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 new course was established by an international property investment fund.  A fore runner to the current championship layout, the course was popular among local golfers and hosted the Irish Amateur Open and the Irish Club Professional tournaments in the early years.  All changed at the turn of the century when Dr Tim O’Mahony’s Killen Investments commenced a multi-million pound investment and redeveloped the course into a European Tour level course.  That course hosted the Murphy’s Irish Open in 2001 and 2002.  In 2004 there was another change of ownership when the course was bought by John Fleming who set about a substantial development that saw a hotel and housing development.  The property play was combined with a new nine hole course in addition to the development Continue reading →