From small beginnings, 100 years on Golf Links Course is one of the best i
ENNISCRONE Golf Club will go back in time next Sunday when the club launches its centenary history book: Sand, Sea and Sunsets: 100 Years of Enniscrone Golf Club at 6pm in the clubhouse.
The club’s 100th year has been a busy one, and this Sunday will also see the club officially open its new driving range facility.
Having started as a small nine-hole course, the club now has a 27-hole complex with the Dunes Championship links recently rated as the country’s 12th best course by Golf Digest Ireland.
Enniscrone Golf Club was initially formed in 1918, and the first written record of the club’s existence was in the Western People in 1923 advising readers of Medal competitions. The club’s development was hindered by political hostilities at the start of the decade and the early period of the club’s history was plagued by one notable problem: the lack of a permanent home.
Golf was played in a number of locations in the early days – fields behind Enniscrone’s old Roman Catholic Church were used, as was land either side of the entrance avenue to the once-famous Scurmore Hotel – before eventually settling at Bartragh, close to where the club resides today.
Golf in the area was officially up and running in 1931, when the club affiliated to the Golfing Union of Ireland (GUI) for the first time. The new 9-hole course at Bartragh opened on St Patrick’s Day, 1931, and the oldest club records indicate that there were 65 members of the club at this point, with membership being £1. Initial popularity and novelty helped Enniscrone Golf Club become a viable entity, but soon interest dwindled. Coupled with the scourge of emigration, the club got to a point where there were only 14 members by the year 1959.
At this time in its history, the future of golf in the area was quite uncertain. In this regard, Enniscrone Golf Club was fortunate that two projects initiated in nearby Co Mayo – the building of a power station at Bellacorrick and the Moy Drainage Scheme – brought an influx of people to the north Mayo and west Sligo areas, and thus more members. New members, some of whom came from golfing backgrounds in other parts of the country, helped revitalize the club through the 1960s and by the end of the decade the club decided to expand to 18-holes in 1970.
This came on the back of increased interest from locals and visitors alike, with the nine-hole course often becoming crowded in peak season. Members also recognized the fact that adjacent to the nine-hole course was some of the country’s most amazing duneland which would provide the perfect terrain for a unique links course.
This major extension project, along with building a new £18500 clubhouse, was a huge undertaking at a time when the club had little financial capabilities. Nonetheless, through significant voluntary labour from members and a pioneering spirit, Enniscrone opened a new 18-hole championship links with a new clubhouse in August 1974 with course architect, Eddie Hackett, driving the first ball. The opening day, still fondly remembered by those involved at the time, saw Irish golfing legend Christy O’Connor Snr play in a fourball including another Irish professional John O’Leary, as well as top amateurs Rupert De Staunton and Sean Flanagan. This prestigious fourball provided great entertainment for the large crowd who attended on a hot summer day.
This expansion to 18 holes was only made possible by the continued goodwill of the landlord of the property, Jim Cawley, who was a staunch supporter of the club, as was his relative Miss Conway who initially gave permission for the land to be used in the 1930s. The strong relationship the club enjoys with the Cawley family continues today with present landlord, Fergal Cawley.
The club made various improvements to the links in the years after its official opening, and the continued development of the course led to the GUI hosting some major events in Enniscrone. The 1993 Irish Mens Close Championship was the first ‘major’ held at Enniscrone, and the Irish Women’s Close was held at Enniscrone four years later in 1997. The West of Ireland Championship was moved to Enniscrone from Co Sligo in 1997 for a period of three years. In 1999, future Irish Open winner Mikko Ilonen captured the title – Ilonen has retained his links with Enniscrone since and returned to the club in 2018 to accept honorary life membership for his services to golf.
Towards the end of the millennium, Enniscrone had gained a positive reputation amongst the Irish golfing public, but still had room to improve. With some of the country’s best duneland still undeveloped, the club looked to expand into the towering dunes in the mid-1990s and bring the complex to 27 holes. The development of the highest dunes was not possible in the 1970s due to various restrictions – finance and the sheer scale of the dunes meant it wouldn’t have been physically possible with machinery available at the time – but members opted to explore the opportunity some 25 years later. Work eventually began in mid-1999.
Six spectacular new holes, designed by renowned English architect Donald Steel, helped complete the new Dunes Championship course, while the holes discarded from the old Hackett design were added to with three new holes on the property’s flatter land to make the ninehole Scurmore course. The new holes opened in 2001, with the 9-hole course completed shortly afterwards, and put Enniscrone amongst Ireland’s best links cou to o and day now ove from In t con furth enc to th ava
It