Holey Moley Golf Club Austin — Local services in Austin

I wouldn't say I'm the biggest fan of mini golf on a good day, but this may genuinely be one of the worst mini golf experiences I've ever had.

I came with three friends with whom I've never played mini golf with before, but all of us save 1 had played multiple times before.

We played 18 holes, the yellow course and the white course. The holes really are a mess in terms of design. They give off "not like other girls" vibes. Par numbers seem entirely arbitrary, with some holes being total jokes and others being comically difficult. 75% of the holes have a design that amount to scattering some crap on the ground and suggesting you dodge them. the other 25% give off a vibe of "wouldn't it be cool if we had a hole that was just a game of labyrinth where you don't even use a golf club?" Or "wouldn't it be cool if this hole was a bowling lane where you can get it in the gutter?" Ideas that sound cool if you're a child but aren't meaningful if you're trying to enjoy the game.

Many of the holes have really artistically cool obstacles and course concepts but the obstacles are completely non interactable. For example there's a hole with an ET inspired design with a bike on the ramp. You don't have to interact with the ramp in any way though, and you literally can't, the hole was just crammed in a corner. There was another that required placing your ball on a little rube Goldberg machine and the sign said it had one path that would result in a hole in 1. This was false, no path did that.

Holes are all extremely tiny and cramped. Most are designed for right hand putts with no room to stand if you're left handed. So much of the holes have critical parts of the course that force you to cram yourself all against the wall of the building or stand on a hole currently being used by someone else. It is abundantly clear that the mini golf experience is an afterthought to food and alcohol sales, and it's pretty clear that for an adult to enjoy this they'd have to drink themselves to the point of not really caring anymore.

Course aside: we came at around 8pm on a Tuesday, which was supposed to be a 21+ only time. There were definitely at least a couple children or under 21 people there, so this seemed like a misdirection of advertising.

Additionally for 18 holes for 4 people it ran us about $100 (without food or drinks), which is pretty obscene for what the experience ultimately was.

If ever there was a mini golf course that lent credence to the mantra "don't California my Texas", it was this one. Insanely gentrified, overpriced, "quirky" mini golf experience.

Austin has plenty of better mini golf experiences. Pick a different one. Like Peter Pan Mini Golf. Support...

TLDR: Save your money- go to the driving range, bowling or food. I truly hope this place can improve and that my review gets drowned out by future 5 stars! But… purely based on my experience, which excluded drinks/food:

Pros(?): Place is overall cool and staff seemed friendly Instagram post-worthy opportunities galore A few holes provide an “ah cool” feeling but the majority are effectively a straight line to the hole with a little object in between. Cons: I wasted like $80. Paid for 27 holes and left after 18 (girlfriend wanted to leave after 9 lol) The holes are pretty but would provide ZERO challenge for a toddler. They should advertise this as a bar with some meh golfing on the side. No like seriously the holes are each contained in a 5ftx5ft area which is mostly taken up by decor rather than playable space. Theres a reason they show you the pretty pink candy store rather than that holes floor plan. MOST OF MY TIME WAS SPENT WAITING FOR THE GROUP IN FRONT OF US TO FINISH, WITH THE GROUP BEHIND US WAITING TOO. They do not schedule reservations far enough out. Additionally, the floorplan leaves people walking in two directions but in the same corridor: totally crowded with even a few groups. Some F-up between Denver & Austin location meant people were getting redirected (phone call) from Denver to MY PHONE! I got calls from people trying to confirm/change their reservation- no idea how this happens but they should not be giving out customer information- truly unforgivable. Any subsequent calls I get Imma recommend they to call (hopefully landing at the right place) and cancel their visit. Calendar on webpage to schedule uses Monday as first entry rather than Sunday… get with the rest of the world pls dont try to be cool. After each 9 holes it will steal your ball for return, which is cool normally BUT just to go on to play another 9 (or 18) you have to go stand in line (again) to get...

TLDR: high priced, layout /hole space planning puts all groups on top of each other, interesting themes. We will return if they modify the layout and increase focus on the golf experience…

Holey Moley’s online tool was easy to use to make reservations for 3. We played 18 holes and started around 2pm on Sunday. Their estimate of one hour playtime was spot on.

Checking in was smooth and getting balls / clubs was straightforward. A “caddy” found us at hole 1 to get our drink order so we were able to get started straight away with ease. The staff was very friendly!

The holes were all in boxed off areas, each around the same size (10’ - 14’ square) each with its own unique theme. Some holes had moving elements, some had obstacles, but they were all fun.

The holes are laid out in a way that there is essentially a corridor with holes on either side. This layout means you’re nearly always on top of the other groups playing. It would be more enjoyable if this space was larger, especially at the end of the row where there are holes on 3 sides. The space feels even smaller if you have kids with you…no matter where we turned our son was on top of, or swinging his club in front of, other groups playing.

Each hole has a place for beverages to hang out while you putt, but many had empty and abandoned beverages on them. It was easy to get our first drink, but impossible to find someone to take finished cups or place a second order or get our check.

We did not dine, so I can’t give feedback on that, but there seemed to be ample seating indoor and out. The live music was played throughout the space, so entertainment was two fold.

All in, this was not worth paying nearly $100 for an hour of indoor...