Topgolf Minneapolis – Tips For Your Trip to This Minnesota Golf Venue
Topgolf Minneapolis – Tips For Your Trip to This Minnesota Golf Venue
Well, there are no more excuses for golfers in the upper Midwest. You know who you are…you have a not-so-good round of golf in the early summer, and blame it on not hitting a single drive during the six months of winter. With the opening of Topgolf Minneapolis, located in Brooklyn Center Minnesota, you can hit golf balls 363 days out of the year, no matter what the weather. Yes, you can experience a unique first of golfing in 20 degrees with snow falling. Don’t think that’s possible? It is, and you need to see this year-around golf venue to believe it. Here are all of the Topgolf Minneapolis tips that you are going to need for your first trip to this fun and unique golf experience in Minnesota.
What is Topgolf Minneapolis?
Topgolf Minneapolis is basically a golf driving range that is kicked-up, super-sized, and crazy fun for everyone who tees up a golf ball. There are three levels, housing the 102 partially enclosed golf bays. The golf bays are open to the fenced in 215+ yard driving range. What makes Topgolf unlike any typical driving range, is that they offer a choice of eight games that you can play while aiming at various targets set up throughout the range.
Aim for the particular target to earn your points. After each hit, your distance hit and score will display on the screen.
So who keeps score? No one….your score is kept by the golf ball. The golf balls at Topgolf Minneapolis are embedded with microchips that track your shot and determine your score. If only I could get a few of these golf balls to work on my local golf course! You can read about the various golf games on the Topgolf website here.
Please don’t think that you need to be an above average golfer to have fun at Topgolf Minneapolis! Topgolf is for everyone, all ages and skill levels! Topgolf is a popular outing for families, groups, corporate events, and birthday parties. It’s so popular that the wait time for a bay can be hours. That’s why you need to keep reading and do a little advance planning…
What to Do Before Your Trip to Topgolf Minneapolis
Some days and times at Topgolf Minneapolis are busier than others, so you probably want to make a reservation for your group. Unfortunately you can only make your reservation one week in advance, meaning if you are planning a Saturday afternoon Topgolf outing, you better make your reservation online the prior Saturday.
When making a reservation, you’ll notice that there are reservation fees for some of the times. A reservation at the most popular times and days comes with a price. Our Sunday afternoon reservation came with a $25 reservation fee per bay. Since you can only reserve one bay per reservation, that fee can add up fast if you need more bays. You also need to use a different name and email address for each reservation.
If you need more than one golf bay, and aren’t forking over the $$$ for a package, you can add a note to each reservation stating that you’re together. They do not guarantee that you will have bays next to each other, but will do their best to get you close. If you purchase a package, the bays will be next to each other.
Here’s a larger seating area for two bays at Topgolf. This is perfect for large families or someone’s birthday party!
Each golf bay holds eight people, with six people playing a golf game at one time. If you have a large group, there are also packages available for game play and food that can be reserved through the “multiple bay options” on the reservations page. Packages can be reserved more than one week in advance, and prices start at $400.
Golf bays are reserved by the hour, and two hours is likely all that your group will need. The hourly fee varies, from $26-$50, with our weekend afternoon costing a reasonable $45 per hour. That’s $45 total, not per person. If you are having so much fun, that your group just wants to keep playing, you will get an option to add more time once you near the end of your rental period.
This is a single bay seating area. The set up was great so your neighbors didn’t really bother you.
If you are lucky enough to live close to Topgolf, your family will want to take advantage of the events and promotions that are offered throughout the year. Topgolf has golf leagues, half day golf clinics for kids, half price game play on Tuesdays, lessons, and fun passes.
Related post: St. Paul Minnesota – Top Five Adventures for the Whole Family
It’s Time to Tee Up – What to Expect at Topgolf Minneapolis
It’s time to go to Topgolf! You quickly check the weather, but then remember it doesn’t matter if there is rain or snow on the way. You’ll be in a climate-controlled covered golf bay hitting those microchip embedded golf balls as far as the eye can see! Then you wonder….are you supposed to bring golf clubs? All of your clubs? Or, where are your clubs that haven’t seen the light of day for three years?
Well, the choice is yours! You can bring your whole bag of clubs, just a few clubs, or none at all. There are men’s and women’s golf clubs at every single bay. You can request children’s clubs with your reservation, or upon your arrival, and your bay host will bring the kids in your group their own bags of clubs. Both, right and left-handed clubs are available.
The club selection at each bay. You can request left-handed clubs and kids golf clubs too.
The four of us hauled our golf bags with us, which was a good idea until we parked a very long ways from the entrance. But our fun started in the parking lot when a driver pulled up with a family-sized golf cart for us to pile into, and we cruised right to the front door. Valet parking is also available for a small fee.
About 25 minutes before our reservation time, we received a text message asking if we were going to arrive on time. We responded with a quick yes, and they said they will let us know our bay assignment shortly. We also checked in at the desk when we arrived, and mentioned that we had two reservations for our group. They said our two bays would be close to each other, but not adjacent.
The text with our bay number came about five minutes before our reservation time, and we headed to our bay on the second level. The second bay for our group was only three bays over, so we could still easily walk back and forth and watch everyone golf.
If you visit Topgolf without a reservation, check in at the desk once you arrive. You’ll get put on the list for an open bay, and will be told approximately how long you will have to wait. They give you a pager and will also send a text message when it’s close to your turn. There are a restaurant and bar inside the doors of Topgolf that you can hang out at until it’s time for your group to play. Tell the kids to head up to the third floor to the kids area, and they can play a few games of foosball while you wait.
This is behind the bays. Behind the wall on the right are indoor seating areas and the bar and restaurant.
Once you arrive at your bay, your concierge greets you and will get your group set up to play. First of all, everyone needs a membership to play at Topgolf. This lifetime membership is $5 and good at all Topgolf locations. This takes a little time while everyone enters their contact information into the computer, but you could do this step online at any time before your visit.
The concierge also gives a quick explanation of the games, how Topgolf works, explains the bay’s heating controls, and tells you who your host will be for the food and drink orders.
There is plenty of room for the person hitting as long as everyone else stays behind the red line.
Then your timer starts, your group selects their first game, and it’s time to golf! Our host recommended that everyone hit five balls at each turn for faster game play. We did two hits for each person’s turn, and we made it through a couple of games during our two hours. We would have made it through another game, but we were distracted by our food….
Once our basket of donut holes, with two chocolate cream filled syringes, arrived we took a break. How could we not, really? We injected our own donut holes with way too much chocolate filling, and enjoyed every last one. Since our group started with dessert, we ordered a round of appetizers next. The menu really had a lot to choose from, and included burgers, pizza, sandwiches, and brunch. All of the food we had was very good, with reasonable prices. Kids drink for free at Topgolf, which saved us a few bucks. Topgolf’s menu changes with the season, and you can check out the current menu here.
Topgolf was busy while we were there, and we didn’t see our host much. Each time we wanted to order something we found the nearest host, and they would send our host over very quickly.
Wave your club over the sensor and a golf ball comes rolling out right to your feet. There is also a tee set up for you lefties.
Your bay’s food and drink orders, hourly rental fee, and lifetime memberships all get combined on one tab that you pay for at the end of your reservation. Your host can easily split the payment up among your group, and you pay right at your bay. If you reserve a package deal, you get a food credit in advance, and anything additional is paid for at the end of your play.
What Did We Think About Topgolf?
Our group of 16 had a great time at Topgolf! The kids had a blast, people who rarely golf had top scores, and the better golfers couldn’t stop trying to outdo each other. Golfing in 30 degree Minnesota weather in late March was a fun first for everyone and we will all be back for another round!