The Official Golf Thread

Started by laoislad, December 28, 2006, 07:07:48 PM

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Orior

Quote from: thewobbler on February 05, 2011, 05:18:48 PM
Laoislad, if you're looking to play of the Saturday morning, you won't get anywhere much in the Belfast area; members dominate.

Sunday's better - the good living folk don't tend to play golf then. Saturday afternoons are normally okay with enough notice.

A quick rundown:

Malone: Brilliant, very mature parkland course. Snobby members who will make you unwelcome. About £70 green fees. 3-4 miles from Belfast City Centre.

Belvoir Park: Excellent, very mature parkland course. Proper old style parkland golf. Green fees are about £65, but I've found on a Saturday afternoon, they run specials at half price. It's only about 2 miles from Belfast City Centre. Wonderful clubhouse.

Lisburn: Fine parkland track, again very mature. About 10 miles from Belfast City Centre, so a bit out of the way. £50 green fee.

Dunmurry: Very decent parkland course, about 5 miles from Belfast City Centre. It's a bit snobby and jumped up, but a very decent walk. About £45 green fee.

Knock: Mature, undulating parkland course that requires you to be long off the tee. About 4 miles out from city centre. About £40 green fee.

Shandon Park: Something similat to Knock except a liitle shorter and has a couple of markedly poor holes.

Balmoral: A decent course only 2 miles from Belfast Centre.  Some people drool about it, I found it a tad flat and uninspiring.


Avoid Ormeau, Aberdalghy, Castlereagh or Colin Valley.


If you can get a decent green fee on Belvoir, I'd recommend it the most. As well as quality of course, it's handy from the City and the kind of place you could dump your car for the night, and get a taxi back into town (and out the next morning) after sampling a few pints for about £7.

Wobbler I'm shocked and saddened - you left Cliftonville. Its a 9-hole course with a crap clubhouse but has some really really really great members. Well, one anyway.

Also there is Fortwilliam. It has a good clubhouse and decent course though on the side of a hill so it is known as the crossword course:
6 up, 6 down, 6 across.

Mallusk is also in the "to be avoided" category.
Cover me in chocolate and feed me to the lesbians

Joxer

Heading to Sligo this weekend and hopefully will get a couple of rounds of Golf in.  Anyone play  Rosses Point?  What is it like?

Geoff Tipps

Quote from: Joxer on February 16, 2011, 04:11:41 PM
Heading to Sligo this weekend and hopefully will get a couple of rounds of Golf in.  Anyone play  Rosses Point?  What is it like?

Only played Strandhill. It's v nice but Rosses point and Enniscrone are much more highly regarded.

The Real Laoislad

Ok we have it narrowed down to 3 courses

Malone
Dunmurry
Balmoral

When you say Malone and Dunmurry are snobby thewobbler is it really that bad or is it because you look like a traveller and parked up in your Toyota Hiace?
What's snobby about them?
btw I see Malone has 27 holes so it might be easier get a tee time on a Saturday afternoon.
You'll Never Walk Alone.

thewobbler

Haha, no hiace here Laois Lad, I've never got my hands dirty in my life!

Malone is where the bigwigs of Belfast society play. They don't particularly need visitors, and they've got an old style green jacket brigade who'll watch your every move from you enter the grounds until you tee off, to make sure you're worthy.

In truth, this shouldn't affect your experience, once you get out and about it's one if the most pleasant walks you'll ever enjoy, and the clubhouse grub is good. But if you're one of those fellas who gets unsettled by watching eyes, you could leave here feeling paranoid and upset!

I'm not that kind of person by the way.

Dunmurry, I haven't been there in 10 years and should really give it another rattle. I thought the pro was one of the biggest arseholes I've ever come across - but that may have had something to do with my studentish demeanour. My overriding memory of that round was dagger eyes everywhere.

The Real Laoislad

Quote from: thewobbler on February 16, 2011, 09:22:39 PM
Haha, no hiace here Laois Lad, I've never got my hands dirty in my life!

Malone is where the bigwigs of Belfast society play. They don't particularly need visitors, and they've got an old style green jacket brigade who'll watch your every move from you enter the grounds until you tee off, to make sure you're worthy.

In truth, this shouldn't affect your experience, once you get out and about it's one if the most pleasant walks you'll ever enjoy, and the clubhouse grub is good. But if you're one of those fellas who gets unsettled by watching eyes, you could leave here feeling paranoid and upset!

I'm not that kind of person by the way.

Dunmurry, I haven't been there in 10 years and should really give it another rattle. I thought the pro was one of the biggest arseholes I've ever come across - but that may have had something to do with my studentish demeanour. My overriding memory of that round was dagger eyes everywhere.

Wouldn't be too keen on the sounds of that wobbler..I dunno is it just a nordie thing? ;)

Only place down here I found to be snobby bastards is the Heritage in Laois though I didn't think too many courses would be snobby now with the way numbers are down.

Reckon based on what you say Dunmurry might be the best option.
You'll Never Walk Alone.

Groucho

Quote from: Joxer on February 16, 2011, 04:11:41 PM
Heading to Sligo this weekend and hopefully will get a couple of rounds of Golf in.  Anyone play  Rosses Point?  What is it like?

Rosses Point is way overrated IMHO, Enniscrone is underrated, Strandhill not as tough as the other two but still a good course. If you don't mind a bit of a drive try and get to Murvagh (Donegal Town) it is a gem.
I like to see the fairways more narrow, then everyone would have to play from the rough, not just me

Groucho

Posted: February 16, 2011
A year ago this week, Tiger Woods returned to public view in the form of a hastily arranged confessional before a room full of close friends and millions of television viewers. His dirty laundry had been hung for all to see, so Woods put on a blazer, looked us in the eye and vowed to change his ways.

On the golf course, things have remained very much the same. Woods' victory total hasn't budged, and as he reminded us again last Sunday in Dubai, his competitive deportment leaves a bad taste in the mouths of many. To be fair, Tiger faces a much higher level of scrutiny than other Tour pros. No player is given nearly the same amount of attention during a final-round telecast when he is out of contention, nor does anyone do a poorer job of hiding his displeasure when things aren't going well. Call it a flammable mix.




Tiger Woods promises to be better behaved on the course during his Feb. 19, 2010 statement. (Getty Images)No one but Woods would warrant several seconds of camera time while squatting on a green, then turning his head and spitting onto the putting surface, a defiant act by a man whose nature is not wholly compatible with the simplest laws of compliance. Still, it boggles my mind that the incident was picked up by so many media agencies beyond the golf community. Front-page news: Sir Eldrick hocks a loogie.

Having known Woods for the better part of 15 years, having spent considerable time with him on practice ranges and putting greens in addition to a few occasions away from the course, I got to know the guy who wasn't built for mass consumption. Petulant, definitely a bit sophomoric, but not in a harmful way. Overly sarcastic, exceptionally quick-witted -- Tiger always struck me as the caricature of a man's man, and if he wasn't the greatest golfer who ever lived, you might politely describe him as an acquired taste.

I've often told those who ask that the Tiger Woods they've seen in television ads is a 180-degree departure from the real dude in the red shirt, and for more than a decade, there really weren't many conflicts. Woods was so good at playing golf and smiling on cue that marketing him as a wholesome, warm-blooded assassin was basically a no-brainer. He sold Buicks, fished off a pier with some unwitting codger and built a foundation that helped hundreds of kids from an educational standpoint.

He did a lot of good, won a lot of trophies, and when he did something bad, there weren't any cameras around. Meanwhile, I spent a lot of time thinking. If you want to win 19 major titles and stuff every all-time record in your pocket, you have to turn up all the alpha-male dials and leave 'em there. As Springsteen said, "no retreat, no surrender." That's not a gameface, partner. That's just who I am.

People aren't ganging up on Woods now because he's winless since whenever. He got beat up for cussing and tossing clubs when he was hauling in six victories a season, but from the viewpoint of a wide-angle lens, he was a champion without peer, chained to exceedingly high standards, ferocious in his pursuit of excellence and atrocious when it came to controlling his temper. Way back when, Tiger's conduct was easier to rationalize – you could always point to that great big pile of Ws.

Ain't no pile anymore. When Woods stepped to that podium on Feb. 19, 2010, I think he really intended to change. I also think he thought he could salvage his marriage, but when that didn't happen and the victory drought got larger, he realized, perhaps subconsciously, that trying to be Mr. Nice Guy wasn't working. Better to win golf tournaments and be yourself than to not and not.

So here we are, one year later. Tiger tried to cover up the saliva with his putter, but that didn't work, either.

View All John Hawkins Articles ►
I like to see the fairways more narrow, then everyone would have to play from the rough, not just me

leaveherinsir

Quote from: Groucho on February 17, 2011, 06:53:05 PM
Quote from: Joxer on February 16, 2011, 04:11:41 PM
Heading to Sligo this weekend and hopefully will get a couple of rounds of Golf in.  Anyone play  Rosses Point?  What is it like?

Rosses Point is way overrated IMHO, Enniscrone is underrated, Strandhill not as tough as the other two but still a good course. If you don't mind a bit of a drive try and get to Murvagh (Donegal Town) it is a gem.
I would rank Rosses Point above Murvagh, but would agree with you on the other two. Murvagh is a good course, but i think every time ive played it, its been "pishin out of the high heavens". But sure thats Donegal for you!

leaveherinsir

#999
Quote from: The Real Laoislad on February 16, 2011, 10:29:15 PM
Quote from: thewobbler on February 16, 2011, 09:22:39 PM
Haha, no hiace here Laois Lad, I've never got my hands dirty in my life!

Malone is where the bigwigs of Belfast society play. They don't particularly need visitors, and they've got an old style green jacket brigade who'll watch your every move from you enter the grounds until you tee off, to make sure you're worthy.

In truth, this shouldn't affect your experience, once you get out and about it's one if the most pleasant walks you'll ever enjoy, and the clubhouse grub is good. But if you're one of those fellas who gets unsettled by watching eyes, you could leave here feeling paranoid and upset!
I'm not that kind of person by the way.

Dunmurry, I haven't been there in 10 years and should really give it another rattle. I thought the pro was one of the biggest arseholes I've ever come across - but that may have had something to do with my studentish demeanour. My overriding memory of that round was dagger eyes everywhere.

Wouldn't be too keen on the sounds of that wobbler..I dunno is it just a nordie thing? ;)

Only place down here I found to be snobby b**tards is the Heritage in Laois though I didn't think too many courses would be snobby now with the way numbers are down.

Reckon based on what you say Dunmurry might be the best option.
I've never played Dunmurry before but wouldnt reckon it would be a patch on Malone,Belvoir Park or Lisburn (best course in the area imo). RLL, if you are headin north for golf in the future, i would recommend the links courses, you could either do Co.Down (Newcastle, kilkeel or Ardglass) or Co Derry/Antrim coast (Portrush, Portstewart, Castlerock, ballycastle to name but a few) Before you go to Belfast check out the GUI website, they list all the open days

DrinkingHarp

I don't know if this was seen ouside of the States but this guy is one p***k. Jim Gray, a sports announcer, was thrown off the Golf Channel for an argument with Dustin Johnson's caddy.This isn't the first time this guy has made a sporting event more about himself than the actual sport. I just can't stand how someone so egocentric and plain boring is still working in this kind of industry.

>:( >:(

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/613244-cassy-herkelman-dale-earnhardt-nba-all-star-weekend-and-fridays-sports-news/entry/48233-jim-gray-sportscaster-yanked-off-golf-channel-after-argument

Gaaboard Predict The World Cup Champion 2014

heganboy

Never underestimate the predictability of stupidity

Groucho

Draw
1-Lee Westwood (Britain) v 64-Henrik Stenson (Sweden)
32-Nick Watney (U.S.) v 33-Anthony Kim (U.S.)
16-Retief Goosen (South Africa) v 49-K.J. Choi (South Korea)
17-Francesco Molinari (Italy) v 48-Ryan Moore (U.S.)
8-Steve Stricker (U.S.) v 57-Matteo Manassero (Italy)
25-Charl Schwartzel (South Africa) v 40-Ryo Ishikawa (Japan)
9-Luke Donald (Britain) v 56-Charley Hoffman (U.S.)
24-Edoardo Molinari (Italy) v 41-Martin Laird (Britain)
4-Phil Mickelson (U.S.) v 61-Brendan Jones (Australia)
29-Rickie Fowler (U.S.) v 36-Peter Hanson (Sweden)
13-Matt Kuchar (U.S.) v 52-Anders Hansen (Denmark)
20-Louis Oosthuizen (South Africa) v 45-Bo Van Pelt (U.S.)
5-Graeme McDowell (Britain) v 60-Heath Slocum (U.S.)
28-Robert Allenby (Australia) v 37-Ross Fisher (Britain)
12-Ian Poulter (Britain) v 53-Stewart Cink (U.S.)
21-Alvaro Quiros (Spain) v 44-Yang Yong-eun (South Korea)
2-Martin Kaymer (Germany.) v 63-Noh Seung-yul (South Korea)
31-Zach Johnson (U.S.) v 34-Justin Rose (Britain)
15-Robert Karlsson (Sweden) v 50-Hiroyuki Fujita (Japan)
18-Hunter Mahan (U.S.) v 47-Sean O'Hair (U.S.)
7-Rory McIlroy (Ireland) v 58-Jonathan Byrd (U.S.)
26-Adam Scott (Australia) v 39-Ben Crane (U.S.)
10-Jim Furyk (U.S.) v 55-Ryan Palmer (U.S.)
23-Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spain) v 42-Yuta Ikeda (Japan)
3-Tiger Woods (U.S.) v 62-Thomas Bjorn (Denmark)
30-Geoff Ogilvy (Australia) v 35-Padraig Harrington (Ireland)
14-Dustin Johnson (U.S.) v 51-Mark Wilson (U.S.)
19-Bubba Watson (U.S.) v 46-Bill Haas (U.S.)
6-Paul Casey (Britain) v 59-Richard Green (Australia)
27- Kim Kyung-Tae (South Korea) v 38-Jason Day (Australia)
11-Ernie Els (South Africa) v 54-Jeff Overton (U.S.)
22-Tim Clark (South Africa) v 43-Camilo Villegas (Colombia)

.
Never realised it was that far from Holywood to Rathmore ;)

Few quid EW on Kim 8)
I like to see the fairways more narrow, then everyone would have to play from the rough, not just me

Joxer

For a bit of Interest:  Done

Ryan Moore
Bubba Watson
Goosen
Ricky Fowler
Nick Watney

Accum works out just under 20/1

Fancy Watney or Wee Rory for outright.

anportmorforjfc

Should be a great week of golf!

Think Watson, Stricker and McDowell will do well.