50th Bloom Cup rekindles memories of bygone age
Founder’s philosophy of enjoying life and a round of golf to the fullest is alive and well
TIME is considered the great enemy of the modern golfer with the R&A and the USGA extolling the virtues of nine-hole golf in an attempt to get more people playing the game again.
Such a thought would never have occurred to the late Jack Bloom, whose son Mark travelled home from Israel last week for Edmondstown’s hosting of the 50th-anniversary final of the Bloom Cup.
In a strange quirk of fate, the event coincided with the tenth anniversary of Jack Bloom’s passing and Mark, who famously lost to David Sheahan in the final of the 1970 Irish Amateur Close at nearby Grange, could only remark on the days when his father would be incommunicado for an entire day as he indulged in his passion for the game.
Speaking at the Bloom Cup presentation, Mark reflected on the event’s founding in 1968 and the golfing philosophy of his father, who was a wellknown furrier.
“When I was 18 years old, I joined the family wholesale business in 1967, one year before the launch of the Bloom Cup,” said Mark, who won the Castle Father and Son Foursomes in 1965 and went on to play for Ireland before a wrist injury ended his promising career.
“During that summer there were days when my Dad would just disappear from the office. There were no mobiles, no text messaging in those days. He was not contactable.
“The following morning he would arrive into work somewhat late. ‘Dad, where were you?’ I would ask, ‘the bank were on looking for you, the Clery’s buyer was on also as were the buyers from Roche’s Stores, Arnott’s, Switzer’s and Brown Thomas?’
“’I was playing golf son’, he would reply. ‘It’s all about quality of life!’
“As time passed, I look back over the years and what do I see? The bank has gone, all the buyers have gone along with some of their stores. So what’s left? The Bloom Cup and the quality of life, that’s what!
“What better way for a golfer to enjoy quality of life than to take an afternoon off work, play in a competitive fourball match against a neighbouring southside club and afterwards enjoy a hearty meal and a good sing-song in the company of fellow players and friends? That is what the Bloom Cup is all about!
“I can only ask incoming team managers to keep my father’s philosophy in mind as we embark on the next 50 years of Bloom Cup history.”
Mark has not played golf for almost 20 years but could not but enjoy the action at his home club last weekend.
Encompassing 16 south Dublin golf clubs, Newlands won the 50th Bloom Cup on the 21st hole after a tense sudden-death shootout between the last pairing on the course after the teams tied 2.5-2.5 following the completion of the five scheduled matches in the fourball event limited to players of 14 handicap upwards.
The Rathfarnham ladies took home the Mark Bloom Trophy, inaugurated by Mark in 2001, with a thrilling 2-1 victory over Grange with both finals played at Edmondstown, the Bloom Cup’s spiritual home, to mark this year’s special anniversary.
The Bloom Cup Committee further hosted a Team Manager’s 9-hole fourball competition comprising pairings from the other Bloom Cup clubs.
Two of the original Rathfarnham team members from the inaugural 1968 Bloom Cup final between Grange and Rathfarnham, namely Stan Browning and Sandy Robertson, were guests of honour on the day and presented with commemorative medals by the Committee.
A third member of the 1968 Rathfarnham team, Hubert Dennison, was abroad and unable to be present.
A total of 60 golfers took part in the festivities on an immaculate course with strong winds and lightning-fast greens presenting stiff challenges.
While the host club fell in the earlier rounds of both events, a huge turnout from the three participating clubs provided the largest attendance yet seen at a golf event in Edmondstown, which will host the Glancy Tournament next year as part of the club’s 75th-anniversary celebrations.