Bottom line
- Total investment $506K – $1.0M including a $50K franchise fee, 8.5% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $801K/year (median $763K). Estimated payback in 1.7 years.
- Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 65/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 8 loans (below the industry average).
- Auditor disclosed a going-concern note — flagged doubt about the franchisor's ability to continue operations. Verify against the latest FDD.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Yale framework · single-unit ROIC
Returns Analysis
Pulls Item 7 (investment) and Item 19 (revenue) from this brand's FDD into the Yale unlevered-ROIC formula. Override any input to stress-test it against your own assumptions.
The model · Yale framework
What would one GolfCave unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
11%
Below typical band (30–60%)
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 GolfCave units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
49.9%
7.57× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
1.88×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$721K
on $3.6M purchase
Total debt
$2.9M
SBA $1.8M + senior + seller note
Overview
About
GolfCave franchisees operate golf retail/entertainment venues, likely combining equipment sales, simulator experiences, lessons, or practice facilities. Day-to-day operations include customer service, inventory management, facility maintenance, and potentially coaching/instruction delivery.
Item 7 · what it costs
The Vitals
Item 19
Financial Performance
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
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)
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
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.
Score breakdown · what drove the 65 / 100 rating
- 01MINOROnly 6 units in system with unknown growth trajectory suggests stagnant or declining franchise
- 02MINORNo protected territory creates direct competition risk and cannibalization potential
- 03MINORHigh royalty rate (8.5%) combined with wide investment range ($505K-$1M) indicates unpredictable unit economics
- 04MINORGap between average net income ($445K) and royalties owed (~$68K annually at avg revenue) leaves thin margins for owner compensation and reinvestment
- 05MINORExtremely 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
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
Item 11
Training & Operations
Item 20
Franchisee Contacts
Phone numbers extracted directly from this brand's FDD Item 20. After purchase, you'll also receive a list of validation questions tailored to this brand.
Franchisee contacts
5 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
GolfCave · FDD (2025) PDF