HERBERT WARREN WIND, THE SPORTING SCENE, “II-THE GREENS OF IRELAND,” THE NEW YORKER, APRIL 10, 1971, P. 100
ABSTRACT: THE SPORTING SCENE about golf courses in Ireland. Writer tells of his visit to Ballybunion. The town stands on the south shore of the Shannon estuary, facing the Atlantic. The golf club has not had the money to maintain it in first-class condition. There is also the problem of erosion to cope with. After the writer see it he says it is nothing less than the finest seaside course he's ever seen. Tells about his walk around the course which he did not play because of bad weather. Description of the course. The club was founded in 1896 but financial woes brought the organization down. It was re-formed in 1906 at which time Capt. Lionel Hewson, for many years the editor of the magazine "Irish Golf", built the 9 holes that became the basis of the present layout. In 1926, When the course was extended to 18 holes, the work was directed by a man named Smyth, a designer on the staff of Carter & Sons, a London firm. In 1936 Tom Simpson was brought in to remodel the course. Finally the course reflects the devotion of William J. McCarthy, a local solicitor & hotel owner, whose father was one of the club's founders. McCarthy, who is still active in the club, served for more than 2 decades as Ballybunion's honorary secretary and also performed the duties of a kind of resident architect.