25 September 2026 · 8 min read
A company event in a golf simulator: format, group size and cost per person
Everybody joins in, including those without a course permit. The cost per person, how many people fit in a bay, a format that carries three hours, and what belongs in the enquiry.
A company evening in a golf simulator works for a reason that has nothing to do with golf: everybody joins in, including the people who have never held a club. The ball sits still, nobody has to look for it, and by the third attempt it flies. Here are the costs per person, a format that carries three hours, and what to put in your enquiry.
The cost per person
What is rented is the bay, not the head. The median is CHF 50 per bay and hour, and four people fit comfortably into a bay. That produces this table, worked out on the median:
| Group | Bays | Duration | Bay hours | Total | Per person |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 people | 2 | 2 hours | 4 | CHF 200 | CHF 25 |
| 12 people | 3 | 2 hours | 6 | CHF 300 | CHF 25 |
| 16 people | 4 | 3 hours | 12 | CHF 600 | CHF 37.50 |
| 24 people | 6 | 3 hours | 18 | CHF 900 | CHF 37.50 |
The table is arithmetic on the median, not a quote. Many venues price events as a package, with supervision, food or a flat rate per person, and that can come out cheaper or dearer. What each venue charges for an ordinary hour is on the price page, in the operator's own words.
For comparison: the same 16 people on a golf course need four tee times, four hours and a green fee each, which starts at CHF 100 on a weekday. And they need a course permit. In a simulator nobody does.
How many people fit in a bay
Four is the number most venues work with: one hits, three watch, talk and have a drink. At six it gets tight, because too much time passes between two shots and attention drifts.
In the directory, 102 of the 110 indoor venues state their number of bays, 202 in all. Of those, 42 have two or more, 21 three or more, 15 four or more, and four venues have six or more; the largest has nine. So for a group of twelve or more only a part of the country's venues is a candidate, and those book up early. How many bays a venue has is on its page in the venue list.
A format that carries three hours
The most common mistake is to let the group simply hit balls. After forty minutes everyone is done. With a structure the same evening carries three hours:
- 15 minutes of introduction. A pro shows the grip and the stance and explains what is on the screen. 81 of the 110 indoor venues offer coaching; supervision for the start costs extra and saves the evening for everyone who has never hit a ball.
- 45 minutes of contests. Nearest the pin from 60 metres, then the longest drive. Neither needs technique, only a screen, and both produce a leaderboard immediately.
- 60 to 90 minutes of scramble. Teams of two or four play nine holes and count the best ball each time. That way the beginner's shot counts when it was the best one, and nobody holds the team up.
- 15 minutes for the prizes. Two are enough: one for the best team, one for the longest drive.
For something more sporting, take the rules of the indoor league TGL: nine holes of alternate shot, six of singles, 40 seconds a shot and one hammer each. They are in TGL and the indoor golf boom.
What to put in the enquiry
- Date and time window, and whether you are flexible. A Tuesday evening in January is easier to get than a Friday in December.
- Number of people and how many of them have played before.
- Whether you need rental clubs, and for how many. Mention left-handers too.
- Food and drink: whether the venue offers anything, whether you may bring your own, whether a caterer may come.
- Supervision: whether a pro takes the first quarter of an hour and whether somebody runs the contest.
- Invoice: to the company, with the VAT number, and whether a deposit is due.
With those six details you get a quote instead of a follow-up question. Addresses and phone numbers are on every venue page; 92 of the 126 venues in the directory explicitly take group bookings.
Three formats by group size
| Group | What fits | What to watch |
|---|---|---|
| up to 8 people | two bays, two hours, one contest | almost any venue with two bays works |
| 8 to 16 | three or four bays, three hours, a team scramble | only some venues have that many bays |
| over 16 | the whole venue, or two groups in rotation | ask early, and plan a second room for the break |
From about twenty people the booking becomes a reservation of the whole venue. That is no drawback: with every bay yours you can run one leaderboard across all the teams, and nobody waits beside strangers. Four venues in the directory have six bays or more, the largest nine.
The event through the year
Demand follows the weather and the calendar. From November to February the evenings are full, because that is when everybody wants to be indoors, and December is the tightest time of the year at many venues. Anyone combining a Christmas dinner with an event asks in September.
January and February are the quieter and better choice. The venues have room, the prices are the same, and an event in deep winter stands out more than one in the run-up to Christmas. In summer a simulator evening is rarer, but almost always available at short notice.
Food, drink and the rest of the evening
Venues differ widely here, which is why the question belongs in the enquiry. Some have a bar and a kitchen, some only a fridge, some allow a caterer, and a few sit in a building with a restaurant. What a venue offers is on its page in the directory, and a phone call settles the rest.
The order that works in practice is drinks, play, dinner. Eat first and people get up again more slowly, and a bay is not a dining room: people stand, talk and hit, and that is exactly why the evening works.
What a simulator event is not
It is no substitute for a day on a course when everybody present can play. Four hours in the open air are a different thing from three hours in a hall, and anyone with a handicap notices.
Nor is it a stage. A speech to twenty people works badly in a bay, because the room is loud and everyone stands in a half circle. If a speech belongs to the evening, it belongs before the play, in another room, and short.
And it does not run itself without supervision. A group nobody introduces hits for forty minutes and then stands around. A quarter of an hour with a pro and a contest with a leaderboard cost little and carry the whole evening.
More on this: Topgolf in Switzerland, Indoor golf with a bar and food, How many people fit in a bay?, Indoor golf date, Bachelor party at a golf simulator, Christmas party at a golf simulator.
Why it works with mixed ability
A company event always has two groups: the people who play golf and the people who do not. On a course that splits the party for four hours. In a bay it does not, for three reasons.
First the scramble: the best ball in the team counts, so a bad shot has no consequences. Second the numbers: somebody hitting for the first time sees after five balls that the last one went further than the first, and that beats any amount of encouragement. Third the room: everyone stands together, people talk, and at a company event that is the actual point.
What else suits an event in winter is in the guide Golf simulator events. If you are looking for a venue near the office, it is on the map.
Frequently asked questions
What does a company event in a golf simulator cost per person?
Worked out on the median of CHF 50 per bay and hour: eight people on two bays for two hours is CHF 200, so CHF 25 each. Sixteen people on four bays for three hours is CHF 600, so CHF 37.50. Many venues price events as a package with supervision and catering.
How many people fit in one bay?
Four, so that not too much time passes between shots. At six it drags. Twelve people need three bays; in the directory 42 of the 110 indoor venues have two or more, 21 have three or more and 15 have four or more.
Do the participants need golf experience?
No. No venue asks for a course permit, a licence or a membership, and rental clubs are available almost everywhere. A scramble, where the team's best ball counts, even turns a mixed group into an advantage, because a bad shot has no consequences.
How long should a simulator event run?
Two to three hours, with a structure. Fifteen minutes of introduction, 45 minutes of contests such as nearest the pin and longest drive, then a scramble over nine holes. With no programme a group is finished after forty minutes.
What should the enquiry contain?
Date and time window, the number of people and how many have played before, how many rental sets you need including left-handed ones, food and drink, whether a pro takes the introduction, and the company's invoice address. That gets you a quote instead of a follow-up question.
Sources
- golfsimulators.ch: alle Standorte (Abschlagplätze, Gruppenbuchungen und Coaching, Stand September 2026)
- golfsimulators.ch: Preise der Indoor-Anlagen
- Migros Golf: Tarife Golfpark Otelfingen (Greenfee zum Vergleich)