Minigarðurinn Mini Golf – Reykjavík, Iceland

Played October 31 & November 4, 2022

Reviewed by Mr. Tee

After a four-year unintended break, I returned to Iceland for the annual Airwaves festival for a week of music, culture, pools, and seeing friends. The first day back was quite a long one. Coming right off a red-eye flight that arrived at 6 am, I hopped in my rental car to drive to explore a few leads I had on mini golf courses on the western side of the country. After coming across two outdoor courses that need quite a bit of maintenance and discovering the absence of a course that had been near a pool at the Laugardalslaug facility, I was set to close the day with a visit to the only indoor miniature golf course I am aware of in Iceland. Just 15 minutes east of the city center of Reykjavík by car and playing a new course felt like the perfect treat to close out Halloween.

Rating

Given the unpredictable weather of Iceland, it makes perfect sense to bring mini golf indoors. Minigarðurinn (translated as mini garden) fits into the newly trending style of courses with a more austere look of clean and finished wood obstacles and walls with classic green turf. Not too dissimilar from the various Swingerslocations. The vibe is more adult-oriented replete with a wide menu of food options, themed places to hang out, and alcoholic beverages. There is even an entire part of the menu that is fully vegan. Both the Laufás and Myllun courses offer numerous holes with challenging skill shots that give you a chance at an ace and several classic obstacles including a loop and windmill. Like the best mini golf courses, it seems to be attracting a variety of families, teenagers, and adults. I saw people cheering on hole-in-ones and cursing at the ball on a few of the more challenging/frustrating holes. I had such a blast on Halloween that I ended up going out of my way to go back to play again and it will be my #1 mini golf stop on future visits to Iceland. Ég elska þennan stað (I love this place).

A well themed golf cart is always a sign of good things at a course

Automatic doors along with a sign detailed the extended food and drink option

Just inside the doors you’ll find a great motivation for a post-game photo opp

The first look at a good-looking and well-laid out course is something to behold.

Great hole signage and a solid place for stashing drinks while you putt

Lovely looking and tricky loop at Hole #2 on the Laufás course

One of the tougher shots/aces. Gotta hit the ball through the angled opening near the middle for a longshot at getting an ace

You’ve gotta really wack the ball on #5 to land in the basket to get the gimme ace

I tried the tricky right path on #7 when I should have played straight-ahead off the back wall

Hole #8 is themed around the cute-looking traditional Icelandic houses

Tough ace but #9 is challenging fun and the festival centerpiece is a nice tough

Myllun Hole #1 is fairly straight ahead and gives a front door and backdoor shot at an ace

Take the tricky jump on #2 or try to shoot the gap on the right side

The windmill on #9 is a lovely finishing touch and requires good timing to get it through

Digging the wall murals across the whole facility

Adore the little touches throughout the space to tie in the theme and game of mini golf

Minigarðurinn Website

Skútuvogur 2 104, 104 Reykjavík, Iceland

Pros

A solid variety of creative gameplay
Best option for mini golf in Iceland
Overall fun vibe and layout on both the course and overall facility
Great food, bar, and entertainment amenities

Cons

A few of the holes have some gameplay design that can be a tad challenging/frustrating for the general public

Nerdy Notes

2 9-hole Courses, Laufás (The Previous Mill 9) Par 23 and Myllun (Laufás Second 9) Par 22
Open in 2019.
Metal and rubber-covered putter options with a mix of golf ball choices
Darts, food, sports viewing and bar can be found on the premises
Snacks available for purchase include the locally popular milk chocolate and black licorice candy bars. It’s a thing in Iceland.
Was told there was a plan to combine the two courses into one 18-hole course in the future hence the reason for the 3 different scorecards below.