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Virtuoso Golf

Case Study 15 October 2025

Mike Gore, founder of Virtuoso Golf, an indoor golf simulation venue in St Helens. After 13 years in the army and 17 years working on offshore oil rigs, veteran Mike decided to turn his passion for golf into his career and set up a virtual golf venue.

Region/Nation North West
Sector Hospitality, Accommodation and Food Service Activities
Programme Start Up Loans
Partner

Mike served in the army for over 13 years and after leaving in 2008, worked offshore on oil rigs. The job was physically demanding and required him to be away from home, so Mike began to think about a new direction in his career aspirations. With a lifelong love for golf, he decided to turn his passion into his job.

Mike Gore founder of Virtuoso Golf

After coming across the Start Up Loans programme Mike and his family secured a total of £50,000 of Start Up Loans 1  funding with support from X-Forces Enterprise, one of the Start Up Loans programme’s Business Support Partners, to launch an indoor virtual golf venue, complete with five state-of-the-art simulators designed for both beginners and seasoned players. The venue now hosts PGA golf lessons, young nights and weekly tournaments, making golf more accessible to all.

  • 1

    The £50,000 of funding is across two £25,000 loans to two directors. The maximum funding per director under the Start Up Loans programme is £25,000 and a maximum of £100,000 per business.

After 13 years in the British Army and 17 years on oil rigs, I was ready to do something closer to home. I absolutely love golf, and so does my son, so that’s when I had the idea to set up an indoor golf venue. I run it with my wife, daughter and parents-in-law, so it is a real family run business.

The Start Up Loan helped us get all the equipment we needed to get going. The hours can be tough but there’s days where I am down at the venue talking to customers about golf that it doesn’t feel like work. I now love what I do and being able to build something of my own has been brilliant.

- Mike Gore Founder of Virtuoso Golf

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