In the late 90s, when the Celtic Tiger’s roar was not quite at its loudest but fast approaching it, golf in Dublin, and the southside of the city in particular, was fast becoming an elitist pursuit.
So, when South Dublin County Council (SDCC) opened the doors (and fairways) of Grange Castle in 1998, it was just what the doctor ordered. Affordable, accessible, and soon to be acclaimed, this was the kind of triple-A rating the capital’s southern half desperately needed.
A little over 25 years on, those three ‘A’s remain at the heart of Grange Castle’s ethos and they continue to provide the canvas for artists of all sorts to test out their brush strokes, from budding juniors to seasoned veterans, male and female, rich and poor, beginners and long accomplished players, all are welcome to pay their rate and set out.
A club was established in 2001, allowing players to become members at affordable rates and benefit from the GUI affiliations that accompany, and to this day, a wide variety of membership packages are available, and the 800-strong membership are testament to the value and quality on offer.
SDCC brought in Synergy Golf to look after the management of the facility in 2004 and 10 years ago this year, extended that partnership to include all areas of golf course maintenance and it’s a labour of love for Synergy Director Andy Kenny who has a long affiliation with Grange Castle.
“I was a founding member of the club back in 2001,” Kenny recalls, “and myself and Garrett [Donnery – a co-owner of Synergy Golf with Kenny] played our first ever game of golf there. It’s very much a home away from home for us as a company and for the directors as individuals.”
The course itself was designed by Patrick Merrigan, the man responsible for designing the Slieve Russell course, the additional nine holes at Woodenbridge, and whose fingerprints can be found at Waterville, Old Head and Elm Park among others. Merrigan returned in the mid-noughties when the new ring road claimed some of the property’s land and SDCC intended to re-develop it into a 27-hole complex. But then, the Celtic Tiger ran out of breath, and this forced a cessation of development, meaning Merrigan’s new creations, plus two of the original 18, added up to 25 holes.
Rather than ripping up the original seven, these additional holes now form their own unique course, providing an alternative option for golfers who don’t have four hours to spare or those beginning for whom seven holes is plenty.
“The Special Olympics golf team have used the facilities at Grange Castle in preparations for the Olympic Games last year,” Kenny adds, “they had access to come and use the facility free of charge. Annually, it’s home to the only Special Olympics golf league in Europe and each month we host all of the Special Olympics golf teams in Dublin as they pit their skills against one another. That’s an association that has been connected to Grange Castle’s fundamental ethos which is ‘golf for all’.”
The seven holes – five par-4s and two par-3s, measuring 1,997 metres (2,184 yards) – are maintained to the same impeccable standard as the 18-hole, 6,800-yard par-72 Championship Course, and the facilities include a driving range that only the longest hitters will find the end of, practice chipping and putting greens, and all of the other amenities that you’d expect to find at a leavy private club. And the course is more than capable of holding its own, making it onto the ‘Top-100 Rankings’ in Irish Golfer’s annual listing in 2018, and when you consider the magnitude and depth of the competition, that’s no mean feat.
Mature trees, doglegs, six large water hazards and additional streams come into play on 13 holes (possibly 15 of the holes if you’re a little more wayward), and greens that roll pure and are constructed to USGA specification, there’s not much more to say other than that this is Championship golf at prices that are anything but.
“Ronan Branigan is one of our directors [at Synergy Golf] and he’s one of the leading agronomists in Ireland,” Kenny continued, “and the course is first rate and the guys who work on it to maintain it are at the top of their game. We’ve got lots of guys who’ve come from Carton House, and the course superintendent Paddy Carey and his team make sure that the course is always in great condition and always well presented.”
But, as witnessed at courses throughout the land, if you’re standing still, you’re losing ground and continued investment has ensured that Grange Castle has been able to move with the times and keep pace with neighbouring clubs.
“It’s been tweaked over the last 10 years,” Kenny said, “and we’ve put a lot of investment into upgrading tee boxes, adding new features, tree planting – we’re part of South Dublin’s major masterplan when it comes to environmental responsibilities so we’ve planted hundreds of trees in the past few years – we’re very much focused on sustainability which allows us to constantly improve which is very much the philosophy of our company and across all the golf courses we work with. And Grange Castle has gotten better each of the last 10 years.”
And improvements aren’t limited to on course, golf specific measures either. In 2023, in commemoration with the 25th anniversary, extensive clubhouse renovations were carried out that saw considerable upgrades to the locker rooms, pro shop, coffee shop, outdoor areas and the clubhouse roof.
And again, sustainability measures were a large part of the focus. Along with moving the entire golf buggy fleet to electric, all course maintenance equipment where possible and all ‘run around’ vehicles are electric as well, and sowing wildflower meadows in off-the-beaten-track areas, constructing bug hotels, bird boxes, biological corridors and reducing the usage of pesticides and on course water usage have all set Grange Castle up to go from strength to strength.
And with golf’s post-COVID popularity boom showing no signs of easing off, facilities offering top-class golf, tuition, practice facilities, and a variety of playing options all at reasonable prices are more important than ever.
And Grange Castle ticks every box!
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