By Leslie Albrecht
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
UPPER WEST SIDE — When Craig Volcovici sees a sweaty golfer lugging a 100-pound golf bag onto the subway, he thinks, 'Poor guy.' Then he thinks, 'You are my future customer.'
Volcovici, a 29-year-old Upper West Sider, has an idea for a business that he says will make life easier for Manhattan's golfers: the city's first virtual golf club.
Volcovici dreams of opening the virtual venue, which would function much like a real golf or country club. It would have a brick-and-mortar pro shop, fitness center and locker room and a members-only lounge. The club would also feature miniature golf, a driving range and a restaurant called the Blue Grass Bar and Grill.
But instead of riding in carts out to a real fairway, golfers would tee up at golf simulator screens.
With simulators, a player hits a real ball in front of a high-definition screen. Infrared sensors precisely measure the player's swing, then show the ball's trajectory on the screen.
The player watches the ball move through what looks like a real golf course, complete with trees gently swaying in the breeze and other life-like touches.
Volcovici wants to use top-of-the-line Full Swing Golf simulators, which run about $40,000 a pop and have appeared on the HBO show "Entourage."
The simulators let golfers "play" on the world's top courses, including Augusta National Golf Club and Pebble Beach.
Volcovici says a virtual golf club makes sense in the city. The club would give golfers the chance to squeeze in a few holes after work, in any kind of weather, instead of spending an entire weekend day schlepping a golf bag to courses such as Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx, Volcovici said.
"I wanted to figure out a way to make golf more convenient for people who live in the city and don't have the time to spend six or seven hours playing," Volcovici said.
Volcovici, the director of dining operations for Pfizer, has spent the past five years researching his idea. He's developed a slick PowerPoint presentation and is shopping the idea to investors. He says he needs about $2 million in start-up money to launch the club.
Now he's hunting for a space for the virtual golf club. He thought the empty Tavern on the Green space would be an ideal spot, but the city told him it's only interested in restaurants filling the space, he said.
Volcovici is also looking at the empty Ruby Foo's restaurant space on Broadway and W. 77th Street as a possible site.
Volcovici, who lives on W. 72nd Street, says the Upper West Side is an ideal location for a virtual golf club.
"I love the Upper West Side," Volcovici said. "It's really the feel I'm trying to create. It's a very relaxed, simple area, and in terms of demographics, a lot of people choose to live here so they can get to a rural area fast and play golf."
