Smash Putt Takes Mini Golf to the Next Level

Editor’s Note: A Seattle group has brought Smash Putt — half art exhibition, half miniature golf course — to Portland, Oregon, for the second year in a row. The course, based in Seattle but now in Portland for a limited time, was created and cultivated by The Department of Culture Collective, an organization consisting of artists, builders, prop masters, and lighting designers from across the country. Below, our Portland community manager Maria writes about her recent chat with self-described “pneumatic hackers” Jeremy Franklin-Ross (aka “Chief Instigator”) and Mike McCracken, and fills us in on some of their Portland Best Evers.

And FYI: We’ll be giving away tickets to Smash Putt soon. Follow along with us at @GooglePDX on Twitter to find out how to get yours!

Jeremy’s Smash Putt vision was born on a boring mini golf date in his early college years. He realized the golf hole itself isn’t the fun part about the course — it’s all about the make up of the course. Waterfalls and slides? Snooze. So they created things like:

• “The K-Hole”: This hole is in the shape of a turntable (see above, left). The player putts up a bridge and through a turntable to the hole. To increase difficulty, your opponent can push a button that moves the needle back and forth.  
• “The Skee Ball Hole”: This one’s shaped just like a giant skee ball ramp. It’s also decorated like a mountain ski resort — pun intended.
• “Stank Hole”: The player spins a roulette wheel, and it lands on a panel which the player then sniffs (these scents are similar to air fresheners). After the player sniffs the panel, he putts the ball toward the hole with an image corresponding to the panel’s scent.
• “Log Jammer”: This one’s themed after the original Frogger game for Atari. The player hits the golf ball up a large display that resembles a Frogger screen, including giant moving logs with stuffed frogs, beavers and alligators attached. The hole is won after putting up the hill, past the animals and into the hole.

In addition to the course, there’s also a bar on-site for folks who want to try cocktails featuring local distilleries, such as New Deal Vodka. So when they’re not running the course, what are the Smash Putt crew’s favorite “watering holes” and hang outs in Portland?

• The Matador: a bar conveniently located a block from the Smash Putt course.
• Paradox Cafe: One of the reasons that Jeremy loves Portland is because the city has attitude-free chefs who always take care of his vegan requests. 
• Hippo Hardware: this Smash Putt hardware store of choice has all the unique and rare fixtures that have helped bring the course to life, like the giant Jenga below (used to keep waiting players entertained):

According to Jeremy and Mike, Portland’s the west coast city that’s really welcomed them the most. They said Portland’s art and business-friendly communities are responsible for the traveling course’s success.

Game on!

Posted by Maria Perry-Crawshaw, Portland Community Manager