Scarke Golf Club - membership

hurleronditch

Scarke

Anyone know anything much about this place, im currently a distance slievenamon member who plays the opens. Drove past it on my way home from playing the open foursomes in the european (awesome awesome awesome, second time out there, first was in november, force 10 gale, today was just perfect, i could go on and on) and they had a sign out membership for 150.

Anyone a member there?

On the website it says make your own type of membership. I already have a handicap and that, so i will never ever play there, and dont need my qualifier round. worth looking for cheaper?

Unglika Norse

Thats a laugh, the term "member" would be very loosly used in your case, you dont want to know anything about the club except to buy your handicap

hurleronditch

Unglika Norse wrote: »

Thats a laugh, the term "member" would be very loosly used in your case, you dont want to know anything about the club except to buy your handicap

Yes i want to find the cheapest possible handicap?Have you got a problem with this?

I live and work in Dublin, am from cork and play GAA down there so travel most weekends, and to top it off my girlfriend is living in waterford. Im not exactly wealthy either. My only friend who takes golf any way seriously is a member of a very nice and prestigious club in cork so he is rarely available,

The only way i can get regular competitive golf is by taking a cheap country membership somewhere, and playing an open whatever weekends i can, whatever part of the country im in. Im out in cork tomorrow as it happens.

Do you want to go back to the days when the only way of getting a handicap was by joining an exclusive and overpriced members course, or by playing on a rubbish track at a bad time in a sh*te society day?

I have handed in a lot of cards this year in 8 different golf clubs, so im not a bandit. When my life settles down in a few years i fully plan on joining a club properly and becoming part of the social/competitive/team aspect of it all.

Until then i want to play competitively and build my game and lower my handicap in preparation for the day i do become a member of a proper home club. Until then i will continue to "buy" my handicap from the lowest bidder.

I apologise if this was an overreaction or a rant, but i love golf and am as dedicated to it as anyone else on this board. Im just doing what im doing to suit my situation, and why shouldnt i do it as cheap as possible? Im sick of these attitudes to people like me on the first tee and elsewhere. i for one will be the first to welcome all of the nomad golfers to open days when i do settle at a club

Conor J

Unglika Norse wrote: »

Thats a laugh, the term "member" would be very loosly used in your case, you dont want to know anything about the club except to buy your handicap

with prices many clubs have charged over the years, its perfectly within reason for anyone to seek the best deal where ever they can.

Conor J

thats a nice looking place actually, thanks for the link.

Be_The_Ball

Hurler, I don't know much about this course, but it certainly looks good in the Pics. They are obviously quite flexible also regarding membership offers. I'm only up the road from them and i'll deffinitely be checking them out. Thanks for the link, I've been himming and hawing for a while now about how to go about getting my GUI for Open comps, this looks like it could be just the answer I was looking for. I'll try get a round in early next week and update this thread.

brians947

well its 600 for full membership. You could prob get newbridge for 850 but 50 is for spending in the restaurant. So in theory 800. Now on a sat or sunday morning its about 20 25 minutes from the redcow and is really nice course. Come on alot in the last few years.

Unglika Norse

I do have a problem with it, if everyone had your attitude there would be no traditional golf clubs, you say it yourself “when I do become a member of a proper club”, who is going to keep these “proper clubs” going until you and others with the same attitude decide to join them, if the course was over priced as a members club it was because that’s what the members had decided they wanted for people to play their club which they had built up over the years by paying fees and possibly levies, what makes you think they were overpriced, it a relavent thing if a person can afford to pay they do if they cant they don’t. Most members clubs spent their income on the course maybe some foolishly on extravagant clubhouses but that was their right as a members club to do so.

It was these type of members clubs that were the foundation of the GUI, until the farmers and speculators got in on the act, and started to open golf courses left right and centre this in turn has brought it about the situation now were by some clubs which are being run by financial institutions are putting in danger members clubs by now under pricing.

Members are leaving traditional members clubs club’s to buy handicaps around the country because they are there to be bought

To be frank I probably wouldn’t have posted except for the fact that imo you were as good as ridiculing the club of which you are a “member” or the club you might want to join, and this is I suppose in the main were I have the problem, they are good enough for whatever reason to give you a membership you should be good enough to give them your fullest support.

And you might expect a motion to be put before the munster delagates meeting this year seeking to do something about these types of memberships and even possibly only allowing full members of golf clubs to play in opens


By the way I never suggested that you where a bandit

Hacker111

I'm a member of a "traditional club", however, I'm all for cheap GUis and distance membership.... the country is in a financial meltdown and if people cannot afford 1k p.a. for clubs but want to play some open golf then go for it... its all about supply and demand..... the farmers and speculators will get burnt more and more over the next 5 yrs... the "traditional" good sized clubs will pull thru...

hurleronditch

Wow. Elitism is alive and well. So if i dont have a grand to spend on joining a 'traditional' club, the golf community doesn't welcome me? Nice to see golf has moved with the times.

Unglika Norse wrote: »

I do have a problem with it, if everyone had your attitude there would be no traditional golf clubs, you say it yourself “when I do become a member of a proper club”, who is going to keep these “proper clubs” going until you and others with the same attitude decide to join them, if the course was over priced as a members club it was because that’s what the members had decided they wanted for people to play their club which they had built up over the years by paying fees and possibly levies, what makes you think they were overpriced, it a relavent thing if a person can afford to pay they do if they cant they don’t. Most members clubs spent their income on the course maybe some foolishly on extravagant clubhouses but that was their right as a members club to do so.

Well as i explained, Im not in any way settled, so joining a members club makes no sense for me. Why would i overpay for joining a club now, when most likely in 10 years time when i am settled i will be somewhere completely different. Im currently 26. Its an evolution thing. I cant commit to a club now, but i will in the future. Im sure there are people like me who are settling with families who are doing exactly what i plan on doing in 10 years.

What makes me think they are overpriced is the balance in my bank account. Overpriced is a relative term and if i cant afford it, then it is overpriced. Until im at the stage where i can definitely commit to playing 20/30/40 rounds a year on one course then im not going to pay for membership there, it makes no sense.

Well ill tell you who helps to keep these clubs going. me. I played the bandon minor scratch today. I payed 25 euro for the round, i spent 11 euro on a sleeve of balls, water and a mars bar in the pro shop, and had a coke afterwards in the bar. That, green fees, societies etc all play a huge part in keeping these clubs going and healthily for the members.

Unglika Norse wrote: »

It was these type of members clubs that were the foundation of the GUI, until the farmers and speculators got in on the act, and started to open golf courses left right and centre this in turn has brought it about the situation now were by some clubs which are being run by financial institutions are putting in danger members clubs by now under pricing.

Members are leaving traditional members clubs club’s to buy handicaps around the country because they are there to be bought

But just because clubs were the foundation doesnt mean they have a god given right to be forever more. Dont get me wrong i hate hate hate hearing of a club or course closing, but do you really want to go back to the days when each town had one archaic members club, and you had to be from the better side to get a game in? Now everyone has a choice of courses no matter where they are in the country and the golf community is better for it. Is the GUI not all about inclusiveness and encouraging as many people as possible to play the game? if they didnt want the slievenamons and scarkes of this world operating the way they do then they would sure has hell not have affiliated them.

Unglika Norse wrote: »

To be frank I probably wouldn’t have posted except for the fact that imo you were as good as ridiculing the club of which you are a “member” or the club you might want to join, and this is I suppose in the main were I have the problem, they are good enough for whatever reason to give you a membership you should be good enough to give them your fullest support.

And you might expect a motion to be put before the munster delagates meeting this year seeking to do something about these types of memberships and even possibly only allowing full members of golf clubs to play in opens


By the way I never suggested that you where a bandit

I never ridiculed my club, and i support them quite fully. I give them 180 euro a year to play zero rounds of golf on their course and send me a bag tag. the gui membership charge is about 30 euro a year, so they make 150 cold hard profit from me. Thats profit that goes into coaching juniors, or helping buy a new mower or tining machine, all beneficial to the club and its home members. im sure they dont complain.

All i want is to play regular competitive golf as cheap as possible, but as im all over the place, this ends up being on the open circuit. Id love to join a club properly but it wouldnt make sense. Its no cheaper for me to do it this way as i pay plenty in green fees and comp entries, but its nice that i can fit golf into my life, not fit my life into golf.

You say who will keep my club running til im settled and ready to join, well the members of the european, bandon, st margarets, tramore, kinsale, muskerry, forrest little, blainroe, wicklow, glen of the downs, stackstown, carton house and portsalon im sure are very glad of the money i have left in theyre pro shop and bar already this year, and im sure your club alos is very thankful for the visits of many people like me.

Bring your motion to the munster branch, but your club and many like it will regret it.

Daithio9

Unglika Norse wrote: »

And you might expect a motion to be put before the munster delagates meeting this year seeking to do something about these types of memberships and even possibly only allowing full members of golf clubs to play in opens

Have you ever been to or read the minutes of the Munster branch AGM?.
Every year there're countless nonsensical motions put forward by insular/backward thinking clubs, if your motion is to go forward this year it would be top of that list and I'll wager you any amount of money that your proposal will not be passed.

jimjo

Absolutely stupid motion going to Munster council if that even does go through. If you pick up a good munster paper "The Examiner", everyweek they do a section when a club manager is asked questions about their club and without fail they say there greens fees are down, some members not paying there subs, they need money etc... How the hell can these clubs crying out for money (granted, some more than otheres) effectively shots themselves in the foot by not allowing people pay money to play in their opens. I like Hur have great sympathy for any club going under, and hate to see it but if the munster branch do push through this motion good luck to them. You'll have Bank Managers all over Munster, as their banks own a few courses, going mad knowing that their cutting off a potential source of revenue, great business plan that is...

Fair points there Hur. I can understand your situation, and too wouldn't see any point in you joining a club if you couldn't get out and play there not 20/30 times but at least 40/50 and more times in one year. One thing I would miss in your situation is inter club comps, but you cant have everything i suppose and yes i am a full member of a traditional club opposed to playing the open circuit, although i do like playing open comps as well. Variety the spice of life and all that.

Ryan T

Scarke used to be a par 3 golf course but has tried for years to upgrade to GUI status.

Some of those greens and bunkers are old style very flat. Any bunkers i see on the pics are very poorly designed.

But if its only a handicap you are after that great value for money.

flugel

Boards to the rescue again!

Application going in the post this evening!

fcleere

scarke is a nice enough course. the first 9 are relatively new and i don't really like them, just a personnal thing. but the back 9 are very nice. its a straightforward enough course, enjoyable to play

Unglika Norse

This thread came up when I was searching for something else, It's gas when you read through something like this and see that the GUI did do something about distance handicaps by bringing in the 3 card rule.

Anyway, the query, when did Scarke close, ??? actually I should edit that as they may not have closed, but when did they lose their affiliation. It must have been very sudden.

Kevinmarkham

Unglika Norse wrote: »

This thread came up when I was searching for something else, It's gas when you read through something like this and see that the GUI did do something about distance handicaps by bringing in the 3 card rule.

Anyway, the query, when did Scarke close, ??? actually I should edit that as they may not have closed, but when did they lose their affiliation. It must have been very sudden.

I can't answer the affiliation question, but it changed from an 18 hole course to an 18 hole par 3 course about 3 months ago. Still open for business, but the girl at the clubhouse said they just weren't getting the business to keep it as a full course.

Unglika Norse

Thanks Kevin,