So, South County Golf Club, in Brittas, has closed. To say
it was unexpected is an understatement – although members of the club are
indicating that there had been trouble brewing for a while. There are 32 pages
of comments on the Boards Golf Forum already, with claims and counter-claims flying back and forth. In
such a scenario, when members wake to a text saying the club is closed,
effective immediately, that’s not surprising. The club had over 600 members,
and the majority of those have been left with burnt fingers – some sizeably so
(the joining ‘share’ when the club opened in 2002, was €25,000).
I am in no position to comment on the financial problems the
club faced, nor the position the bank and landlord found themselves in, but losing
South County is a sad day. It was an exciting course (it scored 82/100 in
Hooked) and was in great condition when I played it. When I discussed the state of Irish golf earlier in the year, I suggested that some 20-30 clubs needed to be weeded out to
encourage the health and growth of other Irish golf clubs. I never dreamt that
South County would be one of those, and it is not one I would ever have picked.
In situations like this, there will always be theories,
pointed fingers and conspiracies. Committees, Councils, Boards… call them what
you like… always bear the brunt of the accusations, and, having seen how badly
some of these executives can screw up, it’s no wonder.
Questions
I have a few questions that keep rattling around in my head,
related to the here and now:
·
If the club closed immediately, who now owns the
machinery? The landlord has taken the land (course) back and is allowing people
to play there for €10 a round. Does he own the equipment? Has he bought it from
South County Golf Club (2004) Ltd., the company operating the club/course?
·
What about the clubhouse? Who is and isn’t
entitled to use it?
·
From a marketing point of view, who owns the
data on all of the members? If that information belonged to South County Golf
Club (2004) Ltd., who has the rights to it now? The Data Commissioner would not
be impressed if that data was simply given to someone else without the approval
of those the information is about.
There are meetings of shareholders/members/creditors lined
up for the week ahead. True, there are too many issues and bad feelings for the
club to survive in its current form, but as Bonnamassa asked on the Boards: “Does anyone hold out any hope that a phoenix might rise from the ashes?”
No doubt this will run for a lot longer but hopefully
something can be hammered out and South County golf course will remain as one
of the city’s best parklands. I'll certainly be heading back if that's the case.
