Whitehead Golf Club

Date played: 30 March 2007, 1pm
Weather: Windy and cloudy to start, calmer and sunny towards the end.

Parkland, 18 holes, Par 69

We played this as part of my society outing and we didn’t play it together since I was also playing a matchplay competition (I got stuffed 7&5 – not one of my better days on the golf course).

The weather was mostly fine although rain threatened to accompany the strong winds early on. But as we played on the day got brighter and we could enjoy some the fantastic views from the top of the course. It’s high above Whitehead which not far north from Carrickfergus.

The first few holes are all uphill which can make it quite a struggle to keep your breath and hit decent shots. However the climb is worth it for, by the fourth tee, the views over the North Channel are spectacular – although it was a bit hazy today. The outward half holes are mainly on the higher ground with the inward holes much more on a level.

Green fee: £18 weekdays, £24 weekends

Pro shop:
Plenty of the usual on offer.

Clubhouse:
Well appointed clubhouse with two bars. The non-smoking bar has lots of comfy leather chairs, a balcony which overlooks the 18th and was also catching all of the evening sunshine. The smoking bar (which won’t be a smoking bar after 30th April) was much smaller and had a TV. The food was also good, served promptly by a couple of busy young ladies.

Changing facilities:
Good size changing room with shower

Fairways:
Fairways were soft underfoot here and there but were nicely cut. Wide open spaces aplenty so any stray shots should be findable.

Greens:
Greens were also in very good condition but tricky to judge the pace. They looked fast but played a bit slower.

Thomas says:
I played this course 4 or 5 years ago with my society in absolutely awful conditions. I didn’t have a very good opinion of it then (in fact I didn’t really remembered the course at all) but that has changed after today. The course was in good condition and even though I wasn’t playing anywhere near my best I enjoyed the course.

However, aside from the spectacular views the course doesn’t really leave much of an impression. There are too many par 3s for a start. There’s a shapeless feel to the back nine layout and the 18th just looks like a field with a green on the end; not a great way to finish. The opening 5 or 6 holes are the best.

I found the greens very hard to judge and I was either way past or way short on most of my putts. We also had to tee off of mats on about 15 of the holes, not nice since the tee boxes themselves were looking very neat and trim.

Enjoyable if unspectacular course. Worth playing for the views on a good day.

Clive says:
I thought that the course was only fair – perhaps 6 out of 10. There were too many par threes – 6 in total – and the layout was predictable. My favourite hole was the par 5 third, which would have been even better on a sunny day. It is a nicely shaped hole and a good test.

Since Thomas had already played the course we could not add to our Irish total – at present standing at 203 courses. One point to mention is that Whitehead would be a tough test of golf on a wet and windy day – so chose your day carefully.

The clubhouse and amenities are first class with two bars and great catering. The hill up to the club is extremely steep – first gear the whole way in the camper – so take care. And hope you don’t get snow because a few years ago there was a fall of the white stuff and many of the members were stuck in the clubhouse for two days. Luckily there was plenty of food and, presumably, adequate quantities of Guinness!