About The Links

CJ & Cody

Our story

It all started in December 2021. I (CJ) had run outdoor golf leagues for years, and both Cody and I played every Wednesday night through the summer. As neighbours and friends, when winter rolled round and golf season disappeared into six feet of Minnesota sadness, we kept the Wednesday tradition alive with what we called bourbon nights. Because apparently that is what golfers do when there is snow on the ground.

One night, after visiting an indoor golf simulator, we looked at each other and said, "there has to be a better option for the Lakeville area." Cody had actually considered opening a simulator place before COVID, but like most people during COVID, he had bigger things to worry about — like whether toilet paper had become currency.

The next week I brought it up again. Cody was still casually thinking about it, but as an avid golfer with absolutely no ability to let an idea go, I became borderline obsessed. Then we found out a mutual acquaintance of Cody's had opened a golf simulator, and suddenly the idea came back to life.

So we started touring golf simulator businesses around the Twin Cities. Every place we visited made us think, "this doesn't look THAT hard." Spoiler alert: it was.

After doing our due diligence — and probably not enough sleep — we decided to take the leap. We formed the LLC in January 2022 and immediately began looking for space. Then came the challenge of choosing the technology. After visiting several venues we landed on GolfZon, because it felt the most immersive and realistic: basically the closest thing to real golf without losing balls in the woods or blaming your driver for everything.

Our goal was simple. Create the best golf experience possible, paired with great food, cold drinks, and a place people actually wanted to hang out in. We finally opened in the autumn of 2022. And honestly, for an IT professional and a commodity broker pretending to know how to open an entertainment business, we think we did pretty okay.

Then came Stillwater

Through a mutual connection, an opportunity presented itself. The owner of the Stillwater Bowl had some old golf simulators and did not know what to do with them. And when we say old, we mean OLD. The software was literally running on Windows 98. We half expected the startup sound to begin with the old modem noises. You know if you know.

After more planning, more due diligence, and several conversations that started with "are we really doing this again?", we realised it was actually a great opportunity. We saw a chance to bring the Stillwater golf community a fun place to play, hang out, and survive the long Minnesota winters without completely losing their golf swing — or their sanity. So in February 2026, The Links of Stillwater officially opened its doors.

Turns out, with enough vision, determination, and updated operating systems, anything is possible.

The rebrand

With the addition of Stillwater, we decided it was time for a rebrand. Apparently having multiple locations means you are supposed to look professional or something. So Lakeville Links became The Links of Lakeville, alongside The Links of Stillwater, under one name: The Links. We also bought the URL thelinks.golf, because somehow ".golf" is a real thing and honestly, it felt meant to be.

Over the next few months we will keep rolling out the rebrand, updating things, and pretending we fully know what we are doing. If you knew the place as Lakeville Links, nothing has changed except the sign. Same bays, same bar, same two of us behind it.

More to come.

CJ & Cody