CITY GOLF FAQ ① How Is It Different from Screen Golf? Features and Business Background

Q1. What is CITY GOLF?

CITY GOLF is the world’s first hybrid golf platform that recreates the real on-course experience right in the heart of the city. Across an indoor space of roughly 5,000 to 7,500 pyeong, it features 18 screens and a distinct real green for each hole, delivering the immersive feeling of a round out on an outdoor course.

Its biggest defining feature is that, by combining screen golf’s precise data-measurement technology (digital) with real green and bunker environments (real), play is possible anytime, regardless of season or weather.

It can be seen as GOLFZON’s expertise—honed while driving the popularization of golf through screen golf—being elevated to a new level in the middle of the city, offering an experience closer to a real on-course round.

Q2. When was CITY GOLF created?

The concept of CITY GOLF has actually existed since the very early days of GOLFZON! The idea of an “urban golf course” was already included in the initial business plan, and as the technology and market environment matured, it was finally realized as an actual model.

It first came to life in September 2024 with the opening of the first location in Tianjin, China. The expanding trend of digital sports and growing demand for urban leisure served as decisive backdrops, and as technological maturity, global demand, and the investment environment came together, commercialization became possible.

Q3. Where is CITY GOLF located?

The first location opened in Tianjin, China in September 2024, and the second location opened in Yanji in August 2025. Since opening, they have drawn significant attention through continuous coverage by major global media, including China’s state-run outlets. Buoyed by their popularity in the Chinese market, a third location is scheduled to open in Chengdu by the end of 2025.

Q4. Why did CITY GOLF start in China first?

It is because the decline in golf courses in China, sustained demand, and the country’s smart sports policy all came together. Recognized as an ESG case aligned with the Chinese government’s strategies of being a “representative smart sports case,” a “Healthy China,” and a “sports powerhouse,” it was selected in the sports facilities category as a representative smart sports case in China in 2024. CITY GOLF was evaluated as a model that structurally aligns with the direction of fostering digital sports, and intensive coverage by major Chinese media followed.

It is also regarded as a highly meaningful project in that it can create new sports spaces within cities by utilizing existing industrial facilities or idle spaces, as well as in terms of strengthening sports industry cooperation between Korea and China.

Q5. What is the difference between CITY GOLF and screen golf?

If conventional screen golf is play that takes place in front of a screen, CITY GOLF also includes a physical spatial experience that combines the virtual and the real. With actual green transitions, environmental experiences, and automated game operations all combined, it offers an experience that goes beyond simply standing in front of a screen. CITY GOLF is best understood as an “off-course golf platform” that goes beyond screen golf.

💡What is off-course golf?  It is a general term for golf enjoyed in spaces other than an actual field. Both screen golf and CITY GOLF are types of off-course golf.

Q6. Doesn’t building CITY GOLF damage nature?

Because CITY GOLF utilizes idle urban spaces such as existing convention centers, logistics centers, and factories, it can minimize damage to nature. There is no need to build a new venue, and once it is built, the grass never needs to be watered—making it an eco-friendly business with low operating costs as well. We are confident that CITY GOLF will become a model representing eco-friendly, ESG golf courses that, by reinventing idle urban spaces as complex sports and cultural venues, allow year-round play without restrictions of weather, season, or time.