Played on May 27, 2013
Reviewed by Mr. Tee & The Pink Putter
The final stop on our Vitense adventure was the proclaimed indoor “Madison” themed course. If you’ve read some of our past indoor course reviews, you’ll know that we generally don’t love mini golfing inside, as it just doesn’t do the game much justice. But being that it was a really chilly day (as denoted by the Pink Putter’s 5 layers of shirts) and that this was Vitense after all, we were excited to make our way in. And you’ll be happy to know that it did not disappoint. We could tell immediately that this course was newer than the others, due to it’s overall upkeep, cleanliness and shinier look. After some quick internet research, we learned that the indoor course was built back in 2006. It now serves as an open-year-round attraction for the Madison community and beyond.
Rating
Hole-in-One – The indoor 18-hole course was the brainchild of lead architect Joel Weitz (who we should mention is also the president and general manager of Vitense) and is truly a standout in the world of indoor mini golf. It highlights a number of famous, and not-so-famous, local landmarks and businesses through both the title of the hole and its visual theme. The course is educational, fully interactive, manages to deliver some unexpected surprises and most importantly it’s fun. Like its outdoor counterparts, the Madison course gives players a full dose of slides, climbing walls, games and other fun objects to sit on, climb up, crawl through, jump on and make music with. In addition, *Spolier Alert!* There is a hidden black light room at Holes 7 and 8. Lastly, the play has a great variety of fun challenges. Needless to say, if we lived closer to Madison, we’d be playing this course all winter long.
Pros
Mixture of playing and non-playing environments ranging from black light, slides, and a large body of water
Spotless and immaculately maintained
Good use of the room and high ceilings with tiered playing throughout the course
Appropriately themed with the city of Madison landscape being the focus
Easily the best indoor course we have played to date
Cons
Corporate branded holes (although as far as corporate branding goes, it was pretty tasteful)
Nerdy Notes
- Par 66, 18 hole (Note: all three courses at Vitense had a final 18th hole and then a pachinko game where you had the chance to win a free game. This could be consider the “final hole” on each course but it was not scored)
- Rubber covered putters
- No flags in the holes
- 18 Holes for $7.75, 36 holes for $12.00, all 54 holes for $16.00
- Open year round
- Attached to a small arcade
- Cafeteria, Driving Range and Pro Shop on site
