LINKS IS THE ONLY FORM OF GOLF I REALLY BELIEVE IN, IN IRELAND IT IS OUR UNIQUE SELLING POINT
1 How’s your golf?
I was down to four handicap many moons ago but I’m off nine now. I tend to be a bit of a fair weather golfer.
2. How many games have you played since Ballyliffin was awarded the Dubai Free Irish Open last year?
About ten. I’ve been saying for 10 years I’ll get out more but I never seem to find the time. With the Irish Open coming, it’s been very busy, but in a great way.
3. That’s a shame with one of the world’s great links outside your office window! Have you ever had a hole in one?
I had my fourth just recently on the Old Course at Vilamoura during a quick break. Even a blind squirrel finds a nut now and again!
4. How did you get started in the game?
My father got me started when I was eight or nine. I grew up in Carndonagh, just down the road and I was a family member at Ballyliffin in the early days then drifted away from the game until my mid-20s. Little did I know how big a role the game would play in my life later on.
5. Links or parkland? Go on, shock me by saying parkland!
Links is the only form of golf I believe in, particularly in Ireland where we have one-third of the world’s links courses. It’s our unique selling point.
6. Is must be wonderful to see all the visitors getting their first taste of links golf. What surprises them most?
The setting. It’s the wildness and ruggedness of the terrain. It’s just a different game.
Between the knockdown shots they have to play and the number of times they can take out the putter from 15 yards off the green, it’s eye-opening and exciting for newcomers to the links, especially in summer when the ball goes for miles.
7. What’s their biggest mistake?
It’s not the game but the fact that the often try to pack too much into a trip and try to play too many courses. Rather than try to squeeze in 36 holes, they might play 18 and then nine in the evening. Some visitors don’t take the time to sample the hospitality and the way of life. Often they are straight off the course onto a bus and off to the next place, and they see nothing.
8. There’s a lot more to the northwest than the links golf courses. What else can you do there?
There’s so much – we have Malin Head on our doorstep, Fort Dunree and Fanad Lighthouse, the Slieve League cliffs. There is so much to do and see, it’s a shame golfers rarely get a chance to sample the sights away from the golf course.
9. It’s no wonder the Wild Atlantic Way has been such a success. What lies in store for Donegal?
The Wild Atlantic Way has been great, but we are still lagging well behind the rest of the country for tourism numbers. Just 12 percent of the visitors are coming to see us so we have a long way to go to get our fair share of the cake.
10. Do you see the northwest getting 25 percent of the visitors inside a decade?
That day is coming, I’m sure. With Portrush and Portstewart staging the Irish Open and now us and with Royal Portrush hosting The Open next year, the focal point of Irish golf has moved north. I firmly believe there will be a shift away from the south of the country as the destination of choice for international visitors over the next few years to the north coast when it comes to playing golf in Ireland.
11. Do you feel Ballyliffin is breaking new ground for clubs on the west coast?
Absolutely. There are some many gems dotted along the coast, they are overdue some exposure. We always encourage our international visitors to go and see the smaller clubs like Cruit Island, North West or Greencastle and sample something truly unique.
12. Name your dream fourball and name the venue?
Seve, the late Connor Mallon and Graeme McDowell. And it would have to be at Ballyliffin. Connor was the life and soul of golf in this part of the country and Graeme has been a wonderful ambassador for our part of the world. Then Seve had that charisma that’s sometimes lacking in the game nowadays.
13. Name your favourite par-three.
The Tank. It’s the fifth hole on the Old Course here in Ballyliffin and while it’s only 155 yards, it’s straight uphill to a green sitting in the dunes. The views are just magnificent. It’s a true gem.
14. If I gave you a mulligan in your career what would it be?
I’d have dedicated more time to playing the game. I concentrated on gaelic football when I was younger but youngsters are a lot more focussed on sport nowadays. I’d have taken it a bit more seriously when I was younger.
15 Is there a course you’d love to play before you die?
Barnbougle in Tasmania. It looks spectacular.
16. And one final game?
I suppose I’d have to say Augusta National.
17. If you could bring any player to the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open this year, who would it be?
Tiger Woods.
18. Is there a chance?
Well, he’s fit, he’s playing well and there’s a great prize fund on offer. And it’s perfect preparation for The Open two weeks later. We’ve put out feelers but it’s up to him. Let’s see what he does. Perhaps it will fit. He won’t be sorry he came that’s for sure.