As soon as I heard that Tiger Woods was designing a putting course, I got super excited! I couldn't wait to get out there and try it out and see if it was worth the hype. This will be an un-biased review, as unbiased as I can be, of the PopStroke Glendale, AZ location.
For starters, walking into the entrance, the staff at the desk were super friendly and helpful. The entrance is also the "store," which is mostly just 3 or 4 different hats, tiger headcovers and golf balls. I was slightly disappointed that there wasn't a shirt for me to purchase, so that seems like a missed opportunity. There is also a bar that has draft beer in the lobby as well as and ice cream shop, with delicious ice cream.
Here is how the pricing breaks down, for a regular adult (other prices for seniors, military, etc):
The main day--pass is $30, that comes with unlimited play, complimentary TaylorMade Distance+ golf ball with the PopStroke logo and the regular putter (a slightly upgraded version from the normal min-golf putter).
For an additional $10, you can upgrade to a TaylorMade Spider putter
For an additional $4, you can upgrade your ball to the TaylorMade Tour Response ball
We decided to visit PopStroke for my birthday, so I wanted to upgrade to the Spider putter, which was totally worth it. My wife didn't upgrade the putter, so I used hers for one shot. The regular putter is decent but, as a regular golfer, the Spider putter is worth the upgrade, just for the SuperStroke grip and the way the ball comes off the face. It just felt so much better to me.
When you head out to the courses, you come to a sign with a quote from Tiger, "Some of my happiest memories are of spending time with my pops on the golf course having putting contests. I am excited to welcome you to our TGR Design courses at PopStroke."
At first glance, the size of PopStroke is a lot smaller than I expected. For a mini-golf course with 36 holes, I really expected it to be bigger. I feel like I've been to regular mini-golf courses that were only 18 holes and had the same footprint as this 36 hole facility. This really became when we experienced a bit of a wait on certain holes and there isn't a lot of space to stand around while you're waiting. Also - there is really no shade over the 36 holes, so it got pretty hot in the AZ sun, even though we were there in October.
We started on the Tiger Red Course, which is the easier of the two courses. I have to say, I had a lot of fun. It doesn't look like it would be such a challenge, but ridges and slopes on the greens, make it a more realistic putting experience than I expected. Obviously the artificial turf used on the greens make them super-fast, which I'm not used to, so it took a couple of holes to get used to the speed. We had a blast and I ended up shooting +4 on the Red Course, but would like to try it again, knowing the speeds of the green.
After we played the Red Course, we decided to take a break in the shade and grab some lunch. I fully expected a "Top Golf" type food (which I'm not a huge fan of, but the food was amazing! My wife had a Sear Ahi Tuna Salad, which she said was delicious. I had the Chicken Tenders Dinner and those were really good. They tasted like they were made fresh and the fries were delicious as well. The prices look a little high when you see the menu, but you get a ton of food for the price.
My wife also had a mixed drink while we ate and she said the drink was actually really good. She had a Paloma, and was shocked to find out that they had fresh grapefruit juice to make it with. Side note - my wife saying the drinks are good is a high compliment :)
After lunch, we headed out to the Black Course, which is definitely a little bit harder than the Red Course. There were a more severe slopes, bigger ridges and it just took a little more creativity to get the ball to the hole. My wife wasn't a fan of the Black Course, but I liked it more than the Red Course and ended up shooting +3.
It was a pretty hot day, so we ended up leaving after playing 36 holes, but did stop at the shop to grab a hat and the Tiger headcover (that, surprisingly, had the PopStoke loge stitched on the back of it).
One tip I would give anyone that goes, download the app. You can order drinks to have delivered to you on the course, order your lunch/dinner while you sit and you can also keep score on the app. There is a big screen that overlooks the courses with a leaderboard that updates in real time, so you can see how you're doing versus everyone else. You can pick up scorecards when you get there, but taking score on the app is super easy and it's nice to see your name on the leaderboard (screenshot below - with me tied for 5th).
Overall, I would give the PopStroke Glendale location a B+, only because of the lack of shade and the size of it. If there were some of the triangle shades and more space to walk/wait, I would definitely give it an A. I do recommend going on a day when it's not super-hot, and get there when they open. That way you can take full advantage of the unlimited play. All-in-all, I would definitely go back, just on a cooler day. Well done PopStroke and TGR Designs!
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