Back Nine Hits 200 Locations: The Sim Franchise That Won’t Stop

There are now over 200 Back Nine Golf locations open across 44 states. The company is opening between 15 and 20 new franchise locations every single month. They’ve already expanded to Canada, signed a master franchise agreement for New Zealand, and have expansion plans locked in for the United Kingdom and Australia.

Let me repeat that so it lands: a company that started five years ago because a law student wanted to hit balls at 2 AM now has more locations than most sit-down restaurant chains, operates in almost every state in the country, and is going global.

The sim franchise boom everyone’s been talking about? It’s not coming. It’s here.

If you’re evaluating the commercial golf simulator business model, Back Nine’s numbers are the benchmark — 200 locations opening 15-20 per month with no staff per bay. For a breakdown of what each franchise system costs, see our franchise fee comparison guide.

How a Law Student Built a 200-Location Empire

Back Nine started in 2020 in St. George, Utah. Founder Wil Bangerter was a law student at BYU who couldn’t find time during the day to practice — so he started hitting balls late at night on a simulator in the back of a warehouse. He wanted a simulator of his own, realized starting a business would help him pay for it, and figured 24/7 access was a bonus.

The original model was simple: one location, open all the time, no staff. You book online, get a text with a door code, walk in, play, leave. No employees to schedule, no food to manage, nobody to train.

That first location worked so well that when neighbor Brady Carlsen heard Bangerter was selling, he bought in. About eight months after Back Nine started, Carlsen came in with a business partner, acquired the company, and kept Bangerter as CEO. Kaden Creager joined as a board member/owner shortly after and helped build out the franchising operations.

The machine they built is now doing numbers that are hard to process:

• 200+ operating locations across 44 states
• ~560 franchise territories sold
• 15-20 new locations opening per month
• 74 corporate staff in St. George HQ (up from 5 a year ago)
• International expansion: Canada, New Zealand signed, UK and Australia in the pipeline

That’s not a growth curve. That’s a hockey stick.

The Model That Makes It Work

The reason Back Nine is exploding isn’t complicated. It’s the same reason every other sim franchise is growing: the economics work.

Most brick-and-mortar businesses die on payroll. Restaurants run on 25-35% labor costs. Retail needs bodies on the floor. Even a traditional golf course needs groundskeepers, marshals, and pro shop staff.

Back Nine’s model eliminates almost all of that.

“You can operate a Back Nine franchise without employees if you are a hands-on operator,” Carlsen told TechBuzz News. No staff to manage. No food or beverage costs. The biggest overhead is rent.

Here’s how it works: members book tee times through an app, get a text with a door code, let themselves in, and play. Cameras and software handle the rest. Owners can run the business remotely — checking in through the camera system, managing memberships, and handling the occasional maintenance call.

Carlsen said owners spend about 20 to 30 hours a week on business-related tasks. That’s it. For a business that can generate meaningful revenue from a small footprint, that’s an absurdly attractive number.

The simulators themselves are Full Swing systems — the same technology Tiger Woods uses at home and the same company that went through the $530 million Versant acquisition last month. Members get instant data on club path, face angle, and ball spin. A full 18-hole round takes 45 to 60 minutes instead of four hours.

Back Nine describes itself as “a supplement, not a replacement” for outdoor golf. But when you can play a round on your lunch break or at 4 AM, or after the kids go to bed, that supplement starts looking an awful lot like a main course.

What This Means for the Sim Industry

If you’ve been following the sim business coverage on this site, you know the pattern by now. The 24/7 facility boom has been reshaping indoor golf for months. TruGolf Links is opening flagship locations and has committed to 100+ more. Five Iron is going international. X-Golf has 134 open locations. Every week there’s another “grand opening” story from some new facility in a mid-size American city.

Back Nine’s numbers put all of that in perspective.

Two hundred open locations across 44 states means Back Nine alone has more sim golf bays than most of its competitors combined. And they’re adding locations faster than anyone — 15-20 per month is essentially one new location every other day.

The implications for the sim hardware market are enormous. Every one of those locations runs Full Swing technology. Every one needs a computer, a projector, an impact screen, an enclosure, a hitting mat, and ongoing software subscriptions. Multiply that by 200 locations and you’re looking at millions of dollars in hardware purchases — not including the 360 unopened franchise territories that haven’t built out yet.

Full Swing, by the way, is now owned by Versant Media Group. Versant also owns Golf Channel. So Versant now sits at a fascinating intersection: they own the TV network that covers professional golf AND the simulator company powering the largest indoor golf franchise in America. Whether that’s a conflict or an opportunity depends on your perspective, but it’s definitely not nothing.

The International Play

Back Nine’s international expansion is where this gets really interesting for the global sim market.

Canada: already open. New Zealand: master franchise agreement signed. United Kingdom: in the pipeline. Australia: in the pipeline.

The UK market in particular is a natural fit. High real estate costs, terrible weather for half the year, and a golf-obsessed culture. An automated 24/7 sim model that doesn’t require massive square footage or a full kitchen? That’s practically tailor-made for London.

The New Zealand play is smart too — a small, golf-crazed country where indoor golf options are still thin. First mover advantage in a market that size can lock in loyalty for a decade.

What’s Next

Back Nine isn’t stopping at 200. They’re expanding beyond just sim access too.

Carlsen said the company is working on AI-powered swing analysis to give members more detailed feedback on every shot. They’re testing golf club fitting services. They’re exploring retail equipment sales. They’re developing an apparel brand called “No Lost Balls.” And they’re building a mobile app that would let members access their simulator performance data even when they’re playing on real courses.

That last one is the most interesting. The long-term play might not just be “come to our building.” It might be “we’re your golf operating system, wherever you play.”

Back Nine’s growth won’t continue at this pace forever — 15-20 new locations a month isn’t sustainable indefinitely because the franchise market is finite and site selection gets harder as you expand. But they don’t need to sustain this pace. They just need to sustain it long enough to lock in the dominant position.

At 200 locations and counting, they’re well on their way.

The Takeaway

Five years ago, a law student was hitting balls alone in a warehouse at 2 AM because it was the only time he could practice. Today, that student is the CEO of a company with 200 locations, 560 territories sold, and a global expansion plan.

If you’re still wondering whether sim golf is a real business, stop wondering. The numbers are in. The model is proven. And the guy who just wanted to practice at midnight accidentally built the biggest indoor golf company in America.

The only question now is who catches up.