FLEMING ISLAND – There was a distinct smell of wet paint inside Back Nine Golf as a worker put the finishing touches on some final projects.

And while there is some final tweaking remaining on three Full Swing Golf simulators and a putting green still needed to be constructed near the front door, brothers Mat and Tripp Johnston said their soft opening for the 2,800-square-foot indoor driving range and simulated golf courses were still planned for Saturday, Aug. 15.

Even as the work continues on three bays for players that want to play, train or compete – day or night, rain or shine – Tripp is so eager to open the doors at the unique business, his golf clubs are already stored there.

It started as Mat’s idea to add the simulator system used by Tiger Woods’ TGL to his garage, but it blossomed into an opportunity to join an industry that’s rapidly grown to 200 locations, with more than 500 franchises sold.

“I have young kids and it's hard to play so I was researching how to get a simulator in my garage so that I could play a little bit more and not spend you know a ton of time out [on] the golf course,” Mat said. “I’m needed at home.

“When you know the algorithms of Meta and when it does its thing, it started showing me this franchise opportunity. I sent it to my brother. I was like, ‘Hey, [do] you think this is a good idea?’ He said yeah. We set up an appointment. One thing led to another, and we had appointment after appointment. Now we're here.”

Back Nine Golf, at 3535 U.S. Highway 14, Unit 10, on Fleming Island, is a creative idea because, like a health and fitness club, members receive a door code on their cellphones so they can play any time of day.

Mat is a practicing estate planning attorney throughout Northeast Florida, while Tripp works at NAS Jacksonville, so Back Nine Golf is a venture that doesn’t require a lot of their time.

“You know it’s something that we can do together that’s not necessarily a hobby, but, you know, a little step up from the hobby,” Mat said. “It's something that allows us some freedom. It's the way that this business is structured. It’s completely automated. Everything's done online, so no employees are necessary. No staff on-hand staff is necessary. Access to the building is done through your cell phone through an application. Whenever you book your tee time it gives you access to the door. It's completely automated, so we're able to keep our full-time jobs while we operate this as well.”

In addition to getting immediate feedback on your game like target simulation, ball speed of flight, club speed and spin rates, players can pick from a group of about 70 premier courses to play like Woods’ indoor stadium league.

Some of the courses include TPC Sawgrass, the Old Course at St. Andrews, Big Rock at Payne’s Valley, TPC Scottsdale, Murfield Village, Pebble Beach, Torrey Pines and Spyglass.

“We have, I think, over 70 courses,” Mat said. “We utilize full-swing technology. Whenever they add a new course into their rotation, they go all out and get all the information. They will mark down every rock that's on the course, every layer. Actually, there’s information for that in their simulator technology, so it's incredibly accurate. It's very well done.”

The Fleming Island site has one bay for members that’s open 24 hours a day, and two bays for anyone who books a block of time online. Non-members can access the facility during regular business hours, Mat said.

Membership information can be found at thebackninegolf.com/local/fleming-island-fl/.

The Johnsons grew up in Middleburg and played high school golf for the Broncos. Their love for golf continued into adulthood, but other demands limit their time for the game.

“It’s a passion project,” Mat said.