An ex-McDonalds employee is turning Big Macs into big dreams, launching his very own franchise venture with X-Golf after working beneath the Golden Arches for 15 years.


From burgers to birdies, 32-year-old Steve Goodluck and his wife Chyena have successfully opened their own X-Golf franchise at Clyde North in Melbourne’s south-east which is the first indoor golf entertainment venue in the region.


With a vision to overhaul the social scene in Melbourne’s outer suburbs, Steve follows in the footsteps of his father, Mike Goodluck, Licensee of two McDonalds restaurants in country Victoria since 1997.


“This the first franchise I’ve owned independently, so it’s a very exciting time,” Steve said.


Officially swinging the doors of the $1.5 million venue on 17 August while having welcomed their first child only six weeks earlier, Steve and Chyena admitted to Commercial Real Estate that they have their hands full.


“We’ve certainly got a lot going on but we have an awesome team of eight locals who will be working with us to transform Clyde North’s social scene, and the response has been great so far,” he said.


With 420,000 indoor golfers last year as reported by Golf Australia, Steve says the transition into X-Golf stems from a personal love of the game and an amalgamation of professional experience.


“This is a unique a sports-entertainment hybrid with welcoming hospitality and fantastic food and drink options alongside mostly pubs, clubs or kid’s venues,” he said.


“Moving into X-Golf, I definitely apply organisational aspects and management strategies based on what I know from Maccas. Having that background is why I trust a franchise system, because proven processes are set in place and if you back that system, it’ll only reward you.”