I remember playing that thing in arcade game centers back in the 90's. It wasn't called Golden Tee Golf back then, I believe... not quite sure of it.
Anyway, as far as I can remember, the game was very hard to play! You gotta roll that trackball thing with a right amount of strength, not to mention the direction and you were lucky to finish the whole 18 holes with 16-20 quarters. LOL
It's quite amazing that not only the company (and the game) has survived, but also hosts that kind of grand-prize championship for its aficionados!
Hope the news is thought-provoking for WGT/TopGolf.