Castletown Golf Links Preview

Castletown — the course that shouldn’t exist

Nish 0:35

Every good story is about the journey. And this is a story of our journey trying to play the top 100 courses in the UK and Ireland in just 10 years. This is the top 100 in 10 golf podcast.

Chris 0:45

So very much exposed, exposed to the elements. It looks windy. Ranked the eighth most spectacular golf course in the UK and Ireland. The fifth looks pretty spectacular. You drive over a house, apparently. So yeah, good luck with that niche. Yeah, no, and I do have um quite bad vertigo niche. You might just see me like army crawling along the fairway at some point.

We’re in the UK top 20 golf podcasts

Nish 1:06

Episode 72, the Castletown Golf Club Preview. There are some golf courses that feel like they were built because somebody found the perfect piece of land, and then there’s Castletown, which feels like somebody accidentally discovered golf could actually exist on that piece of land. We’ll get to who that man was. But because this place sits on a really tiny peninsula sticking out into the Irish Sea on the Isle of Man, when you look at photos of it, what I love about Castletown is that immediately it has that thing that all Great links courses have, which is that the land feels dramatic already before you put any kind of golf holes on it. And apparently the defence that this course has is the wind because there’s nowhere to hide. So one of their courses, those courses where the weather is not part of the experience, it is the experience. So as we unpack all of that in this episode, before we do anything like that, I’m gonna ask you out there in Podcast Land to click like, subscribe. Both of you, you’re on my virtual call.

Chris 2:14

Actually, you two subscribed and followed and oh for fuck’s sake. You know me, you know me, and technology.

Nish 2:23

You’ve you’ve heard this nearly 83 times now. Unbelievable, right? Well, fair well, I’ve got your attention now. So everyone, even on this call, like us, subscribe us, share it with people, comment, anything. All of that helps. I’m just today.

Chris 2:46

When we get to like 10,000 followers, yeah.

Nish 2:50

Well, I’ll tell you why it’s good to do this. So today I looked at uh Google Apple Podcasts the charts. So you can’t get one on Spotify, you get it on Apple. And you scroll down the golf, there’s 30 that are listed in the golf, they’re the most popular golf podcasts in the UK, and we are in there. It’s when you start scrolling through the ones that are on there, you’ve either got big golfing celebrities, you’ve got big uh podcasts that are backed by the big publishing houses, like Gary Neville’s uh was it over what’s it called? The overhang or something, I don’t know what it’s called. Um, that one, or Gary Lineker’s podcast empire, or they’ve got ex-pros hosting it, they’ve got celebrities hosting it who’ve got access to all sorts of tour pros and insider information, all that kind of thing. The only outlier is us, and I think that’s absolutely brilliant. So let’s keep flying a flag for the independence, let’s keep it going, and shameless plug, we’re gonna be going for another award. So it’ll be nice to sock it to the man and say, hey, look, we can do this. Uh but genuinely heartfelt thank you to everybody watching and listening because I cannot tell you how warm it makes you feel to know and you see that you your podcast, it’s not just it pops in every now and again, it’s consistently in that top 30, um, more often in the 20s. So yeah, it’s amazing. And that does, I have to say, it does give us immediate clout with people. As soon as you just go, we’ve got the clout is clout here now. As soon as you say we’re a top 20 podcast and we’re coming to interview you, would you be would you be keen? You know, the barrier to entry disappears then. We had some good, we’ve had some great interviews so far this year. So um please do that. It’s it’s free for you, but it means we can keep giving you lots of really good content and we’ve got an incentive to do it. Now, that was a bit long, wasn’t it?

Jim 4:47

Uh let’s go. I’m following you on Apple. I’m I’m following myself on Apple now. Excellent, excellent.

Nish 4:53

Leave a review, leave a review about yourself as well, Jim. That’s always a good one. Yeah, who is that?

Chris 4:59

It’s gonna be a four-letter word though, Jim. You just gotta think of one of those. Okay, I’ve thought of one.

How the booking happened

Jim 5:05

Well, I am following you. I am following the podcast on on YouTube. I thought that’s what you meant.

Nish 5:10

Amazing. Well, look, that does bring us very conveniently into how this booking came about. So it’s gonna lead us on to one of our other topics that we want to talk about before we get into talking fully about Castletown. But I contacted the club. So last year there was a ranking change, and three clubs went out, three came in, of which one was Castletown on the Isle of Man. So we were like, well, that’s nearby. Let’s do it. Sort of. So sort it kind of you can swim there in a couple of hours, can’t you? Yeah, I don’t fancy that. Actually, to be fair, the the amount of ferries cost us, it attempted. Maybe that’s near the why was that?

Jim 5:49

Did you not do your research as to some kind of big events going on on the Isle of Man be when you were looking to book the I there’s no big events going on the Isle of Man, are there in May, particularly?

Chris 6:00

Um but maybe maybe that could be the uh the loser’s prize. Whoever loses Jim’s side bit has to swim back. Oh dear. Up for that, up for that niche. That sounds horrific.

Nish 6:10

Up the ante a little bit. Let’s do it, let’s do it. Um well anyway. Look, I contacted the club uh and said, Look, you’re you’re on our list, this is what we’re doing. And I got a reply probably within about five or ten minutes from a chap called Andi, who is the general manager, and he said, We would love to have you here. These are really good times to come and play. Um and we might even arrange for a couple of members, me included, to give you a two-on-two match if you come along and uh and you want to do that. We’re like, Yeah, and they’re like, if you want to do it on your own, that’s absolutely fine as well. Um, and we’ve got an interview with with either Andi or we’re gonna have an interview with one of the other directors of the club. But the the emails I got were just like quick, really warm, really friendly, you know, almost a little bit like, oh, what little little old castle town you want to come and see us? Um so it was great. I got a really good vibe from that, and they were so helpful in trying to sort us out with accommodation and travel things and and what have you. So I think they’re really proud to be in that rankings list and really happy to have us there. So we are happy to be going there as well, and it just felt like a really nice, relaxing kind of welcome. So that’s how the booking came about. Um, now the other couple of things that I want to just talk about in general, in the current list, Castletown is ranked 96. We’ll revisit that in just two seconds after I tell you how much a round costs at Castletown Golf Club. In the off season, which is November through to March, you can play for £75. In the shoulder season, so you’re talking at April and October, um, it’s £120 to play around a round of golf there. And in the peak season, it’s £165, or it’s £185 for a day pass, which seems like incredible value.

Chris 8:10

Nice, yeah. I mean, yeah, in comparison to to where everyone else seems to be pitching themselves at the minute, that seems to be more like four or five years ago in terms of pricing, which is which is great. I mean, I guess you know what I guess is the added the added cost of getting there, I suppose, isn’t there, versus a few of the others, but um but yeah, that’s great in terms of green freeze.

Nish 8:29

The hotels are cheap, but we just couldn’t let it get there. It was just like what is so I really tested my organisational skills out. Um but yeah, rank 19.

Jim 8:38

You know, when we when we started this process last year or the year before, I I wasn’t working, and now I’m the only one that is working. Oh yeah.

Chris 8:49

Well, I’m not sure what that says about you or the podcast, Jim, but um yeah, maybe maybe me and Nish are just playing too much golf these days to be employable. Unemployable, absolutely.

The 2026 rankings reshuffle and its real consequences

Nish 8:59

Cursed by the top 100 in 10 curse, yeah. Well, look, it’s a constant, I’m still not working, so it’s fine, everything’s good. Um, so look, it’s right, it was ranked on our list, we’ve got it as 96. That’s what it entered into um entered newly. Now, rankings we ought to talk about, I think. We have just uh uh two weeks ago there was an episode that went out about rankings, it was a real hot topic. I’m gonna guess it’s at this it’s still going uh because some of the rankings were bizarre. I’m gonna use I don’t even know why I’m trying to be kind, I should just go all in on, shouldn’t I? But let me give you the highlights. So I had a chat with a chap called James. Listen, if you’ve not listened to that episode or watched it, do it. It’s really good. Um because we did an episode on rankings, if you remember, and we were none the wiser about how these things have worked out. We’re now two years into the process. I’ve spoken to loads of people who are panelists, I’ve spoken to a guy who’s played like 70 of these courses, pretty well versed on how rankings are done, and even he is confused by this still. So, yeah, let me give you the highlights. The top 31 courses in the UK and Ireland between 2025 and 2026 did not move a single bit. Not one of them moved up, not one of them moved down. And then the other 32, I described it the other, sorry, from 32 down to 100, I described it as they’d taken that many packs of uh playing cards, throwing them up in the air, and where they landed was where they were going to rank. And if some fell off the table, they fell off the table, they just get some new ones in and do the same process with them. Because courses were moving. I think the most that a course went up was 38 places, and then the most a course went down was 33, and but there was loads in that kind of 20s and 30s, and it was like this is weird, yeah.

Chris 11:06

It’s a big old reshuffle, isn’t it? And yeah, I mean, either like you say, the the credentials that they’re ranked on has changed, or there’s some sort of correction of of what they thought was you know, correction of some sort of error from from prior lists, I guess maybe.

Nish 11:25

Um in either case, that’s weird, isn’t it?

Chris 11:29

But yeah, and I think because because we set out and didn’t we and we said that we would as soon as something fell out of our list, we would fix the fix the rankings at that point. Seems like a sensible thing to do. Um but I think at that point we were kind of expecting you know one or two to drop to drop out and one or two to come in, and it’s not it’s not gonna be very frequent that we’ve got courses that we play dropping out. Um and if we did make if we did fix it at that point, there wouldn’t be that many changes kind of going forwards. But if you yeah, if we’re talking about having wholesale changes every year and people moving 30, 40 places and six or seven different clubs coming in and out of the rankings every year, I mean it’s yeah, it’s putting the tail on the donkey kind of uh stuff, isn’t it really?

Nish 12:14

Yeah, it is a little bit. I think it was just like the thing that kind of got me was we didn’t and it’s unintended consequence, we didn’t know this. A lot of the as it happened, a lot of the ones that were lower ranked were easiest for us to get on to, um you know, green fees were easier. Actually, some of them seem to be a bit nearer to us as well, so it kind of felt like we couldn’t naturally do that. Um in hindsight, if you’d have known that this sort of thing happens, you you wait it out on those last ten, don’t you? You just sort of don’t touch a course in the 90s because it’s more likely to go out.

Chris 12:49

Then let you say, I mean, some of them have some of them in the 50s and 60s of you know, have come in at 50 and 60. So it’s not like it’s just the the bottom ten that’s changing.

Nish 12:57

It’s yeah, for a club to go from the bottom end of the nineties up into 50, 60, something like that. It’s it’s a very odd, odd scenario, but it’s really fucked us up. Yeah, because the main highlights for us are two courses that we’ve played, and we loved them Delamere, one of my favourites, Queen’s course at Glen eagles, yeah, have dropped out alongside five Irish courses, and Ireland took a battering in the rankings, one of which is and this is a real kicker for me because it’s a course I really want to play, and that’s Old Head. Old Head of Kinsale has knocked out has knocked out the top 100. Now that course has a green fee of 450 euros. It’s hard to get on because it’s on that trail, and it is a stunning golf course. So everybody who comes over to Ireland wants to play it.

Chris 13:52

Yeah, I mean it’s one of the ones that was on my you know, top two or three to want to go and play as old head because it just looks incredible, doesn’t it? Yeah, absolutely.

Nish 14:00

But you know, the economy is based, the golfing economy in Ireland is is revolving, it revolves around that. It now isn’t the top 100 course. I’m sure people will still pay it, but you know, for them, they’re gonna be like, oh probably can’t charge 450 euros now, yeah. Because it’s uh and then that there’s a there’s a a treasurer at Old Head, or probably an FD really, probably more than a treasurer, I think, the way these things are run nowadays, but who’ll be going, well, hang on a minute. Like, we’ve dropped out from mid-70s, they were. They were very comfortable. I think it was 71 in the list, yeah. To like we’re out completely, like this is and when how are we gonna get back in? Like, what’s the criteria for getting back in?

Jim 14:40

So how does how does that affect the tour that you know the the the tours that come over from the US and Europe to go and play these courses? If they’re not on the top 100, the prestige has gone to an extent, so that could hit them financially as well.

Chris 14:52

Yeah, and I mean it’s interesting, isn’t it? Because these lists are becoming more and more widely used in terms of golf travel and golf tourism. So the the value, the financial value of being on one of those lists as a golf club is is massive, right? Um, and like with anything, I think there’s always people in places of power that you know when there’s money involved, um, you know, things things get done that maybe aren’t based specifically on yeah. Are you calling the system corrupt? I’m not calling the system corrupt, Jim, but I’m just saying that there is there is more opportunities out there for corruption. Yeah.

Nish 15:35

Um I mean let’s call it what it is, right? It it’s a fucking weird update to the rankings. That’s basically what it is. It’s really odd. And I feel like we know I’m an idiot because I’ve so I’ve got time to do this, but I’ve interrogated the site a little bit, and in conjunction with James, we both agree. We don’t feel like there’s been any change to the methodology. In it doesn’t look like it, the words are all still the same, all that kind of thing. But I you know, and look, they’re not beholden to anybody, are they? They they are a commercial entity who can make whatever decision the hell they want. Yeah, I just feel like the there’s an unintended consequence to all of this, and the unintended consequences let’s even forget the the what the green fear a um club could charge. That that can actually result in job losses. Now that can result in the green keeping staff staff being cut by half because we can’t afford to because we’re not gonna get the visitors, therefore we’re not gonna keep people on, and that is I don’t know, somebody could have worked really hard to get to old head as a green keeper, and then you’re like, oh, like they’ve got rid of me. Like, I’ve really that’s really the job I wanted, you know. So it’s this whole economy, and then let’s bring it back to us.

Chris 16:49

I was gonna say that’s that’s the most important bit, isn’t it?

Nish 16:53

It’s a logistical nightmare. Like, what do we do now?

Chris 16:56

What the fuck do we do? Like it was quite easy last year. We you know, it was an easy decision. A couple went out, we’ve not played them, fine, we keep our list. Um, but yeah, like you say, two of our courses that we’ve played have now gone out. We said live on air last time that we would then fix it as soon as one of those dropped out. However, the new fingers crossed there, didn’t we? New list for us practically and financially looks a lot more appealing.

Nish 17:22

Yeah, I mean, again, I say the the things that have fallen out, five Irish courses have gone, which is pretty much 20 or 25% of Ireland gone. Yeah, which is huge, which have been a massive to get on, right? Yeah, and the courses that seem to have come on, a few of them are nearer to us, and they’re they’re they feel like they’re easier to get on, I should say, and that’s just a case of contact and book, whatever. JCB’s gone on that list, um which is massive. JCB going. Um, big difficult, one of the six I’d say, that was that was really felt like it was tricky to get on, uh, or or nigh an impossible sort of thing. Um, you know, but yeah, we’ve lost two courses. So I mean, I don’t know why. I suggested to James we we go, right, let’s get a crate of wine in, sit in the kitchen, put a time-lapse video on, and whoever comes out with a black eye has clearly lost the argument, you know, that kind of thing. I I I don’t know, I don’t know what to do, and I don’t think there’s a clean solution to this. I think we’re basically just gonna have to go, it’s our party, we’ll do whatever the hell we want, you know, that kind of thing.

Chris 18:29

So I’m pretty sure that’s what we’ll do, Nish. Every every decision that we’ve made so far has been based on that, hasn’t it? We just do whatever we want.

Nish 18:37

Like well, we well, we had three rules at the start, we broke all them pretty quick, and then we added one more in and said, let’s stick to this rule, and that’s gonna go after two years. So there’s a lesson in there. Don’t make any rules. Or already always break the rules. Always break the rules, yeah. So I I I mean, I don’t I I don’t know. Answers on a postcard, please. Send them to uh Nish and Chris at confused.com. We don’t know what to do with it. Um that’s rankings. I really don’t know what like it honestly, it is a first world problem, but I just don’t know what the hell to do. I really there’s there’s not you know there’s a bit of me that keeps sort of saying, oh, so it’s like the integrity of the list, but then like the the list is I think that the list that we follow anyway, the official top, and we must clarify this is the official top100.com list, um, not other ones there’s like NCG and Golf Monthly and whatever. But I feel like they’ve just you know flipped everything upside down and they’ve I think they’ve probably brought their list into a little bit of questions, so why can why don’t we just do that? Uh I don’t know. Anybody else want to add anything about the rankings and what we might do? Any suggestions?

Chris 19:47

I think we keep them. I think we keep the new rankings, like I say, financially practically.

Nish 19:52

But what do we do with those two that we we have played?

Chris 19:54

Uh we just pretend they never happened.

Nish 19:57

Yeah, but you know, we’ve kind of done episodes on them and everything. I just delete this dialogue and dial that back.

Chris 20:03

Be fine.

Nish 20:04

But then we will get to the point where we will have played 102.

Jim 20:07

Yeah, you could if you could you’ve got to set the I mean if you do that, you set a precedent. I think it is maybe being selective from you’ve got to keep those on because they were top 100 courses when you played them ultimately, and then I think you you choose two which have come in where you don’t play.

Chris 20:26

Yeah, yeah. I think I’m quite happy to play 102, but I think we we have to fix it this year. I think whatever whatever we do, it has to it has to stay this year.

Nish 20:36

Unless we just change it every year. Well, I mean the thing is if Queenwood goes out and Skibo go out, then I mean that’s even more advantageous because I feel like we probably could have somehow got onto JCB, but yeah, Queenwood is like you need to know footballer or whatever, and Skibo, like anything you need to know, like a president of the United States or something to get on there. So I don’t I mean, I don’t I don’t know. It’s it’s weird, it’s like I’m not accountable to anybody, you know, nobody’s gonna like hold a gun to my head and go, Well, you said that X, Y, and Z, whatever. It’s like it’s our fucking game, we’ll do whatever the fuck we want. But also, I don’t want to play more than 100 courses. I really don’t want to do that. So I don’t know, maybe we do compromise and we we keep our two in, pick two from the ones that have come in that we don’t put in.

Jim 21:27

And I think the fairest way to do that is the lowest ranked of the ones that have come in, the lowest two ranked that have come into the list, maybe.

Nish 21:36

I thought you were gonna say draw draw straws or something like that, or do a random, whatever, but actually that’s even better. Yeah, it’s even better.

What we know about Castletown Golf Links

Jim 21:43

It depends what the courses are. If they’re two that are nearby and not the Irish courses, then which are bet which are obviously gonna be fantastic experiences, but more difficult to get in.

Nish 21:52

Yeah. Pistols at dawn, mate, pistols at dawn. I think that’s that’s what we do. I don’t know, it’s weird. I think I I don’t know how well. I mean, I feel like Adare Manor might drop out of this top 100 because that plummeted 30 places, Adare Manor. Yeah. And which is odd, I think, you know, because the conditioning’s not changed there and the course has definitely not changed. Right, should we talk about the course that we’re gonna be playing here? Let’s do that. So we’re gonna be playing Castletown Golf links that’s over in the Isle of Man. Uh in happier, simpler times. This one came in our listed, it was quite an easy substitution. We’re like, right, great, get it on. It’s uh it’s quick to get on. Now, old uh Castletown. Is a very interesting golf course history-wise. There is not a lot of it on the website and on the internet in general. And it’s which feels weird to me because it’s been around since 1892.

Chris 22:49

Yeah.

Nish 22:50

And it’s designed by old Tom Morris. Now, old Tom Morris, I fell in love with him a little bit since I won a signature hole at Wallacey on a hole that he designed on a par three as well, Jim. Um the thing about old Tom Morris could heading over in 1892 to design this course that struck me was you know, this isn’t modern travel where you you you get a Ryanair flight over and you’re complaining because it’s 40 minutes late. This guy was 70 at this point, and he travelled over from St Andrews to the Isle of Man, and you kind of go like that’s that’s a bit of a trek, right? But anyway, so he arrives on this rocky windswept peninsula, and he decides, yeah, yeah, yeah, definitely I need to put a golf course here. So nine holes it started off, and then it got expanded later to 18. Now it gets expanded, and then somebody very familiar to us has his hands all over the design of this golf course as well, and that is McKenzie chap, Dr. Alistair McKenzie. I mean, that’s two pretty big hitters designing this golf course. Good combo, that isn’t it? Yeah, like mega. So look, I’m excited by that straight away. Um, and I it got me thinking there’s another chap, and I’ve not heard about this this guy, but if to the golf architects out there, please forgive me. Philip Mackenzie Ross did all the post-war alterations to this golf course, and apparently he’s a pretty big hitter as well, but I’ve just never encountered his name. But it’s I find it incredible that and we’re probably gonna get it when we get the dra the drama of the landscape when we get there. How does somebody get there and go? Oh, yeah, that’s where we’re gonna put a golf course. You know, you don’t really have any heavy machinery to move earth around and like you do nowadays. Um, yeah, I’m just gonna work it with the land that there is there. Yeah. Full of admiration for all of that.

Chris 24:53

I mean, that’s the beauty of links, though, isn’t it? Is that you don’t have to change it so much, you can just stick a few greens on, stick a few T’s in, and away away you go. Yeah, plant pots are like they did in Aberdeve. Yeah, yeah.

Nish 25:04

Yeah. Um, obviously, I have to say, if anybody doesn’t know who Dr. Allison McKenzie is, then who the hell are you? What are you doing? Send us your name or send the loony wagon round. But he’s the guy that designed Augusta National and our home golf course as well. But uh, you know, very famed for dramatic elevation changes and using dips and hollows and things to create visual and optical illusions and things like that. So, and that’s really all I could find. So I’m really looking forward to going because it’s kind of like you know, we’re meeting the general manager, and hopefully we’ll we’ll hear a little bit more history.

Chris 25:40

Yeah, a little bit more. I mean, yeah, like you say, it’s it’s it’s old, right? It’s been around for a long, long time. There must be a good a good whack of history in there um over those years for sure. So, yeah, it’d be interesting to find out a bit more about it, won’t it?

Nish 25:51

Yeah, yeah. But tell us about the golf course, Chris, maybe.

The course itself — rugged, clifftop, and short

Chris 25:54

Yeah, so I mean the golf course looks like a cracker, doesn’t it? So, like you say, I think just in terms of the the land looks looks pretty dramatic. Um, I think you mentioned earlier, so surrounded um on three sides by the Irish Sea, um, so very much exposed, exposed to the elements, it looks it looks windy. Um, but yeah, there’s lots of like rocky outcrops, and there’s like a bit of a road going down one of the holes. I think the fifth looks like a pretty cool, cool hole, doesn’t it? Um, but yeah, it’s um yeah, so I think just in terms of an actual piece of land, it looks it doesn’t look like anything else we’ve played, it looks very different from the links courses that we’ve played. It looks a lot more rugged. Um I think you you kind of play in between sort of cliff top and then kind of beachside. Um so I think it’s gonna be I think there’s gonna be a lot of um you know different holes and and different looking holes and different feels around the course, which I think is great because I think sometimes links can be a little bit one-dimensional. Um yeah, but I don’t think it’s gonna be that at all. I think it’s gonna be a lot more a lot more interesting than some of the links courses that we have played already. Um I mean, does that that is television?

Nish 27:05

I I haven’t seen any pictures by I’ve not looked at anything on the course. I wanted to find out from you. What did you I wanted you to eloquently paint the picture, Chris?

Chris 27:12

So I mean does it feel like a bit of an old head type type place where you definitely a little bit of a feel about that, and maybe not quite as dramatic, but certainly you’re gonna have a few. There’s a few holes in there which look pretty spectacular. Like I say, you’ve got kind of you’re playing up cliffs and you’re playing down from you know raised T’s and stuff like that. Um so yeah, I think it I think it looks really interesting. Um I think it’s it’s um ranked the eighth most spectacular golf course in the UK and Ireland, which is which is pretty cool. Um did not know that, that’s good. Yeah, so it’s up there in terms of in terms of cool courses, I think. Um voted by the members of Castletown Golf Club. Yeah, absolutely. I mean let’s not get into another rankings drama, not two in one episode. Um but yeah, it’s also a site of science special scientific interest. So there’s over 200 different species of birds have been clocked around Castletown Golf Club. Um spotted. There’s seals in the water, so it looks it’s gonna be a bit of a wildlife extravaganza, I think. Um there’s rabbits burrowing in some of the some of the fairways by the sounds of it. So I think it doesn’t feel like it’s gonna be quite as polished as some of the places that we’ve been in terms of like it’s not doesn’t look overly manicured, but I think just in terms of the natural beauty of it, I think it’s gonna be right up there with some of the best that we’ve that we’ve played. Um but yeah, in terms of the actual course, it looks it looked pretty short to be honest. So from the yellows, it’s only 5,800 yards, I think. Um so pretty short, it’s only 6,800 from the butt from the backs, but I don’t think we’ll be going anywhere near those, I don’t think. Uh past 72. I think the slope rating off the yellows is only is only one, two, one. So it’s a pretty yeah, and I was asking you before we came on, but what does that do?

Nish 28:52

Is that reduce shots?

Chris 28:54

Yeah, reduce it so we lose a shot. We lose a shot on our handicap. That’s not great. Maybe we should play off a different T so we can get some more shots back. Just done a couple of holes so we can get some shots back. Yeah, but yeah, I think it I think it looks tricky. The greens, the greens are very small. Um, so I think it’s gonna be I think it’s gonna be fairly punishing. There’s a lot of not a lot, but I’ve seen a few holes where you’ve got hazards down both left and the right, so you’ve basically got a fair way, and that’s that’s your option. Yeah, which is not my game, you know that by now. Um so I think it might be a tricky one for me to get around.

Nish 29:28

Um it feels like I know Andy gave us the option, he said you can go off and go on your own, or we can give you a match, or whatever.

Chris 29:36

Yeah, yeah. I feel like we need some local knowledge, don’t we? Oh, I think so, yeah. Definitely, definitely gonna help. Around any links course, it will, but yeah, I think around here it definitely will. Um so I think yeah, it’s gonna be I think this is gonna be it’s gonna be a good test on how straight you can keep it, I think, and how accurate you can be with your approach shots. I think the thing is it’s I reckon there’s gonna be some some opportunities out there because it’s pretty short. So I reckon you’re gonna have some short irons in. So if you can, if you can find the fair way, I think there’s probably some scoring opportunities out there as well. Um what’s the bunker sitch, Chris? What’s the bunker sitch? Yeah, in terms of the bunkering, it sounds like it’s not it’s not massively bunkers. You’ll be you’ll be pleased to hear, Nish. There’s not loads and loads of bunkers. It sounds like there’s lots of you like to say that the McKenzie kind of like nooks and crannies and and runoffs and and mounds and stuff that are being used rather than bunkers. Um not overly not overly bunkered.

Nish 30:23

Um I feel like that would have been a crazy double whammy, right? Well, triple whammy, the wind really kind of you know, rough either side and then loads of bunkers. That’s just like how do you play that golf course?

Jim 30:35

I’m I’m sure there are there are enough bunkers for you to find anyway, Nish.

Nish 30:38

I’m all right, I’ve got bunkers at the minute now, mate. It’s alright. I just I’m I’m just one bunker shot away from collapsing again mentally. All that PTSD comes comes flooding back. But um, I was gonna I was gonna say something there then I was like, you know, if you’ve got or I suppose we must take into account if the slope rating of the Yellows is one, two, one, then it is the same as scoring opportunities there.

Chris 31:02

So I haven’t said that I found a few a few different things. That was on that was on the my England golf, so I’m assuming that’s right, but I found it elsewhere, assuming that I’ve got the right castle town. There isn’t a there is a possibility that I got a different one, but yeah, like if you if you google it, it’s not on the website, but AI tells you the slope rating from the backs is like one four-one.

Nish 31:21

So Chris has found like Castleton golf driving range. Yeah, that’s what he’s found. That was like rating a 1-2-1. Yeah, that’s it. Eaton Park, he’s found interesting.

Chris 31:33

So yeah, it looks like I think it looks like a good fun course, I reckon. It’s gonna be one of those that I think when you’re playing in those kind of beautiful places, uh, the golfer is almost a bit of a second at some at some points, isn’t it? Um I think you just does a walk around, I think it’s gonna be a pretty cool place to mooch around.

Nish 31:50

I don’t I don’t think yet we’ve been anywhere as like rugged as that. Yeah, you’re right, we haven’t been anywhere as rugged as that, have we? Like up on clifftops and right on the peering over the edge kind of thing. We’ve not done that, have we?

Chris 32:02

Yeah, no, and I do have um quite bad vertigo niche. I’m not sure you’ve probably seen me in one of those situations before. So you might just see me like army crawling along the fairway at some point.

Nish 32:15

Does that give me an advantage? Any of the side bets and signature challenges. Impossibly.

Chris 32:20

I just can’t play niche. I might just get like six holes in them like I’m gonna have to skip the next four holes, mate. I’m just gonna I’ll meet you on the 10th T. It’s that an instant forfeit.

Nish 32:27

I think that’s the instant forfeit of everything, isn’t it? Um well, Jim, we’ll talk about the signature hole challenge because I’m I’m only one down now after 22 courses.

Chris 32:37

So it should be to talk about the uh the signature hole challenge. Yeah, yeah, definitely. Whereas the point that was getting edited out of the out of the episodes at one point-ish when I was five or six up, but now they’re uh the front and centre again, I noticed.

Signature hole: drive over a ravine at 17

Nish 32:48

We were glossing very quickly, weren’t we? For the uh for the for the narrative of this signature hole challenge, um it wasn’t a thing till Chris was three up, so I’m actually two up since I was aware that it was a thing. And and I will definitely take the uh the last time I was on a par three and I won that one, so have some of that. Keep bringing that up. What is the signature hole, Jim?

Jim 33:10

The signature hole is called Gully. Gully? Okay, all the holes have names on this course. Nice, I like that. I do like that. Yeah, some of them don’t make sense to me, but I’m sure there is a rationale for them. And so this as it says here, the 17th is frequently cited as a showstopper, featuring a drive over a a ravine and crashing sea. Nice, that’ll be good for your vertical, Chris. I know.

Chris 33:38

Well, Jim, I think there’ll be level by the end of that. I think there’s a couple of them on the on the course where you’ve got to drive over the over the sea. So I’m looking forward to them.

Jim 33:46

Nah, yeah, it looks like it’s gonna be an absolutely stunning hole. I did watch uh a video um of of it um earlier on today, and uh I think it’ll be a really good challenge, and obviously it depends on the conditions, but um, yeah, I think uh the 17th is meant to be 17th and 18th are meant to be absolutely stunning holes, so um yeah, 17th, it’s a par four. It is you’ll be playing from the yellow, so 368 yards.

Nish 34:14

Okay, yeah.

Chris 34:15

I I’ve had a quick look as well at those last couple of holes, and I think that looks like one of the best couple of finishing holes that we’re gonna have played so far. I think it’s gonna be up there.

Nish 34:23

All right, so that’s the signature hole challenge. So I feel like that’s gonna be uh 17 as well. 17’s hard, isn’t it?

Jim 34:30

But um and you’re gonna be brutalized by the weather conditions, probably up until that point as well. So, you know, take some uh some energy gel or something like that.

Nish 34:38

Is it looking ropey the weather?

Chris 34:42

But I think I think the weather is gonna play a big part on the enjoyment of that course. I think if you get a beautiful day or if you get a sunny day around there, I think it’s gonna be spectacular. If you get a wet and windy day around there, I think it’s gonna be brutal.

Nish 34:54

It’s gonna be all right. Yeah, I could I could take a I could take a windy one, that’s fine. I think the getting too old for the wet now. I think just don’t increasingly becoming miserable when it when it rains now.

Chris 35:08

Yeah, I think I can’t I think the wind around there is the is the problem. It looks pretty exposed. Feels a little bit like a little bit like Gullane in terms of the exposure because you’re just kind of like on the edge of the on the edge of a rock, essentially. Similar kind of vibe, I think. Um so if it’s windy, it’s gonna be windy. Just gonna get us ready for Ireland, mate. That’s all it is.

Nish 35:26

Just getting us ready for Ireland. Yeah. Um, all right, what are you setting us as a side bet, Jim?

Jim 35:32

So the side bets, right? There are three par threes. Plateau, number eight. Don’t like the sound of that. Then there’s short, which is hell 13, which is about 106 yards from yellow. Much prefer the sound of that. And then there’s cliffs, which you’re gonna love, Chris. Really don’t like the sound of that. Which is held 16, 170 yards. So I think something’s slightly different. I don’t think we’ve done this one on any of the courses so far. So um the closest to the pin in each of those three holes gets a point.

Nish 36:11

Yes, but best and the most number of points most points wins. Yeah.

Chris 36:18

It can’t be any. I won’t bother bringing a tape measure, Nish. I think it’ll be uh I don’t think I’m gonna hit the brain.

Jim 36:26

Yeah, but then again, Chris, I mean, you know, I know you’re getting all confident, but you know, you were you were obviously you know smashing it at the start of the uh you know the when we set up these challenges originally, but you know, ever since that’s um that hole in one challenge, you seem to have gone off the boil a little bit, haven’t you?

Chris 36:42

Yeah, that’s true, actually, Nish. Uh Jim rather. Too much pressure. Uh yeah. Crap. I mean, that is true. I will buckle, I will buckle under pressure, that’s for sure.

Nish 36:53

Yeah, par three, so par three closest to the pin challenge. I like that. A hole in one challenge, all in one. All in one. I mean, that’ll be a place to knock in a hole in one, wouldn’t it, Chris? Like if you get a hole in one, you just win the window regardless. Unless it’s that is a hold of the work both ways as well. If I get a hold in one, that’s uh my third hole in one, by the way. That’d be but you know, does that does that does that mean I would win it if I get a holding one?

Chris 37:16

I think what if we both get a hole in one? Is it the the one that’s the lowest down in the cup wins?

Jim 37:23

Anyway, I think we’re running away with ourselves a little bit here.

Reviews: one star for an entire island

Nish 37:26

So yeah, the last time we got this balls, he was at Wallacey when they told us he couldn’t get a flag for getting a hole in one and we didn’t get anywhere near anything. Too much, too much pressure. Um, okay, that’s a great side bet, Jim. I love it. Um, now there is one other thing that we’re gonna get you to do. And and I’m excited about this, and I’ve left it to the last bit because generally speaking, I ask you to tell us what the reviews are like online about a golf course, and you’re like, not really much to report here, but you’re very excited. He said they match you some some interesting reviews this time round.

Jim 38:00

So well, I think it’s more and more to the point that you know being disappointed with with everyone’s boring reviews and on other courses, not boring reviews, but just glowing reviews. And um, I mean it’s pretty similar for for most of the reviews for um for for for Castletown, you know, the praise for the customer welcome, the service. Um you know, Andy and the team are absolutely fantastic, and that’s what most of the golfers say. The course is meant to be such a challenge. Um, the conditions can be absolutely brutal. Um but you know, what was one here that was uh was just looking at one golf reviewer described the opening hole as an awkward little son of a bitch, which is uh which is obviously a funny but you know backhanded compliment as well. So um, you know, you know, a lot of golfers have been complaining about the weather’s trying to kill them. So uh howling gale, three club wind, um getting well and truly drenched. Um one joke that they caught a full cold from the round. Um they mentioned the ruggedness of the uh of it as well, rabbit holes and fairways, but you know, it’s nature, you know. We can’t get rid of them for uh obvious reasons, but sure they’re protected. I mean the funniest reviews are ones where it’s not really about golf at all.

Nish 39:25

Well, we had one, didn’t we? About a wake. It’s like this is the top 100 golf course. Like you can’t stick a review about having a wake there on that on their Google reviews. It was a weird, very weird thing, wasn’t it? But go on.

Jim 39:41

Yeah, no, this one is uh used to live in the Isle of Man, horrendous place, feels like you’re suffocating on a tiny rock. Alcatraz would feel more of a holiday home than this depressing island.

Nish 39:54

Golf course is great.

Jim 39:55

Yeah, it’s like yeah, this is meant to be useful for review for Castletown Golf Club, and you’ve just gone on a rant. And I must I reckon that person’s probably done it.

Chris 40:04

Um, Angela is her name. You reckon she’s just gone to town on every business and every every entity on the island.

Jim 40:11

So I didn’t I didn’t check that, but anyway, I thought that was quite and I have been to the Isle of Man on a couple of occasions for business over the years, and it’s a lovely place, and the people are so hospitable, um, rich as well, because obviously they don’t pay much tax.

Nish 40:24

But um I think I think that’s what a place like that has, doesn’t it? You know, it will obviously have uh it’s got a very decent golf course now, it’s in the top 100, but uh you know the thing that’s gonna make you go is like, oh yeah, we’re gonna get a great welcome there, we’re gonna have a great time. And I got that from the email, like straight away. You could just feel that that warmth and hospitality straight straight away. So it’s it’s great. It’s nice having a bit of a trip as well. You know, a lot of these things are done as day trips, aren’t they? But yeah, it’s the first time we’ve actually got off off this island, isn’t it? First time we’ve ever taken any. I didn’t think about that. Yeah, yeah. It’s a proper trip we’ve been on overseas. Trains, trains and automobiles and all that kind of thing. It’s the first first first boat over to yeah, interesting. I haven’t hadn’t hadn’t thought of that, Chris.

Jim 41:13

Yeah, yeah, good point. There was one other review as well, and it’s you know, not again, it’s not really related to the golf whatsoever, but you know, a friend a friend suggested here for casual lunch, casual lunch. None of us play golf, by the way. Um, nor am I interested in golf. Like, but obviously, it does have a clubhouse, it does have a restaurant. The location is fantastic, especially on a clear day, plenty of parking, staff pleasant and friendly, which is nice, plenty of room and comfortable tables. We are fiddly to feed. Oh my god.

Chris 41:43

The thing is, like nobody’s forced me to make that review, right? Like, I mean, I would never write a review of anything because I just can’t be arsed, but like, why would you go out of your way to review a golf club that you’ve not played that you just had lunch in?

Jim 41:54

Yeah, because it is. I mean, you know, if it was the restaurant element of it, then you could understand. Yeah, I don’t eat meat or fish, others had gluten issues, etc., but everyone got something. I had a very nice ploughman’s heaps of different types of cheese. Only complaint though was the two small rolls weren’t rolls weren’t enough. I’d like a big hunk of crusty granary bread, please. Others had delicious smoke sounds.

Nish 42:18

Don’t we all? Don’t we all?

Jim 42:21

Keep all warriors, too much time in the ransom people.

Nish 42:25

I just yeah, I I do find reviews funny. It’s probably the best round of reviews ever, Jim, actually. I know we had some ones that were early on that were like felt like they were rival, rival club members, but yeah.

Jim 42:37

And then there was somebody from 2020, something happened in July 2020. I can’t remember what, but um, you know, it was um a year, a memorable year in many ways. So somebody got up got um a a round and a boogie bought for them for a special birthday, and they’ve always wanted to play there because they caddif um there in the past. Manx government stopped all travel to the island because of COVID. Bastards.

Nish 43:04

And that and that is why I’m giving Castletown Golf Club a one-star review because the Manx government oh, that was a two-star. Is it two-star? I reckon Angela’s gone and done that because she’s like, she can’t stomach anybody having a five-star review on the Isle of Man because she has such a bitter experience. She’s like, right, every business is getting a one-star, and then it at least in only 4.9. Nowhere deserves a five-star review. Thank you, Jim. That was uh very most enlightening. Um Chris, do you have anything else to add about the course?

Chris 43:37

Uh I don’t think so, no. I think we’ve covered covered most of what I’ve got. Um, there’s a few notable holes in there, like you said, that the first that Jim brought up there looks like a great, great opener. Short path four, it’s only 240 odd yards. Um, but again, a tiny little green to to get onto. The fifth looks pretty spectacular if you drive over a house, apparently. Um so yeah, good luck with that niche. Um we know it, we know your we know your form with uh with expensive houses and and golf balls. Show your windows.

Jim 44:07

Um leave them open because they’re gonna smash.

Nish 44:09

Hey, but you know, if you if if a ball does find its way in there, then you can win a sleeve of uh of golf balls of your choice. Yeah. So look out for the link.

Chris 44:18

You can you can knock that 10 quid off the uh off the window, Bill. Yeah, that’s it.

Nish 44:22

Yeah.

Chris 44:23

But yeah, yeah, other than that, like like I say, 17, 18 sounds like a spectacular finish. That’s kind of all the bits I had in there, really. Um keeps you coming back for more, doesn’t it?

Nish 44:32

A good finish. Yeah. To the to the to a to a round. The golf. Um, wonderful. Well, look, we’re really looking forward to it. That’s as I said, I think we’re gonna get an absolutely wonderful welcome. What I’ve particularly enjoyed about this episode, and if you if you’re listening, get on the video version, is the contrasting light as it’s been going in this. So Chris has been fading into the background and it’s been getting darker. And mine, because my lights have been on, my camera’s been getting lighter and lighter. So uh it’s worth watching out for that. Put put a little time lapse on it or something like that, and just see that change. Not that leprechaun. What’s that?

Jim 45:10

That was have you run out of 50p?

Nish 45:13

Yeah, yeah, the meter’s gone out. That was what was that? That was on uh Wayneswell, doesn’t it? And a leprechaun. And eleprecha. Great.

Chris 45:22

I can never remember which way it’s supposed to be, Nish. Where is it? Just from one direct from one direction. It’s not anything they’ll do. Yeah, but I’ll finish the podcast like this then, shall I?

Nish 45:31

Yeah, exactly. Yeah, I’ll just have to cover my eyes a little bit. Yeah, me too. Uh well, look, it’s got Castletown, it just feels like it’s the uh you know, that kind of rugged, rugged coastline-y place. Three legendary architects that have been some brutal weather in store. Um, you know, I think this could it has potential this to be one of those courses we talk about and trips we talk about for a while, actually. Because I think it’s gonna I think it’s gonna be fun. There’s some interesting seams like it anyway. There’s some interesting holes there. I’ve never been to the Isle of Man, so I’m looking I’m I’ve never been to the Isle of Man on that basis, yeah. Yeah, just this this journey is taking us to places that we never thought we would end up in. Well, we’re not I mean, that sounds a bit harsh on the Isle of Man, doesn’t it? Never go to the Isle of Man, but you know, we’re going, and actually Jim alluded to it before. The reason that our ferry was so expensive and it was pretty water and expensive. We picked the weekend before the Isle of Man TT, the Banks TT starting so. I reckon it’s everybody’s buzzing.

Chris 46:30

It’s gonna be buzzing though, isn’t it? Around around the Isle of Man. I think it’s gonna be pretty cool.

Nish 46:33

Yeah, and we’re staying quite central in Douglas, so we’ll we’ll have a we’ll have a beer the night before and um hopefully not get abducted by a biker gang. That kind of thing. Not again. Um not again. Yeah, yeah. It was so yeah, well, it was magical last time, so let’s go with that again. Um, wonderful. Thank you, gentlemen. That was uh that was a good preview, really looking forward to it. Until next time on the top 100 in 10 Golf Podcast.