Cregmore Park Golf Club
We arrived at Cregmore at about 5pm to be welcomed like long lost friends by Catherine, who we later found out was the owner of the course. Her hospitality was second to none. After speaking in at the clubhouse and then making our tea in the van we spent a good few hours in her company. She plied us with coffee and listened to our stories of the courses we’ve played the people we’ve met. We listened to her stories of how the club came to be, it’s only 18 months old, and their plans for the future improvement of the course and the building of a 60-bedroom hotel.The hotel was part of the original plan for the course but by the sounds of things the weather and the recession put those plans on hold. The temporary clubhouse is a lovely little wooden place, outside and in, and is well kept and friendly. They don’t have alcohol or do food but they do have a wine licence and often bring in caterers for societies or when they know it’s going to be busy. All the while people kept coming and going, including a few of Catherine’s sons. Declan hung around for a while when the Masters coverage was on at 9pm and Father Joe also paid a visit – he was more knowledgeable than most about County Down which impressed us.
When we had seen some of the Masters we thanked Catherine for allowing us to hang around the place like we were at home and went back to the van looking forward to golf the next day.
Catherine had told us that there was two-ball out after us that we could likely hook up with. Turns out only one of the guys turned up, Josh, and he was more than happy to play with us. And what a character he was. Full of stories and craic and not too competitive – the best kind of playing partner.
For such a young course it was in remarkably good order. The land it’s on is pretty flat but the course design really does an excellent job of hiding that. With it being so open there’s a danger of feeling as if you’re just hacking up and down a field but the holes a intelligently laid out and there’s plenty to think about, including the 83 bunkers and a couple of ponds. The greens were in top class condition – not lightning fast but the right side of pacey. Plus they’re all huge big things with at least one being around 40 paces from end to end. The fairways were forgiving and the rough wasn’t too heavy, although Josh said that in the early days the long grass would be up to your knees until the members complained! Like I said it’s fairly wide open at the moment – with a few more years of tree growth and maybe the addition a few new features (we saw at least one new pond being dug out) this will be a real gem.
Thomas says:
If only all our golfing experiences could be like this! Catherine, and her sons, were just fantastic. She practically gave us the run of the place and it was great to feel so welcome. Then we hooked up with Josh, a character and a gentleman. And then, of course, the golf course itself lived up to expectation and we got mostly decent weather to play it in. It’s definitely got some maturing to do but it’s looking pretty good as it is. My favourite hole would most likely be the 16th, a great little par 3 over water. Other than that the rest of the holes, whilst in great order, do suffer in terms of being memorable on account of the flatness. I’ve no doubt that in 5 or 10 years time, when we would hopefully get a chance to play it again, this will be a great course.
Clive says:
When we arrived at Cregmore I was immediately reminded of the lovely little log cabin clubhouse at Killerig in County Carlow. The welcome was typically Irish – warm and wholesome. We both liked Catherine’s approach to running a golf course – on any account make sure your visitors play and enjoy themselves – and ply them with craic and coffee for good measure. She certainly made our stay memorable and both she and Declan seemed to enjoy our retelling of our own memorable moments at courses throughout Ireland. We also noticed that there were always plenty of cars around emphasising the homeliness of Cregmore.
We both liked Josh, our playing partner. I dubbed him ‘the fastest golfer in the west’. He was the ideal man to enjoy 18 holes of golf with. I liked the course and was amazed it looked so well after only less than two years. Every green was surrounded with bunkers which is the proper way – and it prevented me putting (as usual) from 50 yards off the green – and I did play a few decent chip shots – something I’m not renowned for. The rough is tough and should be avoided at all costs although I never seemed to take my own advice!! Top marks (maybe getting on for 8 out of 10) for a lovely track. Good luck Catherine with all your excellent ideas – both Thomas and I felt we had gained a real friend – even although I had to remind her a few times that we were from lovely County Down and not County Antrim! Thanks again for everything.
See our photos of Cregmore Park.
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