Tiger Woods has made it official — PopStroke Wesley Chapel/Tampa is opening at noon on Friday, Feb. 17.
The golf legend announced the opening via his Twitter account Thursday morning.
Located just north and east of the intersection of S.R. 56 and Wesley Chapel Blvd., PopStroke is co-owned by Woods and Craig Bartoli. TGR Design, which is Woods’ golf course design company.
The Wesley Chapel location will feature two 18-hole courses — one will be harder than the other — featuring synthetic turf greens designed to mimic putting on real golf courses. The courses lack the usual mini-golf obstacles, instead focusing on a more realistic experience with undulated greens designed to challenge golfers of all ages, as well as fairways and sand traps.
The mini-golf is complemented by a 10,000-sq.-ft. restaurant and kid’s playground. The restaurant will feature premium food and drinks, as well as 24 different flavors of ice cream. Golfers can see their scores displayed on a large scoreboard, and even order drinks, via an app, that will be delivered to them on the course.
“It’s one of the only concepts I know of anywhere in world, really, where you can find a 3-, 8-. 27- and 80-year-old enjoying it to the same extent,” Bartoli said at the February 2022 groundbreaking.
The official groundbreaking of the local PopStroke was held Feb. 2. Players of all ages will enjoy PopStroke’s two mini-golf courses. The 10,000-sq.-ft. restaurant will offer a variety of delicious menu items. All PopStroke courses look more like real golf courses than mini-golf.
Golf legend Tiger Woods may not attended the Feb. 2 groundbreaking of PopStroke, the tech-driven, family-oriented mini-golf and restaurant concept he co-owns, but rest assured, he’ll have a big hand in how it ends up looking.
“Tiger is involved in the whole process,” said Bryon Bell, the president of TGR Design, which is Woods’ golf course design company. “He will look at the holes, see if he thinks his kids would enjoy it and if he would enjoy playing it. If he’s in town, he’ll stop in at the site. He wants to be certain it’s enjoyable for all ages.”
With a few heaves of dirt, the project officially got under way just north and east of the intersection of S.R. 56 and Wesley Chapel Blvd.
Greg Bartoli, the PopStroke founder and co-owner with Woods, says he expects the Wesley Chapel/Lutz location to open sometime in October.
The local PopStroke will feature two 18-hole courses — one will be harder than the other — featuring synthetic turf greens designed to mimic putting on real golf courses.
There won’t be any windmills, rivers or other obstacles, just rolling, undulated greens designed to challenge golfers of all ages.
“It’s one of the only concepts I know of anywhere in world, really, where you can find a 3-, 8-. 27- and 80-year-old enjoying it to the same extent,” Bartoli said.
Golfers can see their scores displayed on a large scoreboard, and even order drinks, via an app, that will be delivered to them on the course.
The mini-golf is complemented by a 10,000-sq.-ft. restaurant and kid’s playground. The restaurant, Bartoli says, will feature premium food and drinks, as well as 24 different flavors of ice cream.
“PopStroke is really about being friends and families together across generations and across socio-economic backgrounds,” Bartoli said. “It’s affordable and it’s accessible, and we take great pleasure in that.”
If you can’t wait until October, Bartoli recommends taking an hour drive to the nearest location in Sarasota, which is opening next month next to the University Town Center mall.
The Sarasota location will be the third PopStroke, joining courses in Port St. Lucie and Fort Myers, and Wesley Chapel will be the fourth. Additional expansion to Orlando, Houston and Scottsdale (AZ) also is planned.
Wesley Chapel continues to attract new and popular concepts. (Photo: PopStroke Facebook)
PopStroke Entertainment, a mini-golf and restaurant concept owned by golfing legend Tiger Woods and entrepreneur Greg Bartoli, is coming to Wesley Chapel’s Cypress Creek Town Center on S.R. 56.
According to the PopStroke Entertainment website, and first reported by the Tampa Bay Business Journal, Wesley Chapel is just part of a major PopStroke Entertainment expansion that will also include seven new locations in across three states. In Florida, new locations also include Sarasota, Orlando and Delray Beach.
Its two current locations are located in Port St. Lucie and Fort Myers.
(Photo: PopStroke Facebook)
And these aren’t your daddy’s putt-putt golf courses. There are no windmills to hit around, just specially designed holes meant to mimic real putting on a real course. Woods and TGR Design, his award-winning design team, will be building two 18-hole putting courses — at the Fort Myers PopStroke, for example, one course is called the Cub and is more for beginners, while and the other more challenging course is called Tiger.
The courses have synthetic turfs, incorporate fairways into the design, and the primary obstacles — replacing windmills and ramps — will be the same bunkers and rough you face on a real golf course. The undulation changes will bring the course to life.
“I am very excited about our expansion plans,” Woods said in the statement on PopStroke.com. “Putting is a universal part of golf that can be enjoyed by people of all ages and skill levels. It has been rewarding to see the broad and diverse group of guests enjoying their experience at PopStroke, and I look forward to seeing players make those long putts in locations throughout the South and Southwest. Each new location will have a different course design and layout giving players unique putting challenges as they travel across the country.”
PopStroke was founded in 2018, and uses technology to enhance the putt putt experience. A customized app will track scores on a digital scoreboard, as well as allowing customers to order food and drinks to be delivered directly to you on the course. There will be an outdoor dining area with a full menu, a variety of craft beer and wine, ice cream, outdoor games and a playground.
The Port St. Lucie location also has three golf simulators, allowing you to play more than 200 courses worldwide.
A mini-golf course is also under construction at The Grove Entertainment Complex, next to the movie theater. It is expected to be completed this year.
