The Portmarnock Links

Dublin Spur

Apparently they are creating 200 membership oppertunities in April. GUI affilliated, club compititions etc... Don't think it will be owned by the members though. Corporate owners will stay in charge.

No joining fee, annual sub of €2,900 per annum (inc €400 food and beverage tab). This is fixed for the first 2 years, but after that the fee is totally unknown. Too much of a gamble for me to leave my club for it, but I thought it might interest a few on here.

Great course - and guarenteed to be in great nick 12 months of the year.

Hobart

Great course allright, but in my opinion, the devil will be in the detail. I know that the current owners tried to do a swap with two "local" courses over the last number of years, and unless the members get a "cast iron" lease on the course, I would not touch it with a barge pole.

f22

Super course and always in top condition.

Wouldn't touch that deal with a barge pole though. Summer time is always full of corporates (although that may change). Wouldn't be one bit surprised to see a swap back on the table with a local course again in the next couple of years (perhaps one that owns their own land this time )

Swinging Looney

It's certainly quieter now in summer time than in previous years. I played a few times last year during the week and more or less had the place to myself.

As for land swaps being back on the table I really don't know. In the future at some point yes I expect so but not any time soon. The whole point of the swap was to get cheap land to build on. I would feel that idea would be a non runner these days given state of the building industry. And given the huge number of empty houses and apartments around Dublin, I wouldn't think it'll happen for many years yet.

f22

Not necessarily, they owe a fortune on the course itself anyway.

If they aren't getting footfall they are losing money by the shed load.

To speculate in a downturn may net tham a much better longer term deal. The land they have can never be built on so has limited upturn.

1916

Confirmed in todays IT

Links opens up to 300 new members

CLONTARF Golf Club’s proposed move to the Portmarnock Hotel and Golf Links falling through last year, a new affiliated golf club to be called The Links Portmarnock will be established at the venue with an initial membership of 300.

The Bernhard Langer-designed links, minutes away from the established Portmarnock Golf Club, has been open as a green fee resort complex since opening in 1995.

In 2005 Capel Developments bought the 180-acre facility for an estimated €70 million and proposed a swap deal for Clontarf members to move to Portmarnock with a view to Capel developing the existing Clontarf footprint for residential homes. “Portmarnock has always been used by green fee visitors and corporate card holders but when the Clontarf move fell through it became a good time to push ahead for establish an affiliated club here,” explained Moira Cassidy, director of golf at Portmarnock Hotel and Golf Links.

“We’ve never had a club attached to the course since it opened 14 years ago. When Clontarf fell through people approached us and asked why there shouldn’t be a club attached here anyway.”

The Links Portmarnock will be restricted to a total of 300 men and women members, 200 full members plus a further 100 four-day members (Monday to Thursday) with over 100 already interested in joining. Proposed competition days are Wednesdays and Sundays.

“It is something we have always had designs on doing, to have an affiliated club attached here and there is a demand for it. There will be no joining fee, just an annual subscription of €2,900 for full membership – including a €400 food and beverage levy – and €1,500 for the four-day membership,” added Cassidy.

“We’ll hold a special general meeting with a group of people from the GUI and ILGU, then a constitution will be drawn up for the new club. No date has been finalised for that meeting yet but it looks like it could be on Friday week, February 20th.”

As part of the process the GUI will assess the course to obtain an official Standard Scratch Score (SSS) and make sure proper facilities are in place. There are already full facilities housed at the hotel, including bar and catering, locker-rooms and pro shop.

“There is planning permission in place for a new clubhouse at the far end of the course but the initial intention is to get the golf club established first and there is already everything we need here at the hotel,” added Cassidy, who is confident they will reach the membership target pretty quickly.

“In the current climate it’s appealing because there is no joining fee and you don’t have a big up front payment of say €20,000 to join.

“We already look after the course and all the administration so the transition shouldn’t be too difficult. To have an affiliated club will be the only major difference to what we already do now,” added Cassidy, who is hopeful of having the club up and running within the next two months.

Norway’s Suzann Pettersen will defend her Ladies Irish Open title there in June after she won at the same venue last year.

f22

Since when is nearly 3k a year appealing in a recession.

Don't get me wrong, I think it's a top notch course and it's 2 minutes walk from my front door but it's not worth that type of money.

I still maintain they will do a swap at some stage in the coming years. If that was 3 years time I would have spent 9k in subs alone. 9k would open alot of doors for membership in the current climate. The repayments on that 70 million loan must he huge and corporate footfall will be way down this summer.

e60 on for the titleist series there on a Tuesday fills my links hunger enough during the winter.

FlutterinBantam

Spot on.

Time these places faced reality,same as everyone else has to.

Not a great track in my opinion, too gimmicky, scenically not great, too tight.

A good course but a long long way from a great one.

f22

FlutterinBantam wrote: »

Not a great track in my opinion, too gimmicky, scenically not great, too tight.

A good course but a long long way from a great one.

Wouldn't agree with you there, I think it'a a great course, a real stern test off the back tees and always kept in mint condition. I think the work they've done in the lead up to Irish Womens Open is top notch. There's also a great variety of holes and I'd rank it better than the likes of the Island.

The commentators and players raved about the place during the Irish Womens Open.

kilns

Has anybody heard if there has been much take up on their membership offer? I cant see too many takers at that price

f22

Quite the opposite, which surprises me too.

Played there on Tuesday and apparently there are nearly 100 signed up already. Quite a few Winter members signed over.