Kentucky based John Murphy is ready for competitive action later this month as the talented Kinsale golfer prepares to restart his season. The Irish Mens squad member is in his first year in the University of Louisville golf programme and despite an enforced lay-off due to knee surgery he’s really enjoyed the first semester in the US. After moving over to Kentucky in August, it was a slow start for Murphy that ultimately meant minor surgery on a recurrent knee problem. That side-lined John from competitive action but he worked on his rehab plan and will be in contention for a place when the first competition of new year in just a few weeks. The end of the rehab coincided with a return home for a few weeks to catch up with family and friends. “I came back to Ireland on the 14th of December and I was very excited to come back” said Murphy. Christmas didn’t disappoint, I had plenty time to hang out with my friends and family because I would consider myself very Continue reading
Author: niall@corkgolfnews.com
Mitchelstown launch New Membership Options
Mitchelstown Officers pictured at the recent drive in: Men’s Captain John O’Brien, President Liam O’Sullivan, Junior Captain Tommy Maher and Lady Captain Angela Riemensperger.
Pic: Billy Murphy
It’s often described as a hidden gem but Mitchelstown Golf Club is a popular spot for golfers in North Cork. A new membership drive has seen the club boost its profile as interest in the sport is growing again. The club has been a regular in the cups and shields events, and the highlight came in 2011 when the Junior Cup team won provincial and national honours. The club is over 100 years old, it was founded in 1910 Mitchelstown Golf Club was a nine hole golf course for the better part of seventy years. As the demand for golf grew in the late eighties and early nineties, it became apparent to members that Mitchelstown Golf Club needed to look forward. Being surrounded on all sides by valuable and expensive farming land the move to an eighteen hole course was not easy in financial terms so the step forward was accomplished in two stages. Stage one was the construction of six new holes which opened in 1994. Stage two followed some years later with the Continue reading
Golfers Guide Awards for Madden and Cork
Paddy McCarthy, Golfers Guide to Ireland and Hillary Madden, Monkstown Golf Club who won Best Golf Manager Munster.
Pic Orla Murray/ SON
The annual Golfers Guide awards were held last week and there were two winners from Cork. Monkstown’s Hillary Madden won the Manager of the Year for Munster while Cork Golf Club won the award for best parkland course. It’s cork’s fourth time to win the award in the past seven years. The annual awards took place at Portmarnock Golf Links Hotel and formed part of the launch of the Golfers Guide to Ireland 2018.
The full colour guide is now in it’s 27th year and will be available free of charge in all GUI affiliated clubs. The guide is a comprehensive listing of Ireland’s leading links and parkland courses and also provides details of specialist golf accommodation.
Pictured at the launch of the Golfers Guide to Ireland 2018 was Paddy McCarthy, Golfers Guide to Ireland and Matt Sands from Cork Golf Club which won Best Parkland Munster.
Pic Orla Murray/ SON Photo
Christy’s Legacy in Lee Valley
For most golfers in Cork, Jerry Keohane is the driving force behind Lee Valley. But Jerry says he owes a lot to the original course designer. “There was one man who inspired me to and I learned a huge amount from him in two and a half years. He was the most amazing man I ever met, Christy O’Connor Jnr.” In a time before google maps or 3D modelling, Christy was a traditionalist, walking the land to judge the layout as Jerry explained: “He just had a simple drawing, a layout of the course and nothing else. He walked each fairway when he came down every week, sometimes twice a week. I’d be watching him and you’d ask yourself what’s he’s doing. He had some paint and he’d go around and mark out the greens and the bunkers and I was amazed by the man. He had no drawings or detailed plans, his Continue reading
Lee Valley 25th Anniversary Launch
Jim Long, Chairman Munster Golf pictured with Lord Mayor Tony Fitzgerald and Lee Valley Captain Brian O’Donovan. Picture: Niall O’Shea
Lee Valley commenced their 25th anniversary celebrations last weekend when the 2018 Officers drove in to mark the start of the new golfing year. A special celebration also took place to launch a new book detailing the Lee Valley story which has been evolving over the past quarter of a century. Lee Valley Captain led the festivities and he was delighted to detail what Lee Valley meant to him. The Skibbereen native, who won an All Ireland Club title with O’Donovan Rossa the same year that the couse opened, has been a proud member in Lee Valley for over 15 years. “What a tremendous golf course we have here. Back in 1993 you could stand on the balcony and see as far down as the 14th fairway” said the Captain. “Today you won’t see past the first fairway with the trees and how it has developed and matured. It’s a hidden jewel and we’re delighted to have it. It doesn’t just happen and it doesn’t come naturally, the work that has been done by Jerry, James Mulcahy and Continue reading
Cork Golf Centre goes from strength to strength
Cork Golf Centre
Although it’s only open since April last year, Cork Golf Centre has quickly become a firm favourite for golfers on the western side of the city and beyond. With a reduction in the number of public range facilities, Cork Golf Centre was ideally positioned to fill a gap in the market for both casual and serious golfers. Located just beyond the regional park in Ballincollig, there’s a very large catchment area including several clubs. “The centre has had a very busy first year and it continues to grow” explained resident PGA Professional Wayne Continue reading
Lee Valley 25th Anniversary Celebrations
Pictures from Lee Valley’s 25th Anniversary Launch: Continue reading
Capto Putting comes to Cork
It may be an old saying but it still holds true – drive for show, putt for dough and Wayne O’Callaghan is hoping to build on that with a brand new putting analysis system. Wayne, who is based at the Cork Golf Centre in Ballincollig, is one of only two PGA Professionals in Ireland to use the Capto Putting Technology system. Using a small sensor on the shaft of your putter, the system can instantly capture twenty key parameters of the putting stroke. Wayne along with Killarney based David Keating travelled to Spain in December to pick up their new systems, which offer a whole new level of detail when it comes to analysing putting. While there are several options for measuring the swing of irons and drivers, and there are several putting systems that capture the reaction of the ball once it’s hit, this is one of the first systems to focus on the swing and the actions of the golfer. The system operates by putting a small 3D sensor onto the shaft of the putter and using a computer or phone Continue reading
Douglas academy to open in 2018
Progress is being made on the new five hole academy in Douglas, while work has also started on the redesign of the two practice greens in the distance. Picture: Niall O’Shea
2018 promises to be a milestone year for Douglas, the southside club will open a brand new five hole short game facility and work should also conclude on a new practice facility and range. The five hole short game area is currently under construction, all of the earthmoving and shaping has been completed and the greens and tee boxes have been laid out. The team from DAR Construction have finished the first and second stages of work, a substantial amount of ground works took place in stage one including the installation of services, and after that several tonnes of sand were laid on the new greens and approaches to provide top quality playing conditions. The seeding Continue reading
Sara set for another super year
Sara Byrne might only be 16, but in the past two years she blazed a trail on the golf courses of Cork and further afield. The Douglas member has represented Munster, Ireland and GB&I in 2017, and more importantly she has seen her golf game improve on several levels. While Sara has been used to winning, and she has ben part of the IGU coaching programmes for a few years, 2017 was a breakthrough year and she’s planning to build on that through the winter and into next season. “I have some great memories this year including winning the Munster girls championship, getting my first cap for Ireland, becoming an honorary member of Douglas Golf Club and shooting the course record of five under 67 in Douglas” said Sara. “But my best memory was seeing the Irish tricolour being raised and the Irish anthem being played when I was playing for Great Britain and Ireland at the Vagliano Trophy in Italy.” Those experiences and performances didn’t happen by accident, they were a result of a very strong work ethic and a focus on constant improvement. And the young Douglas golfer saw the results on the course. “I think my ball striking this year has Continue reading
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