‘Little apples will grow again” is an expression that’s packed with hope. And for Beaverstown Golf Club, built on land once occupied by the Lamb Brothers’ fruit farm and orchard near the wet meadows and riverine shallows of the Rogerstown Estuary in Donabate, the apple trees that line the fairways are a constant reminder that growth and renewal are part and parcel of club life.
In fact, the proof is not just in the playing of the magnificent golf course but in the splendour of the club’s bar where you may quench your thirst and toast your playing partners with the best organic apple juice and apple cider imaginable, made from apples harvested from the orchards on the course each year.
Ideally situated near Donabate, a popular seaside town of around 7,500, it has new schools, new housing developments, the Georgian splendour of Newbridge House, a magnificent beach, a new access road and a rail link to Dublin.
The golf course was built by the great Eddie Hackett in the mid-1980s and completely revamped in the 1990s and again at the turn of the millennium by former Walker Cup player and captain Peter McEvoy. The two-time British Amateur champion fell in love with the terrain and redesigned ten holes, re-routing the course and adding extra yardage to boot.
The result is a magnificent parkland test that measures close to 6,700 yards (5,972 m, par 72) for men and 5,580 yards (5,101m, par 73) for women, and it’s such a worthy test, who knows what budding Shane Lowrys or Leona Maguires will emerge now that juniors can join the club from the age of eight.
There are many great holes, and the course is a tribute to the club’s early stalwarts who spotted the promise of idyllic terrain down by the Rogerstown Estuary, where the club owns 20 acres of apple trees and 140 acres of land, a modern clubhouse that opened in 1988, a thriving membership and a burgeoning youth scene.
The decision to bring in McEvoy to redesign the course was a critical move, and the introduction of modern greens, designed to USGA standards, has clearly paid off as reflected in course ratings of 136 (white), 133 (yellow) and 130 (red).
The members are proud of the warm welcome given to newcomers coming in through Junior Golf or the Get into Golf programmes, bringing them out to play, helping them use the BRS booking system and generally welcoming them and helping them settle in.
It’s all part of a strong spirit of volunteerism with many members more than happy to give a little of their time to help out membership, administration or even course care.
“Something different” was how McEvoy described Beaverstown and its magnificent apple trees when he completed his redesign some 16 years ago.
“There are not many sites like this in Britain and Ireland. You get some on the continent with orange groves and olive groves, mainly in Spain,” he said. Then there’s the estuary and the stream. So, I had the kind of things you need to make something different.”
McEvoy’s trademark undulating greens are a feature of the course — “Everybody is hitting the ball further, so we must, therefore, examine the golfer from the other end,” he argued. “I would love to see really good players playing that finishing stretch in a top competition, just to see how they would manage it.”
When you combine a great site and an imaginative architect with decades of tender loving care from the members themselves, the result is a golfing Mecca for north Dublin and the country.
Of course, the magic ingredients had to be blended with great care during challenging economic times when membership numbers were under pressure following the financial crash of the late 2000s.
As club chairperson Sean Browne explained, “very real and critical” challenges were met head-on, and in 2016, the members decided to follow best practice for golf clubs and create a small management committee.
With the advent of Golf Ireland in 2020, Beaverstown took on board the advice laid out by Golf Ireland and Sport Ireland in the new Governance Guide and can now be considered a top club in terms of its organisational and management structure.
Many of the elements considered vital for good governance were already included in the five-year Strategic Plan created in 2016. Not only did it achieve its goal of increasing awareness of the club in the local community, but the plan also made it possible to link up with local schools, clubs and community organisations. As a result, the club’s website and its Instagram and Facebook pages have become vital communication tools, giving members a true sense of ownership and belonging.
The club is fortunate that many members are happy to sponsor projects or competitions, such as the €10,000 PGA Pro-Am, captured in 2017 by former European Tour winner Damien McGrane, whose fellow PGA professional Gavin Byrne offers first-class service at the club, with a five-under-par 67.
“The course presentation was exactly what I expected,” McGrane said at the time. “The greens were fast and true, and the welcome and hospitality from the members and staff, I always find second to none. The unique design of all eighteen holes in the orchard setting is testing and difficult but fair. I eagerly look forward to my return to Beaverstown, and I would recommend it to all golfers who are looking for a good day out.”
You can warm up in the swing room, use the practice area and putting green and even hire a buggy for your round at one of Ireland’s most scenic and testing parkland tests.
The opening hole is a dogleg-left, risk-reward classic of some 350 yards (closer to 300 from the red tees), offering big-hitting men a chance to take on the bunkers on the corner, leaving a short pitch. But beware the out of bounds down the right and perhaps consider a long iron or fairway wood for position, leaving a mid-iron approach and the chance of a safe par.
Now nicely warmed up, the brave player may contemplate going for the green on the short, par-four second, a high index hole that gives you a chance to build some confidence with a par, providing you avoid the bunkers on either side of the green.
The challenge at Beaverstown is to keep the ball out of the trees and apple orchards, plotting your way through the doglegs and over those billowing greens, which are the course’s biggest defence.
McEvoy’s favourite hole was the short, par-four 12th requiring an approach over a stream — known as the canal by the locals — to a green protected at the front by a large bunker and surrounded on the other three sides by apple trees.
As for the finish, the closing four holes are not for the faint-hearted. The examination begins with the par-five 15th, which is reachable in two for the young Turks but fraught with danger with trees left and a meandering stream, bunkers and out of bounds on the right. With water protecting the green both long and short, it rewards accuracy with a birdie or even an eagle putt but severely punishes the mis-hit.
The 16th is another demanding par-four, while the 17th, measuring 174 yards from the back tee, can make or break your card.
Not only does it demand a perfect tee shot over water to a green protected by sand, a stream, tall trees and out of bounds, the green more difficult to read than Finnegans Wake with its subtle breaks a test for even the best putters.
If your match is riding on the last, be warned. You will need your Sunday best drive followed by a long iron or even timber to find a multi-level green.
Two-putt for par here, and you most definitely deserved that glass of Beaverstown apple juice or cider to reflect on a round well played.
After all, the clubhouse at Beaverstown is beautifully appointed and always bustling with friendly members, proud of their club and eager to hear your verdict on the course.
It’s easy to see why many who pop in for a casual game decide to enquire about membership, given the ease of access off the M1 through Donabate village, the beautifully maintained course and the first-class bar and catering service.
It’s certainly one for the bucket list, and with open competitions on Monday (singles), Wednesday (four-person team) and Thursday (nine holes), and golf societies welcome seven days a week with some restrictions, what better venue for a golfing day out followed by an enjoyable meal in beautiful surroundings. You never know; you might get hooked and join the club, becoming a Beaverstown golfer to the core.
Factfile
PGA Professional: Gavin Byrne
Course yards: Men 6,569 (par 72); Ladies 5,612 (Par 73)
Green fees: Weekdays (excl. Wed) €30; Weekends €40
Society rates: €30 weekdays; €40 weekends
Buggy Hire: Yes, €25
Electric trolley: Yes, €15
Pull trolley: Yes, €3
Club hire: On request
Signature Hole:
14th, Par 4, (374, 340, 292 m)
An uphill dog-leg par four, only a well-hit drive will allow you to reach the green with a medium iron over a menacing stream.
A tall ash tree in the middle of the fairway puts a premium on accuracy while par is further protected by the orchard that surrounds the green on three sides. As an index 7 for men and the index 1 for ladies, the high-handicapper can safely lay up and still net score a nett birdie with a good pitch.
Membership rates: Adult Full membership, €1,377. Reduced rates for Juniors
Nearby clubs: Balcarrick, Corballis Links, Donabate, Forrest Little, Holywood Lakes, Malahide, Rush, The Island, Roganstown Hotel & Country Club, Skerries.
