PopStroke is building its largest venue yet on International Drive, and the plans include a shark and stingray tank, a 13-foot waterfall, and two full 18-hole miniature golf courses spread across a two-story building near the Orange County Convention Center. The Tiger Woods-backed golf entertainment chain says the multi-million-dollar flagship is on track to open before the holiday season, timed to catch both vacationing families and the wave of convention traffic that floods I-Drive every winter.
The 8554 International Drive site sits on land that formerly housed Pirate's Cove Adventure Golf, and according to FOX 35 Orlando, PopStroke founder and CEO Greg Bartoli described the new venue as the company's biggest, most impressive, and boldest version yet. The station reports PopStroke now operates more than 20 locations nationwide, but none will match this one's scale: two professionally designed 18-hole courses, five bars, indoor and outdoor dining, a children's playground, a rooftop terrace and a beer garden all under one roof.
Financing records reviewed by Traded show landlord JCS IDRIVE LLC secured a $15 million construction loan from Ocean Bank in June to build the 16,229-square-foot project. PopStroke itself is putting in a direct $9.5 million capital investment, according to Heavy.com, which notes the 5-acre site will give the company the largest outdoor course footprint anywhere in its national network.
Waterfalls, Caves and a Shark Tank on the Course
Per FOX 35 Orlando's reporting, the outdoor layout climbs in elevation, with several holes rising above the property's largest waterfall, which reaches 13 feet. The course also weaves through a river system, pedestrian bridges and additional waterfalls, while a cave feature sits alongside a tank housing six sharks and stingrays. Shade trees, cooling fans and misters are built into the outdoor holes, a nod to Central Florida's heat during peak tourist months.
Every hole includes hole-in-one cameras and app-based scoring, and the PopStroke app also lets guests order food and drinks for delivery directly on the course, the station reports. Courses are designed for players ranging from age 3 to 90, a range meant to let families, casual tourists and serious golfers share the same space.
Betting on Convention Traffic and a Record Tourist Year
The location's positioning is no accident. The Orange County Convention Center next door hosts more than 200 events annually and draws roughly 1.5 million visitors who contribute over $3.9 billion to Orlando's economy each year, according to the Orange County Convention Center. FOX 35 Orlando reports the Orlando location is designed to serve tourists, convention visitors and large groups specifically, a different customer mix than PopStroke's existing Central Florida venues at Waterford Lakes and Winter Garden's Hamlin district.
Orlando pulled in a record 76.7 million total visitors in 2025, keeping its title as the country's top travel and tourism destination, per Heavy.com. That volume of foot traffic, paired with the convention center's own draw, is central to why PopStroke chose this stretch of I-Drive for its flagship rather than a suburban shopping corridor.
Timed for the Golf Industry's Biggest Trade Show
Bartoli told FOX 35 Orlando he expects the venue to open in early to mid-December, ahead of convention season in January 2027. That timing lines up with the 74th annual PGA Show, which the PGA Show says will bring more than 30,000 golf industry professionals to the Orange County Convention Center from January 26 through 29, 2027, just weeks after PopStroke's planned debut next door.
PopStroke's rise traces back to 2018, when Bartoli, a former JPMorgan managing director, founded the company in Jupiter, Florida, after first launching Lighthouse Cove mini-golf in 2013. The first official PopStroke venue opened in Port St. Lucie in March 2019, according to SGB Media. Tiger Woods and his firm TGR Ventures became equity partners later that year, with TGR Design responsible for the synthetic-turf greens that mimic fairways, bunkers and rough on a mini-golf scale.
PopStroke is now backed by investors including TaylorMade, whose January 2023 investment valued the company at $650 million and placed TaylorMade CEO David Abeles on its board, per GolfWRX. Beyond the new I-Drive flagship, PopStroke already runs six other Florida locations in Daytona Beach, Port St. Lucie, Delray Beach, Fort Myers, Sarasota and Wesley Chapel.
Hoodline has tracked PopStroke's national expansion elsewhere, including a shift to outdoor plans in Gilbert and a rebrand at its Katy, Texas venue. The Orlando flagship marks the company's most ambitious build to date, betting that waterfalls, sharks and app-ordered cocktails will keep both convention-goers and local families teeing off on I-Drive.
