course condition

sweetswing

tell me what you think, i have booked many a game of golf over the years looked foreward to going out ,and when you do play and get to the greens they are forked and sanded. this just ruins it for me ,they never seem to tell you before hand (best i ever get is they are in good condition for this time of year) so why not promote your own club when the greens are in top form let people know, and if you play somewhere the greens are good let people know to, i played lutterlstown today and the greens were top notch (ps i have nothing to do with the place, in fact i hate giving them money cos they would not take bookings just a while ago) also if you play somewhere the greens are bad sanded or forked tell people. this year is the year of the golfer , power to the people:)

Daithio9

sweetswing wrote: »

tell me what you think, i have booked many a game of golf over the years looked foreward to going out ,and when you do play and get to the greens they are forked and sanded. this just ruins it for me ,they never seem to tell you before hand (best i ever get is they are in good condition for this time of year) so why not promote your own club when the greens are in top form let people know, and if you play somewhere the greens are good let people know to, i played lutterlstown today and the greens were top notch (ps i have nothing to do with the place, in fact i hate giving them money cos they would not take bookings just a while ago) also if you play somewhere the greens are bad sanded or forked tell people. this year is the year of the golfer , power to the people:)

Eh ya wha?

charlieIRL

i see all the temporary winter greens were marked out and some mowed in moate there last week. Am playing there again tomorrow and will see if there is any more done.

As is - the greens / course is in excellent conditon considering all the bad weather we've had.

sweetswing

charlieIRL wrote: »

i see all the temporary winter greens were marked out and some mowed in moate there last week. Am playing there again tomorrow and will see if there is any more done.

As is - the greens / course is in excellent conditon considering all the bad weather we've had.

thanks charlieIRL thats the sort of thing im looking for . come on lads and ladies tell us where you played and tell us the condition of the courses

GreeBo

GrangeGolfClub, Rathfarnham greens are perfect at the moment. Full USGA spec so the manky rain is not an issue on them. Were sanded/pole forked last month so perfect again. I do have a connection with the club.

FWIW I agree with the OP, went down to Druids Glen a few years ago and the greens were lumpy sandpits, very disappointed.

jakedabake

sweetswing wrote: »

tell me what you think, i have booked many a game of golf over the years looked foreward to going out ,and when you do play and get to the greens they are forked and sanded. this just ruins it for me ,they never seem to tell you before hand (best i ever get is they are in good condition for this time of year) so why not promote your own club when the greens are in top form let people know, and if you play somewhere the greens are good let people know to, i played lutterlstown today and the greens were top notch (ps i have nothing to do with the place, in fact i hate giving them money cos they would not take bookings just a while ago) also if you play somewhere the greens are bad sanded or forked tell people. this year is the year of the golfer , power to the people:)

i was due to play Concar Wood today but i was informed by the club themselves that a lot of the greens had been spiked & sanded & if i still wished to play i could have the game for half price (25 euros). Playing golf on spiked, sanded or temperary greens while being charged full price drives me up the wall & wish to applaud the management of Concar Wood for taking this stance. Lets hope more clubs follow suit!!

sweetswing

great stuff lads now were rolling . well done concra wood .

scubakid

Played Cahir in Tipperary on saturday with a society and the greens were excellent. I was amazed at the perfect condition of the tee-boxes also

hotspur147

myself and a few mates got 4 vouchers for mount juliet a fortnight ago.very cheap (value 100 euro each bought for 40 euro each).booked the round but when we arrived the guy in the office informed us that the greens were forked and heavily sanded.he also said that he would only take 3 of the vouchers by way of compensation for the poor state of the greens.worked out i paid 15 euro for the round.:):D:)
fair play to mout juliet.i don't think that any other high-profile course would have done the same

bogmanfan

Played Luttrellstown yesterday and it was in great nick, although quite wet. One of the par 3 greens was very wet, you could hear squelching when you walked on it, but otherwise really good, given the weather.

death1234567

Played Cregmore in Galway last week, Large parts of the fairways/greens were brown, course on the verge of flooding.

spurscormac

death1234567 wrote: »

Played Cregmore in Galway last week, Large parts of the fairways/greens were brown, course on the verge of flooding.

Played with someone yesterday complaining of playing in an inch of water in Cregmore last week.

As for the state of Ballinrobe, great course, lovely fairways, but some of the greens are not fully recovered from spiking and sanding and so are a little bobbly. Some are fine though, and seems like it was done a couple of weeks ago due to the bad weather, so should be good in another week or so.

trackerman

Played Carton House this week - Monty course, greens are superb.... 100%

scrubber72

mate played connemara links yesterday and said it was like heaven. So i am packin up the sticks and heading west this morning:D.

scrubber72

yesterday was class. light winds and class course. fairly long off whites too but still managed 35 points. Greens werent as good as i have seen out there but rest is good. 30 sheets for open day is fair on such a class course and the views WOW:D

catweazle

Played Portumna on saturday, a lot of the greens were spiked and some of the fairways was still a bit squelchy but i presume with the weather lately the fairways across trhe country are dry now.....unless it is Barna

gareth12121

played the old course in lahinch on thursday for 50 euros was unreal, greens were supurb and were in perfect condition. really enjoyed it and would reccommend it

PokeHerKing

GreeBo wrote: »

GrangeGolfClub, Rathfarnham greens are perfect at the moment. Full USGA spec so the manky rain is not an issue on them. Were sanded/pole forked last month so perfect again. I do have a connection with the club.

FWIW I agree with the OP, went down to Druids Glen a few years ago and the greens were lumpy sandpits, very disappointed.

Sorry to hijack this thread but I was thinking of playing the grange one day this wk because its quite close to my house. Just a question r 2 Greebo, theres no pics of the course on the site but its quite a short course according to the site and 4 non members wkdays its quoting €80? Seems extortionate prices during a recession but I dont drive and will prob pay it due to its location, wud u recconmend it keeping the price in mind?

Cheers

sweetswing

played castleknock on saturday , the course is in great condition, greens were good but far from their best

charlieIRL

2 of the greens were being spiked & sanded yesterday in moate. (1st & 18th) Rest of the course has dried out well and is actually quite firm now.

sos33

played mount wosley yesterday course in great nick except for the bunkers which were a disgrace no sand in them it was like hitting off a road and i wasnt the only one who thought so, needs to be addressed but otherwise id recommend a round

staker

played fermoy yesterday morning, greens have been sanded heavily, virtually unplayable.
got the round for €10 each (*3), but still wasn't worth it tbh...

Morrisseeee

^^ snap, played there Wednesday, greens were shaven to the bone, sanded & spiked, and............pins were NOT in easy positions !
It was a fair test of golf alright, got 33pts, winner had 39 tho !
I had a birdie (the only one) on the 9th hole with a miraculous putt, index 2 !!!! I scratched the 8th hole, Index 18 !!!!!! thats golf for ya :eek::pac:

abceire

bogmanfan wrote: »

Played Luttrellstown yesterday and it was in great nick, although quite wet. One of the par 3 greens was very wet, you could hear squelching when you walked on it, but otherwise really good, given the weather.

can i guess it was the 10th?i used to work there many moons ago

abceire

only problem with saying the greens are great when you play, the greenkeepers can go out next day, hollow core (spike) and sand them.
i used to be a head greenkeeper over 2 courses, we d core and sand them both within 2 weeks,i d let the pro shop know the dates for coring nearly 6 or 8 months in advance , they d put a note on the computer so as to warn people when they rang to book them times,you would be advised to play the course that wasnt been sanded or cored that week,i d always warn the pro shop if i did anything major on the greens, can be hard to warn few days in advance about somethings as the weather determines when we can do certain things, plus you wouldnt believe the hassle you have with pro shop staff not passing on the info to the golfers
its not right thou to charge pull price for greens that have just been cored and sanded, you should also be warned before you book it at all possible, no point annoying golfers,you want people to come back

ephelan24

Played South County and greens were railed which is slightly better than core and sanding which I found when I played in Donabate last week.

abceire

they were probably verti cut, this is to get rid of the dead organic material at the base of the grass, it can lead to sick greens later in the year,they should be grand again in a day or two

sweetswing

played portmarnock links on wednesday place is in great nick

sweetswing

played concra wood yesterday . tee boxes 100% fairways 100% greens are so true its just a joy to play them

MiniGolf

Played Delgany today. Early bird for €26 including breakfast before 09:30....... Only problem is that the food doesn't start till 10am:eek:. Luckily we had arrived early and had time to go around the corner into Delgany village and get a sausage sambo and a cuppa before heading out! To be fair that info is on the website but you have to look for it. I saw the advert in my local free rag which did not mention the 10am food thing.
The pro-shop were very good about it when I explained what had happened and gave us the option of lunch or a discount on an already good price.:D We took the discount as we had lunch sorted.

The course was in great nick.
Tee boxes perfect and fairways manicured and firm. Ball ran for miles (km for the metric among you!:rolleyes:)
The only downer was the greens which were hollow cored and sanded..... a neccessary evil I know, but to be fair they weren't too bad.
Bunkers were great:). I know we are not supposed to go into them but I was in quite a few and got out of them all really well:cool:. I love my 60 deg CG14 lob wedge!!!
All in all a good show.... the fact I played well always helps!!!;)

dnjoyce

Played Luttrelstown on Sunday - excellent condition alround, as usual. Greens were probably the best I've played on this year. Will be interesting to see what happens to it when it "closes" at the end of the year.

BigAl>>

Played knightsbrook in Trim on Wednesday and the greens were forked:( .Was meant toplay Royal tara but was informed tht they had forked their greens too:eek:. Just went from bad to worse:rolleyes: other than tht the course was is tip top shape ( oh and the sun shined all afternoon:D)

sweetswing

BigAl>> wrote: »

Played knightsbrook in Trim on Wednesday and the greens were forked:( .Was meant toplay Royal tara but was informed tht they had forked their greens too:eek:. Just went from bad to worse:rolleyes: other than tht the course was is tip top shape ( oh and the sun shined all afternoon:D)

when you booked knightsbrook did they tell you the greens were spiked??

BigAl>>

sweetswing wrote: »

when you booked knightsbrook did they tell you the greens were spiked??

No:eek: but to be fair i used tee times:D. no biggy anyway, still enjoyed the round

dnjoyce

played the old head on Thurs (part of a group on the €60 deal), greens were forked but still running pretty fast and only a little bumpy but such was the rest of the experience (stunning weather and views) that it is not something that detracted from the day. Now, if I had paid €300 then it would have been a different story!

stumpypeeps

As a Greenkeeper I do get a little miffed with Golfers complaining about sanded fairways, aerated Greens, topdressed greens etc...Guys if you want to avoid all these inconveniences try playing up and down a field out in the countryside.

stumpypeeps

Also what the hell is forking greens? Never come across it.?????????

I advise all of you to look into some of the practices we greenkeepers are engaged in. Might give you a little more understanding and sympathy.

I do agree however, golfers should be informed at all times when maintenance is being carried out.

sweetswing

stumpypeeps wrote: »

Also what the hell is forking greens? Never come across it.?????????

I advise all of you to look into some of the practices we greenkeepers are engaged in. Might give you a little more understanding and sympathy.

I do agree however, golfers should be informed at all times when maintenance is being carried out.

i think everyone will agree that a lot of work goes into maintaining greens and courses , but we should be told when booking that the greens are forked (sorry dont know real name for this) but i bet every golfer that reads this knows what im on about. the clubs are at fault not the green keepers .

abceire

stumpypeeps wrote: »

As a Greenkeeper I do get a little miffed with Golfers complaining about sanded fairways, aerated Greens, topdressed greens etc...Guys if you want to avoid all these inconveniences try playing up and down a field out in the countryside.

bit harsh but yes, if you want good greens your going to have to put up with the practices that make them greens good,but they are right,golfers should be informed, but then if you book something over the net its hard to be informed,plus the weather has to be taken into account, some practices can only take place in certain weather conditions,so sometimes you just get there and decide that morning the weather suits and off you go

stumpypeeps

sweetswing wrote: »

i think everyone will agree that a lot of work goes into maintaining greens and courses , but we should be told when booking that the greens are forked (sorry dont know real name for this) but i bet every golfer that reads this knows what im on about. the clubs are at fault not the green keepers .

I believe forking was a type of aerating carried out 30 or 40 years ago.

I too have been abhorred to arrive and find temporary greens in use. The emphasis really is on the club to inform the golfer but alas these are clubs and not business'.

Just as a bit of info for those who are not aware. Aerating and Topdressing (sanding) is required for a number of reasons.
It helps prevent the build up of a thatch layer, the result of which is soft, damp greens, infested with disease and pests. It breathes new life into the grass which is under tremendous pressure from golfers and machinery. Provides a firm receptive surface, Ideal for putting and approach shots.

Finally, its bloody hard work. We probably hate it just as much as any golfer:eek:

abceire

it was always my most dreaded 2 weeks, we d two course and did them back to back,i miss greenkeeping, i aint worked on a course since start of august, come world , start golfing again and lots

stumpypeeps

abceire wrote: »

it was always my most dreaded 2 weeks, we d two course and did them back to back,i miss greenkeeping, i aint worked on a course since start of august, come world , start golfing again and lots

Its a bad time for the industry for sure. I should really thank my lucky stars I have a job. I can see a lot of courses falling by the wayside over the next couple of years. Saturated the market is. Still I think their is always a need for greenkeepers with experience and ambition. So I'd keep the faith. Best of luck getting a good position in a low maintenance course:D

Mister Sifter

Lads, played a course recently that had, not sure of the technical term, sliced the greens, i suppose a little like this... ///////

Just wondering why one course would go with this as opposed to pole forking. Purely a preference thing or does it depend on the state of the greens?

BoardsRanger

Mister Sifter wrote: »

Lads, played a course recently that had, not sure of the technical term, sliced the greens, i suppose a little like this... ///////

Just wondering why one course would go with this as opposed to pole forking. Purely a preference thing or does it depend on the state of the greens?

Thats verticutting- as the name suggests- cuts vertically down. Courses do this aswell as aerating. I think its suposed to take up the dead grass and roots from the green.

soundsham

where am I is this the cooking and recipes forum.....forking and slicing!!!

time to get the fork out of here

abceire

BoardsRanger wrote: »

Thats verticutting- as the name suggests- cuts vertically down. Courses do this aswell as aerating. I think its suposed to take up the dead grass and roots from the green.

more or less right,helps get rid of the dead grass and organic material at base of the plant(grass) we call it thatch or the thatch layer, you want some organic material down there , but to much is bad for a few reasons

GreeBo

abceire wrote: »

more or less right,helps get rid of the dead grass and organic material at base of the plant(grass) we call it thatch or the thatch layer, you want some organic material down there , but to much is bad for a few reasons

Its like the scarifying you all do in your garden to pick up the moss (You are all doing this right! :eek:) but it doesnt do the damage scarifying would, it also helps with overseeding. (Giving the seeds somewhere to go)