Get your clubs ready! Swingers, the UK-originated activity known as “crazy golf,” is opening in Boston in collaboration with a local restaurant group.
What’s “crazy golf?” If regular golf is about focus and stamina, “crazy golf,” an invention from our friends in England, is like the sport on spring break. Imagine wildly themed minigolf courses with obstacles and of course, lots of beer. The Swingers location in London has a beach holiday theme, for example. And next year, you’ll be able to play this wacky version of golf right on Boylston Street.
Why Boston? “Having opened in Washington D.C. and New York City, we’ve gotten to know the East Coast of the U.S. and Boston just feels like a natural fit,” says Matt Grech-Smith, co-founder and co-CEO of Competitive Socializing, the company behind Swingers. “It has a great food scene, a vibrant dating culture, thriving nightlife and discerning locals who like finding new experiences.”
Plus, it found a good match with Tavistock Restaurant Collection, the Boston dining group behind stalwarts Abe & Louie’s, Atlantic Fish Co., Coach Grill, Joe’s on Newbury and Joe’s Waterfront. “When we found our stunning space in the Back Bay with Tavistock Restaurant Collection, with its exposed wooden beams and red brick, we knew that Boston would be the perfect home for us,” Grech-Smith says.
Located on Boylston between Abe & Louie’s and Atlantic Fish Co. (in what was previously Crate & Barrel), Swingers will take over 21,000-square feet on the second and third levels with 1920s English country club-themed decor. The space will offer a collection of quirky and fun minigolf courses and the brand’s third “Swingers Carnival,” an old-fashioned arcade feature.
For an idea, peep photos of interior elements, like a ferris wheel and lush country gardens, from other Swingers locations:
Swingers venues also house several cocktail bars and a kitchen dishing out elevated street food. Prices for the Boston experience are to be determined, but a nine-hole round of minigolf in New York City starts at $28 per person and usually takes 35–45 mins to play. There is no cover charge to stop in for a bite or drink, if you just want to check out the space.
The collaboration with Tavistock will create a fairly impressive-sounding addition to Back Bay’s social scene—and if we know anything about Boston, it’s that we love competitive sports and games. And the group isn’t the only Massachusetts restaurant operator banking on the combination of games and great food to make a splash.
BOSSE, the largest indoor pickleball experience and dedicated pickleball complex in Massachusetts, is set to open its doors this October at the Natick Mall. The concept is the brainchild of former professional tennis player D.J. Bosse and chef Chris Coombs of local restaurants Deuxave, Boston Chops and dBar. Beyond offering 21 courts pickleball designed to cater to all skill levels, the complex will offer four unique dining concepts, including an Italian-inspired restaurant and bar serving pastas and artisanal pizzas, a causal coffeeshop with smoothies and pastries, a courtside spot for pickleballers to grab a snack and a sports bar and lounge.
From local bowling alleys and arcades to Puttshack, the self-described “first and only upscale tech-infused minigolf experience” that’s opened two locations in the Boston Seaport and Natick Mall in recent years, the decidedly more nostalgic vibe of Swingers sounds like it will be a cozy alternative indoor activity to check out in Boston next year.