Five Iron Golf’s Poker-Inspired Platform Lets Players Buy In, Cash Out

BusinessSportsMoneyFive Iron Golf’s Poker-Inspired Platform Lets Players Buy In, Cash OutByErik Matuszewski,Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Erik Matuszewski's coverage spans golf businesses, news & destinationsFollow AuthorMay 13, 2026, 09:45am EDT Five Iron Golf has launched Five Iron Tournaments, the first national indoor golf competition platform with real prize money.Five Iron GolfBefore helping create one of the biggest companies in the golf world, Jared Solomon played poker professionally. He lived through the early days of the internet poker craze and saw how the game “blew up” through an expanded digital presence, perhaps most notably Chris Moneymaker’s groundbreaking win at the 2003 World Series of Poker as the first participant to win a world championship after qualifying at an online site. A platform like DraftKings has had a similar seismic impact more recently in the world of sports betting. As the CEO of Five Iron Golf, one of the biggest commercial simulator companies in the world with 40 U.S. locations (and counting) in 19 states, Solomon sees similar opportunity within the world of golf – in this case, the rapidly growing realm of off-course golf. Using online poker and DraftKings as inspiration – at least in terms of the surges in popularity and engagement they fostered within other industries – Solomon and Five Iron have launched a new tournament platform that introduces on-demand play for prize money across its network of venues. As in the online poker world, this platform is built on flexible formats – 9- and 18-hole tournaments, closest-to-the-pin competitions, jackpot-style competitions that build until a player makes a hole-in-one, team events, gross and net play – that are time-bound but continuously accessible. It’s indoor golf’s version of a “sit-and-go,” meaning players can buy-in whenever they want and play for prize money during a given window. There are real-time leaderboards a...