Dublin golfers in danger of the yips at high cost of membership

The old joke about Dublin's southside-northside divide is starting to ring true for golfers in the city, only this time the northsiders are doing the laughing. At a time of unprecedented growth in the golf industry, with ever more people playing the sport, a significant difference has emerged in the prices which prospective members of new clubs on either side of the Liffey must pay.

More people are taking to Ireland's fairways. From 1986 to 1999, the number of men playing golf has increased by 106 per cent to 138,704, and the number of women by 93 per cent to 46,590. Newcomers to the sport, however, especially in south Dublin, are paying a heavy price for the explosion in numbers.

With many of the traditional members' clubs in the city at saturation point, and the prospect of up to a 10-year wait to gain entry to such establishments, golfing southsiders have taken to invading north Wicklow - and are paying serious money for the privilege.

A shareholding in the new Glen of the Downs course started in 1996 at £2,000 but each subsequent release of shares - effectively, a redeemable membership - saw a steady increase with the last tranche of shares selling at £25,000 each. Further down the N11, membership of Druids' Glen, which has hosted the Irish Open, can be had for £40,000 plus VAT and an annual subscription of £1,705.

Many of the new developments are not members' clubs and, instead, offer redeemable shares. The extent to which these shares have risen since their introduction reflects the attitude of the golfing cubs in this Celtic Tiger economy.

When Powerscourt introduced a first tranche of redeemable shares in 1994, they were offered at £2,500; the last was sold in 1997 for £18,000. Now, a second 18-hole course is being developed on the estate and the shareholding in the company has been increased by 300. The first 100 shares are being offered to existing preferential shareholders (members) for their family to buy at £20,000 each. The balance will be on offer to the 360 people on the waiting list at £25,000 each. All the shares are expected to be sold within six months.

In contrast, on the north side of Dublin, a prospective member of Turvey Golf Club in Donabate can buy a transferable share, including his or her first-year subscription, for £3,600. Outside Dublin, the entrance fee at Tramore Golf Club is £1,296 and £1,823 at Oughterard (including annual subscription and levy).