Milwaukee thrives during the warmer months with festivals taking place every weekend, and all the beautiful parks and beaches available. The winter months tend to get a little boring after the excitement of the holidays have passed, we’ve cheers to the new year, and the snow has gone from crystal white to muddy and wet. If you’re anything like me, you’re sick of the same bar scene, the same movie nights at home, or straight up doing nothing. The hot spot for this winter—and honestly all the time—is Nine Below.
If you have yet to check out this fun, innovative bar located on the East side now is your chance. Nine Below offers Milwaukeeans a new way to spend their weekend, or even week night, through Makers Golf. Nine Below is located on North Avenue directly beneath Beans and Barley. It’s super close to UW-Milwaukee’s Campus and the surrounding neighborhoods. It is such a unique experience residing right here on the East side.
Customers are able to make reservations in groups of 2-6 for a specific 2-hour “tee time”. After settling in and grabbing a drink, individuals start to create their own mini golf hole. With sneaky trap doors, unique obstacles, and building blocks everyone is able to watch their vision come to life. This ideology of “Maker’s Golf” is only available right here in Milwaukee! You can’t do this anywhere else in the world. How cool is that?
Less on the creative side? No worries. The establishment has created a role called the “Course Coach” who helps guide everyone through the process step by step. You’re never alone in the process if you are lost at all. The Course Coach is someone who has been well trained on the ins and outs of maker’s golf and is full of hot tips. They help ensure that everyone is creating the hole they want and offers advice for improvements.
Once everyone has built their mini-golf hole on their green, usually about one hour, the golfing begins. The Course Coach announces the “rules” that players are encouraged to follow and does a shot gun start. Rotating to the right, you move from green to green playing the courses that everyone else in the round just created. You finish on your hole for the big sendoff of the night. Nine Below offers up to 18 holes of one-of-a-kind fun! At the end of your experience, you’ve built your own mini-golf hole and played through either a half course of 9 other unique mini-golf holes, or the full course of 18.
Not into mini-golf? That is totally okay too! If you’re 21 and up, it is a fully-stoked bar with plenty of drinking options. They have a great selection of domestic beers, craft beers, and liquor options. Their specialty house cocktails follow the theme and are of course mini-golf inspired. The bar also offers video games at the bar, so if you’ve ever wanted to play drunk Mario Cart now is your chance.
If you’re looking to fore-go your usual weekend night, or even week night, Nine Below should be next on your list. It works for a night out with a group of friends, girls night out, or even for date night. If you haven’t picked up on how awesome this place is yet, let me summarize one last time. This is the only mini-golf tavern offering “Maker’s Golf” and it is right here in our backyard of UWM. Their staff guides you through the whole process. Amazing drinks. Video games. Nine Below is a hidden gem of Milwaukee, and it is sitting right on North Avenue waiting to be discovered.