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Independent Golfer Ireland

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Comments

  • #662
    CalamariFritti
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,333 ✭✭✭CalamariFritti


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122952122#Comment_122952122

    I dont see that in my club at all. In fact due to fewer daylight hours we're often struggling to fit everyone in.

    Of course we'd all love to play in qualifying conditions all year long, but thats not realistic because or seasons just wouldnt give it. Thats just the reality of living in our latitude/climate. What can you do? Could be worse, could be living in Sweden. I'd rather play placing than not play at all.



  • #663
    coillcam
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,900 ✭✭✭coillcam


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122952122#Comment_122952122

    I echo @CalamariFritti. There are fewer daylight hours and tee times. We're all sunshine golfers for the most part 😁. Plus the course takes a pounding when it is winter time and will easily damage. All of this means playing less holes and rotating front/back etc to reduce the overall impact.

    A large proportion of people don't want to play in the cold or wet. It's the same reason you see fewer people jogging in winter and why the GAA season is summer/autumn based. Only the absolute headers like ourselves still play winter golf.

    Having counting comps would marginally attract more players but the the tee times aren't there and courses will be hammered with any extra traffic. Last winter we were closed 40-50% of the time from the bad weather. Think about why are green fees reduced in winter (off-season).



  • #664
    slave1
    Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 19,906 Mod ✭✭✭✭slave1


    C'mon people, how is it possible to have counting competitions, there's the Hamper bandits waiting with saliva dripping from their open mouths in anticipation

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  • #665
    bobster453
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,020 ✭✭✭bobster453


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122953097#Comment_122953097

    Never won one.

    Guess I am not a bandit then😆



  • #666
    slave1
    Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 19,906 Mod ✭✭✭✭slave1


    🤔 Hmmm

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  • #667
    bobster453
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,020 ✭✭✭bobster453


    Getting the thread back on track here.

    My club is adopting a wait and see approach and currently liaising with other clubs in our region to adopt a unified approach going forward to avoid a race to the bottom scenario.

    What are other clubs doing?



  • #668
    awec
    Administrators Posts: 55,101 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭awec


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122968751#Comment_122968751

    Full green fee + competition entry fee, handicap cap of 24/36 and must have fully developed handicap.



  • #669
    bobster453
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,020 ✭✭✭bobster453


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122974288#Comment_122974288

    So in other words 20 qualifying comps on whs yea?



  • #670
    awec
    Administrators Posts: 55,101 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭awec


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122974347#Comment_122974347

    Yea you need to have 20 scores in to be eligible to win a prize.



  • #671
    davegilly
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 715 ✭✭✭davegilly


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122974288#Comment_122974288

    Must arrive in a red car. Can only have 4 fingers, etc etc.

    Honest to God, this is absolute lunatic stuff. Are they afraid they might burn the place down as well? Why not just go with it and see how things play out?



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  • #672
    awec
    Administrators Posts: 55,101 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭awec


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122977589#Comment_122977589

    Not at all, seems completely fair and reasonable to me. iGolf still remains very good value for money.

    1. Green fee is what these golfers would have been paying before, so nothing at all has changed there. It's no more expensive for them. There is no reason to offer them the discounted rate. I think this pretty much means iGolf visitors will pay €10 more to play than a full GI visitor, not exactly breaking the bank.
    2. The handicap cap is presumably precautionary until more confidence is built up in how iGolf handicaps will be maintained. Nobody is going to tolerate some iGolfer arriving in with a 40 handicap and hitting 40+ points to win an Open.
    3. Fully developed handicap requirement is not unusual at all and is often required for club competitions no matter what membership type. You only need this to win a prize, this is not a pre-requisite for entry.

    I suspect some people may have just lost the run of themselves when this scheme was announced and thought it was going to be an incredibly cheap gateway to competitive golf. This, IMO, was very naive. As has been said in this thread all along, clubs are going to protect themselves.

    Post edited by awec on


  • #673
    Seve OB
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 16,285 ✭✭✭✭Seve OB


    what’s the difference between an I golfer and a club golfer with a 40handicap index shooting 40 points?



  • #674
    Seve OB
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 16,285 ✭✭✭✭Seve OB


    basically impossible for any igolfer to have any kind of an index now till April being that we have been off season since it was introduced .

    I know there are a few options through links but in general that is a really really limited option


    but of course there are apparently phantom qualifying open comps in some secret underground circles 🤣



  • #675
    bobster453
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,020 ✭✭✭bobster453


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122984960#Comment_122984960

    Dunno any 40 hci men...do they exist?



  • #676
    frisbeeface
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 719 ✭✭✭frisbeeface


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122985194#Comment_122985194

    One of our medals this year was won by a guy off 49



  • #677
    bobster453
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,020 ✭✭✭bobster453


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122985419#Comment_122985419

    Wow..how does someone get that high?

    Even a beginner in old system was given 18 max i think.



  • #678
    coillcam
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,900 ✭✭✭coillcam


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122985501#Comment_122985501

    Max handicaps are 54 under whs. You won't find many men above 30 all that often. Usually you'll find a bigger distribution of ladies with much higher indexes.



  • #679
    bakerbhoy
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 768 ✭✭✭bakerbhoy


    Played recently with a chap of 38.

    Great sport and genuine. Retold his experience with another pal of ours ,when having volunteered to mark cards , on seeing his card handed it back saying he didn't do honours maths in the leaving cert.



  • #680
    bobster453
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,020 ✭✭✭bobster453


    Any more updates from club AGM's on any..if any..plans for dealing with igolf participants this year?



  • #681
    paulos53
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,081 ✭✭✭paulos53


    Slievenamon have announced that they are closing.

    https://irishgolfer.ie/latest-golf-news/2025/02/07/slievenamon-golf-club-set-to-close-down/

    They have listed iGolf has one of the primary factors although they have suffered financially for the past few years.

    Their income largely came from distance members and had zero chance of maintaining that level in the future.



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  • #682
    callaway92
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 15,136 ✭✭✭✭callaway92


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123146674#Comment_123146674

    Coolmore approached them to buy the land. Slievenamon has been on the rocks for years since the new owners came in - It was ALWAYS on the brink of being touch-and-go for survival and with the changes they tried the last year-or-two they already knew the writing was on the wall. iGolfer not a contributor. If it is, it’s a tiny, tiny one.



  • #683
    bobster453
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,020 ✭✭✭bobster453


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123150405#Comment_123150405

    Was always going to happen, igolf accelerated it..maybe..dunno how they knew the potential impact unless a lot of distance members didnt renew specifically because of igolf.

    It does show the potential impact of igolf on distance membership in any club and new entrants to the game.

    They have a point tho re no affiliation fee for igolfers that we all have to pay.

    It wasnt touch and go when it had over 3 thousand distance members in the noughties, total now 1200 including distance.

    Most of these will be igolfers this year.



  • #684
    slave1
    Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 19,906 Mod ✭✭✭✭slave1


    IG are a convenient cause

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  • #685
    manster
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 885 ✭✭✭manster


    Most of these will be igolfers this year.

    I was about to disagree with this until I saw the T&Cs of iGolf which says that their membership is open if that club has closed...

    iGolf is open to all golfers (or aspiring golfers) who: have not held any form of membership at a golf club affiliated to Golf Ireland within 3 years (1068 days) of their application to join iGolf (unless that club has closed or dis-affiliated from Golf Ireland).



  • #686
    bobster453
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,020 ✭✭✭bobster453


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123151136#Comment_123151136

    Actually think that last piece has been added lately.

    Must check.



  • #687
    bobster453
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,020 ✭✭✭bobster453


    Meeting of SnaMon members last night the following letter was handed out…

    So its closing only for full members but not distance or pay and play.Will GI accept that i wonder?

    With no full members can it even be affiliated?

    Who will be on HC Committee if there are no members no committees etc??..the owners?

    Quote

    "Changes at Slievenamon Golf Club

    Dear Member

    You may have seen some publicity over the weekend concerning upcoming changes at Slievenamon Golf Club,including some reports that the Club might be closing.

    We want to reassure you that this is not the case. Slievenamon Golf Club is not closing and none of the changes being introduced affects any of our Distance Members in any way.

    Your Distance Membership of Slievenamon continues exactly as it has up until now. The Club remains an Affiliated Member of Golf Ireland. All handicaps are being managed as required through our Handicap Committee and your handicap is secure.

    The Course will remain open forplay, either in its existing format or in a redesigned format, for DistanceMembers and for Green Fees alike.

    For the past 26 years SlievenamonGolf Club has offered the most competitive rates in the country to DistanceMembers. We know Golf Ireland is now marketing a virtual golf membership underits iGolf offering that, in part, competes with Distance Membership. iGolfMembership is, however, open only to golfers who have not been a member of anaffiliated Golf Club in the previous 3 years, does not provide its members witha Course on which to play and does not guarantee any of its members that theywill be entitled to play in Open Competitions.

    It is our intention to continue offering Distance Membership at rates that are the most competitive in the market to both existing and new Members into the future and we hope that youwill take the opportunity to renew your Distance Membership with us when thetime arises.

    If you have any questionsregarding your membership, please feel free to contact us on 052 613 2213 or byemail at slievenamongolfclub@gmail.com.In the meantime, thank you for your support.

    Best regards

    Name Removed

    President

    Slievenamon Gol Club



  • #688
    Seve OB
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 16,285 ✭✭✭✭Seve OB


    I read that as purely a letter to the distance members.
    My interpretation is that the full members will also be staying on, not as you say @bobster453

    It looks like some of the land is going so they will have to redesign the course



  • #689
    bobster453
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,020 ✭✭✭bobster453


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123165667#Comment_123165667

    Sorry yes i should have explained better.

    This is for distance members,

    Full members dont exist after 31st March.

    See below

    Screenshot_20250213_005352_Facebook.jpg


  • #690
    Kaisr Sose
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,774 ✭✭✭Kaisr Sose


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123150405#Comment_123150405

    Coolmore buying all the land round there and beyond. Ordinary farmers can't compete with their deep pockets.

    Glad the course will remain open



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  • #691
    PARlance
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 22,071 ✭✭✭✭PARlance


    That's quite strange that a club can stay open for Distant members but not for Full members. They can't be planning on spending much on the upkeep of the course, or maybe they are hoping / know that Distant members (and public) golfers just won't play the course.

    By not closing the club to Distant members, they are effectively stopping them from joining iGolf (unless those member wants to step away for 3 years). if the course was closed to them, they could join immediately.

    Ironically they are stopping golfers who availed of getting a cheap handicap from getting an even cheaper one. 170 for Slievenamon vs 65 for iGolf afaik.

    I would have thought that a golf club would need to be open for Full Membership to be GI affiliated... If it's not a condition, then I wouldn't be surprised to see GI make it one soon.



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