Choosing Mini Golf for Your Next Date Night (including First Dates)
From New York to Cali, there are more than a thousand Mini Golf courses to choose from when getting ready for your next date, if you’re going down that road (ahem, green).
Here’s a few good reasons why you should consider a first date at the local Putt-Putt, and we’ll be honest, it’s not the ice cream - though that’s a bonus.
Why is Miniature Golf a Good Date Idea?
Taking a date to a Mini Golf Course is a great idea because of the low skill and effort input to high participation and fun output. Players don’t need to be good at golf to have an excellent time playing a low stakes round of Mini Golf.
Lesson: How to Play Mini Golf
You don’t even need to take the scorecard if it’s your first time playing. Or, if you’re getting the sense that your date is competitive, fill out the scorecard accurately with the results determining the outcome of some friendly competition (aka betting).
Compared to other leisure sports like billiards or bowling, Mini Golf has a low(er) barrier of entry, since like art and music, nearly everyone has enjoyed some Mini Golf in their lives prior. Take it from us, using Mini Golf clubs to putt a ball is far, far easier than using a Pool Cue if you’ve never truly played.
Try it out sometime, even if you’re married. Actually, especially if you’re married and need an idea for date night when you get some babysitting.
Mini Golf is also inexpensive compared to most date ideas.
Is Mini Golf a Good First Date?
Mini Golf is a fun first date because it’s a simple, no pressure game that gets people out of the house, and, out of the dinner and a movie rut that existed for so long. And, a game of Mini Golf only takes between 45-60 minutes to complete, so there’s still plenty of time to chain your putt putt golf outing with another activity.
Another reason it’s a first date idea is that it doesn’t require any significant golf skills. Plus it’s a lot of fun. Much more so than a coffee date at some pretentious coffee shop. Unless you’re into that sort of thing.
Is Mini Golf a Good Second Date?
Mini Golf is a great second date. It gives you time to explore the talking points of the first date, with the diversion of the game to cover any awkward silences that may come up.
Further, if your first date was serious, like a trip to a museum or the opera, you can begin to show your fun side by letting loose a little on the mini-links.
Golf Alternatives to a Mini Golf Date
Only take these routes if you know that your date partner has some skill with a driver or a set of irons, or, if they’re truly adventurous, as some level of golf skill will make the next date better if so.
- Drinks and Drives @ Top Golf
- Round of Traditional Golf
- Trip to the Local Driving Range
Heck, if you work together, just bust out the Office Putting Set for a highly frowned upon and possibly against-the-rules date @ work.
Mini Golf Date Outfits
A good Mini Golf outfit is any outfit that makes you feel comfortable and happy on your date. Putt-Putt courses don’t have the stodgy rules of your local Country Club, so dress up or down as much as you want.
Listen, we’re not saying be a slob on the mini-links. Not that at all. But we are saying that in order to have the best first date (or 21st date), you’re going to want to be presentable.
Pro-Tip: Pick a Golf Ball that matches your outfit. Or, go full contrast. Never clash.
Famous Mini Golf Dates
Daniel LaRusso & Ali Mills
The famous Mini Golf date of 1984’s The Karate Kid features new kid on the block, Daniel LaRusso, a New Jersey transplant, taking local cheerleader, Ali Mills to a night out at Golf N' Stuff, all set to Baxter Robinson’s Feel the Night.
Sure, there was a round of USA/Russia Arcade Hockey, Go Karts, Bumper Boats, and some Trampoline work, but you remember the Mini Golf the most.
Note: this is before Daniel has to win her back at Golf N’ Stuff to the tune of Commuter’s Young Hearts. Young Hearts, as we find out, die fast. Especially since they are broken up by the start of Karate Kid II.
Happy Gilmore & Chubbs
While not a romantic date, local golf pro, Chubbs, takes Happy Gilmore, a failed hockey player turned pro golfer, under his wing to teach him the finer points of putting at Happy Land (which is really Playland, a course in Vancouver, Canada).
Happy Land is a fantastically intricate course where Happy learns to play the ball as it lies, regardless of the obstacle before him. Unbeknownst to Gilmore and Chubbs, PGA Pro, Lee Trevino, just so happens to be on the course during their training date.
This is all before Chubbs presents Happy with the Golden Hockey Stick Putter.
Ray & Timmy
The father and son duo, as played by Ted Danson and Macauley Culkin, find themselves having quite the experience in Getting Even With Dad.
The pair end up playing a game of Mini Golf at the Scandia Family Fun Center in Rohnert Park, California.
What’s Next
A great first date is a memorable and positive experience. We believe in taking a date to a Miniature Golf Course because it spikes the fun meter without spiking the nerves. That’s why it’s the perfect first date.
Just don’t brag about any hole-in-ones you may hit. You may find yourself at the end of the date real quick if you do.