San Francisco is no longer just a one miniature-golf course town. A new mini golf course has arisen in Dogpatch in the form of Pier 70 Putt Putt, an 18-hole, 60,000 square-foot mini golf facility operating every weekend for the through August 21 in the warehouse best known for hosting the annual Ghost Ship Halloween party. SFist putzed around the new putt putt course that, like Urban Putt in the Mission, offers booze, food, a kid-friendly atmosphere and dazzling, mechanized miniature versions of recognized Bay Area landmarks designed by local artists.
Unlike its Mission District counterpart, Pier 70 Putt Putt holes do not depict the generic tourist trap landmarks like the Painted Ladies or Transamerica Building. It’s more of a nutty nautical-themed trip through the history of Pier 70 and its surrounding ports and piers. Above we see an interactive, controllable crane (Par 4) designed by Steve Valdez of Steampunk Tree House fame.
"We wanted to create something unique and fun in a giant unused venue," said Pier 70 Partners EVP Andrea Lundquist. "Pier 70 Partners worked with MAKE BIG ART! who helped curate a dozen different artists to design Dogpatch and Pier 70 related expressions within the confines of a giant warehouse. "
Image: Pier 70 Partners
And quite amusingly, Pier 70 Putt Putt also has a Plinko hole. A Plinko hole!
The course is equipped with a full bar, which can lead to quite a bit of uncoordinated and way-above-par golfing. Additional cacophony can be created at the Tyson Ayers-designed hole Smash Boom Bang (seen below), a sculpture of deconstructed and reconstructed piano parts where errant putts create a random symphony of piano-string strains.
Image: Joe Kukura
"Our themed snacks are a hole in one," Ms. Lundquist said of the menu. "We have powdered donuts, The Hazard [nachos], The Slice [pizza], and the Chip Shot [Fries & aioli] that are just some of the fun snacks to power you through the course. We also have a full bar serving beer, wine, Kentucky Mules and other fun cocktails which are all allowed on the course."
Image: Pier 70 Partners
There’s a lot of Life Size Mousetrap-type high jinks going on at Pier 70 Putt Putt, particularly at this recreation of the Port of Oakland whose animatronic mechanisms create hilarious handicaps. "There is one hole that has water effects with fog, a moving air craft carrier platform that either tips you into the hole, or dumps you in through a tube that runs to the West Oakland BART station," Ms. Lundquist said. "This is a reference to the fact that the Transbay Tube was fabricated at Pier 70."
The course remains open Thursday to Sunday through August 21, with a few Friday Happy Hour events scheduled. The next big one is the Janky Putt Putt Pre-Burn Happy Hour on Friday, August 12 (4 p.m. - 9 p.m.), featuring live DJs aboard the Janky Barge and Le Lucha De La Cocina (August 13, 3:30-10).
Image: Pier 70 Partners
Pier 70 Putt Putt is open Thursdays (4-10 p.m.), Fridays (4 p.m.-Midnight), Saturdays (2 p.m.-Midnight) and Sundays (Noon-6 p.m.) through August 21 at Pier 70, 420 22nd Street. The last Tee Time is 1.5 hours before closing.
This post has been updated with additional images and commentary from Pier 70 Partners.
Image: Joe Kukura
