In three years of studying at Lancaster, with our ‘go hard or go home’ attitude to nights out and regularly consuming the weight of our library books in drink, Pub Golf is a night out we all must (or will) have experienced here. With expectations so high, the organisation has painstakingly cumulated in to one of the most highly organised nights out you’ll ever have. You’ve donned the attire – glove, pensioner cardigan, green-tinted visor and what not – and are ready to hit the town. But is the objective of pub golf ever reached? Or in fact, does it even matter when everybody ends up at Sugarhouse anyway?
I’m not going to lie, some of the best nights out I have had were Pub Golf nights. Getting the football team, housemates, birthday guests or society out all wearing the smartest fancy dress theme you can imagine is a great feeling. Standard pre-drinks in the kitchen are looking like a majorly cheaper night out now! If you’ve come to terms with the potential cost of the night, you realise this will be the only night out you are required to bring a pen for (apart from White T-Shirt nights: another grand tradition). The pars appear reasonable and you begin the night with a confidence that you’ll at least finish under-par, or dare I say, win the competition?
Hitting the first couple of bars is where you can tell if people are going to commit to the system or not. Complaints of ‘A pint costs too much here’ or ‘I’m not having Sambuca, it’s only half past eight!’ can regularly occur, so planners – be weary of this situation! Recording your score can sometimes be as much of a challenge as downing your drink if that WKD goes straight to your head. Sticking to the scorecard will be the main challenge, not whether you complete it under-par. Special mention must be made here to the group spotted in Grizedale Bar in Week 6, who’s giant ‘Sandwich Board’ scorecard with everyone’s name and score, carried by one lucky member definitely turned heads that night – incredible! After five or six holes, you can tell some members of the group have eased-off the organised itinerary and have just bought an easy drink to see them until Sugarhouse. For the hard-core golfers, they aim to see their mission until the end, a commendable spirit and one that will see them absolutely smashed by the end of the night.
So whichever stance you take towards Pub Golf, you obviously have your reasons and will undoubtedly have an amazing night. But when you’re running round Sugarhouse, drunkenly playing with your Poundland ‘Not suitable for children over 7 years old’ colourful golf set, celebrating like Tiger Woods himself at your poor attempt at hitting a hollow plastic ball, the whole night is definitely worth it. If you have not been lucky enough to sample this theme-to-end-all-themes, it comes highly recommended!
