A brief for Golfzon · from Get Lucky Golf Club and Ernie Els
Golf
A golf zone in every Virgin Active club: 230 clubs, eight countries, 1.2 million members. Chapter one is 200 simulators in South Africa. We are choosing the platform now, and we think it should be Golfzon.
230 clubs · 8 countries · 1.2 million members · South Africa first
Chapter one
Virgin Active's largest territory: 136 clubs, 623,000 members, 35% of group revenue. Two bays in a standard club, four in a Collection club, booked like a padel court. Ernie Els on the door.
The proposal goes to Virgin Active this quarter. We walk in with a platform, a reference design and a price. We would like the platform to be Golfzon.
The order
One platform across the chain, so a member in Sandton plays a member in Umhlanga on the same course on the same night.
Collection and flagship clubs. Point, Cape Town, first.
The metro clubs. Network Play across cities.
The rest of the chain, Botswana and Namibia included.
| Bay | Where | Units |
|---|---|---|
| Signature TwoVision NX | 10–12 Collection and flagship clubs, 3–4 bays each | 40 |
| Play TwoVision / Vision Standard | 60 metro clubs, 2 bays each | 120 |
| Practice GDR Plus | Coaching bays; remaining clubs at 1 bay | 40 |
| Total, 2027–2029 | 200 | |
Mix and phasing are the basis for a quote, not a purchase order. Open to Golfzon's recommendation.
Chapter two
One brand, eight countries, one membership that already crosses borders. The same golf zone, on the same platform, goes from Cape Town to London, Milan, Sydney, Singapore and Bangkok. A member at Sandton plays a member at Chiswick.
The platform decision is a group decision, made once. Golfzon gets the South African numbers first, from its own telemetry, and they carry the group.
| Territory | Clubs | Bays | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southern Africa | 136 | 200 | 2027–29 |
| United Kingdom | 32 | ~65 | 2029–30 |
| Italy | 33 | ~65 | 2029–30 |
| Australia | 11 | ~25 | 2030–31 |
| Singapore and Thailand | 14 | ~30 | 2030–31 |
| The group | ~230 | ~385 | 2027–31 |
Club counts are Virgin Active's published figures. Bays outside South Africa assume two a club. Each territory is Virgin Active's own decision.
Why Golfzon
The world's largest simulator platform, the official simulator of the U.S. Open, already selling to gyms. What Golfzon does not yet have is a global health-club group as a reference customer.
Our founding partner won it twice. That line sells itself in every club.
Golf Digest's best simulator seven years running. 240-plus courses. The moving swing plate nobody else has at scale.
Golfzon sells to fitness centres today. A 230-club group is the case study those pages are missing.
Coaching is half of a gym's golf product. Golfzon Leadbetter content makes Virgin Golf a place to get better.
Who we are
South Africa's insured hole-in-one challenge: a swing at a signature par-3 for up to R1,000,000, live at 25 courses, 10,000 paid entries, underwritten and sponsored by Santam. Ernie Els is our founding partner. Virgin Golf by Ernie Els is what we are building together next, with financing for the order secured with RMB.
The people you would deal with
Built The Duchess with AB InBev and RMB behind it. Leads Get Lucky and Virgin Golf.
Partner at Bellair Road, R5 billion under management. Harvard MBA. Owns the numbers and the financing.
Fifteen years in beverage and entertainment brands. Runs partnerships and the Virgin Golf brand.
Underwritten and sponsored by Santam, South Africa's largest short-term insurer and part of the Sanlam group, with Santam Re writing business across Asia, India, China and Europe. The balance sheet behind Get Lucky in Cape Town is the same one behind it in London, Sydney or Singapore. Financing for the Virgin Golf order is secured with RMB.
Timeline
The founders are in the United States in October and at the PGA Show in January. Golfzon America is the first meeting on the list.
Johannes le Roux · johannes@getluckygolfclub.com · Cape Town
