Winter Golf

Danny dyers double

Lads only took up the game in March and am hoping to play right through the year .
As iv never played in the Winter I having a clue how it will pan out .

Just a couple of questions lads .

I take it alot of courses get called off during the Winter but would any one know a couple that are relucdent to close in the Dublin area ??? It will be weekends only from now on so would help to have an idea of where to be ringing around first on a Saturday morning .

I love the game but I'm dying to see how I cope standing on a tee box at 9 o clock on a frezzeing December morning ðŸ˜႒ðŸ˜႒

charlieIRL

Unless the weather is very wet (when is it not?!!) or frosty a lot of courses will stay open. All competitions will be non counting, just for turkeys / hams etc so no handicap reduction / increase as there is a "lift / clean / place" rule in for the winter.

I'd be ringing earlier than a saturday morning for a round though as with the reduced playing time due to sunlight etc weekends can me mental busy and nearly always booked early.

ernieprice

I play out of Highfield Golf Club and the course played all last winter and never closed. One of our members even played with an orange ball when snow was on the ground. (madness or dedication).

charlieIRL

playing in snow? Really? That person would destroy the grass by walking on it. Even in frost its a big No-No.

Anatom

Danny, we'd play all year around in the Curragh. The only reason the course would be closed (or would see a competition just delayed for a couple of hours) would be for frost on the really bad days. Obviously, snow would shut everything down but that doesn't happen too often usually...

It can be a good time of year to try new things out - swing, new clubs, whatever. It keeps the hand in too and keeps you fit.

Also, as a parent, our 12-hole winter competitions allow me to get away more easily, as the missus likes the fact that I get home earlier on a Sunday morning!!

AldilaMan

I'm always amazed at people walking off the course after 9 or 12 holes just because the comp is 9 or 12 holes. Our 4 ball always play 18 in winter regardless of the competition but I could count the number of groups who play 18 in winter on one hand. You can get some fantastic fresh days in January and February around 10 or 11 degrees and lovely sunshine. Why not take advantage and play the 18. God knows we get enough miserable weather for the other half of winter.

bustercherry

Good luck if you not a member anywhere. Pain in the hole trying to get tee time on a half decent course, within acceptable travel time and at a reasonable price.

hades

One of the things we started doing last winter was something we called the "nine, wine and dine"

Generally speaking a lot of us play early at the weekend (around 7:30), but with bad mornings frost etc, we found it easier to play on a saturday afternoon and play things by ear. Our normal 3 ball picked up a few casual lads from our society, and all of a sudden we had between 6 and 15 lads playing on the saturday afternoon. The timesheet is almost always empty, so we play the club 11 or 14 hole competition, plus we put just €2 into a pot. The winner amongst us gets a bottle of wine, and the rest of the money is used to do the lottery. A few pints of the black stuff and some grub follows.

Always a great craic and a nice a relaxed way to get thru the winter golf season.

blackwhite

ernieprice wrote: »

I play out of Highfield Golf Club and the course played all last winter and never closed. One of our members even played with an orange ball when snow was on the ground. (madness or dedication).

I played their at the start of August, the course was half flooded and they were still letting people out. It was so bad that the cups on about 70% of the holes were full of water!

Got the impression that if someone showed up willing to pay a green fee, then regardless of conditions they'd be let out.


EDIT:
OP, around the Dublin area I played Roundwood a lot last Jan/Feb. Once there's no frost it tends to be open, and given its location it rarely seems to suffer from flooding.

link_2007

AldilaMan wrote: »

God knows we get enough miserable weather for the other half of winter.

And most of the summer :mad:

spacecoyote

Danny dyers double wrote: »

Lads only took up the game in March and am hoping to play right through the year .
As iv never played in the Winter I having a clue how it will pan out .

Just a couple of questions lads .

I take it alot of courses get called off during the Winter but would any one know a couple that are relucdent to close in the Dublin area ??? It will be weekends only from now on so would help to have an idea of where to be ringing around first on a Saturday morning .

I love the game but I'm dying to see how I cope standing on a tee box at 9 o clock on a frezzeing December morning ðŸ˜႒ðŸ˜႒

Your local spot Grange Castle tends to stay open for a good portion of the winter, unless its particularly frosty. A later tee time is definitely a safer bet, as some areas of the course take a good while to thaw out.

Tin_Cup

Don't mean to high jack the thread but just wondering does anyone know if the likes of Portmarnock Links continue running counting comps during the winter??