Leafy Lucan looks to new horizons
Club bids farewell to some old favourites with exciting plans to enhance the course and keep pace with its rapidly expanding community
GOLF club histories provide a fascinating insight into Ireland’s socio-economic development, and if there’s a club that epitomises Dublin’s dramatic transformation from tranquil colonial backwater to 21st-century metropolis, it’s lovely Lucan.
Founded in 1897 when the Liffeyside village and the famous Spa Hotel was a popular place of leisure on the outskirts of a city of just 250,000, it is now one of the fastest growing population centres in Ireland.
From less than 1,000 souls in 1897 when the club was set up as a nine-hole course on land leased from the hotel, Lucan now has a population of over 50,000 that’s only set to rise over the next few years.
That’s good news for the loyal members of Lucan Golf Club, who are at an advanced stage of detailed plans to invest €1.3 million in their course, employing re(GOLF) Design to create three new holes.
Pending planning permission, the new holes will significantly enhance the course, and while there will be some pain involved as they say goodbye to some old favourites, the club has never shied away from moving with the times.
The par-three fourth, a remnant of the old first that was played from a high tee over the road – the railings near the site of the old pavilion (inset above) still visible – will remain as an extra hole.
But the short, par-five fifth currently, a birdie chance for many, will be stretched by around 100 yards left into the current sixth fairway, creating a genuinely challenging, three-shot hole.
A horizon green will make it a far better challenge but the current sixth, a short par-four which skirts close to nearby gardens, will go.
Lucan lovers will be sad to hear that the iconic, par-three seventh, which plays over Tubber Lane to a narrow, elevated green, will also be phased out when the new holes come into play.
That will be a relief to right-handers cursed with a snap hook but it’s also a necessary step as Lucan’s population growth will likely make the winding lane a busier place.
Golf clubs and roads have never been comfortable bedfellows, but Lucan’s biggest challenge came when its lease ran out in 1970 and facing eviction, won an important test case for clubs with sporting leases all over Ireland following a review of the 1931 Landlord & Tenant Act.
It took until 1979 for a judge to rule in Lucan’s favour, securing a 99-year lease and its future.
The club’s future now involves the creation of three new holes with golfers walking off what will be the new, parfive fourth to the current eighth tee.
They will then play as far as the current 13th before heading out into the “new lands” where the new trio of holes – a par four, a par-three and a par-five – take you back to the newly redesigned 14th, which will be fully open for play in April.
The index-one test was a “slog” of 415 metres (458 yards) to a green set on the far side of a gaping hazard. But re(GOLF) has redesigned the hole, creating a risk-reward, short par-
four of under 280 yards with bunkers, trees and a snaking, rock-lined water hazard defending the green.
“We are going to create a really great, flowing golf course,” said former captain Pat Dunne, the Chairman of the Course Development Committee, who grew up a stone’s throw from the golf course in Dodsboro.
Having seen the club expand to become an 18-hole challenge in 1989 when the club bought a parcel of land from the Department of Agriculture, he’s one of the long-standing members excited about Lucan’s future.
“The seventh is lovely but it can be a challenge for the higher handicapper, and it is a bottleneck,” he said. “The new land was acquired with great foresight some years ago, and as a 40-acre site, it’s going to help us create a really tremendous course.
“We are a very friendly and open club with a varied and loyal membership that loves the social aspect of the club and have its best interests at heart.”
Lucan is renowned for its speedy greens and the attention
It’s time to leave something for the next generation of golfers to enjoy and cherish
to detail of head course superintendent, Richard Doyle and his crew.
But it’s also a vibrant club with almost 1,000 members in all categories, including 170 juniors.
Its restaurant – 19 @ Lucan Golf Club – was voted Ireland’s “Golf Club Restaurant of the Year” for the second time this year with chef Keith Kenny a genial and creative host.
The club’s general manager, James Murphy, is looking forward to the challenges that lie ahead but he can also sense the pride the members have in what is a vital amenity for the community.
“The people who came before us worked hard to create the Lucan we have today,” he said. “Now the members feel it’s time to leave something for the next generation of golfers to enjoy and cherish.”
The club is no stranger to success on the fairways, winning its first green pennant, the Irish Junior Foursomes during the centenary year in 1997 before adding the AIG Junior Cup in 2004 and the All Ireland Ladies Fourball in 2011.
Individuals to bring glory to the club include former international Richard O’Donovan, East of Ireland champion in 2011, former Seniors international and prolific team captain Tony Goode, and Molly Dowling, the Mid-Leinster champion three years ago.
Add to that three Barton Cups, three Jimmy Carroll All Ireland Seniors, three Metropolitan Cups and the 2002 Irish Club Youths and it’s clear that this is a club for all ages
Honorary Secretary, Don Kissane, has seen Lucan grow beyond all belief since he joined 30 years ago.
“When I started teaching in the local primary school in Lucan-Esker, there were just two estates; now there are houses all around,” the 2016 captain said.
“But the club continues to improve and grow, and we are all looking forward to the new 14th and, once planning permission is approved, excited to develop the three new holes.
“It is painstaking work but we are getting there, and we continue to run initiatives to bring more women and juniors into the game.
“We have been running a weekly ‘Joker’ fundraiser for the past five years and it has raised approximately €60,000 with all the profits having been used for course development – funding a new tee box on the 16th, a new short game practice area including practice green, a shoe cleaning area and a new ladies tee box on the first hole.
“Last Summer we ran a Try Golf programme for girls between the ages of 8 to 13 over eight weeks, and 28 young girls attended.”
Current captains Jimmy Somers and Carole Lakes will be leading the drive for more team titles this year, but as 2017 captain Noel Peacock explained, the joy of Lucan is friendship and fresh air.
“As the judge said when he ruled in favour of Lucan in that important case over the sporting lease, Lucan is a lung of the city,” Noel said with a grin.
“We love our club, and we’re really looking forward to what the future will bring. It’s an exciting time for us all.”