Fitzroy Victoria Bowling & Sports Club

If only the bar area in this joint weren’t such a dump, the club could actually be a viable alternative to all the other ‘gastro’ pubs in the area.
Lawn bowls is one of the sports you can play while drinking beer and I salute that. I actually get better at it the more I drink — to a point — like pool and driving. I love it that the old bloke’s, when you’re hiring your bowls, assume you’re a complete idiot and take great detail in explaining to you that the small dot on one side indicates the bias of the bowl and it’s tendency to curve towards that side. I love to question them like ‘So the big dot is the inside of the arc right’. They shake their head and roll their eyes at each other and say in serious tones ‘No, it’s the other side’. Then I’ll rub it in by making a point of ignoring them and then reiterate my ignorance. They think I’m so dumb, but the joke’s on them. Take that old man! Ha!
They have barbecues here and you can make a pretty decent afternoon of it if you’re that way inclined. Pity about all the private school douche bags.

Three words, barefoot bowls and beer. During the summer Fitzroy Bowls Club plays host to barefoot bowls 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.

Are you sitting down? Good. Because what I’m about to tell you may cause your legs to buckle and your 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.