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
Golf Ireland
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
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
O’Sullivan Celebrates 10 Years in Cobh
Cobh’s Club Professional David O’Sullivan PGA.
This summer marked an important anniversary for PGA Professional David O’Sullivan, he celebrated 10 years as the Club Professional in Cobh Golf Club. The Ballincollig native has been in the PGA ranks for over 20 years and has made Cobh his home since 2010. While golf itself has gone through a strange decade, and especially a strange 2020, David was delighted to celebrate a decade at the Marino Point club. “Ten years on and the old saying is true, time flies when you’re having fun. From my early days, it was very clear that the members were welcoming and proud of their golf club and that is still very much the vibe at Marino Point. Cobh Golf Club is on a journey of progression and since I started in 2010 this has been our shared journey. It became ‘home’ and a decade on, I still very much feel that sense of belonging.”
Although you mightn’t think it, David is now in his third decade as a golf pro. He trained in Bandon under Paddy O’Boyle and Continue reading
World Handicap System
Golfers in Ireland are facing a major change as the World Handicap System is set to be launched next month. After over two years of planning, the ILGU and GUI are following the other home nations in the adoption of the new system. While many club golfers think they won’t see a change in their actual handicap until summer rules return in the spring, the changes start in under two weeks time. The new system will see a golfers handicap change from course to course even during the non-counting Continue reading
Golf is getting back to normal
Golf is getting back to normal, there are plenty of golfers back on the courses in Cork although it’s a bit slower than many golfers would like. Since Monday 8th June the sport entered the second phase of the return to play protocol which has been developed by the ILGU and GUI. Both bodies have been proactive in getting golfers back on the course, golf was one of the first sports to be allowed to reopen. Last week should have seen two major developments, the extension of the travel limit to 20km and the return of competitions. While the travel limit was extended to the full county, competitions unfortunat Continue reading
Golf’s Reopening
In 11 days most golf courses in Cork will reopen following the Government announcement on Friday last. Most golfers will have welcomed the inclusion of golf in the first phase of the lifting of restrictions although questions remain on the 5km limit for non-essential travel. This sparked plenty of debate online over the weekend with many citing that the majority of members would be excluded if the 5km rule was not relaxed.
Despite that restriction the good news is that clubs will reopen on the 18th, and golf will return to a similar format to what golfers experienced prior to the lockdown. Social distancing, no course accessories like flags and rakes, and small groups of two or four are likely to feature in the initial phase. With the restrictions still applying to hospitality settings it’s unlikely that clubhouses and restaurants will open on the 18th May. The work of the governing bodies has been instrumental in ensuring that golf was included in the earlier stages of relaxing the lockdown rules. The GUI and ILGU have been busy in the past few weeks, liaising with the authorities on a range of issues. Those topics included the essential maintenance of courses which was not initially included in the original restrictions, as well the financial impact of the crisis on clubs and building a pathway for the safe resumption of golf.
A statement said that the governing bodies “have prepared a comprehensive draft protocol on the safe resumption of play on which we have been engaging with the Government over recent weeks. We now intend to finalise this protocol in the coming week, in consultation with the Government, and issue clear advice to our member clubs well in advance of the reopening of courses on 18 May. That advice will emphasise the absolute necessity of golf clubs adhering to the terms of the protocol for safe play.” The statement asked club and golfers for patience until the final advice is released. “In the initial stage, play will be for members only and competitions will not be permitted. We would ask clubs to refrain from opening timesheets for booking until the protocol is published, as it will contain vital information on group sizes and timesheet intervals.”
The statement also confirmed that the governing bodies will also continue to work closely with the Government in the coming weeks and months to seek support for golf clubs that have been severely impacted by the Covid-19 restrictions. There has been lots of commentary on the impact of the closure of courses for over a month, the reduction of future green fee and society bookings, and the knock-on effect that it will have on the financial position of many clubs.
Golfing Bodies support Clubs
It should have been a breakthrough year for golfing bodies in Ireland but like so many other sports the goalposts have moved. Both the GUI (Men) and ILGU (Ladies) recently held their final Annual General Meetings, and it looked like the biggest item on the agenda for 2020 was the transition to Golf Ireland, the new single governing body for the amateur game in Ireland. Instead, both bodies along with the Confederation of Golf in Ireland. The national bodies have directly engaged at the highest level with government agencies to establish recovery support measures. As part of their efforts to support golfers and clubs, a club survey will follow next week to help Unions identify the economic impact on the sport and the GUI, ILGU & CGI hope to outline immediate supports available. In a statement issued to all clubs over the weekend the Unions acknowledge the cha Continue reading
Cork Golf News 