Topgolf Las Vegas Will Make You Fall in Love With Vegas All Over Again
Simply put, the newly-opened Topgolf Las Vegas is the best thing to happen to Sin City since the invention of the stripper pole.
Honestly, when we first heard about this new venue, we discounted as being for golfers or
the sports-inclined. It didn’t take long to realize we are sometimes a complete bonehead.
Topgolf is everything you love about Las Vegas, without all the things you hate.
Sure, it has 108 hitting bays, but they’re just one of many appealing things about this new
offering at MGM Grand, and we can’t wait to share what we suspect may become your new
favorite place to eat, drink, play and swim in Las Vegas.
Here’s some sweet drone footage of Topgolf Las Vegas from the air.
We did an exhaustive walk-through of every inch of Topgolf, and the Director of Marketing
for Topgolf Las Vegas, Dennis LaFontaine, was kind enough to show us around and answer lots
of awkward questions.
First, though, a quick overview of what’s in store. Bottom line: It’s epic. You probably
want more details, though. We’ve got this.
Topgolf is just off The Strip, just to the east of MGM Grand. (The address is 4627 Koval
Lane, Las Vegas, NV 89109, if you’re into the map thing.) The Topgolf chain has about 25
locations, but Sin City’s is the flagship, with goodies exclusively available at the Las Vegas
location.
Beyond the aforementioned 108 climate-controlled hitting bays, Topgolf has four levels and
can accommodate about 3,000 people at one time. Topgolf has two pools, five bars, cabanas,
private meeting rooms and event spaces and there’s even a concert venue, The Yard.
There is no fee to get into Topgolf. That’s right, it’s like any bar or restaurant in town.
Stroll right in and even if you don’t care to golf, you can enjoy one of the bars or
restaurants, or make a sports bet or play video poker. You can just hang out. Told you it’s
awesome.
So, let’s take on this bad boy floor-by-floor, starting with the second floor because
that’s where guests end up when the enter the facility.
Some logistics: Parking at Topgolf is exclusively valet. At the moment, parking is free,
but it’s expected there will be a fee for parking soon. No date set. The good news is
Topgolf offers a free shuttle from nearby MGM Grand (there’s also a Topgolf lounge in the
hotel’s porte cochere). Paid parking is also available in the MGM Grand self-park garage,
and at Topgolf there’s a lane for rideshare drop-off, so you may want to take advantage of
those services.
Once inside Topgolf, the first area you encounter is the lobby and reception area. Here,
you’re greeted by attractive young people from guest services. Young, attractive people are
recurring theme at Topgolf, so get used to it.
In the lobby you’ll also find the private event check-in desk, and we suspect Topgolf is
going to host a metric hell-ton of private events.
Just off the lobby floor is an impressive, three-story chandelier with LEDs throughout. The
circles mimic the targets on the driving range, and the lights were inspired by golf balls
being hit into the targets. It’s very photogenic.
While we don’t consider playing golf at Topgolf a must, we should say it’s an absolute
blast, and have little to no interest in golf. The usual kind, anyway.
Happily, Topgolf takes golf to another level, literally and figuratively.
Dennis LaFontaine said, “Imagine bowling, darts and golf, all rolled into one.” That’s
exactly what we were thinking. Imagine a visit to a bowling alley with friends, but it’s
golf instead of bowling. You get to schmooze with your friends, but there’s also an
activity, and add to that the fact there’s a competitive aspect, and you’ve got Topgolf’s
winning formula. Oh, and there’s a lot of hooch.
“Our balls have RFID chips in them,” says LaFontaine. “So, you plug your name into the
screen, as you would for bowling. The game tells you which target to shoot for. It’s all
based around accuracy. How many points you get depends upon how close you get to the flag
or pin. It makes it a fun, interactive environment.”
It’s not just fun, it’s highly addictive. When you hit a ball, a display in your bay shows
where your ball landed, if you hit the target and even where within the target your ball
fell. Points are assigned, distances are tallied. Your friends point and laugh. Good times.
Each hitting bay can accommodate 6-10 people.
LaFontaine adds, “It’s really for golfers and non-golfers alike. We provide the clubs, so
you don’t have to bring your own. About 23% of the people that come are avid golfers who
bring their own clubs.”
The second level boasts a common area with social games like shuffleboard and cornhole, but
unlike with other venues in Las Vegas, it doesn’t feel forced. It’s just something else to
do with your friends.
The social games area is also Topgolf’s concert space, what LaFontaine describes as “the
heart of the building.”
Above The Yard is a massive, 14 by 48-foot video screen which can be “chopped up” into 16
screens. Pretty much the Holy Grail for sports fans.
“There’s a retractable roof, so imagine watching your favorite band under the stars,” says
LaFontaine.
The Birdie Bar sits on the second floor, a 360-degree bar with an additional performance
area that can fit about 180 people. Birdie Bar has 15 video poker machines, operated by MGM
Resorts, and there are five more at another bar in the venue, for a total of 20 video poker
machines.
Moving on, let’s cruise down to the first floor. On the west side of the building, there’s
a traditional meeting space that backs up to eight hitting bays.
Nearby is The Riv Bar, an homage to the now-closed hotel-casino of the same name. The bar
sports a Life magazine cover from 1955 featuring the Riviera, and other flourishes that pay
homage to the classic hotel. Topgolf tried putting the bar from the Riviera into the space,
but it wouldn’t fit. We personally prefer a shiny new bar to a sticky, old one, but that
could just be us.
It’s worth noting that families and children are welcome at Topgolf, but children can only
be on the first and second floors. The top two floors are reserved for those 21 and older.
And you thought we were exaggerating about how epic this place is.
Avid golfers tend to request bays on the first floor, despite the presence of ankle-biters,
as they want a more accurate read on their shots, says Dennis LaFontaine.
A unique feature of Topgolf Las Vegas is the collection of massive video screens at the far
end of the driving range. They’re an impressive 28 feet tall by 50 feet wide.
There are a whopping 300-plus screens in the Togolf Las Vegas venue, and surprisingly, they
enhance the experience rather than serve as a distraction or annoyance.
On the east side of the first floor is the Calloway Fitting Studio, of interest to those
23% of guests who actually like golf. Golfers can try a simulator loaded up with every golf
course in the world, or get fitted for clubs. Which we don’t entirely understand given that
golf clubs are essentially glorified sticks.
Let’s get a move on to the third floor.
Before that, it might be valuable to see the entire Topgolf venue, so we did a “fly-
through” of the place. Enjoy.
On the third floor is another great bar, the Runway Bar & Lounge.
LaFontaine says of the Runway Bar, “The game of golf is very masculine, and our demographic
skews on the male side. We wanted to make sure that we had an area that has some softer
colors, with different types of fixtures and finishings.”
We’re fairly sure that male skewing is for the typical Topgolf location. In other cities,
75% of Topgolf guests are male. Here in Las Vegas, it seems like a pretty even mix of male
and female, reflecting the composition of Las Vegas visitors as a whole.
This is probably as good a time as any to mention Topgolf Las Vegas offers an exceptional value for
the price.
Hitting bays start at just $30. For a group of six people, that’s a mere $5 per hour per
person.
The prices of food and drink are also very reasonable, especially considering Topgolf is in
a great location and offers such a great variety of things to do.
Feel free to just order random things from the food and drink menus. There’s not a bad choice in the bunch from what we could tell.
Each of the upper levels provides a sweet balcony view of The Yard below.
There’s yet another 360-degree bar on the third floor that backs up to the first of two
pools. There’s swim-up seating at the bar. Glorious.
Nearby are 11 private cabanas. Those lucky enough to reserve cabanas get use of the pool
and hitting bays as part of their package.
On the west end of level three is the Owner’s Suite, a large, open area that includes three
hitting bays.
At this point in our tour, we asked Dennis LaFontaine about the people absolutely blasting
shots beyond the targets, and whether people hit balls over the nets on the far end of the
driving range.
He assured, “The nets are 180 feet tall. We brought out some heavy hitters, some guys that
won longest ball contests, and we said ‘Hit it over the net.’ It’s 200 yards away. They
couldn’t do it, so we feel pretty confident our guests won’t be able to do it.”
Dennis LaFontaine is one of the smartest, nicest marketing guys we’ve ever met. Good for
you, Topgolf.
We also asked about the business relationship between Topgolf and MGM Resorts. LaFontaine
explained, “It’s not a partnership, per se, but we’re leasing the land from MGM. We’ve both
identified the need to bring something new to the market. They really saw the potential
Topgolf would have in Las Vegas, so we teamed up. This is years in the making. It’s
something they’re proud of because it’s something new that will appeal to their hotel and
casino guests. It’s almost like a new amenity for them.” Too true.
Our hands are experiencing cramps from the typing, so it’s time to hit the fourth floor!
At one end of the fourth floor is the Chairman’s Suite. The Chairman of what, we have no
idea, but this space is prime real estate at Topgolf Las Vegas. The room holds about 40
people, has two hitting bays, a private bar, private showers and use of the pool. This is
where Drake hung out when he played hooky at the Billboard Awards.
The pool on the fourth floor is quite the feat of engineering. It’s about 30 feet long and
3.5 feet deep. There are three cabanas for rent on the fourth floor, and only guests of the
cabanas and Chairman’s Suite get access to the upper pool.
There’s another convenient bar, the Rooftop Bar, with a dramatic view of The Strip. There’s
also another balcony for viewing concerts in The Yard, of course.
As you get to the top floor, the topic of safety may come to mind, especially if you have a
heights thing as we do.
LaFontaine says safety is clearly a top priority at Topgolf Las Vegas. Nets extend from each hitting
bay to catch clubs and other objects that might get away from guests. We hinted about the
possibility of them catching guests as well, but it sounds like the watchful eyes of guest
services prevent such occurrences long before they happen.
As for the potential of getting whacked with a club, a thick, red line surrounds each tee,
and guests must stand behind the line unless it’s their turn to drive.
There are so many great things about Topgolf Las Vegas, we’re pretty sure we overlooked a
few.
Did we mention the hottie waitresses? Interestingly, Topgolf hired an astonishing 950
people. About 8,500 people applied. Our creepy assessment of the superficial aspects of Topgolf “associates” aside, the service at Topgolf is truly outstanding.
LaFontaine says, “All of our associates have ‘edgy spirit.’ We wanted to make sure that we
weren’t hiring the best bartender that could flair bottles. We wanted to hire someone that
has that edgy spirit and a good personality, and then teach them how to create drinks. It’s
a great culture in this place. You’ll watch and see associates passing each other high-
fiving each other. We call it ‘One Team.’ We truly are one team and one family here. That
translates to the service standards we give our guests.”
We personally witnessed staff members high-fiving. Voluntarily. That “edgy spirit” thing
makes a difference, believe it or not.
Fun fact: Edgy Spirit is this blog’s stripper name!
That’s just the beginning of the surprises in store at Topgolf. We were surprised the
prices were so reasonable. We were surprised how fun the golf was. We were definitely
surprised by the quality of the food. (Credit for that lies with Executive Chef Chris
Vaughn and Topgolf’s culinary team.)
Find the various Topgolf Las Vegas menus (Tee Line, Cabanas, Events and Bottle Service) on the official site.
Whether you’re into golf or not, Topgolf is an absolute must-do in Las Vegas, and that’s in a town we thought had maxed out on must-dos.
If you’d like to listen to our walk-through and interview with Dennis LaFontaine, check out episode 16 of the Vital Vegas Podcast.
Topgolf Las Vegas is open seven days a week: 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m., Monday through Thursday; 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 a.m., Friday through Saturday; and Sunday, 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m.
Let us know what you think of this first-rate new venue, and you’ll be the recipient of our undying devotion if you let them know we sent you.
Topgolf Las Vegas
Leave your thoughts on “Topgolf Las Vegas Will Make You Fall in Love With Vegas All Over Again”
6 Comments