Hooked on Golf – The New Third Edition (and a bunch of prizes)

Today sees the official launch on my blog of the new 3rd edition of Hooked… still the most comprehensive guide to the golf courses of Ireland.

I’m giving away prizes, so don’t hit the snooze button quite yet.

The previous edition came out in 2011 and the first edition was published in 2009. Between then and now the Irish golfing landscape has endured many changes.

Courses have closed, re-opened, re-named… clubs have built new clubhouses, introduced new holes, new routing, new greens, new bunkering. Storms have flattened trees and stolen dunes and fairways. So here are the six key changes to Hooked and Irish golf courses in the last six years:

1. Shifting Irish Green Fees

Perhaps the most striking change is the divide in green fees between the premier clubs and… the rest. While those links courses at the very top – the Royals County Down and Portrush, Ballybunion, Portmarnock, etc. – have either increased their green fees, stayed the same or reduced them marginally between 2008 and 2015, almost everybody else has implemented substantial reductions. There is the odd top tier exception (Lahinch dropped from €165 to €125 – it is now at €165 again) but even the top parklands (Druid’s Glen, Adare and Mount Juliet) adapted to the recession. Our links have the benefit of golfing tourism on their side, where price is less important than other factors.

The par five 18th at Adare

The picture at the other end of the scale, at those courses most Irish golfers play weekly, is quite different. Green fees fell by over 50% in plenty of places and while the past two years has seen some stabilisation it will be a long time before they return to the heady (and daft) heights of 2008. It is now easy to find exceptional golf for under €30 a round.

‘Value for Money’ is one of Hooked’s rating criteria - this has changed considerably throughout the book.

2. Entrance Fees

While this is not covered by Hooked, the removal of entrance fees has made joining (and leaving) a club easier than ever. With reduced annual subs and low green fees, there has – clichés aside – never been a better time to take up and play golf.

The opening par four at Spa, Co. Down.

3. Changes to Ireland’s Golf Course Landscape 2007-2015… Part I

Since I started my travels, eighteen 18-hole courses have closed… or are no longer 18-holes. These are as follows:

1.            Ballinlough Castle (reduced to 9 holes)

2.            Bodenstown

3.            Bodenstown (Lady Hill)

4.            Carnbeg

5.            City West (Lakes) (turned into a car park)

6.            Dublin City (now footgolf)

7.            Glebe

8.            Harbour Point (closed 2007)

9.            Kilkea Castle (due to re-open April 2015… but remains closed)

10.        Killarney Lackabane (reduced to 16 holes)

11.        Killin Park

12.        Leinster Hills

13.        Navan

14.        Rathsallagh (although now back on the market)

15.        Ringdufferin (Co Down)

16.        Scarke

17.        Turvey

18.        Woodlands

On the flip side, six new 18-hole courses have opened fully since 2008.

1.  Bunclody  
2.  Cobh

3.  Killeen Castle

4.  Mount Bellew (from 9 to 18)

5.  Rathfarnham (from 15 to 18)

6.  South Meath (from 9 to 18)

The number of golf courses has fallen from a peak of 351 to 340 in the new edition. This number has now fallen further, to 338, as both Rathsallagh and Scarke closed earlier this year (after Hooked went to print).

The 12th green at Killeen Castle.

4. Changes to Ireland’s Golf Course Landscape 2007-2015… Part II

In all, there are 170 new and updated reviews – it is sheer coincidence that I ended up returning to exactly half of the island’s courses… and it certainly shows what I’ll have to do for the next edition!

As tough as the recession has been on Irish golf, most clubs have refused to sit on their hands. Courses have steadily been implementing small or significant changes to improve their facilities and the number of courses now boasting ‘the best greens in Ireland’ is a testament to the dedication and efforts of green keeping staff everywhere.

Approach to the 8th on Carne's new nine.

The biggest change – and the only substantial new development since 2009 – is a new nine at Carne. And you will never play nine bigger, more explosive holes in your life.

5. Top 18 Holes (and Photographs)

I have changed these in the book for the simple reason that I decided to split them into two 18s: one for parkland and one for links. Besides, we have so many great holes it was good to mix things up.

The terrifying and glorious par three 17th at Druid's Glen.

6. Maps

There was an issue with the Maps, and I’ve had several people contact me about these over the years. It turns out the solution was as simple as could be – so the third edition now includes an Index alongside the map pages.

The Prizes (worth over €500)

Let’s call it a golfing goody bag, containing:

1. A signed copy of the new edition of Hooked
2. A fourball to my favourite Parkland (Druid’s Glen) *
3. A fourball to my favourite Links (Carne) *
4. Golf balls, tees, golf cap and a mish-mash of other golfing bits and pieces to keep you amused.

To be in with a chance to win, please Tweet or Share this blog, and/or leave a Comment below with your email address (these won’t be published and I won’t be spamming you till Eternity… or Tiger Woods’ comeback – whichever comes first). Draw on Sunday 19th July, after the final round of The Open.

* And thanks to both courses for their generosity – as always.

The 17th green at Galway Bay - The Burren in the distance.

You’ll find the new third edition of Hooked on the shelves of most book stores (in Ireland). Or you can buy it direct from my publisher, Collins Press, or through the usual online retailers.

There’s also the little matter of over 11,000 photographs, of 370 golf courses, on my Flickr page, so you can use these as a reference as well. Some of them are actually rather good and might inspire you to try something new and/or something great in Irish golf.