Primetime Golf is a new golf training and entertainment space in downtown Oakland. It features two state of the art Golfzon golf simulators, and a customizable putting green. The golf simulators are a fun and convenient way to either play or practice your golf game, indoors, without having to go to a golf range or golf course.
Primetime Golf is dreamed up by Preston Pinkney, Co-Founder and CEO of The Pinkney Foundation, who has been getting Oakland kids involved in golf since 2000. “I want to give youth more opportunities to play more golf,” Pinkney told Oakland Voices. “Local golf courses are not easily accessible to youth.”
The simulators let you choose from 200 golf courses from around the world, record videos, and analyze data such as distance, speed, and launch angle. The simulators also feature a golf retrieval system that automatically tees up your ball. The platform can also tilt at an angle, mimicking the various landscapes of a golf course.
The 46 year old Pinkney was born in Oakland and raised in Richmond, and ran a recording studio. In 2000, he applied for a job with Ace Kids Golf, a program that was a part of the City of Oakland Parks, Recreation and Youth Department. Pinkney would shuttle kids from the rec centers to local golf courses.
Starting with only a handful of kids, Pinkney said he grew the program to almost 800 kids right before COVID – and estimates he has coached over 10,000 kids in his 23 years teaching kids golf.
Pinkney later left the city and now Ace Kids Golf is a part of The Pinkney Foundation, a nonprofit organization to continue his vision of getting more inner-city kids playing golf, teaching financial literacy, and more.
“My goal for Primetime Golf is to bring golf to the community by making it more accessible, where people can get a private golf lesson, celebrate a birthday party, or a company can have a team-building experience,” Pinkney said.
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Primetime Golf is located at 306 12th Street, Oakland, CA 94607, 510-380-2264, www.primetimegolf.org. Memberships start at $49.99 a month. General Admission: Wednesday – Thursday: 10:00 am – 9:00 PM. Friday – Sunday: 10:00 AM – 10:00 PM. Members: Monday – Sunday: 24 Hours Daily with Reservation.
Eduardo Jimenez knew at an early age that growing up in Oakland was going to be a special experience. He would pass the Oakland Hells Angels headquarters as well as “Free Huey” spray painted signs on the way to his elementary school where his mom fought to establish bilingual education in the early '80s.
He learned at an early age to appreciate his hometown for truly being an international city with classmates and neighbors from across the world. He knows the immigrants and long time residents that make up Oakland’s population have a personal story worth telling that will show us that we’re all on the same journey, if you dig deep enough.
He is a husband and a father of two young boys and a graduate of the Fremont High School Media. Go Tigers.
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