A LITTLE GOLF, A LOT OF GAMES AND A WHOLE LOT OF GIGGLES

By Tanya Howard | Founder, The Live Review London · @glamglitzlondon ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Press Invite

Five Iron Golf has arrived in the UK and has picked the perfect launch location, Broadgate. A stone’s throw from Liverpool Street, there’s more finance and golf bros than you can swing a nine iron at. I can see it becoming a popular spot for team building, after work drinks and just a destination for anyone looking for something a little different.

As someone who’s golfing skills is limited to mini golf, I was intrigued about how much fun non-golfers could have. Thankfully there’s a lot more to Five Iron Golf than repeatedly hitting, or in my case, repeatedly failing to hit a golf ball. But for those of you also golf handicapped, you’ll be happy to know that whilst the golf simulators are obviously the main attraction, you can also try out multiple games using the same interactive setup.

GOLF ISN’T THE ONLY WAY TO HAVE A BALL

To name just a few, the alternative games included Zombie Dodgeball, Basketball, Bowling, Wild West Shooting and Hacky Sack. Each game has different formats and difficulty levels, so you can play to your sporting ability… or choose to challenge yourself. I stuck to easy for most things, because I was not about to get delusional about my athletic capabilities.

Footgolf was oddly a personal highlight, despite me being so bad at it. I spent a ridiculous amount of time laughing at how terrible I was, I just could not get any strength behind my kicks. I’d enthusiastically boot the ball at the screen and watch my virtual ball pathetically roll across the green. Meanwhile, my friend was getting serious airtime, sending his ball flying.

There were a few occasions where our throws or hits weren’t registered by the screen. I think interactive balls would make some of the games better by picking up the movement more reliably. Then again, I saw a man absolutely HAMMERING his golf balls without any issues, so maybe it’s just because I have the strength of a decorative pillow.

IF YOU’RE GOING TO WORK UP AN APPETITE, YOU MIGHT AS WELL FEED IT

It’s not all about playing games, you can also indulge in food and drinks at Five Iron Golf. We tried the Prawn & Chorizo Skewers from the Starters & Sharers menu. They came with a mango BBQ sauce which didn’t do it for me, but the skewers themselves were nice. Each skewer had one prawn and two small pieces of chorizo, but you only got three which felt quite a small portion.

We also tried the Butchers Blend Smash Burgers from the Signature Sliders. American cheese, onion relish and 5i sauce, a tasty combo, but again a very small portion. You do get two, but I could have happily had both to myself rather than sharing. The two plates came to £24.50 which felt a bit pricey for the portion size and the description of being sharable.

YOU DIDN’T THINK I WAS LEAVING WITHOUT A DRINK, DID YOU?

I, of course, was my classic Prosecco Queen self and had two glasses whilst my friend was more adventurous. He went for the Final Green, made with East London Gin, Green Chartreuse, Apple Cordial and Lime before joining me with a Prosecco. The food and drinks came to around £60 on top of the lane price, so this isn’t the cheapest night out. But you are in a central London venue rather than the local pub, so it is to be expected to an extent.

One thing that absolutely deserves a mention is the playlist. Whoever is in charge of that clearly understood the assignment. I found myself singing along, doing little shimmies and generally getting distracted from my tragic sporting performance by the music. Robyn, one of the staff members, was also brilliant during our visit, checking in on us, making sure everything was going well and generally being lovely.

I went into Five Iron Golf thinking I was going to spend an hour embarrassing myself with my lack of skills. Instead, I had a great time playing Zombie Dodgeball, Basketball and all the fun activities available. I still wouldn’t trust myself with a golf club unless it’s at mini golf but give me a Prosecco and an interactive screen and turns out I’m game.

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