From our recent feature in Franchise Times.

Phil and Nancy Gugliotta have been in and around franchising by way of staffing and consulting, but their latest venture is taking them in a whole new direction.

The couple signed a five-unit agreement with startup indoor golf concept The Swing Bays, with locations planned across the Raleigh, North Carolina metro. It marks the first agreement for the brand, which launched its franchise system in 2024, two years after its founding.

It’s a pivot from what the husband-and-wife team have been involved in for most of their careers. After some work in sales and management, the Gugliottas got into the staffing industry and were franchisees of Snelling Staffing in New York. They moved to North Carolina and opened their own private staffing business and launched a franchise consultancy firm.

It was through their consulting business that Phil Gugliotta received an email about the new opportunity with The Swing Bays, which is working with franchise development firm Fransmart to expand. Gugliotta said he was interested from the start.

“I love golf,” he said. “I’ve been playing it my whole life and had dreamed of doing something in the golf industry. So, after finding out more information on it, I reached out before we visited Colorado.”

With a single unit open in a Denver suburb, The Swing Bays was established by PGA professional Dustin Miller and offers access to golf simulators, lessons from PGA instructors and equipment services. For Miller, the concept is a continuation of a lifelong relationship with the sport. He grew up in a family of golfers, with some who worked in the business, and wanted to get involved himself.

He did just that, starting off in maintenance at golf clubs before getting into member relations, customer service and teaching. During the late 2010s, Miller noticed the rapid growth of indoor golf, and realized there was potential for his own entrepreneurial goals.

“I wanted to be in on the early stages of this and create something different in the space,” Miller said. “I wanted to make something more geared toward golf than it was geared toward events and birthday parties. A place people can come in, practice, get their clubs fit and have a fitness component as well.”

When the Gugliottas experienced it first hand, they said The Swing Bays ticked all the boxes.

“We found that it could be a really good fit for North Carolina,” Gugliotta said. “When we visited Colorado, we looked into how the business was run, and it lined up with what we were looking for. They showed a commitment to customer service and we were really attracted to the multiple revenue streams in one facility. They really maximize every inch of their unit with the services they offer.”

“Operationally, just on an employee standpoint, it doesn’t take much labor to run, either,” said Nancy Gugliotta. “You have the general manager, the general manager’s assistant, as well as a few part timers. You can also structure it with professional 1099 staff as trainers. That allows them to bring in their own business, without costing us in payroll and overhead.”

Multi-unit deals like the one signed with the Gugliottas will be the standard going forward with Swing Bays, as Miller said they’re looking to make deals in the three- to five-unit range. It’s part of a growth strategy where Miller said he’s putting more importance on who the operators are than where locations will open.

“We’re being very choosy on who we’re picking for our deals,” Miller said. “Phil and Nancy were exactly the type we were looking for. People who can jump in and do things the Swing Bays way. Who can lead the team, treat their employees right and be member-oriented. We’ve had a ton of interest so far and we’re looking to expand in larger markets all over the United States.”

For the Raleigh market, Phil Gugliotta said they saw a great deal of opportunity, both because of the area’s size and the number of golfers.

“It can definitely support five locations,” he said. “We did our homework on that, and looked over the demographics, the average spending on golf, and arrived at five locations as our target. We’ve already started looking at sites and have one that we’re close to finalizing. We hope to have our first up and running in the fourth quarter of 2025.”

The initial investment to open a location with The Swing Bays ranges from $260,000 to $924,000.