Druid's Glen Fourballs Up For Grabs - Mellon Educate

The par three 12th at Druid's Glen

It’s not a difficult question: would you like a chance at winning a four ball to play Ireland’s most entertaining parkland – Druid’s Glen – AND a four ball for Druid’s Heath, next door… while also helping a fabulous cause? Would it help if I told you that there was a 1-in-47 chance of winning? And that there are 2nd and

Ireland's Golfing Augusta

The par three 8th at Druid's Glen

For golfers, the word 'Augusta' evokes visions of lush, sweeping greens, greener jackets, perfect water features, blazes of colour and instantly recognisable golf holes. And so many great golfing memories.

Perhaps that is why golf courses around the world are so eager to boast their own Amen Corner. Ireland has several* and

Druid's Glen The Winter Series

It’s great to see some winter golfing events doing the rounds. Golf courses can often be too quiet as the fair-weather golfers pack up for the cooler months. So it’s very welcome to see clubs coming out with fresh/interesting ideas. 

The exquisite Druid’s Glen has decided to give golfers something rather special to aim for… four qualifying events, four big prizes and one bigger prize… in the Audi

Modern Masterpieces of Irish Golf – Parkland

From Guest Blogger, Rory, a review of five of Ireland's most modern golfing parklands.

This is a follow-up to Rory’s blog on Ireland’s Links Masterpieces

The Emerald Isle is home to some of the most traditional golf courses in Europe; courses that are rooted in history and a great reminder of where the game has come from. The likes of Ballybunion and Lahinch have long been flying the flag for Irish Golf but, in recent years a number of new, younger courses have come to the fore, helping Ireland maintain its position as one of the best golf destinations in the world. Here are five of the best parkland courses to have joined the Irish Golf party in recent years and why they are a must for golf aficionados. 

Irish Golf Courses: Inside The Ropes Standings (7)

Seven Irish Golf Courses have been visited to date, as part of the Inside The Ropes project. This is how they stand...

Golf Course	Rating  (out of 30)	Value for Money (out of 30)	TOTAL  (out of 60)
Carne	25	27	52
Macreddin	25.5	26	51.5
Druid’s Glen	26	24	50
Mount Juliet	27	21	48
The Island	27.5	20	47.5
Dun Laoghaire	24	21	45
Greystones	22.5	22.5	45

Thanks to all the golfers who have participated so far. There are plenty more to come (340+ courses to go!), including some big names around the country.

If you want to find out what I think of these courses, pick up a copy of Hooked (links on the sidebar) and see if you agree with my assessment.

Inside the Ropes – Druid’s Glen

Druid’s Glen, in early summer, is a course lush and green. At this time of year there is colour and wildlife everywhere – it vibrates with the intensity of it and it is a glorious opportunity to experience one of Ireland’s best parklands, which was home to the Irish Open between 1996 and 1999 (won by Colin Montgomerie twice, David Carter and Sergio Garcia, who shot a 64 in the final round).

But what about an amateur’s perspective. Inside the ropes it’s a different ball game entirely. About to find out were three lads who had never played the course before: 

Chris off 15, Pete, playing off 24 and Pat off 12.

[The lads on the 12th tee box]

Here’s what they had to say about their day.

Q. What are your overall impressions of the course?

Pete: Beautiful course. If I was looking to impress a client I would take them for a round here.

Chris: Excellent, very well kept.

Pat: Loved it. Not just a driver all day. The scenery was beautiful for an inland course and I couldn’t wait to see around the next corner as it was my first visit – but will make a big effort to come back.

Q. What are the course’s best features?

Druid’s Glen boasts an ‘Augusta-like air’ with its rhododendrons and charming water features, but all three lads were taken by something else:

[Photo: Pat's tee shot on the lethal par three 17th]

Pete: The par threes were brilliant, and the 18th was a lovely finishing hole.

Chris: The views, the beautiful par threes and the emphasis on accuracy over length. Greens are perfect and consistent.

Pat: Definitely the par threes. The 12th is every bit as beautiful as people say, and Index 1, the 13th, is a brilliant par four.

Our encounter with the 13th did not go particularly well, with four balls finding the lake short of the green. It's a brute of a hole, and the best score was a double bogey 6.

[Photo: Chris putts up the 13th green - the lake behind proving a magnet]

Q. Any negatives – either on or off the course?

Pete: One or two of the bunkers were stoney. It’s a very tough course for a high handicap golfer like myself.

Chris: Practice facilities – the range is too far away.

Pat: Greens were just a bit off perfect.

Q. What did you find particularly tough?

Always a difficult question because it can be handicap, weather and performance dependent. The responses pretty much covered it all:

Pete: Some tight fairways, and greens were hard to read and stop the ball on.

Chris: It was hard off the tee.

Pat: Reading the breaks on some of the greens

Q. How did you find the condition of the course? Anything stand out?

Pete: The condition was excellent. The water features around the par threes really stand out.

Chris: The greens were perfect.

Pat: Tee boxes and fairways were perfect, with bunkers in perfect positions. Greens were slightly slow but very true.

The differing comments about the greens is an interesting one and clearly depends on personal preferences. When this was put to Druid's Glen, they explained that maintenance work (pole-forking) was carried out two weeks ago, and that the greens were just coming back into proper shape for the summer.

Q. What do you think of the facilities?

Pete: Excellent. Changing rooms had nice touches (hair gel and shaving blades available). Practice area was a bit far away.

Chris: Apart from the distance to the practice range, everything was spot on.

Pat: The clubhouse is lovely.

Druid’s Glen is renowned for its attractive 18th century clubhouse (Woodstock House) and the bar is as relaxing a place to wind down after a round as anywhere. The practice range is not close by and you’ll need to give yourself plenty of time if you want to head down and hit a few balls before your round. The range is down by the entrance, next to the 16th tee.

Q. How easy to find?

All three commented on the good signage and how easy it was to find.

[Photo: the par three 12th, green to tee - and where the million euro hole-in-one shot was to be held the following week]

Q. Final comments?

Pete: Really enjoyable round. Will play again, but at €65 it would have to be a special event.

Chris: A great course with some beautiful holes, particularly the par threes. Some courses would be lucky to have even one of the par threes.

Pat: Probably now my favourite course in Ireland

Rating out of 10

Pete: 8

Chris: 9

Pat: 9, but would have been 10 if greens had been perfect

TOTAL 26/30

Value for money out of 10

Pete: 6

Chris: 8

Pat: 8

TOTAL 24/30

(Pete's a tough man to please!)

[Photo: Handshakes on the 18th green]

Druid's Glen Details:

Located between Newtownmountkennedy and Kilcoole in County Wicklow, Druid's Glen is part of the Druid's Glen Resort. Pitched as five star, the hotel sits next to the second course - Druid's Heath - and comes with leisure centre/swimming pool, with various spa treatments also available. Special packages are nearly always available.

Green Fees at Druid's Glen range between €40 and €95 during the summer months. Druid's Heath green fees range from €35 to €55.

Druid's Glen - 1 in a €Million

Ever more inventive ways are coming along to make us Irish golfers sit up and take notice: Mount Juliet have just launched a Majors Open Series (more on that in the next day or two) and there I was thinking what a great promotion when along comes Druid's Glen with something that really grabs the attention. It helps of course that Druid's is one of my top two parkland courses and I have blogged about its brilliance a number of times, but who wouldn't want a shot at winning €1,000,000!

On 1st June approximately 75 golfers will have the once in a lifetime opportunity to win €1,000,000 in the Shot In A Million competition. Any golfer with that immeasurable combination of skill and luck who gets a hole in one on the signature 12th hole wins the money.

[Photo: the par three 12th, from above the green looking back to the tee]

By the way, Golf Digest reports that the chance of an amateur getting a hole in one are 1 in 12,750. The odds of winning the Irish Lottery however are 1 in over 8M - 8,145,060 to be precise!

How Do I Qualify?

That's the beauty of it... you don't have to qualify... you just have to pitch up and pay your green fee on Monday to Thursday between now and the end of August 2011.

Not having to play well adds an extra something when your golf is so poor the only thing you'd legitimately qualify for is digging dirt out of a hole... I speak from the bitter experience of my St. Patrick's Day round.

[A prayer at the Druid's Altar, tucked in the trees by the 12th green, might help]

Play the Glen or the Heath

Golfers who play golf on either Druid's Glen or Druid's Heath championship golf courses will be entered into a daily draw, from which one winner will be invited back to play in the Druid's Glen Shot In A Million competition in June.

Ian Dempsey Breakfast Show

Or you can listen to the Today FM Ian Dempsey Breakfast Show from Tuesday 20th March to be in with a chance of winning one of 25 places being given away over the coming weeks.

How Much to Play?

Midweek green fees are as little as €50 on Druids Glen and €35 on Druids Heath.

Castlerock - 8 rounds for £200

As with all things in the current climate, coming up with a novel marketing promotion can make all the difference, especially among us golfers.

Headfort recently offered the opportunity to play either of their courses for €20, on any day during February. Considering how good the New course is (the Old course is none too shabby either), and how benign our weather has been, that's a great deal. It has been very well received, according to the club and there are still a few days to go, if you're interested. www.headfortgolfclub.ie

Groupon & All the Rest

The popularity of Groupon-type offers seems like an easy fall-back and is being widely used... I have my doubts about this route and will address what I see as the pros and cons in a later blog... especially as a Canadian golf blogger (golfgal) has written an article on why they are such a positive option for golf clubs: her article is here.

Something Different, Something Free

I'm not saying that this brand new Castlerock offer is stunningly different – certainly not along the lines of Druid Glen’s month of free golf (March 2010) – but it demonstrates how golf club’s have started thinking outside the box to reach new audiences and encourage repeat business.

The old reliables (€30 green fee with free breakfast/steak lunch; the four for the price of three, the twilight rate) will always be popular, but making an impact by doing something different will grab your audience's attention.

The offer from Castlerock does just that.

The Castlerock 8

"There aren't many links courses where you can play during the summer for £25 a round," says Mark Steen, Castlerock's Secretary/Manager... diplomatically leaving out the words 'this good' after links courses. Castlerock promises perfect links golf and the night I spent in the bar was one of the most hospitable I spent during my travels.

"Lots of golfers have asked us about a summer golf pass, but we decided to cover the whole year and see how well the offer is received," Mark continues.

This offer will be attractive to any golfer who decides to descend on this stretch of heavenly links coastline.

The deal is this: you pay £200. In return you will be sent a booklet with 8 green fees, valid for one year. These can be used between Monday and Friday at ANY TIME OF THE YEAR (subject to availability, obviously). That's it. You phone the Pro shop, you book your tee time, you play your golf.

And why is this such a good deal? As if you have to ask:

• It's £25 per round.
• Castlerock is a Northern Ireland links gem with all the quality, views and links bedevilment you could hope for.
• The club sits on the western edge of one of the most stunning stretches of links courses in the world (Portstewart and Royal Portrush are practically next door).
• The Irish Open is coming this way so you could head up over the summer and play the brilliant Castlerock and then enjoy Royal Portrush's Irish Open course in probably the best condition of its life.
• Who knows, ask nicely and you might be able to bring a friend and use two tickets at once.
• Great clubhouse atmosphere.
• Yes, it's £25 per round.

A Winter Fry

And, considering the benign weather, here’s one final thought: Castlerock has an excellent (winter) offer on the go at the moment - £100 for a fourball, with a fry-up. The offer has generated £3,000 in green fees so far and it runs until the end of March.

When the club added in the fry-up there was a huge increase in interest, showing quite clearly how health conscious we are and what we like to think about after a blustery day on a wonderful links. Check out their website and give them a call.

Ireland's Best 18 Holes: Hole 8

Druid’s Glen Par 3 140 yards

Of all the picture-perfect par threes in Ireland, Druid’s Glen boasts four of them. And of these, the 8th is the most stunning. The green sits perfectly over a double-pond in a dell of trees that rises up steeply on three sides to create a magnificent ampitheatre. Add in the flowerbeds and the kingfishers and it is one of the most tempting shots you will hit. Even in the depths of winter it is a good-looking hole. It’s not designed to be difficult (wait for the 17th) but all that water can be very distracting, and the slope on the green is severe in places.

[Photo: side view of the 8th, on way to 9th tee]

There are plenty of other 8th holes that deserve a mention – the par four at Narin & Portnoo most notably It falls from a high tee (with magnificent views) and drops steadily to the edge of the Atlantic, where the green sits perched in front of a dramatic postcard backdrop. One of those sweet drives that you want to hit again and again.

[Photo: Castlecomer's big drop - you have to come back up three holes later]

Another drive to be hit repeatedly is the par four dogleg at Castlecomer. From an even greater height, the tee box sits up in the tree tops, the fairway a mere speck in the green landscape below.

Two others worth a mention are The European and Moyola Park in Northern Ireland – the latter has one of the best approach shots you’ll have the pleasure of hitting: more woods and a wide river to cross.

[Photo: Narin & Portnoo and beautiful Donegal beyond]

The Kiwi world wide adventure & Druid's Glen

[Photo: Michael Goldstein & Jamie Patton at Druid's Glen. 18 holes finished and looking forward to a good night's sleep]

How long does it take to get from Mount Juliet Golf Club, in Thomastown, Co. Kilkenny, to Druid’s Glen near Newtownmountkennedy in Co. Wicklow?

It was a question I wanted to put to Michael Goldstein and Jamie Patton as our 1.10pm tee time came and went. I know the guys at Druid’s Glen well enough that it wasn’t a problem, but it was a Friday and the time sheet was full. At this stage of the year/economy/recession (delete as appropriate) that’s good news for the club – or any club for that matter.

Michael and Jamie are the two Kiwis travelling around the world playing a different course every day, for a year. You’ve probably heard of them. They’ve played across New Zealand, Australia, the USA and Scotland and here they were, coming to the end of their three and half week trip to Ireland. Their website is www.puregolf2010.com and they’re raising funds for a charity called First Tee, as they go. Take a look at their excellent blog and you’ll get an idea of just what’s involved in their travels.

To most people, the idea of a year stuffed with golf at many of the world’s top golf courses is a slice of heaven. But you have to remember that this is hard work: travelling all the time, doing media interviews, arranging tee times and accommodation, taking photographs, blogging and playing golf… lots of golf. Boy, it’s a tough job, but someone’s got to do it!

[Photo: Jamie hits his tee shot on the par four 7th]

We’d been in touch a few times over recent months, discussing their Irish tour and deciding where and when we could meet up. We finally settled on Druid’s Glen. My love of this club is well documented and alongside Adare it is my favourite parkland. They were coming from Mount Juliet, so it was going to be interesting to see how the guys compared the two. Along with Carton House (Monty), these were the only three parklands they were playing down south. The bulk of their golf was on links courses, and these read like a Who’s Who of Ireland’s (and therefore the world’s) top courses, from Royal County Down to Waterville.

When Michael finally arrived on the putting green he did not look 100%. This was to be his 259th consecutive round, so no surprise that he was tired but he had a stomach bug to add to his woes. And Jamie had enjoyed a late night in Kilkenny, so he wasn’t firing on all cylinders either. Gretta – Michael’s girlfriend who’d flown in for a week or two – was, however, full of bounce.

The answer to my opening question is three and a half hours. The lads got badly lost along the way. “Happen a lot?” I asked, assuming that travelling the world in a variety of borrowed vehicles and no GPS would lead to many directionally-challenged moments. “Not as badly as this,” was the reply.

Bert, the Course Ranger, was very accommodating and managed to slip us in at 2.20pm, and once we’d teed off all the drama and mayhem of getting lost was quickly forgotten. The tiredness wasn’t, and for two guys playing off 2 and 3 handicaps, there were some laboured swings and lengthy detours into the rough.

[Photo: Tee shot on the 13th. The hole drifts right, around the rock face]

[Photo: Michael goes searching on the approach to the 13th]

Druid’s 13th is famous and notorious. It is 461 yards off the white markers, and a driver isn’t always the best choice off the tee! The pictures don’t do it justice, but this is the hardest par four in Irish golf (the 12th at Druid’s Heath, next door, is a close second). Jamie and Michael found water and bushes, and then more water and bushes. It is a hole you need to play a few times to appreciate its difficulty fully, and the guys were suitably impressed.

Most top courses are judged by their signature holes. Druid’s Glen has a handful: the par threes 8, 11 and 17, the par four 18th and the 13th. A gentleman by the name of Craig Morrison agrees with me on the 13th, but more on that in the next blog.

I tried my best not to ask the questions that everyone else had undoubtedly been asking, day in, day out for the last 258 days, but sometimes it was unavoidable… best course? Where did the idea come from? Financing? Tiredness?

[Photo: side view of the beautiful par three 8th]

The ‘best welcome?’ question got an immediate response of ‘Ireland’. The guys had enjoyed themselves so much and been subjected to such great hospitality (Carne Golf Club received a special mention) that they were a week behind on their blog. We all know that Irish hospitality is legendary, but I was delighted to hear they were getting the full treatment. Irish golf clubs have been going out of their way to make their time here as enjoyable as possible, and that is coming through loud and clear in the tales they tell.

I decided I should be direct and asked them what they thought of Mount Juliet and how it compared with Druid’s Glen.

Debates about the best links course in Ireland typically centre on Royals County Down and Portrush, Portmarnock, Ballybunion, Carne, Lahinch, The European and Waterville. For parkland, the list is shorter, with Adare, K Club, Mount Juliet and Druid’s Glen being the most obvious contenders. (In truth, Ireland’s newest clubs of Lough Erne, Killeen Castle and Concra Wood should be added to that list.)

[Photo: the water enshrouded 17th. A par three to be played from the back tee]

Their answer was interesting and intuitive – it is not my place to list what they said (check their blog in the coming days), but, like so many things, it proved how conditioned we have become to marketing hyperbole. They are such different courses and they offer completely different experiences. If you’ve played both you’ll know what I mean.

Gretta, a non-golfer, lasted nine holes. When the 9th brought us back to the clubhouse she slipped away. She confessed that she’d not be on the golf course at all, but she couldn’t drive the 1989 Merc that the guys had been in since arriving in Scotland.

“Insurance?” I asked. No, it wasn’t that. How about right-hand drive? Stupid question as they drive on the same side of the road down under. No, it was a mechanical failing. The driver’s seat was stuck well back, and Gretta – somewhat shorter than Michael and Jamie – couldn’t reach the pedals. So she got stuck at the golf clubs, waiting in the bar for her man, and undoubtedly repelling the advances of many a keen Irish golfer.

[Photo: view from the clubhouse back down the par four 18th]

I had one last question for the boys: ‘how are you two getting on together, spending so much time in each other’s pockets?’ There was a brief pause: “It hasn’t come to blows,” Jamie replied wryly.

259 rounds down; 106 to go. Let’s hope it stays that way.

More of the Druid's

I promise that this will be the last time I harp on about Druid's Glen - it's been on my blog four times already in recent weeks.

Not only did I not get to play it during the FREE offer month, I have not made the Greystones GC panel for the Barton Cup team this year - and our first round opponents are Druid's Glen. True, I haven't been on the team for a few years (my travels took care of that) but when I was, I played away-from-home, so a practice round (or four) at Druid's would have suited me fine. Just me and my three caddies.

The Barton Cup gets people very excited - when I say 'people' I mean golfers - as it is one of the biggest inter-club events of the golfing year. Barton Cup is a team of five pairs playing straight foursomes, with a maximum combined handicap of 14. Greystones made the semis last year and were beaten by the eventual winners, Gowran Park. Sometimes you play courses that don't light your fire, and sometimes you get drawn against somewhere like Druid's Glen.

Consider then that the first year I played on the team, our opponents were Dublin Mountain. The GUI made them play all their matches at Greystones, my home course, because Dublin Mountain didn't have a clubhouse - or at least that was the official reason! Then we played Carrickmines, a nice little 9 hole hillside course just off the M50, followed by Vartry Lakes, another 9 hole course on the edge of Roundwood. Three not-exactly-spectacular courses (Vartry Lakes is no more). I'd give it all for one round at Druid's, even if we got beaten on the 13th.