The Chicago Five Iron (Image: Five Iron Golf)
Capitol Hill is getting a new “golf simulator” hangout in the heart of Pike/Pine from a fast growing chain bringing a “high-tech, inclusive urban golf experience for golfers and non-golfers alike” to the nation’s major party and nightlife districts.
Plans for Five Iron Golf call for a new Seattle expansion to take over the northern berth of the street level commercial space in the Pike/Pine preservation-boosted Kelly Springfield building on 11th Ave neighboring the Rhino Room.
WeWork opened its Capitol Hill coworking and office space facility in 11th Ave preservation and development project in late 2019 with a plan for multiple floors of offices for independent workers and with deals in place for big clients like Microsoft to eat up entire floors of the building. It’s not clear where those plans are at following months of COVID-19 lockdown but WeWork won’t be putting the street level component on the north end of the building to use. The site was previously Capitol Hill’s Value Village and, way back, an early launch point for REI.
Five Iron Golf’s rapid growth began from its first venue in Manhattan and has grown over the past six years with a mix of golf simulators, instruction, food, and drink to locations including three in New York, plus expansions to Baltimore, Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., and, of course, Vegas.
“For the serious golfer, Five Iron hosts best-in-class simulators, Trackman lesson studios, access to teaching professionals, practice time, leagues, club storage, showers, top-of-the-line clubs that are free to use during your booking, and in-house club fitting services,” the company says.
Meanwhile, “less-than-serious”s golfers can also enjoy “flexible event spaces, full bar service, fantastic food menus, games like ping pong, shuffleboard, pool, and Golden Tee (depending on the location), widescreen TVs, regular women’s events, a junior program, and much more.”
Capitol Hill and Pike/Pine continue to be a target for national retail and entertainment concepts looking to be part of the area’s arts venues, clubs, bars, restaurants, and nightlife. CHS reported here on the pandemic-scuttled plans for a new Glossier showroom on 10th Ave. Shef, a startup aiming to become the “Airbnb of home cooked meals,” has opened a new Pike/Pine delivery center there instead.
Unlike the Glossier plans which withered on the vine during the long months of COVID-19 lockdowns, the Five Iron Golf swing is a fresh push as state’s economic reopening begins with permitting beginning on the project last month.
Five Iron Golf is set to join other large or growing entertainment brands around the Hill including Bowlero’s takeover of The Garage and the finally boozy axe tossing bar Blade and Timber on Broadway. There is likely room for more. The relatively huge bar space at 11th and Pine left empty by the exit of Stout in 2019 remains available and has been the generator of a series of great rumors about potential new tenants including, yes, an honest to goodness dog bar that, sadly, doesn’t seem likely to move forward.
Meanwhile, smaller, independent centers of fun and frolic are also getting ready to move forward. The last time we checked in a few weeks back, this 10th Ave pinball arcade bar we first wrote about pre-pandemic will probably have a different name but is still being planned as a coming soon addition to the Pike/Pine fun.
As for Capitol Hill’s Five Iron Golf, you may not be teeing off until later this year as its construction permit process is just getting started.
Five Iron Golf is being teed up for 11th Ave just south of E Pine. You can learn more at fiveirongolf.com.
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There goes what’s left of the gayborhood.
That’s been gone for a while, no bringing it back now. Neighborhoods change (hint hint White Center).
ooooooh!!!! Maybe Hooters can move into the old RPlace space!!!!!
Cool. That’s the great thing about Capitol Hill, wide variety of stuff to do.
Combine it with the ax throwing joint and we may have something!
This sounds pretty neat actually
Sweet. Somewhere for the Chads to pregame before getting into a fight outside Rhino Room.
This is not the return of Smash Putt that we asked for.
This seems like it belongs in SLU or Bellevue, as it will obviously be filled with Techie work sponsored gatherings. The suburban golfer yuppies won’t want to park their oversized SUVs in the neighborhood and would never take public transit. I give it two years tops.
Yeah, it’s another upscale bowling like place, they belong on the east side.
Yay, another place neighborhood people won’t be able to get into because Amazon and every other tech company will have it permanently booked for their seemingly endless office parties.
Pretty much.