JUST OUTSIDE BOSTON, MA – Perfect Game Sports Grill and Lounge on Water Street in Worcester is now taking tee times.
“Come play St. Andrews,” said Perfect Game manager Dave Domenick, “or Pebble Beach.”

Huh, you ask.

Perfect Game is the latest addition to the resurgent Blackstone Canal District, and one way the friendly establishment is setting itself apart from the competition is with the Full Swing Golf simulator.

Bring your own clubs, or use the house clubs (one set for right-handers, one set for lefties), and hit into the high-definition screen displaying the course of your choice. At Perfect Game, they have 15 flat-screen TVs, burgers done 100 ways and 65 golf courses to choose from.

“I’m pretty good with numbers,” Domenick said.

Domenick checked out the Full Swing Golf simulator at the Willows, a retirement community in Worcester, and knew he had to have it for Perfect Game. So far, it’s been a good $54,000 investment. The simulator has been a popular attraction at the Worcester sports-themed bar, which opened three weeks ago and is named for baseball’s first perfect game, thrown at what is now Becker College on Sever Street.



“This is a true sports bar,” Domenick said. “And it’s so much fun.”

So, you pick your course and hit off the tee. There are different textured surfaces for the fairway, rough, sand and green. The technology tracks the movement, path and trajectory of each shot, while also analyzing the spin. A grid helps you read the putt. “Flyover” mode lets you see each hole in its entirety from a helicopter view.

You can play one shot, one hole, a round or just practice your chipping. You can change the weather conditions. Really, what would St. Andrews be without some wind and rain?

Perfect Game employs a starter — yes, a starter — to program the machine and help first-time users. You can make a tee time — it’s $32 an hour or $18 for 30 minutes during prime time (weekends, holidays and weekdays after 6) — or try three swings for $1.

The bar has also started longest drive and closest-to-the-pin contests (win a free lunch).

Starting this week, well-known area golf instructor Jim Fenner will be holding free clinics at 7 p.m. on Wednesdays.

“I’ll take a look at your swing, let you play a hole, give you some tips and encourage you to come back,” Fenner said. “I never thought I’d be a resident pro at a sports bar, but it’s really exciting.”

Fenner, who also gives lessons at the Willows, said the Full Swing Golf simulator is the best of its kind and an excellent teaching tool.

“It can help anybody, any level,” Fenner said. “It can calibrate how far you hit each club. You see the trajectory, see how far you hit each club and take that to the course. It’s a good way to see your mistakes. It’s a great place to have a lesson because you can see so much more.”

By: Jennifer Toland – Golf Reporter

Perfect Game is Worcester’s newest entertainment and dining destination located in the Canal District in Worcester.

Worcester is home to many famous athletes such as Bob Cousy, Paul Harney and Rich Gedman and Perfect Game is dedicated to their memory and achievements, featuring memorabilia from most of Worcester top athletes on its WALL OF FAME.

Enjoy the open, interactive architectural design with soaring ceilings, kinetic lighting, and sleek private dining rooms. Perfect Game will also boast Worcester's first 3D sports viewing.