Event idea: Indoor mini golf as a Buddies night out
Looking for a weeknight event that works for 4–8 guys who don't know each other that well yet? Here's an idea that punches above its weight: indoor mini golf with food and drinks in the same venue. We'll use a specific spot in Gothenburg as an example, and at the end we'll cover how to find the same kind of place wherever you happen to be.
Why it works for a Buddies event
The bar to join is incredibly low
Mini golf sits in everyone's head as "vacation activity for kids". It's almost impossible to be embarrassingly bad at it. Nobody is going to skip your event because they're worried about their fitness or their gear. The only thing required is showing up.
And at indoor mini golf venues with custom courses, everyone's a beginner regardless of past experience. Performance anxiety is zero.
Everyone plays the whole time
Two courses, nine holes each, around 45 minutes per round. You move around, swap positions, comment on each other's swings, laugh at the misses. Everyone's involved every second.
Works equally well with 4 people as with 8, which is the Buddies sweet spot.
Food and drinks are in the same venue
When the round is over, you head straight to the bar. Pizza, cocktails, beer. No moving locations, no splitting bills across two places, no figuring out where to go next. This matters more than people give it credit for — every bit of logistical friction you remove means more people stay longer and talk more.
It makes a good story afterwards
"We played crazy golf in neon lights and ate pizza on a Tuesday" is a story worth telling the next day. Unusual settings stick — both for you and for the people you brought along.
For you as the host, that also means the follow-up — sharing photos, telling another Buddy about it — writes itself. Unusual settings sell.
The Gothenburg example: Underground
If you're in Gothenburg, the place to know about is Underground at Kaserntorget 7. It's two 9-hole crazy golf courses in a nightclub-style space — neon, smoke, music — with a stone-oven pizza kitchen and a full bar. Walking distance from Brunnsparken and Central Station.
- Round time: About 45 minutes. Plan for 2–3 hours total if you stay for food and drinks
- Group size: 4–8 works perfectly. Larger groups can split across the two courses in parallel
- Booking: Check Underground's website for current pricing, hours, and whether they take walk-in groups
- Best timing: Weeknights tend to work best for the Buddies format — people are coming home from work, looking for something to fill the evening, haven't booked up the weekend yet
How to find the same kind of place in your city
The "mini golf with an adult spin" concept has spread to most cities now. Search for "crazy golf [your city]", "adult mini golf [your city]" or "mini golf bar [your city]".
Looking for something else entirely? The same logic applies to other venues. What you're looking for is the combination of three things:
- Low skill barrier — nobody feels they need to "be good"
- Everyone participates the whole time — not a spectator activity
- Food and drinks in the same venue — no logistics break
That gets you mini golf, shuffleboard, indoor curling, axe throwing, social bowling, dart bars, ping pong clubs. All of them work for a Buddies group on a weeknight.
How to set the event up
Create an event in Buddies. Set the location to wherever you've picked. Write a short, honest title and description — something like:
"Crazy golf at [venue]. Two courses, then pizza and beers in the bar. Works fine if you've never played before. We meet at the entrance."
Set min 4, max 8. Date 1–2 weeks ahead. And if you want to test the chat before the event becomes active — that's now an option for hosts.
Private or public?
Start private with your group. Once everyone in the chat is on the same page and the energy is good, you can open the event up so other Buddies in your area can see it and join in. That's how more people get to come along to something good — and how you meet new guys through what you already enjoy doing.
Get the gang together — bring more in
Download Buddies and create an event your group will actually want to join.