Urban Putt San Jose

I only had a drink and walked around because the wait to play golf was 4 hours! You read correctly.. 4 hours. That tells you how popular it is already and it just opened. Very nice bar area with high ceilings. Also a second bar upstairs which was closed when I went up there but cool because you can see down into a few of the golf holes. Walked through a few golf holes and it looks like they invested a lot for a high quality experience. Can’t wait till they create a reservation system, perhaps in the summer. Otherwise it’s first come, first serve… hence a 4 hour wait! August 2024 update: OK got to play this time. It's pretty fun but takes quite a long time to wait for groups ahead of you. And some of the holes lack instructions. Like the haunted hole took a long time to figure out. And the hole where the ball is carried up a spiral thing, rolls down toward the hole... it doesn't help any more than going an easier route. And the pachinko hole... it's not clear what you should avoid or which hole is better. But still, great get-together fun. Good cocktails, beers, wines, and mock-tails.

Urban Putt has a fantastic vibe and is a great spot for mini-golf with friends or family. The golfing experience itself was excellent—creative, well-maintained courses, and a fun atmosphere overall. The bartender was friendly, and the drinks were solid. The food was decent, not amazing but good enough for the setting. However, the service left a lot to be desired. The staff didn’t seem particularly attentive or proactive. For example, when I arrived with a group of 7, I was sent to two different locations multiple times just to confirm our reservation. It felt like the staff was standing around waiting to be asked for help rather than taking initiative to assist customers. Overall, the experience was enjoyable because of the great mini-golf and lively atmosphere, but better customer service would elevate the experience.

Summary: drinks and imaginative mini golf, a pretty good combo. A few bugs to work out on the course and pricey drinks keep this a 4 out of 5. I went to the old and now closed San Francisco Urban Putt just before they closed in January. And have been waiting for the San Jose location to open, and waiting… We went on there on a Wednesday of their first week open. At 5 it was deserted. It got a bit busier later, but far from crowded. They have a full bar and some fancy “smoke bubble” drinks and a decent selection of draft beers. $12 for a draft and $18 for a cocktail seemed a tad pricey. Get a smoke bubble drink, it don’t cost no more. Like the old SF Urban Putt, this course uses local features to theme many of the holes. There’s the Mountain View amphitheater, the Winchester Mystery House and Mount Hamilton. The course also had several features from the old SF venue, including the round golf ball maze, the video game and Nemo submarine. It’s visually a great course, from an actual gameplay it’s a mixed bag. I’ll write some of this off as kinks to be worked out in first few weeks, but a couple of holes weren’t open, a couple others got stuck balls that employee couldn’t fix. They hung “coming soon” signs behind us and gave us new balls to play through. I hope they get them all tuned up and it’ll be a fine course. Update: went there again in early August and all 18 holes were operational. We had one stuck ball on Day of the Dead hole, but staff is very helpful and we quickly proceeded. Now a 5 star experience!