Published by Jeremy. Last Updated on August 15, 2024.
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We are big fans of all things mini golf in Pittsburgh, and always get excited when more courses open in the city.
The Strip District is becoming a hub for modern mini golf, with two companies offering unique, themed experiences indoors right in the heart of the city.
Puttshack inside The Terminal building is one such golf company, and this one introduced some fun and smart technology into the mini golf experience to really make for a unique round. We were invited by Puttshack to check out their facility for their anniversary party, and we wanted to share more in this review!
Tech Meets Mini Golf at Puttshack Pittsburgh
Puttshack in the Terminal Building offers four unique courses each with nine holes of play. The company brands itself as “tech-infused mini golf” and really incorporates a number of fun elements into the design.
It starts when you are first assigned a ball. The golf balls here are unique in that they contain a chip inside them that tracks your game every step of the way. When you put your ball down on the tee, a sensor detects what player the ball is assigned to and helps keep track of the score. Hit the ball with the putter, the sensor also detects that and counts to your score (so don't accidentally tap your ball here- they're not forgiving!).
Other elements of the course also feature sensors to aid in detecting your score, including one in the hole and others found throughout special areas of the respective themes you'll encounter along the way.
In fact, going beyond the tech, the theme of the holes at Puttshack are perhaps the most interesting here. Most feature some form of a mini-game where you are able to get additional points for a successful hit (more on those in a second), get your ball routed to a straight shot to a hole-in-one (the aptly named Supertube), or, in many cases, both.
The course we played had themes including beer pong, pinball, Connect Four, a mini trivia game, Skeeball, and more.
In the beer pong course, if you launch your ball into the correct bucket, you get a straight pass to the hole while the others routed your ball away and require an additional stroke (or more). The pinball-esque course helped you score additional points based on where the ball landed as it passed down the obstacles (similar with skeeball, the last hole). The trivia hole put up a rather random question on the screen and made you putt through one of two channels based on your answer- get it right, you get more points.
As such, while Puttshack is indeed a full mini golf experience, the scoring system here is quite unconventional in that you are trying to get more points instead of less.
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Don't Overlook a Cocktail at Puttshack's Bar
Going beyond the mini golf games at Puttshack, the facility also offers a stocked bar and restaurant to provide a full experience all around (and, yes, you can even take your beverages with you to the course)!
During our visit, we were able to sample three cocktails from the bar program- the Spiced Pineapple Mezcal Margarita, The Fussfungle, and the Ultimate Top Shelf Margarita.
The two Margaritas offered playful takes on the classics with the mezcal-forward one including mezcal, habanero vodka, house-made ancho verde liqueur, pineapple syrup, fresh pineapple juice, cold-pressed lime, a jalapeno popsicle, and a hibiscus sugar rim which was, in a word, boozy (and not lacking for the heat either- even in the popsicle). The classic margarita had a similar take with tequila, Cointreau, cold-pressed lime, black lava salt rim, and a Grand Marnier Supertube for a floater.
Both solid iterations of the respective drinks and with an extra topper for an added flavor splash that also look as fun as they taste- albeit on the higher end of cocktail prices in the area.
Going beyond these, the bar also had a version of The Fussfungle, a Pittsburgh classic cocktail that is rather hard to find. This one featured Wigle's rye whiskey, brown sugar molasses syrup, orange bitters, and an orange peel. It was quite reminiscent of an Old Fashioned in most respects; however, the molasses base in the syrup added a robust richness and warmth that you may not otherwise expect. This one is definitely for those who like that strong flavor upfront, we admit, but we were overjoyed to finally find this local cocktail in the wild as they are often quite hard to come by.
Overall, Puttshack offers quite the robust experience for those looking for something new in the world of mini golf. Whether you are going for a fun round with friends, to check out the cool tech that is incorporated in the games, or to make a night of it with food or drinks, this one offers a fun experience right in the heart of the Strip. Our only regret is that we could only check out one course of nine holes here, as we definitely would've liked to hit two of the courses for a much more robust mini golf experience (so check out and see if they have any specials to add on a second before you go)!
Now one thing is for certain- we're really going to miss not having the tech when we go back to classic mini golf. This one was quite ingenious!
Puttshack is located inside The Terminal building at 1729 Smallman Street in the Strip District. We were guests of Puttshack for their anniversary party from this review. As always, all opinions are our own.
