Inaugural Grays Harbor Putt Putt Pub Crawl tees off for charity

Published 1:30 am Monday, April 13, 2026

If the first edition of the Grays Harbor Putt Putt Pub Crawl held Sunday in Hoquiam and Aberdeen is any indication, this event is here for the long haul.

Billed as 9 Holes. 9 Bars. 1 Epic Day. The Putt Putt Pub Crawl was just that. Teams registered at their assigned golf and watering hole at 10:30 a.m. Sunday and “teed off” at 11. Teams had till 4 p.m. to finish their nine holes at the nine locations and then report to the 19th Hole Party at the D&R Event Center in Aberdeen. At the event center, organizers provided a music DJ, virtual golf and a no host bar for the teams and their entourages.

The Putt Putt Pub Crawl is the brainchild of Andy Bickar, Bryce Romero and Drew Granneman. The three organizers believed that the pub crawl could be a yearly charity event that would cater to a younger crowd, something dynamic for that demographic that would benefit the local community and promote local businesses at the same time. This year’s recipients of tournament charity profits will be the Aberdeen and Hoquiam food banks.

Bickar, owner of Rediviva in Aberdeen, said, “We wanted to create a charity event that involved a younger-type crowd and got people out to visit our local businesses at a time when it’s not usually busy.” The last weekend of spring break on the harbor is historically a slow time for eateries and watering holes and Sunday was a nice boost for business.

Each establishment built, designed, and monitored their own mini-golf hole for the event. As can be expected for the first time event, some holes were better planned and executed than others, but participants should expect improvement in this regard for next year.

According to Romero, owner of The Tap Room in Aberdeen, even though there were some issues that popped up during the inaugural event, people were in high spirits and enjoying the friendly competition and camaraderie throughout the day-long event.

“I’ve been around helping and going to the different places and I haven’t heard a negative comment about anything all day. The energy is happy and positive and people are just having a great time,” Romero said.

Hoquiam Brewing Company’s Granneman added how having DJ’s Trolley running teams rotating between mini golf holes at the nine different establishments and event center was a key component to the pub crawl’s success.

“There have been so many compliments to us (organizers) for having DJ here and donating his trolley and his time for others to have fun, and it’s just another piece to make this thing fun and safe for everyone,” he said.

With such a successful start to the pub crawl, the organizers are looking for ways to expand it and how it can help the local communities. This year had 60 four-person teams that rotated through nine holes at nine businesses and Bickar noted, “After going through this for the first time I think there’s ways to expand and create more opportunities for bringing in more people, more business, and more money for local charities. We’re looking forward to it.”

This year’s establishments providing mini-golf holes for the Putt Putt Pub Crawl were Rediviva, The Tap Room, Steam Donkey Brewing, Mount Olympus Brewing and Messy Jessy’s Bar & Grill in Aberdeen. Hoquiam’s hosts were Ashley’s Pub Haus, Ace of Clubs Tavern, 8th Street Ale House and Hoquiam Brewing Company.