Verdict: Puttshack is the best mini golf in London I’ve played. It has fun themes, it’s relatively difficult and has automatic scoring.
Happy Gilmore is my favourite movie of all time, so naturally I love mini golf.
Having played six of the best mini golf places in London, here is my ranking based on course design, theme and food and drink on offer. Find more ideas for non touristy things to do in London.
6. Swingers Review
Locations: Oxford Circus, The City
When you compare Swingers to any of the other mini golf courses in London, it doesn’t win on anything. The course designs aren’t that fun and are fairly easy too. We played The Big Wheel course near Oxford Circus which features a “nostalgic nod to the 1920’s English Riviera” which I didn’t really get a sense of at all…
The last hole is great however and has a huge nod to crazy golf. It features a rotating big wheel in which you have to avoid the capsules in order to get a hole in one (I did not make it in one, unfortunately).
I would say the food and drink on offer is good however, boasting five cocktail bars and five street food vendors. They’ve also opened a funfair type arcade experience (very similar to Fairgame in Canary Wharf) which actually looks a lot better than their mini golf.
5. Crazier Golf at Boom Battle Bar
Locations: Oxford Street
Crazier Golf at Boom Battle Bar offers a unique crazy golf experience – sometimes you don’t even use the putter (using the catapult nearly took my eye out…). Still, the course design is unique and challenging and there are a few holes where you can even compete at the same time and sabotage your opponent! Therefore, Crazier Golf is best for those who aren’t great at ‘regular’ putting.
Boom Battle Bar has an excellent range of drinks to choose from (although you may be waiting in line for a while) and their food offering is the standard bar food. With it being located in Oxford Street, I would make dinner reservations elsewhere.
There are also other things to do there like augmented reality darts and axe throwing, beer pong, shuffleboard (a personal favourite) and karaoke booths.
I would say the food and drink on offer is good however, boasting five cocktail bars and five street food vendors
4. Crazy Putt Review
Locations: O2 (Greenwich)
A short walk from the O2, This outdoor 18 hole golf course is the hardest mini golf course I’ve played anywhere. It’s almost impossible to play well unless you’re a professional. After four or five holes we just laughed at how hard the course design was – this is not a traditional mini golf experience. Despite this, it was still fun to play as we were all so bad – the pace and line need to be extremely precise. There were several times our ball left the course… Each hole is (loosely inspired by real golf course holes like St Andrews, Augusta and Pebble Beach. Don’t expect many holes in one here.
https://crazyputtadventuregolflondon.com/
3. Junkyard Golf Review
Locations: Shoreditch
Junkyard Golf just pips Swingers due to its fun theme designs. We played the movie course in Shoreditch, but Junkyard Golf has moved to new premises in Hackney and the movie course is also no longer available to play which is a bummer. I wish the course designs could have been more challenging at Junkyard Golf. Some holes just involved hitting around an obstacle or over humps so the holes have a less ‘crazy golf’ element.
The Junkyard Golf menu is a little light on food with only pizza and nachos as the options, but makes up for it in cocktails and drinks.
https://www.junkyardgolfclub.co.uk/london
2. Plonk Review
Locations: Borough Market, Hackney
There isn’t too much to choose from when it comes to Junkyard Golf vs Plonk.
While the theme designs are slightly more fun on Junkyard Golf, Plonk has more difficult holes. There are multiple routes you can play and shots can get very creative.
Shoreditch and Hackney have a pretty great bottomless brunch on Sundays for £30 where you receive:
- One Round of Golf
- 5 Arcade Tokens
- One Hot Dog
- Bottomless Cocktails and Soft Drinks for One Hour
1. Puttshack Review
Locations: Bank, White City
My number one mini golf course in London, Puttshack offers a bit of everything from fun themed holes which vary massively in difficulty to a nice bar to retreat to afterwards. Everything just feels more polished, adding to the experience as a whole.
It’s all interactive too so you don’t have to keep score and the system knows who is teeing off when you place the ball down (I have no idea how they do it). Puttshack’s scoring system is also unique and fun. There are super bonus points for getting a hole in one, minus points for hazards and a chance to win more points, beer and even pizza on the wheel of fortune hole!
We took the special offer of a second game for half price. The second course shared three holes as the first course which was slightly disappointing. But we’re still glad we got to experience six other course designs which were just as fun as the first which makes me want to play the other two courses!
The food and drink menu is pretty great too with street food dishes, pizzas and burgers on offer.
If you’re ever in Glasgow, be sure to visit Golf Fang (review) which is an 18 hole mini golf course with incredible and fun set designs which, in my opinion beats even Junkyard Golf!
Looking for more fun things to do in London? I can recommend the challenges at The Cube, the alternative arcade Novelty Automation and the interactive football experience TOCA Social.
