Music blaring, food prepped and outdoor golf hitting bays equipped with heaters, the much-awaited Topgolf in Auburn Hills opened its doors to the media for a look inside on Wednesday.

The high-tech driving range and entertainment complex near Great Lakes Crossing Outlets is the first Topgolf in Michigan, but the 51st in the country, Director of Operations Brian Birckbichler said.

Topgolf is based in Dallas, Texas.

"Welcome to our new home away from home, in Michigan," Birckbichler said.

The official opening date for the facility has not been set, but an announcement is expected Monday.

In the meantime, Birckbichler took the Free Press on a tour around the $12.5-million, 65,000-square-foot facility.

Enter the lobby and one immediately sees the guest services area and Topgolf retail for sale. Adjacent is the main bar.

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"(It's) kind of the life center of the building," Birckbichler said.

A downstairs lounge serves as a waiting area that opens up to a row of lower-level hitting bays.

It's replete with pool tables, shuffleboard tables and seating for about 75 people. Plus, there's also a nursing room for mothers, which Birckbichler said is a new Topgolf feature.

The facility boasts 102 climate-controlled hitting bays that can hold up to eight people with six logged into the game panel at a time. Just grab a club, dispense golf balls from the panel and aim for one of the targets along the 215-yard range.

"This is where you experience the game," Birckbichler said.

"Each one of our 280,000 golf balls is microchipped. Once you dispense a ball, it reads it, codes it to your name, and you're gonna hit it to one our 12 targets out here onto the field — almost like darts."

Hit a target, and the golf ball will return a score to the game panel. "HD Spectaculars" at the end of the range also project scores, he said.

"It'll show you exactly what your score is, who's hitting, who's playing," Birckbichler added.

The upstairs and downstairs hitting bays are also full-service, equipped with chairs and tables with menus. Enclosed VIP bays, complete with their own heaters, furniture sets and privacy blinds, are also full-service.

Birckbichler said bay hosts will come straight to you to take your order.

"I've got everything from cheese fries and Tater Tots, to artisan burgers. ... probably six different combinations of burgers, nachos, quesadillas, six different flatbreads," Birckbichler said.

"I've got some fantastic brunch foods, so any brunchers that like your mimosas and French toast, you gotta come on out."

A party room for special events is also on-site. The space can accommodate up to 300 people, but can be booked for a minimum of seven. Prices for booking the space are determined based on the amount of people, the menu, the day of the week and the hour of day.

Pricing inquiries can be submitted online at topgolf.com/events.

"A lot of folks say, 'Hey is it a driving range?' The best answer I can give is no, it's just a whole lot more ... sports entertainment, and it's something for everyone," Birckbichler said.

The site's location in Oakland County is "perfect," he added.

"We've got really good in some of our cold weather areas. ... We've adapted the technology to the cold Oakland County is an awesome area, the Auburn Hills community has been fantastic with us. We're just close enough to Detroit where people are gonna come up from Detroit, but we're also sitting right next to a mall that's getting almost a million visitors a week," Birckbichler said.

"It was kind of a perfect storm right off the highway ... and from the buzz, the energy that I have felt just walking around town with a logo'd shirt on, I got it right coming here."

In September, Topgolf began accepting job applizcations for the new location, seeking 500 servers, bartenders, kitchen, maintenance and guest services staff.

Topgolf pricing packages are $25, $35 or $45 per hour — which can be split between players in a party of up to six — with food and beverage costs separate.

"I have seen date nights here. I have seen graduations here. I have seen bachelor parties, retirement parties. I even do gender reveals, where I can turn the whole thing blue," Birckbichler said.

Contact Aleanna Siacon at ASiacon@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter: @AleannaSiacon