TEEING OFF: BRENDAN JAMES
A FRIEND of mine recently returned from a golfing holiday with three mates in Ireland. It was a 16-day vacation that was a year in the planning and something he had dreamed of doing for as long as I can remember.
In short, the itinerary saw the group land in Dublin and head across the north of the Emerald Isle before travelling down the west coast to the famous courses of the south west and the Ring of Kerry. In all, they played 18 courses in 16 days … a demanding schedule in anyone’s language.
Such an odyssey was never going to be cheap, especially given the exchange rate and the fact they had cherry-picked to play the most famous and renowned courses in Northern Ireland and the Republic. Saying that, the cost wasn’t a great concern for Josh and his mates, who either work in the finance industry or own their own businesses. But some of the numbers blew me away. For example, the total cost of green fees for their 18 rounds was almost the same as the return business class airfare from Sydney to Dublin.
That’s right … they dished out A$5,490 each in green fees! The cheapest round was €75 at Dingle Golf Club on the Ring of Kerry, while the most expensive was at Old Head where the group parted with €1,100 to play 18 holes. That’s about 430 Aussie dollars each, or $23 per hole.
I guess what astonished me the most at hearing these huge numbers was how much the golfing landscape had changed in Ireland. When I first visited there in 1997 with fellow golf writer Rod Morri we paid a fraction of the current green fees. Even when I toured there 10 years ago the cost of a round was more than half of what it is now. I can’t imagine too many locals these days would be regularly playing these top end courses like Royal County Down, Ballybunion, Lahinch, Portmarnock and host of others. In many respects, it is a reflection of how the game in some countries is becoming less and less accessible to the masses.
All this made me think how lucky we are in Australia to have access to great golf courses that are far more affordable than most places in the world.
In the past few months, I’ve spent a lot of time travelling around the country photographing and reviewing courses – everywhere from King Island to Kalgoorlie – and the quality of accessible, affordable golf we have in this country is second to none.
Consider this, for example. You can spend an entire day playing unlimited holes at Barnbougle Dunes for $150, it’s the same next door at Lost Farm. These courses are world ranked and right on our door step.
Next month, we’ll present the Top-100 Public Access Courses ranking and you’ll be able to drool over the prospect of playing these gems and more. And then spare a thought for our golfing friends abroad who probably have to squirrel their pennies away to play courses of the same quality.
THE QUALITY OF ACCESSIBLE, AFFORDABLE GOLF WE HAVE IN THIS COUNTRY IS SECOND TO NONE.