So I've been doing some freelance work for a company that plans bachelor parties in Austin. It's pretty fun, mostly just tourist guides that involve drinking elements. This particular piece was a guide to playing drinking games at non-traditional golf courses (putt putt, top golf, etc). around town, and it seemed worth sharing with the masses.
Golfing in Austin. Sort of.
If you’re traveling for your bachelor party, going golfing is a pretty standard move. It’s outdoors, there’s alcohol involved, it’s competitive, the guys can be guys, and it gives you a chance to check out a new course. That all sounds great until you start to think about how this impacts a bachelor party vibe. Generally speaking, you have to be quiet and respectful at a golf course, and playing a full 18 dominates the entire day. What you need to aim for is the fun of golfing with none of the buzzkill restrictions that come with a legitimate course, and Austin has a few options that fit that description.
Peter Pan’s BYOB Mini-Golf
Peter Pan’s has been a solid contributor to the Austin amateur golf scene for many years, as well as a staple of the Austin binge-drinking scene. This putt putt paradise offers 2 distinct 18 hole courses. Both have their share of challenging holes, difficult obstacles, and hole-in-one opportunities. The sell here is that Peter Pan is completely BYOB. You just roll up with an 18 pack (per person) of whatever light beer tickles your fancy, toss a guy in a shack $7, and power your way through a round of beer-a-hole mini-golf. You get outside, get hammered, and have a real chance at kicking your friends’ asses all in one fell swoop. Instant classic.
Our recommended drinking rule-set: Beer-a-Hole.
At each hole, everyone opens up a new beer and chugs it. Pretty straightforward and guaranteed to wipe that double bogey on hole 16 clean from your memory. If that’s too much for you (you wuss), then try doing strokes = seconds at each hole and if anyone gets a hole-in-one, everyone else shotguns.
Butler Park Pitch-n-Putt
The Pitch-n-Putt takes the same basic principles of Peter Pan but kicks it up a notch for those who prefer an experience closer to real golf. You want to work on your shots on vacation but don’t feel like having the country club experience? No problem. Grab yourself a cooler and wheel it across the 9-hole par 3. The grass may be a little rougher than you’re used to, but the trade-off is being able to do pretty much whatever the hell you want. Also, be sure to enforce the “whoever loses this hole carries the cooler rule” to put a little extra pressure on yourself. There’s no better way to hone your 80 yard chip shot than knowing if you blow it you’ll be hauling everyone’s beers around.
Our recommended drinking rule-set: Variety Pack.
Every participant brings a different pack of beer. Whoever wins the hole gets to choose which beer is consumed during the next hole. Loser at each hole has to schlep the cooler around and serve the beers for the next one, plus you end up with some spare beers to enjoy when you’re done.
Top Golf
Yep, we have one of those too. If you haven’t heard of Top Golf, it’s one of the few places in the world where drinking and driving is encouraged. You get set up on a “bay” with a driving range in front of you and let balls rip at targets for the allotted time. There’s food, there’s drinks, and you get all the practice of the driving range with all of the benefits of a sick bar. Top Golf also does events and provides a more official environment than the other two options, so if you want your bachelor party “golfing” to feel more like a full-blown event, this may be the move for you. If you’re a complete degenerate like me, maybe stick with Peter Pan.
Our recommended drinking rule-set: Dealer’s Choice.
Top Golf has their own set of games, which you can check out on their website (https://topgolf.com/us/play/games/). These are all based on earning points, so assigning drinking rules should be pretty straight forward. For example, if you’re playing a team game like Top Scramble, the losing team has to do a shot which the winning team chooses. Super simple. Don’t be afraid to ask the employees for their suggestions either, they see these types of shenanigans all the time.
Keep those strokes low and make sure to stay hydrated and lubricated.