent them.
Allison has clearly made a sizeable investment in the simulator technology and in completely renovating the space, which formerly housed North Ridge Custom Cycles.
“I wanted to model it after a country club and have a country club,” he says. “But be a little more laid back. Country clubs can be a little stuffy.”
Like a real country club, you can choose to be a member, although it is not required to play or to enter CHS Golf. Allison says he plans to cap the membership at around 100 and spots are filling up fast. Memberships cost $99 per month (plus a $99 initiation fee) and allow for certain perks, like 24/7 hour access to the space and discounted rental of the simulation bays, as well as free use of the stretching equipment and putting greens. Bay rentals are $20 per hour for members and $45 for non-members. Members can have up to six persons per bay, whereas non-members are limited to four. Members can also play all the other games, like shuffleboard, foosball, darts, and pool for free. Nonmembers can play these games for $10 per hour.
According to Allison, there will also be league play and monthly contests with prizes for things like closest to the pin, longest put, etc. He says he also plans to host fantasy pro-am play during actual PGA tournaments, where players will draw a name out of a hat and be teamed up with real professionals.
“I think it’s pretty unique,” says Allison and then joking, “and if it doesn’t work out, I’ll have the nicest garage in town.”
