Shots in the Night - Indian Wells Golf Resort

My family loves Topgolf, so when I heard there was a similar style golfing venue in the Coachella Valley we couldn’t wait to try it. We tried to go in the spring, but by the time I got around to making reservations they were already closed for the season. I didn’t miss the opportunity this time!

I made our reservation online at the Shots in the Night website. Once you click on Get Tickets, it will pull up a calendar and time options. Shots in the Night is available most Friday & Saturday nights, and select special nights (like New Years Eve) the first weekend in November through Memorial Day weekend. Each time slot reserves you 50 minutes in one of the Top Tracer Glow Range bays for up to 6 people and use of the Laser Putting Course before and after your reservation.

*They are also available for buyout options any night of the week if you are interested in hosting an event there.

Shots in the Night is located at the Indian Wells Golf Resort. We parked in the lot to the left of the entrance to the Clubhouse as you drive in from Highway 111. In order to get to the Shots in the Night area you go through the clubhouse and out the back doors to the right. You will see the Laser Putting Course lit up and a check-in desk to your right.

We arrived about 30 minutes before our reservation which was perfect for us because it gave us time to play on the putting course. The putting course wasn’t busy when we got there so the kids were able to spread out and try all of the different holes pretty quickly. It was so fun, but definitely tricky putting at night, in the dark, for my old lady eyes. Putters and balls are provided, just make sure to return them when you’re done!

*Bonus - there are seating areas with fire pits on the entrance side of the laser putting course!

At our reservation time we headed over the the check-in desk where they asked us what kind of drivers we needed (men’s/women’s, left/right handed) and took us to our bay. They walked us through the games (the kids wanted to play Angry Birds, of course), gave us a little explanation of how the program works when we hit, and we were off! The bays each have a heater, and some have fire pit tables. The seating space is typically shared between two bays, but there was plenty of room for our group of 6.

If you haven’t played the Top Tracer Angry Birds game before, you hit your ball aiming to knock down the tower where you imagine it would be on the range. Once you hit the ball onto the range, you look at the screen to see what part of the tower your ball knocked out. As you play you have to adjust where you aim the ball based on the parts of the tower you are trying to hit. Once you take three shots or you knock out the whole tower your turn is over. You can adjust each player level to easy, medium, or hard based on ability. We did easy for everyone except my husband, who played on hard. Next time I would do easy for my youngest, hard for my husband (a pretty regular golfer), and medium for the rest of us (kids who have golfed before, and adults who are not regular golfers).

There is a food truck that has a small, but decent amount of food options, burgers, fries, hot chocolate, etc. Prices are reasonable and food comes quick!

We were able to play 3 full rounds of the Angry Birds game, with 6 people, in our 50 minute time slot. The 50 minute time slots seem to be flexible by a few minutes if no one is waiting. I think we finished around 7:35/7:40, when our time was technically up at 7:30. So it is NOT like Topgolf in that regard, where your computer times out when your hour is up! (If you prefer the non-parent enforced end time I’m sure you could ask the employees to come kick you out at your designated end time). It looked like there were empty bays as we were leaving so no one was rushing us out, but I did notice that the employees had to check in on a few groups who seemed to be taking advantage of the flexibility. Tsk. Tsk.

A quick stop back by the putting course after we were done with our range time and we called it a night. This is definitely an activity that everyone in our family enjoyed and we plan on doing again!

Where should we check out next?

Happy Adventuring!

~Melissa

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