Golf’s stars in the Kingdom
HISTORIAN RYLE DWYER LOOKS AT HOW GOLF TOURISM SURGED IN KERRY AFTER VISITS FROM SOME OF THE SPORT’S BIGGEST NAMES.
THE tourist potential of Kerry golf courses was largely overlooked until the 1970s and 1980s when some high profile golfers began visiting and singing the praises of the local courses.
John A. Mulcahy put Waterville on the golfing map, and in the process, he helped to give a great boost to Kerry golf.
Mulcahy had emigrated from Kerry to the United States as an 18-year-old in 1924. After making his fortune there, he returned to Kerry in the 1960s to build up the Waterville House Hotel, and rescue the near moribund Waterville golf course, first constructed in 1889.
Mulcahy managed to secure sponsorship for the Kerrygold International Classic, a Pro-Am tournament inaugurated in 1974. During its four years in Waterville, it attracted a galaxy of professionals whose names read like a Who’s Who of international golf.
They included Sam Snead, Julius Boros, Doug Ford, Tony Jacklin, Bob Rosburg, Orville Moody, Gay Brewer, and Doug Sanders. The first six had won one of golf ’s four major titles a total of seventeen times between them.
Doug Sanders was probably the most famous “nearly man” in golfing history. He had finishing second in both the US Open and PGA Championship, as well as finishing second twice in the British Open. He is best remembered for missing a short putt at the 72nd hole at St Andrews to win the 1970 British Open. He was then beaten by one shot the following day in an 18-hole playoff.
Ballybunion golf course was largely overlooked until Tom Watson turned up to play a casual round on the course in 1981. He had requested permission to play a private round as part of his preparation for the British Open being played at Sandwich the following week.
Frank “Sandy” Tatum, the President of the US Golf Association, had played Ballybunion a couple of years earlier, and he persuaded Watson to play. They flew into Shannon on the morning of July 8, 1981 along with Harry Easterly, another former president of the US Golf Association. They hired a car and headed for Ballybunion, taking the ferry from Killimer to Tarbert.
On the ferry, Tatum got talking to a young man who said that he was heading to Ballybunion to watch Tom Watson play that day. The Cork Examiner had actually published a front-page report on June 5, that Watson had booked to play in Ballybunion on July 8.
“When I came down Sandhill Road, the American flag was flying over the clubhouse and 2,000 were waiting,” Watson recalled. But he took it all in good spirits.
“That was my introduction to a wonderful day,” he said. He was the hottest golfer in the world at the time — having already won the British Open three times. He was actually the current holder and was also the holder of the US Master’s title. He would normally be paid handsomely to play a round before spectators, but Watson gave the impression of being pleased at the turnout.
“I’ve enjoyed it so much,” he said, “I wish I could be here to play it every day of my life.” he said.
After the British Open, Arnold Palmer stopped off in Kerry to inspect the site at Barrow, where he had agreed to design a news course for Tralee Golf Club. He announced that he was satisfied that he could turn it into a links “second to none.”
The following year, on July 6, 1982, Watson came back to play in Ballybunion, but this time, he did not give any notice of his arrival. He just walked into the Pro Shop and asked Ted Higgins, the local professional, if he would care to join him.
“I couldn’t believe it!” Higgins exclaimed. Word quickly spread around the course and the town. “In no time we had a huge gallery following us,” Higgins said. “It was a tremendous thrill for me.”
The following week Watson went on to win the British Open Championship for a fourth time in Troon. Much was made of the fact that he had warmed up by playing in Ballybunion. In an interview with the Iowa Gazette in June 1984 Watson ranked Ballybunion the best course in the world.
“It’s a very scenic spot,” he added. “It’s not too expensive to play and its regrettable more people don’t get the chance to play it.”
In July 1989 Watson played the course with the famous Byron Nelson, who had dominated the PGA tour for some years before retiring at the early age of 34. “I wish I had discovered Ballybunion 50 years ago,” Nelson declared. “It’s a great links.”
Next day Jack Nicklaus arrived. Word was out about his impending arrival, and he was not pleased at being greeted by a large crowd. He was not known as “the Golden Bear” for his happy disposition.
Watson continued to bring famous golfers such as Ben Crenshaw and Lee Travino. He did not win the British Open again after 1983, but he was in contention many times, and the commentators regularly mentioned his love affair with Ballybunion. Prior to the 1998 British Open an influx of well-known international golfers stopped in Kerry on their way to British Open.
Most of them played both Waterville and Ballybunion. On the Wednesday Watson and Crenshaw played. Next day Ernie Els and Jim Furyk played the course with members of their families, while Tiger Woods, Payne Stewart, and Mark O’Meara played together. O’Meara was the reigning US Masters champion and went on to win the British Open the following week.
In 2009, thirty-four years after Watson’s first British Open win and less than a couple of months before his 60th birthday, he came within a whisker of winning again. He was leading on the final hole, where he dropped a shot and finished in a tie, only to lose the playoff.
Watson turned a spotlight on Irish golf that has had magnificent implications ever since for Irish tourism, and especially for golf tourism in Kerry.