There just may be a Tiger sighting on Florida’s Gulf Coast soon.
The PopStroke entertainment golf facility designed by pro golf star Tiger Woods is on track to open in Fort Myers in September. The facility on Six Mile Cypress Parkway broke ground on Jan. 29, and has remained on schedule despite the coronavirus pandemic.
“Obviously we’re going to be adding social distancing measures in place,” PopStroke founder Greg Bartoli said. “We are scheduled to open in September. We’ll have to adjust accordingly to our new environment. We will get through this, and we will get back to normal. But we are planning for the rest of the year to have enhanced health and safety.”
Thankfully, there doesn’t need to be a huge change as far as the facility. The putting golf course, which is laid out by TGR Design, also has a restaurant. But Bartoli pointed out all of the course is outside, where the coronavirus spread has been shown to be minimized, and the restaurant also is open air. The main addition is for extensive sanitizing and cleaning.
“Our golf holes are all about 50 feet apart,” Bartoli said. “So you can have your family and your own group of three or four, and you’re on your own.”
PopStroke already was geared to be touchless, with the use of an app to keep score and to order food, so that also plays into the current pandemic environment.
“We’ve been fortunate that we were kind of positioned of this by virtue of the way the business operates,” Bartoli said.
The Fort Myers facility’s course is the first for PopStroke designed by Woods, who bought a stake in the PopStroke Entertainment Group last fall. Bartoli said Woods has taken a large role in the design, but has not been on the property yet.
Bartoli said there are actually two courses at the Fort Myers facility.
“The design is spectacular,” he said. “He and his team have done a really nice job of making it challenging but fun. There’s a lot of nuances that an avid golfer will really appreciate it. One course is for beginners and intermediate, then we have a course that’s designed for more advanced golfers.”
PopStroke is one of three golf and entertainment facilities coming to Southwest Florida. A Topgolf facility is scheduled to open in Fort Myers sometime in 2021, and a BigShots Golf is scheduled to be built on part of the property of the former Golden Gate Golf Course in Naples.
For more information, visit popstroke.com.
