Ballaghadereen Golf Club

We arrived at Ballaghadereen after a bit of an adventure. By the time we were getting near the town it was around 10pm, dark, windy and it had only just stopped raining. Our map only got us so far and when we thought we were in the general vicinity of the course Clive stopped someone who told us we were miles away from the course and gave us directions out through the north of the town. Not convinced by those directions we then stopped someone outside a pub in the town who sort of pointed us back the way we came. Along that road we stopped a car who said we should follow him for a bit and as we passed the road the golf club was on he would indicate. Which we did and eventually we arrived at Ballaghadereen Golf Club.

It’s a 9 hole parkland course and on the day that we played it three words would sum it up: muddy, wet, flat. I’m guessing the first two aren’t a problem all year round but today there was barely a section of the course that didn’t squelch when you stepped on it. The ball frequently plugged and with practically every shot there was a spray of mud.
We played the first 9 holes on our own and in the rain. Truthfully there’s nothing much to report. There’s a gully that stretches across a few fairways and beyond that I’m struggling to recall many features. But the second time round was a much more pleasant affair as we hooked up with two members who had arrived (Tom and Sean) and the weather improved (though it was still a mess under foot). It’s always good to get a game with members and they were great company.

But overall, a pretty damp experience.

Thomas says:
I think this is a case of ticking another one off the list. I might think differently of the course had it been dry but it’s hard to appreciate a course with that much mud and water on show after a day or two of rain. I played decent golf all the same, I’m not too disappointed with my 33 points. The greens were very slow and needed cut, which the greenkeeper did as we were leaving the course – bad timing!

Clive says:
To tell the truth I’ve been looking forward to playing this course for some time – it’s the long name you know and now I’ve played it. Certainly it doesn’t have many real hazards and those they had – i.e. lots of pine tress have now mostly been cut down. And, of course, I still managed to find my dear old ball right up against a tree on a couple of occasions! Regarding the course – there are two par threes which are fair enough and a tricky dog leg sort of drive at the 8th hole. It’s not very long and I played not greatly but I still was able to break 100 – which is good for me these days.
As ever the local golfers make the day as it did today. Tom and Sean were chatty and informative and were able to answer my usual searching questions about the surrounding area. (later we followed up their advice and visited the very large, if somewhat drab, cathedral of the Assumption and St Nathy which was plank in the middle of what is a nice enough little town). So when you have half a day free just fork out a few euros and play the course and visit the town.

Marks out of 10 for the course – around 6 but the company much more! And for goodness sake, Ballaghaderreen, get up better directions to your course – I really wondered if we’d ever find it!

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