Inside Puttshack, Philly’s New High-Tech Indoor Mini Golf Spot

Inside Puttshack’s Philly location at the Shops at Liberty Place / Photograph by Laura Swartz

It’s been almost two years now since the U.K.-based Puttshack announced it was opening a Philly location, taking over 26,000 square feet of the street level of Liberty Place. It coincided with the Center City post-pandemic renaissance, and captured the imagination of returned-to-office passersby for months with its brightly colored “Coming Soon” window coverings. What did “tech-infused mini golf” even mean? How was this place different than those that had ushered in our “competitive socializing” era?

Well, Puttshack has arrived in its neon-lit glory, and it opens this Saturday, February 24th. The space consists of four glowing nine-hole courses, a massive bar with TVs, and restaurant seating for 185. And it’s a blast.

Photograph courtesy of Puttshack

Almost more importantly, it’s different. I’ve been playing putt-putt since I was a toddler. It’s a fantastic activity. No notes. But — aside from cool themes here and there — it remains unchanged. The tiny pencils. The keeping track of whose ball is pink (mine, always). You hit the ball, you avoid the obstacles, you get it in the hole and repeat. And that formula is fun, don’t get me wrong. But we’ve all done it. Why do it at a centrally located “mini-golf experience” beckoning the after-work crowd with $15 cocktails?

First off, there’s the tech. Puttshack has patented Trackballs, which are microchipped so you don’t have to keep track of how many strokes, hazards, or points each player has. Screens at each hole will do that for you and tell you whose turn it is. Each course senses when you’ve put your ball down, and the holes light up when you sink your putt. If you miss a hole before your final one, they’ll tell you to go back and play it. Considering the addition of alcohol to gameplay, not having to do math is a plus.

Speaking of keeping score, that’s all different too. Here, you’re not aiming for the lowest score based on strokes, but on the highest number of points based on various factors. Yes, you get more points for fewer strokes (a hole-in-one gets you 50 points, and it descends from there), but you’ve got a chance to win even if you’re not the best at golf. In addition to fun hazards and obstacles, some holes have what I like to refer to as side quests. Some of the challenges rely on gameplay accuracy, like a Skee-ball-like final hole where you get more points for getting the more difficult shot, but others add some twists that make it anybody’s game.

One hole, for example, asked us true-or-false trivia questions — send your ball up the ramp with the correct answer and you get bonus points. (My question was about Christina Aguilera; my opponent’s question was about the mating habits of lobsters.)

Photograph courtesy of Puttshack

The courses themselves are definitely going for vibes. They evoke retro arcade games (the Tetris one has moving blocks to thwart your ball; the pinball one introduces a mini-game for bonus points before your ball reaches the green), board games and more. The wall art includes a fancy oil painting of Princess Peach and pop art of the four ghosts from Pac-Man (Inky, Pinky, Blinky and Clyde, naturally). Everything is lit-up and Instagrammable.

Another thoughtful feature on the course: each hole has a stand with hooks for purses and surfaces to put your drinks down.

Retro video game theming at Puttshack / Photograph by Laura Swartz

Ah, yes, the drinks. In addition to a menu of bar food (think flatbreads, bao buns, empanadas), there’s a full bar menu with wine, beer and cocktails. A few of these cocktails come garnished with mini popsicles. And one — the “Breaking Bad Pisco Punch” — not only has a “blue sky” (IYKYK) ice pop, but comes in a smoky treasure chest for some added pomp.

If you’re thinking this all sounds like a lot, it is. But that’s the whole point.

Know Before You Go

Advance online reservations are highly encouraged, though they accept walk-ins if there’s room. Your group can include up to six players. Games last about 20 to 45 minutes. Cost is per-person by the game (nine-hole course), not the time played. Adult tickets are $16, and kids age 12 and under are $10.

You don’t have to eat or drink to play golf. And you don’t have to play golf to eat or drink — though, really, are you going to Puttshack to eat dinner and not play golf?

Kids are welcome before 8 p.m. — Puttshack is 21-and-up after that. The nighttime atmosphere involves DJ music, too, and the night I was there, the genre could best be described as current pop mixed with TRL-core. This place knows their audience.

Puttshack is located at the Shops at Liberty Place at 16th and Chestnut. There’s a separate street-facing entrance so you don’t have to go through the mall to get there. They’re open Sundays through Thursdays from 11 a.m. till 1 a.m.