We sent our sports reporter to Topgolf Rhode Island. Is it worth the hype?

The leaves are falling. The surprisingly warm days will soon be gone and colder, blustery afternoons will dominate our days.

Fall is almost done. Winter is coming. If you’re a golfer, it’s the most depressing time of the year.

There may now be a cure. Say hello to Topgolf Rhode Island.

What is Topgolf?

Part driving range, part Dave & Busters with a dash of bar and restaurant mixed in. With heated bays to hit from, it gives any golfer suffering from wintertime blues a chance to work on their game.

But Topgolf isn’t just for golfers.

During the first full week the Cranston location opened, this Providence Journal reporter took his non-golfing wife out for a lunch date to see what the Topgolf Rhode Island experience was like.

What we discovered – sort of – was a place that is appealing to more people than you would think. Here are the five things that stood out from our trip.

What to know before you go: Topgolf Rhode Island is open. Here's how to go.

Topgolf has an aura

My wife and I aren’t Topgolf rookies. We visited their Nashville location on a football trip back in 2018 and while the football part of the journey wasn’t great – the Patriots got smoked by the Titans – we had a fun time at Topgolf the following night.

The Cranston location was smaller than I remember Nashville being, which would make sense considering the size of the cities. It didn’t take away from the excitement of getting to check the place out.

When you see it from Route 37, it reeks of cool. You dip down into the Chapel View Complex and lose sight of it behind the other buildings, but once you pull into the parking lot and see the Topgolf building, you immediately get excited.

Walking in, staff was everywhere. This was a Thursday afternoon and we were offered assistance from the second we went through the glass doors until we were taken to our second-floor hitting bay, and then again when technology struck and we were moved to the third floor.

I’m assuming staffing won’t be as high as time goes on – there were almost as many employees as patrons when we arrived – but it was still comforting knowing if we needed something, someone was there to help.

The bays are fun, provided you’re not afraid of heights. Once I realized I wasn’t going to do a headfirst dive after finishing a swing, it was fine. When my wife hit, I sat down on a comfortable couch. Music is streamed in, but at a volume that was more relaxing than night-club loud.

Walking out, I noticed inside bars that looked like a place I would sit down with a buddy for a few drinks as we watch a game. Golf will always be the draw for me, but Topgolf did give off a good sports-bar vibe if you wanted to go somewhere and not hit balls.

As a whole, the place was inviting. I was going to have fun regardless, but the ambiance of the complex made it impossible not to enjoy myself.

You don’t have to be a golfer

I’m a golf dork, so I brought my entire bag, a glove and my spikeless shoes so I wouldn’t have traction issues. My wife threw on a T-shirt, jeans and sneakers ready to swing a club for the first time in five years.

Topgolf offers a variety of different target-based games for players of all levels. For advanced players, there’s also options for you to work on specifics of your own game.

With limited flight golf balls – my carry distances were off 5-10% – you’re not getting an accurate number off your swings, but thinking about having the opportunity to swing outdoors and see shots fly in the air in the dead of winter was what was on my mind.  Indoor simulators are great, but it’s one thing to see your shot in the air and how it reacts vs. what a computer tells you.

Playing their most popular target-based games, we had fun. It gave me a chance to work on my mid-iron swings while my wife – who doesn’t golf – picked up a driver and just tried to smash the ball as far as she could with mixed results.

We tried another game where you hit to shorter targets first and then move your way back, but my wife grew tired of it. She looked at me and said “I just want to whack it” so we quickly went back to the original game.

For a little over an hour we took turns hitting shots, with my wife making fun of me when I hit one poorly, and then making fun of me when I hit them well, and asking why I don’t do that all the time.

My wife’s results were a mixed bag, but she was genuinely excited when she’d hit a good shot and it would land in one of the targets. Her reaction after bad shots made me laugh – “I couldn’t play this at a real course. I’d get so frustrated.”

“Yeah, hun,” I told her. “That’s all of us.”

How to do Topgolf right

On the car ride home, my wife and I immediately started making future plans in our heads of people we would like to take along for a Topgolf night.

We agreed on one thing: If you’re going to Topgolf, do it as a group. It’s fine with two people, but it can get expensive fast. We rented a bay for 90 minutes on a Thursday afternoon and it cost $75. For two hours – which you’ll need every minute of – it’s going run you over $100, but if you have four or six people splitting the cost it’s a lot more palatable.

Topgolf is kid friendly, provided your children know how to behave. Hitting golf balls with the kids sounds great until the one who doesn’t know how to act runs up on someone swinging and gets hit in the face with a club or gets a little too close to the edge while swinging from a third-story bay.

Personally, I’m leaving the family at home. To me, Topgolf feels like the perfect place for a group gathering. Even with more than six people, you can rent two bays together and everyone can have a blast.

My wife and I plan on bringing her sister – not a golfer – and our brother-in-law – sort of a golfer – out for a night. She said she looked forward to going out with friends from work – some who golf and some who don’t – and I’d love to get some of my sports media brethren out once the playoffs are finished.

Topgolf, not TopRestaurant

Topgolf is for recreation. If you’re going for a five-star meal, you’re going to be disappointed.

On my lunch date, we ordered pretzel bites for an appetizer. They were exactly what you’d expect from chain restaurant pretzel bites. Warm, soft, salty and the dipping sauces were fine.

For lunch, I ordered a turkey wrap and my wife went with chicken tenders and neither lit our world on fire. The wrap was dry and without any sauce or flavor to speak of and my wife’s tenders – which she ordered fearful of the quality of other items – were bland as well.

My wife ordered a mid-afternoon cocktail which she said was fine and if I didn’t have a football game to cover that night, I would have joined her with a few drinks as well.

I wasn’t expecting much from the food, but I was expecting better. It wasn’t bar food good; in fact, it wasn’t even chain restaurant good. The lunch bill – minus the golf – was $55, so the pricing was fair even if the food wasn’t great.

Next time I head to Topgolf, the plan will be simple – hit up one of Cranston’s fine restaurants first, then go for the golf, drinks and whatever "picky" food we’d need.

Is Topgolf Rhode Island worth it?

You put me in any golf-related activity and I’m going to have a blast. Topgolf is a real winner for me and a place I’ll be back to again – but not just because I liked it.

For me, the real test of Topgolf was how much fun my wife had. I don’t think I could talk her into going to a normal driving range and hitting balls for two hours, especially if cocktails aren’t involved.

With winter slowly sneaking up on us, Topgolf should become a terrific place for weekend fun. You can only stay inside for so long before cabin fever hits and if you don’t ice skate or ski, Topgolf is a perfect excuse to get outside and enjoy some fresh air and have some fun along the way.

Who knows – maybe it’ll sharpen your skills once the snow melts next June.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Topgolf Rhode Island: Is it worth it? Our sportswriter thinks so