Golfzon Growth Includes Game-Changing Indoor Venue Set For U.S. Debut

BusinessSportsMoneyGolfzon Growth Includes Game-Changing Indoor Venue Set For U.S. DebutByErik Matuszewski,Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Erik Matuszewski's coverage spans golf businesses, news & destinationsFollow AuthorMay 09, 2026, 06:00am EDTThe Golfzon booth at the PGA Show in Orlando.GolfzonGolfzon has more than 6,500 commercial indoor golf simulator locations in South Korea, where the company owns about three-quarters of a massive market for the off-course game. But Sean Pyun recalls a time when South Koreans weren’t as enamored with indoor golf, describing some early-on perceptions of simulators or screen golf as a “gimmicky video game.” Those attitudes have changed dramatically since the early 2010s. Indoor golf today is positioned as a hugely popular and mainstream entertainment option in South Korea, where twice as many rounds are played at Golfzon locations than at traditional, green-grass golf courses. And Pyun, the CEO of Golfzon in North America, says the U.S. golf simulator market is currently reminiscent of what South Korea was like just over a decade ago – ripe with opportunity. “In this competitive U.S. market, innovation is very fast. Faster than I've ever seen in Korea and other places, which is good for all of us,” said Pyun, noting that the company’s U.S. business grew over 90% last year alone. “This is a significant opportunity for the entire game of golf to grow.”Before joining Golfzon in 2024, Pyun spent 16 years with the LPGA Tour, including a six-year stint as Chief Business Officer in Asia, where he signed Golfzon as a corporate sponsor. While overseeing that account, he recalls hearing plenty of questions from endemic golf equipment companies about whether simulator golf could be additive to the green-grass game. Among their concerns: the people who played golf indoors wouldn’t buy a new set of clubs, they wouldn’t want to come to green-grass golf facilities, and they woul...