Power Tee Remains at the Heart of Rustington’s Evolution

By Dan Owen (first published in Golf Retailing trade magazine)

Rustington Golf Centre has changed considerably since Power Tee was first installed more than two decades ago. What began as a traditional driving range has evolved into a diverse golf and family destination, but automatic teeing has remained a constant throughout that transformation.

The West Sussex venue recently completed its fifth Power Tee installation, continuing a relationship that stretches back to the early 2000s.

For General Manager Dylan Langmead, that longevity is significant. Rustington has relatively little direct competition from large commercial driving ranges locally, yet the business has continued to invest in improving the experience rather than relying on its location.

“Power Tee is a draw, it’s an attraction feature,” says Langmead. “We genuinely believe people come to the driving range to use Power Tee, alongside the other features we have. I think without it you would seriously dwindle the amount of customers and throughout you get.”

From Driving Range to Destination

Rustington originally began life as a driving range before steadily expanding its offering.

“Power Tee is a draw, it’s an attraction feature,” says Langmead. “We genuinely believe people come to the driving range to use Power Tee, alongside the other features we have. I think without it you would seriously dwindle the amount of customers and throughout you get.”

A par-three course followed, then an academy and eventually a full nine-hole course.

Today, the site incorporates the golf course and range alongside a gym, food and beverage facilities and a new indoor family entertainment centre. More recently, the former golf retail space has been transformed into an indoor facility featuring Foresight Sports golf simulators, darts, pool and shuffleboard.

The strategy is to create a business capable of attracting different audiences throughout the year.

“We’re constantly innovating and constantly trying to change the landscape and drive the business forward,” explains Langmead.

The indoor offering has been particularly important in creating something less dependent on weather and seasonality.

“We do really well throughout the summer, but winter traditionally isn’t as busy,” says Langmead. “We wanted to make it somewhere you can come at any time of the year, no matter what the weather is doing, and there will always be something to do.”

More Than 20 Years of Power Tee

While the centre has evolved around it, Power Tee has remained an important component of the driving range experience.

Rustington has 28 covered bays, with around 25 featuring Power Tee alongside shot-tracking technology. The facility also has seven outdoor bays, which tend to appeal more to lower-handicap golfers looking to practise from a natural surface.

For Langmead, one of Power Tee’s biggest advantages is simple convenience.

“Having the ability to automate putting your ball onto the tee is incredible,” he says. “Particularly down here, where we have an older demographic. If somebody wants to practise and hit 50 or 100 balls, they don’t necessarily want to bend down every single time to put another ball on the tee.

“It streamlines the whole process.”

The same benefit translates to weather is doing, and there will always be something to do.

“If four mates come down, they can put the balls into the hopper and rotate between themselves. Everything is there ready for them.”

Customer behaviour provides perhaps the clearest evidence of Power Tee’s appeal. A small number of bays do not feature the system and, according to Langmead, those are consistently the last bays customers choose as the range approaches capacity.

“It’s not for everyone,” he says, “but if you’ve had it for more than 20 years.”

Keeping the Range Open During The Latest Upgrade

The latest installation presented an operational challenge. Rustington wanted to renovate the range while continuing to trade, meaning the work needed to be carefully coordinated around customers and online bay bookings.

Power Tee completed its part of the project in around five days.

“They were great,” says Langmead. “We managed to renovate the range while keeping it open, which is quite a tricky thing to juggle.”

The latest mats have brought an additional operational benefit. Their design allows them to be rotated through four orientations, spreading wear across the hitting surface and helping to extend their usable life.

Service Beyond the Installation

With equipment receiving intensive use at a busy commercial range, aftersales support is just as important as the initial installation.

Rustington has an on-site maintenance team capable of carrying out straightforward repairs, while Power Tee provides additional support when required.

“Thankfully, since the latest installation we haven’t had any issues,” says Langmead. “Previously, if something needed to go back, they were great to deal with. We’d send the unit back and get it repaired or replaced.”

That reliability is particularly important at a venue that has become exceptionally busy during weekends, school holidays and bank holidays.

Technology Changing the Customer

Just as Power Tee changed the traditional range experience, newer technology is continuing to alter who visits facilities such as Rustington and what they expect when they arrive.

The centre’s indoor Foresight Hawk simulators attract everyone from dedicated golfers analysing their numbers to parents playing different sports with young children. On the range, technology and automatic teeing have helped make golf more accessible to newcomers and social groups.

“A lot of our range users are newer golfers,” explains Langmead. “They come with friends, have a few drinks and hit some balls. Then you have the serious golfers using the facilities in a completely different way.”

Families are particularly important, with different areas of the site becoming heavily booked during school holidays and bank holidays.

“It’s not just about commercialising it,” he says. “A dad might take his kids somewhere for the day and decide to bring them here. They get exposure to golf and it might become something they carry on throughout their lives.”

Building a Community

Despite the scale of the operation, Langmead believes one of Rustington’s greatest strengths is something less tangible.

“It’s not just a golf centre,” he says. “It’s almost like a social club.”

Some customers visit every morning simply for coffee and conversation, while different generations mix through the membership sections.

“There’s no hierarchy,” says Langmead. “If you want to be part of our community, you can be a part of it and we’ll welcome you.”

More than 20 years after first installing Power Tee, Rustington could easily have decided to continue using an unnecessarily expensive, particularly given the lack of comparable local competition.

Instead, it has installed the system for a fifth time.

For Langmead, the reason is straightforward.

“It’s an attraction feature. People come here to use it. After more than 20 years, it has worked for us.”

Golf facilities interested in learning more about implementing Power Tee auto-tee technology can reach us via powertee.com/contact or contact our UK office at +44 (0)1793 822566 for additional information. 

The profile on Power Tee and Doncaster Driving Range was originally published in the September 2026 issue of Golf Retailing magazine.