Mini Golf at Main Event – Austin, TX

Played February 26, 2022

Reviewed by Mr. Tee

During a winter trip to the Austin, Texas area, I was faced with a day of unseasonably chilly and rainy weather. For better or worse, it meant no outdoor miniature golf in the area at top-notch courses like Peter Pan but I was given the opportunity to check out what folks had for options when the blistering summer heat kicks in. Monster Mini Golf in Round Rock was top on my docket (and was high quality) but since I’m a bit of a completist, I figured I’d give Main Event a shot as well.

Rating

There are very few courses that have landed in our lowest rating tier but sadly, this Main Event course joins a handful of courses that we played that need quite a bit of work to be something we’d recommend. The larger entertainment facility that includes a bar, bowling alley, and arcade looked quite good but when I made it over to the mini golf course tucked away in the corner, it wasn’t clear if the course was even open. I walked into the unusually dark course and about 2-3 holes in I found another group playing so I could confirm the course was operational. I rarely opt to play with the in-house putters for a variety of reasons but the selection here was abysmal. Not only were most of the putters not suitable for a 6-foot-tall person but both ends of the rubber-covered putters were beaten up and mangled. Hole 1 had some light coming in from the arcade to help me locate the hole. Once I got further into the course, I had to regularly use the flashlight on my phone to find where each hole finished. Fortunately, the newer iPhone camera I was using made it clear what the course looked like on my phone screen but to my naked eye, it just felt like I was blindly aiming around each hole. The tee-off mats were strewn all over the place and/or missing and to top it off, it didn’t appear they had any scorecards available. The photos hint at a potentially decent solid indoor course but this stands as probably the worst black light course I’ve played to date.

Main entrance to the side of the larger building

One of the worst and most limited selections of house putters I’ve seen to date

and in some cases, the tee-off mats were just missing

Hole #1 was the only hole that benefited from some of the light via the arcade

In many cases, the photos of this course turned out better than what I could see with my own eyes

Few of the hole shad spinners and some raised obstacles

and a strange robot / outer space theme halfway through?

If you look closely, you can see all sorts of bad drawings and graffiti on the shark

Glad to have my phone to illuminate some of the better murals on the walls

And this course was semi-accessible by wheelchair in different places

But the selfies get you a little closer to poor lighting set up

Main Event Austin Website

13301 US-183 Hwy, Austin, TX 78750

Pro

A few holes had some interesting layouts
Potential for a solid black light course
Rest of the Main Event facility looked solid

Cons

Lighting made it nearly impossible to play the course
House putters were in shambles
Needs a ton of maintenance, especially with the tee-off mats
Lots of graffiti and markings on the wall
Hodgepodge random mix of themes
At $9 per round, I expect much much more

Nerdy Notes