Irish Golfer Issue 6 - Slieve Russell

The charge of Irish Golfer Magazine continues apace with the 6th issue now on the shelves, in clubhouses and online, here.

I made a return visit to Slieve Russell, in Co. Cavan, for this edition and I took my dad along for the day... and a round of golf blessed by glorious sunshine. There's no doubt that there's a 'hidden gem' feel to the place - a bizarre quirk given the exceptional quality of this big parkland experience - but for those who have played here they know full well just how good it is.

Considering the volume of maintenance that goes into the course, that is no surprise.

Here are a few photos I took on the day. It should

Irish Links, a Canuck, and a Solo Golfing Adventure.

Carne Golf Links

A while back I received a comment on this blog, from William Morgan, a Canadian golfer who was coming on a solo golfing trip to Ireland. Thoughts and suggestions were exchanged as he was heading to the north west - one of my favourite parts of Ireland for golf... and just about everything.

William has now been and gone to this fair isle and he has written some succinct thoughts on Ireland, Irish roads (and car hire), Irish weather, Irish terminology and the nine courses he visited. It's always interesting to read what our friends on the other side of the Atlantic think about the Irish golf experience. For one, it's nearly always positive... and for two, they might point out certain failings, as Mr Morgan has done.

William goes as far as rating the courses into a selection of top threes. Take a look here on the Toronto Golf Nuts forum.

Communications Executive required by GUI

Carton House, the headquarters of the GUI.

A Jobs Alert for anyone who feels that Irish golf is their natural environment.  

The Golfing Union of Ireland wishes to appoint a Communications Executive to join their team at GUI National Headquarters in Maynooth, Co. Kildare.

Reporting to the Communications Manager, the Communications Executive will have excellent written communications

Golf... Fashion or Freak Show

It is said that bad things happen in threes... I disagree... clearly they come in fours

Four German golfers 'living it large' (or something like that) at
Portmarnock links

Has golf fashion gone too far? Of course it has. Check out the article on page 7 of this week's Irish Golfer Digital magazine, here.

Kearney Gives a Good Kicking to St Margaret

Sunrise over the 18th green

The Pro-Am at St Margaret's Golf Club today could have been a wash out, but Niall Kearney simply took the course to the cleaners, winning by 6 shots.

I was there photographing the course on Thursday, and the place was in superb condition. Consider that St Margaret's had fallen by the wayside a bit in recent years and was in a sorry state when Synergy Golf stepped in, in November

Rathsallagh Resurrected

The par four, dogleg 8th at Rathsallagh

Back in February, the wonderful parkland that is Rathsallagh Golf Club closed. You'll find the blog (and several photographs) here.

At the time, I said: "With luck, something this good won't stay closed for very long."

And so it has proven to be. Rathsallagh Country House posted the following on

A Weekly Golfing Update... from Irish Golfer Magazine

The majestic par three 4th at Royal County Down

Following the success of their monthly magazine, Irish Golfer Magazine has now launched a weekly ezine to keep the Irish golfer (and everybody else) up to date with what's going on around the country and world.

I am writing a weekly column and first up is a piece focusing on the superb conditioning of greens around the country. You'll find the article, entitled

Ivan Morris & Nine Hole Happiness

Let me ask the simplest of questions: when you’re playing golf, how often do you look at your watch… or ask a partner what time it is? And does it become more frequent the closer you get to the end of the round… or the longer you have to wait on the group in front?

It is sad but true that the pace of play is killing the game. The days of going around in under three hours are now limited to those first two groups who head out with nothing but the rabbits and deer ahead of them. And these golfers are prepared to be on the tee at 7am because the thought of 4.5 hours or more fills them (and many of us) with dread. In the US it is even worse… at some clubs you can play as a five ball which means six hour rounds have become almost acceptable.

Macreddin Magic... The Winner

Congratulations to Ronan Feighery who will be teeing it up at Macreddin on the 13th September. A couple more reminders of what Macreddin has to offer...

The par five 15th, straight uphill and then right.

Approach to the par five 2nd

And thank you to everyone who entered.