Below is a worked‑example business plan for rolling out four modern, technology‑enabled golf‑driving ranges over a five‑year horizon. Numbers are rounded to the nearest $100 k where appropriate and should be adjusted to local market realities (land cost, labor rates, tax, etc.). The structure is designed so you can drop it straight into a spreadsheet model and refine each module.
You can plug your own assumptions into this
driving range financial model and plan various scenarios.
1. Roll‑out & development schedule (“Use of time”)
| Calendar year | Quarter focus | Key milestones | Sites in operation EoY |
|---|
| Year 0 (Pre‑launch) | Q1‑Q4 | • Secure master lease on first parcel
• Finalise brand/tech stack (Toptracer, ball dispensers, POS)
• Raise seed equity ($6 m) | 0
|
Year 1 | Q1‑Q2 | Construct & fit‑out Site #1 (60 bays) | |
| Q3 | Soft opening Site #1 | 1 |
Year 2 | Q1 | Close senior debt facility ($8 m) | |
| Q2‑Q4 | Build & open Site #2 (75 bays) | 2 |
Year 3 | Q2 | Build & open Site #3 (75 bays) | 3 |
Year 4 | Q2 | Build & open Site #4 (90 bays) | 4 |
Year 5 | Q1‑Q4 | Operate portfolio, prepare exit or dividend recap | 4
|
2. Capitalisation
| Item | Unit cost | Count | Timing | Total |
|---|
| Land leasehold pre‑payments & legal | $0.30 m | 4 | Yr 1‑4 | $1.2 m |
| Site construction & fit‑out | $3.00 m | 4 | Yr 1‑4 | $12.0 m |
| Technology package (ball‑tracking, POS, screens) | $0.20 m | 4 | Yr 1‑4 | $0.8 m |
| Pre‑opening marketing & training | $0.15 m | 4 | Yr 1‑4 | $0.6 m |
| Total project cost | | | | $14.6 m |
Funding mix
-
Equity: $6.0 m (ordinary, 70 % investor / 30 % founder)
-
Senior term loan: $8.4 m @ 6 %, 10‑yr amortisation (first draw in Year 1)
-
Working‑capital revolver: $1.0 m undrawn at close (not modelled in returns)
3. Operating model – per site at stabilisation (Year 3 of each site)
| Driver | Assumption | Commentary |
|---|
| Bays | 60–90 | mix by site size |
| Utilisation (sold bay‑hours ÷ possible bay‑hours) | 50 % average | 10 h trading day × 360 days |
| Average bay‑hour price | $35 | dynamic pricing weekdays / weekends |
| Range revenue | $3.78 m | 60 bays example |
| Food & beverage (F&B) attach | 30 % of range rev. | Bar, casual dining, events |
| Total gross revenue | $4.91 m | |
| COGS – F&B | 35 % of F&B sales | industry norm |
| Fixed & semi‑variable op‑ex | $1.82 m p.a. | Labour ($1.05 m), rent ($0.40 m), utilities ($0.15 m), maintenance ($0.10 m), marketing ($0.12 m) |
| Site EBITDA | $2.69 m | ~55 % margin |
Ramp profile (share of stabilised revenue)
| Year of operation | 1st | 2nd | 3rd+ |
|---|
| % of stabilized rev. | 65 % | 85 % | 100 % |
4. Portfolio‑level projections
Fiscal year | Sites open | Revenue ($ m) | EBITDA ($ m) | Maint. capex ($ m) | Free cash flow ($ m) |
|---|
| 1 | 1 | 3.2 | 1.1 | 0.1 | 1.0 |
| 2 | 2 | 7.4 | 3.0 | 0.2 | 2.8 |
| 3 | 3 | 12.3 | 5.5 | 0.3 | 5.2 |
| 4 | 4 | 17.2 | 7.9 | 0.4 | 7.5 |
| 5 | 4 | 18.9 | 9.2 | 0.4 | 8.8 |
Includes 3 % annual inflation on fixed operating costs.
5. Investor return case
| Item | Assumption / result |
|---|
| Equity invested (drawn Yr 1‑4) | $6.0 m |
| Net debt outstanding at exit (post amortisation) | $5.3 m |
| Portfolio EBITDA in Year 5 | $9.2 m |
| Exit multiple (market comps) | 6.0 × EBITDA |
| Gross enterprise value | $55.2 m |
| Transaction & advisory fees | 5 % |
| Equity proceeds at exit (Yr 5) | $48.4 m |
| Equity multiple (MOIC) | 8.1 × |
| 5‑year pre‑tax IRR | ≈ 52 % |
6. Sensitivity checkpoints
| Variable | 10 % downside | Base | 10 % upside | Comment |
|---|
| Stabilised utilisation | 45 % | 50 % | 55 % | High impact on revenue; watch weather seasonality |
| Exit multiple | 5.0 × | 6.0 × | 7.0 × | Depends on capital‑market conditions |
| Build cost / site | $3.9 m | $3.5 m | $3.2 m | Construction inflation, scope creep |
| Wage inflation p.a. | 5 % | 3 % | 1 % | Tight labor market risk |
7. Next steps to turn this into a full model
-
Layer in tax, interest and principal schedules to convert EBITDA to levered free cash flow.
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Allocate corporate overhead (HQ salaries, ERP, insurance) as a separate cost centre.
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Add seasonality sheet (monthly utilisation, weather index) – you already build these for Amazon products; the logic is similar.
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Scenario manager: create toggles for number of sites, bay count and pricing strategy.
-
Investor waterfall (preferred return, promote) if raising institutional equity.
Take‑away
This illustrative plan shows that, with disciplined build costs and an early focus on high‑margin F&B, a regional portfolio of four tech‑enabled driving ranges can yield $9 m+ EBITDA and >50 % IRR to equity over five years. The key drivers to monitor are utilization, wage pressure and cap‑ex control; modest changes here swing returns materially, so model them in detail before capital is committed.
If you want help putting your own scenario into a spreadsheet model, I can help here.
Also, check out the Super Smart Bundle where you can instantly download over 200 unique financial model templates built by me over the last decade.
Article found in Startups.