Connect
To Top

Meet Jim Moses of Dr Greens Indoor Golf in Metrowest

Avatar photo

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jim Moses.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Jim. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
It’s funny, people just kind of assume that I’m a great golfer because I opened up a golf shop. The reality is that I’m an average golfer on a good day. I do love playing golf though. I had been looking for an opportunity to start a business for a while. I wasn’t sure what industry I wanted to get into. I was more concerned with the business model to be honest. The services industry was attractive to me because I like the hands-on nature and the opportunity to interact one-on-one with new customers every day.

The environment for starting a business has been tough these last few years, so I wanted to be sure I was getting into an area that I enjoyed and that I saw promise in. I also wanted to find an industry that was still just emerging. If possible, I wanted the opportunity to help shape an industry. I had noticed these indoor golf centers beginning to emerge in the greater Boston area and so my partners and I started looking at them as a potentially viable business opportunity. Long story short, the more we investigated the industry, the more excited we got.

We visited as many indoor golf centers as we could. We spoke to customers, we spoke to managers and to owners of other indoor golf facilities. We got a lot of great ideas in the process, and we also saw some of the pitfalls to avoid. At the end of the day, we reached the conclusion that this concept was absolutely viable and we thought we could do it better than some of the other places we had seen. Most importantly, we thought we could help shape this emerging industry and also have a lot of fun in the process. Once we made that decision, it was about a 12 month process to get the doors open.

We opened for business just after Christmas this past year, in 2016. In terms of the indoor golf season, that was borderline disastrous timing, the prime indoor golf season runs about October to April, and December is right in the middle of it. We had planned to be open in early fall of 2016 but construction schedules just did not cooperate. That was one of the many learning curves we’ve struggled through as rookie entrepreneurs. That said, the town of Ashland and the greater metro west area has welcomed us with open arms. Despite the very late start, we had a great winter. We are now in our offseason and preparing for what we hope will be an even better 2017/2018 season.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
I can’t imagine that starting a business is ever smooth, at least not for newcomers. If it was, maybe more people would try it. We’ve had many challenges along the way and I suspect there are still many more in the future. Probably the three biggest challenges we’ve had so far were in finding a location, securing financing and actually getting an occupancy permit. Interestingly enough, choosing a golf simulator vendor was one of the easier choices. We had two vendors we really liked, and it was a close call, but we knew we were in good hands with both of them.

We originally had a location in Milford that was right off the highway on 495. You could throw a rock and hit the 495 off ramp…almost anyway. It was perfect. I was so excited about that spot. Unfortunately, though, it took us too long to lock down our financing and the space was given away to another client. The timing was horrible for us because the financing actually came through within weeks of losing that location. By the time we had the financing from the bank, we were really up against the wall to find another location if we wanted to have any shot at opening for the 2016/2017 season. Keep in mind, we were entering into a largely seasonal business, so it was absolutely critical that we capture the whole season – being too late to the party could literally have meant not surviving to see Season 2.

Once we had financing squared away, we decided to go for it, even though we were off our schedule by about a month at that point. We needed to find a new location quickly, and fortunately, the landlord of the spot we had just lost out on was gracious enough to help connect us with the spot we are in today in Ashland. With Ashland, we loved the people, the town itself and the surrounding communities. The town officials that we met with were incredibly supportive. The owners of the building have been great as well. I think it helps that they’re both big golfers.

Financing was a major challenge as well. Most banks won’t even talk to you if you are startup with no prior history. We ended up financing with Middlesex Savings Bank. The team we worked with was tremendous, and they continue to be great partners with us. They also connected us with a contact at the MA SBDC. I worked with a wonderful lady over there who helped us get all of our financial forecasts and projections in order so that the bank could expedite our applications. As I look back at the process, we have been helped by some really wonderful people along the way. We certainly did not do this all on our own – we had a lot of folks that helped make Dr. Greens possible.

We’d love to hear more about your business.
Dr. Greens is an indoor golf and entertainment facility. We believe that every season is golf season. Whether you are a casual golfer or a single digit handicap, or even if you’ve never picked up a golf club, we have something for you at Dr. Greens. And we don’t just have golf. We have mini golf for kids, we have pool tables, professional caliber shuffleboard tables, plenty of big screen TV’s and a full bar. We strive to delight our customers, and we work hard to ensure that every experience with us is a special one.

Our customers come to Dr. Greens for many reasons. Our core customer is coming to play golf – it may be to play 18, to hit some balls on the range, or to work on their short game. There’s plenty more though. We host events, birthday parties for both adults and kids. We host charity events, we do daily competitions, offer lessons and clinics. We’ve got three pros on staff full time. Our head teaching pro is second to none. Our clients love him and he’s getting more popular by the month. We also offer leagues – both public and private. If you’ve got eight or more people that are interested, we will sponsor your own private league for you.

As we’ve begun to settle into the area, we’ve identified some opportunities to grow and expand our reach. We noticed that there was nowhere really to do golf club grips, so we now offer a full gripping service. We also have just recently started reselling Cobra and Epic golf clubs. Customers can come in, demo the clubs, and make the purchase right in the store. And the great thing is that because of our relationships, we are able to offer prices on these clubs that are as good or better than what you will find at your local retail stores or online.

What were you like growing up?
I’m an engineer by education if that tells you anything. My favorite classes in high school were computer science and math. I also like to think of myself as an athlete. I’m not sure if all my friends from high school and college would agree with that assessment, but I held my own. I’ve always been a get-along-with-everybody type of guy. I get myself in trouble sometimes when I talk politics, but for the most part I think I’m pretty easy going.

Pricing:

  • Golf (1 Hr) – $30 [Summer Rate]
  • Driving Range (1 Hr) – $20 [Summer Rate]
  • Professional Golf Lessons (1 Hr) – $100 – Lesson Bundles also available at a discount
  • Grips – Starting at $100 for a full set

Contact Info:

Getting in touch: BostonVoyager is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.

Related Items

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

More in