Swingers is planning to open its sixth U.S.-based location, a three-story, five-course flagship ... [+]
Swingers Crazy Golf has closed on a $52 million round of funding to expand its adults-only miniature golf model, including the development of a 40,000-square-foot flagship venue in Las Vegas that will consist of five “crazy” golf courses over three floors at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino.
A former London pop-up, Swingers has outlived its originally planned five-month lifespan by almost a decade. Its parent company, Competitive Socialising, now operates five locations – two each in London and Washington D.C. as well as one in New York.
“These venues have shown that people love to socialize when there's competitive activity involved and it's a theatrical and immersive venue,” said co-founder Matt Grech-Smith. “So, taking our investors along for the ride has definitely been straightforward. They can see the demand and they can see the potential or the places that the Swingers brand could go.”
The Las Vegas venue is scheduled to open in 2024, transforming a former nightclub into an expansive English “country house” concept. The crazy golf courses – a British spin on the classic game of mini golf – will be the centerpiece, appealing to a 21-and-over crowd with craft cocktails served by caddies, a variety of street food, a theatrical setting, and DJs playing music every night.
A rendering of Swingers' new flagship venue in Las Vegas that's scheduled to open in 2014.
“It’s going to be something along the lines of which Vegas has never seen before,” said Grech-Smith.
“You know what it's like when you're in Vegas — there's lots of gambling, there's lots of eating and drinking to do, and you can go lie by the pool. But there's definitely a shortage of fun activities. We think Swingers is going to provide that perfect solution where you can go along take part in this fun activity, have a few drinks, and have some great food as well. Our new kind of country house theme is going to take Swingers to the next level.”
Cain International, a privately held real estate investment firm that provided Swingers with an initial $20 million in 2018, also led the latest $52 million Series-C funding, which includes a number of third party institutional investors. With the capital in place, Swingers is expected to expand to at least 15 locations in 2026, bringing in nearly $150 million in annual revenue. Grech-Smith said the company expects to turn over $60 million this year.
Swingers Dupont Circle is one of the company's two venues in Washington D.C.
In addition to the Vegas venue, Swingers in 2024 will open its first franchise location in Dubai.
Swingers is part of the new-age mini golf movement that also includes competitors such as Puttery, Puttshack and PopStroke. Rory McIlroy has invested in Puttery, which was started by Drive Shack, while Tiger Woods has a strategic partnership with Popstroke that includes course design.
The differentiator for Swingers is that it delivers more of a nightclub experience with its adults-only consumer base.
Interior view of one of the courses at the Swingers location in New York City.
“We found that the pandemic really cemented in people's minds how much they value social experiences and to be able to go out and do fun things,” said Grech-Smith.
“We’re looking at all of the key markets in the US. They will most likely follow Vegas from ‘25 onwards,” added Grech-Smith, adding that there’s nothing imminent to announce about future locations. “We love to go for cities that have big corporate crowds, a pretty dense population, a good dating scene, a street food scene. Those are sort of some of the criteria make a Swingers city. There's a huge number of cities in the U.S. that meet those kinds of requirements.”