With two successful restaurants under their belt, father and son team, Terry and Brandon Clifford decided to expand their businesses to include their favourite hobby, golf. Opening this week, their new venture Par 97, combines dining and indoor golf.

“Between two restaurants, four kids and a very short golf season in New England, I never have enough time to golf,” says Brandon Clifford. Things changed, however, when he started playing on a simulator at a golf course. “It was great – you could play 18 holes in an hour and a half, rather than six hours,” he says. With numerous golf courses nearby and long winters, both he and his father recognized an opportunity and decided to open an indoor golf center.

Next they started exploring the technology available. “We looked at every golf simulator out there. There was only one that gives you the feeling of playing real golf….High Definition Golf,” says Brandon Clifford. Unlike other systems that use computer graphics, HD Golf combines digital photography, satellite imagery and geophysical data to create 3D models of each course that look and play like the real thing.

Besides playing the greatest courses in the world, customers at Par 97 can also fine tune their swing with the same shot analysis and instruction tools used by PGA Tour pros, top instructors and college golf teams. Lessons can also be booked with local golf pros. “Every golfer wants to keep up his game year round, which is hard to do in New England. Now they can!” says Brandon Clifford. “We are bringing a whole new level of golf to the area.”

The new facility, located off Highway 95 in Georgetown, is easily accessible for avid golfers from Boston to South-Eastern New Hampshire. Seven HD Golf simulators can be rented out by the hour or the entire space booked for events.

Besides golf, customers can also expect the same dining experience the Clifford duo has become famous for. Their first restaurant, Pub 97, was featured twice on the food show Phantom Gourmet, where it was called the “hidden gem” of the North East.

Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, Par 97’s menu features something for everyone, including 18 different flavours of wings, high end steak, seafood, pasta and even a kids menu. “Our goal remains the same – to provide quality, fresh food and an inviting family atmosphere. We want to create the kind of places that locals are proud to call their own,” says Brandon Clifford.