A friend mentioned “Tiger Woods’ new mini-golf place” nearly a year ago. I hadn’t thought about giving it a try with the family until we had a few hours to kill between tournament soccer games near Sarasota, Florida over the weekend.
If you’re not familiar, the idea of PopStroke as laid out by their website:
Founded in 2018, PopStroke is a technology-infused golf-entertainment concept featuring Tiger Woods and his TGR Design team’s first-ever 36-hole putting facility, coupled with an outdoor dining area with a full menu, expansive variety of craft beer, wine, signature cocktails, ice cream, outdoor games, and a kids playground. PopStroke’s customized mobile app allows customers to purchase golf packages before arriving to the course, order drinks and food to be delivered directly to them anywhere on the course, showcase their scores on a digital scoreboard and save with the PopBucks rewards program. In addition to the mobile app, all outdoor dining offers contactless ordering via mobile app or at-table tablets.
If you have a PopStroke near you (currently in FL, TX, and AZ only), here are my takeaways:
Solid, Affordable Food
To access the PopStroke menu, you are required to download their app. After you do so, the process is slick – the app recognizes your table number for our order. On the app, we could customize a dish, elect for an appetizer to come out alongside our meals, and call servers for questions. I have a gluten allergy and had no issue picking apart my order to adhere to my specialized dietary restrictions.
For our lunch (a kids’ meal and an order of veggie nachos) our bill totaled $30. The kids’ meals were $10 and included a drink, most entrees and appetizers ranged from $15 to $25 each – slightly on an expensive side for lunch, but as expected given the vacation-destination locations. I believe the had the same menu for both lunch and dinner, but did not confirm pricing differences between the two.
The portions were adequate. The burgers taken to adjacent tables looked amazing. Selections at the bar were full stocked and prices that you’d expect – from $7 for a bottle of domestic beer to $15 for specialty drinks. Pretty sure this place did not have Happy Hour or beer specials. 🙂 There were at least two bars – one in the food area, one on the courses.
The Non-Golf Fun
While waiting for our food, my son and I played ping pong and cornhole (ie: bean bag toss) together. These FREE activities, located between the bar and the golf courses, were a fun way to pass the down time together. If those types of games do not appeal to you, the seating area featured at least ten televisions featuring sports like golf, football, soccer, and car racing.
Toward the rear of the building, I saw a series of families filing into a private birthday party area and shaded playground for the little ones. I did not understand if those parties included food and golf, but did notice the top-notch service and location of the party area.
If you have a wide age range amongst your children, none of them would bored at PopStroke.
Golf Fun
Each location has two golf “courses” – maybe better described as mini golf courses on steroids. The “Red Course” was described as the hardest one – with more mounts, twists, and curves. The “Black Course” was the easier, more straight forward version. We found both to be equally difficult (or easy).
For $30 on weekends (around $25 on weekdays), you can play those courses as much as you’d like for the day. My son and I played each course for an hour or so. If crowds are light, either course would take less than 30 minutes. After playing both courses once, my 10 year-old son was ready to turn in his putter. I saw several teenagers circling the course, seeming to play endlessly.
If you play one course, that price seems expensive. For a few hours (or all day), this is a steal compared to a traditional miniature golf course.
There were all ages playing golf and having a great time – from toddlers to the elderly. I did note that the walk could be a little dicey for older folks. The course are fairly long and the steps are Astro Turf’ed and windy. While I’m sure there is a way to do it, I would be unsure how a wheelchair could navigate the golf at PopStroke – beware.
As an added bonus, each paying player receives a Taylormade golf ball to keep with their admission. There is no clown’s mouth that eats your ball on the 18th green.
Go or Skip?
An hour and a half at PopStroke Sarasota with my son cost me almost exactly $100 (lunch and two participants for unlimited golf). My son had a blast and loved the food so, to me, this was money (and time) well spent.
PopStroke would be a great date night or adult night out, but likely not an every Friday type of venue for me. I could see this as a destination for a low-key afternoon/evening away from the beach on an otherwise jam-packed sunny vacation. Note: in the Florida summer, I’m sure the AstroTurf fed heat on the course would be intolerable for some.
If you’re not tech savvy, having to do everything (order food, drinks, etc.) via the app might be aggravating. Rest assured, I’m a tech idiot and I found the process super easy and, actually, quite efficient.
All-in-all, it appears to me that Tiger Woods’ “new mini-golf place” is really a revolutionary hang out for active families. And, if these are as successful as Woods’ has been on the course, all families should lobby for a location to go up near you.
My vote: Go.
Ever been to a PopStroke near you? Tell us your experience in the comment fields below.
