PopStroke’s Growth Redefines Golf Entertainment, With Wall Street Ties

BusinessSportsMoneyPopStroke’s Growth Redefines Golf Entertainment, With Wall Street TiesByErik Matuszewski,Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Erik Matuszewski's coverage spans golf businesses, news & destinationsFollow AuthorApr 23, 2026, 05:00pm EDTPopStroke's facility in West Palm Beach, one of nine locations in Florida.PopStrokeWhen former Wall Street executive Greg Bartoli began acquiring several properties in South Florida in the early 2010s, he and his wife had three kids – ages 1, 3 and 4 at the time. They thought, admittedly somewhat selfishly, that it would be fun to have a sports bar combined with a playground, a place where parents could hang out and watch sporting events and socialize while the kids played safely nearby. The original concept, Lighthouse Cove Adventure Golf in Jupiter, Florida, boasted two traditional 18-hole miniature golf courses and an ice cream parlor in addition to the popular sports bar and secure playground. Lighthouse Cove did “phenomenally well,” giving rise to two other Florida locations under the same brand. But it was a modest first step that revealed an opportunity to build something bigger. After leaving JP Morgan, Bartoli in 2013 had founded JEM Capital, an investment firm that specializes in leisure, hospitality and real estate, and those early seeds grew into PopStroke, which launched its first location in 2019. Today, PopStroke is one of the fastest-growing concepts in the broader golf-adjacent entertainment space, with 21 locations and counting spanning seven states. “We’re only five or six years old now, so it’s been pretty rapid growth,” Bartoli said just ahead of the debut of PopStroke’s newest location in Austin, Texas. “But I think the next six years will be significantly faster.”PopStroke combines professionally designed putting courses with a strong F&B component that includes multiple bars as well as a kids' playground, TVs throughout the pro...