News:

Welcome to the Golf Club Atlas Discussion Group!

Each user is approved by the Golf Club Atlas editorial staff. For any new inquiries, please contact us.


Michael Whitaker

  • Karma: +0/-0
"Solving the paradox of proportionality is the heart of golf architecture."  - Tom Doak (11/20/05)

Stan Dodd

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Machrihanish Dunes: 3 days/2 nights for only £179! in August
« Reply #1 on: July 01, 2010, 05:23:27 PM »
Michael ,
Are you going?

Tiger_Bernhardt

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Machrihanish Dunes: 3 days/2 nights for only £179! in August
« Reply #2 on: July 01, 2010, 09:49:45 PM »
Is the course worthy. I am not a big fan of Kidds courses

Michael Whitaker

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Machrihanish Dunes: 3 days/2 nights for only £179! in August
« Reply #3 on: July 01, 2010, 11:10:24 PM »
Michael ,
Are you going?

No can do. I'm all tied up in the States until September.
"Solving the paradox of proportionality is the heart of golf architecture."  - Tom Doak (11/20/05)

John Cornish

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Machrihanish Dunes: 3 days/2 nights for only £179! in August
« Reply #4 on: July 01, 2010, 11:34:57 PM »
3 rounds at Machrihanish Golf Club and a local B&B for around the same money represents better value IMO.

Chris DeNigris

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Machrihanish Dunes: 3 days/2 nights for only £179! in August
« Reply #5 on: July 01, 2010, 11:57:30 PM »
John,

Curious...have you played Mach Dunes?  Actually 3 rounds for 179 is a bargain even without the 2 night cottage stay.

If you're going to travel to Campbelltown you're going to play both courses...and they are both fantastic.

John Cornish

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Machrihanish Dunes: 3 days/2 nights for only £179! in August
« Reply #6 on: July 02, 2010, 01:31:38 AM »
Chris, I have played Mach Dunes and was incredibly disappointed. The greens were 'carnival-like' and the condition was awful. I realise they were hampered by the whims of the "bug and insect people" with what land they could use and what needed to remain untouched, and I feel for the developer. I spoke with Kidd's Project Manager at the time and suggested he visit some classic courses to see how great greens are built. Machrihanish does no fit this category, IMO.

The accommodation was not open at the time I visited, but nearing completion and looked to be very good compared to anything in the village or in Campbeltown, so that's a big tick for them.

The price they're offering (179 GBP) is competitive with the three rounds at Machrihanish GC, plus B&B Accom in the village and I'd suggest that to any friend who were going there rather than subjecting them to Kidd's folly. I'm no fan of the greens at the Castle course in St Andrews either, so that may give you some idea of where my preferences lie.

John

Robin Doodson

Re: Machrihanish Dunes: 3 days/2 nights for only £179! in August
« Reply #7 on: July 02, 2010, 07:53:23 AM »
i would highly recommend the whole Machrihanish experience to anyone. Mach Dunes is very cool and the condition of the golf course is irrelevant as it is what it is. the environmental restrictions on the golf course are unprecedented and in spite of this the golf course is in remarkable condition. you really need to leave your pre-conceived ideas behind and remember that this golf course wasn't really constructed but it's more like 18 flags were placed on an amazing piece of land for all to enjoy. It really is golf in its purest form but if perfect lies, golf carts and GPS are your thing then you probably won't appreciate it. i'm hoping to hop over the week after the open for my second visit and am desperately looking forward to it.

If you fancy a golfing adventure give Mach Dunes a try.

Robin

Chris DeNigris

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Machrihanish Dunes: 3 days/2 nights for only £179! in August
« Reply #8 on: July 02, 2010, 08:01:22 AM »
John,

You are continuing to pique my curiosity....when exactly did you play Mach Dunes?

Their grand opening was last July and I'm pretty sure they had some of the cottages open at that time.

When I played it last September the course was in fantastic shape, greens included. They were having a problem with one of the seaside greens (maybe no 6?) but otherwise they were rolling great. Yes, they are very much Kidd greens with wonderful contours, and with the deliberate slower speeds they putt very well.

It's possible you might have played the course before it officially opened and possibly they might have had some conditioning issues at that time but I think they've been addressed and handled well. The sheep that arrived just prior to my playing the course have most likely helped control some of the rough as intended.

PS. If you don't like the contours of the Mach Dunes greens you'll probably want to avoid many of the courses that are admired here on this site.

Niall C

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Machrihanish Dunes: 3 days/2 nights for only £179! in August
« Reply #9 on: July 02, 2010, 01:56:57 PM »
Stan

Are you up for it ? I'm sure there might be a few others who would join in.

Niall

John Cornish

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Machrihanish Dunes: 3 days/2 nights for only £179! in August
« Reply #10 on: July 02, 2010, 06:07:03 PM »
John,

You are continuing to pique my curiosity....when exactly did you play Mach Dunes?

Chris,

I'm glad you're curious. I played the course maybe 3 weeks before the Open Championship last year, which was also 3 weeks before the opening. Let's face it - the course wasn't going to change a lot in three weeks. At the time, it certainly wasn't ready to open, again, IMO, and as I was reviewing the course on behalf of a travel company, my recommendation was that if my tour operator sent me (as a golf tourist) there instead of Mach GC, I would be less than impressed. I've made at least 5 trips to Machrihanish over the years and given a week of golf, would play Mach GC 6 days and perhaps Mach Dunes once.

And rather than question my taste in courses discussed on this site, please refer to my top 25 (well, 40ish) on page 11 of the recent thread. I’ve played a good number of courses around the world and have reasonable experience to be able to construct an opinion. I know what I like and prefer to make my own opinion, not just ‘own’ the opinions of others. Not everyone has to agree with me and quite often, they don’t.

Chris DeNigris

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Machrihanish Dunes: 3 days/2 nights for only £179! in August
« Reply #11 on: July 02, 2010, 08:47:55 PM »
John,

Go back and try it again...you might like it a lot more the 2nd time around. Really tough to form an accurate opinion of a brand new course if the only play is before they actually open. Especially given the challenges of this one in particular.

I haven't played the Castle Course (seen a bunch of pics) but aside from dramatic green contours I don't think the two courses have much in common.   

Which greens did you find too far over the top? Any comments on routing or other design aspects?

Stan Dodd

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Machrihanish Dunes: 3 days/2 nights for only £179! in August
« Reply #12 on: July 03, 2010, 02:31:07 AM »
Niall,
Wifey has given me a hall pass if I want.

Niall C

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Machrihanish Dunes: 3 days/2 nights for only £179! in August
« Reply #13 on: July 03, 2010, 06:08:29 AM »

Excellent, we're half way to a fourball. Anyone else interested ?

Niall

Robin Doodson

Re: Machrihanish Dunes: 3 days/2 nights for only £179! in August
« Reply #14 on: July 04, 2010, 04:22:28 PM »
Anyone interested in keeping up to date with the goings on at Mach Dunes can visit the blog by Keeper of the Green Keith Martin at www.machdunes.blogspot.com.

robin

Mark Pearce

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Machrihanish Dunes: 3 days/2 nights for only £179! in August
« Reply #15 on: July 04, 2010, 05:26:36 PM »
Oooh.  This is very tempting.  Let me see what the back end of August looks like.
In June I will be riding the first three stages of this year's Tour de France route for charity.  630km (394 miles) in three days, with 7800m (25,600 feet) of climbing for the William Wates Memorial Trust (https://rideleloop.org/the-charity/) which supports underprivileged young people.

Tags:
Tags:

An Error Has Occurred!

Call to undefined function theme_linktree()
Back