North America Quick Takes: Construction Underway for Georgia’s Fairway Social Attraction; SlideWheel Coming to Wisconsin Dells

Golf and Sports Simulators Highlight New Georgia Attraction

In May 2020, construction began on Fairway Social, a golf and entertainment attraction located at The Maxwell mixed-use development in Alpharetta, Georgia, about 30 miles north of Atlanta. Set to open in late 2020, the 11,000-square-foot venue will offer guests the opportunity to play on some of the world’s most famous golf courses via Fairway Social’s Full Swing golf simulators. The seven sports simulators will offer virtual golfing on more than 80 notable courses and will also provide simulated games of football, baseball, soccer, lacrosse, hockey, cricket, and zombie dodgeball.

An outdoor putting course named The Back Nine will feature nine customizable golf holes on synthetic turf with synthetic sand traps, bridges, and putting challenges amid lush landscaping. Fairway Social will also offer a concept called Cro-Go that provides the opportunity for players to design their own putting experience using a modified croquet mallet, a lightweight, oversized putting ball, and croquet wickets. 

The indoor/outdoor bar area, known as Par Bar, will be situated near seating for 80-plus diners in an area to be called The Tee Room. Fairway Social’s rooftop patio bar named Eagles Nest will host live music on the weekends. The addition of music to the sports venue is a dream come true for the City of Alpharetta, which is positioning itself as the music capital of Georgia.

‘Hercules’ to Dazzle Bathers in Wisconsin Dells

Mt. Olympus Water & Theme Park in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, is preparing to construct “Hercules,” a new SlideWheel water slide from WhiteWater. The SlideWheel combines a Ferris wheel with a water slide, where every 30 seconds, rafts are launched into the perpetually spinning SlideWheel. Once inside, riders are propelled onward—partly by momentum of the rotating flume—and partly by gravity. During the two-minute ride, rafts reach a top speed of 25 mph. “Hercules” will be the first SlideWheel in North America. Engineering work on the site will be performed by Ramaker & Associates. The new ride is similar to the SlideWheel at Chimelong Water Park in Guangzhou, China, pictured here.