The start-up fusing pints with putters

This Liverpool Street start-up shows that the stag-do, hen-party and after-work drink no longer has to be in a traditional boozer or club but can be something ‘on the edge of raucous’. Andy Martin tries his hand at Junkyard Golf

It’s like being at the seaside but in the middle of London (Junkyard Golf)

The first time I went into Junkyard Golf, back in March, on a wet Thursday afternoon, the place was buzzing. The vast interior had the vibe of a nightclub with loud music and flashing lights and cavorting bodies and a bar, but with the addition of crazy golf. It was like being at the seaside but in the middle of London, around the corner from Liverpool Street station. “It’s on the edge of raucous,” said Matthew Lake, co-founder and Managing Director. “We wanted it to be like a very big house party where you can come and have fun with your mates.”

I’ve just been back there and the good news is Junkyard Golf has officially re-opened. I’m going back again next week to have a round. In the midst of Covid-19, Mat (as he asks me to call him) became a father for the first time. “It was spooky driving through town with no one around. Even Christmas Day was busier than that.” Junkyard Golf now boasts sanitation stations, queue management, and the washing of every single club and ball. With the addition of table service and drinks menu codes on the tables. “The biggest change is the music,” says Mat. “We had to turn it down so you can hear what someone is saying at two metres.”

Mat did not set out with a dream of junkyard golf. Now 42, born in Doncaster, he studied history of film at Manchester Metropolitan University. And he did a PhD too and ended up teaching film studies, from the Lumière Brothers to 2001 and beyond. “It was back when you did a degree for fun,” says Mat. But he was leading a double life. A student/academic by day, he was a bartender by night, who ultimately went into bar management. He got to know another three guys, all doing similar things, so they pooled their skills and experience and wisdom and came up with “Friday Food-Fight” in a pop-up.