Are you sitting down? Good. Because what I'm about to tell you may cause your legs to buckle and…read moreyour heart to palpitate with excitement. The Fitzroy Bowls Club is: * Very Cheap Beer * Greasy burgers and sandwiches that are oh-so-delicious * Barbecues and BYO beef if you prefer that instead * Sunny afternoons * Absolute hilarity with your besties. Bowls is not just for old people, you guys! In recent years Barefoot bowling has become increasingly popular with the twentysomething and thirtysomething crowd. On any given weekend you will find a truly bizarre gathering of people all brought together by their love of the game (or of the beer.) Bowls is not a difficult game to understand, however it is a difficult game to master, and I assure you that the cheap jugs of beer will not help. Hanging out at the Fitzroy Bowls club is an original and fun way to spend your lazy summer weekends, having a birthday with a difference or even a quirky bucks or hens party. So grab your mates together, dress in your whites and hit up the bowls club, you won't regret it.

Three words, barefoot bowls and beer. During the summer Fitzroy Bowls Club plays host to barefoot…read morebowls on Tuesdays. For $15 you get a beer, all you can eat barbeque and of course a bowls competition. What more could you ask? Well, upon second thought, you could probably ask for some more beer. But then I will have to tell you that Fitzroy bowls has this covered too, with cheap beer aplenty. In fact, just so you can understand that THEY understand where the priorities lie, I will tell you about the time I went up to one of the staff and asked for a jack (the small ball in bowls that everyone tries to bowl their balls close to). Instead of getting me the 'jack' the guy started pouring me a jug of beer. It turns out he had misunderstood my New Zealand accent and thought I was asking for a jug. My team didn't complain that I returned with more than I was sent to get it must be said. These guys expect you to drink beer and they expect you to have fun. And with astro-turf lawns there isn't the same stress of drunken buffoons destroying the venue like other clubs that have grass turf. Fitzroy bowls is a great place to hang out on a sunny afternoon to play bowls and drink beer. The only thing I have against this concept is the fact that everyone seems to agree with me - this place can get packed.

A couple of years back, Lawn Bowls became the new 'chic' thing to do. Hordes of 'whippersnappers'…read morebegan flocking to greens all over Melbourne for an arvo bowl and a pot, and at the rate that greens a re still being booked out, it's not a passing trend. Ringwood Bowls Club has 3 greens, 2 turf and 1 synthetic, meaning bowls is on 12 months of the year. The staff are fantastic and welcoming, and are always keen to offer advice to newies who are trying the game out for the first time. We'd head down on a Wednesday night, which was run as a "newcomers" night. We spend a couple of hours bowling and taking advantage of the very cheap beer at the bar ($2 a pot!), and really enjoyed it each week. In fact, we went so often that it became an in-house joke that when we'd arrive, they'd rush over to open the bar. Unlike inner city bowls clubs, this is run by the traditional owners, who haven't jacked up the beer prices for the new market. These guys just love to bowl, and love it when you get involved. Bowls is the perfect sunny afternoon sport. You kick your shoes off, you can drink, and you don't have to run. Perfect!

It's hard to find a good value experience these days. Go to the movies and you've easily spent $80…read moreonce you've paid for carparking, two movie tickets and some drinks and snacks to accompany the film. Yep, fun times are expensive in the big city and that's probably why I think the Brunswick Bowling Club is such great value when you want to get together with mates for an afternoon or evening of fun. Here you can BYO food and hire a BBQ and feed your crew while drinking from the reasonably priced bar selection. The wine options aren't going to win awards, but there's plenty of fun craft beers to keep most beer hounds happy. Lawn bowls is a fun and social way to kill a few hours and if that doesn't rock your world, they're likely to have some live music playing inside that you can sit and listen to. As the months get hotter, consider The Brunswick Bowling Club for your next social gathering.

There's a very fine patch of green grass on a quiet street in Brunswick East, and it's called the…read moreBrunswick Bowling Club, a lawn bowls club at its humblest and friendliest. The lawn is lusciously real and has recently been treated by an expert green-keeper and the weather is warming up, so it is an ideal time to book yourself and some friends in for a game of barefoot bowling. There's a BBQ by the green, in-house there's a fully-stocked bar, pool table and pinball machine. You'll be made to feel very welcome by the members and regulars who I reckon think of this club as a second home; it has that feel about it. The atmosphere is very laid-back and casual, you don't have to have any experience at all at lawn bowls, there'll be someone on hand to give you a little coaching to get you started. By the way, if you like your time here and want to get more involved, this club has won its division twice in the last few years, so become a member ($100 per year) and join a winning bowls club. But mostly, just come and meet some people and have a few drinks in the sun. NB - the closing time varies and is dependent on when it starts to get dark in the evenings.

Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre is an absolute hub for all kinds of sports and fitness. The…read moremost striking feature of the entire centre is probably the outside Olympic sized swimming pool. I've never tried it out but it does look amazing. What I have tried on numerous occasions are their squash courts. There are 10 international standard squash courts including a four walled glass show court. The courts are the best that we play on in our league (on a par with Moorabbin). They are quicker than most around the circuit but I'm a fan. If I lived next door to MSAC, I would play a hell of a lot more sports here. A great venue for all sports.

Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre is the place to be for r all kinds of sports and fitness. The…read morebig feature is probably the outside Olympic sized swimming pool. I am yet to take a dip, but ill get there at some point. What I have tried on numerous occasions are their Basketball courts. There are 10 international standard squash courts including a four walled glass show court. Badminton Courts, Table Tennis Arena, Gymnasium, Olympic pools x 2 wading pools, slides, Surfing on wave, bike racks & gym. A amazing venue for all sports & fitness.

I've been playing in the indoor soccer league in the sports hall of Melbourne Girls College for a…read morenumber of seasons now on a Thursday evening. There are 4 leagues of varied ability from woeful (yet very social) to quite a high standard. Games go from 6-10. Here is a run-down of the experience. Positives: - great facilities - friendly atmosphere - competitive games - well organised Negatives: - run like a business (playing a playoff for teams finishing 5-8 can only be a money making exercise) - 6pm games hard to get to - tackling from behind rule is very annoying There are a number of different leagues and times to choose. Make sure you go to their website and make an inquiry.

Bella Restaurant: In the Golf Course precinct. Enter through the hotel…read more Afternoon tea on a Sunday 1pm-4pm This is a hidden gem. A delightful, relaxed atmosphere to partake of afternoon tea. A beautiful dining room laid out with tables for 2, to bigger tables for groups. Linen table cloths, fresh white crockery and napkins, a simple approach without the pretence that is sometimes associated with a "country club" On arrival...you are met with a cold glass of bubbly (very nice) and shown to your table. I imagine reservations are recommended. The afternoon tea fare was a generous selection of freshly cut mixed sandwiches, antipasto, bite sized beef pies, mini spring rolls and quiches. The sweet choice was more than adequate, catering to the traditional expectations with scones and jam and cream. We were also tempted by a choice of petit four, cakes, chocolate egg custard, macaroons, biscuits, slices, tarts, fondant, mini pavlova and a chocolate and fruit fondue. Coffee and a variety of teas are provided and you can purchase wine etc from the bar. At $45 a head, this is a generous and rather lavish afternoon tea which rivals some of the inner city establishments. Afternoon tea goes from 1:00-4:00pm. At the Windsor you are being gently herded out after 2 hours! Come early and graze. Bellas gets a thumbs up from me for its beautiful setting, it is competitively priced and the offerings are delicious. We'll be back

This is a strange country club with a chequered history. I was there in May 2014 to play golf along…read morewith 80 other members of Social Golf Victoria. It is like nothing else in Victoria. There are two courses built in and beside flood plains that have been drained with many lakes. I played the St John Course designed by Jack Nicklaus. It looks like an American course - lots of curves on the fairways and lots of target golf. There is a large hotel and the club house is very large. There are also a couple of hundred houses for executive in enclaves up on the sides of the hills. Some of the housing units are a bit ugly in my view. Pros- very beautiful place, lots of wildlife, challenging holes (especially par threes), very well maintained. Cons- very, very long if walking (some of our group did 12 kms walking because it is so far from green to next tee and lots of looking for balls in thick rough around the edges of lakes - really made for carts), greens were very very hard and quick and gave some weird bounces, some members sneered at us, quite a long walk to visitors car park, also a bit expensive - I would prefer to play at the Dunes or St Andrews Beach for less. I might play there again once now that I know the course but it wont be a favourite - it was just too much an "American" experience for me. The golf course has been sold a couple of times so maybe things will change in the future.

This unique piece of Australian is like something straight out of the movie The Castle. The venue…read morefeatures lawn bowls, rose garden with gazebo, sports bar, bistro and full business/conference facilities. The venue has a rich heritage as a "community cornerstone" in the Jacana/ Broadmeadows area, ever since the foundation stone of the club was laid by Prime Minister Gough Whitlam on the 10th November 1975. The club is located in the Valley between Jacana and Gladstone Park and boasts views of the Jacana Wetlands and Western Ring Road. Follow signage from Sunset Boulevard (infamous for the 2011 shootings) down the embankment to access this venue. Access is made easy with courtesy bus, chair hoist for those unable to negotiate steps and plenty of disabled parking. The menu includes pub favourites with a weekly specials board with 1970s prices for food and drinks. Christmas festivities feature twilight market and carols on the green. $12 annual membership entitles holders to: * $10 birthday meal voucher * Discount main meals and drinks * Use of courtesy bus.

This place is interesting. Since I am a new resident in a part of town that is very foreign to me,…read moreI was looking to find somewhere that has Fox Sports and this was the closest venue. I previously lived in the lush green east of Melbourne so perhaps that's why I found it interesting. The drink prices - OMG $3.80 for a glass of white wine (diff varieties). They even serve CASK WINE. WOA... I will take a pic of the wine-list next time and put it up! It has recently been renovated so the chairs and tables were nice. We grabbed a cheesy garlic bread (which was delicious) and the Nachos (VERY saucy). They were not too bad. Apparantly on Wed its Parma & Pot night for $13... so cheap.... They also have a yearly membership and its $12 to sign up, giving access to prize give aways, 10% off drinks and a courtesy bus! The only part I didn't really like was the 'gaming' section. It was average size and had so many people in it - but thats more to do with my dislike of gambling and on how it affects peoples lives. Ill give it three stars because its cheap, nearby and has the footy... I sure will be missing watching games at the Elgin or Palace though...

An amazing rowing club that hires out upper level function room great view of city across Yarra and…read moregreat facilities for any event! Great bathrooms, bar area and entry exit access control! Has an elevator if required and the balcony has envious views! Amazing rowing decor with Olympic history on walls! A must see venue if you get a chance! Truly amazing function facility from sit down to cocktail!