DonabateGC V's BeaverstownGC

niallmur

Hi Guys,

I am thinking a getting a golf membership( fairly new to golf less than 20 rounds) as I would like to try and play once a week and make use of some of the facilities a membership entails (practice green, putting green, Handicap!! etc)

I would love to hear from members or regular users of DonabateGC or BeaverstownGC to get their input of the course and facilities these two clubs offer.

Thanks in advance!

Tiger Mcilroy

niallmur wrote: »

Hi Guys,

I am thinking a getting a golf membership( fairly new to golf less than 20 rounds) as I would like to try and play once a week and make use of some of the facilities a membership entails (practice green, putting green, Handicap!! etc)

I would love to hear from members or regular users of DonabateGC or BeaverstownGC to get their input of the course and facilities these two clubs offer.

Thanks in advance!

Donabate membership is on golf deals at the minute for 50% off. Im not a member but have played the course and 699 for 12 months is great value.

dk1982

Tiger Mcilroy wrote: »

Donabate membership is on golf deals at the minute for 50% off. Im not a member but have played the course and 699 for 12 months is great value.

It's €699 for 16 months on Just Treats Golf today. Played it a couple of years ago and from what i remember it's decent. That's cracking value.

niallmur

Thanks Guys, That is great value so signed up

mike12

Great course for a beginner all right and super value.
Beaverstown then Balcarrick and Donabate if i had to choose but Donabate is a nice track to start your golfing career on. Although i put the Island and Corballis before both but if you area beginner Corballis would put you off golf for ever.

mike12

See there are only 10 Available at that price and 9 are gone.

FixdePitchmark

mike12 wrote: »

Great course for a beginner all right and super value.
Beaverstown then Balcarrick and Donabate if i had to choose but Donabate is a nice track to start your golfing career on. Although i put the Island and Corballis before both but if you area beginner Corballis would put you off golf for ever.

TheDoc

Bit late to this, buit I'd say Beaverstown every time. Much superior course, good membership there and a much more stable club financially.

Donabate have been in the horrors financially for a few years now. I wouldn't be comfy handing over subs to them unless there was assurances their financial situation was in order.

I lived in Donabate for a year and got flyers in the door every week. At one point there was a 7 day membership going for €450. Absolutely sweating for membership.

i'd be asking some questions before handing over 700 quid.

mike12

Paid by Credit Card and you will get your cash back if anything goes wrong.

TheDoc

mike12 wrote: »

Paid by Credit Card and you will get your cash back if anything goes wrong.

Not exactly. It depends what "goes" wrong. If the club falls into liquidation and needs to be broken apart and sold to regain money to pay creditors, "members" will be the last people on that list.

Basically the club will be sold off to pay money to the banks and any other financial creditors, as they always take precedence.

When you make a payment like this, I'd read the fine print. Because in the event of the club collapsing financially, your most often not entitled to any rebate or refund, and when you join a list of creditors you will most likely never see a penny back.

Turvey used to only be down the road, and is the prime example of how bad things can go. Know a few lads who got scorched subbing there while the club was in turmoil. And the club wasn't, for obvious reason, being very transparent about it. They needed revenue so werent going to turn away potential members.

When it all caved they didn't see a penny back of their subs.

niallmur

I have lived in Donabate for 7 years and never once got a flier in the door! It has not gone bust in those 7 years so for 700 quid worth a gamble

Dr.Rieux

TheDoc wrote: »

Not exactly. It depends what "goes" wrong. If the club falls into liquidation and needs to be broken apart and sold to regain money to pay creditors, "members" will be the last people on that list.

Basically the club will be sold off to pay money to the banks and any other financial creditors, as they always take precedence.

When you make a payment like this, I'd read the fine print. Because in the event of the club collapsing financially, your most often not entitled to any rebate or refund, and when you join a list of creditors you will most likely never see a penny back.

Turvey used to only be down the road, and is the prime example of how bad things can go. Know a few lads who got scorched subbing there while the club was in turmoil. And the club wasn't, for obvious reason, being very transparent about it. They needed revenue so werent going to turn away potential members.

When it all caved they didn't see a penny back of their subs.

Paying by credit card don't visa effectively become the creditor and they're a secured creditor, they get the money back and pass it on to you. Happened when total fitness went under.

TheDoc

niallmur wrote: »

I have lived in Donabate for 7 years and never once got a flier in the door! It has not gone bust in those 7 years so for 700 quid worth a gamble

I was getting loads of them last summer, lived on the main street. It is going on for a few years so they are obviously making it year on year. I'd just be concerned.

They made an outragous approach to Balcarrick I believe, proposing to amalgamate the two clubs, and use Donabate as a Championship course, and all the members plod down to Ballcarrick. They seem to have a really unfounded high opinion of themselves, and the course. It's a a pretty average and uninspiring course. Granted I always enjoy playing it, it's mostly cause I've never had a bad game there

TheDoc

Dr.Rieux wrote: »

Paying by credit card don't visa effectively become the creditor and they're a secured creditor, they get the money back and pass it on to you. Happened when total fitness went under.

Depends. I'd imagine there is a pretty large amount of credit owed to a bank/financial institution for the creation of the clubhouse, and probably credit lines were extended to keep things afloat.

It's a rare and good situation whereby lower prioirty creditors can pull back some of their credit, but typically banks gobble up all the value of the liquidated assets, remembering that interest is owed aswell on the credit being paid off.

But yeha it's like infinetly better then paying cash.

dk1982

Another fifteen 16 month memberships available on Just Treats again today! "back by popular demand" apparently :-)

FixdePitchmark

dk1982 wrote: »

Another fifteen 16 month memberships available on Just Treats again today! "back by popular demand" apparently :-)

IN fairness - must be some of the best value golf in Dublin for a while

golfwallah

mike12 wrote: »

Paid by Credit Card and you will get your cash back if anything goes wrong.

On a point of information - you would not be paying the golf club directly - the credit card payment would be to just treats from whom you would be buying vouchers:

Voucher is valid for 7 day membership from 01-09-2014 to 31-12-2015. Please see your Just Treats voucher for redemption instructions.

Sounds like a good deal but I'm not so sure that credit card companies cover situations like this, if as you say "anything goes wrong" - you would need to check this out.

mike12

golfwallah wrote: »

On a point of information - you would not be paying the golf club directly - the credit card payment would be to just treats from whom you would be buying vouchers:


Sounds like a good deal but I'm not so sure that credit card companies cover situations like this, if as you say "anything goes wrong" - you would need to check this out.

Good Point

MartinAnt

Haven't played Donabate before, is it one of the better courses in North County Dublin for the (very) average golfer?

FixdePitchmark

Played Donabate today.

Tee Times.ie - had a few hours off and wanted to practice parkland golf. Have been there before.

Was sent out on the yellow to start The greens have been cored - honestly were so poor, I shouldn't have been sent out - but visitor 20 quid Saturday , no grounds for real complaint I guess - but was after 1600 hrs. Was just hoping after a 4 putt that it was only on one nine. Happily it was and the greens on the other nine and by look on the blue are very good - a long weekend of golf , but you can see they are very good greens (when right).

It is a pleasant enough place to play golf - only interruption a passionate GAA game - our real sport.

The course has mature trees and the holes are well defined by them , Unusual to start with a par 3 requiring a good iron off the bat, then a par 5 (reachable in 2) and then a good par 4.

The course is all on the one level - great for a quick game , but makes the holes feel very similar , if you are hitting the driver well, you will find yourself hitting wedges to most par 4s - an exception on yellow course is hole 5 - this is a little different to the rest (good hole) and on red the last hole you are hitting a 7 iron off a good drive.
The 6th on the yellow is a little different requiring a mid iron off tee.

So it is a nice enough round - not too testing , but is similar to at least a 100 courses in Ireland. The fact the greens and tee boxes are mostly on the same level takes a little from any course for me. Example were this ruins a good hole is the par 3 2nd on red.

The clubhouse is unreal - and you do sort of go "madness" - but we are where we are , and if you can join a golf club for 599 euro , and get the facilities - you couldn't go wrong with 27 holes.

So I'm not a big fan of that type of course , but at that price , it will make most golfers happy. It makes golf a game for all - not wildly expensive. Just over a tenner a week !

On Boards here, we have unrealistic standards at times and we tend to play lots of course and are spoilt, some of us go off and play the best course in the country. So we often are harsh on golf clubs not up to the NAMA standards.

Interesting to see how it pans out for clubs like Donabate in the future . They seem to be giving it a real go.

But it is tough on the Northside of Dublin for golf - too many near the airport area. Course busy enough on a Saturday - but GAA pitch 4 deep.