TopGolf Glasgow Review

We have driven past TopGolf locations during our holidays to the USA and always thought they looked really cool, but with packed itineraries plus the kids being a little too young we never had the chance to try out the experience.

Fast forward a few years, so when we heard that TopGolf was opening in Glasgow we couldn’t contain our excitement as we could finally find out what all the hype was about.

We could see the huge TopGolf complex from the M74 motorway which is located in Rutherglen on the outskirts of Glasgow, so it has great road links and plenty of free car parking available at the venue.

This is TopGolf’s latest venue to open and its fourth site in the UK to add to the 80 other TopGolf locations around the world.  We did visit TopGolf Surrey last year, but made the mistake of turning up without booking on a busy weekend, so we didn’t get a chance to try the TopGolf experience.  It wasn’t a wasted trip however as we played on their TopGolf adventure golf course which the kids loved.

TopGolf Glasgow

What makes their TopGolf Glasgow different from their three other locations in the UK is that this is the first purpose built venue and it’s really impressive and at a cost of £40 million it should be.   It’s totally different from their three other legacy UK sites and it offers a TopGolf experience, similar to what you would encounter in the USA.

TopGolf Glasgow is built over three floors, with 72 individual climate-controlled bays, which you rent by the hour and up to six people can play.  Each bay is like your own private driving range, with tables, seating, TV and waiters.

The TopGolf Experience

We are not golfers but this is not your ordinary golf driving range, it’s more of a sprawling 45,000 sq ft entertainment complex that’s perfect for families as well as pro golfers and we had such a fun time here.  The best way I could describe the experience is that its like a really clever blend of a bowling alley and golf, mixed in with some really smart technology.

I did feel a bit apprehensive before our visit, we are not golfers and had no idea if we would like it or be able to even hit the ball!  Some of the reviews on Trip Advisor were a little negative but on our visit we didn’t encounter any such problems, in fact we can’t wait to return when we are in Scotland next as we all had a really fun morning here.

As you enter the venue you have to register at their reception, which was quick and efficient, and we were at our golf bay in no time. Bays vary in cost per hour, dependent on the time of day.

TopGolf Pricing

We arrived just after opening during the summer holidays, costing us £25 an hour per bay plus we had to pay a one off membership fee of £3 each as this was our first time playing TopGolf.

The hourly rate rises to £35 hour from midday to 2 and further still to £45 an hour from 2pm until it closes, so it not only works out cheaper the earlier you arrive its also much quieter.  They were also offering lots of promotions such as half priced entry on Tuesday, which is great value for a family.

Although many of the bays were already occupied with a range of customers from families trying golf for the first time like us to more accomplished golfing pros, we didn’t have to wait to get our bay.  For weekends and evenings I would recommend pre-booking your bay online in-advance otherwise you can expect some long wait times.

TopGolf Games

TopGolf provides golf clubs at each bay but they also gave us a set of junior clubs for Holly and a set of left handed clubs for me to use.  If you have your own golf clubs you can bring these with you if you prefer.

The staff were all really friendly and helpful, from the reception staff to our host at our bay who ran through how everything works, from how to set up our games to taking our food and drink orders.

We were on the top floor in booth 311 and if you can manage to get these top bays when you come to TopGolf Glasgow I would as they provide the best experience and views of the range below.

TopGolf offers a range of interactive golf-centric game options, with their most popular being their original “TopGolf” game – which is essentially driving range practice, where you score points on the enormous coloured targets scattered around the range.  We asked our host which game they would recommend and he set up their Angry Birds golfing game, which is really popular for families.

The Angry Birds game was so much fun and just like the computer game, but instead of the red birds you use your golf balls to destroy the structures that are cleverly projected on the screens, so we knew on the course where we needed to aim toward.

Each golf ball is micro chipped so you know exactly the distance, speed and the location of where the ball lands on the course, with the scores feeding through in real-time to the electronic scoreboard in our bay.

What I really liked about this was it allowed us all to have fun even though our daughter’s have never used a golf driver before.   You don’t need to be a golf pro to have fun here which is why the TopGolf concept works so well.

The Angry Birds game was so addictive and our competitive sides came out as we tried to outscore each other.  We had so much fun with our first two games that we extended the bay hire for another 30 minutes so we could play another two Angry Birds courses.

This is what is clever in the approach from TopGolf, you don’t pay for anything up front as you arrive, you only settling the bill at the end of your visit, so any additional time added to your bay or food and drinks just get added to your final bill.

Food and Drink

With dedicated servers on hand to take any food and drink orders as we played, it didn’t take the girls long to take advantage of this service even though it was only mid-morning, ordering milkshakes, whilst Ian and I had hot drinks to warm up on a cold summer morning.

The food and drink menu here is extensive and with it being in Scotland, there were some Scottish dishes on the menu such as Haggis nachos.  A separate kids menu was also available including burger and fries, chicken goujons and mac and cheese bites.

The girls went for fish and chips and a bacon roll with chips whilst Ian and I chose the BBQ pulled pork sandwich and the brisked grilled cheese, all of which was excellent and reasonable priced.

TopGolf Merchandise

Before we left we called in at the Top Golf store on the main level, where we managed to get a family photo in the cool golf buggy and the girls picked up some TopGolf branded golf balls as a memento of their day.

Overall

We would highly recommend TopGolf Glasgow, it’s a really fun and unique concept which takes golfing to a whole new level of enjoyment.  We loved it and can’t wait to return, when we are next in Scotland.  For more information and booking visit TopGolf Glasgow