MANCHESTER has a well- deserved reputation as one of the UK’s sportiest cities.
It has enjoyed decades of football dominance thanks to Manchester United and Manchester City, as well as giving us the boxing talents of Tyson Fury, Amir Khan and Ricky Hatton.
Then there is the huge Team GB Olympics success from the likes of cyclist Jason Kenny.
Golf hasn’t really featured on the long list of successes yet – but that could be about to change thanks to a new venue in the city centre.
Pitch, an indoor golf venue and sports bar, is the chain’s first venue in the north of England and the fifth in the UK.
Fresh from Europe’s latest Ryder Cup victory in New York against America, I teed up a couple of mates and we spent an enjoyable afternoon whacking a ball around a virtual golf course.
Buoyed by the success of Rory McIlroy and some premium lager, we took on the New York Bethpage Black course.
Our performance over the next two hours suggested we are unlikely to make the Europe team for 2027.
But we had a great time, and it’s a lot more enjoyable tucking into food and drinks while the computer locates our ball instead of walking around the rough for hours.
Each of the bays start at £30 per hour during off-peak times, can seat up to ten guests and features cutting-edge Trackman technology, which allows golf fans to play pretty much any course in the world.
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Each bay has a set of clubs to allow anyone to pitch up and play.
The vibe of the place is relaxing, with a quality Asian-inspired menu along with a good selection of drinks.
Anyone bored of golf can play shuffleboard or watch sports on the big screens.
The body did begin to ache from all the swinging, so afterwards we headed ten minutes down the road to the Good Sauna just off Manchester’s Deansgate, which boasts two cold plunge baths (£15 for a 50-minute session).
I successfully tackled the 8C bath for about 30 seconds before fleeing into the wood sauna to warm up.
But weirdly, I fancied another go – and apparently that is the best way to do it.
So back and forth I went four times, reaching a dizzy one minute and 12 seconds in the 8C bath.
Stripped off
I was proud of myself, until another guy casually wandered in, stripped off and submerged himself up to his ears in the the 4C bath for a couple of minutes.
Despite being freezing, we felt energised and quickly warmed up in Freight Island – a food and drink venue close to our Marriott hotel, a stone’s throw from Manchester’s Piccadilly station.
We headed into its sports bar to watch a Premier League game and enjoyed a couple of pints.
It was either the effects of the cold plunge or the cold pints, but my bed was calling by 10pm and I had a brilliant night’s sleep after a full day of sporting experiences.