Irish Golf Books – A Review.

[Tom MacWood]

Tony M. -

My theory is that there is a relative paucity of books on Irish Golf for the following reasons:

1) Aside from hosting a recent Ryder Cup and the Open at Royal Portrush in 1951, Ireland has not hosted any major golf events. Irish Golf simply does not have the sporting history that golf in Britain does.
 
2) Irish golf never had any real visibility in the U.S. golf media until the early 1980's. I remember a piece Sports Illustrated did on Irish golf courses about then and also an article on touring Irish golf courses in one of the two major U.S. golf magazines. Those two articles inspired me to make a golf trip to Ireland in 1984, well before visiting Scotland or England for golf.

3) This is more of a question that a statement, but it is possible that some of the political antipathy between Ireland and Great Britain over many decades caused the British golfing establishment to ignore Irish Golf?

DT      

Horace Hutchinson included Ireland in his British Golf Links, and Darwin did as well in The Golf Courses of the British Isles. British Golf Illustrated always covered golfing developments in Ireland.

Generally speaking didn't post-WWII Americans mostly ignore British and Irish golf until maybe the 70s or 80s? Perhaps interest picked up starting with Wind writing about Ballybunion, Dornoch, Rye, etc. And Arnold Palmer, and other Americans, playing in the Open no doubt contributed to increased interest.

[Rory Connaughton]

Tony

  I think you are generally correct in your observations about the development of golf in Ireland. While there were pockets of the island where golf caught on in the late 19th or early 20th centuries and became very big (thinking of Sligo, Louth, Dublin, Lahinch and of course the north coast), those places in the west tended to be: near garrison towns and the courses started by members of the British Army (especially in the West) or where there was a degree of prosperity.  That wasn't too many places.  Many clubs were also restricted to protestants, at least in the first half of the 20th century,which further narrowed the pool of potential players.  At the same time the GAA was thriving both as an athletic organization and as a social/political organization as there was a real focus on the re-establishment and then preservation of uniquely Irish games. Beyond a certain socio-economic strata participation in games like rugby, cricket, hockey and golf would have been frowned upon. Golf just wasn't part of the equation for most.

[Tom MacWood]

Tony

  I think you are generally correct in your observations about the development of golf in Ireland. While there were pockets of the island where golf caught on in the late 19th or early 20th centuries and became very big (thinking of Sligo, Louth, Dublin, Lahinch and of course the north coast), those places in the west tended to be: near garrison towns and the courses started by members of the British Army (especially in the West) or where there was a degree of prosperity.  That wasn't too many places.  Many clubs were also restricted to protestants, at least in the first half of the 20th century,which further narrowed the pool of potential players.  At the same time the GAA was thriving both as an athletic organization and as a social/political organization as there was a real focus on the re-establishment and then preservation of uniquely Irish games. Beyond a certain socio-economic strata participation in games like rugby, cricket, hockey and golf would have been frowned upon. Golf just wasn't part of the equation for most.

That is very interesting...thanks for your insight.

[Ally Mcintosh]

I've been doing some research with a loosely formed idea to collate it in to a fairly technical book on the classic Irish courses in years to come... Maybe stating that publically here will ensure that the project doesn't stall (more than it has already!)

[Tony_Muldoon]

I've been doing some research with a loosely formed idea to collate it in to a fairly technical book on the classic Irish courses in years to come... Maybe stating that publically here will ensure that the project doesn't stall (more than it has already!)

Good luck with the project Ally, I'll happily put my deposit down now.


Perhaps we need a thread to bring back from time to time to check on how these books are progressing.

Flynn by Morrison
Colt  by Turner
Ireland by Macintosh
My Life by Huntley 

[Jack_Marr]

I think there's isn't as many golf books about ireland because the Irish generally just like to go out and play golf. They're very unpretentious when it comes to things like that. Many of the books written about Irish golf are by Americans or others.

I think Kevin Markham's book is good. He likes PGA National a bit too much, though! He was considering joining this discussion group, but I'm not sure if he ever got around to it. He'd be a good person to have on board.

[Kevin Markham]

I met Pat Ruddy of the European Club a couple of weeks back. He's started a library above the clubhouse, devoted to golf books of the world. He currently has 5,000. I didn't think to ask him how many were specifically Irish. His own book is called 50 Years in a Bunker.

I agree that there aren't lots of good books about Irish golf, and some of the reasons given for this are interesting, but there are enough. It does depend what you want to get out of the book. Do you want
course descriptions,
design insight,
travel information,
history
a story?

Links of Heaven is a thoroughly entertaining and enlightening book, mixing the rich history with specific information on the course. It focuses almost exclusively on links courses which is what I imagine many American golfers want.

Tom Coyne's book is at the other end of the spectrum, where the longer he's in Ireland the more he focuses on Irish experiences and the less he focuses on golf courses.

Finegan's Emerald Fairways falls in between these two and covers a wider range of courses. I imagine that anyone who's been to Ireland or is planning a trip will already have this on the shelf.

Robbie's 'Ireland's Golf Courses' is a compendium of information, but chunks of it are lifted directly from golf course websites and therefore aren't independent. It is a reference book.

A strong (and small) reference book is The Pocket Guide to Golf Courses, Ireland, by William fforde, Peter Millhouse and former NZ pro Greg Turner. A slightly different approach to the typical reference guide and, again, selected courses.

Not sure if I should or if I'm allowed to mention my own book, but since it's already been included in the original post, hopefully it's OK. I was starting my adventure just as Coyne was finishing his. I am not a designer or a historian, nor do I pretend to be, so the book is not about design or history - it's about the golf experience.

The purpose of the book was to play, review and rate every 18 hole golf course - because no other book had done that, and not from an amateur's point of view. It covers every type of golf course, from the very good to the appalling, and each course gets a one page review. American golfers focus on links courses and I understand why, but they make up about 40 of Ireland's 350 courses. Glamourous parkland courses like the K Club and Mount Juliet probably won't appeal to Americans because they're a dime a dozen in the US, but believe me - there are other courses in Ireland that are unlike anything on the other side of the Atlantic.

And, Jack, PGA National is a great track. If anyone else is interested, here are some photos http://www.flickr.com/photos/kevinmarkham/sets/72157622171080510/

[Richard Phinney]

Tony, your insticnts and experience are right on when it comes to the evoluiton of golf in Ireland. When we started planning for Links of Heaven in the early 1990s there simply were no modern books on golf in Ireland (with the exception of Early Irish Golf, an import piece of work) and it was the social history of the sport that fascinated us as much as the fantastic golf courses. Any Irish golf course of any age has gone through  remarkable social, economic and political upheavals that really have no parallel in North America, the UK or Australia and it certainly enhances the golf experience there to know something about it (there's a good PhD thesis to be done on how the local irish golf club accurately reflected the changes taking in the country).  I think what makes me proudest about our books is that we were able to get some of that down on paper while some of the key protagonists were still alive.

Partly because Irish clubs have enjoyed/endured such intriguing history, many of the club histories are unusually interesting, and some are penned by excellent writers, including Redmond (Ballybunion), Mulqueen (Baltray) and  Gilleece (Sligo).

There's no question the history of the older non-links golf clubs deserve to be explored in more detail, but with a few exceptions (such as Carlow and Cork) there wasn't enough money in the Republic for much of the 20th century to build and maintain too many memorable parkland layouts. 

[David Kelly]

Kevin,
Your book is now in my current Amazon cart.

I would also recommend the Keith Baxter books for info on courses in GB & I.  I don't really go by the rankings but it has good info on each course and can help to put an itinerary together.

[PCCraig]

The best book on Ireland Golf I've read is A Course Called Ireland by Tom Coyne. The author literally walks the coast of Ireland playing everything he comes across. To me it's the most realistic view of Irish Golf and culture and it's a very fun read. Hopefully it inspires others to take a less traditional Ireland golf trip through the normal tourist-y stops/courses.

[Tony_Muldoon]

Welcome Kevin I look forward to reading more of your contributions.  I enjoyed your completist cover of all the 18 hole courses, but wonder if you ever considered that some 9 holers are more interesting than quite a number of the 18 hole versions? I hope there’s a reprint and you add reviews of Cruit Island, Spanish point etc.

Thanks to this thread I realised that I’d never seen Links of Heaven and it arrived yesterday.  I have to say I’m most impressed (one compliment deserves another Richard ).  It has the most information on Eddie Hackett and also Pat Ruddy’s thoughts on each of his courses.  In future this will be the first book I turn to if I want to find out more about a course.  It covers the courses 95% of visitors will want to see pretty well. (Of course I reserve the right to disagree once I’m more familiar with it ).


I’ve checked and both of you confirm my opinion that Rossapenna Sandy Hills is an unknown gem on here. Picture thread to follow.  Thanks for all the thoughts.


Jack this is all the Irish golfer needs then ?
http://www.golfadventureguides.com/IrelandGolfSat/  

[Dónal Ó Ceallaigh]

Tony:

If you like old black and white pictures of courses and golfing scenes in general, I'd recommend "Golf Greens of Ireland: a nostalgic look by John Hanna" from 2002. It's a small paperback book with only 50 pages (usually one picture per page), but the photographs are interesting, especially the cover which has a nice scene from the now-defunct Rossnowlagh GC. I bought a copy just last week on Amazon.

It has photos from the following courses (courses with an * only have photos of the clubhouses):

Ardglass, Arklow*, Atlantic Golf Links, Ballybunion, Ballycastle, Bangor*, Birr, Bray, Castlerock*, Clonmel, Co. Louth*, Co. Sligo*, Delgany, Donaghadee, Dungannon*, Dunmurry*, Greenore, Greystones, Helen*s Bay*, Kilkee, Kingstown*, Kirkistown Castle*, Knock*, Lahinch, Islandmagee*, Lisburn*, Malahide, Malone, Masserene, Muskerry, North-West, Rathmullan, Portsalon, Portstewart*, Rosapenna, Rosslare, Royal Belfast*, RCD, Royal Portrush, Royal Dublin*, Rossnowlagh, Scrabo, Spa, Strabane, Sutton, Whitehead, Wicklow, and Woodenbridge.

My personal favourite is a picture of the colossal "Mann's Bunker" at Portrush from 1903.

Dónal.

[Tony_Muldoon]

Donal I got that one on eBay!  Interesting photo's as you say and it should be on this list.

He seems like another dream contributor to this site.  He regularly adds a column “Irish Musings” to Through the Green the magazine of the British Golf Collectors society (BCGS) and writes well.

They now have a proper index and I was going to start a thread once I’d had a good chance to lurk there for a while.
http://www.britgolfcollectors.wyenet.co.uk/TTGreen.htm and follow links.

[Dónal Ó Ceallaigh]

Donal I got that one on eBay!  Interesting photo's as you say and it should be on this list.

He seems like another dream contributor to this site.  He regularly adds a column “Irish Musings” to Through the Green the magazine of the British Golf Collectors society (BCGS) and writes well.

They now have a proper index and I was going to start a thread once I’d had a good chance to lurk there for a while.
http://www.britgolfcollectors.wyenet.co.uk/TTGreen.htm and follow links.

Tony,

That's where I first came across him as well. I think he's written a few golf club centenary books as well.

Have you checked out this site, it's got loads of info on books etc.:

http://www.irishgolfarchive.com/

There's a new book out on Philomena Garvey.

You could also check the DUGS centenary book at,

http://www.dugs.ie/booklaunch.htm

I've bought a copy, but it's back in Ireland, so I cannot comment on it yet, but I expect some interesting info on Lionel Munn and perhaps A.V. Macan (there's been a few threads on this DG about him).

Dónal.

[Sven Nilsen]

Secrets of the Irish Links by Michael Palmer is another option.  Although everyone might not agree with his rankings (seemingly based on an undying love for Pat Ruddy), the book does provide insight into the majority of the links courses and gives some tips for planning a trip.  Best description is that this is a compilation in book form of the research done by a traveling golfer, with a few anecdotes added in from experiences gained along the way.

[Tony_Muldoon]

Donal I got that one on eBay!  Interesting photo's as you say and it should be on this list.

He seems like another dream contributor to this site.  He regularly adds a column “Irish Musings” to Through the Green the magazine of the British Golf Collectors society (BCGS) and writes well.

They now have a proper index and I was going to start a thread once I’d had a good chance to lurk there for a while.
http://www.britgolfcollectors.wyenet.co.uk/TTGreen.htm and follow links.

Thaks Donal.

Tony,

That's where I first came across him as well. I think he's written a few golf club centenary books as well.

Have you checked out this site, it's got loads of info on books etc.:

http://www.irishgolfarchive.com/

There's a new book out on Philomena Garvey.

You could also check the DUGS centenary book at,

http://www.dugs.ie/booklaunch.htm

I've bought a copy, but it's back in Ireland, so I cannot comment on it yet, but I expect some interesting info on Lionel Munn and perhaps A.V. Macan (there's been a few threads on this DG about him).

Dónal.

[Kevin Markham]

Welcome Kevin I look forward to reading more of your contributions.  I enjoyed your completist cover of all the 18 hole courses, but wonder if you ever considered that some 9 holers are more interesting than quite a number of the 18 hole versions? I hope there’s a reprint and you add reviews of Cruit Island, Spanish point etc.

Yep, Tony,
No doubt about the 9 holes. I mention in the book that I don't include them, and that I regret not doing so, because there are some beauties (you can add Connemara Isles, Glengarriff, Helen's Bay and Borris to your list). I made the decision to stick to the 18 hole courses, and while a couple of dozen of them would be inferior to the best 9 holers, I didn't want to mix-and-match.

As for Links of Heaven - its the best book out there for links courses (and the only one I mention in my book)

Kevin,
Your book is now in my current Amazon cart.

Much obliged - hope you enjoy it.

[Dónal Ó Ceallaigh]

Tony

  I think you are generally correct in your observations about the development of golf in Ireland. While there were pockets of the island where golf caught on in the late 19th or early 20th centuries and became very big (thinking of Sligo, Louth, Dublin, Lahinch and of course the north coast), those places in the west tended to be: near garrison towns and the courses started by members of the British Army (especially in the West) or where there was a degree of prosperity.  That wasn't too many places.  Many clubs were also restricted to protestants, at least in the first half of the 20th century,which further narrowed the pool of potential players.  At the same time the GAA was thriving both as an athletic organization and as a social/political organization as there was a real focus on the re-establishment and then preservation of uniquely Irish games. Beyond a certain socio-economic strata participation in games like rugby, cricket, hockey and golf would have been frowned upon. Golf just wasn't part of the equation for most.

Rory:

In my opinion one of the advantages that golf had over other British sports is that it was viewed as apolitical. Cricket and rugby were viewed as purely English games and did not spread throughout Ireland in the same way as golf. Even today, many GAA enthusiasts scoff at soccer as being a British game, yet don't have any probblem with golf. The GAA county boards also raise a lot of cash from golf classics.

[Rory Connaughton]

Donal:

  I certainly recognize that golf is now in a totally different place and perhaps I was wrong to lump it in in the way I did. In fact, I have had the pleasure of playing a match with a group of retired footballers and hurlers with multiple All Ireland's between them.  I think the point I was trying to make, however poorly stated, was that to the extent you were living outside one of the pockets were golf was growing at the turn of and during the early 20th century, it was not going to be on your sporting radar.   At the same time, one need only look at the history books of a number of the famous clubs in and around Dublin to see that even among the upper middle classes, those clubs were restricted. 

I see golf and rugby as linked in many respects. Both have always been run by island wide organizations (in contrast to the FAI and IFA) and that has been to their considerable benefit.

Rugby is huge in the fee paying Catholic schools in Leinster and Munster and has been for over a century.  Access to those schools was, however, limited for many years to the upper middle and upper classes.  Thus the pool of rugby players in Ireland was and remains very small.  When golf came to the island, barring some pockets where it was popular outside of the major population centers, it was not a working man's game. Certainly that changed over the years to a considerable extent but I stand by my previous comment that golf was not part of the equation for most whereas the GAA was the central organizing institution that brought sports to the masses. 

[Dónal Ó Ceallaigh]

Donal:

  I certainly recognize that golf is now in a totally different place and perhaps I was wrong to lump it in in the way I did. In fact, I have had the pleasure of playing a match with a group of retired footballers and hurlers with multiple All Ireland's between them.  I think the point I was trying to make, however poorly stated, was that to the extent you were living outside one of the pockets were golf was growing at the turn of and during the early 20th century, it was not going to be on your sporting radar.   At the same time, one need only look at the history books of a number of the famous clubs in and around Dublin to see that even among the upper middle classes, those clubs were restricted. 

I see golf and rugby as linked in many respects. Both have always been run by island wide organizations (in contrast to the FAI and IFA) and that has been to their considerable benefit.

Rugby is huge in the fee paying Catholic schools in Leinster and Munster and has been for over a century.  Access to those schools was, however, limited for many years to the upper middle and upper classes.  Thus the pool of rugby players in Ireland was and remains very small.  When golf came to the island, barring some pockets where it was popular outside of the major population centers, it was not a working man's game. Certainly that changed over the years to a considerable extent but I stand by my previous comment that golf was not part of the equation for most whereas the GAA was the central organizing institution that brought sports to the masses. 

Rory:

I totally agree with what you've written (I should have said that in my previous reply)

Dónal.

[Rory Connaughton]

Donal

  You were right. I may have gilded the lily when I said golf was "frowned upon". :-)
A day on the course with the GAA lads is a very good time but the post match dinner is even better!