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.
In a bold move the GUI have just published a wave of proposals that could see major changes to the Cups and Shields. The final decision on the proposals will also go back to club via the Provincial delegate meetings which take place next month. Clubs are now being asked to discuss proposed changes to Junior Cup, the Jimmy Bruen and Purcell Purcell competitions in the biggest shake up in three decades. With over 40,000 golfers taking part in the national competitions each year, the proposals represent the outputs of a survey involving 4,000 golfers. The survey highlighted the significant need for reform, and a full review took place over the past six months to build a comprehensive set of proposals which give clubs the opportunity to amend the main inter-club handicap competitions. While various club motions through the years have been defeated, there is a feeling now that a number of key central proposals will have a great chance of being passed. The first proposal is to reduce the handicap limit for the Junior Cup from 5 to 4, and this is being proposed by three 
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.
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