City West Golf Club

John32c

Hi all,

I am doing some research on joining a club in Dublin in January. I am interested in playing mainly (April to Oct) possibly on either a Wed or Fri afternoon during the week and possibly a Sat or Sun morning. I was looking at the City west blurb from last year, they were offering membership for 500E to play on the Lakes course on a reduced green fee rate. Has anyone played the Lakes course, is it any good, somebody else told me it was full of par 3's? Is this true?

Any other info on City West would be helpful?

How would it compare to Grange castle?

Thanks

Mister Sifter

John, there's a good few people on here will be able to help you. Try also the search option above. Type in citywest and it will throw up a good few threads from months gone by which give good info relating to membership there...

Mister Sifter

here's one of 'em...

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055326171&highlight=citywest+golf

John32c

Thanks Graeme, where did u join in the end?

ShriekingSheet

Hi John,

I've played the Lakes course a lot this year. For what it is, I really like it I must say. It is very short and yes, there are a lot of par 3s - I think the par is 68 or something, but it's well enough kept, not a bad little lay-out. The greens, while rarely awesome, are never all that bad either.

Most people would call it an easy course, I'd agree, but there's some nice use of water around the place so it's interesting, if not a tough test. It would be very much geared toward newer golfers and while a more experienced golfer like me might enjoy it every so often, playing it every week would get a little bit boring.

That said, if you're viewing this as a starter course, to make a small investment and see if you like the idea of regular club golf it is ideal.

Where it falls down is on club atmosphere and organisation. It seems to be very much the kind of place you arrive, change your shoes at the boot of your car, play with your own little group and head off straight after. This is in contrast to other clubs where you join and meet people by playing with different members every week and have a coffee and a bite to eat after some of your rounds. I don't think the Lakes members are much involved in things like interclub competitions either.
This may seem a bit of a lame complaint, and it's not to say that it's impossible to join and meet fellow members to play regularly with, but the club does seem to be geared more towards either playing with people you join with. Not having a club house is probably the main reason for this.
That's totally subjective on my part and I'd be glad for someone to post and call me wrong but that's my opinion from talking to members and playing the course. If you already know a few members, I wouldn't worry about it.

Second slight negative worth checking out... many of us club members here talk about playing 3 or 4 holes as practice, or heading up after work in the evening even though you might just squeeze in 12 holes. What's the green fee issue there? In a more traditional set-up you pay your annual sub and you can play 36 holes a day or 3 holes some night - it makes no odds - but in this set up you'd be forking out each time you arrive... maybe there's some leniency but worth checking.


All in all, it's a nice little track at a good price. I'm not sure what the "reduced members green fee" is but maybe do some maths on what it will actually cost you for a year's golf so you can compare it like for like with other offers. If you play a lot it could really clock up.


Two golden rules are make sure it's within a shortish distance from your house or at least work. And secondly, go play it yourself and form your own opinion

WHIP IT!

Great advice there from SS for anyone thinking of joining a club for the first time. The opportunity to be able to just play 6 holes here-nine holes there is not to be underestimated if you ask me. Also, if you're the sort who might just drop in to have a play around the practice greens once or twice a week as well, you might want a club that has a decent set-up in this regard.

I know some members here like to just take a bag of old balls and go hit a few on a "spare" part of the course, rather than a visit to a driving range - I see people in Killeen do this from time to time.

The above are all things I would personally be looking for when considering which club to join.

SalthillGuy

I am staying at City West next week-end.
We are traveling for the Rugby match.
Is the course worth playing.
We were also considering Carton House.

WHIP IT!

SalthillGuy wrote: »

I am staying at City West next week-end.
We are traveling for the Rugby match.
Is the course worth playing.
We were also considering Carton House.

If it's a choice between the two - go to Carton for definite. Citywest is fine, nice little track, but CH is CH!

copacetic

agreed, citywest might be nice on on the sunday morning with a hangover, but either course in carton is a lot better for the main event on sat morning.

Although having said that if you have people in your group who aren't decent then the monty course will be heartbreaking for them as well as exhausting. O'meara is a bit easier but still a lot nicer/tougher than citywest.