Drive up State Street and you’ll see a gray building with a blue-and-green golf-ball logo and three words under the name: Indoor Golf, Bar, Kitchen. That’s Golf Cove at 336 State St. It’s coming up on five years in North Haven. For a lot of local golfers, it’s where the season goes once the courses close. A lot of non-golfers go there too, for birthday parties, team nights and the occasional round of zombie dodgeball.
Golf Cove has a 4.8-star rating on Google. With the weather turning, this is the time of year the place gets busy, and a new winter league starts Monday.
Two local partners and a 2021 opening
Golf Cove is owned by Chris McDowell and Paul DeStefano. Golf Cove, LLC was registered with the state on Nov. 6, 2020, at the State Street address, and state business records list McDowell and DeStefano as its principals. The company is still active.
First Selectman Michael Freda announced in October 2021 that the business was coming to town and was scheduled to open that November. “A special thank you to co-owners Paul DeStefano and Chris McDowell for choosing North Haven to bring this new and unique business to town,” Freda wrote at the time, according to Patch. He said it would be “a fun place to play ‘virtual’ golf even if they do not play golf.” Industry coverage that fall noted the simulators came from TruGolf, a golf simulator maker.
The owners have also made the place a home for local causes. In January 2024, Golf Cove hosted the Feeding Families Foundation’s first Winter Virtual Golf Classic. The event raised more than $8,000 for parents of hospitalized children, North Haven News reported. McDowell and DeStefano were there with Freda, state Sen. Paul Cicarella and state Rep. Dave Yaccarino. Golf Cove still lists the foundation as a partner.
How it works
You don’t rent a lane out in the open. You book a private room. Each one has a hitting mat, a big projection screen and lounge seating, and each booking covers up to five players. Rooms 1 and 2 have TruGolf’s Apogee simulators, and members get first crack at those. Rooms 3, 4 and 5 can run virtual sports and games as well as golf. Golf Cove says two golfers can play 18 holes in about two hours with a 10-foot auto-putt turned on.
Rates on Golf Cove’s posted chart run from $40 to $70 an hour depending on the day and time, with weekends at the top. The chart is labeled April to October, so check the reservation page for current winter pricing before you book. Seniors, military members and first responders get 10% off. Clubs are available if you don’t have your own.
There’s more to do than golf. The MultiSport Arcade has more than a dozen games played on the same screens: Rally Baseball, Slapshot Hockey, Breakaway Soccer, Foot Golf, Bowl-a-Rama, Zombie Dodgeball, Field Goal Frenzy, HOOPS and others. There’s a putting green in front of a big painted golf-course mural, plus billiards. Golf Cove is also a verified PinSeeker location. PinSeeker is an app-based golf game that’s free to try, and the business says first-timers get a $5 credit.
Lessons, Ladies Night and the winter league
Golf Cove has two in-house instructors. One has more than seven years of teaching experience and is working toward becoming a PGA teaching professional. The other has more than 30 years of experience. They teach everyone from young kids to seniors, and they cover short game, full swing and course management. Lessons are booked by email at info@golfcovect.com.
Tuesday is Ladies Night: $32 a person for two hours of unlimited golf, a complimentary glass of wine and free club rentals.
Leagues are a big part of the winter calendar. Golf Cove’s 2 Man Scramble League runs 14 weeks starting the week of Nov. 2 at Bountiful Ridge. Teams play a different famous course each week, including Pelican Hill, Banff Springs and Pinehurst No. 8. Playoffs start March 1. According to the flyer, it costs $500 a player, teams reserve 1.5 hours a week, and players get member rates and 10% off food and drinks. Registration closed Oct. 30, so ask the front desk about openings or the next league.
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The bar and kitchen
The “Bar, Kitchen” on the sign is for real. There’s a long granite-topped bar with draft taps, and you can order food to your room. The pizza is from Zuppardi’s Apizza, the West Haven landmark, at $11 to $13. The menu sticks to things you can eat between shots: wings with Buffalo, BBQ, garlic Parmesan or mango habanero sauce, sliders, egg rolls, quesadillas, Caesar and chef salads, and fries or tots. You can add truffle oil and Parmesan to the fries.
The cocktails have golf names. A John Daly is $11 and a Happy Gilmore is $13. The Mulligan Mule, Par-loma and Sand Trapper are $12 each, and there’s a $13 espresso martini. The taps have included Connecticut craft beers like Counterweight’s Headway and Fat Orange Cat’s Baby Kittens.
What to order
A Zuppardi’s pie for the room. Cheese and Margherita are $11. Pepperoni, sausage, meatball, bacon and onion, and Buffalo chicken are $13. There’s also a gluten-free Margherita on a cauliflower crust for $13.
The Cove Dog. It’s a Hummel Bros. frank with Blackie’s relish on a toasted, buttered bun, two very Connecticut ingredients. One is $8, or get two for $14. Melted cheddar is $1 more.
Cove Sliders or Steak & Cheese Sliders. The Cove Sliders are beef patties with cheddar, crispy onion straws and the house Cove Sauce for $13. The steak version is $14, and vegan sliders are $12.
Steak & cheese egg rolls. They’re $12 and come with Cove Sauce for dipping. Buffalo chicken egg rolls are also $12.
Something to share. Pretzel bites with honey mustard or cheese sauce and fried pickle chips are $10 each. Mac ‘n’ cheese bites with mango habanero sauce are $12, and chicken tenders are $12. On weekends, the cinnamon-sugar pretzel bites are a $10 dessert.
Parties and events
Golf Cove does a lot of parties. The kids-and-teens package is $32 a person and includes two hours of golf or virtual sports with pizza and soft drinks. The adult package is $37 a person with shared plates and passed appetizers, or $57 with a two-hour open bar. The business also has an event-planning service it calls The Cove Concierge. To reach it, call or text (475) 434-0212.
What locals say
Zecca planned a surprise 30th birthday party at Golf Cove. “EJ was very responsive to my messages and receptive to the vision that I had in mind for the party,” the five-star Google review says. “Our guests could not stop raving about the facility from how clean and modern it is to how many games were available (it is not just golf).” When the party’s four hours were up, according to the review, the staff “did not kick us out.” They told the group to stay, and some guests stayed to shoot pool.
“We have been here for everything from date nights to large team fundraisers,” Trevor wrote. “The owner truly cares about your night out and has a team that goes above and beyond.”
Griffin liked the privacy: “Being in your own room is the best part about it IMO. Great seating for a group on the sim, or to hit it in private solo. My only indoor spot from here on out.” Kelly hosted a 40th birthday party there and called the staff “so easy to work with.” Caitlin called it “so fun” and said her group “booked 1 hour and had no problem extending our time.”
If you go
- Where: 336 State St., North Haven
- Phone: (203) 390-5994; events, call or text (475) 434-0212
- Email: info@golfcovect.com
- Book: golfcovect.com, where you’ll find rooms, rates, the menu and memberships
- Social: Instagram @golfcovect
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