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18-hole mini-golf: scoring + lighting retrofit

This is a real, complete blueprint of the kind every paid pack is built from — for a typical outdoor 18-hole course whose 2000s-era proprietary scoring system died and whose vendor quoted $87,000 for a refresh. Total hardware below: $2,183, all commodity parts, all replaceable from any electronics distributor.

Safety scope: everything in this blueprint runs at 5–48V DC or PoE. Mains-side work (PSU outlets, weatherproof circuits) must be done by a licensed electrician — every blueprint marks those boundaries explicitly. VenueSwap never covers safety-critical ride or attraction control.

1 · System architecture

One ESP32-S3 per hole handles tee detection (IR break-beam), sink detection (piezo on the cup), and that hole's addressable lighting. Four PoE-powered zone hubs backhaul holes over Ethernet to a local mini-PC running Home Assistant + a scoreboard web app. Tablets at the counter and on the course show live scorecards; the same mini-PC drives the receipt printer for POS. Nothing depends on the cloud — the venue keeps running if the internet dies.

[Hole 1..18: ESP32-S3 + sensors + LEDs]
        │  (Wi-Fi, per zone)
[Zone hub ×4: ESP32-PoE-ISO] ──Cat6/PoE──> [PoE switch]
                                               │
                              [Mini-PC: scoring engine + POS + scoreboard]
                                               │
                    [Counter tablet]  [Course kiosks ×2]  [Receipt printer]

2 · Bill of materials

Part	Qty	Unit	Total
ESP32-S3 DevKit (hole controller)	18	$8	$144
ESP32-PoE-ISO (zone hub, Ethernet + PoE)	4	$25	$100
Piezo impact sensor + mount (cup detect)	18	$6	$108
IR break-beam pair (tee detect)	18	$5	$90
WS2812B LED strip, IP65, 5m (path + hole lighting)	22	$14	$308
5V 60W PSU, enclosed, low-voltage	10	$16	$160
8-port PoE switch	1	$70	$70
Cat6 outdoor cable, 305m box	1	$95	$95
IP65 junction enclosures + glands	22	$9	$198
10" Android tablet (scorecard kiosk)	3	$120	$360
Thermal receipt printer, USB (POS)	1	$85	$85
Refurb mini-PC (local server, POS + scoreboard)	1	$180	$180
Spares, connectors, mounting, misc (15%)	1	$285	$285
Total			$2,183

3 · Firmware config (excerpt)

Each hole controller runs ESPHome — declarative YAML, flashed over USB once, updated over the air after that. This is the real config for one hole; paid packs generate all 18 plus the zone hubs and scoreboard wiring.

# hole-07.yaml — ESPHome config for one hole controller
esphome:
  name: hole-07
  friendly_name: "Hole 7"

esp32:
  board: esp32-s3-devkitc-1

wifi: !include common/wifi.yaml
api:
  encryption:
    key: !secret api_key

binary_sensor:
  - platform: gpio
    id: tee_beam
    pin: { number: GPIO4, inverted: true }
    name: "Tee break-beam"
    on_press:
      then:
        - script.execute: start_attempt

  - platform: gpio
    id: cup_sensor
    pin: GPIO5
    name: "Cup impact"
    filters: [delayed_on: 30ms]
    on_press:
      then:
        - script.execute: score_sink

light:
  - platform: neopixelbus
    id: hole_path
    type: GRB
    pin: GPIO18
    num_leds: 90
    name: "Hole 7 path"
    effects:
      - addressable_rainbow: { name: "Celebration" }
      - pulse: { name: "Attract" }

script:
  - id: score_sink
    then:
      - light.turn_on:
          id: hole_path
          effect: "Celebration"
      - homeassistant.event:
          event: esphome.score
          data: { hole: 7 }

4 · What the paid pack adds

All 18 hole configs + zone hubs, generated for your hole layout and distances
Per-hole wiring diagrams with cable runs, enclosure placement, and the licensed-electrician boundary marked
POS integration for your existing card reader / UPI QR flow
Cutover plan: retrofit two holes as a pilot while the legacy system keeps running

Want this for your venue?

₹4,999 / ~$59 one-time. Engineer-reviewed before delivery.

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