Mini Golf Business in a Box
Start your own mini golf hire business in your area
You can call it minigolf, miniature golf, adventure golf or crazy golf. But one thing is for sure: it is a popular, instantly recognisable game that everybody loves to have a go at and is willing to pay for. It has kept its appeal for nearly a century. How do we know this? We have been doing it successfully for years!
Want to share our success? Keep on reading to find out more about our mini golf Business in a Box.
The eternally popular game
Miniature golf emerged as a profitable business in the 1930s, with courses springing up all over America and the UK. It became a popular, family-friendly attraction where for a fee the public could hone their putting skills by getting their ball round a series of cartoonish obstacles. It became an addictive craze that found people trying to beat their own best score or time a tricky shot to perfection. And each time they went round the course again, more money flowed into the owner’s pockets (that’s where you come in!)Miniature golf remains popular today as a healthy, competitive way to spend an afternoon. Adventure golf courses can now be found on the outskirts of all major cities and towns in the UK. Currently the changing high street is seeing a drop in retail premises and a rise in entertainment venues. Retail premises are being repurposed as crazy golf venues in a growing number of towns and cities. Just google your local adventure golf courses to see what’s out there.
We know crazy golf as a popular seaside attraction where the main challenge is being able to swing a putter with one hand while holding an ice cream cone in the other. But it has also grown into a serious competitive sport with a global governing body (The World Minigolf Sport Federation), and even professional minigolf players. The World Crazy Golf Championships are played every year right here in England at Hastings Adventure Golf. And it’s nail-biting to watch!
The ‘insider’ deal
Now, for the first time, we are offering our product as a business to you. First things first: it’s not a franchise! You trade under your own name and there are no ongoing fees. The only payment to us is the initial cost of buying the equipment. Through lots of trial and error and years of dealing with the public, we have assembled what we think is the perfect set of equipment to hire out for events.
There are various different-sized packages to choose from and the business is easily scalable by adding more equipment at a later date or buying a bigger package to begin with. You can create your own pricing structure and are not tied to us in any way nor do you need to use our trademark. The equipment is yours to keep and use, for ever, and all the money you make is yours, too. Unlike some business models, there are no ongoing fees to pay to us at all.
But we don’t just leave you on your own with a bunch of equipment. Based on our own experience we have built a package that gets you started in the minigolf business and helps you to hit the ground running. The following is all included with your Business in a Box:
- An invitation to our premises to spend a day or two learning about the business, and for us to customise a package for your needs.
- Ongoing telephone support.
- Marketing support: your business is highlighted on our website, blogs and social media.
- Help and advice with marketing and getting leads.
- First options on new products and innovations from Putterfingers.com.
- We can customise your equipment package to the type of events you are most likely to do. For example, if you are likely to do lots of weddings, we can include wedding-themed obstacles.
What’s in it for us (Putterfingers)?
- You will hopefully be buying our equipment and consumables over the long term.
- You may invite us to assist with events you can't cover yourself, or for custom branding requirements.
- You can reach events we can't get to.
- You may invite us to assist with larger scale events where you need access to more kit than you originally purchased.
- We can offer additional marketing support based on our own expertise for a reasonable fee (a website, digital advertising, etc.)
- We have other games hire options that you might like to consider too, like football pool, table tennis and giant garden games.
Event types
So where is all this business we’re talking about? It’s everywhere if you know where to look! Here are the main types of event we have hired to. You can do these too in your area, and take 100% of the proceeds.
These are a regular money-maker, and often a real pleasure to do. The mini golf
gives great photo opportunities of the married couple taking their first putt together, and then the course can be used by guests of all ages as the party gets swinging. If you think you will be doing lots of wedding hires or wish to specialise in them, we can provide you with our wedding obstacle set as part of your Business in a Box package. Read about our success in the wedding hire market.
Mini golf is the perfect ice breaker and provides a fun competition at corporate events like product launches, annual parties, team building events and awards ceremonies. Firms in your local area are likely to consider hiring mini golf from you if your marketing makes them aware of it (we’ll help you with marketing ideas). The flexible modular equipment can be laid out to fit almost any venue size and floor plan so that it fits in perfectly with whatever else is going on. Here are some examples of corporate event hires we have done.
At exhibitions, conferences and trade shows, a small mini golf hole can be used to attract the public to a stand. It offers a little bit of have-a-go entertainment while the exhibitor chats to attendees and tells them about their product or service. Here are some examples of real events. Previous hirers have told us that a mini golf putting challenge attracted more people than usual to their stand and gave them opportunities to engage with the public. It’s a good idea to include a small, low-cost Trade Show Hire option in your catalogue as it’s a low effort hire that can make extra money for your business. There are opportunities for bigger course hires too at conferences and other industry events.
Parties
Birthdays, family events, life events – all these are occasions for private parties. Our equipment works at any time of year because it can be used indoors or outdoors, so parties offer year-round business. The family hires from you for the day of the party or over a weekend. If you do your local marketing well, party planners will find you when looking for games and entertainment hire.
Open days, fresher’s weeks, school fêtes, sports days – there are plenty of opportunities to hire mini golf out to schools and colleges. It is popular at these events because it helps to break the ice and get people together and is a fun activity for everybody. You are free to decide on your own pricing structure. You could charge a small amount per play, ask a fixed fee for the day or charge by the hour. We’ll give you tips on pricing during your induction day at our premises. Mini golf hire is popular with universities and colleges – read about them here. It also goes down well at schools with pupils of all ages.
Retail centres often have activities on their main concourses to draw in the public. Our mini golf has been very successful at these events. It’s an opportunity for a bigger course hire, since there’s usually enough space for 9 holes or even 18 holes. Here’s one example of a shopping centre hire.
Mini golf is getting increasingly popular at pubs and hotels. It's a great way for pubs to boost trade and introduce some competitive socialising. You might even be able to persuade a number of local pubs to participate in a mini golf pub crawl – see our blog post about that idea.
Here’s an example of such an event that took place in Wales. It’s a good example of how to ride on the back of local events like food, music and arts festivals by adding crazy golf to the mix. It’s always popular and gets your business noticed and remembered.
Fundraisers have used mini golf in putting events like sponsored putt-a-thons and events that include celebrities having a go at getting a hole in one. Here’s a great example of that type of event. And here’s another!
Christmas parties provide business every year. Mini golf lends itself well to the festive season. Just add tinsel and our optional Christmas obstacles and you’re away with indoor entertainment for Christmas parties. Our Christmas obstacles can be added to your package or purchased when suitable. The Festive party season should be a busy one for your mini golf hire business.
For London-based hire companies or those who frequently service London events, we have a set of London-themed obstacles featuring Tower Bridge. The London Eye, a red double-decker bus, a black cab, and a red phone box. We can include this obstacle set if you will be hiring to the London area, or you can purchase it later when the time is right.
What does Business in a Box cost?
From as little as £4,000. That will include everything you need to start a mini golf hire business! From then on, all the profits are yours. This is not a franchise, so there are no ongoing fees or profit share with us. You can use your own branding and don’t have to use our name at all.
More advanced packages depend on your budget and business scope. All packages include a day at our premises in Norfolk, where we show you around the equipment, talk about the mini golf hire business, and find out about the kind of events you are most likely to get into. Then we can customise your package to fit those needs if appropriate. We also provide add-ons like marketing assistance, a website and digital advertising to boost your online presence.
We’ll supply consumables like balls and scorecards to you at trade prices. And if you decide to expand your business with another course, enlarge the one you have, or grow you range of obstacles, then we’re right here with that equipment for you.
We’ll also brand your mini golf equipment for you. That means putting your company name and a logo (we can help you if needed) on the bumpers, tee-off mats, obstacles, scorecards, balls etc. Branding helps to establish your company name in your local area because everybody sees it when you hire out a course.
We can also add in-event marketing tools like branded zoom tents, A-frames, flags and folding leaderboards. These look really professional and because we have our own in-house large format printing facility, we can produce these for you at reasonable prices!