The Back Nine Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $307K – $689K
- Disclosed sales
- partial, no system average
- SBA charge-off
- Limited · 107 loans
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
The Back Nine is an indoor-golf entertainment franchise offering 24/7 access to private golf-simulator bays, often with a bar. Franchisees run a venue managing simulator bays, memberships, bookings, and food and beverage.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A The Back Nine franchise requires a total initial investment of $307K – $689K, including a $50K franchise fee and an ongoing 8.0% royalty[2]. The 2026 FDD on file does not yield a unit-revenue figure we can publish. FranchiseVerdict grade: B (Above average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: · Data extracted: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: low - issued within the last 12 months
Evidence: strong✓ 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 scored4 of 5 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing; the rest are marked “Not cited” beside the figure.
Overview
- Investment
- $307K – $689K
- 24th pct Recreation & …
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Partial period
- Royalty
- 8.0%
- 43rd pct Recreation & …
- Units
- 124
- 46th 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 $307K – $689K including a $50K franchise fee, 8.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSTotal Revenue defined as total gross revenue including membership subscription, hourly use, advertising, golf lesson, and events revenue for 45 operating franchise outlets; figures shown as a chart/image not extractable as text.
- RISKVerdict B (Above average), verdict score 63/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHNegative, pipeline stalled: 305 agreements signed but not yet open against 124 open outlets (Item 20).
- GROWTHSystem growing at 1614.3% CAGR over 3 years with 124 total units. Strong expansion trajectory.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Back Nine Golf Group, LLC
- Predecessor
- The Golf Studio, LLC
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- Founder & CEO
- Wil Bangerter
- CEO experience
- 2023 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- Utah
- HQ
- 898 E 4010 S., Washington, Utah, 84780
- Auditor
- Kezos & Dunlavy
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $6.2M
- vs $661K prior year
Overview
About
- CEO
- Wil Bangerter
- Headquarters
- UT
- Founded
- 2023
- FDD year
- 2026
- States available
- 31
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 11% below the typical recreation & entertainment franchise.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown18 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee | $50K | $50K | |
| Travel Expenses While Training | $1K | $5K | |
| Real Estate Improvements | $50K | $225K | |
| Signage | $5K | $15K | |
| Equipment | $156K | $251K | |
| Miscellaneous Supplies | $3K | $3K | |
| Initial Supply of Advertising Materials | $3K | $3K | |
| Marketing Launch Ad Spend | $6K | $10K | |
| Premises Deposit | $2K | $10K | |
| Rent (3 months) | $6K | $29K | |
| Internet/Utilities (3 months) | $2K | $3K | |
| Furniture | $5K | $25K | |
| Business Licenses and Permits | $200 | $1K | |
| Insurance | $1K | $2K | |
| Professional Fees | $0 | $5K | |
| Security/Automation | $8K | $25K | |
| Utility Deposits | $2K | $3K | |
| Additional Funds - 3 months | $8K | $25K | |
| Total initial investment | $307K | $689K |
Line items extracted from FDD Item 7. Ranges reflect the franchisor's stated low and high per line. Total is the sum of line-item lows / highs — actual costs may fall outside this range depending on market and build-out scope.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $307K – $689K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $8K – $25K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $50K – $50K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 8.0%
- typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 0.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 8.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 8.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 0.0% |
| Technology fee | $600 |
| Transfer fee | $20K |
| Renewal fee | $5K |
| Total fee load | 8.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 19
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
No Item 19 revenue figure for The Back Nine is on file. The return models need a revenue figure to start from, and the operating costs that turn gross sales into a profit are in no FDD. Enter your own and the calculator runs on your assumptions — nothing here is modelled until you do.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one The Back Nine 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 annual revenue, 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.
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
Total Revenue defined as total gross revenue including membership subscription, hourly use, advertising, golf lesson, and events revenue for 45 operating franchise outlets; figures shown as a chart/image not extractable as text.
Covers a partial period, not a full year
- Item 19 type
- partial-period revenue
- Sample size
- 45 outlets
- vs category median 5 · large
- Reporting year
- 2025
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2026
- Disclosed in the 2026 filing, covering 2025
- Transparency
- 4 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · typical
Compared against 165 Recreation & Entertainment brands
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 8.0% (near the Recreation & Entertainment median).
Disclosure
Item 19 reports gross sales rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable.
Operator retention
System expanding at 1614.3% CAGR over 3 years across 124 units — operators are staying and new ones are joining.
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 The Back Nine 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
- 124
- Opened
- 95
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 0
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- N/A
- Company-owned
- 4
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 97%
- vs corporate-owned
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 0
- Not renewed
- 0
- Signed, not yet open
- 305
- 2.46 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 250
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Transfer rate
- 1.6%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 12 · 31 states 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.
31
states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 107
- Loan volume
- $30.7M
- Median loan
- $315K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- Limited · 107 loans
- Limited SBA coverage: 107 loans, rate hidden until 10 have resolved and loans reach 2% of franchised units
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- Limited · 107 loans
- 5-yr charge-off
- 0.0%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 37
- Defaults
- 0
- Typical loan rate
- 9.9%
- avg rate to borrowers
- Franchised industry avg
- 13.9%
- n=1,279 loans
- Jobs supported
- 330
- 1.1 per loan
- Lender concentration
- 43%
- top lender's share
Borrower mix: 96% went to startups / new businesses, 4% to established operators
Franchise vs independent — in all other amusement and recreation industries, franchised businesses charge off at 13.9% vs 16.2% for independents — franchising is associated with 14% lower SBA default risk in this category.
Top lenders financing The Back Nine franchisees
Showing 3 of 37 lenders. The full breakdown — every lender, state distribution, interest rates & risk ratings — is in the SBA Lending Report below.
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Lender network · 7(a) + 504
SBA Lending Report
Full lending analysis for The Back Nine from SBA 7(a) FOIA data.
- Principal loss rate
- 0.0%
- Avg SBA guarantee
- 69%
- Avg interest rate
- 9.88%
- Lender concentration
- 43.4%
- Job velocity
- 1.1 per $100K
- NAICS benchmark
- 7.0%
- NAICS 713990
- Jobs supported
- 330
Top SBA lendersTop lender holds 43% of loans
| # | Lender | Loans | Volume | Default % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Huntington National Bank | 43 | $8.4M | N/A |
| 2 | Mountain America FCU | 6 | $1.3M | 0.0% |
| 3 | First Bank of the Lake | 6 | $3.8M | N/A |
| 4 | CDC Small Business Finance Corp. | 4 | $1.2M | N/A |
| 5 | Live Oak Banking Company | 2 | $640K | N/A |
| 6 | First National Bank of Coffee County | 2 | $1.1M | N/A |
| 7 | First Command Bank | 2 | $892K | N/A |
| 8 | Magnifi Financial CU | 2 | $795K | N/A |
| 9 | Old National Bank | 2 | $577K | N/A |
| 10 | First Commonwealth Bank | 2 | $719K | N/A |
Geographic failure vector
| State | Loans | Defaults | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| TXTexas | 12 | 0 | -- |
| FLFlorida | 9 | 0 | -- |
| TNTennessee | 8 | 0 | -- |
| UTUtah | 7 | 0 | -- |
| GAGeorgia | 6 | 0 | -- |
| AZArizona | 5 | 0 | 0.0% |
| IAIowa | 5 | 0 | -- |
| LALouisiana | 4 | 0 | -- |
| MDMaryland | 4 | 0 | -- |
| MIMichigan | 4 | 0 | -- |
SBA 7(a) lending trend
Borrower profile
Source: SBA 7(a) + 504 FOIA loan-level data, matched by FranchiseVerdict
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
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: officers or affiliates. The franchisor is not a named party in these cases.
No litigation required to be disclosed
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Kezos & Dunlavy
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: No
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 63 / 100 verdict
- 01MINORNegative franchisor net worth -$4,223,323
- 02MINORNet loss -$821,537 on $6.24M revenue
- 03MINORYoung franchisor (2023), 124 units
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 8.0% 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 | 3 |
| Territory type | Protected territory |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory population | 75,000 |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 25 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 30 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Utah |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation required to be disclosed
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 17 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 7 hrs
- Training location
- Virtual and HQ in Washington, UT
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Field support
- 4 hrs/yr
- On-site visits per year
- Time to open
- 6 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- franchisee, subject to franchisor approval
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
107 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a The Back Nine franchise?
The total investment to open a The Back Nine franchise ranges from $307K – $689K, 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 The Back Nine franchise owners earn?
Item 19 of the The Back Nine FDD discloses figures for part of the system but no single average across all outlets. These are gross sales figures, not profit; the Revenue section shows what the filing reports and on what basis. Item 20 of the FDD lists current and former franchisees; asking them directly is the standard way to fill this gap.
Who owns The Back Nine?
The Back Nine is franchised by Back Nine Golf Group, LLC. Source: FDD Item 1, 2026 filing.
What is Item 19 in the The Back Nine 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 The Back Nine FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is The Back Nine's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for The Back Nine (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 The Back Nine franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, The Back Nine has 124 total units in the United States, including 120 franchised units and 4 company-owned units. 95 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is The Back Nine a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates The Back Nine as a B-grade franchise with a verdict score of 63 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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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.