GOLFZON’s ‘CITY GOLF’ Recognized as a Digital Sports Industry Innovation Case in China… To Participate in U.S. PGA Show Next January

• ‘CITY GOLF’ recognized in China as a digital sports discipline for the entire population, spotlighted as a golf platform that repurposes idle spaces
• The 5th GOLFZON China Open, scheduled for 2026, will double its total prize money and launch the internationalization of CITY GOLF through global qualifiers
• Plans to unveil an exhibition space where visitors can experience CITY GOLF firsthand at the U.S. PGA Show next January

GOLFZON Co., Ltd. (Co-CEOs Park Kang-soo and Choi Deok-hyung) announced on the 4th that its hybrid golf course ‘CITY GOLF’ is drawing attention as an optimal case aligning with the Chinese government’s policy to foster digital sports. Combining the strengths of screen golf and field golf, CITY GOLF is an indoor golf platform based on cutting-edge IT technology and digital content, and is regarded as a leading model for the digitalization of the sports industry that China is pursuing. The company also plans to participate in the 2026 PGA Show to seek out a range of global partners.

According to the sports industry development plan announced by China’s State Council this past September, the Chinese government aims to grow the sports industry to a scale of approximately 7 trillion yuan by 2030 and to emerge as a global sports powerhouse. One of the strategies needed to become a global sports powerhouse is digital sports policy, and among these, GOLFZON’s CITY GOLF is drawing attention as a tailor-made business that serves as a cornerstone for implementing such policy—stimulating manufacturing while fulfilling the digitalization of the service industry and sports. Converting China’s many idle factories and convention centers into CITY GOLF facilities is evaluated as a useful policy that not only reduces construction costs but also upgrades urban spaces into new sports and cultural venues while addressing the public’s desire to improve physical fitness.

GOLFZON China, GOLFZON’s Chinese corporation, opened its first GOLFZON CITY GOLF location in Tianjin in September 2024, and followed up by opening its second GOLFZON CITY GOLF location in Yanji in August 2025, embarking on a full-fledged entry into China. As coverage of the first and second CITY GOLF locations was reported through major Chinese media outlets such as Xinhua News Agency and the People’s Daily, and gained attention through various SNS channels within China, CITY GOLF became known as a digital model that China needs. In addition, this past December, the urban golf course ‘GOLFZON CITY GOLF’ was selected in the sports facilities category of the ‘2024 China Smart Sports Representative Cases,’ hosted and officially announced by the General Administration of China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the General Administration of Sport. Recently, CITY GOLF—which opened the door to digital golf—was also introduced in the China Daily as a global model case of high-quality development that even encompasses an integrated regional culture and tourism model.

What the Chinese government is paying attention to is that GOLFZON’s CITY GOLF is an innovative indoor golf facility that combines the strengths of screen golf and field golf based on state-of-the-art digital golf technology. Within a space of approximately 7,500 pyeong, it features an 18-hole digital golf course that recreates an environment similar to an actual field, where tee shots and iron shots are played on screen and short games around the green are played in the putting green area. In particular, the simulator area equipped with GOLFZON’s patented ‘Motion Plate’ technology reproduces various lie conditions, allowing play year-round without being affected by weather or time.

In addition, the Chinese government expects that through the CITY GOLF business it will form a complete ecological chain spanning equipment R&D and manufacturing for CITY GOLF, course construction and operation, the creation of tournament and event IP (intellectual property), and peripheral products and digital services—becoming a key engine that energizes a market on the scale of 1 trillion. From an economic perspective, depending on international market density, the potential demand of China’s population of 1.4 billion is projected to create thousands of urban courses, millions of jobs, and a 100-billion-scale derivative market.

Taking as an example the ‘GOLFZON China Open,’ which concluded successfully at the second GOLFZON CITY GOLF location this past August, this year’s total tournament prize money was 10 million yuan (approximately 1.9 billion won), with more than 1,000 players from over 50 cities participating in the qualifiers, and the final’s media content was broadcast overseas, generating a global promotional effect. In 2026, the 5th tournament will double its total prize money, and through global qualifiers open to participants worldwide, high participation is anticipated, helping to advance the internationalization of CITY GOLF.

Buoyed by this influence in the Chinese market, GOLFZON CITY GOLF plans to seek out various local partners through the PGA Show—the world’s largest golf expo, hosted by the Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA)—to be held in Orlando, USA, next January. It will set up an exhibition space where visitors can experience CITY GOLF firsthand, offering CITY GOLF’s signature immersive round experience that links simulation play with actual short games. In the United States, where the rise of ‘off-course’ golfers has been notable since the pandemic, GOLFZON’s simulator sales have been increasing, so CITY GOLF is also looking forward to an enthusiastic response from American golfers.

Hong Jin-pyo, head of GOLFZON’s CITY GOLF business division, explained, “CITY GOLF lowers the barrier to entry for participating in sports and holds the potential to develop into a new sports culture, which also aligns with the Chinese government’s ‘Healthy China’ strategy,” and added, “Next year, we will make every effort so that GOLFZON’s CITY GOLF can be experienced not only in the Chinese market but also throughout the world, including the United States.”

Meanwhile, GOLFZON is a leading global golf simulator company with more than 100 million rounds played worldwide each year. To date it holds approximately 740 technology patents at home and abroad, and continues to expand its golf simulator hardware and original content across the world stage.