Castlewarden or Craddockstown

foremee

Hello all,

After much research into clubs that are less than 30 minutes from my house I plan on leaving my own club joining one of the above clubs this year. I have played them both a few times and it's a toss up as to which I prefer as they are both lovely courses.

They both have excellent deals which I would be eligible for. Craddockstown have an under 35 membership for €550 plus gui and Castlewarden have an under 40 lifestyle membership for €695.

I was wondering if there are any members of the above clubs here who could answer a couple of questions for me? Basically I'm looking to know what the club atmosphere is like? How does the course hold up in the winter? Is it closes much? Do they use temp greens? What are membership numbers like? What is the time sheet like at the weekend? And Is there much society golf played there?

Also any general comments that people have about either course would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
Foremee

spacecoyote

foremee wrote: »

Hello all,

After much research into clubs that are less than 30 minutes from my house I plan on leaving my own club joining one of the above clubs this year. I have played them both a few times and it's a toss up as to which I prefer as they are both lovely courses.

They both have excellent deals which I would be eligible for. Craddockstown have an under 35 membership for €550 plus gui and Castlewarden have an under 40 lifestyle membership for €695.

I was wondering if there are any members of the above clubs here who could answer a couple of questions for me? Basically I'm looking to know what the club atmosphere is like? How does the course hold up in the winter? Is it closes much? Do they use temp greens? What are membership numbers like? What is the time sheet like at the weekend? And Is there much society golf played there?

Also any general comments that people have about either course would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
Foremee

Hi. I'm a member in Castlewarden. As far as I know at the moment there is a waiting list for the under 40, lifestyle membership. With the lifestyle membership you cannot win the main prize in the majors.

Another thing to note is that the competition fee is 5.50

In terms of atmosphere, I find it really good. They seem to put a lot of work into building relationships in the place & I've found everyone there to be very friendly in general. Things like, at Christmas, they had a Santa in the clubhouse for all members to bring their children to. They run a fair number of different team competitions & a winter league to get people mixed together.

This winter, i think the course has been closed maybe once to my memory.

They have what they call their Ice Course which has mats to tee off & temporary greens. They only use it as a last resort & only for as long as it is required. I've had to play on it once this winter so far. There have been days where everyone playing before 10.30 had to play the ice course, but after that the full course opened.

The competitions over the winter in general have been 9-holes with an option to play front or back as there is less light & enough demand for time slots.

I'm not sure of the exact numbers for membership. I've never had trouble getting on to the timesheet. It opens at 7.30pm on a Monday for the following weekend. The usual times that most people are looking at the timesheet will fill up quickest. They have a waiting list system that works pretty effectively if you miss your ideal time.

There is little or no society traffic at the weekends.

Hope that helps. Let me know if you want any further info.

foremee

That's great info thanks. It sounds like a decent club. I didn't know there was a waiting list though. That might be problematic. Is there a waiting list for the full membership too? Also is the comp fee a different price?

spacecoyote

There is no waiting list for full membership as far as I know.

To be honest, I don't want to commit something here that I may be wrong about, so the below is really me speculating. Basically, it looks like they've had a lot of their existing younger members look to switch to the lifestyle option, and I think they are looking at the demand to determine what's a sustainable number of members they can handle switching without hurting the clubs finances too aversely, but I'm not 100%.

Comp fee doesn't change at all, irrespective of membership type.

In terms of facilities, they opened up a range last year, and there is a nice walled chipping & putting area. There is no practice bunker at the moment, it was taken out when the range was put in, but there are plans in the works to build a new one in the near future.

n2o

Hi, another Castlewarden member here. As spacecoyote said, there is no waiting list for full membership. As for the lifestyle membership, the number was increased this year so there is a chance that there are a couple of spots left. Best bet is to ring the office and ask.

Echoing what's already being said, new driving range, 2 practice greens & chipping area. Bunkers have all been rebuilt in the last couple of years. New practice bunker is going to be put in.

Timesheet can be busy on a Saturday but in general there isn't a problem getting out. Sunday is never a problem. Good atmosphere and participation in interclub etc. Societies are only ever on weekdays. And most importantly, it's financially sound.

the lawman

Whats the cost for joining Castlewarden lads?

Mr abbey

I'm a member in Craddockstown. Course is in excellent condition all year round, with great drainage in the winter and hardly ever closes. Really comes into it's own in the summer months, and is an excellent challenge. Play temp's very, very occassionally or sometimes partially in winter in bad frost.

They are always working consistently to maintain standards and make any possible improvements with short, medium and long term projects.

Very friendly atmosphere and easy to get to know people. Time sheet goes live at 7 on a Monday and whilst it can be a scramble at this time of year to get on, with the limited window available, you can usually always get a spot if not looking for a particular time and the waiting list works very well.

Can highly recommend it and especially with the under 35 offer its an absolute bargain.

n2o

the lawman wrote: »

Whats the cost for joining Castlewarden lads?

Full membership is €1200 including GUI, insurance, etc.

http://www.castlewardengolfclub.ie/visitors/membership.html

foremee

Mr abbey wrote: »

I'm a member in Craddockstown. Course is in excellent condition all year round, with great drainage in the winter and hardly ever closes. Really comes into it's own in the summer months, and is an excellent challenge. Play temp's very, very occassionally or sometimes partially in winter in bad frost.

They are always working consistently to maintain standards and make any possible improvements with short, medium and long term projects.

Very friendly atmosphere and easy to get to know people. Time sheet goes live at 7 on a Monday and whilst it can be a scramble at this time of year to get on, with the limited window available, you can usually always get a spot if not looking for a particular time and the waiting list works very well.

Can highly recommend it and especially with the under 35 offer its an absolute bargain.

Thanks for the info Mr Abbey. It sounds like a decent club to be a member of and great news about the good drainage in winter. Could I ask what the membership numbers are like if you know and what the comp fees are? Also how easy is it just to put your name down on the timesheet with two others if you plan on entering the comp by yourself? Is that generally ok with everyone?

Mr abbey

foremee wrote: »

Thanks for the info Mr Abbey. It sounds like a decent club to be a member of and great news about the good drainage in winter. Could I ask what the membership numbers are like if you know and what the comp fees are? Also how easy is it just to put your name down on the timesheet with two others if you plan on entering the comp by yourself? Is that generally ok with everyone?

Not sure of exact membership numbers but competition fee is 5 euro. Members only competitons every weekend and then some bank holidays they have open scrambles and fourballs, etc. Wednesday is mens open comp as well. Also, 1-2 everyday is reserved for members. So even if there is something else on you can get out between.

Yeah, it's totally fine to put your name down with anyone, very easy to get to know people doing that and a lot of people do it all the time. Booking goes live online at 7 pm on a Monday for the coming weekend. Usually 3 on a line, so it you have three lads that play as a group, 1 books for the 3, and the same thing for two....so any other spaces on lines are free.

Hope this helps, need any other info just ask.

foremee

No that's a great help Mr Abbey, thanks. I really appreciate the information that you and the lads from Castlewarden have given me about the two clubs