Full Schedule for Golf Ireland

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Munster Stroke Play winner Peter O’Keeffe receiving the Cork Scratch Cup from Margaret Keane, Lady President Cork Golf Club. Also included are Vincent Twohig President and Bob Savage Captain Cork Golf Club.
Picture: Niall O’Shea

For the first time in three years, the championship golf season is back to normal.  Restrictions in 2020 and 2021 meant that Golf Ireland, and previously the ILGU and GUI ran a reduced calendar with championships not starting until the second half of the year.  Thankfully the possibility of closing courses over the early months of the year is very unlikely, allowing clubs and the national governing body to plan for a full season.  This has given the new governing body their first opportunity to plan for a complete season and the 2020 schedule will see increased opportunities for men, women, boys and girls to compete together in National Championships.  Ireland’s best Senior golfers will converge on Thurles GC in May to play in the Irish Senior Men’s & Women’s Amateur Close Championships.  The event will see Karl Bornemann from Douglas defend his title in the mens event.  For the first time ever, the best boys and girls Continue reading →

Cork Golf Centre ready for 2022

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David Keating pictured at Cork Golf Centre.
Picture: Niall O’Shea

The recent wet weather may have closed some courses, but Cork Golf Centre in Ballincollig offers golfers cover from the elements and the soft ground, and it’s this ideal place to keep golfers swinging through the wet and cold winter months.  Many golfers continue to play all year around but there are a number who stay away from the course during the winter months.

The centre is one of just a few driving ranges in Cork, and it’s an ideal alternative for golfers looking to keep their swing in shape but not head out to the course.  The centre has been a busy spot over the past 12 months in particular, with a big increase in the number of active golfers playing the game.  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 Continue reading →

Cork’s Top Amateurs (Men)

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So how do you start to build a ranking of Cork’s top men’s golfers over the past 100 years?

Rankings and lists are always subjective, and I’m sure many people will have their own opinions on the list as they work their way through it.  Rankings always come down to points, and allocating points for Continue reading →

Cork’s Top Amateurs (Women)

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Cork Ladies have been to the fore of Irish golf for close to 100 years, with many leading the way both in Ireland and abroad.  Cork has produced major winners since the 1920’s and there’s every chance we’ll be adding a few more titles with the current generation.  Due to the difference in the number of men’s events compared with women’s events, it wasn’t possible to Continue reading →

Eddie Hackett’s Mahon Legacy

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Tom McCarthy presenting a portrait of Eddie Hackett to Mahon Captain Denis Kavanagh. Also included are Paul Daly, President and Mary Stapleton, Lady Captain.
Picture: Niall O’Shea

Mahon Golf Club recently honoured course architect Eddie Hackett when they unveiled a portrait of the famous designer in the clubhouse.  Tom McCarthy from McCarthy Developments gifted the portrait to the club after he had received it from the Hackett family.  Mahon Captain Denis Kavanagh was delighted to accept the portrait on behalf of the club and the club is heading towards their 40th anniversary in 2022.  The portrait is now hanging in the Joe McHugh room in the pavilion at the course.  The Joe McHugh room itself is another element linking the club to it’s founding back in 1980.

Mahon Golf Club was the first municipal golf course in Ireland when it was constructed in 1980 and it was built for £35,000, close to €200,000 when valued today.  It was the brainchild of the City Manager Joe McHugh and took two years to build.  The course was built on partly reclaimed land where the Tramore River reaches the Loughmahon estuary.  International golfers Tom Egan, George Crosbie, Michael Power and Bill Kelleher played Continue reading →

Cain Claims Munster Boys Title

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Morgan Cain (Cork Golf Club), Winner of the Munster Boys U18 Amateur Open Championship 2021 at Nenagh Golf Club
Picture Brendan Gleeson/Golffile

Morgan Cain is the 2021 Munster Boys champion after a super display of golf in Nenagh.  The Cork golfer finished on -7, three shots clear of Douglas’ Mel Deasy to claim his first major title.

Three under par rounds of 71, 68, 70 saw him come home with plenty to spare.  Cain was tied for the lead with Deasy starting today’s final round, and started in the worst possible fashion with a double bogey on the opening hole.  But he battled back brilliantly with birdies in three of his next four holes to retake the lead from Deasy on the fifth.  It was a lead he wouldn’t surrender, with another two birdies on the back nine. The only other blemish on his card was a bogey on 17, when his lead was five shots on the penultimate Continue reading →