Thinking of joining Slade Valley

dar_cool

They have a great offer for under 35's for 595, I abseloutly love the course,I grew up in saggart so was always looking to join but never could. Am I mad?:D

J6P

You love the course and you're getting a bargain. Go for it!

dar_cool

Thanks, just the kind of advice I was after:D

Russman

No, you're not mad.
I'm a member so I'm probably biased, but its a decent track for what it is. Its hilly and quirky in places but the new holes have IMO really made the back nine a very good test of golf. Yes, there are some poor holes on the front nine, but I think as a normal members type course it can hold its own.

dar_cool

Yeah the new holes are class. Love the dogleg right. Savage hole. Hilly and quirky is good rather than flat and boring.

whizbang

Having hacked it all the way up the hill, I don't feel like hitting it back down, just to do the same climb thing again, and again, and again.

If it was a 14 hole course, i would quite like it.

ShriekingSheet

Absolutely go for it. That's a really good deal.

ForeRight

The ball goes miles off the tee when you're playing in the clouds up there.

I live beside it and have played it quite a lot. During the winter even more so than other courses you don't get out as it's a couple of degrees colder up there and it's frosty.


Tough test I've always found it.

clown2brown

During the summer I played at least 14 rounds up there with friends and considered joining in the new year. Having played there on Friday I would not go near membership having seen the majority of their bunkers being filled in. I like playing a course with plenty of bunkers and it seems that Slade are having money trouble which is why they are resorting to this.

Russman

clown2brown wrote: »

During the summer I played at least 14 rounds up there with friends and considered joining in the new year. Having played there on Friday I would not go near membership having seen the majorityof their bunkers being filled in. I like playing a course with plenty of bunkers and it seems that Slade are having money trouble which is why they are resorting to this.

Out of 30 bunkers, 8 were closed and 7 reduced in size, 1 is being added (no idea where).

First Up

ForeRight wrote: »

The ball goes miles off the tee when you're playing in the clouds up there.

I live beside it and have played it quite a lot. During the winter even more so than other courses you don't get out as it's a couple of degrees colder up there and it's frosty.


Tough test I've always found it.

It can get foggy as well. I see the €595 offer excludes Saturdays but if you don't mind that and like the course, it's a good deal. Not sure how the 36 year old members will feel about it though!

cgh

Slade is a good course, but under great financal difficulty, the €595 is a good offer but what are the terms and condiditons, if you cant play on a saturday does that mean your excluded from weekend competitions. which would mean your not eligibale to win a captains or any other of the bigger comps.

Russman

There's separate competitions on both Saturdays and Sundays so I would have thought its only the Saturday comps you can't enter. AFAIK the Monthly Medals from April to September are split evenly between Saturdays and Sundays ( ie 3 on a Saturday and 3 on a Sunday) to cater for people who can or can't make one of the days on a weekend.

I'm only a regular member BTW, I'm not involved in any way, shape or form in the running of the club, so the above is an assumption, but seems to make sense.

dar_cool

No you can play sundays and if you want to play saturday its just an extra 10euro and you can play all the major comps.

cgh

then thats a good offer.

Seve OB

I'm not a fan. Don't like the criss cross holes. Doesn't help that I've been hit by wayward balls up there.....

ShriekingSheet

stevieob wrote: »

I'm not a fan. Don't like the criss cross holes. Doesn't help that I've been hit by wayward balls up there.....

It's only one cris cross to be fair, and it's done in a fairly smart way ie: the fairways cut each other at points that aren't really in play - as far is I remember.

dar_cool

Yeah as long as your aware of the guys teeing off when your going across its not too much of a problem, thanks for the help lads, think ive made up my mind, it suits me down to the ground, i dont play much during the winter, my mother lives only down the road so plenty of mammys dinners and i genuinely love the course layout, people give out about the hilly nature of it but i love that!

levitronix

Ye can give me a shout when the semi opens are on

dar_cool

Myself and Parlance played up there today in a gale. Despite the crazy wind we had a ball. I think I'm definitely going to join. The back nine is the greatest string of holes on a parkland in a long while. Forgot how much I like the place. See you up there soon Russman

Russman

dar_cool wrote: »

Myself and Parlance played up there today in a gale. Despite the crazy wind we had a ball. I think I'm definitely going to join. The back nine is the greatest string of holes on a parkland in a long while. Forgot how much I like the place. See you up there soon Russman

Nice one, can't imagine how windy it was up there today !! Yeah, I do rate the back nine alright, as tough as almost anything around. Front nine has a few weak holes, but, hey, can't have everything.
I won't be back playing til April/May (injured) but we'll definitely have a game in the summer.

dar_cool

Russman wrote: »

Nice one, can't imagine how windy it was up there today !! Yeah, I do rate the back nine alright, as tough as almost anything around. Front nine has a few weak holes, but, hey, can't have everything.
I won't be back playing til April/May (injured) but we'll definitely have a game in the summer.

Yeah was crazy on the high holes. Didn't stop parlance from launching a hybrid 215 yards to within 15 feet on the 7th for an eagle putt!!
Yeah that would be great. Look forward to it.

FixdePitchmark

dar_cool wrote: »

Yeah was crazy on the high holes. Didn't stop parlance from launching a hybrid 215 yards to within 15 feet on the 7th for an eagle putt!!
Yeah that would be great. Look forward to it.

Did you not know it is not possible to hit a hybrid 215 yards :rolleyes::)

Next you will be saying you know a lad who lost 8.8 (?) shots off his handicap.

ForeRight

9-10-11 are up there with the three toughest holes you will play on the bounce anywhere.

PARlance

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PARlance

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PARlance

I was just glad I had my putter for a very rare attempt at an eagle
(It was in the boot for the first 6 holes )

Had a great round up there despite the wind.
Truth be told, the climb on 11 and 18 nearly killed me, I was on my knees after them. Time to get onto the gym equipment. A round a week up there would do wonders.

Would agree with Russman, there are a few weak holes on the front 9 but they were well forgotten about once the back 9 gets going. Good hole after good on the back.

The under 35 membership is very appealing I have to admit. Some thinking to be done over the next few weeks.

cgh

its a good all round course lets be honest,
the first is a decent opening hole, the second a very decieving par 3, the third is by no means weak, you need to play smart. the forth is a weak par 4, the 5th a very nice par 3, the sixth can be weak ( I drove the green last year ), the seventh is a easy birdie for a par 5, the eight is weak enough. after that batten down the hatches, the ninth is a wicked par 4, 10 is a trickie par 4, 11 has to be up there as one of thoughest index 1's ever, 12 is a weak enough par 4, 13 a good par three, 14 is a great dogleg par 4. 15 would be a weak enouh par 4 but the green is wickedly hard. 16 is handy enough just hit straight down and a lob wedge for a second shot in, seventeen the same and eighteen is just a killer of a finish.......

all said its a great test of golf up there. those who thinks its easy should try it.... even more so when its windy up there......

just a pity the politics of the club have it nearly in financial ruin.

ForeRight

Just something else on Slade.

IMO it's totally set up for a fader.

Of the par 4's and 5's holes number 1,4,6,7,8,11,14,15,16,17 all shape left to right. The other holes are par 3's and couple of straight ones and I can only think of the 3rd and 10th that shape right to left.

I fade the ball and always seem to score well there but I've played with very low handicap lads who are big high drawers of the ball and they really struggled.

ShriekingSheet

ForeRight wrote: »

Just something else on Slade.

IMO it's totally set up for a fader.

Of the par 4's and 5's holes number 1,4,6,7,8,11,14,15,16,17 all shape left to right. The other holes are par 3's and couple of straight ones and I can only think of the 3rd and 10th that shape right to left.

I fade the ball and always seem to score well there but I've played with very low handicap lads who are big high drawers of the ball and they really struggled.

Eh, what? 1 and 4 are (a) straight holes and (b) have OB and trees up the left hand side. 7 and 11 also play dead straight.

Fair enough, there probably are a couple of holes suited to cutting it, but some of those examples... well, anyone who starts it up the left off that first tee, good luck to them!

ShriekingSheet

cgh wrote: »

just a pity the politics of the club have it nearly in financial ruin.

What kind of stuff, as a matter of interest?

A couple of my old neighbours (long dead) were founder members and brought me up to play when I was a kid. They always had stories about the arguments at committee meetings and AGMs, but I thought that was the same everywhere.