Galena business keeps golf at home

GALENA — Hitting a ball a few hundred yards doesn’t take much effort for a typical golfer — but getting it to go where they want it to? Well, to mix sports metaphors, that’s a whole different ball game.

It takes the kind of skill that only comes with practice, and in order to do that you have to go to a golf course, right? Wrong.

These days, you can bring the golf course to you.

First Galena Corporation’s Golf Performance Studios designs commercial and residential golf simulators that use the latest in software, cameras and equipment. They can be installed in homes, or if you don’t have the space there, in a modular buildings that the company designs — like having a golf course right in your own backyard.

The golf studio branch of the Galena business has been around for nearly 10 years, part of the family-owned and operated First Galena Corp., which was founded in 1980 as a real estate, architecture and home building company.

Company designer Nathan Studtmann brings together his passion for golf with his family’s background in home building to find the perfect fit for customers, whether it’s setting up simulators in their basement or backyard.

While golf simulators are nothing new — they’ve been around in some form for nearly 50 years — their popularity has picked up in recent years, especially during the coronavirus lockdowns. Since then they’ve been popping up in growing numbers of golf courses, bars, arcades — and now, people’s homes.

Studtmann, a PGA professional and a graduate of Ferris State University’s Professional Golf Management program, has kept busy in the past few years helping golfers improve their game.

“The game has changed so much; it’s so technology driven now,” Studtmann said. “Once people know their numbers and understand what they need to improve, as far as what their launch angle is with the ball, what the spin rates are, and how the club is coming in at impact. Once they see all of that stuff, it’s amazing how quickly they’ll change their swing. Golf’s a hard game to begin with, and this helps simplify it quite a bit.”

Studtmann work has taken him near and far, from the Midwest to the West Coast. His recent projects include a modular simulator building at Contra Costa Country Club in Pleasant Hill, California (north of San Francisco), and a double-bay barn-themed building for the Illinois State University golf programs at D.A. Weibring Golf Club in Normal — “It’ll be fully loaded with the latest and greatest technology for their golf team,” he said. He’s has been involved with simulator setups at Eagle Ridge Resort in Galena as well as Woodbine Bend Golf Course in Woodbine.

The company’s modular buildings are constructed off-site and then transported in components to the customer, where they’re assembled.

Residential setups make up much of Studtmann’s business. About one in every four homes that First Galena custom builds comes with a golf simulator setup, he said. The company was founded by his parents, Paul and Deb Studtmann, and has worked in modular home construction since 1990. Nathan built his first mobile modular golf performance studio in 2016.

One advantage of modular constructed simulator buildings is that when homeowners move, they can haul their building to their new home — with appropriate transport permits, of course.

“I like that I can use my design and building knowledge and bring it into the golf game,” Studtmann said. “It was a hard choice toggling between home building and golf, which way I wanted to take my career. I figured out a way to [do] both and not give up instruction. I enjoy it, and if I’m not doing it, I’ll miss it. It’s nice being able to do two careers that I like to be in and tie it together.”

With outdoor courses closed during cold weather, simulators can keep golfers’ games from getting a little rusty. They can also be a great way for friends to gather for a golf get-together. Some systems can also be set up as a small home theater for watching movies as well. For most customers, though, tee times, not show times, take up the lion’s share of the simulators.

“There are people who want to know everything, and they’re the ones that will go into a simulator three or four times a week to work on their numbers, basically,” Studtmann said. “It’s fun to see people get excited when their numbers change and see their ball flight change.”

Golfers also enjoy the convenience of a game at home — going at your own pace, no waiting for others to play through, taking a break whenever you want to grab a snack or a drink, and perhaps best of all: The simulators help eliminate the monotony of being holed up indoors when it’s not golfing weather. It used to be that when winter came, the clubs would go in the closet and golfers couldn’t do much besides just wait to get back out on the course. Now, golfers can play anytime of year, and just about anywhere too; just program a course and swing away for a competitive round of nine or 18 holes of fun on a fairway.

Whether it’s a tee shot, approach or putt, if there’s a stubborn setting at a hole that you’re having trouble with, simulators can lend golfers a high-tech helping hand it through visual aids.

“We’re trying to put together the technology and design that best fits the space, and if you don’t have the space in the house, we can do a separate structure or an addition to the house, whatever needs to be done,” Studtmann said. “With the golf software, we will basically design it to what the people want.”

Go to firstgalena.com/golf-studios-services, email nathan@firstgalena.com or call 815-821-1342 to learn more about First Galena’s golf simulators and modular performance studio buildings.