Big Mini Putt Club in Wicker Park is Chicago's 1st indoor putt putt bar and lounge

CHICAGO -- Big Mini Putt Club is an indoor mini golf club in Chicago's Wicker Park that offers fun for kids of all ages.

It started when best friends Nick Jenkins and Austin Delonge played mini golf as kids. They didn't grow up together -- Austin was in Vermont and Nick grew up near Boston -- but their golf hobby stuck with them as they got older.

The dynamic duo met in college at the University of Vermont and have been best friends ever since. Nick eventually moved to Chicago in 2013 looking to get a job in business and Austin soon followed. In 2019, they decided to quit their day jobs and started making plans to create Big Mini Putt Club.

The pair designed and built each one of the nine holes in Nick's garage. They started with a big notebook full of designs and from there started constructing and testing. Each hole went through a rigorous design, build, and test process before it came to life on the course.

The course that they ultimately decided on was designed to be challenging yet fun for all skill levels.

Despite the pandemic, they opened their doors in late March and people are coming.

This place is not just for the kids, Big Mini Putt Club also has a full bar featuring 10 signature cocktails and 10 draft beers available with a focus on local brewers.

"It might help your golf game if you give it to someone else that you're playing," Nick joked.

They also collaborated with a local restaurant to offer players some eats.

"We wanted it to be an entire night out. Not you go play mini-golf and then get a drink. You're here, you're enjoying mini-golf, you're also at the bar and you're kind of going back and forth." Austin said.

Nick and Austin hope Big Mini Putt Club invokes nostalgic memories for their guests, and they want people to have a good time. They plan to switch out some courses every six months to a year to keep the experience fresh and give people a reason to come back.

A full round on the course will take you about 45 minutes and reservations must be made online via their website. Following COVID guidelines, the largest group size allowed is four people.

Big Mini Putt Club is located at 1302 N Milwaukee Avenue. For more information on Big Mini Putt Club and how you can make a reservation, head to bigminiputtclub.com