Tiger Woods’ golf entertainment facility coming to Las Vegas
An entertainment facility featuring 36 holes of championship-level putting greens, a two-story restaurant, four full-service bars, games and more is coming to Las Vegas in early 2024.
PopStroke broke ground earlier this summer on the restaurant at Town Square and held a ceremonial groundbreaking this week on the two putting courses.
It’s hard to argue with founder and CEO Greg Bartoli when he discusses the legitimacy of the putting courses. PopStroke began as his idea in 2019, but some golf heavyweights quickly signed on, starting with Tiger Woods.
“Obviously Tiger is a huge influence in the game of golf and has a huge brand,” Bartoli said. “We also recently brought in TaylorMade as a partner. Between Tiger and TaylorMade, we have two of the biggest names in golf which has been great for our recognition.”
Bartoli calls the project not just a restaurant with golf or a putting facility with food and drink.
“It’s one big entertainment package. The restaurant is half of the puzzle, and golf is the other half,” he said. “It’s an entertainment facility with a lot to offer.”
PopStroke has seven locations already open and is on track for about one more per month for the near future. Current locations are in Florida, Arizona, Texas and Alabama. Las Vegas, Bartoli said, is a natural step for the company.
“It’s a growing city, a vibrant community both with the everyday community as well as the tourism community,” he said. “It’s just an ideal fit for us. We are a fast growing national, soon to be international entertainment brand. If you’re not in Las Vegas, it’s hard to consider yourself a national entertainment brand.”
The putting courses are equivalent to PGA Tour-level facilities, he said, which makes them challenging for experienced players. But because it’s putting, they are playable for everybody.
“There are no gimmicks,” he said. “It’s not mini-golf in the traditional sense. It’s really professionally designed, immaculate putting courses with incredible landscaping.”
It also isn’t TopGolf, although Bartoli understands the comparisons.
“They are somewhat similar in that they’re modern, they’re hip, there’s music and lively atmospheres at both,” Bartoli said. “I would say we resonate with a larger demographic by virtue of putting in the sense that everybody can do it and it’s not intimidating, so I think our audience stretches a little bit further than theirs.”
PopStroke’s Las Vegas facility is expected to be open in January prior to the Super Bowl at Allegiant Stadium.
Nevada State Mid-Am
Steady did the trick for Jacob Dexter at the Nevada State Mid-Amateur over the weekend. The Gilroy, California, resident shot rounds of 71-71-70 to finish at 1-under 212 at Red Hawk Golf Club in Sparks to claim the title by five shots over Daren Johnson.
Dexter had five birdies, two bogeys and a double during his final round to keep a comfortable cushion over Johnson, who was done in by a second-round 75 to leave to big of a hill to climb on Saturday.
Rebel notes
— UNLV sophomore Theinna Huynh’s run to the quarterfinals of the U.S. Women’s Amateur last week at Bel-Air Country Club in Los Angeles was the best effort ever by a Rebel player in the nation’s most prestigious women’s amateur event. With her accomplishment, Huynh is exempt into the field next year.
— UNLV seniors Caden Fioroni and Ben Sawaia have been named 2022-23 Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) NCAA Division I All-America Scholars for maintaining a minimum 3.2 GPA while playing in more than 50 percent of the team’s matches this past season. It is the first time being honored for both Fioroni, a sociology major, and Sawaia, an economics major.
Greg Robertson covers golf for the Review-Journal. Reach him at grobertson@reviewjournal.com.