The class got to experience one of San Francisco's most unique facilities when we visited Urban Putt. Urban Putt is the creation of CEO Steve Fox, who after his retirement, set out to create a wholly unique experience that intertwined with his passion of mini-golf. Recently established, Urban Putt is the city's only indoor miniature golf course and has established a core following throughout the city.
While I was not old enough to enjoy the bar inside Urban Putt, I was able to experience the childlike joy of competing with my friends in mini-golf. The indoor course was one that merged many different genres and games into one, with one hole being entirely virtual, with the golfer shooting a ball underneath a railing, and a computer simulating the ball's flight and ultimate landing. Another hole involved no golf at all, and was a variation of a maze-like labyrinth game, with the golfers turning individual boards to try to get their ball through the maze. Although I lost a stroke on this hole, it made me give notice to why such a game would be included within Urban Putt's course. Millennials, in an often maligned generational aspect of their culture, prefer to have "fusions" and "have-it-your-ways". Urban Putt is such a fusion, with traditional board and video games being infused into a typical mini-golf course. This may begin to become a trend in the future, with companies deciding that the best way to appeal to consumers is not through tradition and simplicity, but with borrowing aspects from other industries.
As for the food, it was surprisingly delightful. One could tell that they put emphasis in how they cooked their food, almost like they were trying to prove that they were not some chintzy street side arcade. With deep dish pizza and grilled cheese sliders, the cuisine was a far cry from the microwaved pizza and recently frozen burgers that chain joints would usually serve customers. This was another way in which Urban Putt stood out from its competitors (from other cities, for there were none in San Francisco): quality. Amazon's Jeff Bezos often stresses that good customer service is the ultimate end goal, and this is a belief that I believe Urban Putt subscribes to as well. Arcade games such as skee-ball and pop-a-shot entratain audiences not on the course and artisan food delights their empty stomachs. It is a unique business that, if it is so inclined, could succeed in growing to more areas.
While I was not old enough to enjoy the bar inside Urban Putt, I was able to experience the childlike joy of competing with my friends in mini-golf. The indoor course was one that merged many different genres and games into one, with one hole being entirely virtual, with the golfer shooting a ball underneath a railing, and a computer simulating the ball's flight and ultimate landing. Another hole involved no golf at all, and was a variation of a maze-like labyrinth game, with the golfers turning individual boards to try to get their ball through the maze. Although I lost a stroke on this hole, it made me give notice to why such a game would be included within Urban Putt's course. Millennials, in an often maligned generational aspect of their culture, prefer to have "fusions" and "have-it-your-ways". Urban Putt is such a fusion, with traditional board and video games being infused into a typical mini-golf course. This may begin to become a trend in the future, with companies deciding that the best way to appeal to consumers is not through tradition and simplicity, but with borrowing aspects from other industries.
As for the food, it was surprisingly delightful. One could tell that they put emphasis in how they cooked their food, almost like they were trying to prove that they were not some chintzy street side arcade. With deep dish pizza and grilled cheese sliders, the cuisine was a far cry from the microwaved pizza and recently frozen burgers that chain joints would usually serve customers. This was another way in which Urban Putt stood out from its competitors (from other cities, for there were none in San Francisco): quality. Amazon's Jeff Bezos often stresses that good customer service is the ultimate end goal, and this is a belief that I believe Urban Putt subscribes to as well. Arcade games such as skee-ball and pop-a-shot entratain audiences not on the course and artisan food delights their empty stomachs. It is a unique business that, if it is so inclined, could succeed in growing to more areas.