Thursday night tee time

Flatstick Pub offers college students perfect place to dive into Seattle community, form lasting connections

A+car+drives+past+the+Flatstick+Pub+on+Westlake+avenue+in+South+Lake+Union+on+Thursday+night%2C+Oct.+6%2C+2022.

Rio Giancarlo

A car drives past the Flatstick Pub on Westlake avenue in South Lake Union on Thursday night, Oct. 6, 2022.

Isabella Tranello, Features Editor

A golfer sets their feet on turf grass. Each foot lies parallel to the other as the golf club lines up with the ball. They let out a deep breath, swinging the club back and smacking the ball toward the small hole at the end of the grass with their friends loudly chattering next to them. The ball soars into the hole, and the friends all let out a roar of enthusiastic cheers. A hole-in-one! 

The energetic feeling of camaraderie can be found at the Flatstick Pub, where mini-golf, 39 locally brewed craft beers and pizza become the highlight of a person’s experience at the business located at 609 Westlake Ave. There are also two other locations, one near Pioneer Square in downtown Seattle and the other in Kirkland, Washington. 



Produced by Sydney Lorton and Max Wieske

Although some students at Seattle Pacific University may not be able to engage in every activity the pub offers until they turn 21, they can still take their closest friends to play a couple of rounds of minigolf on the nine-hole course. 

However, after 7 p.m. on regular business nights, the pub becomes exclusive to individuals who are 21 years old or older. 

Besides the minigolf course that winds throughout the pub, there are three times during the week when people can engage in other exciting opportunities and activities. 

Mondays host the iconic and luck-dependent game of bingo starting at 7 p.m. each week, and Wednesdays from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. are fit for the intense and mental battle of trivia. Thursdays cater specifically to college students and offer them the chance to study in a new space and play a free game of mini golf. 

The price of entry for this special event? A valid school ID gives you access to all the pub has to offer during their college study hall nights each Thursday from 7 p.m. to closing at midnight. SPU students have the unique advantage of being only 2 and 1/2 miles away from campus, which is a short nine-minute drive and makes it the perfect Thursday getaway. 

While she has not attended the college study hall night, junior psychology major Rafi Pezo Acosta went to Flatstick Pub for the first time five weeks ago with five of her orientation core coworkers. 

“I didn’t even know they had a free event for college students until now, but I went with my fellow orientation coordinators on the first day of orientation and it was a blast. It was a time for us to get familiar with each other to see a different side of each other that we wouldn’t normally see during a regular workday or throughout the busy week that is orientation,” Pezo Acosta said. 

Even though Pezo Acosta loved getting to know her team and fostering deep and meaningful connections with them, the highlight of her day was the beautiful and local art designed by Seattle artist Henry Ryan that adorned the golf course. 

“Maybe it’s the art minor side of me, but I really enjoyed the theming of the golf course and all of the Henry art that littered the walls and the course itself. It was really cool to see something like this, especially because it promotes supporting local artists and shows just how popular Henry is becoming in the area. I liked that the golf course wasn’t basic and had a unique theme,” Pezo Acosta said. 

Flatstick Pub provides Seattle college students, especially at SPU given the proximity of the business to campus, the opportunity to not only engage with their peers in an informal setting but also with the local community. 

It is a place that draws the outside world together and promotes unity, representation and belonging in one’s community for all who enter the establishment. It gives them a chance to understand others who live among and around them, while also giving them a place to have undeniable fun.

“As someone who can easily get frustrated with school, I can confidently say that going over to Flatstick Pub and grabbing a golf club to whack some golf balls as a release of frustration is not a bad idea,” Pezo Acosta said. “It would work really well for students as a place to get away from stressful school expectations and also as a place to be with friends and come together to experience Seattle.”