Ian Waller and his family get a sneak preview of the brand new futuristic mini golf experience that’s come to Bath
Crazy golf has just gone funky! Thanks to Puttify, you can forget the windmills and slippy plastic grass, and instead think bright lights, exciting holes and the chance to win even if you’re a bit rubbish!
Bath Leisure Centre is the first place in Europe to open its Puttify course, offering, so we were told, ‘exciting, high-tech courses will bring fun to all ages and skill levels.’ The course actually opens to the public on 20 December, but we were invited along with a preview round of fun!
We were greeted by a couple of hugely cheery and welcoming members of the leisure centre team who were more than happy to show us the ropes. Apparently they’d been practicing all day and were really excited to find out what we thought!
Actually, despite the miles of neon and strange looking holes, Puttify is so easy to play and hugely enjoyable at the same time. We were each equipped with a bog standard crazy golf putter and three balls, with different colours for everyone. We were then invited to input our names, our photos and a team name into the computer screen before trying out hole one of nine. Being ancient and as tech-savvy as a pebble, we left this to the teenagers to do, making sure that our team name was suitably family-friendly…
One of the great things about Puttify is that it really doesn’t matter if you’ve never played golf before… In fact, if you have, ignore everything that you’ve learned. The thing is, with Puttify, there’s just as much emphasis on blind luck as golfing prowess, and that’s what makes it such a laugh!
Each hole offers a new challenge, with the opportunity to putt for the 100 pointer hole, while the more likely reality of going nowhere near it and hitting the lower point alternatives looms large. If you do manage to hit the 100 pointer, you’re greeted with flashing lights and a top score. Otherwise, just expect mick-taking from your golfing rivals.
Each player gets three shots per hole, with the computer keeping score along the way – so no mini pencils and scorecards. There’s also little metal tables on each hole to hold the drinks available from reception, including fizzy stuff for the children and beers and cider and the grown-ups.
As the game went on, we sharpened our skills and looked to handle the curves, jumps, loop the loops and obstacles offered by each hole with increasing skill and confidence. Although actually, it made very little difference at all. If you’re after a game of skill, forget it. But if you’re after some family fun or a good time with friends, then you’ve definitely come to the right place.
Who won, you might ask? Well, not me… let’s say the winner was Puttify! Puttify is designed for all ages, from littlies getting a hand from mum and dad, to groups of friends out for a bit of fun too. As a family of teenagers and embarrassing parents, we loved it, particularly with the option close at hand to follow it up with a couple of games of bowling upstairs.
So give it a go! You could be one of the first few families to try it out and add your name to the high score board at the end!
Find out more and book your places at www.better.org.uk/leisure-centre/banes/bath-sports-and-leisure-centre/bath-puttify-mini-golf
