Golf Club North Down northern ireland

[jdchelsea]

Hello all

Used to use the forum a few years back but due to kids, wedding and houses haven't played much over the last few years but i'm now ready to get stuck in again and thinking of joining a club next year so looking for some advice

I live in North Down near Holywood and looking for some opinions/advice on which club I should join/consider joining.

The clubs nearest me are Blackwood, Holywood, Helens Bay and Carnalea. Slightly further out are Clandeboye, Bangor or Knock. Really would prefer to keep cost as low as possible ideally.

Other factor I'd like to tee off on Saturdays before 11am - will that be tricky for a newbie?!

Many thanks
Jd

 

[brendy]

Plenty of clubs to consider, probably 10 within 10 miles of you.
They all suffer in the winter though which is something to consider.
Blackwood is a nice course though needs money spent on it to make it better, any time Ive played it, it was always a bit rough round the edges, I believe the course and club are seperate entities.
Holywood, Hilly, never a fan of the course but it does have its fans.
Helens Bay, very short but well situated course, not sure what kind of younger membership they have.
Carnalea, 9 good holes and 9 I just dont like (back nine away), apparently a very good social scene though.
Clandeboye and its two clubs is probably the best prospect but certainly not the cheapest option as they have a fairly chunky social levy etc that is mandatory along with the joining fee. I always enjoy playing The Dufferin at Clandeboye, clubhouse is pretty good too.
Bangor, my home course, Lovely course that has had a lot of investment in winter drainage etc and should be oking another 18k over the next couple of years on top of normal maintenance. Average age is 58 though and as such suffers from the associated older mentality ie more senior opens etc and age focussed social nights etc.
Knock, Im torn with knock, it has some great holes on the left side of the course but some poor holes early on, clubhouse is snug and friendly though.
Another couple to think about, Shandon, I love playing here in the summer opens, played a lot as a younger lad years ago, nice big clubhouse etc too. Only down side is the course also suffers in the winter.
Dunmurry, Another course I enjoy playing, not overly long and fair. Clubhouse is nice with decent catering too....also gets wet in the winter.

In a nutshell, you wont go awfully wrong with any but don't be expecting regular golf Dec,Jan and Feb.

 

[jdchelsea]

Good man, pretty decent review there thanks for the time to do it. I'm leaning towards blackwood I think at the moment due to the cheaper green fees. Everywhere seems to be 1k plus whereas they're only 650 quid.

Not too worried about winter golf to be honest wherever I might join.

Bangor's a course I've never played as well so I'll have to try it out anywhere. They might have membership closed at the minute as well because there is no where on the website that I could find about joining. Maybe should mention that to someone if they are looking for new members lol

What about the before 11am Saturday tee times, they tricky to get?

 

[brendy]

Good man, pretty decent review there thanks for the time to do it. I'm leaning towards blackwood I think at the moment due to the cheaper green fees. Everywhere seems to be 1k plus whereas they're only 650 quid.

Not too worried about winter golf to be honest wherever I might join.

Bangor's a course I've never played as well so I'll have to try it out anywhere. They might have membership closed at the minute as well because there is no where on the website that I could find about joining. Maybe should mention that to someone if they are looking for new members lol

What about the before 11am Saturday tee times, they tricky to get?

Shouldnt be too hard, if you float and join up to fill gaps you shouldnt struggle.
Our place is open for a few full members and I believe we're waiving joining fees temporarily. Not many gaps on the timesheet though you'll always get a game. Membership works out at about 1k p/a.