Summer '23 - Vermejo, a recreation and outdoor paradise
Tuesday, July 19, 2022
What’s New
Chip Shots
A unique mix of golf and business at one site
Story by Bill Bowman
Photography provided by Chip Shots
Welcome to the future of golf and business: Chip Shots.
Wait, you haven’t heard about them? Well, prepare yourself to experience Las Vegas’ newest – and ideal – club that will allow members to mix golf and business in elegant surroundings. Chip Shots, which is scheduled to open the first quarter of 2023, will be the go-to place if you’re out with other members after work to blow off a little steam on their golf simulators or looking to close that business deal for the firm with golf and drinks.
For founder Keith Langlands, the reasoning behind the endeavor is simple. “It’s the golfer in me and the business person in me,” he says. “I’ve always thought golf was great for business, and I hadn’t seen anything like this before.” One big factor they bring into play is no matter the weather outside – and we all know it can get just a little warm around Vegas – it’s always the perfect temperature inside to attend to the business at hand. “It’s getting hotter in Vegas, and it gets windy, and you can’t play at night. In talking with a few clients, they said we should look into this. And here we are a year later.”
The site, located at West Flamingo and the 215, will offer members an ultimate golf experience as well as a place to tie in business needs with a little golf on the side. Chip Shots will be a private golf club with a variety of membership levels, from full memberships down to social memberships and others in between. Langlands and his staff are still working out the details of the membership tiers and what each will offer to the public.
Let’s take a closer look at what this new business offers to the Vegas golf scene. The site will be two stories with almost 17,000 square feet. (As a note, the second floor will have a nice view of the famed Las Vegas Strip). There will be six flat-screen simulators on the first floor, along with two curve simulators on the second floor. Add in a virtual green that allows the setup for a wide variety of putts (including breaks and green speed), and you’ve got a great start.
Need more? Well, they’ve got it. The site includes first-and-second floor patios (with combined seating for 60), two conference rooms on the second floor (with seating for 10 each and the curve simulator and patio for each conference room), two indoor/outdoor bars, a cigar patio on each floor, gaming, and an in-house coordinator.
There’s also a dining lounge that can seat up to 56 and an indoor bar with seating for 10, and an outdoor bar that seats six. These food and drink options make one more reason to put Chip Shots on your ‘must-play’ list, options to be enjoyed before or after the round, during the round, and in many cases, during a business meeting.
There will also be golf leagues for members to compete against one another. Membership options include corporate, executive, and junior executive memberships.
“We’re very, very happy with how things are looking,” Langlands says. “We’ve tried to check off all the boxes, but I’m sure someone will come up with something we haven’t thought of yet. But if there’s anything I’ve learned in business, it’s that you’re never going to think of everything – but we sure gave it a good try. Whether it’s a real estate firm, a law firm, a CPA firm or whatever business it might be, we can set them up. If they are having a meeting, people can take a break and go out the door to the simulator where they might have a closest to the pin contest or a par-3 contest. And while they are out there, our catering group can bring in lunch and set it up. They can come back in to eat and then get back to their business meeting.”
And while golf and business meetings have been a perfect marriage for many, many years, Langlands says Chip Shots will have an edge over a round on a regular golf course. “Let’s say I’m taking three people out for a foursome for business. Most of the time you only get the chance to speak with the person you’re in the cart with or at the 19th hole. Here, you’ve got all three people, and maybe more if you have more in the meeting, and everyone’s in on every part of the talks. Add in food and drinks brought to you by your own attendant, and it’s an ideal situation.”
“The simulators we are using are just wonderful,” he says. “They are 4K technology, and they are also good for business presentations or watching sporting events as well.” Sporting events, have come into play before the business even opens. “We’ve already had inquiries about buying out the club for the Formula 1 event in Las Vegas in November of 2023,” he says. “The word is definitely getting out there and we’re happy we’ve got the chance to be part of all of it.”
All-inclusive? Check. Fun? You bet. Variety-filled? Of course.
Langlands says there’s one big reason people need to check out Chip Shots. “It’s definitely a unique concept. It’s just different. Everyone we have come across says two things: One, they have never seen it before. And, two, why didn’t I think of this?”
In the end, Langlands says their goal is simple. “We’re really working hard to do it right. We are going to be a great private club with a variety of membership functions. We’re trying to appeal to not just golfers, but the business world as well. It’s going to be a great mixture.”
Chip Shots Las Vegas, LLC
Grand Flamingo Centre
9755 W. Flamingo, Las Vegas
702-845-7656