Irish Golf Expo Feb 25 & 26... On Your Way!

Strandhill Golf Club

For many of us, the golf season hasn’t yet kicked in. The days are still too short, the frost, the temporary greens, the rain, the placing, the day of the week. Yes, fairweather golfers find any old excuse to avoid a round of golf. Bizarre, isn’t it when we claim to love this game of ours so much.

Well, stay in hibernation if you like but there is something in the near future which should send a shiver

Economic Benefit of The Open Championship 2016... Stg £110 Million

Royal Troon

I was sent a press release today by the very nice people at Visit Scotland (see edited highlights below). It’s a fascinating read on two levels: first is the detail and the importance placed by Scotland on the Open Championship; and second, done right, this bodes well for Northern Ireland and Royal Portrush in 2019.

The attention-grabbing headline number is this: there was a Stg £110 million benefit to Scotland from the 145th Open at

Rathcore Golf Club... Yours for €650K

Yes, sad but true, but Rathcore has not made it through the decade of recession unscathed. Despite the valiant efforts of the members the club was forced to 'close' late last year.

It didn't close completely: the members are keeping it open a few days a week, ensuring the 124-acre Rathcore Golf Club is maintained... and enjoyed... and I take heart from that. It is one of my favourite courses (it gets a "Top Ten Parkland" nomination in the 3rd edition of Hooked) and while it may not have the big glamour of  a Mount Juliet or the length of a Killeen Castle, but it is intimate, clever and thoroughly enjoyable. Thoroughly!

Rathcore Golf Club

The 18th green at Rathcore

If you fancy purchasing this peach of a golf course and the two-storey clubhouse for a 'snip' at €650,000... here's the Irish Times spread.

Those lucky €88 million Euromillions winners could have a field day. I'm available to advise... for a modest fee.

Golf Digest Ireland Top 100 Ireland Courses 2017

Galway Bay at 63rd

The 2017 golf course rankings by Golf Digest Ireland have finally been released. These are laid out below. Just like last year you can pick and needle and doubt and gripe and despair at what you see here, but that's rankings for you.

Courses highlighted in green are those that have made significant moves.

Courses highlighted in blue are

Irish Golf Clubs Move With The Times

Moyvalley's 17th green, to the 16th green

If you want to know how Irish golf clubs and golf resorts are preparing for the years ahead, here's a piece I wrote for the Irish Examiner. There are over 30 courses covered and that is really only a fraction of the investment clubs are putting into their number one asset. Indeed, neither Moyvalley (€1 million in 2016) or

Top 10 Golf Course Photos of the Year

The famous 'bath tub' green on Cruden Bay's 14th

In no particular order…

1. Waterville

A trip to the south west took me to Waterville and Killarney for articles for Irish Golfer Magazine. It was early in the year and snow capped the MacGillycuddy’s Reeks above

Golf Gifts and the Joy of Christmas

Macreddin, where the Destination Golf Premier Golf
Card offers visitors 4 green fees for the price of 2.

December has arrived and that can mean only one thing… no, not temporary greens and chilblains… it’s Christmas. What joy! An entire month of listening to Christmas tunes older than Attila the Hun… or Mick Jagger. If there was one shop – just one – that decided not to play Christmas music from dawn till dusk, day in, day out, I reckon that shop would be minting it.

Anyway, you didn’t come here to read the thoughts of a grouch so here are 12 Christmas ideas:

15 Key Golf Questions for Trump

Shortly, we will have the magnificent Donald Trump in the White House... and given his love of golf what can the game expect in the next four years? More to the point, how long before he:  

1. Declares who he thinks should Captain the 2018 US Ryder Cup team? Nigel Farage must fancy his chances.

2. Removes the USPGA from power and places all golf decision-making under Presidential control? (His two sons are put in charge so they can introduce endangered species to every golf course… that the sons can then hunt to save them travelling to Africa.) 

3. Claims that one of his many courses is the best course in the world… again?

4. Tries to influence the R&A to move the Open Championship to Aberdeen or Turnberry?