Putt in the Park Battersea Mini Golf: Dogs Welcome

Putt in the Park Battersea is a 12-hole outdoor mini golf course on Albert Bridge Road, inside Battersea Park, and it opens at 9am every day of the year, including bank holidays. Adults play for £14, children under 15 for £11 and a family of four for £46, before a 10% online booking fee. Dogs are welcome on the course on a lead, and the clubhouse café fires Neapolitan pizza in a wood-fired oven.

Putt in the Park opened its first course at Wandsworth Park in the summer of 2013 and has since grown to five outdoor venues, four of them in London parks: Wandsworth, Battersea, Acton and Gunnersbury, plus a Roman-themed course in Colchester. Every site has its own licensed clubhouse café, which is the formula that sets it apart from the indoor cocktail-bar golf clubs in the West End and the City.

Battersea is the most food-focused of the group. It is one of only two branches, with Acton, that serves wood-fired pizza, and it is the only venue where the company asks you to reserve a café table in advance through its website. Elsewhere, tables are first come, first served. That tells you how busy the Battersea clubhouse gets at weekend lunchtimes, so book the table when you book the golf.

The course is designed to suit every age, with sidewinding slopes, cascades and rockeries, and tree-top adventures woven through the canopy above. A round takes roughly 45 to 60 minutes depending on your group's speed and size, and staff will not rush you. Clubs in different sizes and balls are provided, though you can bring your own putter if you are that serious.

Bookings are capped at six players. Larger groups should book two consecutive tee times rather than squeezing in, and you will never be paired with strangers, even if you book fewer than six. Children need supervision: the venue asks for one adult for every three children on the course, though the adults do not have to play. There is no minimum age, but three and over is the recommendation.

The posted Battersea prices are £14 for adults, £11 for children under 15 and £46 for a family of four, all excluding the 10% booking fee. Two discounts apply only to walk-ins: students pay £12 and over-60s pay £11 on weekdays, Monday to Friday. If you qualify for either, skip the online booking and pay at the clubhouse instead, provided there is a free slot.

Walk-ins are accepted when there is space, but the company is blunt that it cannot guarantee a round without a booking, especially at weekends. An honest verdict: skip the weekend walk-in gamble with a family in tow. A sunny Saturday fills the tee sheet, and the walk-in discounts are only available on weekdays anyway. A weekday morning round is quieter and cheaper.

The posted opening hours are Monday to Friday 9am to 7pm, with the last tee-off at 6pm, and Saturday and Sunday 9am to 8pm, with the last tee-off at 7pm. Play depends on the weather, and the course is not floodlit, which matters in late autumn: once the light goes, the evening slots lose much of their appeal even if the clubhouse is still busy.

Rain does not automatically cancel a game. Rounds go ahead in most weather unless conditions are dangerous, and staff will contact you directly if severe weather shuts the course. You can cancel or change a booking up to 48 hours ahead, or amend it through the Your Golf Booking account. If the forecast looks grim, take an earlier slot and treat the pizza as the reward.

The café is the main attraction after the 12th hole. Its centrepiece is a hand-built wood-fired pizza oven, and the menus cover breakfast, lunch and drinks, with Peroni on draught, an extended wine list, coffee and cakes. Vegan options are marked. The clubhouse also shows major sporting competitions on screens, and there is free Wi-Fi for anyone waiting on a slow group.

House rules are strict on food. No eating is allowed on the course itself, and only food and drink bought on site can be consumed at the venue, so leave the picnic for another part of the park. Drinks, including alcohol, are fine while you play. Dog owners can buy treats and puppuccinos at the counter, and trading cards sell for £4.90 a pack at all London sites.

Battersea Park rewards an extra hour. Go Ape and the children's zoo sit right next to the course, which makes it easy to build a family day around one booking. A loop past the boating lake and up to the riverside promenade takes you to the Peace Pagoda, one of the park's best-known landmarks, with views across the Thames to Chelsea.

For a longer walk, cross the river on Albert Bridge to reach Chelsea Physic Garden at 66 Royal Hospital Road, SW3 4HS, a walled botanical garden founded by the Society of Apothecaries. Dog owners heading the other way can walk east along the park's edge toward Battersea Dogs & Cats Home at 4 Battersea Park Road, SW8 4AA, near the new Battersea Power Station quarter.

Putt in the Park Battersea is on Albert Bridge Road, London SW11 4NJ, inside Battersea Park. The nearest rail stations are Battersea Park and Queenstown Road. Drivers can use the car park by Albert Gate, just off Albert Bridge Road, or street parking on Prince of Wales Drive, and pedestrians can enter through Sun Gate.

Arrive at the clubhouse ten minutes before your tee time to collect clubs. All venues are wheelchair accessible, though the course itself has ramps, steps and uneven edges, so speak to staff about access needs. There is no cloakroom or locker, so keep belongings with you. Groups of ten or more can choose per-person food and golf packages, and the venue also runs children's, private and Christmas parties.