Mini golf dates run from a living room with red plastic buckets on their sides to a course after dark, and the cost swings from close to nothing to a night out with drinks.
Whatever you choose, a post-golf appetizer platter or a round of local craft beer keeps the evening going.
1. Backyard DIY Mini Golf Date
Portable putting lanes with white borders and numbered obstacles turn a lawn into a course with no venue involved.
Lay them in a loose loop so you walk from hole to hole, and keep a pencil and a scorecard on a small table at the first tee.
I like this one for a daytime date: the grass does the decorating, and nobody has to book a slot or watch a clock. Set up before your partner arrives, and the first hole is already waiting.
2. Night Mini Golf Date
Playing after dark changes the mood of a course more than any other choice here. Lights, shadows and a cooler breeze make a simple round feel like an evening out.
Wear dark layers if you want to match the look, but pick shoes you can walk in. Aim for a time slot near sunset, so you get daylight for the first few holes and the glow for the rest.
You can learn a lot about someone on a mini golf date.
— Bumble
3. Post-golf Appetizer Platter
Wings, sliders, tortilla chips, quesadillas and taquitos, with three bowls of dip, make a platter that feeds two and keeps the evening going.
Store-bought frozen versions work fine; heat them while you play, so food is ready when you come in.
Pick dips with different personalities, like a creamy one, a salsa and something spicy. Serve on one big plate, so you end up eating shoulder to shoulder, which is half the charm.
4. Mini Golf and Local Craft Beer
A course that also pours local beer gives the loser something to look forward to. Settle in at an outdoor table afterward, drinks in hand, and replay the holes that went wrong.
Search for a spot near you that pairs the two.
Order a flight if the menu offers one, so each of you can taste a few. If one of you skips alcohol, check for a non-alcoholic option before you go.
5. Playful Photo Ops on the Course
Stretch out on the turf while your partner stands over you with a putter, and you have a photo that beats any standard smile-at-the-camera shot. Props are free: the club, the ball, the flag.
I would plan your poses before you start, so you are not improvising with a line of players behind you.
Prop your phone on the ball return or ask a nearby player to snap it. Take the pictures between holes, not mid-round.
6. Living Room Indoor Mini Golf
Red plastic buckets laid on their sides make perfectly good holes, and a living room gives you a course the weather cannot cancel. Use real putters if you own them, or whatever sticks you have, plus golf balls.
Set the buckets at different distances, and use a couch or coffee table as an obstacle.
Keep score on paper and give the loser a chore or a dessert to pick. Cost is close to nothing.
