Boards Golf Society (Round 5) Greystones Golf Club (17th June 1330 hrs -1500 hrs)(GOLF AND SOCIAL)

Looking forward to this one. It will be nice to relax with a few pints and a chat after the round. Usually you are wolfing down the grub and getting on the road asap.

The only chance you get to socialise is Captain's night so this should be a nice chance to have a bit of craic.

Great idea Captain and Committee.

Blue note

Ti's a mere misdemeanor.

It's best to accumulate as many as possible. It only brings the same level of ire.

Also it is of absolute importance to be able to recognise misdemeanor and off side.

I will update you Saturday.

With 32 years experience in the trenches. I always ask if she would like to come with me. The normal answer is no eliminating the guilt trip when I go by myself.

in relation to fixes fairway finder, I have provisionally picked the 6 holes (I’d rather pick 8, we may review @FixdePitchmark ) and as he says, I’ll firm up when I play Saturday. There is one electrical pole on the 9th tee but it will take a shocker to hit it 😂

and remember the rules if you do hit electric cable/pole. Even if it finds the fairway……….. it doesn’t count, it must be replayed with no penalty.

interestingly with regards to @FixdePitchmark point no 5. Greystones is a tight and short track. Maybe playing sensible will actually benefit your score!

Lol, no I was only messing, just difficult to choose just 6 🤣

€2 sweep for nearest correct number of fairways hit without going over..

Personally, I think there should be an extra prize for anyone who hits the electricity pole on the 9th. I've seen it happen on more than one occasion. And if you do hit it, be grateful, because lord knows where your ball was heading!

Fix/Seve suggested I post some photos... so here are five from the past year. I've added a couple of tips below for what it's worth...

Photos are of:

• The 6th green left hand side (3rd green beyond)
• The 6th green back to fairway
• Uphill approach to the 7th green from the right hand side bunker
• View back to the tee on the par-4 13th

The 7th green at sunrise

Tips

1. Don't be above the flag on the 3rd. It leaves a wicked downhill putt that's almost impossible to control. As you leave the 2nd tee box, look at the 3rd green to your right and gauge the pin position.
2. On the par-3 5th you can afford to miss right... but never left.
3. On the par-4 6th (which I rate in the top 100 holes in Ireland!) you don't need a massive drive. The bunker down the right is a good line and just gently draw it in from there. Good luck with that because it rarely works for me. Behind the gorse down the left is a sharp hill that often kicks your ball back into the fairway. If Steve picks that as a Fairway Finder then he's just being cruel.
4. On 7, a good drive up the hill should reveal the green to the right of the rocks. If you haven't gone far enough to see the green then walk up to the ridge and take a look. Much of the green actually sits behind the rocky outcrop but always aim for the sliver of green you can see.
5. On the par-5 9th, unless you hit a massive drive (or the electricity pole) lay up short of the bunkers at the top of the hill. That leaves a 100-120 yard shot into a big green. There are two hidden bunkers on the left of the green.
6. Finally, on the par-4 17th there's a decent-sized ditch across the front of the green. From much of the fairway this is not visible so you may want to lay up with your second for a pitch-and-putt simple par.
7. Ask Seve about the mini-flags on the flagsticks, indicating whether the pin is front/middle/back, on holes when you can's see the putting surface (3, 4, 5, 7, 9... I think). I haven't a clue how it works and it is one of the most obscure systems I've ever come across. Middle of the green is always the safe play... except on the 3rd: see point 1!

Good luck. And see you there.

Great that you're joining us Kevin, are you a member in Greystones?

6th has to be in the challenge, that hole was made for a contest like this! Have played the course three times now I think and am 0/3, actually 0/6, if you include reloads! Have missed the fairway with 3 wood, 5 and 6 iron, great hole. Will need a new strategy I think 🤔

Greystones is a great track, real thinking man's golf course (front 9 especially), don't know how Seve won the Captain's there! 😉

The 6th isn’t hard anymore. Well not that hard. It used to locally known as the Garvaghy Road, well it still kinda is but it is not as apt anymore. When you get to it, imagine if everything on the hill on left was gorse and also everything to the right of the path was tall dense gorse, all the way back to the back of the tee box and you only that narrow strip to navigate.I’ll snap a pic on Saturday.

Now there is loads of room. 4 iron is as much as a long hitter will need (unless strong wind in your face). There will be very few lads hitting driver here. But if you are brave enough to hit the big stick the rewards can be huge. It is certainly the hole which has cost me most money in brand new pro v’s.

Yep, a member at Greystones. Been playing there since I was a kid. My grandad lived 50 yards from the 3rd (now 10th) fairway. Actually drove past his house a week ago and the bungalow has long gone. Five big houses in its place and not a practice putting green to be seen.

Has to be 6. And 13 too, I'm guessing

yes it's a tight track that has been putting manners on my game for over 30 years now although it is (as I mentioned earlier on) a little more forgiving nowadays. It is certainly a golf course that requires and rewards accuracy as opposed to suiting the bombers.

I would hazard a guess that this is probably the oldest club the society has ever visited with the exception of the Curragh. Opened in 1895 (127 years ago) initially as a 9 hole course with a beautiful clubhouse only a couple of minutes walk from the centre of the village. I am not sure when it became an 18 hole course but I think it was shortly after and would probably be well over 100 years ago. The original clubhouse pictured below suffered a fire in the early 1990's and we shortly after relocated to the current building, which itself is a very old manor house (maybe 100years+ I'm not sure exactly), sitting proudly atop of a hill.

In the years which followed, the front 9 was redesigned and there is no longer any trace of the old building. It was located to the left hand side of what is now the 8th fairway. The back 9 retains the original layout, although with gentle improvements here and there. Take a look at the old sign (nearly worn away now) on the big tree as you walk from the 13th Green to 14th tee box. It's funny that most of my time in Greystones has been played with the current layout, but I still often call holes by their old numbers, FFS Seve, they changed about 25 years ago! 🙄

So lots of history around the place with Ryder cup players and Irish Amateur Internationals having represented the club over the years. Take a walk around and look at the photos and memorabilia hanging around the walls. Of course there is a nice corner dedicated to Paul Dunne also. Don't miss the front lobby where the trophy cabinet is kept. I am honoured to have my name on the oldest (and many say the nicest) trophy in the club, The Residents Cup, which was apparently sponsored by the local residents over 100 years ago. Of course you might also spot my name on the wall in the main bar also 😁

"Of course you might also spot my name on the wall in the main bar also"

Don't serve this guy? 🤣

I have been looking forward to this outing since the courses and dates were released and it’s a super idea to take a day off work and play golf instead !! Captains prize nights out are always good craic because you realise you are not the only 1 that hit a bad shot or played not as good as you’d have hoped on the day and you can have a good laugh about it later…..

Fairplay to our Captain and Seve for organising the outing and getting a great rate aswell with food. Value for money these days is hard to find.

The Pictures are stunning Kevin , Hooked has been my Bible since taking up golf 10 years ago roughly and I use it to tick off what courses I’ve played and Dates, and on a very odd occasion a good score gets noted also(very odd occasion 😂)Looking forward to the exhibition. Thanks for giving up your time to set it up.

See ye in greystones

PP

In! Looking forward to it, should be able to sleep in my own bed which is nice. Now getting someone to collect me might be a bridge too far, but we'll see! 😄

Liking the sounds of things Fix, keep up the good work Captain! Thanks for all the organising Seve 😉

You betcha. 14 on the Wild Atlantic Dunes course