Mini golf is a fun, often fast-paced offshoot of traditional golf and is now being modified even more by a Chicago startup bringing tech to the beloved game.
On Tuesday, Puttshack announced it raised $150 million in a growth capital round that saw participation from BlackRock and Promethean Investments. This new capital will fuel Puttshack’s national expansion and bring high-tech mini golf to more cities and customers.
Puttshack puts a spin on traditional mini golf by bringing the game to indoor locations and infusing it with several tech features. In addition to a putter and golf ball — both of which are provided by the company — players create an account that syncs with their golf ball. This allows for scores to be tracked automatically and saved for future visits. Puttshack locations also turn into 21-and-over nightclubs and serve alcoholic beverages to lure in older adults.
The company was founded in 2018 and is headquartered in Chicago. Its locations are still limited, with only one in a Chicago suburb and another in Atlanta. Overseas, Puttshack has four locations in the United Kingdom. However, more U.S. locations are on the way.
New locations in Boston and Miami are set to open in the fall, according to the company. Additionally, Puttshack plans to bring its high-tech golfing experience to St. Louis, Dallas, Denver, Huston, Nashville, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Scottsdale in 2023.
“As the global leader in the emerging and growing market of competitive socializing, we have found immense success since opening our first two U.S. venues in Atlanta and Chicago last year,” Logan Powell, group CFO of Puttshack, said in a statement. “This new capital from BlackRock will allow us to further expand and bring our one-of-a-kind concept to more cities across the country. Our guests are our top priority; therefore, we will continue investing in innovative technologies to enhance the overall guest experience with a seamless booking platform and novel mini-golf game components only available at Puttshack.”
Prior to this round, Puttshack secured $60 million in funding in May of 2021.
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