Luttrelstown

Gee Male · 19-07-2012 03:31AM #1

Alright lads and ladies,

First post on boards though I'm a long time reader, mostly since moving away from home as it helps in keeping in touch with the place.

Anyway, I'll be in Ireland for a couple of weeks at the start of August and will be playing Luttrelstown with my brother, anyone know what condition it's in after all the rain you're supposed to be having over there?

Never played the course myself but looking forward to it.

Dr_Colossus · 19-07-2012 09:25AM

Played it last Sat with our work society and it was alot firmer than I was expecting as it's been raining incessantly for nearly two months at this stage. With the Liffey river flowing through part of the course and plenty of water features elsewhere I thought it would be pretty wet. Not so, the lady in the proshop advised there were some soft patches but they were playing summer rules which I was surprised with as there's not much parklands playing "summer" rules at this time of year.

The course plays long of the white tees and with no roll on the fairways you need to be striking the ball well as anything hit heavy will go no where. We were picking up some mud on the balls but nothing extreme and no plugged balls anywhere all day. With the soft ground they had the rough cut down so it wasn't too penalizing and helped speed up play. Luckily I wasn't in any of the bunkers all day so can't comment on their condition but I didn't hear any complaints from any of the other players in terms of them being hard and compact like alot of other places. Greens weren't lightening quick but no where near slow either and they rolled very true and smooth. We didn't need off until 15:00 so they would probably be quicker early morning after a fresh cut.

The only complaint I'd have with the course set up on the day is that they had the white tees pushed very far forward onto the green tees for the par 3s and so far forward on one of the par 5s (12th) it was practically on the women's tee box. I don't understand the reasoning for this as there's green tee boxes available if people want to shorten the course but I can only conclude it was due to the requests of some big classic that was played that morning as all the tee boxes had sponsorship placards. Perhaps the real par 3 white tees were deemed too difficult for the classic in play which begs the quicken why they just didn't play from the green tee boxes instead of altering the course on the rest of us.

You're in for a treat, personally I think Luttrellstown is the best parkland in Dublin. A great layout with a good mix of holes and a real test of golf from the white tees (looks like a beast from the blues). My suggestion would be to play from the white tees as it's a much better course and there are plenty of shorter courses around for options another day. Get there early as there's a very nice practice facility including a grass based driving range, short game area and putting green and the clubhouse itself deserves some time to appreciate. Enjoy and hopefully the weather holds dry.

Gee Male · 19-07-2012 10:20AM

Sounds good, think we'll find the white tees difficult if there's no run on the ball but well up for the challenge, looking forward to it.

Leprechaun77 · 19-07-2012 06:06PM

I played Luttrellstown last week and again today. The course seems to be in very good order considering the amount of rain recently. It plays very long off the white tees as there is little run on the fairways. It seems to have drained fairly well as there are only sporadic wet patches around the course. The greens are also very good and it is surprising how quick they play, being damp.

I think this is one of the best parkland courses I have played. The course is mature and it offers a wide variety of holes. I was considering it for full membership lately, however I would be worried about the amount of members it has, together with its pricey €2180 fee. I'll definitely be looking to play it again over the next couple of weeks.

Dr_Colossus · 19-07-2012 11:15PM

Leprechaun77 wrote: »

I was considering it for full membership lately, however I would be worried about the amount of members it has, together with its pricey €2180 fee. I'll definitely be looking to play it again over the next couple of weeks.

Agreed, Luttrellstown would be very convenient for me location wise but the lack of members although has it's advantages is also a concern. I believe it currently has less than 100 members and subsequently small turnouts for its weekend competitions which is not good. Not ideal for calculating proper CSS scores and a good level of competitiveness in those competitions not to mention interclub competitions if that's where your interest lies. I think it would ideally need 300-400 members to make it a vibrant club resulting in and around 100 competitors in it's major competitions.

The €2,180 sub is also obviously a major concern and a significant barrier preventing me from joining. If they dropped the sub to €1,500 I'd join and I think alot others would too so I don't understand their pricing policy and the agenda for the club. Perhaps they're trying to maintain some level of exclusivity but that can easily backfire if the club is loosing money from day to day running costs and force the club to close eventually which is not good for anyone concerned.

MiniGolf · 28-02-2013 05:20PM

Apologies for digging up an old thread....! Don't think this warrants a new one;)

Anyone played Luttrellstown lately? Playing it Friday 8th and just wondering about condition etc?
Thanks in advance!

MG

Tom F · 28-02-2013 06:08PM

MiniGolf wrote: »

Apologies for digging up an old thread....! Don't think this warrants a new one;)

Anyone played Luttrellstown lately? Playing it Friday 8th and just wondering about condition etc?
Thanks in advance!

MG

Played there a couple of weeks ago, was just at the tail end of the bad weather. The greens and fairways were in great condition to be honest. If you get a fine day and the weather stays like this you will enjoy it. Some though holes and all pretty long. 3rd,4th,5th and 6th is a lovely stretch. Watch out on the 18th! Some decisions to be made on this hole, good finisher!

Corkey123 · 01-03-2013 09:58PM

Played Luttrelstown today. Have to say the course was in good order. It was my first time but it looks a fine course as others have said. Greens were heavily sanded making putting a lottery. One thing I found annoying was the lack of a course map on both the card and the tee boxes. On some holes it was difficult to know where to place the ball. The tee boxes were poor. But the overall shape of the course is excellant

FixdePitchmark · 04-05-2014 08:15PM

Lads played today and was a bit surprised how downhill it has gone. Greens bumpy, fairways way too long , rough way too long as just not cut. In fairness the bunkers had plenty of sand. It was a physical effort to push a push trolley on fairways - no roll as not cut. Debris on greens - damaged parts of greens.

Still a class layout and such a good surface and the grass is very thick. maybe - just a long weekend and greenkeepers due in Tuesday.

But a bit sad - as you always remember going to there for a top class course.

Lovely trees - If I'm being honest, if all efforts went into one course in Castleknock - you'd rather see Luttrelstown in top condition.

The two seem bizarrely close - but a large population in area.

In saying that, the walkways are showing signs of heavy traffic. Anyone know what is going on there - Lots of pitch marks not repaired.

Great course - maybe a few poor holes towards end - but 18 a class hole.

John Divney · 04-05-2014 08:49PM

Last time I played it was around Paddy's day, was in poor nick then but put it down to time of year.

It. was very raggedy though compared to last year

FixdePitchmark · 04-05-2014 08:53PM

John Divney wrote: »

Last time I played it was around Paddy's day, was in poor nick then but put it down to time of year.

It. was very raggedy though compared to last year

Yes - was going to say that - just rough and rough around edges.

Like it need a little bit more love and work - and not getting it.

It is just such a big property , you get the feeling that if you don't have a full crew - your gone.

dar_cool · 04-05-2014 08:57PM

Pity it never got an Irish open or a big event, 505 yard par 4 off the back sticks on the back 9, played it off the back the last time for the crack, full driver and 3 wood and still wasn't on the green!! Apparently there's feck all members as in around 100 or so, dunno how it survives, jp has to be loosing money!!

Dr_Colossus · 04-05-2014 09:00PM

Played it yesterday (Sat, mid morning) and apart from the greens thought it was in good condition. Wouldn't agree the rough was too long, you'd find your ball handy enough but given the grass is so dense and tough it took a solid shot and connection to get green side which is fair. Fairways could perhaps do with a finer cut to give better definition but otherwise pretty lush and not overly marked with divots. Greens on the other hand were pretty poor, very slow, bumpy and riddled with pitch marks and bald/diseased patches. It's like they're still recovering from hollow tining but can't see them being good without a good deal of maintenance and time. Otherwise a fabulous course.

John Divney · 04-05-2014 09:01PM

Yeah it just sticks out when the rough is long and not defined as well.

Last summer I loved getting out here the odd evening, the place is stunning in the long evenings,

If the greens haven't come back since Paddy's day that's a worry, they scraped badly a few greens with machinery too when it was sanded

FixdePitchmark · 04-05-2014 09:02PM

dar_cool wrote: »

Pity it never got an Irish open or a big event, 505 yard par 4 off the back sticks on the back 9, played it off the back the last time for the crack, full driver and 3 wood and still wasn't on the green!! Apparently there's feck all members as in around 100 or so, dunno how it survives, jp has to be loosing money!!

Drive and Hybrid dar from whites today - so yes, that is 14. Great hole.

But again - you need roll on a hole like that - but not a chance the way fairways are.

Yes - I was looking at it going - this should be holding tournaments , not falling apart. The only thing is - the build quality is so good, you can just cut the grass less. No sign of weeds etc.

Luttrelstown

Comments