Shane Irwin
Monkstown’s Shane Irwin will have a busy few months ahead, as he closes off his second year of training as a PGA Professional. The Limerick native has spent two years in Cork, working with Cian McNamara in the Monkstown ProShop. In September 2017 he started his PGA training, having worked in the US and South Africa prior to that. It was the next step in a plan for Shane. “First year was very interesting for me as I went straight to the states to work in the golf industry after my leaving cert, so it was all a new experience for me” explained Irwin. “Going to the states was in itself a learning, the way the American golf industry works and the contacts and friends I have made benefited me greatly to bring all that knowledge back home to Ireland. The plan was always do America and play in South Africa and come back to do my PGA studies.” Traditionally the PGA apprenticeship was Continue reading
Mairead Martin recently enjoyed a few weeks at home after an exciting few months in the US on a golf scholarship in Kentucky. The Kanturk golfer who completed her leaving cert in June and in August she moved to start with their acclaimed womens golf programme. It was a great first semester, Mairead finished the second highest ranked golfer on the roster claiming two top ten finishes on her first five tournaments. It was a busy few months for the teenager as she settled into her new home for the next few years. “The first couple of weeks were tough and quite intense it took a while for me to get used to how busy each day was between school, practice and workouts” explained Mairead. “I struggled to find time to even think about home or even be homesick. When I arrived in Louisville the team and coaches couldn’t have been 
This year could be summarised as a game of two halves for John Murphy. The Kinsale golfer spent the first half of the year playing well but struggling to get results, but the second half saw him hit some key milestones. These included an international win, an Irish cap and get finish to the season back in college in the US. While 2018 may have been his best year, Murphy didn’t feel like that at the beginning of the year a he explained. “The college semester was difficult for me” recalled Murphy. “I didn’t feel like I was competing as I had in the past. I wasn’t producing results that were reflecting how I was playing. In all honesty, I was worried, I was shooting some poor scores and I was getting very frustrated with myself. It was tough. I remember having a call with my parents at regionals where I just shot 7 over par. I told them I was playing well but I just couldn’t score, and then we all realized that I had been saying that all semester, and maybe I was being delusional. The week I got back 
It was a busy year for Lee Valley, but one that they will remember. 2018 marked the 25th anniversary for the club, and while everyone celebrated the milestone the club also went on to win their first Cups and Shields pennant. From the celebrations in January, through to the AGM this month, the club pulled together to celebrate. This time last year the club made Lee Valley owner Jerry Keohane and honorary Life President of the Club, and it was an honour that was very much appreciated by Jerry. He was involved in the consortium who purchased the land and commissioned Christy O’Connor Jnr to design the course. Jerry and his family would later take over full control of the Clashnure venture, and since then they have continued to develop and improve the course with a consistent focus on presenting a championship experience for every golfer. Lee Valley remains a 
Although the competitive golf season is well and truly over, James Sugrue was back in the news last week when he picked up an award. He was one of two recipients for golf at Mayor Patrick Gerard Murphy’s Co Council reception last week. Although Sugrue didn’t hit the high of a championship win, he continued to progress with two local wins and some great individual performances during the year. The season was book-ended by his two wins, the first in the Fota Island Senior Scratch Cup in early April, and the second in September when he won the John Whyte Fermoy Senior Scratch Cup to close out the season. The two wins may be highlights, but to be fair the Mallow golfer has had a very impressive summer of golf which was recognised with his selection to the Irish team. Sugrue joined the Irish Mens panel this year and represented the Irish selection at the South African and Spanish Amateurs in the early season, and in October he travelled to South America for two international events. His full cap finally came when he was selected to play for the Home Internationals which took place last week. Capped on multiple occasions in Boy’s golf, this was a big step up for Sugrue but one he took in his stride.
Even though it’s less than two years old, Cork Golf Centre in Ballincollig continues to develop their offering to Cork golfers, with resident PGA Professional Wayne O’Callaghan investing in a new Trackman Simulator. November can often be the quietest month of the year for anyone involved in golf, but not so for Wayne who has remodelled his teaching bay to incorporate the state of the art technology. The new simulator was built earlier this month and already there has been a huge amount of interest in the new service. “The trackman 4 was purchased with the aim of bringing the experience of playing golf to the range environment” explained Wayne who has been the resident pro since the range opened in 2017. “Having owned previous Trackman models I knew what a quality product the Trackman 4 simulator would be 
It’s just a year since greenkeeper Paudie O’Sullivan was appointed as Head Superintendent at Castlemartyr. Now in his third decade as a greenkeeper, the Little Island man has had a busy year at the prestigious East Cork golf resort. “It has been a whirlwind twelve months, to get the Head Superintendent job at Castlemartyr was a fantastic step in my career” added Paudie. “Everyday is a learning day in Castlemartyr as you never know what each day will bring. In the twelve months since being given the Head Superintendent position, we have been through storm Ophelia in October, from November to February we had over 500mm of rainfall, and in March we were covered in snow and closed for 12 consecutive days. Any then this summer we went through the driest summer I have incurred.” That dry spell in July was O’Sullivan’s biggest task in a challenging year. Weeks went by without any meaningful rain, which isn’t ideal when your trying to maintain over 100 acres of cultivated grass. “Looking back now on the summer, Castlemartyr has come out quite well” explained the man in charge. “One or two areas needed overseeding due to 
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