Joining a course in Cork

BizAngel

I live in Ovens and I am considering joining one of the following Golf Courses:

Lee Valley

Blarney

Macroom

Kinsale

Any thoughts as to which offers the best value/facilities/enjoyment to a weekend hacker who doesn't know any member in any of these courses? Any other courses that people wouold recommend.

slumped

personally I'd go for Macroom - nice layout and lovely friendly clubhouse atmosphere.

slingerz

slumped wrote: »

personally I'd go for Macroom - nice layout and lovely friendly clubhouse atmosphere.

Macroom is my home course and its a fine course and the cheapest of the ones you listed out. They are doing a deal on memeberships too to spread the levy across a couple of years

razorblunt

What's the price comparison between all of these courses?

celica140bhp

I'm a member in Kinsale and I think it's about 6k at the moment to join. The biggest advantage is that we have use of the old (9 hole) course in Belgooley also - that's handy for practice or just a few quiet holes on your own.

Lee Valley is an OK course - but some some silly (in my opinion) dog leg par 4s but some nice par 5s (especially the 15th).
Blarney is still new and I think still expensive. It's a short enough course but some good holes on it. I'd be worried if it stays open or not due to financial difficulties.
Macroom is nice - the (newer) back nine has really good holes - haven't been there in a while so not sure if the front nine which are kinda poor, have been changed on not.
Kinsale is a long course (3 or 4 par fours unreachable in two to your mid-high handicapper) but relatively straight forward - still a new course. Plans are in place to change the first few holes which are poor so hopefully that'll be sorted out in the next year or so.

Out of these 4 I'd suggest Kinsale or Macroom.

slingerz

celica140bhp wrote: »

I'm a member in Kinsale and I think it's about 6k at the moment to join. The biggest advantage is that we have use of the old (9 hole) course in Belgooley also - that's handy for practice or just a few quiet holes on your own.

Lee Valley is an OK course - but some some silly (in my opinion) dog leg par 4s but some nice par 5s (especially the 15th).
Blarney is still new and I think still expensive. It's a short enough course but some good holes on it. I'd be worried if it stays open or not due to financial difficulties.
Macroom is nice - the (newer) back nine has really good holes - haven't been there in a while so not sure if the front nine which are kinda poor, have been changed on not.
Kinsale is a long course (3 or 4 par fours unreachable in two to your mid-high handicapper) but relatively straight forward - still a new course. Plans are in place to change the first few holes which are poor so hopefully that'll be sorted out in the next year or so.

Out of these 4 I'd suggest Kinsale or Macroom.

Dont know about the front 9 being poor. There are certainly more difficult than the back 9 though. Macroom is about 4k and the yearly sub is 650. I think Lee Valley is something like 10k and Blarney around the same

Morrisseeee

I don't know how much they are to join. I just know what they are like to play:

Ordinary standard:
Macroom: poor front nine, nice back nine.
Kinsale: nice course with some interesting par 5's.

Higher standard:
Lee Valley: very nice course & layout, always in good condition.
Blarney: Built to a good standard, but alot of walking !!

adidas speed

is muskerry golf course any good?

soundsham

BizAngel wrote: »

I live in Ovens and I am considering joining one of the following Golf Courses:

Lee Valley

Blarney

Macroom

Kinsale

Any thoughts as to which offers the best value/facilities/enjoyment to a weekend hacker who doesn't know any member in any of these courses? Any other courses that people wouold recommend.

muskerry is a good course i like it, but suffers in winter with temp. greens/tees & 2 or 3 v hilly holes

my opinion would be
1 lee valley ......good course always a plesure to play,good test maybe 1 or 2 too many doglegs but always in great shape, €5k or less??? +€1300 per year and very close

2 macroom ......ok test,not so good(had initially wrote horrible....bit too harsh maybe ) front nine, but has been improved a bit with some changes but would be a bit cheaper and still close €1500-2k maybe €850 ish per year

3 muskerry .....nice course good test, tough 4 holes to finish, bit hilly, older membership €5k or less €1200 ish per year

4 blarney ......ok test, hit and miss as regards standard of course might be good this month was in sh1t for weeks before that, v.v.windy,no one knows if it will be there in 6 months time free to join €1200 per year, loads of new members

5 kinsale nothing special nothing wrong with it either, no idea of fees, bit of a big open field feeling really

I'd be close enough with fees for leevalley/muskerry/blarney and I'd say they'd be open to negotiations if you try,if you might play a few holes in the evening lee valley would be the one, but most importantly play them all 1st
i tried to list them as someone living in ovens, but as for best courses to play week in week out & as a test & with money no object,for me it would be

1 lee valley

2 muskerry

3 macroom/blarney

4 kinsale

along the same lines as morisee really,.......
you pay a bit more for l.v & muskerry but you get what you pay for imo
blarney might get there but who knows lets say has potential
macroom/kinsale ok nothing to write home about

on celica's €6k for kinsale if thats the case its mental i'd have me doubts and blarney off the blues/white is 6712/6518yards hardly short par 71,as for some par 4's unreachable don't think so !!

galvin66

Hello BizAngelMy opinion...1) Lee Valley- Very Good course , always enjoy playing there, fast greens but always good to putt on.. It is the nearest course to Ovens..2) Muskerry my home club - Not as good as Lee Valley to be honest nice matured course, Expensive enough to join around the same as Lee Valley i would imagine. People say its "hilly" not the case only for the 6th and 9th.The Shournagh River really does come in to play for the last 2 holes and can distroy a good score!3) Macroom- Dont waste your money! Greens are awful honestly! SHOCKING..Food is nice to be fair . The course layout is grand bit short but the fairways are the same as the greens!!4) Kinsale- An average course nothing more to be said!!5) Blarney - Nice course .. Greens may be slow but atleast the ball rolls on them unlike macroom.. New course , cheap membership no joining fee and 90euro a month great food and facilities too.. Its maturing fast , its in good condition , fairways are class..

celica140bhp wrote: »

I'm a member in Kinsale and I think it's about 6k at the moment to join. The biggest advantage is that we have use of the old (9 hole) course in Belgooley also - that's handy for practice or just a few quiet holes on your own.

Lee Valley is an OK course - but some some silly (in my opinion) dog leg par 4s but some nice par 5s (especially the 15th).
Blarney is still new and I think still expensive. It's a short enough course but some good holes on it. I'd be worried if it stays open or not due to financial difficulties.
Macroom is nice - the (newer) back nine has really good holes - haven't been there in a while so not sure if the front nine which are kinda poor, have been changed on not.
Kinsale is a long course (3 or 4 par fours unreachable in two to your mid-high handicapper) but relatively straight forward - still a new course. Plans are in place to change the first few holes which are poor so hopefully that'll be sorted out in the next year or so.

Out of these 4 I'd suggest Kinsale or Macroom.

In response to Celica you dont have a clue! Blarney is the cheapest of the lot and you say its expensive, its not a short course either! No need to be worried about financial problems , as the Blarney golf resort has been purchased recently..Saying Macromm is nice is a joke! KInsale is an average lenght course, not unreachable, and the course looks like it'll be under construction for a while..Ya suggest Kinsale or Macroom to waste your money!!Lee Valley, Blarney, Muskerry.. In that order..Play all the courses before you decide..Enjoy!

soundsham

laughing at your reply (bit heavy handed but i would agree celica doesn't seem to have a clue) except i would prefer your course to blarney,
i would agree galvin66 but i would play muskerry a few times a year, really like it, but unless the replaced the 13th its a fair auld pull as well as 6th and cardiac hill the 9th:D

bigtimecharlie

Could Bandon be added to this list?

Played it last month and enjoyed it

galvin66

soundsham wrote: »

laughing at your reply (bit heavy handed but i would agree celica doesn't seem to have a clue) except i would prefer your course to blarney,
i would agree galvin66 but i would play muskerry a few times a year, really like it, but unless the replaced the 13th its a fair auld pull as well as 6th and cardiac hill the 9th:D

i KNOW!!Yeah Muskerry is nicely matured. but greens are hit and miss .. i love muskerry but play Blarney alot too and think its a great test of golf..What club you from soundsham>??

Jasonw

In Celica's defense - Look at the date of the post. that was before the cheap joining offer and I think it was around 10k to join at that stage.

I'd also mostly agree with his assessment. Kinsale does have a couple of long par 4's From memory the 2nd or 3rd is long enough to a mid handicapper and I think the 7th? It also has a couple of short par 5's to balance. It's been a while since I played it. Muskerry is class and a good test of golf. Had a decent score going there last Sat in the JSC +3 after 14 then double double single par to finish with 79. Lee Valley is one of my favorite courses in Cork.

galvin66

Jasonw wrote: »

In Celica's defense - Look at the date of the post. that was before the cheap joining offer and I think it was around 10k to join at that stage.

I'd also mostly agree with his assessment. Kinsale does have a couple of long par 4's From memory the 2nd or 3rd is long enough to a mid handicapper and I think the 7th? It also has a couple of short par 5's to balance. It's been a while since I played it. Muskerry is class and a good test of golf. Had a decent score going there last Sat in the JSC +3 after 14 then double double single par to finish with 79. Lee Valley is one of my favorite courses in Cork.

ok!72 won the jsc in the end.. 1 over very tough finishing holes!yeah same lee valley great track... If there was any course i could join it would be CORK GC!!

Jasonw

Saw that. Good scoring though the wind never got up too high and the greens weren't as quick as I've come to expect in Muskerry so I expected level or +1 to win as there are some pretty handy junior players in Muskerry. I remember getting my arse handed to me in the Bruin there a couple of years ago. I was a bit frustrated stepping onto the 15th as I had missed 3 birdie putts from less that 6 foot on 10, 13 and 14. I played with one of your ex captains. An absolute gent. Really enjoyed my day.

I remember ringing Cork GC when I was looking for a club first. I was told I would have to wait 2 years before they could put me on a waiting list.

BizAngel

Thanks for all the replies. I ended up joining Blarney and I'm delighted with that decision. It has a new membership so everyone is very friendly. Lee Valley is 5 mins from my house so I did approach them at the time but had a very disappointing experience. Even though they were looking for €10k joining fee which I was prepared to pay at the time they would not accept my application because I didn't know any of the members. (Somehow I don't think they would have that problem now!) I found the owners to be extremely arrogant. My understanding is that it is full of cliques so the existing membership are not very welcoming to new members. Anyway, I'd recommend Blarney to anyone looking for a club.

soundsham

Hard to imagine someone in ovens not knowing
anyone joined lee valley

anyhow enjoy the golf

jimbling

BizAngel wrote: »

Thanks for all the replies. I ended up joining Blarney and I'm delighted with that decision. It has a new membership so everyone is very friendly. Lee Valley is 5 mins from my house so I did approach them at the time but had a very disappointing experience. Even though they were looking for €10k joining fee which I was prepared to pay at the time they would not accept my application because I didn't know any of the members. (Somehow I don't think they would have that problem now!) I found the owners to be extremely arrogant. My understanding is that it is full of cliques so the existing membership are not very welcoming to new members. Anyway, I'd recommend Blarney to anyone looking for a club.

Glad to see you're enjoying Blarney. I have been tempted to other courses recently for a number of reasons (prices have come down so much, and the greens in Blarney are too slow most of the time), but to be honest, I do enjoy the club for the reasons you gave. And I have quite a number of friends joined as well.
Hopefully someone buys the place out soon.
Good luck in the Captains Prize over the weekend