Worth driving west for the best bargains

Arising out of last week's piece about green fees at the Old Head being pitched at £190 for this year, it seems fair to draw an overall picture of the Irish market. Though golf here is undoubtedly becoming increasingly expensive, there are areas of the country where it could be said to be downright cheap.

Overall, Irish golf remains very competitive when compared with our neighbours and possible rivals in Britain. For instance, at the top end of the market, a peak-season round on the West Course at Wentworth will cost Stg £200 this year which is a five-per-cent increase on 2000 and more than £260 in our currency.

Looking at a top rate of £125 for a weekend round at Portmarnock, it should also be noted that the weekend rate at Royal Birkdale and Royal Troon is the same figure in sterling, making it about £40 more expensive. And at the other end of the British scale, fees of around Stg £20 can readily be found there.

Like Wentworth, the price at the Old Head is not particularly relevant in that the customers at these establishments would not be concerned about such details. In fact for the average golfer, any green fee higher than £50 is probably out of reach, bar an exceptional circumstance.

But according to Paddy O'Looney, the chief executive of SWING, Irish golf will continue to remain competitive only so long as sterling and the American dollar retain the dominant positions in the exchange markets. In that context, it is highly significant that the dollar has weakened markedly in the last two months.

The five main clubs in the SWING region are Ballybunion, Killarney, Lahinch, Tralee and Waterville, but they also do a marketing job for Dingle (Ceann Sibeal), Dooks and Dromoland Castle. With those five main clubs, it is interesting to note that from combined green fees of £95 when SWING was founded in 1987, they increased to £135 in 1993, to £298 last year and to a cumulative £375 for the coming season.

"Those sort of increases are in danger of putting us into a one market situation," said O'Looney. "Even at this stage, continentals in the Euro-zone are opting for cheaper areas of the country. And as far as the average Irish and British golfer is concerned, it must be acknowledged that golf at the premier clubs in the south-west and in Dublin has become too expensive."

So, where are the bargains? They are all over the country if people are prepared to look. For instance, a round at the charming nine-hole stretch at Cushendall, Co Antrim, can be had for Stg £13 on weekdays. And at the other end of the country in Dungarvan, it would be difficult to beat West Waterford for value at £18, remembering that its championship standard course happened to be the 100th creation of Eddie Hackett.

But for value in numbers, the west is the place. Granted the courses there are somewhat scattered with the result that quite a bit of driving will be involved in playing a worthwhile selection, but the cost in petrol will be more than offset by green-fee prices.

For instance, Galway Bay is available on weekdays at £40 peak season; a weekday round can be had at Bearna for £25; Connemara is a modest £30 while the championship stretch at Westport, which was designed by Fred Hawtree, is a positive snip at £25. The finest value out west, however, is the £25/£30 weekday/weekend rate at Carne in Belmullet, where Hackett did some of his finest work.

Then, on a drive towards Sligo, there is the opportunity of savouring the new, duneland holes designed by Donald Steel at Enniscrone, for fees of £30/£40. Value for money can also be had in the midlands, where Glasson change a modest £32 from Monday to Thursday. All of which will be old hat to the price-sensitive Swedes, who have become regulars at these venues.