The Muskerry Junior Scratch Trophy returns next month with the two day qualifier taking place in mid March.  The early Easter date this year means that the qualifier will take place 15^th and 16^th of March and the timesheet is now open.  The event usually marks the start of the competitive season in Cork and over 300 golfers are expected to play over the two days.  32 golfers will qualify from each day, and they will then go forward to the match play stage in Muskerry which will be held over Easter at the end of March.

Starting on Good Friday, six rounds of match play will follow over three days with the two finalists playing the sixth round on Easter Sunday afternoon.  The handicap range for entries is 2.5 – 10.5 and entries can be made online.  The event is again sponsored by Ryan’s SuperValu who came on board for the first time in 2021.  Liam Ryan has supported many Cork clubs over the past few years, and Ryans are also title sponsors of the Munster Men’s Amateur in Cork Golf Club.

The competition is unique in Ireland and is now in it’s 45^th year.  The winners trophy dates back to the original staging over 40 years ago.  The 2023 winner was John McSweeney, his third time to come through the field and win, an amazing achievement in Cork’s toughest competition.  The Muskerry member first won the competition twenty years ago in 2003, and he added a second win two years ago in 2021.

The 18/64 format has proved popular over a number of decades with golfers entering year after year.  There have been many famous winners and many dramatic finals.  Eoghan O’Connell, Niall Turner and Morgan O’Donovan were among the winners to turn pro, while Sean Duggan from Castlemartyr and Mitchelstown’s Sean Leonard were among the youngest winners.

Bantry’s Donal McCarthy won the trophy on three occasions in the 80’s and he was the only player to win back to back, in 1984 & 1985.  Although the trophy has plenty of Muskerry names, Ger O’Shea and holder John McSweeney are the only members of the home club to win more than once.  Mitchelstown’s Clem Leonard also won twice in 2010 and 2012, and in 2016 his nephew Sean Leonard continued the Leonard family’s success in Muskerry.  The host club have tasted lots of success in the competition, winning twenty one times over the 44 years.

Muskerry have continued with their course improvement programme.  In early 2023 they completed a major upgrade of the buggy paths along with drainage upgrades and a tree management programme.  Already their year the club has rebuilt the tee box on the 8^th hole, and they have also cleared a number of trees behind the 5^th green to allow greater light onto the surface.

Golf in Muskerry dates back to the beginning of the last century.  While the first course in the locality was attributed to St. Annes Hydro, Muskerry Golf Club dates back to 1907.  The location of the course was close to the Muskerry tram.  Like most courses at the time this was a key factor in making it accessible for golfers from the city.

Talks of upgrading the original nine hole course to 18 holes started in 1912, but it wasn’t until Dr Alistair MacKenzie visited the site in 1924 that the extension happened.  This was MacKenzie’s first visit to Cork and after walking the course and the adjoining land MacKenzie sat down and sketched out a plan for the new 18 over lunch.  That sketch ended up as a blueprint for the finished course and included two of the existing holes in addition to some new routing around the terrain on both sides of the Shournagh river.  MacKenzie would go on to have a lasting impact on golf in cork, and in Ireland. He was involved with course changes in both Monkstown and Douglas, and he is credited with the current of course in Cork Golf Club which is acknowledged as a signature MacKenzie design.  The English course architect is most famously remembered for his famous designs in Augusta National and Cypress Point which are among the 100 courses he designed.

Muskerry is going to be a busy place again in 2024, with a large membership and plenty of playing opportunities for guests and non-members.  The popular MacKenzie open singles, sponsored by O’Crualaoi’s starts on Tuesday 16^th April and runs on most Tuesday’s through to mid September.  The Muskerry Senior Scratch Cup takes place on the 12^th May with the other scratch cups scheduled for the end of June.