How Nigel’s drive made indoor golfing business a reality

In the latest edition of Marketing Derby’s Innovate Magazine, we meet Nigel Bratton – the man behind new indoor golf business Drive in Golf.

Nigel, who is an accredited PGA Professional with over 35 years golfing experience, opened his Derby facility towards the end of last year at Ivygrove Developments’ Merlin Business Park.

Featuring an indoor 4K simulator and offering PGA tuition, the centre welcomes golf enthusiasts of all levels, corporate clients for team building and events, families and groups.

In his interview with Innovate, Nigel shares how he fell in love with the sport as an eight-year-old.

But it was three decades later, while working as a coach at Derby Golf Centre, in Spondon, that he began to come up with a plan which could turn that passion into a business.

He told Innovate: “Drive in Golf was born out of frustration. It was a cold winter’s day in December 2020 and myself and my friend, Dan Delaney, had just been out between taking lessons, ankle deep in mud, picking up balls in 2C temperatures when we thought ‘This isn’t fun. We should be doing lessons indoors in the warm’.

“I just couldn’t get that thought out of my head and so started working up details of a business plan.”

Five years of patience and planning followed which has culminated in a new kind of golfing venue for Derby.

Drive in Golf is high-tech and high-quality – but also relaxed, welcoming and open to people who might never dream of stepping foot into a traditional clubhouse.

Nigel told Innovate: “It is the most inclusive golf environment you can be in.

“There is no prejudice around who you are, where you are from, what you are wearing, or how good your golf is.”

One of the reasons Drive in Golf has taken off, Nigel suggests, is because it fits around how people actually live.

While outdoor golf courses close, Drive in Golf is open until 10pm all year round.

But he is also keen to point out that indoor golf isn’t there to replace outdoor golf – it is there to grow it. He told Innovate: “It’s complimentary.”

Nigel admits it has been an arduous journey to make Drive in Golf a reality – but the pay off can be seen around the venue on a daily basis.

He told Innovate: “It’s seeing people’s faces when they’re in here. Families, people playing with their mates, everyone having a laugh.”

To read the feature in full click here.