Lee Valley is planning for a bumper 2018 as the friendly club on the western edge of the city celebrates 25 years of golf. Built in the 90’s the early phase of the first boom for golf, the course quickly developed a name as a championship level venue, known for it’s superior greens and friendly welcome. The Christy O’Connor designed course was started in 1990, and over the next three years the 150 acres of fields and woodlands were transformed into a championship golf course. O’Connor was a regular feature during the build phase, and instead of relying on maps and drawings he mainly worked from sight and the plan that he kept in his head. O’Connor died earlier this year, but Lee Valley remains a legacy to the Christy Jnr brand.
Jerry Keohane has been around for most of that journey, having been an investor in the original development. After the course opened in 1993, Jerry Keohane had sold of his share of the business, but in 1999 Jerry bought the course after it went on the market, and Lee Valley quickly became a family business with Peg, Paul and David all playing an active role in the business over the past two decades. Like all courses, it was by no means a finished product and Jerry started on a development that’s lasted the best part of 20 years. Over 18,000 trees were planted, vast areas Continue reading
Tim Rice won his second Munster PGA event of the season when he shot a five under par 67 in Killarney today. Rice knocked in six birdies in an impressive round on Mahonys Point. Close to 30 PGA Professionals played in the event, which was sponsored by John Caulfield from TaylorMade. The scoring was very impressive with 11 golfers shooting par or better. Cian McNamara took second place with and Fota Island’s Jack Howard picked up his first prize as a pro, he shot a 69 to finish tied for 3rd place. Lahinch’s Donal McSweeney was fifth with a two under par 70. The over 45 prize went to David Whyte while the team prize was won by Tin Rice, Alan O’Meara, Jamie O’Sullivan and David Whyte.
Mahony’s Point was in great condition and Munster PGA Captain Cian McNamara thanked Cormac Flannery and David Keating for their help with another great outing. Killeen is currently undergoing some work as a new green is being constructed on the iconic first hole. The new green brings the water into play for the second shot and a large proportion of the work has been completed with an opening due for early next year. The Captain also passed on his best wishes Danny Sugrue, the Dooks professional underwent major surgery last week for an ongoing condition and everyone was delighted to hear that he’s making a good recovery.
Douglas Golf Club recently celebrated the successes of three of their members, all three were capped for Ireland this year. Sara Byrne, Karl Bornemann and Peter O’Keeffe were the centre of attention on the evening when members, families and friends gathered at the club. As well as receiving presentation from the club, the trio were also granted honorary membership from the club with Management Committee Chairman Jerry Cronin presenting certificates to all three. It was a great year for all three golfers. In addition to being selected for Ireland Girls, Sara Byrne was also selected for the GB&I team that played in the Junior Vagliano trophy in Italy early in the season. She also 
Castlemartyr played host to the second Munster PGA event on Monday and the winner was Cian McNamara. The Monkstown man is also the Munster PGA Captain and he went around the par 72 course in 67 strokes. Three birdies in the first four holes set the pace for McNamara and he also birdied the 9th to turn on -4. He added a fifth birdie on the index one 10th hole, and despite a scare on the last he kept bogies off the card which was enough to win by one. Paddy Sheehy (Lahinch) was also on fire on the greens, recording a total of eight birdies. Unfortunately for Sheehy his round also included four bogies, that meant he signed for a 68 taking second place. Third place went to David Ryan who was also under par with a 71. Darragh Morrissey took the Assistants prize while Liam Burns won the Over 45 prize. The event was sponsored by Paul McCabe & Gerry Green from Pro Quip.
Douglas Golf Club have just opened applications for membership in 2018. The southside club operated a similar process last year and the all of the available places were fully subscribed. It’s an exciting time for Douglas. After extensive research and planning the club has just commenced and ambitious programme that will see a major expansion to their practice facilities, and also a brand new five hole short game area. The facility upgrade will be followed by a major upgrade to the clubhouse and proshop. That is currently at design stage and is scheduled for completion in early 2019.
For many people, Autumn marks the end of the golf season, but that’s not the case for teaching professional Ronan Collins. Ronan is based in the Academy at Fota Island and he’s looking forward to a busy off-season as many golfers will continue to work on their games over the winter months. Collins joined the team in Fota earlier this year and has had a great first season at the Academy. “I have loved my first summer in Fota Island, the warmth and support that I received from staff and members at the club has been fantastic” said Ronan on his first few months. “I’m looking forward to a busy winter season ahead with group lessons planned as well as new product releases It is always an exciting time of the year.” Having qualified in Monkstown under Batt Murphy, Collins is now a seasoned teaching pro, and having spent time in teaching, retail and custom fitting roles, he’s now delighted with his move to Fota. “I find my job very fulfilling; I get to spend my day in top class facilities helping golfers improve their games in many ways” said Collins from his base at the Academy. “With some I see improvements through lessons and others I see improvements 
There was delight in Belfast and Cork yesterday as Lee Valley Ladies won another All-Ireland title. The Cork club captured the AIG Minor Cup in Belfast, their first time winning at Minor level. After several close calls this year, the final ended up being a clean sweep for Lee Valley as they beat Mountbellew. Rosemary Driscoll won the first point for Lee Valley on the 17th green when she won 2&1, while Deirdre Lee saw her match go to sudden death before she won and added a second point for Lee Valley. The winning point was secured by Breda O’Callaghan, she had a 2&1 win on the 17th to win the third match and secured another national pennant for Lee Valley. Both Jane O’Neill and Helen Gough were called in, their matches were considered as halves meaning the final score was 4-1 to Lee Valley. On Thursday, Helen Gough was the hero for Lee Valley, securing the winning point in the final match on the final green. Jane O’Neill and Breda O’Callaghan had secured the earlier points and their way to the final in a tough match against Donaghadee. Lee Valley Team Captain Angela Corcoran summed up the feelings of the Lee Valley members: “We’re absolutely thrilled, it could have gone either way right up until the end, it was an amazing contest,” said Angela. “This is our third All-Ireland, we have won two Intermediate Cups and now a Minor Cup in the last 5 years, it’s a huge honour for our 25-year-old club!” The Cork club last won a national title in 2015 when they won the AIG Intermediate Cup in Knightsbrook. The team along with a large number of members and supporters made the long trip from Belfast last night. And the winners were treated to a great reception back in Lee Valley when they arrived home to Ovens.
