Owner Steve Fox opened the first Urban Putt in San Francisco in 2014 Denver seemed like a natural choice for a second location.
URBAN PUTT MOVIE
Located in the former Old Spaghetti Factory space on 18th Street, Urban Putt includes an expansive bar area, plenty of dining tables, the iconic streetcar from the space’s previous tenants, and an 18-hole mini golf course that is anything but “mini.” Motion-activated and virtual reality elements elevate the experience to something more akin to wandering through a movie set. Photo courtesy of Punch Bowl Socialīut the pièce de résistance in the Front Range mini golf game is Urban Putt, which opens today. Order the “Punch of the Month” or an adult (read, spiked) milkshake to stay “hydrated” while you play. Spread over the 14,000-square-foot patio, the Putt Club’s 18 holes are easy enough for beginners but include a few challenges for veteran putters too. It’s also the only outdoor mini golf course for the Punch Bowl Social brand. The course at the Putt Club, which opened in June, has an aesthetic that incorporates elements of the neighborhood’s aviation history. Punch Bowl Social in Stapleton also added mini golf to its expansive offering of games (which includes bowling, ping pong, shuffleboard, and karaoke) for kids and kids-at-heart. We’re getting that vibe of people feeling like it’s their place and that’s really cool.” “I think it just adds an element of entertainment to the social atmosphere that people are looking for,” Snell says. Dana Snell, who opened Old Town Putt with his wife Nora, said that they’ve gotten a great response to the business and already have guests who are coming back multiple times and bringing friends and groups.
Custom holes include musical elements like that gong and a stair-step keyboard. Old Town Putt, which opened this past May, has a nine-hole course that is entirely indoors (making it easy to enjoy even in inclement weather). Now grownups can get in on the fun, complete with adult libations to help-or hinder-your handicap. However, as recent openings illustrate, mini golf isn’t just for kids anymore. Many offshoots of the popular game have sprung up since then-you’d be hard-pressed to visit a beach town in Florida or a ski resort in Colorado during the summer that doesn’t sport a version of the game. Putt-Putt, the world’s first and only copyrighted and branded miniature golf game, was founded in Fayetteville, North Carolina in 1954. A satisfying “booonnng” reverberates amidst the chatter. Another group of men are farther along the course, aiming towards the gong that serves as a bull’s eye backstop to the hole. A group of giggling young women grab putters and balls and head to the first hole, frozen cocktails in hand. It’s a Thursday evening in Fort Collins and Old Town Putt, an indoor miniature golf course and bar located in the Exchange, is a lively scene. New courses catering to grown-ups in Denver and Fort Collins prove that miniature golf isn’t just for kids. Photo by Brittni Bell Warshaw Eat and Drink Adult Putt-Putt Is Everywhere. And in one of the most exciting features, Fox says that two of the holes on the main course will be regularly rotated out, and local designers will be invited to design new ones.Urban Putt in Denver. Unlike conventional mini golf courses, the holes will be constantly evolving, and the ShopBot will enable Urban Putt to create new holes and features on-site. The creative team behind Urban Putt includes lead designer Christopher Myers, project manager Anne Mayoral, and architect Matt Hollis. Myers is using a CNC cutter called a ShopBot to digitally fabricate many of the elements that will be used to build the holes. On another hole, the UrbanPutt team is building a small submarine that golfers will putt through as they try to sink the ball in a hole guarded by an octopus. In one of the holes the ball will launch from a ramp and bounce off a pair of conga drums before landing on a cymbal and tumbling down a xylophone, making music as it meanders through the course. Urban Putt will have a steampunk aesthetic with lots of gears and moving parts, and several of the holes will reference the age of exploration.