Hollystown Membership Options

Dr_Colossus

Thinking of changing club as a means of reducing travel time this year and weighing up Hollystown as a viable club. Have only played the course once during the Intermediate Scratch Cup last year and it was better than I was expecting. Alot of the threads on here regarding Hollystown are quite old so prior to contacting the club and playing the course again I'm hoping to get some new insight from existing members and fellow golfers.

The membership options and location suits so that's the main obstacle overcome. In terms of the course, what's the general condition like both in summer and winter, where there much days closed this year with rain and frost? How busy does it get, would expect with 27 holes in play there is always the flexiblity of getting in 9 holes of a summers evening but would this need to be booked prior to arrival or is it pretty easy to get out and play a few impromptu holes?

In terms of practice facilities, from memory there is a bit of a driving range, chipping green and putting green. What's the situation with the driving range, can you hit your own practice balls or do you have to purchase range balls in the club and if so what's the price of these? Is it a full length range or more of an area for mid irons?

What days are competitions held and what's the general turnout like. Also what are the competition fees and prizes like. Again from memory there is no pro shop on site so presume the prizes on offer are at least not limited to in store vouchers? How about timesheets, are they all on-line and open to all members a week to 10 days in advance or are certain key slots reserved for committee members and other notables?

At present I'm debating between the 5 day and full membership options. The only reason I might not go full membership is that I'm hoping to play alot of the Junior Scratch Cups and other open events this year and as such the 5 day membership would offer a convenient practice location for midweek sessions after work (hopefully twice a week) With the 5 day membership it looks like you still have the option of playing weekend competitions for a green fee of €16 but not sure if there's an additional competition fee on top.

Anyway apologies for all the questions and thanks for reading and hopefully offering some thoughts and opinions.

ShriekingSheet

Yes, I'm also interested in this.

One thing I've heard a bit is how hard it is to get on the timesheet. Can any member confirm or dispell that rumour? To be clear, If it's people trying to book a couple of days after the sheet opened and it's full, I wouldn't consider that an issue. These days you need to be on the ball. However, if it's hard to get on the sheet on the day it opens, or there's certain members who seem to be pre-booked in when it opens, that'd be an issue.

mike12

Hi,
I always have found it very short and very wet, some nice holes but a lot of it very similar.
Mike

ShriekingSheet

mike12 wrote: »

Hi,
I always have found it very short and very wet, some nice holes but a lot of it very similar.
Mike

I would've thought, at the price, the quality of the course design wouldn't be paramount (versus upkeep, greens etc). Samey holes would be acceptable at this price, in my book.

However, your point about drainage is another thing. If its unplayable a lot, or really crap to play on all winter, that's a big problem.

sydneybound

I was a member a few years back, joined in the so called ‘good time’, the owner was quite rude and abrupt with my enquiry. When I questioned the overpriced pro rata fee, as I was joining midyear, he replied either take it or leave it, maybe Hollystown isn’t for you. I see on their website the same chap still deals with membership now. I always felt this was an unprofessional approach and stuck in the memory bank. I’m sure these days they would be a lot more approachable.

The course has three nines so getting out for nine holes in the evening shouldn’t be a problem, however they are fussy about which nine you play. Do bear in mind though the place does get packed so you would have to leave it till 7:30/8ish in the summer months till you can have a good run of holes on your own.

The course is known to get very wet in the winter. It is closed an awful lot so don’t expect to play much winter golf. Member tee times again are quite difficult to get on a Saturday morning but to be fair in what club on a Saturday are they not.. I would marginally say the course is better than neighbor course Elmgreen up the road. Drainage in Elmgreen and Castleknock, another close by course, would be a lot better than Hollystown. This is the biggest problem at the club.

The membership is only €795 for the year so that’s very cheap; the course in the summer months is fair to good. For the five day option its €565 again not a bad price for midweek golf, to be honest at those prices it would fit the bill for many people.

BigChap1759

I was a member for three years although this was 4/5 years ago. The course was very wet in the winter so I would definitely ask if there has been work done on the drainage.

The other annoying thing was that I found it impossible to get a reasonable tee time at the weekend - they used to give some of the main morning slots across to tee times so I would always end up out at 12/1pm so again this is something I would ask about.

It was good value and suited me at a time when I didn't have the cash to join somewhere better in Dublin when hello money was still rife

Dr_Colossus

sydneybound wrote: »

The membership is only €795 for the year so that’s very cheap; the course in the summer months is fair to good. For the five day option its €565 again not a bad price for midweek golf, to be honest at those prices it would fit the bill for many people.

Thanks for the feedback and response, I'd disagree however with €795 being very cheap. It's reasonable in comparison to the exorbitant Dublin membership prices but for a course with reported bad draining it's expensive when you see top courses down the country ie Ballinrobe offering full membership for €625.

IanPoulter

Would you consider Black Bush. It's about 10 minutes further up the road through Ratoath. 27 holes - It's quite wet a the moment but so is everywhere. €999 full membership. They had an EGM last friday to introduce 5 day membership and an under 30's category membership. I think it was around €600 for the 5 day and €495 for under 30's. Lovely parkland course with excellent practice facilities. The clubhouse is now mortgage free. I joined this year. Best move ever - 7 minutes drive !!

GreeBo

Dr_Colossus wrote: »

Thanks for the feedback and response, I'd disagree however with €795 being very cheap. It's reasonable in comparison to the exorbitant Dublin membership prices but for a course with reported bad draining it's expensive when you see top courses down the country ie Ballinrobe offering full membership for €625.

"down the country" is not in Dublin though..."everything" is cheaper down the country.
Location is always going to play a part in the price of things like golf...

You wouldnt be looking at Hollystown if it wasnt convenient for you...you pay for that privilege.

Dr_Colossus

IanPoulter wrote: »

Would you consider Black Bush. It's about 10 minutes further up the road through Ratoath. 27 holes - It's quite wet a the moment but so is everywhere. €999 full membership. They had an EGM last friday to introduce 5 day membership and an under 30's category membership. I think it was around €600 for the 5 day and €495 for under 30's. Lovely parkland course with excellent practice facilities. The clubhouse is now mortgage free. I joined this year. Best move ever - 7 minutes drive !!

Yes I was considering Black Bush alright, have played it a few times and always enjoyed my round there. It has alot going for it with the 27 holes, practice facilities and a great pro shop however my intention of moving clubs was to cut down travel time and Black Bush is 30 mins door to door while Hollystown is 15.
I didn't know they were offering 5 day membership so might have to think about that since I'm no longer eligible for the under 30s unfortunately. My impression of Black Bush is that is has a vibrant junior membership base so would be concerned as to how busy it gets and particularly around the practice area on summer afternoons.

GreeBo wrote: »

"down the country" is not in Dublin though..."everything" is cheaper down the country.
Location is always going to play a part in the price of things like golf...

You wouldnt be looking at Hollystown if it wasnt convenient for you...you pay for that privilege.

True enough, I just don't understand how courses "down the country" can provide such service and facilities for such amounts when course here in the capital can't survive with larger membership bases and significantly more expensive subs. And it's not only modern clubs who borrowed exorbitant amounts to extend/develop in recent years but old members clubs with little or no overheads who charge expensive subs and large entries fees because they can. It is all supply and demand at the end of the day but that's not to say we have to like it.

GreeBo

cost of living is a lot more in Dublin, hence the wage bill of a club is a lot higher and the cost anytime an external party is required is higher again.
The vast majority of a clubs expenses (barring repayments) are wages.

For me joining a golf club, especially as you get older and have more responsibilities, is more about how often you are going to be able to use it than the quality of it.
Sure quality is important, but 10/10 quality once a month is worth less to me than 6-7/10 8 times a month.

IanPoulter

GreeBo wrote: »

cost of living is a lot more in Dublin, hence the wage bill of a club is a lot higher and the cost anytime an external party is required is higher again.
The vast majority of a clubs expenses (barring repayments) are wages.

For me joining a golf club, especially as you get older and have more responsibilities, is more about how often you are going to be able to use it than the quality of it.
Sure quality is important, but 10/10 quality once a month is worth less to me than 6-7/10 8 times a month.

+1