Big freeze not such a big hit

Westport's seventh green makes for an ideal picture postcard setting especially with the impressive backdrop of Croagh Patrick. However, the reality is very different for clubs, who have suffered a huge financial hit due to the recent arctic weather. (Photograph courtesy of Westport GC)Westport's seventh green makes for an ideal picture postcard setting especially with the impressive backdrop of Croagh Patrick. However, the reality is very different for clubs, who have suffered a huge financial hit due to the recent arctic weather.

Clubs have taken another financial hit in an already tough economic climate, reports PHILIP REID

Aesthetically, IN a picture postcard sort of way, Ireland's golf courses have resembled a winter wonderland throughout the big freeze; but the reality of the situation is the impact has extended to more than the mere fact that golf has all but closed down for the duration of the arctic cold spell: there has been a financial hit in an already tough economic climate for clubs and resorts to take.

In some far-off places, like Greenland, Austria and Switzerland, such inclement weather wouldn't deter golfers as there's such a sport as snow golf where, believe it or not, the greens are called whites. Indeed, the famed author, Rudyard Kipling - who lived in the snow-capped mountains of Vermont - is believed to have indulged in his passion for snow golf whenever his breaks from writing Jungle Book would allow it . . . but the impact of the weather on Irish courses these past few weeks have brought a different kind of chill, with many hit financially because of the closure of courses.