Another Round is ace in the hole

By David Mullen

Another Round indoor mini-golf and bar, at 660 Fort Worth Ave. near Sylvan Thirty, is doing a number near Trinity Groves and the Dallas Design District. The number 12, to be exact.

Owner Kendall Spence, 35, moved to Dallas from Houston 12 years ago and resides with his family in Oak Cliff. He received a degree from Rice University in statistics and applied mathematics. “In this industry, I am a fish out of water,” Spence said.

It was on a vacation adventure where Spence found his inspiration for his new vocational venture. “About three or four years ago,” Spence said, “the wife and I and the kid are on vacation in Florida and we realized that whenever we went on vacation, we would try to find a place to play mini-golf.

“On that particular vacation,” Spence said, “we were at the beach for four or five days. So, I asked my son ‘What was the best part of the vacation?’ And he said, ‘It was when we played mini-golf.’ It wasn’t sitting on the beach. It was playing mini-golf. So, when we came back here, we found that there really wasn’t any place to play. And if there is, the weather outside is typically miserable for seven to eight months out of the year. So, if we were going to do a mini-golf place, I thought we should do it indoors.” 

His son wasn’t the only family member to influence the mini-golf facility. His wife, Alicia, came up with the name “Another Round.” It is very fitting. “Play a round of golf. Buy a round of drinks.” Spence said.

“There is a lot of opportunity to have a lot of fun with this place,” Spence, an occasional golfer, said. “Not to make it stale. Keep the themes rotating and continually reinventing. Maybe we will see that there are one or two holes that people like because they are classic. But if there are holes that people are indifferent about, we have something fun and creative we can do and do something different. We don’t have to stick to it. 

“There are two reasons why that plays. One, is that if it works for the guest it will keep them coming back because it is a different challenge. And for us, if people keep coming back, it keeps us in business longer because Dallas is not a tourist town.”   

The 5,000 square-foot facility opened on June 19 and was two and one-half years in the planning process. 

“It was a long time coming and then we opened right in the middle of a pandemic,” Spence said. The totally refurbished space was once home to an air conditioning warehouse and before that a bank. The old bank vault remains on the premises.

The 12-hole course is a par 24. It is full of manmade, undulating obstacles. The trick is to negotiate the small hills and around ponds full of ping pong balls. Trees and plant life are tidy and minimal. No castles, windmills or clown mouths on this course. 

By design, raw, untreated wood frames the playing and seating areas. Local artists like Chris Bingham modernized retro golf art on the walls. The bar is in the center of the course so players can stop and grab a drink or a bite to eat. 

Menu items include bacon wrapped jalapeño poppers and chophouse sliders and meat is locally sourced from Cooper’s Meat Market. “We have plenty of eating and bar space for when COVID goes away,” Spence said. The ball from a hole-in-one on number 12 goes directly to the bar for a drink discount. 

A pergola-covered outside patio is deftly landscaped, and a local muralist painted actual golf carts that are used for seating. 

 Another Round has developed partnerships with nearby breweries The Manhattan Project and The Bishop Cider Co. to offer “Pro Tours.” Currently, the bar is offering the Manhattan Project Masters, four cans of Necessary Evil, Hoppenheimer, Wise Monkeys and Double Half Life. The Bishop Cide Cup includes cans of Bishop Cider Co. Crackberry, Dark Cider, Pineapple and Peach Tea. 

Each flight comes with its own “tour card,” where guests can take the card to Manhattan Project for a free beer or for one free entry to the Bishop Cidercade, an arcade and bar developed by the  cidermakers.  

 “We are a funky take on mini-golf,” Spence said. “Lots of illusion holes. Very interactive.”

Due to the pandemic, reservations are required and can be made at anotherrounddallas.com or by calling 214-233-6316. High standards of sanitization and social distancing protocol are in play and at the front check-in kiosk. All putters and golf balls are treated. 

A standard round of golf costs $12. “A 12-pack,” Spence said. “A 12-hole course. The address of 660 adds up to 12. Our custom cocktails are $12. Another Round is 12 letters. 

So, 12 just ended up becoming “the thing.” The “Pro Tour” drink specials are $24, and current capacity is 72 people, divisible by 12. Leave it to a statistician to be enamored with a number.