Nov. 12, 2024

New turf, new games and new food are waiting for guests as Great Shots reopens following renovations.

The golf-entertainment business at the Sanford Sports Complex was closed for the past couple of months while turf was replaced.

“We’re super-excited to get reopened and welcome people back into the building,” general manager Jonathan Buckley said. “The field itself, for people that have been here, when they step out onto the tee line again, they’re going to see a noticeable difference.”

That includes new targets, all-new turf and areas that are brown or blue turf meant to mimic bunkers and water features on golf courses.

Additionally, Great Shots now has a new technology provider bringing additional games for players. Trackman Range, a global provider to the golf entertainment industry, is bringing four new games for “the social golfer, which is awesome to see,” Buckley said.

Great Shots is the first in the world to debut a new bowling-style game, he added.

“You have bowling pins and you’re trying to get the best score you can. It’s nice because you can hit the golf ball pretty much anywhere, and no matter where you hit it, you tend to knock down points,” he said.

Another game, Scrapyard, similarly allows players to hit the ball anywhere and score points.

“I think it will be very popular with our guests,” Buckley said, adding that there also are games for more competitive golfers, as well as access to simulated big-name courses, from Pebble Beach in California to South Dakota-favorite Sutton Bay.

“We have the (Sutton Bay) short course, and we’ll eventually get the long course added,” Buckley said.

“When we redid the simulator room, we have Trackman technology, so a lot of the same games you’d see on the tee line (are there) and then golf courses, and the practice mode is very similar.”

Great Shots also enhanced its menu for the reopening, with a new executive chef and about 15 new menu items. Breakfast continues to be served daily until 2 p.m.

New options include “a variety of appetizers, some healthy options with a new salad, new wraps, some great new dessert options, a couple new burgers and new pizzas,” Buckley said. “We still have a lot of the favorites from the past, but we’re excited to showcase those new items, and we’ve had great feedback over the last few days.”

Throughout the renovation, “we were able to maintain the majority of our staff, so we utilized them at the complex … but as you can imagine, a business like this, an operation of this size, we’re always looking to continue to bring on great people,” he added. “We’d love to add more.”

Hours for Great Shots are 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 11 a.m. to midnight Saturday and 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday. Breakfast starts at 9 or 11 a.m. depending on the opening time each day.

There also are a number of special events coming up at Great Shots, including watch parties this weekend for University of Nebraska basketball games at the Pentagon and Cookies with Santa from 5 to 8 p.m. Dec. 10, offering golfing, hot chocolate stations, sugar cookie decorating, ornament crafts and Santa.