Drinks terrace approved for venue despite fears it could ‘become a sports bar’

TeeClub owners have assured residents there will be strict management of the outdoor area.

Salford’s first indoor golf venue has been given the greenlight to expand its drinks offerings – despite worries that it could ‘turn into a sports bar’. TeeClub at Sovereign Point can now open a small drinks terrace on the Quays, after a licensing committee approved the expansion.

The venue’s main source of business is a digital driving range for golf enthusiasts, using state-of-the-art Trackman simulators that can recreate more than 450 world-famous golf courses.

The indoor sports centre, which opened in 2025, also has a bar and café, where it serves up pints, stonebaked pizzas, and paninis at tables overlooking the canal.

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Now, golfers will be able to enjoy their drinks in the summer weather, after councillors approved an application for ‘a licence to permit the sale by retail of alcohol for consumption on the external seating area immediately outside the premises’.

Business owner Nick Holmes told the panel: “We have a beautiful outdoor space right outside the club with a really nice outlook. It will be really beneficial for us throughout the warmer months to receive income from that space. We’re an indoor golf club so our income is seasonal. We thrive in the winter months and then it drops off in the summer.

“If people stay and have a glass of wine and a pizza, that makes a really big difference for us.”

But Jack Traynor, speaking on behalf of tenants at Sovereign Point, shared he was worried about the impact on local residents.

Mr Traynor said: “We were told the business was going to be an indoor golf club, but when it opened, it had adverts for beer and pitchers on the walls and you can’t see the golf element from the street. It looks like a sports bar.

“Our worry if they add an outdoor area is that it’s moving more and more in that direction. If we’d known that’s what the business would be, we would have opposed the original alcohol license. We’re just worried about people drinking and smoking and congregating in front of our residential building.”

But business manager Isla Kirkham said the business is ‘constantly monitoring’ behaviour because of the ‘really expensive tech in the club’.

She said: “We can’t run as a sports bar. We’re constantly monitoring what’s going on – if a ball’s been hit the wrong way, we know about it.”

The committee granted the extension of the license on two conditions – that there are clear no smoking signs on the outdoor tables and no standing drinking.