Staff WriterElmhurst, Illinois has a new indoor golf club, and it’s not the usual simulation saloon where the loudest thing in the room is somebody’s opinion. Signature Golf Society has opened just west of Chicago with a simple promise: less “bowling alley, but with drivers,” more private sanctuary—an always-on place to practice, play and actually feel like you belong there.
This isn’t a country club with chandeliers and gatekeeping. Nor is it a simulator bar built around wings, beer and the delicate art of missing your bay reservation. Signature Golf Society is something more specific: members-only, capped at 100 people, and designed to feel like an exclusive 1920s lounge that happens to have launch monitors capable of telling the truth.
A members-only model built for familiarity
Co-owner Matt Kerndt, alongside his wife and brother-in-law, didn’t stumble into the indoor golf boom; he studied it like a man preparing to sit an exam he didn’t choose. Last spring, Kerndt toured 30 indoor golf facilities across the Midwest over nearly three months and came away with a clear pattern: most places felt transactional—rent by the hour, buy snacks, leave, repeat, forget.
So they borrowed the best bit from traditional private clubs and local swim clubs: membership structure and community norms. Keep the numbers low. Make the space feel shared, not rented. Ensure the person in the next bay is a neighbour, not a stranger treating premium equipment like it owes them money.
The design followed the logic. Kerndt wanted a speakeasy vibe—dark colours, hardwood, an upscale finish—so the environment encourages focus rather than frenzy. In a suburban storefront, that’s a bold move. It also happens to be exactly what a lot of golfers have been quietly craving: a place where practice feels intentional, not improvised.
24/7 access with a phone-first system
The most modern thing about this retro-styled club is its total accessibility. Signature Golf Society is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year—a phrase that usually belongs to pharmacies and dubious late-night diners, not a premium golf practice facility.
The friction is removed by a smartphone-integrated setup. Members check the app for an open bay, book a time, and the door unlocks for them five minutes before the appointment. No keys. No desk. No awkward “I’m just here to hit a few” conversation with someone trying to upsell you a snack basket.
For parents, early risers, shift workers, and anyone whose free time exists mainly in the margins, that matters. Golfers don’t need more obstacles. They already have a golf swing.
The tech backbone: fast feedback, serious hardware
While the atmosphere leans vintage, the performance is unapologetically future-facing. Kerndt’s non-negotiable was that the technology couldn’t be “good enough.” He partnered with The Indoor Golf Shop to build the three-bay setup with premium screens, mats and projectors—hardware choices that separate a proper simulator studio from a glorified projector party.
And the installation, by Kerndt’s telling, wasn’t just helpful—it was the difference between opening confidently and opening with crossed fingers.
“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 crown jewel is the Uneekor EYE XO2 launch monitor paired with GS Pro software—an indoor golf combination that’s become a serious benchmark for players who care about accuracy and responsiveness. Kerndt says there’s zero lag, with tracking picked up within a quarter second and near-instant feedback. That immediacy matters for practice: you can’t adjust what you can’t trust.
The club has three bays, and two of them stretch to 17 feet, among the largest in town—space that’s practical, not just impressive. Bigger bays mean more comfortable swings, easier movement, and less of that subconscious “don’t hit the wall” tension that quietly ruins a session.
Practice gets smarter: AI swing analysis and cameras
Signature Golf Society isn’t only about playing famous courses indoors. Members also get access to Uneekor’s AI swing software and Swing Optix cameras, which can analyse 15 different points of a swing—from shoulder tilt to backswing plane—and deliver immediate suggestions.
That’s not a magic wand, of course. But it is a powerful mirror, and golf improvement often starts with seeing what’s actually happening rather than what you swear you’re doing.
For serious golfers in the Chicago suburbs—especially through winter—this is where an indoor golf club becomes more than a novelty. It becomes a structured, repeatable training environment.
Viral momentum, real membership numbers
The club opened in early December and quickly found its audience. A local influencer, “Hey Elmhurst,” posted about the space on Instagram, pulling 20,000 views in a week and triggering 30 new members in seven days. Signature Golf Society now sits at around 70 percent capacity.
More revealing than the sign-ups is how the members are using it. Kerndt expected 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 adds that about 20 percent of members have already played enough to cover their full annual membership fee within two months—an early indicator that the value proposition isn’t theoretical. People are showing up.
The atmosphere that money can’t quite buy
Here’s the part that doesn’t come in a box with the launch monitor: the community.
During a recent Chicago Bears game, members booked all three bays at once, brought friends and family, ordered pizzas and sliders, and watched the game on bay TVs—essentially turning the place into a private living room with better swing data.
Because there’s no onsite staff serving food, members have started treating the space like it’s theirs. They take out trash. They help newcomers navigate software. That kind of self-policing is rare in public facilities and difficult to force in high-volume venues. In a capped membership model, it has a chance to grow naturally.
What comes next for Signature Golf Society
The owners want to expand—eventually—into nearby cities, building a network of “societies” while keeping the same intimate, family-run feel. The ambition isn’t to become a massive corporate chain. It’s to replicate a format that seems to be working: premium indoor practice, private access, and a membership community that actually behaves like one.
For now, Elmhurst has a new option for golfers who want their practice time to feel calm, consistent and quietly serious. If you’re looking for a 24/7 indoor golf club that prioritises privacy over party tricks—and still delivers elite simulator performance—Signature Golf Society is sitting there like a well-kept secret.
And the door, fittingly, opens with a click.
