Indoor Lowry Golf Club Offers a Unique Experience
The Hangar Club in Lowry is the latest indoor facility to offer golfers the chance to hone their skills and enjoy the sport no matter what the weather. The Club converted a historic building on the former Lowry Air Force Base into an indoor golf club where guests can play on courses located around the world—without needing to buy plane tickets or pack a suitcase.
The indoor golf club has ten bays with larger dimensions than other bays in Colorado. Each one contains a TrackMan simulator that enables golfers to hit the ball inside the bay and play games on the large screen. TrackMan technology provides the precise distance of the hits, trajectory of the balls, and placements along the holes.
The popularity of indoor golfing has grown rapidly. Colorado has more than 30 facilities, and the National Golf Foundation estimates that more than 6 million people used golf simulators last year—an increase of 73% compared to pre-pandemic levels.
Patrons at the Hangar Club can select from over 230 real golf courses that allow them to play on world-renowned venues, such as Augusta, Pebble Beach, or St Andrews. Golfers can play in league competitions with 18-hole tournaments, take lessons from pro instructors to improve their skills, or use different settings to practice certain aspects of the sport. Casual golfers can just gather with friends to enjoy a round of golf. Additionally, the club can host events of all sizes, from large business conferences with hundreds of people to small birthday parties for families and friends.
A full bar and kitchen serve wine, local beers, craft cocktails, and food. Private and open lounges are scattered throughout the facility featuring velvet couches, plaid wingback chairs, and copper-top tables. “We were methodical in how it was designed, where we put things, and the flow that we created throughout the facility,” says Annie Ohman, event director at the Hangar Club. “The architecture has stood the test of time so we didn’t want to manipulate the building too much. The beams, floors, and huge windows are all original.”
The 22,000 square-foot facility was built in 1942 in Lowry Field, and it was integral during World War II as the U.S. Army and Air Force used the building to train armorers. With the building operating 24 hours a day to train 55,000 armorers each year, the War Department relied heavily on this Lowry facility. It is now commemorated in the National Register of Historic Places.
Converting such a massive historic building into an indoor golf course was a complicated project that took several years. “We faced a lot of hurdles modernizing a space that has been sitting vacant and that was used for a completely different purpose,” explains Ohman, “It’s an old building, so we had some hiccups with electrical stuff, external details, finding the right contractors, and then installing the customized features. So it was a difficult task, but making sure we took the time to properly design and execute the project was really important.”
Using a golf bay at the Hangar Club costs $75 per hour, and visitors can book a bay on the website at Hangarclub.co/tee-time.