09/02/2026
One year later…
One year of Phoenix Golf Lounge. ❤️⛳️
I’ve been thinking a lot about this little business lately and everything that happened before we ever opened the doors.
In June of 2025, I decided to take a leap and expand Phoenix Wellness Center into something completely different—a golf simulator lounge.
The idea actually made perfect sense to me. Golf and fitness go hand in hand, and I could see us helping golfers improve their strength, flexibility and mobility while also creating something fun that Kerrville didn’t really have.
I did a massive amount of research, took out a $50,000 small business loan, ordered the equipment and started preparing the space.
And then July 4th happened.
The devastating flood changed our community overnight.
At that point, the equipment was already purchased and on its way, and for probably the first time in my life as an entrepreneur, I wondered if I had made a terrible business decision.
How do you launch a new entertainment business when your community is hurting?
So we didn’t.
For weeks, the space that was supposed to become Phoenix Golf Lounge was instead used for Salvation Army storage. That was what our community needed at the time, and golf could wait.
By mid-August, we finally started unpacking equipment and putting the lounge together, and at the end of August 2025, Phoenix Golf Lounge officially opened.
What people don’t always see is the trickle-down effect a tragedy like that has on small businesses long after the headlines disappear.
Phoenix Wellness Center lost members. Many of our personal training clients lived in Hunt. Some lost homes. Some lost businesses. Some lost people they loved.
I would never compare the challenges of keeping a business going to the losses so many families experienced. But the flood absolutely changed the trajectory of our business, too.
And yet… here we are. ❤️
We made it through that first year.
People have come through these doors and played golf, laughed, competed, learned and made memories. We brought Coach Arnie into the Phoenix family, and I love seeing golfers come in for lessons and watching him help them improve their game.
And looking back, I’m really proud that I didn’t pull the plug when I was scared.
I’m also incredibly grateful for every single person who has supported Phoenix Golf Lounge and Phoenix Wellness Center along the way. Every membership, lesson, simulator rental, party, referral, Facebook share and simple “How’s business going?” has meant more than you probably realize.
And if you’ve never been to Phoenix Golf Lounge because you think, “But I’m not a golfer!”—you don’t have to be!
Come have a date night. Bring the family. Play putt-putt or arcade games. Have a birthday party or company get-together. Rent the lounge, put the football game on the giant screen and hang out with your friends.
This place was built for our community to enjoy.
Small local businesses don’t have giant corporations standing behind them. We have YOU.
So as we roll into year two, I just want to say thank you, Kerrville. Thank you to everyone who encouraged me when I wasn’t sure this crazy idea was going to work. Thank you to everyone who walked through our doors. And thank you for continuing to support the small businesses that kept showing up during one of the hardest chapters our community has ever experienced.
Phoenix Golf Lounge is still here.
Phoenix Wellness Center is still here.
And so am I.
Let’s keep rolling. ❤️⛳️
-Wende
