Team & Family Outings

Best Family Entertainment Centers Like Topgolf

By the InterObservers team · Updated July 2026

Topgolf reservations get harder to land every summer, and not every group even wants a driving range. If you are hunting for the best family entertainment centers like Topgolf, the category has grown fast. Golf-tech ranges, arcade megaplexes, and bowling-and-bites chains are all fighting for your group's next outing.

What Are the Best Family Entertainment Centers Like Topgolf?

Family entertainment centers like Topgolf blend a restaurant, a bar, and some kind of interactive game under one roof. Topgolf itself pairs climate-controlled hitting bays with microchipped golf balls that score themselves on giant screens, plus a full food and drinks menu built for groups.

The category split into two lanes once Topgolf proved the model worked. One lane keeps the golf: driving ranges with tech scoring, private bays, and lounge seating. The other lane swaps golf for bowling, VR pods, laser tag, or arcade floors, chasing the same stay-for-three-hours formula.

Most people searching for alternatives want one of three things: a cheaper ticket, a location closer to home, or a different activity for a group that already did Topgolf twice this year.

We cover this alongside other team-building and workplace picks on our software and productivity hub, since group outings often get booked in the same planning meeting as new work tools.

Top Topgolf Competitors and Alternatives Explained

The list of topgolf competitors keeps growing, but a handful of names show up in every serious comparison. Here is how the main players actually differ once you look past the marketing.

Golf-Tech Rivals: Drive Shack, Puttshack, and Swingers

Drive Shack is the closest twin to Topgolf. It runs the same climate-controlled bays and tracked golf balls, and where a location exists nearby it is usually the first stop for golf-first groups.

Puttshack and Swingers skip full swings for tech-tracked mini golf, which keeps the game accessible to guests who have never held a club. Swingers leans adult-only with a cocktail bar mood, while Puttshack keeps things family-friendly with a bigger food menu.

Multi-Activity Giants: Main Event, Dave & Buster's, and Bowlero

Main Event drops the golf entirely and stacks bowling, laser tag, arcade games, and billiards under one roof. It runs around 44 locations across 17 states, and it is widely considered the most direct rival to Topgolf on overall footprint.

Dave & Buster's centers everything on its arcade floor paired with a full-service restaurant, which suits groups who want games without any athletic pressure. Bowlero, founded in 2013, leads with bowling lanes and private event rooms built for parties and corporate groups.

Budget and Regional Picks

Round One adds karaoke rooms and billiards to its bowling and arcade mix, covering a wide range of moods in one visit. Smaller regional operators like Crush Golf and Core Golf Center are also worth a search, since they often beat Topgolf on price for groups that just want swing time without the lounge markup.

Best Family Entertainment Centers Like Topgolf Examples

A useful topgolf family activities review sorts options by what the group actually wants to do, not by brand recognition alone.

For a topgolf family friendly entertainment review, most parents lean toward Main Event or a local bowling-and-arcade venue over a golf bay when grandparents and young kids are along for the day.

Bumper lanes, a kids menu, and shorter wait times matter more than swing quality on those afternoons. That is exactly the case a solid topgolf family outing review usually makes for choosing bowling over a golf bay.

For a date night or small friend group, Puttshack or Swingers deliver a game plus a real cocktail menu in a smaller, quieter footprint than a full Topgolf location.

For a company outing or team celebration, Topgolf and Drive Shack both sell private bay packages built exactly for that headcount, and Main Event or Bowlero rent event rooms the same way.

The best Topgolf alternative is not the fanciest one. It is the one your group will actually book again next quarter.

How to Pick the Right Topgolf Alternative for Your Group

Family groups should optimize for logistics: distance, price per person, and whether a kids menu and bumper lanes exist. A Saturday afternoon with grandparents in tow rarely needs Swingers' cocktail-forward vibe. It needs an easy, noisy venue with a bowling lane nearby.

Corporate groups are optimizing for something different: a shared activity that does not require anyone to be athletic, plus a private room for 15 to 40 people. Drive Shack and Topgolf both built bay packages for exactly this, and Main Event and Bowlero rent private rooms the same way.

Anyone researching working with remote teams best practices already knows the rule for outings too: send the agenda early, keep the group small enough that quieter people still get airtime, and follow it with a normal workday.

Good remote teams best practices apply just as much to a golf bay as they do to a video call, and pairing the event with the right productivity tools for your team keeps the momentum going once everyone is back at their desks.

We track this fast-moving leisure market the same way we track shifts in workplace software trends, and both categories reward whoever books the genuinely better fit instead of the most familiar name.

Budgeting a Topgolf-Style Outing for Your Team

Group outings add up fast once bay time, food, and drinks get split across a dozen people. Many managers put the whole tab on one of the best business credit cards, so the spend earns rewards and shows up as a single line on the expense report.

If you are feeding a bigger crew before or after the venue, some offices stock up at Costco Business Centers locations, a separate warehouse format built for restaurants, offices, and small businesses buying in bulk rather than the consumer stores most people know.

Booking a private room also means sharing a payment link or guest list with an outside venue, so check it against whatever small business security software your company already runs before anyone's details go out.

Once the outing wraps, a genuine thank-you goes further than people expect. Our list of things to say in a review has lines that work just as well in a quick note to whoever organized the day.

Related guides

Best Family Entertainment Centers Like Topgolf: FAQ

What are the best business credit cards for booking a group outing?

The best business credit cards for outings combine no or low annual fees, strong dining and entertainment rewards, and per-employee spend limits. Cards from Chase, Amex, and Capital One lead most 2026 shortlists, but the best business credit card is the one that matches how your team actually spends.

Which credit card is best for small business entertainment expenses?

For entertainment and dining spend specifically, look for a business credit card with elevated cashback or points in those categories, since a flat 1 percent card leaves rewards on the table. The best credit card for business entertainment usually pairs category bonuses with itemized statements for easy expense reports.

Are the best company credit cards different from personal cards for this kind of spend?

Yes. The best company credit cards issue individual employee cards with set limits and centralized reporting, which personal cards lack. That control matters when an organizer is booking a bay for 30 people and needs the receipt itemized for accounting afterward.

What is Topgolf's biggest competitor?

Main Event is generally considered Topgolf's closest overall competitor, since it targets the same family and group outing audience with bowling, arcade games, and laser tag instead of golf. Bowlero and Dave & Buster's follow close behind for group entertainment spend.

Is Main Event cheaper than Topgolf?

Main Event typically runs cheaper per person than Topgolf once food and bay time are combined, mainly because bowling lanes and arcade credits scale more easily for larger groups. Actual pricing varies by city and location, so check both venues' current rates before booking.

Do Topgolf alternatives work for large groups?

Yes. Most of the venues on this list, including Main Event, Bowlero, and Drive Shack, offer private event rooms or reserved bays built specifically for groups of 15 or more. Book at least two to three weeks ahead for weekend slots.