Ken Kearney on golf course architecture
Amateur great Kearney says Irish clubs should be playing the long game where course design is concerned
McGrane continues PGA domination
GOLF course architecture conjures up images of multi-million euro budgets and massive disruption to club golfers.
But for former amateur great Ken Kearney, many Irish clubs could achieve radical improvements with modest means and a little long-term planning.
Many of Ireland’s clubs are dusting themselves down after the economic turmoil that followed the demise of the Celtic Tiger in 2008.
And many are now looking to rejuvenate their courses so they can offer their members a more enjoyable golfing experience.
As a four-time amateur championship winner, 49-year old Roscommon native Kearney has a passion for the game and his mission is to make golf more playable and enjoyable for the ordinary club golfer.
“Every day is a learning experience,” he said on a trip to oversee some work at Corballis Golf Links in Donabate, a true gem that’s often overlooked due to its lack of yardage.
“Clubs want their members to play more golf and in some clubs, they are finding that people are walking in after just 14 holes because the course is just too difficult.
“When I am asked to go into clubs and they ask me to look at this tee and that bunker, I try to encourage them to do an overall masterplan, or what I call a golf course improvement plan.
“You have to look at the rhythm of the round, the journey, the overall picture and balance of a course.”
Kearney sees green shoots of recovery in the golf business with clubs looking to invest in their facilities again.
“Many clubs are looking very tired, and when that happens, it becomes more expensive to maintain a bad product,” he said.
“It’s like having a car and not servicing it. It is eventually going to break down. Sometimes it’s just better to get a new car.
“The clubs that were well managed and prudent during the hard times are now looking to invest and there are many affordable ways to make a course more fun to play.”
Architects like the legendary Tom Simpson had little time for golf club committees but Kearney is keen to make them aware of what might be possible by planning far ahead.
“Master planning is crucial because what happens over time is that committees change and one chairman likes planting trees, and three years later another chairman comes in and he doesn’t like trees,” he said.
“Then the next guy comes along, and it is all changed again. There is no structure to it and money gets wasted.
“I believe clubs need to create a masterplan for five, seven, ten years. It doesn’t have to be hugely dynamic or expensive stuff. It can be simple stuff on agreeing on the mowing lines and the mowing of tees, the policy on bunkers. If you do that, you are well on your way.”
His passion for golf course design took off when he joined County Sligo as a 24-year-old international and fell in love with the work of Harry Colt, a master of the craft.
It wasn’t until he left the bank in Galway and opted to do the design programme at Edinburgh College of Art Landscape School, graduating in 2004, that Kearney dedicated himself full time to his great love.
He has 15 projects on the go at clubs such as Athenry, Tullamore, Ardglass, Dundalk, Killarney, Castlerea, Mullingar, Corrstown, Corballis Links, Glasson, City of Derry and Belvoir Park.
And while money is always an issue, it doesn’t have to cost the earth to turn something ordinary into something truly extraordinary.
“Anybody can build a course for €25m,” he said. “And it’s easy to make a course difficult. The key is to make it playable and enjoyable.
“You are trying to encourage people to go out and play golf and the truth is that the average handicap has been static at 16.8 for 20 years.
“If I was building a course from scratch I might do a nine-hole course with double greens, or a course you could play in reverse.
“I am doing a plan for something a little different for Ardee on some extra land they have. And we’re looking to do a little nine-hole course for Ardglass which we’ll call the Wee Course.”
Kearney’s masterplan for Tullamore will look closely at the routing of the course and the difficulty of the last six holes.
“The first 12 holes average 320 yards and the final six average 400 yards so while nobody minds a really tough finish, you don’t want to finish with six hard holes,” he said.
“We are looking at softening that and possibly changing the routing or creating some new holes. But sometimes it is as simple as changing the mowing lines.
“There are loads of opportunities to change the look of a course with little run offs and tighter mowing. It changes the playability.”
Short game areas have become highly popular — Mullingar, Glasson and Portmarnock Links now enjoy Kearney-designed facilities — and offer club professionals an ideal training ground for juniors.
In the end, it all comes down to common sense planning and a little Roscommon ingenuity.