Quote:
Originally Posted by dagolfdoc
Alan is a member at my club - I've watched him play & practice a few times. He's solid, but there are some areas he definitely needs to improve to contend at the next level. Just my opinion though.
Derailing, but why did an Irish guy who plays in Europe join a club in Georgia? Or is it more of an honorary membership to get high profile golfers playing there when they're around?
Double derail, but I woke up at 6am for a 1pm Member/Member and can't get back to sleep so I'm going to tell a story that is barely related. (Ireland + Golf + Course Membership)
I lived outside of Dublin for two years in a town called Dun Laoghaire. The main reason I chose to live in this town was because they had a golf course literally in the middle of the town. I didn't intend to get a car so it gave me a chance to be within walking distance of a course. It was a decent course, but it was 100 years old, no way to expand it or lengthen holes, small clubhouse. I would classify it as well kept municipal course, but they had equity membership that had passed down through families through the years. Over the years, the membership started buying the land in chunks to the point where the membership owned all the land.
It was the peak of the housing bubble and land was at a premium all around Dublin, so right after I moved there (think I had played there twice), I found out that a few years earlier, developers had made a sweetheart deal to the members. Sell us this land to build houses/condos/apartments, and we'll build you a new course 10 miles South of town. There were some members that objected since they basically lived on the course, but overall it was too good to pass up. The money was big, and they were able to ask for the moon on the new course.
27 holes, massive clubhouse, fitness center, indoor training/video center, covered driving range (very important in Ireland). And it's a really cool location, with views of the mountains. So the members got a huge upgrade, and the developers probably went out of business two years later.
Anyway, the new course opened up in August 2007, very close to where Padraig Harrington lives. The story was, Padraig had heard it was going to be first rate, and he showed up right as it opened and asked if he could join.
Seeing as he had just become the first Irishman to win the British Open in 60 years a few weeks before, they naturally said yes and tried to insist that he get his membership for free, or become some kind of Golf Pro Emeritus or whatever. And Padraig being the humble guy he is said he was only going to join if he could be a paying member just like everyone else. So he did.
Cliffs:
-Padraig is humble
-Would be cool to be a member and get that an upgrade like that (plus cash)