GUI Munster Golf
Competitions are back
There was more good news for clubs last week when the GUI announced that four Cups and Shields events will take place. Having selected four competitions that could potentially proceed, the mens union polled all of the participant clubs and received a strong mandate to plan for the provincial stages. Over 75% of clubs backed the plans to proceed with the AIG Senior and Junior Cups, the Jimmy Brun Shield and the Pierce Purcell Shield. The GUI had previously announced that the Mixed Foursomes and the Barton Shield would not proceed this year.
At this stage of the year most of the qualifying rounds would have been completed, and it will be another few weeks before the competitions get underway as a statement from the GUI expla Continue reading
Remembering T W Egan
Monkstown’s Tom Egan who won the Irish Senior Cup in 1963 pictured members of the 2016 winning team; Manager Martin Walsh, Donal McDonnell, Eoghan Long and Monkstown Captain Carl Toal.
One of Monkstown’s most famous golfers Tom Egan passed away on Friday aged 89. The Irish International dominated the amateur game for two decades in the 50’s and 60’s. TW, as he was known, was Monkstown born and bred, his home was bordering the course and regularly jumped the wall to practice around the old fourth hole as a boy.
Egan’s practice played dividends and it showed when he played in his very first competition. Just short of his 18th birthday he was given a handicap by the club, this normally didn’t happen until juniors turned 18. TW was given a handicap of 12 and went on to shoot a 78 (66 nett) to win the 1947 President’s Prize. His handicap was swiftly cut to six and he was down to scratch soon after.
Outside of Monkstown, Tom went on to win two major amateur titles in addition to a large number of local wins. Having reached the final of the South of Ireland in 1951 he went on to win the Irish Close Continue reading
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
Boylesports backing Lee Valley Again
Boylesports will continue their association with Lee Valley into 2020 as they remain a key sponsor for the club. The Irish firm will again sponsor the Lee Valley Senior Scratch Cup which takes place on the 25th & 26th April. The continued support from Boylesports means the club can again stage a top class event with a generous prize fund in place. The 54 hole event has become one of the biggest three round events in the country. 2019 winner Tiarnan McLarnon will be back to defend his title, the Irish International had a great season after his win in Cork last year and he’s be fancied to continue his great run of form in Lee Valley. Tournament Director Vincent Drinan is busy taking bookings at the moment and anyone interested in playing should contact him on email (vinced9@gmail.com) or WhatsApp (087 9966332). The closing date for entries is 15th April and the field is limited.
Onsite accommodation, a great clubhouse atmosphere and a great championship course all combine to make the Lee Valley Scratch Cup a great early season event. Last year McLarnon broke the run of Cork’s Gary O’Flaherty who won two in a row in 2017 and 2018. A top Continue reading
East Cork’s Golfing History
While Fota Island can be regarded as Cork’s top championship golf location, not many people will know that the Fota was the site of the first record organised golf in Cork. Back in 1883, over 135 years ago the first course in Cork was laid out on the Smith Barry Estate. The course in Fota was the second recorded course in Ireland, and it lasted around 30 years until the game spread by way of the large increase in the number of courses and clubs. It’s not known where exactly on the island that the course was located but it’s unlikely that it was on the site of the current course. Owned by Lady Barrymore who lived in Fota House, the course was a short nine hole layout and was mainly used in the early days by the Officers of the British Army stationed in Cork. Although it boasts the earliest records of the sport in Cork, it seems that there was no golf in Fota until 1993 when a ne Continue reading
North Cork’s Golfing History
Mitchelstown Golf Club with the scenic Galtee Mountains in the backround.
Picture: Niall O’Shea
Golf in North Cork can be traced back to 1892, and almost 130 years later it’s still thriving. While the rise of the sport exploded in the early part of the 19th century, it’s popularity remained strong right up to today. It’s a testament to the North Cork clubs that they have withstood several challenges and remain popular destinations for both members and guests. Fermoy holds the honour of hosting the earliest recorded golf match in 1892 when the locally based British army officers took on the neighbouring garrison in Lismore. Fermoy Golf Clubs traces it’s history back to 1893, and like many other clubs they had several homes including the racecourse, the Aerodrome, and Continue reading
West Cork’s Golfing History
Bandon’s 7th green with Castle Bernard in the background.
Picture: Niall O’Shea
West Cork is famed for it’s sporting traditions, and golf forms a big part of that with the sport going back to the 1880’s. That means that golf pre-dates many other organised sports, although in the early years the sport was dominated by army officers and based bear garrisons, barracks and camps. From rough and ready makeshift courses that rarely lasted longer than a short lease, the courses that survived have developed into a number of nine and eighteen hole gems. Bandon and Kinsale are both in West Cork, but their proximity to the city allow for a large travelling membership from the city and surburbs. Bandon is now over 110 years old, and has been based in the Castlebernard for all of that time. It has the distinction of being the first West Cork Club to extend to 18 holes back in 1978. One of the largest and most successful clubs Continue reading
The Year that was 2019
James Sugrue pictured with Irish Mens Captain John Carroll
2019 was a stellar year for Cork golfers. With seven Corkmen winning international caps, there were plenty of great performances among several notable individual wins. Just three years ago there wasn’t a single Cork golfer on the national mens squad, this year there were three golfers to reach that standard in what must be regarded as a great run for Cork golf. With three seniors, one boys and three mens representatives, it was an impressive number of caps. Top of the list of course was James Sugrue, the Amateur Champion. The Mallow man won the Castletroy Scratch Cup in May, but less than a month later his world would change with the win of a lifetime in Portmarnock. An Amateur Championship win seemed unlikely at a few stages during that week in Dublin. After just five holes on the first day of qualifying Sugrue branded the course as “insanely long”, and he found himself three down deep into the back nine in the second round of matchplay. In what was a marathon rather than a sprint, Sugrue played himself into form, thanks in equal parts to a new Titleist driver, solid advice from Neil Manchip and a hot putter. On that Saturday morning playing in the Amateur Championship final, few would have thought it was his seventh round of the week. He sprinted into a five up lead against Scotland’s Ewan Walker. Despite the impressive start, the final would prove to be another marathon lasting the full 36 holes. The Mallow man, watched by a record crowd of over 3,000 claimed the win on the final green, becoming the second Cork golfer after Jimmy Bruen to win the Amateur Championship. That win saw Sugrue’s schedule change, with an unplanned visit to Portrush for the Open championship taking priority in his calendar. James was very unlucky to miss the cut, a lost ball on the 14th on Friday cost him a place at the weekend when Shane Lowry created his own bit of history. Although injury hampered Sugrue towards the end of the season he had the honour of raising the Irish flag at the Walker Cup in Royal Liverpool in September.
Peter O’Keeffe
Peter O’Keeffe started the year off with a win, he came out on top in Muskerry in April winning their senior scratch cup. A five under par 66 gave O’Keeffe a good start and he was under par again in the second round to win the competition by two strokes. It was the second time that O’Keeffe won in Muskerry, his first coming 13 years ago in 2006. O’Keeffe was fifth in the East of Ireland and topped that by reaching the final of the North in July. Prior to the North he spent the week in Lahinch caddying for Robin Dawson in the Open. Peter finished second in the North of Ireland, which this year moved to Portstewart and Castlerock due Portrush staging the Open Championship. He lost out to Englishman Aaron Edwards Hill after a final that went to the 17th hole. The Douglas man was back in Lahinch later on in July, this time as a player in the South of Ireland. He started well, finishing in the top ten after the Strokeplay qualifier. He then Continue reading
Murphy set for new season
John Murphy, left, enjoying himself with Shane O’Connell and Cathal Butler at the South of Ireland in July.
Kinsale’s John Murphy was back Cork for a few weeks in December, and the Kentucky based golfer took a well deserved break after a busy few months on the course. After 30 plus tournaments in 2019 John took advantage of the winter break to recharge with family and friends in Kinsale. Having used the 2018 Christmas break to practice in Australia, John took a different angle this year with an extended break at home.
“The last few weeks were very different to my normal schedule,” said Murphy. “Apart from having to study for my finals a lot, I had a lot of time to spend with friends and family which I don’t normally get to do, so I really enjoyed it. I took a couple weeks away from golf just to recharge. “Towards the Continue reading
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