Mini-golf venue at Strip resort now has an opening date
Matt Grech-Smith, the co-CEO and co-founder of the soon-to-open Swingers Crazy Golf Club at Mandalay Bay, isn’t too worried about competition from the proliferation of golf venues around Southern Nevada.
The way he sees it, Swingers is more of a social experience for guests than a place to polish your golf game.
The doors are scheduled to open Nov. 8 at the multilevel 36-hole venue that he freely admits is like “mini-golf on steroids.”
The 40,000-square-foot entertainment experience, located just off Mandalay Bay’s parking garage at the west entrance of the resort where Light and Rum Jungle stood, will have DJs, street food and caddies that will deliver drinks while the 21-and-older crowd plays one of the four nine-hole miniature golf courses filled with animated obstacles.
“It’ll feel totally like you’ve stepped into a different world and completely away from the Las Vegas Strip,” Grech-Smith said in an exclusive interview with the Las Vegas Review-Journal from his London headquarters.
Flagship operation
Swingers Las Vegas will be the flagship operation of the franchise that has two locations in London, one each in New York and Washington D.C., and will open in Dubai in the fall and in Boston in 2025.
Swingers Las Vegas will be themed around a country house in the English countryside.
“As one of the world’s premier entertainment destinations, Las Vegas is the perfect place for the next chapter of Swingers,” Grech-Smith said. “We believe life’s most enjoyable moments are fueled by a blend of friendly competition, exceptional food and superb cocktails. Swingers will bring this unique mix to the Strip with our whimsical golf courses, Swingers Carnival, vibrant bars and electric party scene. In true Vegas style, our flagship location will be grander and more thrilling than ever.”
The Swingers Carnival is a collection of games at which guests can collect points for prizes.
Grech-Smith and his business partner, co-CEO Jeremy Simmonds, came up with the Swingers concept in 2014.
“We had a background in music events and then working to bring brands to life through events and experiences,” he said. “People wanted to go out and do things, they didn’t just want to eat and drink, they wanted some kind of activity. And social media was just starting to be a bit of a tipping point where people wanted to show off the things that they were doing.”
Grech-Smith said pricing hasn’t been determined for the Las Vegas Swingers, but the New York operation charges $27 per person, per nine-hole round. He said it takes 30-40 minutes to complete a round and the Las Vegas venue will have Clocktower and the Hot Air Balloon courses on the main level and Carousel and the Meteorite courses on the upper levels. There’s no general admission charge so customers can come in for food and drinks and pay separately for each miniature golf round. Grech-Smith calls the menu “elevated street food.”
Food partners
“We will be announcing our food partners for Las Vegas in the coming weeks, but we work with brands that are known, like we often go with local brands,” he said. “Obviously in Vegas, it’s a little different where you know a lot of people who are coming in for a weekend or for a limited period of time. So yeah, we will be working with food partners in Vegas who they will definitely recognize and will be excited about.”
Swingers will feature two private rooms for parties and corporate events. The Estate Bar will span the length of the venue.
Other golf venues have popped up in Las Vegas in recent years.
MGM Resorts International opened Topgolf, a golf driving range with electronically tracked balls, in 2016. More recently, Atomic Golf opened the doors of its golf range at the Strat in March.
PopStroke, the Tiger Woods-owned putting course at Town Square, is conceptually similar to Swingers. That experience, which opened in April, includes two 18-hole courses, but isn’t a mini-golf experience with obstacles.
Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on X.