While the phrase “mini golf” has traditionally evoked images of worn-out roadside attractions clad in pirate ships and dinosaur statues, this beloved pastime has taken on a seriously sophisticated edge in the form of Swingers, the Crazy Golf Club. First launched as a London pop-up in 2014, this concept has spread from Great Britain to world-class cities like New York and Las Vegas, providing visitors with an opportunity to sip on craft cocktails, sample local dishes and even enjoy carnival games as they try their best for a hole-in-one.

For Forbes, co-founder and co-CEO Matt Grech-Smith highlights how each individual course incorporates local culture to craft a truly unique experience for guests while delivering an upscale customer experience that goes far beyond the typical mini golf course.

What inspired you to create Swingers, the Crazy Golf Club?

My business partner (Jeremy Simmonds) and I have a long background in running music events for young people and creating experiential marketing campaigns for brands. In 2014, with the boom in social media, we could see that people wanted more from their days and nights out—they didn’t just want to eat and drink; they wanted to do something and be able to show it off on social media. At the time in London, you could play ping pong in a bar, and you could do some upscale bowling, but there wasn’t much else. We had the idea of taking crazy golf and making it into an incredible social experience, where the venue was intricately-themed like an English country golf club, and where the food, cocktails and service were genuinely great and not an afterthought to the activity. We tested the idea with a pop-up that opened in 2014, and ten years on, we are about to open on the Las Vegas Strip!

How does the idea of competitive socializing contribute to the overall guest experience?

Ultimately, we consider ourselves fundamentally a hospitality experience, where the food and drink programs and the service have to be excellent. However, as a competitive socializing venue, we have this extra hook in the activity that gives people a reason to visit and shapes their experience. We see longer dwell times as people go through the Swingers experience—perhaps having a drink, playing some crazy golf, grabbing some food and then visiting our Carnival arcade experience. Since the pandemic, we’ve seen guests placing higher importance than ever on real life experiences, and so our offer speaks particularly strongly to all those people who want to get the most out of their leisure experiences.

What personal experiences or travels inspired the decision to expand Swingers, the Crazy Golf Club to Las Vegas, Boston and Dubai? What motivated the selection of the first two U.S. locations in New York City and Washington, D.C.?

We launched two locations fairly rapidly in London and enjoyed fantastic success. We discovered that Swingers cities need to have a number of characteristics—they need to be densely populated with a large corporate crowd (circa 40% of our business comes from corporate groups). These cities also need to have an after-work drinking culture, a dating culture and a thriving street food scene! We knew that after London, we wanted to get to the U.S., where there were so many markets that would be perfect for Swingers. D.C. and New York were amazing starting grounds for us in the U.S. Las Vegas and Dubai represent the natural evolution of the brand, as they are two of the biggest entertainment capitals in the world.

In what ways does each location differentiate itself from the others, and what similarities do they share?

Each venue operates the same broadly similar concept, but the designs, course names and food and beverage offerings differ. Our Dubai location (opening later this year) will feature our first-ever private speakeasy, which includes an exclusive crazy golf course. Las Vegas will be our flagship and is based around an English country estate complete with a projection-mapped manor house fascia. We also introduce unique experiences at each venue, like our Carnival experiences in the West End and Vegas, which merge nostalgia with modern excitement through over 30 carnival games, a specialty cocktail menu and fun prizes. This summer, we had a Summer Spritz Bar and Summer Courtyard with Lillet and Italicus at our NoMad and DC locations. So, while the core concept remains consistent, each location offers a unique experience.

How does each location incorporate local experiences into its offerings?

We tailor our food and beverage offerings to reflect what is popular and meaningful in each area. We’re continuously elevating it and collaborating with top local food operators to create menus that match the high-quality entertainment experience we offer. For example, at Swingers NoMad, we feature Emmy Squared pizza and Mah-Ze-Dahr desserts, both local New York favorites. In D.C., we have tuTaco and Kneadza Pizza, which reflect the local scene and are popular there.

How do you envision the brand’s identity continuing to evolve in response to the new markets? What is next for the brand?

Launching in Las Vegas and Dubai in the coming months will supercharge the brand, bringing it to a whole new global audience. We’ve also announced Boston for 2025, and more new sites will be announced soon. We continue to innovate our product, including the ongoing rollout of Carnival, our retro arcade experience, plus constantly developing our F&B program and overall guest experience from the online booking journey through to how guests experience every element of our venues. An example of this is our new Family Sundays—available in selected venues.