Emirates Golf Club has opened WIKIT, a cricket simulator facility developed with BatFast technology. The venue consists of three automated batting cages housed inside the club’s Faldo Course clubhouse area and is designed as a social entertainment space rather than a traditional training facility.
Players face real cricket balls delivered at chosen speeds while a large screen displays virtual bowlers, match scenarios, and instant shot analysis. Sessions can be adjusted from beginner to advanced levels and include multiplayer modes, making the experience accessible to families, office groups, and casual visitors who may have little or no prior exposure to bat-and-ball sports.
The setup deliberately combines sport with entertainment: a bar and dining area with live-sports screens runs alongside the cages, encouraging longer dwell time and repeat visits in a relaxed, evening-friendly environment.
Potential Impact on Golf Participation
By placing a high-energy, multisport entertainment offering inside one of the Middle East’s best-known golf clubs, Emirates Golf Club is testing a model that several venues worldwide are now exploring: using popular, low-barrier activities to bring new demographics onto golf club property.
The thinking is straightforward. Many younger residents and expatriates in Dubai follow cricket closely but have never visited a golf course. WIKIT provides a familiar entry point. Once on site, visitors are exposed to the club’s driving range, putting greens, and golf-related messaging in a non-intimidating setting. Casual conversations with staff, signage for beginner clinics, or even a complimentary short-game session after a WIKIT booking can convert a portion of these visitors into first-time golfers.
Similar multisport-entertainment hybrids—Topgolf, urban putting concepts, and football-golf simulators—have already demonstrated measurable “crossover” effects at venues in the US, UK, and Asia, with some reporting that 15-25% of non-golfing visitors try golf within 12 months of their first entertainment visit. Emirates Golf Club appears to be adopting the same playbook, using cricket’s broad appeal in the UAE’s South Asian and British expat communities as the draw.
While still early, WIKIT represents another example of golf clubs diversifying their offering to stay relevant in a competitive leisure market—and, potentially, to introduce the game to entirely new audiences who might otherwise never walk through the doors.
