With the imminent arrival of autumn in Budapest, we will soon be seeking the indoor pleasures of pub sports, like darts, billiards, foosball – and now, minigolf. At Jászai Mari Square near the Pest side of Margaret Bridge, the typically outdoor sport of miniature golf has been brought indoors at a recently opened basement bar, featuring a creatively surreal indoor course complete with psychedelic lighting, surprising challenges, and cold beers.
The basement of Ütős had previously accommodated a hip-hop music club, and now is the home of the region’s only minigolf course that operates inside a pub. “I encountered minigolf at Lake Balaton for the first time, but the courses there weren’t too difficult, with a windmill being the hardest obstacle. Then recently, I visited Berlin where I saw the game set up inside a hangar, which seemed very popular. We tried to introduce something similar with my bride, but with a little twist. We had rather wild ideas for the course in the beginning, and settled for interesting, unusual ideas,” said Zsolt Gyerman, one of the owners.
Unquestionably, they succeeded in creating a unique game, as all six holes turned out to be extremely imaginative and difficult. After all, we don’t often have to hit the ball through a concrete mixer, through a living-room replica, and into a fake washing machine, or surrounded by Manhattan-like settings, not to mention the dark room illuminated only by a black light.
Even more experienced players might struggle with the very first hole, although according to Zsolt, most holes can be completed in five to ten strokes. However, we didn’t always succeed at cleverly evading the many obstacles and speedily moving on to the next hole. We could hardly even comprehend the first hole’s high score of four strokes – but skilled players are welcome to take on the challenge, especially since their reward for setting a new high score will be a free glass of beer.
On some holes, we can use various tricks to move the ball without having to swing the club – touching the ball by hand is strictly forbidden, but there are some less obvious ways to get us out of a pinch... The course stretches out over an impressive 200 square meters, and a maximum of 30 people can play comfortably at the same time. Depending on one’s patience, luck, and skills, one hole can be cleared in about ten minutes, which makes the whole game approximately one hour long.
Instead of advertising itself as a pub with a unique pub game, Ütős identifies as a minigolf place where you can drink while playing. However, they sell no food whatsoever and have no plans to do so in the future – although visiting can still be a nice activity for groups of friends, team-building activities, or even dates. Speaking of romantic minigolf encounters: on Tuesdays, couples can play for the price of one ticket (1400 HUF) instead of two.
