Dungannon

Visiting Dungannon Golf Club ranks as one of the nicest experiences we’ve had at any golf course in Ireland even though we didn’t get to really play the course. Everyone was just so friendly and welcoming and generally helpful.

As we arrived we bumped into a couple of ladies and started our story. They were chatty and interested and then the Lady Captain joined us for a moment before heading into a meeting (which looked like it had already started!). There were a lot of other ladies around and judging by the chat we gathered that there a some matches going on - every so often someone would come in and say so and so beat such and such thus provoking general comments amongst the ladies along the lines of ‘well that’s no surprise’ or ‘well I didn’t see that coming’. The ladies and the Lady Captain said there’d be no problem parking in the car park but not long after the Lady Captain disappeared into the meeting the Secretary, Sean Hughes, came out to confirm that we could stay overnight and not only that but we’d be playing the course the following day with his compliments.
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Slieve Russell

When we arrived at Slieve Russell the Lady Captain, Anne Mone, was there with a couple of guests (they were the only people in the bar) so we made ourselves known to her and told our yarn. They all seemed impressed and were keen to mention that the course was one of the best in Ireland. Well, they all say that really but looking out the window of the clubhouse these guys could have a point and it just looked picture perfect.

We had a pint of Guinness (which wasn’t very good) then took a quick walk down to the first tee. Everything looking immaculate and, weather permitting, it looked like we were going to enjoy this course.

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Another new look

Testing a new theme out on the site.

I kind of like this one but I need to do a proper logo.

Meanwhile expect a couple of new courses to be added over the weekend: Slieve Russell and Dungannon.

The Curragh Golf Club

When we arrived at the clubhouse of the oldest golf course in Ireland we couldn’t have received a nicer welcome. We told Margaret at the bar our story who suggested that Clive talked to Peter over the phone. He couldn’t have been a nicer guy, he and Clive chatted for ages and then he set us up with a couple of pints of Guinness on him while we sat back and watched US Open for a while before someone turned the TV over for the hurling match between Kilkenny and Galway - never seen a match from start to finish and we really enjoyed it. All the while people were walking back and forth to the bar and we got a quick chat with most of them. There was a party in the clubhouse later on that night so we went back to the van for dinner before stumping up €6 in aid of a local hospice to join the party. We were entertained by The Beer Mats before finally calling it a night at about 11:30pm - a late one for us!

Next morning we went into St Brigid’s cathedral, Kildare for the Sunday service where Clive was able to tell them that there was to be a baptism, much to their surprise! Seems the rector forgot to tell them. Anyway, by the time our 2pm tee off came around the day was warming up nicely even though it was still trying to rain. Our playing partner for the day was Larry who escorted around the course in a gentlemanly fashion.

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Dublin City Golf Club

We arrived at Dublin City yesterday a lot earlier that we had planned so with loads of time to kill we sat in the bar and drank a couple of pints while we caught up on the happenings in the US Open. It was also there where we discovered ‘Hooked’ - the book by an amateur golfer who played and reviewed all of Ireland’s 18 hole courses (349 of them); we seemed to agree on a lot of them. After our tea we returned to the bar for another go at the Guinness before deciding enough was enough.

We were hooked up to play with two other guys and they both turned out to be excellent company so our thanks to Dave and Colin (good luck on your wedding to the Tyrone girl!) for their craic on what turned out to be mainly a poor golf day.

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Killeen Golf Club

When we arrived at Killeen it was in the midst of a lady’s competition. From the clubhouse we could see a large lake with a few greens dotted around it and it looked like to could be a really nice course. We spun our story to the lady behind the bar and with permission granted we enjoyed a Guinness before heading back to the van for dinner. Unable to resist the lure of another Guinness we headed back into the bar for another and got caught up on the prize giving - someone won with 42 points! The US Open had been called off for the day so with no golf to watch on the TV we turned in for the night.

This morning was a lot calmer weather-wise. Still plenty of cloud around but none of it threatening rain and it was a lot warmer as well. Today’s competition was a three ball rumble, but our third person let us down. Their name had been scored of the time sheet and with no one else around we put our green fee in an envelope and headed out to play.

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Dunmurry Springs Golf Club

Tired of turning into random driveways at 11pm thinking they were the entrance to some out of the way clubhouse we set off for Dunmurry Springs armed with a brand new sat nav. We arrived at 9:30pm, still bright daylight at this time of year, so the sat nav did it’s job well. We had a brief chat with some of the lads who were just coming off the course. They gave us the low down on why the clubhouse wasn’t finished yet (they were still operating out of a few prefab huts in the car park) and told us about their sky high joining and annual green fees. We counted ourselves lucky that our fee is under £600 a year. Sean, one of the guys who works at the course, suggested we could take in a couple of holes before the light faded but we decided against it on account of being tired and disappointed that there’d be no Guinness tonight.

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New Forest Golf Club

We *almost* got turned away from New Forest when we arrived last night. It’s a golf resort (in a bit of financial trouble by the sound of things) and the bar staff weren’t too sure what to do with our request for parking overnight. We hung around while one of the ladies made a couple of phone calls and eventually said that we’d be OK to stay. They weren’t particularly chatty bar staff so we quickly drank a pint of Guinness each before heading back to the van for the night.

New Forest is a fairly new 18 hole parkland course near Tyrrellspass, Co. Westmeath. There are some very picturesque holes here, but on the whole it looks less nice than the course map on the card might suggest or the lovely looking pictures (of just a couple of holes) on their web site. Granted, it was a bit of wet and windy day when played, but I get the feeling even the sunshine couldn’t hide some of its flaws. The outward holes have a lot more going for them the some of the back nine holes which are exposed and field-like. The course is nicely designed and seemed well enough looked after but away from the the fairways and greens things just looked a bit unkempt and scratchy.

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Boystown Golf Club

We found Boystown with the help of a lady we stopped as we were driving along, not sure of where we were going. She was very chatty and, eventually, gave us perfect directions, which happened to go right past her house. We arrived without having had confirmation of a tee off time but luckily and young man called Jamie was going spare at 12:54 so we joined him for a three ball. We had just a few minutes to get changed and cram a banana into our mouths by way of lunch, and then we were on our way.

Boystown is an incredibly picturesque 9 hole parkland course in Co. Wicklow beside the Blessington Lakes and it’s a grand wee course for sure. Well, I say wee, it’s actually and pretty long for a 9-holer coming in at almost 3500 yards from the back tees. There’s plenty to look at and make you think on this course. There’s the old quarry at the second, a 461 yard par 4. The quarry will test your second shot to the green provided you managed to hit a decent drive. Then there’s the par 3 third over the pond. The remaining holes all have something to offer, not least of which are the great views over the lake and Wicklow hills beyond. Perhaps the best part of the course is the back to back par 5s at the 8th and 9th. The 8th is an uphill slog with a near-blind approach to the green. The 9th, to quote Jamie, is a beast of a hole - 591 yards over the quarry (again) with two huge trees waiting to collect your second shot. Two really great holes that were a pleasure to play twice.
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South County Golf Club

After a great evening seeing a fantastic performance by the Kilcock Musical and Drama Society, a musical called ‘Sweet Charity’, we arrived at South County to find the gates locked! Luckily there was a bit of a lay by up the road so we parked there for the night and awoke to a much better morning - chilly, but blue skies and the promise of a fine day.

South County is an 18 hole parkland course in south Co. Dublin, near Brittas. From the first tee there’s a great view out over the course and the surrounding countryside. Magnificent though the view was I got the impression that it was just going to be a boring course but I could hardly have been more wrong. The spectacular views continued - there’s barely a place on the course you could call a bad view. And whilst it did feel wide open the holes were not boring in any way. The front 9 holes had a different feel to the back 9. They were more elevated and had better views, whereas the back 9 was lower and had all the water features on the course, including a couple of excellent par 5s where a stream criss-crosses the fairway.

Big thanks to Liam and Paul who kept us entertained on the way round.

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