A new kind of indoor golf club has debuted in Elmhurst, Ill. It’s neither a bowling-alley-style simulator bar nor a stuffy, high-barrier country club. It’s something entirely different: Signature Golf Society. Just west of Chicago, this sanctuary is redefining what it means to practice and play in the suburbs by trading the rowdy bar atmosphere for a personal, private, and premium experience.
Co-owner Matt Kerndt, his wife and brother-in-law turned a family business idea into an always-open golf getaway that feels more like an exclusive 1920’s lounge than a suburban storefront. When Kerndt began researching the indoor golf market last spring, he did his homework with the precision of a seasoned researcher, visiting 30 different facilities across the Midwest over nearly three months. A pattern quickly emerged: He noticed that almost every place he went to felt like a bowling alley where people rented by the hour, paid for snacks, and left without ever really connecting with the space.
Drawing inspiration from the membership structures of country clubs and local swim clubs, the trio envisioned a members-only environment capped at just 100 people. The goal was to create a space where members recognize the person in the next bay and can trust that everyone treats the equipment with respect. This led them to a design aesthetic that Kerndt describes as a speakeasy vibe featuring dark colors, hardwood, and an upscale, high-end feel.
One of the most striking features of Signature Golf Society is its total accessibility. In a world of restrictive business hours, this club is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Whether a member wants to hit balls at 5am before the kids wake up or stop in for a solo midnight hitting session, the club is ready. The experience is powered by a seamless, smartphone-integrated system that removes the friction of traditional keys or codes. A member simply checks the app for an open bay, books a time, and the door unlocks for them five minutes before their appointment.
While the vibes are vintage, the technology is strictly futuristic. Kerndt’s primary non-negotiable was ensuring no expense was spared on hardware. He partnered with the experts at The Indoor Golf Shop to design a space featuring top-of-the-line screens, mats, and projectors for his three hitting bays. “Their rep Trey helped us pick the screens and size and everything like that,” says Kerndt. “Their designer Kailey helped us get measurements to help us fully design everything to the right height and dimensions and gave our general contractor all of the plans and where to build everything. It made the process so much smoother. The best thing we did was have them install the launch monitors. By the time the guys were done after four days, we were up and running. They showed us how to log into it, and we were instantly playing. We never could have done that on our own. We don’t know anybody in the community that could’ve done that for us.” The facility’s crown jewel is the Uneekor EYE XO2 launch monitor paired with GS Pro software. There’s zero lag on shots. The system picks up the tracking within a quarter second, providing nearly instant feedback.
The club features three bays, with two of them measuring 17-feet that are among the largest in town. Beyond just playing the world’s most famous courses, members have access to Uneekor’s AI swing software and Swing Optix cameras. The AI can instantly analyze 15 different points of a golf swing, from shoulder tilt to backswing plane – and offers instant advice to help golfers improve.
Since opening in early December, the response from the local community has been staggering. What started as a steady build-up exploded after a local influencer, “Hey Elmhurst,” shared a short piece about the space on Instagram. The post garnered 20,000 views in a single week, leading to a surge of 30 new members in just seven days. Currently, the club is at about 70 percent of its total capacity. Kerndt’s been particularly surprised by how much the members are utilizing the space. While he initially expected people to play two or three hours a week, some are logging 10 to 15 hours. “It’s helped that we had such bad weather,” says Kerndt. “But we’ve been surprised at how much our members have been using it.” He notes that about 20 percent of the members have already played enough to cover their entire year’s membership fee in just two months.
The community aspect he hoped for is already blooming. During a recent Chicago Bears game, several members who knew each other booked all three bays simultaneously, bringing along friends and family. They ordered in pizzas and sliders, watched the game on the bay TVs, and cheered together as if they were in their own private living room. Because there’s no onsite staff serving food, the members have taken a unique sense of ownership over the space, as well – taking out the trash or helping a newcomer navigate the software, simply because they feel like the place belongs to them.
The owners hope to eventually expand this model to nearby cities, creating a network of societies while keeping the same intimate, family-run feel. They aren’t looking to build a massive corporate chain; they want to foster communities of people who truly love golf. For now, if you’re in town seeking a quiet, upscale place to play a round at any hour, Signature Golf Society awaits. Unlocking the door is just a click away.
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