CHAD TROUTMAN & ANDREA MICHEL
Rain or Shine, It’s Tee Time at Egret & Iron
photos by PAUL NURNBERG
On a stormy Saturday evening in Beaufort Town Center, when most outdoor plans have been washed away by the rain, Egret & Iron is buzzing with life. In Bay One, a retired Marine methodically works through his iron game on a virtual Pebble Beach, the high-speed cameras capturing every nuance of his swing while he mutters appreciatively about not having to deal with “July heat anymore.” Twenty feet away in Bay Three, a mother doubles over laughing as her seven-year-old somehow manages an impossible shot on virtual putt-putt, the simulator’s screen exploding with celebratory fireworks. At the bar, a group of neighbors who couldn’t care less about golf nurse craft beers and catch up, simply grateful to have found somewhere welcoming to land on a night like this.
This scene — diverse, multigenerational and genuinely joyful — is exactly what co-owners Chad Troutman and Andrea Michel envisioned when they opened the Lowcountry’s largest indoor golf simulator facility last July. It’s also, as Chad likes to say with a grin that suggests he’s still somewhat amazed by it all, nothing like what they originally planned.
“We never intended to open this place.”
WHEN “SOMEDAY” BECOMES TODAY
That statement isn’t just a conversation starter — it’s the truth. When Chad and Andrea first began seriously discussing their future together, the conversation centered entirely on where to live, not what to build. Both had spent years in the demanding world of tech marketing, where they first met as colleagues in 2015 while working for a restaurant management platform company. They understood how to grow other people’s businesses, but launching their own brick-and-mortar venture wasn’t anywhere on their vision board.
Chad, born in Charleston and raised across the Carolinas and Alabama, had been introduced to golf in fourth grade by his father through a summer program at Winthrop University. “I learned the skills, but also the etiquette of golf,” he recalls. He followed the PGA Tour, became an avid Tiger Woods fan, and played on his high school team before adult life and career demands pushed the clubs to the back of the closet. Armed with degrees in public relations, journalism, and an MBA from the University of Alabama, he built a career in “demand generation” — essentially identifying market problems and creating solutions that people actually want to buy.
Andrea, the youngest of four girls from Yarmouth, Maine, developed her competitive edge playing field hockey through high school and college. Golf was mostly background noise — “I knew enough about golf to be dangerous,” she laughs — though she occasionally caddied and understood the culture. With degrees in psychology and business administration plus a master’s in management, she launched her career in energy management and automation industry before transitioning to tech marketing, where she and Chad first crossed paths.
Their professional relationship evolved into something deeper, built on the solid foundation of knowing how each other operates under pressure — a crucial advantage, as it turned out, for what lay ahead.
FINDING HOME
Chad returned to Charleston in 2019, drawn back to his roots. Andrea followed a few years later, connected to the area by multiple vacations in her youth, a grandfather who was raised in the town during his formative years, and a best friend who attended the College of Charleston. For a while, Charleston felt right. Then its small-town character and sense of community started to fade.
“Charleston had changed a lot from the version I grew up loving,” Chad says. “We had never even visited Beaufort before, but we kept hearing great things about it, so we came down on a whim for a staycation. One of the first things I said to Andrea was, ‘This feels like how Charleston used to feel.’ It immediately felt familiar to both of us — a smaller coastal town with real community and personality. We looked at each other and said, ‘We could live here.’”
More importantly, as Chad puts it, “It would be nice to have a place where ‘we’ started” — a city that would belong to both of them equally, without the weight of either person’s individual history already embedded in every street corner.
They moved quickly, closing on a home in Battery Point in July 2024. The sense of belonging was immediate and undeniably rare in its intensity.
“Instantly knew we were in the right spot,” Chad says. “The feeling started with our neighborhood and then grew. Beaufort is the most connected to a community I’ve ever felt in my life. It hits the same emotional nerve as smelling pluff mud when you cross back into the Lowcountry.”
READING BETWEEN THE LINES
Settling into their new community meant paying close attention to what Beaufort offered — and what it was missing. Despite the Hilton Head area’s international reputation as a golf destination, Chad quickly noticed that north of the Broad River, the reality was starkly different: a handful of private or limited-access courses, two public courses, and not much in between.
More troubling was the broader entertainment landscape. Beaufort had recently lost its bowling alley and movie theater, leaving families with limited options for indoor, all-weather activities that weren’t restaurants or bars.
“There’s a ton of great outdoor stuff here — Hunting Island, Port Royal — but not a lot of options that aren’t private that offer a community gathering spot with inside entertainment for the family,” Chad observed.
This is where their years of marketing expertise began speaking a different language. The methodology Chad had spent his career applying was suddenly pointing at something much closer to home.
“My whole career was ‘What’s the problem? What’s the product fit? Will someone buy it?’” he explains. “We started looking at Beaufort through that lens.”
Andrea’s perspective proved equally crucial in shaping their thinking. “From a business standpoint, we could see the gap,” she says. “But from a community standpoint, we could see the opportunity to create something that would genuinely serve people — not just golfers, but families, beginners, people looking for a comfortable place to connect.”
An indoor golf simulator began emerging as the solution that could address multiple needs simultaneously: affordable access to golf regardless of weather, a welcoming community space, and year-round entertainment suitable for all ages and skill levels.
They chose the name Egret & Iron to tell the story about the venture’s place and purpose. The egret — graceful, patient, perfectly adapted to Lowcountry marshes — represents the natural beauty and unhurried pace that drew them to Beaufort. The iron is one of golf’s essential tools but also suggests the enduring strength and craftsmanship required to build something meant to last.
“The egret felt like the quiet, graceful side of the Lowcountry we fell in love with,” Chad explains. “And iron represents both the golf connection and our commitment to building something solid and lasting in this community.”
TAKING THE LEAP
The transition from idea to reality required a leap of faith that temporarily turned their “slower pace of life” into a whirlwind of major milestones. After closing on their home in July 2024, they spent months navigating construction, permits and the countless details of launching a business in a new town. Egret & Iron opened its doors in July 2025, and somewhere in between, they got engaged last October.
“It’s been a lot of big life things all at once,” Andrea admits, laughing. “New city, new house, new business, engagement. But in a weird way, it all feels connected. Egret & Iron is part of how we’re building our life here.”
Those early weeks tested their confidence. “During the first few hours of day one, we looked at each other like, ‘Okay … is anyone coming?’” Chad recalls. “Opening a small, local business, you’re competing with a million things for people’s time and money. There’s always that uncertainty.”
WHAT THEY BUILT
Today, Egret & Iron stands as the largest indoor golf simulator facility in the Lowcountry, from Myrtle Beach to Savannah. Four separate bays, each designed as a private lounge with comfortable leather seating and vintage golf décor, line the main space. High-definition screens display realistic course graphics while professional-grade launch monitors and high-speed cameras capture every detail of each swing — distance, ball speed, club path, launch angle, and spin rate — providing instant feedback that helps players improve. The technology makes golf accessible in ways that surprise even Chad.
“So many different types of people come in here: people who live in neighborhoods that don’t have a golf course, people who live and breathe golf, beginners, older people who can’t walk the course or be out in the heat anymore, people recovering from injury, three-year-olds, high school players working on their game. This is the best deal in golf in the Lowcountry.”
But the detail that matters most to both owners is this: Visitors are connecting with each other and having fun. The welcoming bar, free wi-fi, and deliberately inclusive atmosphere mean that Egret & Iron functions as much as a community gathering space as a golf facility. Andrea’s influence is evident throughout the space, from the thoughtful layout that ensures nongolfers feel comfortable to the inclusive programming that welcomes absolute beginners.
“I wanted someone to be able to walk in, know nothing about golf, and still feel completely at home,” she says. “That was nonnegotiable for me.”
PARTNERSHIP IN ACTION
While Chad handles the day-to-day operations and much of the vision behind the business, Andrea, who continues her full-time career, plays a key role in shaping the atmosphere, ideas and community-focused direction of Egret & Iron.
“I may be the one on the floor most days,” Chad says, “but we really work together to make all of this possible.”
Their complementary skills have proven essential as the business has grown beyond their initial projections. The facility now hosts private events including birthday parties, corporate outings, bachelor and bachelorette parties, and charity tournaments, with full catering and bar service available.
GIVING BACK
From the beginning, Chad and Andrea committed to making Egret & Iron a genuine community partner, not just a business that happens to be located in Beaufort. They actively support local causes including Young Life, Nemours Wildlife Foundation, CAPA’s Dancing with Our Stars, Beaufort High School athletic teams, Beaufort Academy, and Riverview Charter School, sometimes through fundraising tournaments, sometimes through donated time and space.
“This community is aligned with what’s important to us,” Chad reflects. “If we’re going to be a community hub, we need to invest in the community that supports us.”
LOOKING AHEAD
Ten months after opening, Egret & Iron is exceeding expectations, though Chad remains characteristically focused on growth. “I’m always moving the goal post,” he says. “There’s so much room for what we can become here.”
The business they never intended to start has become the center of the life they’re building together in Beaufort: a place where a stormy Saturday night means a full house, where three-year-olds and retirees share the same space comfortably, and where the question isn’t whether you can play golf, but whether you’re ready to be part of something larger.
“The golf is what gets people through the door,” Chad says. “But what’s been really meaningful is watching people start to feel like this place belongs to them, too.”
HOW EGRET & IRON WORKS
Reserve your tee time: Egret & Iron welcomes walk-ins and nonmembers Wednesday through Sunday, 2–10 p.m. Book online at https://egretirongolf.com or call (843) 256-4244. Simulator bays cost $60 per hour for up to four players. Memberships range from $99 to $249 per month, offering unlimited play, advance booking, and expanded access 5 a.m.–11 p.m. daily.
Check in: Receive a full facility tour upon arrival. Bring your own clubs or rent on-site sets for $10, with right-handed and left-handed options for men, women and children.
Choose your game: Staff will demonstrate the simulator and help select from dozens of famous courses and game modes suitable for any skill level.
Start playing: Watch your shots tracked in real time with instant feedback on distance, accuracy and ball flight characteristics from professional-grade technology.
Get competitive: Join weekly leagues, tournaments, long-drive contests, closest-to-the-pin challenges, and seasonal events including a digital Masters Tournament.
IMPROVE YOUR SKILLS: Schedule swing clinics and lessons with local golf professionals by appointment.
