The Green

The staff here are lovely and it’s such a nice space inside with an excellent selection behind the bar — the only downside really is, what with it being a sports bar, you can get some ‘characters’ in here! It’s also unusually quiet, which is odd given how big it is and it’s a great location so close to the station. Really nice place to go for a few drinks if there’s a game on though!

Go in here a lot, purely because it’s the closest alcohol-​serving establishment, to my house.
I used to know the owner quite well (not seen him in years) and I’m quite proud of how he’s built up quite a loyal following of blokes, who frequent this place every night after work, before catching the last train to God-​knows-​where.
Must admit though, aside from the times when England are playing, or when it’s the Open, there’s never any real atmosphere in here. There’s just something missing and I can’t quite put my finger on it.
You never see groups of girls in here (or any females other than the bar staff for that matter). It’s very much a ‘man’s bar’ and their golf theme seems to promote the dated G.O.L.F. ethos. Still, if you’re a single woman who’s not intimidated by a few suited (lairy) blokes, it’s a great way to spend an evening. ‘Sausage Fest’!

Want to watch the football? Yeah go on then. With my limited knowledge of where in Manchester actually shows matches — Tib Street Tavern is the only one that comes to mind — we went along to The Green with a few other people.
The space itself is a bit odd; upstairs feels like there should be much more seating, as it’s quite open, but obviously everywhere needs a view of a screen! Watching the match not your thing? There’s also pool, virtual golf, and even karaōke available (the latter of which a group were making good use of at 4pm on a Sunday afternoon…)
There’s a small outside area which I’m sure is made good use of during the sunnier months, and we had a pleasant enough afternoon before heading to Common for dinner.

I really liked this venue, even if the night I was there, it was exceedingly dead. As in, me, 2 other blokes and a guy behind the bar. I swear it wasn’t my aftershave…
It’s clean and stylish, it has huge open spaces, plenty of chairs and screens, and for my biased purposes, it showed the Celtic game from BBC Scotland on all the screens!
Drinks were pretty standard prices, and the golfing stuff looked like it would be fun to hit with a big group of folk on a night out. I’d definitely like to come back here when it was bit more lively, and at some point, no doubt I will.
Give it a wee look.

If you are looking for somewhere to watch sports, The Green is perfect. Two spacious floors and always a good crowd. The indoor golf simulators are great fun for corporate events, stag dos or professionals who want to practise in the warmth. The huge TV screens also have dance games and karaōke which I’m sure is a lot of fun after a few beers.
Standard Manchester drink prices — not cheap, not expensive. The burgers are gigantic — great value for money.
Evenings don’t tend to be that busy but usually rammed during the day on weekends. I’d define it as a starter bar but not and end one. Would be a great stop off for pub golf.
Verdict: If you want to watch a sports match, play golf, pool or table football then get yourself down to The Green!

Well seems like most people have given a 3 star ranking to this place but I decided to for a 4 star. The reasons being (I am going to give 4 reasons hence 1 star for each: p):
1. I wanted to watch a game of footy with my friends and we realized that there are not many sports bars in Manchester (shocking right). We didn’t want to go to yet another pub with a screen and loud music. My friend suggested this place and I have to say it did solve my purpose. They have huge screens playing the match and the atmosphere was very energetic and competitive (like it should be during a match).
2. The pints were cheap and they served pitchers of beer (one more rarity in Manchester). A pitcher is exactly what you need when you are watching a match with your friends.
3. The place is very spacious with two floors and enough room for people to sit/​stand/​cheer without having to fall on top of each other and get squished.
4. It is a 5 minutes walk from my place (makes me happy) and also very close to Piccadilly train station and the city center.
Verdict: Reason enough to visit this place when there is a match on next time? I definitely will and might even try a hand at that pseudo game of golf (for fun) :D

Golf is excellent! Played the old course st Andrews and the belfry, great fun!

So let’s get this straight. In the Chill Factore, you can practise skiing in an indoor environment with real snow. In the Golftorium, you can practise golf in an indoor environment with no grass. A little astro turf, maybe. Where’s the fun in that, you may ask?
Well you’d be silly to query such a thing, because as anybody who’s ever played Wii Sports knows, virtual golf is bags of fun. Here you’ll get a mixture of people taking it incredibly seriously and practising at a quasi-​professional level, and groups just having a go for a laugh. Precisely the same eclectic variety you’ll see in skating rinks and indoor ski centres. Heck, you can even have golf lessons from in-​house PGA professionals here too, and there are actual, proper leagues and competitions. The different levels of membership offer something for everyone and it’s a great place to hold corporate events and parties.
And if the golf doesn’t tickle your fancy, there’s booze! See, they’ve got all avenues cornered. The bar itself is actually pretty popular, especially since it doesn’t get as horrifically crowded as a lot of Piccadilly and Northern Quarter spots. So if you’re after something a little different, you might want to experience the Golftorium.

I’m sure someone thought they’d hit upon a brilliant idea when they dreamt up this. The idea of marrying virtual golf with a pub must have seemed like an absolute winner. Just think of all the golf enthusiasts waiting for this, the chance to drink and play golf, without worrying about the weather, travel or club fees! Yeah, it would be great except pretty much the whole point of golf is to get outside and go to the green and the club house, otherwise you’re just swinging sticks around inside a bar, and there are less salubrious areas of Manchester you can go to do that without the need for computers.
I suppose if you want to perfect your swing and get pissed at the same time it works, but the bar’s fairly basic so that’s really the only reason I’d imagine going. I suppose students could use it as a stop-​off on a golf pub-​crawl to be annoyingly ‘ironic’ or something, but I can imagine letting drunk students near virtual machines would only have one outcome: HILARITY!

I’ve been to the Golftorium for a quick drink a couple of times. It’s located near Piccadilly station and can be a bit quieter than the busy Piccadilly Gardens pubs when you fancy a quick after work drink before heading home.
I know nothing of golf, so all of the golf stuff is a bit lost on me. There are several hi-​tech looking course simulators at the back of the place. I’m sure they’re pretty cool but my experience of golf is limited to randomly running around Ashton Court in Bristol as a kid whilst my brother and dad used to play. I’ll continue to leave it to the pros.
As a bar, Golftorium is a bit soulless. The seating and décor is all very clinical, and there’s not a lot of nice lighting or anything like that. Think more new student union bar than trendy Northern Quarter bar. There isn’t the biggest selection of beer ever, but the staff are perfectly nice and the prices are pretty standard for Manchester.
Golftorium is fine for a quick drink and almost certainly excellent for all your virtual golfing needs.

Located on Ducie street near Piccadilly Station, Golftorium is the largest indoor golf centre in the UK.
With Golftorium there is no need for good weather or even a green!
The six simulators allow you to play over 53 of the worlds greatest courses whilst the two fantastic bars with their 10ft TV screens allow you to celebrate your successes at Augusta in fine style or simply relax in comfort whilst watching how the pros do it.
Also on offer are lessons from PGA pros so if you need to work on your chip or you know someone else who does, a bundle of lessons at Golftorium might make the perfect Christmas present.