Indoor golf venue brings unique fun to locals
By Alicia Venter
aventer@queensledger.com
As temperatures continue to plummet, avid golf players — as well as interested novices — no longer need to bundle up to enjoy the fun of the course. Instead, they can head to Five Iron Golf in Long Island City, the newest addition to a continually growing neighborhood.
Five Iron Golf, located a block from MoMA PS1 at 24-22 Jackson Ave, features seven custom-built TrackMan golf simulators. This technology can track the movement on the ball and where it would go in a real-life course. The projectors display an animated graphic of the ball traveling, capturing back spin, side spin and more.
For the intense golfer, TrackMan provides analytics to help improve their game: the distance the ball traveled in yards, the angle the club was facing on contact and more. There are also trainers who provide lessons.
“We are a new space that can provide a lot for the neighborhood, and we want to be there for the neighborhood,” Jonathan Cruz, the general manager of Five Iron Golf Long Island City, said in an interview. “We want to be the place where businesses can entertain clients or host public events, or the birthday party that the family has been trying to figure out where to set it up. Now you have this space.”
“A fan from a distance,” Cruz is a Brooklyn native who has managed events across the city, from the “Stranger Things Experience” to New York Fashion Week. This is his first experience as part of the Five Iron Golf corporation, and he looks forward to bringing his expertise to Long Island City.
“I quickly learned how much of a community Long Island City is. Every day, new folks stop by asking us questions and telling us they live right down the block,” Cruz said. “They are supportive. They are intrigued. There is this sense of community that you can’t just find anywhere.”
The location has league nights, where a team can take on other groups in “friendly competitions.” Those who do not have a team can enter as free agents to be chosen by groups.
The location also features a bar, a restaurant and shuffleboard. Cruz explained that Five Iron Golf is not exclusively catered towards golfers, and will happily “watch a sitcom” with customers at the bar.
Simulators can be booked hourly, with weekday off-peak hours (from 6:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.) priced at $70. After 4:00 p.m. on weekdays and on the weekends, a simulator can be booked for $85 an hour.
To visit Five Iron Golf, take the subway to the Court Square subway station, as the venue sits adjacent to the station.
Tickets and more information can be found at www.fiveirongolf.com/lic/
“We want this to be the place where you take the risk and try golf,” said Cruz. “You never know until you try it.”
Any tips about whats happening in Long Island City, Astoria, Woodside, Sunnyside or Northwest Queens? Email me at aventer@queensledger.com!
