After 15 years in the high-stress grind of Wall Street finance, Greg Bartoli found a better way to live. And for this former JP Morgan executive, the proof is in the putting.
Bartoli moved from New York City to the Palm Beaches in 2013 and quickly reinvented his career. Under the aegis of his upstart private equity firm, J.E.M. Capital, he developed Lighthouse Cove Adventure Golf in Jupiter, an upscale miniature golf complex with a burger joint, an ice cream shop and a shark-filled tropical aquarium.
The venture was supposed to be a “one and done,” he recalls. But a year into running one golf-related attraction, a second one took root.
“One day I was in Jupiter, looking at Lighthouse Cove, and just kind of feeling the audience there,” he recalls. “And the place was packed … At one vantage point you had a couple of 5-year-olds with their 38-year-old parents, and mom and dad had a Corona and the kids had a milkshake. And I remember seeing PGA Tour players—Brooks Koepka and Rickie Fowler were out there with their girlfriends, having drinks and a great time. At the same vantage point, I could see a bunch of seniors and retirees. At one viewpoint on a busy day, I saw 5-year-olds up to 85-year-olds, and I saw there was a huge opportunity in the marketplace for something that resonated and connected with so many different generations of people.”
That observation planted the seed for PopStroke, a self-described “experiential golf and casual dining concept,” centered on putting, whose first South Florida iteration has debuted in Delray Beach.
Jettisoning the often-juvenile ambiance of mini golf courses, PopStroke locations feature two 18-hole putting courses—designed by Tiger Woods; more on him later—complete with synthetic turfs, fairways, bunkers and roughs. State-of-the-art technology supplements the experience, from LED-lit holes to JumboTrons positioned throughout the courses to a mobile app that allows for hole-side delivery of food and drinks from the on-site, full-service restaurant.
“It’s all about the atmosphere and the vibe you have when you’re there, and the ability to have a super-unique putting experience but do it in an hour and a half, in a way that’s affordable,” Bartoli says. “There are no dress codes; just go out there with shorts and flip-flops and T-shirts and have a couple of cocktails and have some fun with your friends.”
Bartoli opened the first PopStroke in Port St. Lucie in 2019 and quickly moved ahead with locations in Fort Myers, Sarasota, Orlando, Tampa, Houston and Phoenix. A dozen or so PopStrokes are under development across the country. Bartoli is especially excited about the new Delray location, which is only 40 minutes south of PopStroke’s corporate headquarters in Jupiter, and is even closer to his home in North Palm Beach.
“Delray is a dynamic marketplace, [with] a lot going on, and a very vibrant, young scene,” he says. “But you also have retirees and young professionals and families and everything else. It checks the box on all the demographics.”
PopStroke, of course, isn’t the first enterprise to combine golf challenges with a grown-up party atmosphere; its locations often sprout near Topgolf or Drive Shack locations. But only PopStroke focuses completely on putting, and Bartoli believes his idea complements, rather than competes, with these fellow concepts. Bartoli’s pitch was strong enough to entice Woods, who became a minority partner after the initial PopStroke opened, as well as TaylorMade, a leading designer of golf equipment and apparel.
“Tiger has had a significant impact on growing the game of golf,” Bartoli says. “I think [his team] looked at it as a huge opportunity, not only economically but in growing the game of golf and introducing a new audience of people to the game.”
Bartoli himself doesn’t have time to play much golf. In addition to planning future PopStrokes—in regions as far-flung as Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Mexico, in addition to his slate of U.S. projects—his days involve “chasing three kids around the state with youth sports.”
“I wouldn’t want to do anything else,” he adds—and he wouldn’t want to do it anywhere other than right here. “You don’t have anywhere near the wasted time in Florida that you have traversing around New York City. The long commutes are a thing of the past, so you get much more quality time and much more efficiency out of your time. I love living in Palm Beach County.”
PopStroke Delray Beach; 1314 N. Federal Highway. Call 561/800-4520 or visit popstroke.com/delray-beach-fl.
