Balbriggan Golf Club

kelbal

Hi Guys, I'm considering moving my membership to Balbriggan. Just wondering what opinions people may have of the course and/or general setup of the place - positive or negative.
I presume there's Saturday & Sunday comps pretty much every weekend?
Does the course close much due to flooding?

thanks

Dealerz

kelbal wrote: »

Hi Guys, I'm considering moving my membership to Balbriggan. Just wondering what opinions people may have of the course and/or general setup of the place - positive or negative.
I presume there's Saturday & Sunday comps pretty much every weekend?
Does the course close much due to flooding?

thanks

I'm not a member, but I think it's a super course. Temp greens in the winter though 😢

knockoncd

I joined at the beginning of the year, overall very pleased with the move, friendly membership, plenty of comps and a fine, though extremely challenging course.
Clubhouse is perfectly adequate for pint etc if required also.

gripcasey

Hi,
I have been a member for a number of years now, and I might a bit bias but think its a very good course since its redevelopment in 2008. Seldom closed due to flooding except if its extreme weather. It has been still open for play when neighbouring courses have been closed due to flooding.
Competitions are every Sat& Sun Men's Open every Thurs April to Sept.

If you would like a courtesy round to see if you like course pm me and I will arrange it for you.

kelbal

gripcasey wrote: »

Hi,
I have been a member for a number of years now, and I might a bit bias but think its a very good course since its redevelopment in 2008. Seldom closed due to flooding except if its extreme weather. It has been still open for play when neighbouring courses have been closed due to flooding.
Competitions are every Sat& Sun Men's Open every Thurs April to Sept.

If you would like a courtesy round to see if you like course pm me and I will arrange it for you.

Thanks a mil, still considering what I'll do, but I'll certainly give you a shout if I'm serious about it

Roger_007

I'm not a member but as I live locally, I play the course as often as I can. There is a men's open every Thursday. When I play in the open comp as a guest of a member, which I usually do, the green fee is only €10. Otherwise it's €15. Superb value in either case.
I think it's a super course and more difficult than it looks at first. The guys in the pro shop are particularly friendly and helpful.
I suggest you play in the open comp a couple of times to get a feel for the place!
Good luck.

pistol_75

Dealerz wrote: »

I'm not a member, but I think it's a super course. Temp greens in the winter though 😢

Not sure where you got your information about temporary greens in the winter. The only time there will be temporary greens is in the case of frost, which is the case in all clubs if they bother to play during frost.

The greens are sand based and playable all year round with no problem.

Dealerz

pistol_75 wrote: »

Not sure where you got your information about temporary greens in the winter. The only time there will be temporary greens is in the case of frost, which is the case in all clubs if they bother to play during frost.

The greens are sand based and playable all year round with no problem.

If I'm wrong I'm sorry for the incorrect fact. We played it in feb/march and there were temp greens on nearly every hole and mats nearly on every tee box- which looked as though they would be used during winter.

pistol_75

Dealerz wrote: »

If I'm wrong I'm sorry for the incorrect fact. We played it in feb/march and there were temp greens on nearly every hole and mats nearly on every tee box- which looked as though they would be used during winter.

No problem. There must have been some work (maybe hollow coring) going on when you played. This would not normally be the case. Mats would be used over the winter alright to protect some tee boxes.

Dealerz

pistol_75 wrote: »

No problem. There must have been some work (maybe hollow coring) going on when you played. This would not normally be the case. Mats would be used over the winter alright to protect some tee boxes.

When we played, the greens were like dollymount beach- couldn't putt on them at all as there was so much sand- not the clubs fault as I booked through tee times. I liked the course so much I'm hoping to play the scratch cup next week and some opens during the summer- hopefully the sand will be gone by then 😜

Felexicon

How much is the membership in Balbriggan if you don't mind me asking?

pistol_75

Felexicon wrote: »

How much is the membership in Balbriggan if you don't mind me asking?

There is no entrance fee. Annual sub works out around €1250 odd. This includes €100 restaurant credit

gripcasey

Greens are great at the moment. Intermediate & Minor Scratch Cups are on Sat 24thMay 2014 Time sheets are open at moment. Course is looking good for open week hope you enjoy it.

kelbal

Can I ask 2 more questions, that probably only members can answer.....

(1) Is the club on the BRS system, so I can book tee-times online?

(2) What's it generally like for dropping up on a summers evening for a few holes? My current course has 3 9 hole courses, so when you drop up there's great variety for where to go. I'd be worried you'd drop up for a casual game after work and find 15 people waiting on the first tee.

thanks

pistol_75

kelbal wrote: »

Can I ask 2 more questions, that probably only members can answer.....

(1) Is the club on the BRS system, so I can book tee-times online?

(2) What's it generally like for dropping up on a summers evening for a few holes? My current course has 3 9 hole courses, so when you drop up there's great variety for where to go. I'd be worried you'd drop up for a casual game after work and find 15 people waiting on the first tee.

thanks

No problem. The club uses BRS. No issue with the second either. Might be others around but never a queue or wait to get out as such

kelbal

pistol_75 wrote: »

No problem. The club uses BRS. No issue with the second either. Might be others around but never a queue or wait to get out as such

thanks a mil

kelbal

Been thinking about it over the weekend, and think I probably will go for membership in the new year (I've already paid a year's membership in my current place).
One thing that occurred to me is, how secure are the finances of the club in general. I'd hate to move and find out there's a NAMA repossession in the pipeline
It's a well established club in the heart of the community, with no other courses in the immediate vicinity - so I'd imagine it's running fine, but just thought I'd check.
thanks

newuser89

gripcasey wrote: »

Greens are great at the moment. Intermediate & Minor Scratch Cups are on Sat 24thMay 2014 Time sheets are open at moment. Course is looking good for open week hope you enjoy it.

What is the handicap limits for the above scratch cups

gripcasey

I think its 10 to 17 and 18 and above. Pro shop would confirm on booking.

pistol_75

kelbal wrote: »

Been thinking about it over the weekend, and think I probably will go for membership in the new year (I've already paid a year's membership in my current place).
One thing that occurred to me is, how secure are the finances of the club in general. I'd hate to move and find out there's a NAMA repossession in the pipeline
It's a well established club in the heart of the community, with no other courses in the immediate vicinity - so I'd imagine it's running fine, but just thought I'd check.
thanks

The club would be on a sound financial footing based on last years accounts.

Felexicon

Played here for the first time today and have to say it surpassed all expectations I had of the course. The greens are immaculate, the fairways cut short and the rough is just that. The layout of the holes is excellent and the par 3s are very picturesque.
A huge thanks to GripCasey who organized the round, now if only the office would get back to me about membership details.
If anyone hasn't played it I'd highly recommend it.

Dealerz

Felexicon wrote: »

Played here for the first time today and have to say it surpassed all expectations I had of the course. The greens are immaculate, the fairways cut short and the rough is just that. The layout of the holes is excellent and the par 3s are very picturesque.
A huge thanks to GripCasey who organized the round, now if only the office would get back to me about membership details.
If anyone hasn't played it I'd highly recommend it.

I'm playing it in the scratch cup tomorrow, looking forward to it!

Felexicon

Dealerz wrote: »

I'm playing it in the scratch cup tomorrow, looking forward to it!

Enjoy it. The course is in excellent shape.

gripcasey

Flexicon glad you enjoyed the course, office will be getting back to you Monday or Tuesday.
Dealerz hope you enjoy tomorrow, out injured myself going to miss all of open week.

kelbal

Thanks for all the helpful info guys. When I posted my 1st post, it was a vague notion in my head, but now I'm pretty certain I'll be joining in January - actually, maybe October, I think I can get 15 months for the price of 12
I'm living in the area for 9 years, its daft I've been driving 25mins+ for every game in my current club, when the 8th/11th tee/practice ground is a lob wedge from my front door (bonus point if you can tell me the road I live on )

newuser89

kelbal wrote: »

Thanks for all the helpful info guys. When I posted my 1st post, it was a vague notion in my head, but now I'm pretty certain I'll be joining in January - actually, maybe October, I think I can get 15 months for the price of 12
I'm living in the area for 9 years, its daft I've been driving 25mins+ for every game in my current club, when the 8th/11th tee/practice ground is a lob wedge from my front door (bonus point if you can tell me the road I live on )

Old coach road

Dealerz

Felexicon wrote: »

Enjoy it. The course is in excellent shape.

You were right, course was in fantastic condition, well the front 9 is, as I left after 9 holes, 2.5hrs for 9 holes (strokes, 3balls) was just too much for me.

Off 18hc, started snowman, par, par- the rough was very punishing (on the 1st for sure 😥). The greens are best I've played on in a long time, pure!!

Will get back for more than one Thursday open this summer- just a pity the course is a bit too far from me to join and consider it "local".

Felexicon

Dealerz wrote: »

You were right, course was in fantastic condition, well the front 9 is, as I left after 9 holes, 2.5hrs for 9 holes (strokes, 3balls) was just too much for me.

Off 18hc, started snowman, par, par- the rough was very punishing (on the 1st for sure 😥). The greens are best I've played on in a long time, pure!!

Will get back for more than one Thursday open this summer- just a pity the course is a bit too far from me to join and consider it "local".

Yeah I got up close and personal with the rough a few times. It's so thick and just swallows the ball. But to be fair I suppose that's what it's there for.
The greens are immaculate all the way round and as my playing partner noted there was a distinct lack of unrepaired pitch marks which was nice.

Oh and the back 9 is worth another trip.

kelbal

newuser89 wrote: »

Old coach road

kelbal

knockoncd, gripcasey, pistol_75 - you guys are members, in terms of the weekend comps, I won't really know anyone when I join - are the timesheets accommodating for lone-rangers coming along and finding a slot? I assume there's plenty of availability? Would it be perfectly the norm for me to throw my name on the timesheet at 9am on my own and let others fill in the remaining 3 slots?
Do the club use the 'waiting list' feature of the BRS system, whereby if the timesheet is full at the time I'm interested in playing, I can put myself on a waiting list and I will automatically be put in when someone cancels?

thanks

gripcasey

kelbal wrote: »

knockoncd, gripcasey, pistol_75 - you guys are members, in terms of the weekend comps, I won't really know anyone when I join - are the timesheets accommodating for lone-rangers coming along and finding a slot? I assume there's plenty of availability? Would it be perfectly the norm for me to throw my name on the timesheet at 9am on my own and let others fill in the remaining 3 slots?
Do the club use the 'waiting list' feature of the BRS system, whereby if the timesheet is full at the time I'm interested in playing, I can put myself on a waiting list and I will automatically be put in when someone cancels?

thanks

Yes lots of single players just put name on sheet and join up with 2 or 3 other players that's not a problem do it myself at times. Regards waiting list, none, but spaces always come available its just a matter of checking time sheet during the week. I've yet not to be able to play at a suitable time as a single player, it's bit harder if your looking for a fourball slot late on.

FixdePitchmark

Love Balbriggan - I think it is more a case that it was the first good Parkland I ever got to play.

I know the course very well - but it has changed a little over the years.

Must play a competition on it at some time.