Plonk Golf: Well Above Par

Interview with Elliot Scott, MD at Plonk Golf Ltd

What is your background - how did you come to be designing and operating mini golf?

As a born and raised Londoner I always wondered why there wasn't more mini golf on offer. So many people live in this grey city and there were not many indoor activity options. I worked as a set designer for many years in the film industry and when a lifestyle change led me into events, I thought it was time to start a mini golf business. It just so happened we were wrapped up in a mini golf zeitgeist and the business took off.

Plonk - Borough Market

Why do you think it is becoming more popular again?

Every 30 years or so mini golf finds a way to reinvent itself. This reinvention tied in competitive socialising has come from a push back to the digital age. We spend more and more time online staring at screens and gaming independently. Now people have more space and options to play and socialise together. Nostalgia has a big part to play in this as well as a huge surge of first dates, as more and more people turn to apps to find love. Mini golf is a great way to break the ice.

Plonk Borough Market

What sort of space do you need to create something with impact? / Do you operate other games around the courses - such as video or pinball?

We see ourselves as a mini golf and games bar group, rather than just a mini golf venue. Most of our sites have small arcades, pool tables, board games, draft beer and cocktails. This means a lot of our customers come back regularly and use all of our facilities, not just to play on the courses. Therefore, we seek smaller spaces to activate with 1x 9 hole course. We often activate ex retail spaces and ex industrial spaces where we can get a change of use based on our offering.

Plonk Hackney

What’s the craziest course you have ever created?

Our Borough market course is one of our all-time favourites. It is based in Victorian arches underneath London Bridge. All of the walls and floors have been beautifully painted by some of London's most talented street artists. The course itself is based on London. We have a hole where you putt through tower bridge, one where you curve around a massive wave and the Thames barrier. Another hole you putt up in a phone box, one you jump into the tower of London and another where you loop around the millenium wheel!

Plonk Borough Market

What are the future plans for Plonk?

Now that we have a great presence in London, we have started to offer our services across the globe to other operators who are looking to have a Plonk course. Plonk Golf Studios has stock designs of our favourite holes that we have tried and tested over the years. They can be themed in different ways depending on the client’s needs. We work with small operators at camp sites to large hotel and museum chains, and we have options for clients depending on the budget and space. Our clever designs and great gameplay means clients can activate small spaces with 9 holes (100m2) to larger multi course installations.

www.plonkgolf.co.uk

Return to the previous page

4 July 2023

See all news...