In May, the INDY covered the opening of Bull City Mini, the miniature golf course and bar where guests can sip local brews while putt-putting their way through a handful of Durham-inspired holes.
When Drive Shack opens on Friday in Southwest Raleigh, the Oak City’s golf lovers will get their very own golf- and beer-centric venue. Drive Shack is a three-story, sixty-five-thousand-square-foot facility, featuring ninety-five driving bays and augmented reality games, more than three hundred televisions, a full restaurant, and three craft bars—a golf megaplex that is anything but a “shack.”
At Drive Shack’s private bays, patrons are encouraged to combine traditional golf ball-whacking with interactive games depicted on a screen, where they hit real balls at virtual targets and a Doppler radar-based tracking system determines whether or not the ball struck the target. One game, “Monster Hunt,” instructs players to take aim at monsters to save a princess. There are also card- and baseball-inspired games, like “ShackJack” (blackjack) and “S-H-A-C-K” (HORSE).
The bays are set up bowling alley-style, with tables, lounge seating, and television sets, so guests can dine on the Shack’s shareable fare, drink specialty cocktails, and watch sports in between rounds. There’s also a rooftop patio and plenty of indoor seating to accommodate those partaking in non-driving range activities. The Drive Shack has retro arcade games, a more intensive virtual golf program called Pro Practice (which tracks ball distance, spin, and speed), and of course, plenty of food and drink offerings.
The Shack’s signature cocktails include a lavender margarita, a green bloody Mary, and a cotton candy cocktail that’s—drumroll please—“served over cotton candy.” The bar will also be stocked with local craft beer, spiked seltzers, and canned wine.
Drive Shack’s menu features dishes from a hodgepodge of different cuisines: there’s a mushroom truffle flatbread, Korean barbecue pork wings, an ahi tuna poké bowl, blackened mahi tacos, and Bavarian pretzel sticks with pimento cheese dip. There are a number of options for those with dietary restrictions, like buffalo cauliflower wings, an Impossible burger, and a gluten-free chocolate chip skillet cookie with ice cream. There’s also a brunch menu with a selection of “boozy cereals,” like Cinnamon Toast Crunch with Rumchata and Fireball.
Drive Shack will be open until 2:00 a.m. on weekends—giving a whole new meaning to late-night clubbing.
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