More than 30 years ago, Bill Ricigliano dreamed up The Putting Zone.
Or at least the concept for it.
The concept is a blend of two long-time interests: golf and flooring.
With the first U.S. patent secured for his indoor, all-carpet putting system in 1993, Ricigliano — a long-time flooring contractor and golf enthusiast — set out to open his first location near Naples, close to where he lived, after relocating with his family to Florida from New York.
Opening a venue proved much harder than he could have ever imagined.
In 1996, the Naples Daily News reported that the Collier County commissioners unanimously approved his indoor golf course as a permissible use at a commercial property that had once operated as the Golden Gate Mini-Mall. The property required a sizeable investment to buy it and to bring it up to county code.
In the end, Ricigliano couldn’t raise enough money to make it happen.
“I had no experience in raising money,” he said. “It wasn’t in my wheelhouse.”
The next location he set his sights on in neighboring Lee County fell through too, when he and a partner ran out of money and couldn’t pay the bills after their project funding got pulled during the 2007-2008 financial crisis. The 13-acre site they purchased at The Forum, near the I-75/Colonial Boulevard interchange, ended up in a bank’s hands.
“We wound up losing it all, but it is what it is; it’s part of the journey — a small part of the story,” Ricigliano said.
Fortunately for him, his entrepreneurial story didn’t end there.
Nearly 20 years later, Ricigliano finally opened his first location in 2025.
The first Putting Zone launched at the end of last year in Nashville, Tennessee. At the center of the venue is an 18-hole, par-72 indoor championship-caliber putting course, with contours, doglegs and elevation changes, spanning more than a third of a mile.
The carpeted course offers various degrees of difficulty, with putts stretching up to 60 feet. It’s set in a Scottish-themed village environment.
The venue has a putter museum, a pro shop and a lounge with a stage for live music. The golf course offers daily reservations and accepts walk-ins, and hosts weekly competitive leagues and recurring tournaments.
The expansive space can support up to 450 people at a time, offering a one-of-a-kind indoor putting experience. A round of golf can be played in less than two hours, with open-play prices starting at $18 for juniors and $29 for adults per round.
“This is not mini-golf. It is not a simulator. The Putting Zone is a premium recreational putting experience designed to engage serious golfers, casual players, families, corporate groups, and people who have never picked up a golf club,” said John Martarano, who serves as the parent company’s president.
Martarano joined the company when it signed the lease for the Nashville location in 2024.
“I have known Bill for more than 25 years and have heard him speak passionately about this concept since I was young,” he said.
Plans for an expansion to Naples
After finding success in Nashville, Ricigliano is raising money for a second — and larger — location, closer to home. While he’s not ready to share the exact location, he said it’s off U.S. 41 in East Naples.
“The space is just wide open right now. So, it’s just a matter of putting a deal together with the landlord,” he said.
The project is being pitched to investors in Naples to help get the ball rolling, with an event held this week.
“I already know the space. I already checked it out, so there is no problem with zoning,” Ricigliano said.
At his chosen site, he plans to open a larger venue, spanning 57,000 square feet, with an 18-hole course and a nine-hole course with a “private club component to it,” meaning it will be open to members only.
Membership would be capped at 300, likely including a mix of individual and corporate members. Corporations would be able to bring in groups of employees for meetings and other events.
A charity component will be integrated into the new location, the same way as it has been at the flagship, where $1 from every round of golf that’s played is donated to local charities. As a longtime member of the Kiwanis Club in Naples, Ricigliano has been recognized for his local charity work.
A golf museum would be part of the offerings, with plans to showcase some of the “most prestigious golf collections in the world,” Ricigliano said.
“People will be able to purchase antiques from those collections,” he said.
With the larger footprint, he envisions having enough room to include a stand-alone cigar room, an upscale restaurant and a teaching academy.
There are hopes of raising $5 million from private investors to help with the build-out and the launch of marketing, sales and operations. The “hard costs” for the project alone are estimated at $3.5 million, Ricigliano said.
The courses will be designed by Ron Garl, a well-known golf architect whose resume includes more than 250 courses with a heavy concentration in Florida.
Since securing his first U.S. patent, Ricigliano has obtained multiple patents, including in Canada and internationally.
Unexpected opportunity in Tennessee
The opportunity to open in Tennessee came after Ricigliano heard that a longtime friend had purchased a 60,000-square-foot mall in Kentucky.
When Ricigliano reached out to ask if there was room for The Putting Zone at the mall, he discovered a mini-golf operator already had exclusive rights there. However, his friend then told him about a new project he was developing in Tennessee, with room for sports and entertainment concepts.
After hearing of the opportunity in 2024, Ricigliano hopped on a flight to check out the space and liked what he saw. Shortly after, he signed a letter of intent to take the space and then raised the money needed to outfit it.
With investor money in hand, the lease was signed in December 2024. The building permit for the project was approved last April, and it opened a few days before Christmas.
As the company’s president, Martarano’s role has been to build the operational infrastructure, position the company for scalable growth, and oversee the execution of its long-term strategy, beyond its first location.
He joined the company after working as a franchise executive for more than 15 years — helping launch, operate and scale other brands around the world.
“As both a golf enthusiast and an experienced franchise executive, the opportunity was an easy decision,” Martarano said. “I immediately recognized the potential to build The Putting Zone into a globally recognized brand — one that expands golf’s participation funnel, makes the game more accessible, and helps players improve one putt at a time.”
For him, the planned expansion in the Naples area is personally meaningful.
“I lived in Naples for nearly 20 years before moving with my wife and children to Nashville in 2022. My entire extended family still lives in Naples, making the opportunity to bring The Putting Zone to Southwest Florida feel like a natural and exciting next step,” he said.
Locations planned around the country
While his immediate focus is on Naples, Ricigliano has his sights on other locations in Florida — and around the country.
“The Naples facility will be the new No. 1 putting venue in the world by far,” he said. “We do have plans on building, getting five of these up in three years, and as many as 15 up in five years.”
He expects to open two to three locations in Florida, with one possibly in Tampa.
While his vision might have been ahead of its time, now it seems less so, with the advent and success of other indoor and off-golf-course venues, such as Topgolf, that have reshaped and grown interest in the centuries-old game of golf.
“I always had it in the back of my mind to get it done, and when anything ever came up, even the chance to talk about it again, I would do that, but it never really ever went anywhere,” he said. “Then it was just a fluke thing that I happened to find out what my friend was doing up in Nashville.”
For Ricigliano, now in his 70s, the timing finally feels right.
“I decided now is the time,” he said. “With everything that was going on with golf, I thought the chance was out there, and I wanted to give the concept a shot again, and fortunately, we were able to pull it off.”
Laura Layden is a senior business and government reporter. Reach her by email at laura.layden@naplesnews.com.
Please support local community journalism and stay informed about Southwest Florida news by subscribing to The News-Press and Naples Daily News; download the free News-Press or Naples Daily News app, and sign up for daily briefing email newsletter, food & dining and growth & development newsletters here and here.
This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Naples entrepreneur opens dream golf venue after 30 years of trying
Reporting by Laura Layden, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News / Naples Daily News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Laura Layden, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News | USA TODAY Network
