Girls on Wheels at Puttery having a hole-in-fun day
Vicki Baker
As kids, remember all the rounds of miniature golf we played? It must have been hundreds. Hundreds of times hitting multi-colored balls on green outdoor carpet as a gigantic plaster hippo loomed ahead while we ricocheted putt after putt off bright-orange obstacles. Now, as adults, Girls on Wheels (Nancy Burns, Shirley Monge, Karen Dipietro, Susan Hebert, Cassie Richardson, and Vicki Baker) got a hankering to sink a few balls. But we’d likely draw confused stares if we headed down to the local outdoor mini golf course, as it had always been considered a game more geared toward kids. That is, until now.
Enter Puttery, redefining the classic concept of miniature golf with a modern spin geared for adults. Gone was hitting a ball through that spinning windmill or the elephant’s trunk. Instead, intricately detailed courses challenged us with unique twists at every hole (even for the seasoned golfers).
Once ready, we headed to one of three 9-hole courses themed as a well-stocked library, a posh ski lodge, and the illusion of a modern-day fun house. Each had its own vibe, and the unlimited entry ticket got us as many rounds of golf as we wanted.
A concierge staffed each course, who equipped and set us up for the game. Gone were the rubber bullseye-style putters and colored balls. We were given nice blade-style putters and a numerically assigned ball directly tracked to our name.
For scoring, we no longer hunched over awkwardly to scribble our score on a crumpled paper scorecard with a stubby pencil that always needed sharpening. Each hole had a touchscreen scoring system where we entered our score before heading to the next hole. The screens were linked to wall displays throughout the space featuring that day’s leaderboard and cataloged any holes-in-one.
The first course played, The Library, was themed as an academic-type space with wood paneling, paintings lining the walls, and shelves and shelves of real books. Features included a solar system with several large mock planets to wander through, a dinosaur skeleton hole complete with lighted meteor flaming overhead, and a huge telescope for a look at the constellations and galaxy.
In the adjacent room was The Illusion. Living up to its name, we experienced sensory overload moving around the course. Murals and walls of black and white stripes, swirls, and dots wrapping around in various directions. A giant striped ball in the middle of the course served as one of the obstacles.
Then, last, The Lodge was outfitted in a ski lodge motif. Roaring fireplace, ski lift, giant polar bear, and holes requiring putts through obstacles like slalom gates and snow skis.
Who said miniature golf couldn’t be classy? Puttery put a modern spin on this time-honored game. And this upscale experience let Girls on Wheels relive a piece of our childhood in a fun, adults-only setting. Anyone ready to channel their inner Tiger Woods? The mini version, that is!