Putt-PuttFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Putt-Putt franchise requires a total initial investment of $420K – $5.4M, including a $20K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. The 2025 FDD does not disclose unit-level revenue (no Item 19). SBA 7(a) loans show a 29.4% charge-off rate across 41 loans[1]. Verdict grade: F. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $420K – $5.4M
- 28th pct Recreation & …
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- 23rd pct Recreation & …
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 1st pct Recreation & …
- Units
- 25
- 27th pct Recreation & …
- SBA default
- 29.4%
- system-wide median varies by category
Quick verdict · Recreation & Entertainment · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Recreation & Entertainment avg · No shading = within ±15% · Red = >15% below avg · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
29.4% of SBA loans charged off across 41 loans, above the 16% franchise average.
Franchising since 1954. Systems this mature have refined operations and brand recognition.
Franchised units fell from 29 to 25 over 3 years. Investigate why operators are leaving.
Bottom line
- Total investment $420K – $5.4M including a $20K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed. The franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
- Verdict F (Bottom Quintile) with a risk score of 89/100. SBA loan charge-off rate of 29.4% across 41 loans (well above the 16% franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2024).
- System contracting at -13.8% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven (consolidation) or franchisee-driven (economics).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- Putt-Putt, LLC
- Incorporated in
- NC
- HQ
- 1414 Raleigh Road, Suite 410, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27517
- Auditor
- Romeo, Wiggins & Company, L.L.P.
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $564K
- vs $471K prior year
Overview
About
Franchisees operate mini-golf entertainment venues, managing daily course operations, customer service, maintenance of greens/obstacles, and ancillary revenue (food/beverage, arcade, birthday parties). Typical locations are destination entertainment centers with seasonal revenue fluctuations and labor-intensive daily operations.
- CEO
- David M. Callahan
- Headquarters
- NC
- Founded
- 1954
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 12
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing · 37 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee (Level One)not refundable | $20K | $20K | |
| Miniature Golf Course (Level One) | $175K | $550K | |
| Concessions (Level One) | $35K | $65K | |
| Design Costs (Level One) | $15K | $50K | |
| Site Evaluation (Level One) | $0 | $5K | |
| Real Estate (Level One) | — | — | |
| Point of Sale Hardware/Software, Office Computers/Equipment, and General Supplies (Level One) | $50K | $75K | |
| Initial Training (Level One) | $5K | $10K | |
| Insurance (Level One) | $20K | $50K | |
| Additional Funds - 3 months (Level One) | $100K | $150K | |
| Initial Franchise Fee (Level Two)not refundable | $30K | $30K | |
| Miniature Golf Course (Level Two) | $175K | $550K | |
| Video/Arcade & Prize Game Room (Level Two) | $500K | $1.0M | |
| Concessions (Level Two) | $35K | $100K | |
| Design Costs (Level Two) | $15K | $50K | |
| Site Evaluation (Level Two) | $0 | $5K | |
| Real Estate (Level Two) | — | — | |
| Point of Sale Hardware/Software, Office Computers/Equipment, and General Supplies (Level Two) | $75K | $150K | |
| Initial Training (Level Two) | $5K | $10K | |
| Insurance (Level Two) | $30K | $75K | |
| Total initial investment | $3.9M | $8.6M |
Line items extracted from FDD Item 7. Ranges reflect the franchisor's stated low and high per line. Total is the sum of line-item lows / highs — actual costs may fall outside this range depending on market and build-out scope.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $420K – $5.4M
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $100K – $1.0M
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $20K – $50K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- percentage_of_gross · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 6.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.0% of gross sales |
| Transfer fee | $10K |
| Renewal fee | $10K |
| Total fee load | 6.0% of rev |
Financial Performance
This franchisor did not disclose financial performance representations in Item 19, or our extractor could not parse them.
vs Recreation & Entertainment averages
How Putt-Putt Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 25
- Opened
- 0
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 4
- Terminated
- 2
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 1
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 16.0%
- Company-owned
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- -13.8%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- -13.8%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 1
- Projected new
- 0
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Transfer rate
- 4.0%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Termination rate
- 12.0%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
- Ceased ops
- 16.0%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 26 states with active franchisees
The Territory Map
Derived from franchisee contact records. Shows states with at least one current operator. Not where the franchisor is registered to sell new units (that data is re-extracting in a future refresh).
States derived from franchisee contact records (FDD Item 20). Shows states with at least one current operator on file. Full state registration data (Item 12) will appear on a future FDD refresh.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 41
- Loan volume
- $23.4M
- Median loan
- $570K
- average
- Charge-off rate
- 29.4%
- rates vary by category · see methodology
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- N/A
- 5-yr charge-off
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 18
- Defaults
- 10
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
A 29.4% charge-off rate means roughly 1 in 3 franchisees failed to repay their SBA loan. Investigate what changed.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Declining system with active litigation, going concern doubts, and no financial disclosure makes this a high-risk investment with unquantifiable returns.
Litigation (Item 3)
Putt-Putt, LLC v. Putt-Putt Golf Courses of Richmond, Inc., Gary Claude Hinshaw and Patricia W. Hinshaw, Case No. 3:24-cv-00666 (E.D. Va. 2024). Suit to enforce system standards and collect royalties.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Romeo, Wiggins & Company, L.L.P.
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: No
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 89 / 100 rating
- 01MEDSystem contracting sharply: 13.8% unit decline YoY (25 units remaining) signals major deterioration
- 02HIGHActive litigation in 2024 over royalty collection and standards enforcement indicates franchisor-franchisee conflict and compliance issues
- 03HIGHGoing concern status FALSE — franchisor financial viability is questionable
- 04MINORNo Item 19 financial performance disclosure — inability or unwillingness to provide average revenue/net income is major red flag
- 05MINORWide investment range ($420K–$5.38M) suggests inconsistent unit economics or underspecified requirements
- 06MED5% royalty on undisclosed average revenue makes ROI impossible to calculate
- 07MINORZero franchise fee suggests potential financial distress at corporate level
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 20 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Territory type | Radius |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory radius | 10 mi |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 10 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 30 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | North Carolina |
| Litigation count | 1 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Putt-Putt, LLC v. Putt-Putt Golf Courses of Richmond, Inc., Gary Claude Hinshaw and Patricia W. Hinshaw, Case No. 3:24-cv-00666 (E.D. Va. 2024). Suit to enforce system standards and collect royalties.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 0 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 160 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
- Ongoing training
- Required
- POS system
- CenterEdge Software
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: CenterEdge Software
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
47 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Putt-Putt · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Putt-Putt franchise?
The total investment to open a Putt-Putt franchise ranges from $420K – $5.4M, with an initial franchise fee of $20K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Putt-Putt franchise owners earn?
Putt-Putt does not disclose average franchise owner earnings in their FDD Item 19. Not all franchisors are required to make financial performance representations. We recommend asking existing franchisees directly about their financial experience.
What is Putt-Putt's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Putt-Putt has a charge-off rate of 29.4% across 41 loans, meaning 29.4% of franchise loans were charged off. Charge-off rates are one proxy for franchise risk, though they do not capture all closures. This data comes from FOIA-sourced SBA lending records.
How many Putt-Putt franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Putt-Putt has 25 total units in the United States, including 29 franchised units and 0 company-owned units.
Is Putt-Putt a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Putt-Putt as a F-grade franchise with a risk score of 89 out of 100, based on our analysis of investment costs, revenue data, SBA loan performance, and growth trends. Our rating is based solely on publicly available FDD and government data; we recommend speaking with current franchisees before making any investment decision. This is not investment advice.
Data sourced from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) FOIA records. Not financial advice.
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Data extracted from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) loan disclosures (FOIA). This information is provided for research purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or investment advice. Verify all figures with the franchisor's current Franchise Disclosure Document before making any investment decision.