Brothers take a swing at a side business

Ken and Kevin Warner had played enough indoor golf simulators to wonder if they could ever make a living running them. The answer turned out to be no. Luckily for them, their other business provided enough of a safety net to try it anyway. The brothers run Hastings' Xtreme Wire LLC, an audio/video retailer that's managed to turn revenues of around $600,000 a year and gain them some recognition; one of their cameras captured the video of the I-35W bridge collapse that was replayed on television stations around the world.

It's also allowed them to start Digital Links Indoor Golf Simulator, a side business that probably won't ever become their main source of revenue. But thanks to a shrewd business strategy, it stands a chance to be a profitable hobby.

"If this was your living, it'd be tough," said Kevin Warner, who is 32 and three years younger than Ken. "You'd have to be the only worker and be here seven days a week. But this has been fine."

Indoor golf simulators have been around more than a decade, allowing average hackers to play some of the world's most famous courses by hitting a golf ball at a projection screen that transfers the shot into a computerized version of the course.

They've dotted the Twin Cities, fading in and out with the seasons and with perceptions that they were a cheap facsimile of the real thing.

Knowing that, the Warners tried something different in the fall of 2006: They spent $160,000 on high-definition equipment, converted a $500-a-month office into a home for their two businesses, and marketed the simulators as both casual entertainment and a bona-fide golf experience.

The cheap rent and an online reservation system allowed them to staff the simulators with just one person. They got a food and liquor license and installed flat-screen TVs and satellite radio at their two simulators to create the right atmosphere for parties and first-timers.

A weekly league drew 40 participants last year, as did a March Madness tournament designed to draw all the people skipping work for the first day of the NCAA men's basketball tournament.

But they also installed surfaces to simulate shots from the fairway, rough and sand, creating an experience close enough that one golfer who had played Mauna Lani Resort in Hawaii said he hit the same shots -- and made the same mistakes -- on the simulator as in real life.

It added up to around $45,000 of revenue from November to April last year, with just $1,000 a month in expenses.

It's also served as free advertising for Xtreme Wire, since the Warners installed all the audio and video equipment in the simulators. Ken Warner said the golf business brought four or five extra jobs -- and another $50,000 of revenue -- to Xtreme Wire last year.

"Most people spend $200,000 on a showroom, and the showroom doesn't make them any money," Ken Warner said. "This sells both of our [businesses]."

The revenue from Digital Links hasn't come close to covering its capital costs yet, and the Warners don't expect that to happen for a couple years. Nor do they expect to ditch their modest surroundings for a bigger, more expensive spot anytime soon.

This was all about a couple of double-digit handicappers having some fun on the side.

"I look at this as the ultimate basement," Ken Warner said. "This would be my dream basement."

Ben Goessling • 651-298-1546