Inter-Club events are again set to be a key centre-point of the Golf Ireland calendar and a recently issued guidance document spells out some of the key features of the 2023 events. One change in Munster will see the split of home and away matches be removed and instead one team will have the home advantage for all matches. In 2020 a home and away arrangement was put in place, this was brought about due to the shortened season due to covid, and the need to move away from the traditional weekend events due to course availability. This was continued last year with all matches including the area finals being split on a home and away basis. Club surveys carried out last November saw almost two thirds of respondents in Munster favouring all matches being played at one venue. Munster was the Continue reading
Author: niall@corkgolfnews.com
Golf for Everyone, Golf Ireland’s new strategic plan
Just a year after golf’s new governing body came into being, Golf Ireland this week launched an ambitious five-year plan to build on the success of the sport over the past two years.
Golf was one of a number of sports to see a big increase in participation during the pandemic. Although courses were closed at three different stages through 2020 and 2021, the sport added over 20,000 registered players. That increase reversed a decade of dropping numbers and there are over 200,000 Golf Ireland members with golf making as the fourth highest sport in terms of participation in Ireland. Overall it’s thought that there are over 500,000 people who play golf once a year, and the governing body will be hoping Continue reading
PGA Tour Debut for John Murphy
John Murphy. Picture: Niall O’Shea
It’s a big week for Kinsale’s John Murphy as he makes his debut on the PGA Tour at Pebble Beach. It’s an exciting start to Murphy’s 2022 schedule, and it came thanks to a chance meeting when he was practicing in Florida in December. He was advised to contact the AT&T Tournament Director with a letter of request and Murphy was delighted to hear back from Steve John. “Thankfully the Tournament Director was generous enough to accept the request, he sent me a text shortly after to confirm I was i. It’s very exciting, especially as it’s something I didn’t really expect. It’s a great opportunity to have and I’m looking forward to trying to make the most of it.”
Murphy along with caddy Shane O’Connell travelled to California last week and the pair settled into their tournament routine. “Since we’ve got here the prep has been very good, the weather has been great” said Shane. Continue reading
Carroll fighting fit in California
Mike Carroll pictured at the American Express PGA Tour event last week.
It’s a long way from Mahon Golf Course to La Quinta California but that’s the journey that Cork’s Mike Carroll has taken. Carroll is one of a small number of full-time golf fitness professionals, and he’s built a training business that supports all levels for golfers from beginners to veterans to tour professionals. After studying in Limerick he moved back to Cork in 2014 where he started Fit for Golf Cork. But by 2016 he was on the move to the US to take up a job with Mike Hansen, one of the early leaders in the area of golf fitness. Mike worked with Hansen Fitness for Golf for 4 years and in 2021 he set out on his own and drive his own business forward. Carroll has quickly become one of the key players in this specialist area.
“2021 was a very important year for me as I left Hansen Fitness For Golf, the company which I came over here to work for in 2016, and went full time with the Fit For Golf App. Being able to commit fully to Fit for Golf really helped progress things.” And the results were clear for Mike as subscriber numbers grew. “I have been extremely happy with the growth of the app. There are currently close to 5,000 subscribers, with a huge range of countries, ages, Continue reading
Full Schedule for Golf Ireland
Munster Stroke Play winner Peter O’Keeffe receiving the Cork Scratch Cup from Margaret Keane, Lady President Cork Golf Club. Also included are Vincent Twohig President and Bob Savage Captain Cork Golf Club.
Picture: Niall O’Shea
For the first time in three years, the championship golf season is back to normal. Restrictions in 2020 and 2021 meant that Golf Ireland, and previously the ILGU and GUI ran a reduced calendar with championships not starting until the second half of the year. Thankfully the possibility of closing courses over the early months of the year is very unlikely, allowing clubs and the national governing body to plan for a full season. This has given the new governing body their first opportunity to plan for a complete season and the 2020 schedule will see increased opportunities for men, women, boys and girls to compete together in National Championships. Ireland’s best Senior golfers will converge on Thurles GC in May to play in the Irish Senior Men’s & Women’s Amateur Close Championships. The event will see Karl Bornemann from Douglas defend his title in the mens event. For the first time ever, the best boys and girls Continue reading
Cork Golf Centre ready for 2022
David Keating pictured at Cork Golf Centre.
Picture: Niall O’Shea
The recent wet weather may have closed some courses, but Cork Golf Centre in Ballincollig offers golfers cover from the elements and the soft ground, and it’s this ideal place to keep golfers swinging through the wet and cold winter months. Many golfers continue to play all year around but there are a number who stay away from the course during the winter months.
The centre is one of just a few driving ranges in Cork, and it’s an ideal alternative for golfers looking to keep their swing in shape but not head out to the course. The centre has been a busy spot over the past 12 months in particular, with a big increase in the number of active golfers playing the game. When the centre opened in May 2017 it was a much-needed addition to the western side of the city. It was within easy reach of a large number of golfers Continue reading
Cork’s Top Amateurs (Men)
So how do you start to build a ranking of Cork’s top men’s golfers over the past 100 years?
Rankings and lists are always subjective, and I’m sure many people will have their own opinions on the list as they work their way through it. Rankings always come down to points, and allocating points for Continue reading
Cork’s Top Amateurs (Women)
Cork Ladies have been to the fore of Irish golf for close to 100 years, with many leading the way both in Ireland and abroad. Cork has produced major winners since the 1920’s and there’s every chance we’ll be adding a few more titles with the current generation. Due to the difference in the number of men’s events compared with women’s events, it wasn’t possible to Continue reading
Eddie Hackett’s Mahon Legacy
Tom McCarthy presenting a portrait of Eddie Hackett to Mahon Captain Denis Kavanagh. Also included are Paul Daly, President and Mary Stapleton, Lady Captain.
Picture: Niall O’Shea
Mahon Golf Club recently honoured course architect Eddie Hackett when they unveiled a portrait of the famous designer in the clubhouse. Tom McCarthy from McCarthy Developments gifted the portrait to the club after he had received it from the Hackett family. Mahon Captain Denis Kavanagh was delighted to accept the portrait on behalf of the club and the club is heading towards their 40th anniversary in 2022. The portrait is now hanging in the Joe McHugh room in the pavilion at the course. The Joe McHugh room itself is another element linking the club to it’s founding back in 1980.
Mahon Golf Club was the first municipal golf course in Ireland when it was constructed in 1980 and it was built for £35,000, close to €200,000 when valued today. It was the brainchild of the City Manager Joe McHugh and took two years to build. The course was built on partly reclaimed land where the Tramore River reaches the Loughmahon estuary. International golfers Tom Egan, George Crosbie, Michael Power and Bill Kelleher played Continue reading
Cain Claims Munster Boys Title
Morgan Cain (Cork Golf Club), Winner of the Munster Boys U18 Amateur Open Championship 2021 at Nenagh Golf Club
Picture Brendan Gleeson/Golffile
Morgan Cain is the 2021 Munster Boys champion after a super display of golf in Nenagh. The Cork golfer finished on -7, three shots clear of Douglas’ Mel Deasy to claim his first major title.
Three under par rounds of 71, 68, 70 saw him come home with plenty to spare. Cain was tied for the lead with Deasy starting today’s final round, and started in the worst possible fashion with a double bogey on the opening hole. But he battled back brilliantly with birdies in three of his next four holes to retake the lead from Deasy on the fifth. It was a lead he wouldn’t surrender, with another two birdies on the back nine. The only other blemish on his card was a bogey on 17, when his lead was five shots on the penultimate Continue reading
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