GolfCave Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $524K – $1.3M
- Disclosed sales
- $643K
- gross sales, not profit
- SBA charge-off
- Under 10 loans (3)
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
GolfCave is a recreation franchise operating 24-hour indoor golf simulator studios for practice, play, and lessons. Franchisees run the facilities, managing simulators, bookings, and memberships.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A GolfCave franchise requires a total initial investment of $524K – $1.3M, including a $50K franchise fee and an ongoing 8.5% royalty[2]. Per the 2026 FDD, average unit revenue was $643K[2]. FranchiseVerdict grade: B (Above average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Limited operating history: franchising since 2024. A system this young has fewer than three years of Item 20 outlet history and rarely enough SBA loans for a charge-off rate, so its grade rests on less evidence than an established system's. Read its Item 20 tables and talk to its first franchisees before relying on the grade. Other new franchisors
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: · Data extracted: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: low - issued within the last 12 months
Evidence: partial✓ Investment (Item 7)✓ Item 19 status✓ Units and owners (Item 20)✗ SBA loan coverage✓ Litigation (Item 3)✓ Financial statements (Item 21)✓ Franchisor identityhow this is scored7 of 8 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing; the rest are marked “Not cited” beside the figure.
Overview
- Investment
- $524K – $1.3M
- 34th pct Recreation & …
- Avg gross sales
- $643K
- 6th pct Recreation & …
- Royalty
- 8.5%
- 48th pct Recreation & …
- Units
- 11
- 26th pct Recreation & …
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Recreation & Entertainment · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Recreation & Entertainment median · No shading = within ±10% · Red = unfavorable by >10% · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Bottom line
- COSTTotal investment $524K – $1.3M including a $50K franchise fee, 8.5% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $643K/year (median $589K).
- RISKVerdict B (Above average), verdict score 48/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHPositive: net +5 franchised outlets in the latest year (5 opened, 0 closed); 6 signed but not yet open (Item 20).
- TERMSNo protected territory and the franchisor reserves the right to compete in your area. Clarify territorial boundaries before signing.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- GolfCave Franchising, LLC
- Parent company
- GolfCave Franchising Holdings LLC
- FDD Item 1, page 7 of the 2026 FDD
- CEO title
- LLC Manager
- Amy Wechsler
- Incorporated in
- NJ
- HQ
- 1 Clarkton Drive, Clark, NJ 07066
- Auditor
- Citrin Cooperman & Company, LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $124K
- vs $38K prior year
Overview
About
- CEO
- Amy Wechsler
- Headquarters
- NJ
- Founded
- 2022
- FDD year
- 2026
- States available
- 1
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 64% above the typical recreation & entertainment franchise.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2026 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $50K | $50K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $35K | $65K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $439K | $1.2M |
| Total initial investment | $524K | $1.3M |
Source: GolfCave 2026 FDD, Items 5 and 7[2]. “Equipment, build-out, other” is computed as total minus disclosed line items above.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $524K – $1.3M
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $35K – $65K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $50K – $50K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 8.5%
- typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 4.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 11.5%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 8.5% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 4.0% |
| Technology fee | $1K |
| Transfer fee | $13K |
| Renewal fee | $13K |
| Inventory (initial) | $4K – $4K |
| Total fee load | 11.5% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 19% below the recreation & entertainment norm.
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 19
Single-unit · not modelled
Returns at a glance
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit, and the operating costs that turn one into the other are in no filing. We publish no modelled return for GolfCave until someone supplies them — yours, in the models below.
—
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
Total invested capital · disclosed
$966K
Item 7 initial investment plus working capital, as filed — the one figure here that needs no assumption.
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
What one unit earns on your invested capital
Model A · Single-Unit Return
Computes unlevered return on invested capital (ROIC) for a single franchise unit, read against the 30–60% reference band · Yale SOM, Post-MBA Path Exhibit 2 (2023). Below that band a passive index fund likely outperforms; above it the franchisor has pricing power you're subsidizing.
Note: Item 19 revenue is what the franchisor discloses, and it is the top line only — gross sales are not profit. No FDD discloses the operating costs that turn one into the other, so those fields start empty and nothing is modelled until you supply them from your own lease quote, labor market and build-out budget.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one GolfCave unit return on the cash you put in?
Illustrative category typicals — not sourced to any filing, survey or sample. Replace them with figures from franchisee validation calls before you rely on the output.
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Your modelled return on total invested capital, before any debt financing.
—
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
What 25 units return when you use SBA financing
Model B · Return on Equity: Debt-Financed Acquisition
Models a 25-unit portfolio acquisition financed with an SBA 7(a) loan. Shows equity IRR (your return on cash invested), DSCR (how safely the cash flow covers debt service), and the capital stack (SBA + seller + equity breakdown).
This is the “search fund” or “entrepreneurship through acquisition” scenario: you buy an existing multi-unit operator, use leverage to amplify returns, and either operate or hire management. The 25-unit size is the typical minimum for an SBA-backed franchise portfolio acquisition to pencil as a full-time income.
What “return on equity” means here: if you put in $500K of your own cash and the business generates enough EBITDA to pay down debt and grow, your equity IRR is the annual return on that $500K, including the value created when you eventually sell. Target IRR for a search fund is typically 25–35%.
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
A 25-unit return is built on a per-unit EBITDA. Fill in the operating costs in Model A above and this model runs on that figure, or take the whole scenario to the full ROI workbench, where the portfolio and LBO models accept your own per-unit economics directly.
These models are for research and scenario planning only. Not investment advice. Actual results depend on your specific location, management, and market conditions. Consult a franchise attorney and accountant before signing any franchise agreement.
Item 19 · Source: 2026 FDD
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $643K
- Per unit/yr · from the Item 19 franchised-cohort breakdown (no single system-wide average disclosed)
- Median gross sales
- $589K
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- 2025 Gross Sales from Uschedule, by store, for stores that operated all 12 months of 2025 - table carries a Franchisee/Corporate column and a Revenue Per Cave column alongside the store total
- Sample size
- 3 outlets
- vs category median 5
- Range (low → high)
- $549K→$792KCited, not corroborated — printed on page 58 of the 2026 FDD. Nothing else in our record independently restates or re-derives it.
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2025
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2026
- Disclosed in the 2026 filing, covering 2025
- Transparency
- 6 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · above
Compared against 165 Recreation & Entertainment brands
Revenue is only 0.7x the investment. This means each unit may take 5+ years to recoup the initial outlay at typical margins.
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Unit economics
Average unit generates $643K/year in gross sales. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 0.7x.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 11.5% — above the Recreation & Entertainment median of 8.0%.
Disclosure
Transparency score 6/10 — this franchisor discloses detailed breakdowns (quartiles, segments, or cohort data). Buyers can model unit economics with higher confidence. Sample size of 3 outlets — treat as directional only.
Source: FDD Item 19 financial performance representations and publicly filed FDD data. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Verify all figures with the franchisor and current franchisees before making any investment decision.
vs Recreation & Entertainment medians
How GolfCave Compares
Category median of published Recreation & Entertainment brands that report the figure; the middle half spans the 25th to 75th percentile and n counts the brands behind it. Medians are used because a few very large systems pull an average far from the typical brand. Revenue is disclosed gross sales, not profit.
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 11
- Opened
- 5
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 0
- Turnover rate
- N/A
- Company-owned
- 3
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 50%
- vs corporate-owned
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Signed, not yet open
- 6
- 0.55 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 5
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 12 · 1 state reported
The Territory Map
FDD Item 12 reports the state count, but the specific list isn't in our current data. The map will appear once we re-extract from the FDD or enough franchisee contacts are available.
1
states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA loan disclosures. This brand has only 3 7(a) loans on file; statistical reliability is limited below 10 loans.
- Total loans
- 3
- Loan volume
- $2.9M
- Median loan
- $1.0M
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- Under 10 loans (3)
- Insufficient SBA coverage: 3 loans, rate hidden below 10
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- Under 10 loans (3)
- 5-yr charge-off
- Under 10 loans (3)
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 2
- Defaults
- N/A
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
What could kill this investment?
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
GolfCave presents meaningful caution-level risk due to minimal system size, zero territory protection, and unclear unit performance sustainability across a wide investment range.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Citrin Cooperman & Company, LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Audited statements of operations, FY ended Dec 31, 2024 ($124,200) vs 2023 ($38,253). Net loss $82,339; accumulated member's deficit $164,156. Auditor (Florham Park, NJ, dated April 10, 2025) noted going-concern evaluation; total liabilities of $241,632 (largely deferred revenue) exceed total assets of $77,476.
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- Must buy proprietary products: No
- Restricted to system-approved products: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 48 / 100 verdict
- 01MINOROnly 6 units in system with unknown growth trajectory suggests stagnant or declining franchise
- 02MINORNo protected territory creates direct competition risk and cannibalization potential
- 03MINORGap between average net income ($445K) and royalties owed (~$68K annually at avg revenue) leaves thin margins for owner compensation and reinvestment
- 04MINORExtremely small franchise base limits franchisor support infrastructure and increases dependency on unproven business model scaling
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 11.5% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | No territory protection |
| Protected territory | No |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Online sales rights | Granted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 30 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 15 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Jury trial waiver | No |
| Governing law | NY |
| Litigation count | 0 |
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 13 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 18 hrs
- Training location
- Existing GolfCave Store in New Jersey (or virtually)
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 12 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- Franchisee selects; franchisor approves
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- USchedule
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: USchedule
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a GolfCave franchise?
The total investment to open a GolfCave franchise ranges from $524K – $1.3M, with an initial franchise fee of $50K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do GolfCave franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the GolfCave FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $643K. The median is $589K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
Who owns GolfCave?
GolfCave is franchised by GolfCave Franchising, LLC. Its parent company is GolfCave Franchising Holdings LLC. Source: FDD Item 1, 2026 filing.
What is Item 19 in the GolfCave FDD?
The FDD section where a franchisor may disclose financial performance of its outlets. Disclosure is optional and formats vary; figures are typically gross sales, which is revenue before expenses, not profit. FranchiseVerdict extracts these figures directly from the GolfCave FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is GolfCave's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for GolfCave (fewer than 10 loans on file). Charge-off rates are one way to gauge franchise risk, but not all franchise loans go through the SBA program. We recommend reviewing turnover and closure data in the FDD and speaking with current franchisees.
How many GolfCave franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, GolfCave has 11 total units in the United States, including 8 franchised units and 3 company-owned units. 5 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is GolfCave a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates GolfCave as a B-grade franchise with a verdict score of 48 out of 100 (higher is better). The grade is a deterministic score built from six weighted dimensions — financial health, unit economics, unit growth, scale, legal, and transparency — then calibrated against SBA loan charge-off rates and FDD age. Transparency is one of the six, so a filing that discloses less scores lower on that dimension than one that discloses more. Our rating is based solely on publicly available FDD and government data; we recommend speaking with current franchisees before making any investment decision. This is not investment advice.
Data sourced from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) FOIA records. Not financial advice.
For franchisors
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If you represent GolfCave, you can request corrections or provide updated information.
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Data extracted from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) loan disclosures (FOIA). This information is provided for research purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or investment advice. Verify all figures with the franchisor's current Franchise Disclosure Document before making any investment decision.