Golf used to be reserved for the country clubs, while mini-golf was tucked away deep in our sweet, sweaty memories of childhood. Those days are behind us. Boozy golf bars are now par for the course for D.C. area adults, with “happy hour @ swingers?” Slack messages and golfer-emoji reactions being flung left and right.

The uninitiated may be wondering: What exactly is Swingers, which opened in Dupont Circle last year and has another location slated for Navy Yard? And how is it different from Five Iron Golf, which opened in Penn Quarter around the same time? How does Puttery, which just opened two blocks away from Five Iron, factor into all of this?

Sip and swing experiences may abound, but to paint them all with a broad brush would be a mistake. They say different folks need different strokes; DCist is here to help you find yours.

If you’re looking for fresh air: Perch Putt

Perch Putt, which opened in May, is the latest attempt to make Tysons cool. Located on the Capital One Center’s 11th floor green space The Perch, Perch Putt offers mini-golf with a view. This makes it good for cool summer nights and sunset pictures; bad for unexpected thunderstorms and colder months. Kids are welcome — an exception to the rule at many mini-golf bars — so expect to find families and groups of friends alike.

THE GAME: A game at Perch Putt includes 18 holes on a minimalist course decorated with just a few scattered shrubs and fake rocks: no mini-golf kitsch here. The holes themselves are also modest: a few rocks, inclines and tunnels stand between you and the hole. Perch Putt has a leg up on other mini-golf bars in surface area: there’s more room to stretch your legs and whack your ball than at indoor locations. (DCist was provided at free game at Perch Putt and all the establishments listed in this piece.)

THE BOOZE: Drinking on the Perch Putt green is not only allowed, but encouraged, made evident by the drink holders conveniently located at every hole. You can get your fix at Rhum Roost, the Perch Putt bar that on top of wine, beer and hard seltzer ($7-$8) offers boozy frozen lemonades and tiki cocktails ($12-14). I opted for a Zombie, a rum based cocktail heavy on the passion fruit puree and so deliciously tangy, I forgive it for throwing me off my game. (Perch Putt covered the cost of this drink.) For a post-game beer, Starr Hill Biergarten is steps away.

THE FOOD: No eating while putting allowed, but right outside Perch Putt you’ll find picnic tables and two food trucks. Grandpa Hank’s Jamaican Chicken offers beef and chicken patties ($8), jerk chicken ($20), oxtail stew ($20) and curry goat ($17). Vegetarians will fare better at Los Dos Carlos Street Tacos, which offers standard Mexican-style street tacos ($12-$15 for three), plus chips and nachos ($4-$12). Wren, a Japanese-inspired restaurant on the Perch, sits next door.

THE PRICE: $15 buys one person (kids and adults) access to all 18 holes.

Perch Putt is located at 1805 Capital One Dr. Suite 1150, Tysons.

If you’re looking to up your game: Five Iron Golf

For first-timers, it can be a little jarring to swing at a golf ball with all of your might when all that’s in front of you is a digital projection of a golf course, but that’s the basis for a new wave of golf bars. Five Iron Golf, which was born in Manhattan in 2017, offers golf simulator rentals at its two-story Penn Quarter location. They rely on the TrackMan golf radar, which digitalizes your real-life golf swing to scale on a massive projection and tracks key data points like ball speed, attack angle and carry. If those terms mean anything to you, then Five Iron is a great place to perfect your swing. If they mean zilch, you can still enjoy simulated golf games in Five Iron’s laid-back environment.

THE GAME: Five Iron has 10 bays in a space that also includes a bar, funky murals, televisions, and thumping music. A bay rental for up to six people comes with private seating, a set of clubs, and access to the TrackMan, which can be customized to be a driving range, full course, or to prompt group games. Simulated courses include real-life sites located everywhere from Scotland to Bethesda, and fantasy courses that let you play in a forest or near a volcano. Ever play Wii Sports training games? TrackMan’s game section is similar, featuring a hit the target game, a capture the flag game, and a driving competition.

THE BOOZE: The Five Iron bar hits it out of the park when it comes to mixology. The wildest drink on the menu is the Swing Oil ($15) made with spiced rum, coconut rum, Campari, honey, pineapple juice and orange juice, topped off with a dark rum float and a dehydrated slice of pineapple. I was tempted by the Rain Delay ($14) (aperol, elderflower liqueur, prosecco, sparkling apple cider), but eventually opted for the bold and delicious Doublebreaker ($15), which combines gin, green chartreuse, melon liqueur and prosecco. (Five Iron Golf covered the cost of this drink.)

THE FOOD: You’ll find your typical bar food: a pretzel ($10), wings ($14), tacos ($14-$18), sliders ($18) and the like. You can order drinks and food to your bay, and dig in between swings.

THE PRICE: Renting a bay for one hour costs $50 during off-peak hours (before 4 p.m. on weekdays; 8 p.m. to close on Sunday), and $65 during peak hours (after 4 p.m. on weekdays; all day Saturday; before 8 p.m. on Sunday). Lessons start at $55 for a half hour.

Five Iron Golf is located at 575 Seventh St. NW.

If you’re looking for privacy: CitySwing

CitySwing is another simulated golf spot that relies on TrackMan technology. It opened its first permanent location on New York Avenue in July, following a string of pop-ups over the last few years. Avid golfer Tari Cash founded CitySwing with the mission of “taking one of the most exclusive sports and creating an inclusive culture.” An incident in which police were called on five Black women for golfing “too slow” galvanized Cash, who is Black, to start CitySwing, she told Forbes. Evidence of her mission can be found on the walls of their first venue, which serve as a canvas for colorful murals featuring legendary Black golfers Renee Powell and Charlie Sifford.

THE GAME: CitySwing has two bays that each hold six people and are one located in a private room with an accordion door that can be propped open to create one larger space. This makes CitySwing the ideal space for privacy — whether you want a private lesson or a place to rent for a party. Like Five Iron Golf, a simulator rental at City Swing comes with a full set of clubs and access to the full slate of TrackMan options.

BOOZE AND FOOD: There was no booze or food to speak of at the time of DCist’s visit, but there is a bar ready to go. A CitySwing representative says the organization has obtained its liquor license, and food and beverage options are coming by the end of the month.

THE PRICE: Renting a bay costs $80/hour, and lessons cost $130/hour.

CitySwing is located at 901 New York Ave. NW.

If you’re looking for a party: Swingers

At 5 p.m. on a Saturday in August, the party was already well underway at Swingers. That’s the M.O. at the London-based adults-only mini-golf establishment, which has been a hit since it opened its first U.S. location in Dupont Circle in June 2021. On a weekend, that means you may wait in line before you can golf — but if you’re lucky, a Swingers staffer will come around with free samples of their frozen margarita. The two-story venue is decked out as a classic clubhouse with tongue-in-cheek flair, including photos of celebrities like Cardi B and Drake photoshopped to look like golf pros. The massive facility features four bars, and has more space to sit down and have a drink than to actually golf. Don’t worry, they have that too — downstairs, where there are no windows and tons of party lights.

THE GAME: Swingers has two nine-hole golf courses: the Clocktower course and the Waterwheel course. The two are almost identical, so if you’re choosing between them, opt for whichever one has fewer people. The Dupont establishment is the closest you’ll get to the kitschy putt-putt of an eight-year-old’s dreams: the holes at Swingers feature decked out windmills, waterwheels, clock towers and Skee-Ball-style tunnels. Indoor space constraints mean the holes themselves are slightly smaller than average, but the offbeat challenges make each one fun nonetheless. There’s incentive to golf like a pro: if you get a hole-in-one at the ninth hole, you get to spin a wheel of prizes that include free drinks, food and miscellaneous goodies. DCist cannot personally speak to the experience of winning any such prize.

THE BOOZE: Swingers could not make drinking while playing any easier. Trays are available at every hole to hold your drinks, and a “party caddy” mills around taking drink orders from golfers. The menu reads like many popular cocktail bars around down, with an espresso martini ($14), a frozen dark and stormy ($12), a Lime in the Coconut Collins ($13) (spiced rum, white rum, coconut cream, amaretto, lime juice, pineapple and Red Bull) and a Sex on the Green shot ($9) (blood orange vodka, passion fruit puree, lime juice and blue liqueur), among others.

THE FOOD: Bites come from Swingers’ four-stall food hall. Kneadza Pizza serves up specialty pies ($16-$20) and appetizers like toasted ravioli ($12); Tu Taco provides Mexican street-style tacos ($9-$13) and churros ($7); Lil’ Succotash offers a casual take on Chef Edward Lee’s Succotash with burgers and sandwiches ($12-$14); and Mah Ze Dahr brings classic desserts like soft serve ($7) and a brownie sundae ($11) to the table.

THE PRICE: Off-peak mini-golf (Sunday through Wednesday; Thursday and Friday before 6 p.m.) costs $19 per person for access to one course (nine holes). During peak hours (Thursday and Friday after 6 p.m.; all day Saturday), one nine-hole course costs $24 per person. Food, drink and golf bundles are also available starting at $41 per person.

Swingers is located at 1330 19th St. NW.

If you’re looking for an Instagram post: Puttery

If playing golf on a real course is equivalent to seeing “The Starry Night” at the MoMA, then mini-golf at Puttery is Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience of golf bars. Owned by modern driving range company Drive Shack, Puttery opened the D.C. location in June, its third following others in Dallas and Charlotte. Housed in the former International Spy Museum building in Penn Quarter, Puttery has made the space unrecognizable, transforming it into a swanky faux-clubhouse complete with modern furniture, framed prints of famous art, and numerous bars. Everything is picture-perfect with numerous embellishments designed to encourage photo-taking.

THE GAME: Three nine-hole courses live at Puttery, each one decorated according to a theme. “Art Museum” pays homage to D.C.’s vibrant art scene with holes that ask you to putt through cans of Campbell’s tomato soup à la Andy Warhol and play within a 3D recreation of Georges Seurat’s “Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte.” The “Illusion” course draws inspiration from optical tricks, and “Conservatory” evokes cacti and redwoods. Puttery has done away with the tradition of scorecards and tiny pencils, opting instead for a digitized version that updates while you play. Fair warning: appearances, not mini-golf, seem to be Puttery’s priority. The holes themselves are small and easy to finish, with basic ramps and obstacles barely standing in the way. Some of them even feature decked-out seats for photo taking, though like many “immersive experiences,” the decorations seem engineered to look better through a phone lens than in real life.

THE BOOZE: Nine signature cocktails are on the menu at Puttery, including a Tasty Green ($16) (vodka, sake, lime, cane sugar, cucumber, basil), a Dinner at the Louvre ($16) (brandy, blackberries, lemon, cane sugar, champagne) and The Mark of Cincoro ($25) (tequila, herbal liqueur, orange bitters, angostura bitters, lemon oil and orange oil). They’ve also got a wine menu ($11-$14 for a glass), and your standard beers and seltzers ($7 for bottles/cans; $8.50 for draft). You can order drinks anywhere on the Puttery premises, and take them along your game for liquid courage.

THE FOOD: This is not your standard mini-golf menu. Puttery has a bountiful list of appetizers, ranging from sous vide pork belly ($16) and a charcuterie board ($26) to veggie potstickers ($13) and lamb sliders ($17). They’ve also got salads (dig into a fig, burrata, and serrano ham salad for $18) and pizzas ($18-$22). Don’t forget dessert — Puttery serves up a double chocolate brownie, berries and cream, and key lime cake. Get one dessert for $6.50, or a flight for $17.

THE PRICE: $22 buys one person access to one nine-hole course.

Puttery is located at 800 F St. NW.