Advantages: Cheap,easy to use and well made
Disadvantages: Not suited to all golfers. Not for the experts!

...OK, so by now you should know my new passion is golf. Golf is a game I always imagined old men playing with nothing better to do than while away their retirement coffers on expensive sets of clubs. Well, not true. In fact, players like Sergio Garcia and Tiger woods have done a lot to popularise it with the younger set. When im at my local driving range, it always shocks me as to how many children are playing. However, good golf clubs cost some serious money. A set of good quality irons will set you back many hundreds of pounds. Or so I thought. I managed to pick my set of Hippo Irons up for a grand total of $79 at Edwin Watts Golf Store in Orlando on my recent trip to Florida (www.edwinwatts.com) and I think it is the best £50 I have ever spent. Yes. £50. This is a £200 set of golf clubs so if you have a credit card, you... Read review

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Advantages: Gorgeous scenary, great for golfers
Disadvantages: Must be a member to enjoy it all!

...KILLEEN GOLF CLUB Killenbeg, Kill, County Kildare, Republic of Ireland. 18 hole Parkland Course Par 72 Yardage 7121 SSS 73 **Directions to the course** Killeen is situated near Kill, just off the N7. To get to the golf course from the M50 moterway, take the N7 turn off at the Red Cow roundabout. Follow the Naas road past Rathcoole and take the right turn at Kill junction traffic lights. You then continue over the Straffan road for approximately 1/2 mile and take the first left turn (sign posted for Killeen). Continue on this road for a further 1/2 mile and the entrance to the Killeen Golf Club is on the left hand side. **Further Information** Secretary : Maurice Kelly Club and trolley hire. Practice and some catering facilities. Tel: 045-866003 Fax: 045-875881 Email:admin@killeengc.ie Membership... Read review

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Advantages: Challenging but accessible course for mid handicappers
Disadvantages: Not hard enough for better players and not the best course in the area

...Chelsfield Lakes Golf Club 'A good walk spoiled' is how one man once described golf but he was obviously a fool as there are few better ways to pass the time than by playing this most majestic of sports. In my part of the world we are spoilt for choice when it comes to courses and there are ones to suit all standards and pockets. Chelsfield Lakes is a pleasant pay and play course that will satisfy most golfers from beginners to good players. Very low handicappers may not find it enough of a challenge but for us mere mortals it has more than enough to keep us interested without ruining our confidence. The lakes of the title is bit misleading as there are only two on the course. One is far to the left of the 16th and doesn't come into play but the other is large and runs between the 9th and 18th fairways and most definitely comes... Read review

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Advantages: Interesting, challenging, cheap.
Disadvantages: None

...Niddry Castle Golf Club is a 9 hole course at Castle Road, Winchburgh, West Lothian, which is approximately 10 miles from the centre of Edinburgh and 45 miles from Glasgow. It is a parkland course playing around Niddry Castle with an 18 Hole length of 5518yds (Par 70)(4612yds Par 68 Ladies). It is fairly tight in places with water coming into play on 5 of the 9 holes. Another 9 holes are currently being built with a completion date of Spring 2003. Niddry Castle itself dates from 1490 and it is known that Mary Queen of Scots sought refuge there in 1568. It is not an attractive building but it has recently been restored as a private residence and is not open to the public. The golf course dates from around the time of the Second World War but lay dormant until the present club were formed in 1983. 1st. Par 3 (204yds: 172... Read review

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Advantages: Stunning scenery, Not too long
Disadvantages: Narrow tree-lined fairways, Irons must be accurate

...Boat of Garten truely is one of Scotlands hidden gems, and without doubt deserves to be recognised as the finest Highlands course. Starting out, the golfer is not too enthralled by the first hole, which is an unremarkable par-3. But from the second hole onwards, one becomes aware of the majesty of 'The Boat'. The second has a lovely meandering fairway leading to a wide green, and a drive to the left handside of the fairway offers the best chance of getting the ball close. The third hole is a tricky par-3 with danger both short and long. Under club and you will be hacking out of heavy gorse, over club and you will be down near the tracks of the delightful steam train that runs alongside the first 4 holes. The fourth is a genuine par-5, with large humps that will hide the path to the green. Stay left to get the best approach... Read review

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Advantages: Marvellous course and facilities. Very inexpensive.
Disadvantages: Not a lot.

...~ ~ You might be forgiven for thinking that golf here in Ireland has become an extremely expensive pastime over the last decade or so. Many courses, which were previously fairly accessible and cheap to play, have raised the price of a green fee to ridiculously high levels to cash in on the booming economy and the huge influx of tourists to the shores of the “Emerald Isle”. Even if you are lucky enough to be a member of a golf club, many clubs have acted in similar vein, raising their annual subscriptions to the point where you nearly need to take out a second mortgage to afford to play there. BRIEF HISTORY OF HOLLYSTOWN ~ ~ Back in the early 1990’s a few farsighted entrepreneurs foresaw the growing demand for golf at a reasonable price from the general public, and began to open “pay as you play”... Read review

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Advantages: decent clubs, very cheap
Disadvantages: the lowest iron is a 5 iron

...I have recently taken up the sport of golf, but whenever I have played be it at the driving range of the local 9 hole course I have always borrowed a friends clubs. The more I have played the more I have enjoyed the game so recently decided to purchase my first set of golf clubs. I was always given the impression that clubs were expensive, but when trawling through numerous internet sports equipment sites soon realised this was a bit of a myth. I had pinpointed 3 sets of clubs that I was considering purchasing all of which were between £55 and £100 - very cheap I thought. I finally decided on the Chicago SGS golf clubs which cost me £57.99 from www.thesportshq.com. At this price I didn't expect too much, but was thoroughly impressed when they arrived within three working days of purchase. Upon arrival I inspected the clubs and was very... Read review

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Advantages: So much history surrounding it
Disadvantages: Lack of catering facilities attached to the course but plenty in the vicinity

...HISTORY Musselburgh Old Course Golf Links is the oldest course in the world still in play and if you fancy a game with hickory clubs, then this is the place to come. It is reputed that Mary Queen of Scots played here in 1567 although the earliest tangible evidence only goes back to 1672. This course is steeped in history and has been attributed with various honours. The diameter of the hole (4.25 inches) is one such distinction as it was the size of the cutting implement used at Musselburgh and the R&A made the size mandatory in 1893. Don’t you sometimes wish they had used something just a bit bigger? It’s also reputed that the Brassie wood (a metal soled club) was invented here to enable golfers to play back to the course from the main road (A1) running along one side (after they had sliced their shots of course... Read review

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Advantages: Good quality. Easy to hit. Inexpensive.
Disadvantages: Not a lot!

...a feel for a club that they like and feel comfortable with, as well as having the opportunity to hit a few balls into their indoor practice nets. Nevada Bobs was my choice to buy new clubs for the wee lass. ~ ~ Nevada Bobs had a good range, (they always do, and at the right price, but that’s another review) and the set we eventually plumped for was a full set of Hippo I.Q. (ladies) Hippo are an American golf club manufacturing company that first sprung into prominence when they signed up the big hitting American professional, John Daly, shortly after he won his first major championship (the USPGA) so spectacularly back in the early 1990’s. They would be better known to most golfers for their range of drivers, but they also manufacturer various sets of irons. The Hippo I.Q. range are at the budget end of the market... Read review

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Advantages: See Opinion
Disadvantages: See Opinion

...and advice. All of the top professional players usually have their own caddies, who they pay a retainer and a percentage of their winnings, and who travel the globe with them. Caddie Cart – A caddie cart is one of those two wheel trolleys that golfers use to make transporting their heavy bags of clubs and equipment around the golf course a wee bit less strenuous. They used to be mostly pulled manually, but these days it is far more common for them to be electrically powered. (I’ve used a “Powakaddy” myself for the past few years, since middle age started to take its inevitable toll on the old bones!) Clubhouse – Where you go to have a sh*t, shower and shave after your round. Also where loads of golfers congregate to drink copious amounts of alcohol, and to dissect every single shot of their round in tedious... Read review

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