John Murphy was back in college golf action last week for the first time in ten months, but the Kinsale golfer has kept himself busy. After working hard in Cork for the summer he travelled back to America last August, and he was determined to make to most of his extension as a student in University Louisville. Murphy was a Senior last year but the cancellation of the second half of the season gave him another opportunity to compete in the 2021 NCAA college golf schedule. It was a big decision to return in August, when many European based golfers chose to stay at home, but it paid off for Murphy, providing him with the weather and the facilities to improve his game. “I felt as though the semester was really productive. As always, I am just trying to learn and grow as much as possible as a player, and being in this environment certainly allowed me to do that. I was able to compete with the world’s best Continue reading
Cork Golf
Inter-Club Handicaps Announced
Entries are now open for the 2021 Inter-Club competitions. Entry details for the national competitions were sent to golf clubs last week, with Golf Ireland also confirming the key handicapping information that will apply this year. 2021 will bring a few changes, with the old name of the GUI and ILGU Cups and Shields replaced with the new name of Inter-Club competitions becoming the central club events for Golf Ireland. In January the new single governing body for amateur golf in Ireland officially took over from the Irish Ladies Golf Union and the Golfing Union of Ireland which had been responsible for the sport for over 100 years. 2021 promises Continue reading
Buckley wins Emirates Amateur Open
Cork’s Paul Buckley became golf’s first winner of 2021, he won the Omega Emirates Amateur Open last week. The Kanturk native held his nerve during the closing stages of the elite amateur event to become the second Irishman to win the title. “I’m absolutely delighted with the win and totally taken aback with all the attention, it must be lack of Cork sport at the moment” said Paul after arriving back in Cork on Sunday.
Paul along with Karl Bornemann travelled out to Dubai two weeks ago to take in two tournaments. Buckley who spent over a decade in Australia prior to 2019 had played in a few Australian events in early 2020 but the Covid restrictions meant he had to look in a different direction for competitive golf this year. “We had Continue reading
Sugrue No 1 in Europe
James Sugrue
James Sugrue starts 2021 on top of the European amateur rankings, the Mallow man was confirmed as the leading amateur on the European Golf Association rankings. In addition to the EGA ranking, Sugrue also reached a high point of 5th on the World Amateur Golf Rankings last week. While it’s unclear if Sugrue will tee it up in any further amateur competitions, his standing as an elite amateur is something to remember as he turns towards a career as a tour professional.
Having made the decision to compete on the professional circuit in 2021, Sugrue will have lots to look back on in his amateur career. He was a solid performer in team golf, representing Mallow, Munster and Ireland from 2012 when Continue reading
Major Upgrade for Cork Golf Centre
A new LED lighting system has brought a huge improvement to Cork Golf Centre.
Picture: Niall O’Shea
Cork Golf Centre has seen a major upgrade in 2020 with golfers now benefitting from better lighting and a longer hitting area. The centre just outside Ballincollig used the two lockdowns to implement some planned improvements, and it’s been a busy place since the recent reopening. 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 stretching from the city to Macroom. David Keating was behind the development and his vision was to provide golfers of all levels with a Continue reading
Stafford Skills Up
Ian Stafford who has been busy planning the 2018 staging of the Pro Shop Challenge at Kinsale Golf Club.
Picture: Niall O’Shea
2020 was a different year for everyone in golf, from course owners to golfers to professionals. With forced closures for over three months of the year, golf professionals were effectively shut down during the closures. While there were challenges, there were also opportunities and Kinsale based PGA Professional Ian Stafford definitely took advantage of the opportunities. As well as getting to spend more time with his family, Ian has continued his own habit of furthering his professional qualifications. Having started his PGA training in 2000, Stafford didn’t stop with his PGA qualification.
In 2016 he achieved Continue reading
Maurice takes the helm at Monkstown
Mauriec O’Meara who recenytly joined Monkstown Golf Club as General Manager.
Picture: Niall O’Shea
It’s a few months since Maurice O’Meara joined the team in Monkstown, and the experienced golf club manager is settling into his hew role. Having previously worked as general manager in Killarney, Dooks and The Island, O’Meara has seen all aspects of the game in Ireland over the last 20 years. And the Dublin native jumped at the opportunity to take on the GM role in Monkstown when the vacancy arose during the summer. “During my years in golf club management and from my time in Dooks and Killarney, I would have had regular interaction with members of Monkstown as we had a lot of visiting groups from Cork and also a lot of dual members” explained Maurice. “What I would have heard of Monkstown was very positive, and this was very important in my decision to take up the role here. Like any club Monkstown has faced challenges over the last number of years, however the club is in a great place now, with a thriving membership. It’s been great to see the popularity of Continue reading
Golfers return to the fairways
Golfers returned to the fairways on Tuesday for the first time in five weeks, and for those hardy souls who put up with the cold and damp of winter it was a welcome return. While many golfers put away the clubs, the hardy winter golfers will have been looking forward to the re-opening of courses.
There was widescale disappointment in late October as courses were closed as part of the level five measures. Pleas that golf, as a naturally socially distanced sport could continue went unheard. Although golf like some other sports was deemed low risk, it seemed that the ban on non-essential travel took priority. Although disappointed, most golfers looked forward to a Continue reading
The changing face of Cork Golf Club
As well as clearing vegetation, natural wetlands are also being promoted like this area under the 8th tee at Cork Golf Club.
Picture: Niall O’Shea
The work at Cork Golf Club continues as Simon O’Hara and the course staff continue to peel back the layers to reveal some of the original features of the famous cork course. Well over 120 years after the club moved to Little Island, and 95 years after Sir Alister MacKenzie laid out the current course, it’s almost a case of back to the future for Cork as the limestone walls and original views are revealed. The projects are being led by Cork’s Superintendent Simon O’Hara and the team of skilled greenkeepers. O’Hara moved from Fota Island to Cork two years ago, and soon after he arrived he started to make a few changes. He reinstated the practice chipping green which is adjacent to the 18th fairway and last spring he oversaw the removal of the Continue reading
Changes ahead in Cups and Shields
While many golfers will be focusing on a return to the fairways next week, others will already have an eye on 2021 and there are some major changes ahead. The WHS handicapping system was launched in Ireland earlier this month and golfers will see some changes from when qualifying competitions return in the Spring. In addition to the handicapping changes, there are also changes to the cups and shields competitions. A new eight region system is set to replace the current provincial structure in mens golf, with each of the eight regional winners progressing to Continue reading
