These adult mini-golf bars have some of the hottest tee times in Philly

When Puttshack opened as a Center City spot for drinks, food, and mini golf last weekend, it became the second business of its kind in about a two-mile radius.

In Philadelphia, and around the country, mini golf isn’t just for kids anymore. Adults are loving it, too.

It’s a plan for a Sunday Funday out with friends, local consumers said, and a built-in icebreaker on a first date. For the growing number of young people who are drinking less, it’s also a social nighttime activity that doesn’t have to revolve around alcohol, making it a welcome third-place, which has become more rare in the city.

While the “bar” part of these establishments is undoubtedly a draw for many customers — and a moneymaker for business owners — putting with a beer, cocktail, or other libation (including zero-proof options) in hand is optional, as is enjoying an après-mini-golf drink or snack in attached lounges and dining rooms.

At Libertee Grounds in Francisville, Priyank “Pri” Rambhia and his co-owners — his longtime friends Sanil Shah and Kanay Patel — have seen the popularity of adult-centric, indoor mini golf explode since they opened in 2021. A couple of years ago, he said, they would log more than 300 customers on a good day. Earlier this month, they set a record when they saw 535 customers on a Saturday, their busiest day of the week.

Those are all adults, too. At Libertee Grounds, only people 21 and older can play mini golf, which costs $10 a person, or enjoy the other indoor spaces — except on Sundays during the day, when golfers of all ages (with adult supervision) are welcome.

Libertee Grounds’ adults-only decision was made intentionally and caters to its customer base, which Rambhia said has a median age somewhere in the late-20s/early-30s range. They come for the mini golf, he said, but also for the “hyperlocal” beer (read: only craft beers brewed in Southeastern Pennsylvania and South Jersey), the atmosphere, and a sizable food menu with vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free options.

» READ MORE: Best places to mini golf in Philly and Down the Shore

“You’re more so going to a bar with mini golf,” Rambhia said. By not allowing kids on most days, “it allows us to be more of an adult playground.”

Puttshack, which opened its first Philadelphia location last weekend at the Shops at Liberty Place, becomes 21+ at 8 p.m. The fast-growing chain of “upscale tech-infused” mini golf venues will offer nine-hole mini golf for $14 a person, plus a food and drink menu that promises to take customers on “a culinary journey of global flavors.”

Rambhia said he welcomes the opening of Puttshack: “There is definitely room for both businesses to exist and do really well. The whole mini-golf concept is so accessible.”

Mini golf’s moment comes at a time when consumers nationwide are spending more money than ever on experiences, which include everything from Taylor Swift concert tickets to international vacations. Diners have also been spending more at bars and restaurants, where menu prices have remained high even as inflation cools.

When they go out, people want to do more than sit around a table or perch on a bar stool. They want an experience, be it a speakeasy, an arcade bar, a themed restaurant, even an opportunity to dine in the dark.

“Not to say that people don’t just like going out to a bar and having a drink,” said Brianne Daly, 24, of Francisville. But “mini golf or bowling, or whatever it may be, adds a little more excitement.”

Since 2018, bar-restaurants where customers can throw axes, play board games, and take swings at a high-tech driving range have opened across the region.

» READ MORE: Here’s how you can play golf at Lincoln Financial Field this spring

“People just love experiences,” Rambhia said. “Being at any bar or restaurant is great, but it kind of gets old after being there for an hour, hour and a half.”

The pandemic resulted in pent-up consumer demand for these type of experiences — and increased the popularity of golf, an outdoor sport that can easily be played while social distancing. And that’s been a boon, too, for mini-golf establishments.

“Golf is really having its moment,” Rambhia. said. “Mini golf has ridden that golf wave.”

Mini-golf bars have popped up in cities nationwide. Puttshack, which started in London in 2018, opened its first U.S. location in 2021. Since then, it has added 11 U.S. outposts other than in Philadelphia and is in the process of opening 10 more, including one in Baltimore. Over four months last spring, two mini-golf bar-restaurants —Puttshack and Puttery — opened within two blocks, or 3/10 of a mile, of each other in Pittsburgh.

To keep up with growing demand in Philly, Libertee Grounds expanded this summer, adding 4,000 square feet, a second nine-hole mini-golf course, and a golf simulator.

Daly, a nurse, said she has enjoyed going there with friends, dates, or double dates. Having something active to do can take a bit of the edge off certain social situations.

On double dates, for instance, “it definitely alleviates some stress if partners are meeting for the first time,” she said. “You’re not worried about if you’re going to have enough stuff to talk about at the table.”

Kaitlyn McCourt said she heard buzz about Libertee Grounds even before moving to the neighborhood this summer. McCourt, a 30-year-old speech therapist, had never visited a place like it.

“I just thought it was such a cool idea,” McCourt said. “Instead of just sitting at the bar and having a beer, you can go downstairs and have your beer still, but you’re mini-golfing and you’re having fun with your friends. … It kind of livens up the night or the day that you’re having.”

In Center City, Maanika Keesara, a 30-year-old medical student, said she was looking forward to trying out Puttshack. Keesara has been trying — often in vain — to find nighttime activities that don’t revolve around drinking. She said it’s an especially hard task in the winter.

Rambhia, of Libertee Grounds, is optimistic that this increased interest in mini golf will be more than just a passing trend, in part because of the timeless allure of the game.

“People love nostalgic things,” he said.” People love that feeling of how they were as a kid,” no matter how old they are.