Just because you’re a grown up, doesn’t mean you’re boring. Sunnyvale’s newest downtown attraction, Tipsy Putt, plays into the idea that grownups are just big kids at heart, bringing miniature golf to the heart of Sunnyvale.
Tipsy Putt officially opened its doors to the public on Nov. 15. It’s an indoor, nine-hole miniature golf course located at 310 W. McKinley Ave., near the Target.
While the company is a small Northern California chain, it prides itself on integrating into the community. It starts with the location’s beer selection.
“So anything within that 90-mile radius [of Sunnyvale] is local, and we pull from that and try to showcase as much as we can, and then just rotate as we can,” said Alanna Griffin, the Assistant General Manager of Tipsy Putt’s Sunnyvale location. “Then we have three always on draft, which is local in Sunnyvale.”
Local breweries include Faultline and ShaKa. Griffin says finding them was half the fun.
“Definitely bringing in the local beers is my favorite part because we get to experience something new,” said Griffin. “That’s our kind of biggest draw is just make it feel like a safe place for everyone and bring as many people in that want to be here and make it happy, safe, fun.”
Most days, Tipsy Putt is 21 and older after a certain time, although on Sunday, it’s family-friendly.
That’s also the day that Tipsy Putt goes out of its way to help support the Sunnyvale community.
“We partner with the local nonprofit for usually up to three months and $1 of our games and a $1 of our beer [on Sundays] goes to that organization,” said Taylor Snell, General Manager of the Sunnyvale and Monterey locations.
Sunnyvale Mayor Larry Klein tested out the course at a recent media preview of the venue. He says Tipsy Putt is just another way to make downtown Sunnyvale a must visit.
“An entertainment activity downtown, I think that’s the biggest thing,” said Klein. “You have so many people looking for things to do and so you have the movie theater and now you have this. I think that’s the difficulties…lots of cities have restaurants, it’s activities for the kids, for families, for our tech engineers who want to do something on a weeknight.”
For those unsure of what to expect, Snell sums it up.
“I would just say I would expect to play some fun games, some mini golf,” said Snell. “We have a really cool house game called one putt. It’s a mix between golf and shuffleboard. I always tell people, you just gotta come try it because nine times out of ten, everyone falls in love with it.”