Topgolf has always been about the long drive — first on the range, and now, apparently, in IT infrastructure.

From its scrappy beginnings in Watford, England, when brothers Steve and Dave Jolliffe decided to upgrade the driving range experience to include high-tech feedback, to its status as a global sports entertainment business with over 100 venues in the U.S, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, the company has reinvented the golfing experience for the Instagram generation.

Their latest shot is partnering with VergeIO to overhaul the technology that keeps the music pumping, the path of the ball tracked, and the scores tallied in real time.

“At Topgolf, technology is the heart of our player experience, that’s how we deliver value,” said Scott Forehand, Manager of Global Infrastructure at Topgolf. “VergeOS gives us the control, flexibility, and resilience we need at every venue—and in VergeIO, we found a partner that understands how we operate and what we need to move fast.”

VergeOS, according to the company’s website, enables IT generalists to rapidly deploy entire virtual data centers at significantly lower cost and complexity. Now, with integrated generative AI from VergeIQ, organizations can securely manage private, on-premises AI using existing hardware. IT and business teams gain direct access to secure document analysis, infrastructure automation, and intelligent content creation.”

Topgolf isn’t just a place to whack a ball into a giant neon target; it’s a finely tuned blend of RFID-enabled golf balls, Toptracer shot tracking, and a software backbone. The new VergeOS platform will replace a tangle of VMware deployments and third-party backup systems with a leaner, three-node architecture at each site — a shift expected to cut costs, streamline operations, and prep the company for a more AI-driven future. 

The promise of the upgrade extends to fewer outages, faster recovery from power losses (from nearly an hour down to minutes), and the ability to run global upgrades without closing a single bay. 

“This is what we built VergeOS for,” said Greg Campbell, founder and CTO of VergeIO. “When you’re managing hundreds of locations, each with real-time workloads and high uptime requirements, you can’t rely on legacy stacks that were designed for centralized enterprise IT. VergeOS gives organizations like Topgolf a unified, automated, and resilient platform from core to edge—without compromise.”

It’s a bold bet for a company that has faced its share of hazards lately. Topgolf Callaway Brands, the parent company formed after a $2 billion acquisition in 2020, saw share prices slump in the years that followed. 

Still, Topgolf is a company that has a history of taking the unconventional shot. It started with a microchipped ball at a single UK range in 2000 and became a social phenomenon. It’s venues served up nachos and mixed drinks alongside golf in Houston, Chicago, and beyond. The model has stayed consistent: offer a less traditional experience for one that more resembles gaming. VergeOS is the latest layer in that philosophy.

Topgolf conveys its unique approach to golf with “It’s golf, It’s not golf. It’s Topgolf.”

“We’ve got lots of stuff that makes us golf: clubs, balls, tees, turf, a ball-picker-upper cart thing, etc. We also have lots of stuff that’s not golf: loud music, giant targets, giant TVs, and hand-crafted food & drinks. Using our complimentary clubs or your own, take aim at the giant outfield targets and our high-tech balls will score themselves. We have games for all skill levels, whether you’re an aspiring golf pro or picking up a club for the first time. So grab the fam, a few friends, or some coworkers and Come Play Around.”

Topgolf’s latest way to make the experience more enjoyable, and maybe a bit easier, is to offer “The Sure Thing” club, a very forgiving club that can get your RFID chip-embedded ball up in the air easier. Imagine that big neon green bat in your childhood. Say goodbye to bad contact, this club’s sweet spot is pretty much the whole face, the company says. By combining The Sure Thing, with perhaps the venues most enjoyable game mode, the “Block Party,” Topgolf is hoping to drive business. The block party enables customers to “aim anywhere and score everywhere.”