Great Shots Names Jonathan Buckley General Manager
Great Shots, an exciting, new 54,000-square-foot golf and entertainment venue scheduled to open in Sioux Falls in November 2019, has named Jonathan Buckley, PGA, as its general manager. Located in the Sanford Sports Complex, Great Shots will be a year-round hub for fun, entertainment, food and drinks and will be managed by Troon®, the leader in golf management, development, and marketing.
Buckley’s 12-plus years of experience managing and operating golf and entertainment facilities made him a natural fit to lead the operations at Great Shots. From 2012 through 2016, Buckley opened and managed three Topgolf venues across the country, including Houston, Scottsdale and Oklahoma City. Prior to Topgolf, Buckley served as the director of golf at Sterling Country Club, a semi-private club in Houston, Texas. His resume also includes leadership positions at Golfcrest Country Club in Pearland, Texas, where served as the head golf professional, and at The Traditions Club in Bryan, Texas, as the first assistant golf professional. Buckley studied Turf Science at Texas A&M University and became a member of the PGA of America in 2009.
Great Shots is currently under construction at the corner of Benson Road and Westport Avenue. The three-story facility will feature 60 hitting bays with individually-controlled radiant heaters. Each bay will accommodate up to 10 guests with golfers hitting shots out to a 90 yard-wide by 250-yard long artificial turf field. Guests at Great Shots will use real golf clubs (their own or clubs will be provided) and real golf balls. Using radar-based technology, guests will be able to track their shots, including club-head speed, exit velocity and distance. And, with BigShots software’s game mode, guests will have several options to turn their golf experience into an interactive video game.
Great Shots will include two restaurant and bar spaces with unique food and drink options and numerous televisions. Several conference rooms will be available to host parties and meetings and will be equipped with video technology for entertainment or productivity. In addition, a first-floor kids’ room will be outfitted with kid-friendly activities perfect for ages 4-10, including a small climbing wall. Sanford Fit, an initiative geared toward teaching kids how to be active and healthy, is helping to shape the kids’ room design.
“Golf and entertainment venues like Great Shots are gaining popularity across the nation and most of that is driven by non-golfers,” said Kevin Lampe, president, Sanford Sports. “We’re thrilled to have Jonathan leading our operations at Great Shots and believe his experience in managing similar entertainment venues will be invaluable.”
For more information on Great Shots, visit www.greatshots.golf.