Feature: Johnny Watterson visits Seafield golf club in Ballymoney near Gorey, Co Wexford, that is hoping to secure a place at the top end of the market.
One of the truisms in Irish golf now is that any course trying to break into the top end of the market in Ireland has serious competition. When the course is an hour or so outside Dublin, the drive south past clubs of the calibre of Druids Glen, Druids Heath, Powerscourt or Pat Ruddy's jewel at the European Club raises the bar just about as high as it can go.
In the other direction out west of the capital The K Club and The Heritage as well as City West also seek to attract their customers from the upper end of the market.
One of the questions that the club manager Dara O'Neill and his new Seafield course at Ballymoney, near Gorey in Wexford, has to ask is similar to the question another new club such as The Heritage must ask itself. Why drive past courses like The K Club on one side or Druids Glen and The European on the other to spend the corporate dollar on a course that is less accessible to the city?
According to O'Neill, who worked at Myrtle Beach, USA, for a number of years, the corporate green fee has shrunk since the heady days of three years ago. There is no panic in the industry, no oh-my-god-what-are-we-going-to-do scenarios but a lot more effort is now being made to attract green fees into what is now a more competitive market.
"This is not a doom and gloom scenario but the corporate days just don't seem to be as prevalent any more. Definitely it has been made tougher since September 11th along with the other factors that affect the tourist numbers," says O'Neill.
"The corporate groups that we get from Irish companies are much tighter, smaller groups. Companies now seem to put a lot more time into these people. It's quality more than quantity. It's as if they bring out the clients they want and invest in those ones, spend more time with them and bring them to an exclusive destination.
"I'd say the corporate spend in golf is definitely down. There has been a levelling off. The groups that have been to Seafield have come back but in noticeably smaller numbers. The number of new companies that have booked has definitely dropped." O'Neill is also a member of the Course Management Association of Europe (CMAE), an organisation that was launched in Ireland two years ago and looks after what it believes to be the important aspect of the golf industry.
Ireland is currently the strongest region in Europe with nearly 100 club managers in all. The association sets industry standards and encourages best practices among clubs in an effort to make the golf industry collectively better.
In Seafield they have also followed a growing American trend, which has also been embarked upon by several of the previously mentioned clubs and that is the parallel development of housing along the fringes of the course. Seafield have embraced this concept and have employed Irish rugby captain Brian O'Driscoll to give the scheme a profile in what they consider the right market.
At the moment Seafield have planning for 125 detached homes that start at 465,000, including membership of the golf club, which is currently running at 20,000. The houses in that price range have four bedrooms and are 1,650 to 1,850 square feet in size. Prices at the more expensive ends for the 3,500-4,000 square feet houses run up to anything from between 800,000-900,000.
"It's a lifestyle that you are selling," says O'Neill. "It depends what you are looking for. You get away from the city. It's relaxed. You wake up and you are on a golf course. It is definitely an American trend. I spent 11 years in the US and this type of development has taken off. Here it has taken off in the last three years. Now there are six or seven, maybe eight golf courses that are building property around the site.
The K Club have been building exclusive houses around the fringes of the older course for some years now with prices well in excess of 1 million, while the Heritage in Co Laois has also embarked on developing sites around the course. Seve Ballesteros, who was involved in the design of the course, has reputedly bought one of them.
"That property option is being used more and more in golf course planning," says O'Neill.
"Given the competitiveness between courses it is difficult for them to be profitable as a stand alone golf club. With the property element included, it makes it very viable as a business set up.
"At Seafield I would say that the course would be the number one attraction but the development of the housing, other aspects like the walk we have down by the stream and through the woods to the beach are important elements. That's the sort of aspect to the course that people who have invested in houses here would value."
"Obviously the top end of the market is not for the faint hearted or the thin of wallet. But in that band there are clubs, such as the Heritage, charging 40,000 for an entrance fee. Powerscourt is not as expensive but you still need €20,000 in spare cash if you are thinking of trying to join.
"We have designed our entrance fee as a fully tradable preferential share," says O'Neill. "So whatever it goes to in the future, you can sell it at that price. It's a new departure for golf clubs. We are one of the first to do it and it's a very popular option. The idea of an asset that provides you with all the benefits of the golf club is an unusual option.
"We've had significant up take this year as a result and we will be increasing it to 25,000, 30,000 and over time we'd hope that it would appreciate to €40,000. You, know, years ago when I arrived at Myrtle Beach, which is a 70-mile strip of land, there were about 70 golf courses. I couldn't believe it at the time. Last count there were 130 golf courses. Even though there have been many new courses built in Ireland, the numbers (playing golf) continue to grow."
At the moment Seafield is just outside the commutable distance from Dublin but when the M50 is completed the management believes that the Dublin catchment area will be within striking distance.
It is certainly less hassle to drive down the east coast from the south side of Dublin city than travel across town to any courses to the north or currently to the west, while the M50 is under construction. The club expects two lanes to be open next year and then they'll be pushing hard for companies to try them out as a destination.
"We've got extremely good corporate rates, absolutely. Competition is a good thing and we are competing. We've superb meeting facilities for up to 120 people. There is no doubt that you have to pass superb facilities to get here but if it is something different people are looking for I think we provide it."
While the newness of the houses and the entrance area is still apparent, the course does have a removed feel to it.
Driving in the gates there is an impressive sweep of green course, while the clubhouse itself is stylish and not oversized.
"The most important thing is the balance between green fees and members especially when you are trying to attract new members. You have to look at what the members needs are and balance that against the business of golf. We have one owner, so we can talk and come to decisions quickly."
Seafield opened about a year ago and will obviously take some years to mature as a course. It sweeps along the coastline and provides glorious scenery. The development side of the project is kept strictly away from the coastline so the view from the clubhouse terrace looking out over the course is green grass and sea.
"It's about a year since the course opened and sure golf courses always take time to mature. I'm sure there will be suggestions made to improve it. But we're very happy with it at the moment. Courses are always living breathing things, so yeah, you'd expect itto change," says O'Brien.
There is no tried and trusted way outside the hosting of a major championship to really promote a golf course. At the moment that is just a thought but Seafield also realises it is a huge step forward to try and do that.
Meanwhile, they always have O'Driscoll to help.
