Golf MAINia

There are four major competitions in the golfing world that grab the imagination, attracting the best players in the world. All these golf events have a long history and many stories to tell. Champions have been made at The Masters, The US Open, The British Open and the PGA Championship. Winning all four in one season is known as a Grand Slam, but only one player has ever achieved that feat and that was when Bobby Jones did it in 1930.

Legendary player Jack Nicklaus has the best record in these golf events, but Tiger Woods isn’t far behind. The US Open, which takes place every June, was first organized in 1895. The most wins at this tournament list, includes Nicklaus, Bobby Jones and Ben Hogan. Different courses host the competition across America from California to New York to Texas. America leads the winning table, having won it on 78 occasions. Both professional and amateur players are eligible to enter and there is no lower age limit.

The Professional Golfers Association hosts the PGA each August at one of a select group of courses. It began in 1916 and Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods and Walter Hagen in the 1920s are multiple winners. America has also won this contest 78 times.

The Masters is played at the same club in April every year. The Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia has been the venue in this most prestigious of golf events since the very first one in 1934. It was co-founded by Bobby Jones, who also helped to design the course. The winner is rewarded with a cash prize and the coveted Green Jacket. Gary Player was the first non-American golfer to win when he triumphed in 1961. Other players to do well here are Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Tiger Woods and Nick Faldo.

The remaining major takes place in July and is the only one to be organized outside of the United States. The Open Championship, also known as the British Open, began in 1860 and became one of the official golf events on the PGA Tour in 1995. Players from all over the world have affection for this event as it is played on nine historic courses on a rotating system. The championship is shared between English and Scottish clubs, including St.Andrews, Royal Troon and Muirfield in Scotland and Royal Lytham and St.Anne’s Golf Club in England. British players have won the most times and multiple winners include Tom Watson, Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus.

Sports Illustrated publishes the monthly glossy bible for golfers, known simply as Golf Magazine. It is entertaining and informative, and golfers of all ability levels look forward to each edition. It appears as a hard copy and can also be accessed on a user friendly web site.

All aspects of the sport are explored from articles about the top competitions to detailed discussions on equipment. The staff reviews products and golf courses. There is also a search facility online of courses from an index of 20,000 locations. Advice is given on the merits or otherwise of a particular course and on golfing vacations. Another search will bring up an index of golf clubs. Golf Magazine also runs an online store, a convenient way of buying irons, drivers, hybrids, putters and wedges etc.

Top golfers on the circuit are featured, as the magazine follows their careers and charts their progress at each event. There are interviews with all the celebrity names, news updates and photographs of the action. Upcoming competitions and participants are previewed. Instruction is another important part of Golf Magazine and there are lessons from experts, demonstrated in videos and photographs. These include tuition on putting, shot making and pitching and chipping.

Another popular publication is Golf International, in print, online and through the Setana Golf TV channel. It has the usual sections associated with a golf magazine with news and feature articles on the world of competitive golf. There is also expert tuition from the David Leadbetter Golf Academy. Amateur golf news is also included and there is an index of golf instruction schools, reviews and a golf competition calendar.  Archive video provides exciting footage of past tournaments, such as the 1999 Open Championship at Carnoustie and the 2001 Dubai Desert Classic.

This publication puts a lot of emphasis on the international scene. Any golf magazine is read around the world these days and Golf International includes articles about the development of the sport in Iceland, the Middle East and Asia. The section called Travel Destinations looks at various courses and golf holiday resorts in Ireland, the Caribbean and South Africa. Some of these exotic destinations may be out of reach, but there is the opportunity to win equipment in the various contests that the golf magazine runs.

In a growing international sport, both professional and amateur players want reliable and accurate information. A golf magazine must also inspire the reader to greater heights. There is only one Tiger Woods, but everyone can improve his or her game.

Getting a booking in the old course of the Ballybunion Golf Club can be quite difficult especially in the peak season. A long list is filled up months before the season and most of them are seasoned golfers looking forward to the difficult yet very relaxing links. But if you don’t get the chance to have some tee time on the old course, you may find that the Ballybunion Golf Club Cashen Course, it’s new course, can be quite as challenging and some might say its more challenging.  Designed by Robert Trent Jones, Sr., the Ballybunion Golf Club Cashen course features spectacular yet difficult long links dotted with enormous sand dunes.  Which means you have to make the ball fly when you play to the number of greens that has been elevated in these treacherous course.

While scores of golfers from all over the world flock to Southwest Ireland for the old Ballybunion Golf Club Course, local golfers tend to prefer the new Cashen Course. Many low handicapped golfers have also expressed their preference for the new course, but the old still remains as a must go to and play course for all golfers, for maybe at least once.  The Ballybunion Golf Club Cashen Course has traditional links and like the old course, it is exceptionally unique and is set with the greatest sand dunes found in golf courses world wide. Both are also designed along the Atlantic Ocean offering a calming back drop.  The Ballybunion Golf Club Cashen Course is also a private members only club like the old course, but they do sometimes allow limited public access during weekdays. Limited guest plays are also allowed but must always be accompanied by a member.

The Ballybunion Golf Club Cashen Course has set booking conditions so that other golfers can be accommodated as some of them come from different parts of the globe. Some of the conditions are:

·    All payments are non-transferable and non-refundable.
·    Bookings not paid by the due date will be removed from the list
·    Payment in full must be given 28 days after reservations has been made.
·    Payments can be done via cash, cheque or credit cards.
·    A handicap limit is observed. 24 for males and 36 for females.
·    The certificate of handicaps should be presented on the day of reservation.
·    A group of four would only be the allowable number in each play.

Being one of the most sought after golf clubs in Ireland and the world, members, guests and visitors are expected to follow a dress code that would met the clubs high standards and should be neat, tidy and clean.

You will not be accepted in the club if you were the following:

·    Sleeveless, singlets and shirts with no collars.
·    Outfits with slogans.
·    Shorts that are not tailored.
·    Untucked shirts
·    Leisure or track suits.
·    Also, pant legs should not be tucked inside the top of the socks.

Carts are now also available to be used around the Ballybunion Golf Club Cashen course, it will only set you back 3.50 Euros for each cart for each round. You can also ride on buggies in the Cashen which is prohibited on the old course.  When it comes to golf courses, the Ballybunion Golf Club has more than a century of experience in the industry.  Whether it’s the old or new, you can be sure that you will get one of the more satisfying golf vacation trips in Ireland that you’ll ever have.

Many Irish golf historians would agree that it’s vast number of golf courses is a direct influence of the stay of the British forces in the latter part of the 1800s. Wherever there was a garrison stationed, the game of golf was surely to be played. That is why there are many golf courses in Ireland that is more than a century old yet provides modern facilities and technologies and has received many reconstruction to keep up with the modern times and to maintain its natural beauty.

There is a golf links course at the edge of the northwest side of Ireland that has less history and age but is at par with the rest of them. Started in 1973, the Connemara Golf Links is a great challenge to anyone who swings their clubs at her greens. Bordered by the Atlantic Ocean and back dropped by Irish mountains, this par 72 links course provides an invigorating golf game that would surely entice those who have played there to come back for more.  Adding more elements to this memorable course is the breathtaking views that abound the entire 7,000 yard course. Raising from the Atlantic Ocean are mesmerizing rainbows that makes a golfer feel one with his surroundings.  The continual gusts of winds can be very refreshing, but they can also be the scourge for many golfers. A golfer can never expect the directions of the wind, much less the weather all year round.

The 27-hole Connemara championship golf links course shall also expose the golfer to many of natures wonders as Connemara ponies and swans can be seen and even a castle is bound to be seen as you play along. The course takes so many twists and turns as well as ups and downs through rocky and rolling hills with mesmerizing ocean and mountain scenes.  After a round of golf and viewing the scenery, a member or a golfer can go to the Connemara Golf Links clubhouse for more sightseeing as well as some fine dining. The clubhouse restaurant offers a wide array of Irish dishes as well as other dishes from around the world, sure to tickle the palate of the most discriminating eater. There is also a bar where you can have a drink or two to swap stories and unwind with your golf buddies.

Didn’t bother to take your clubs with you? That’s okay, the Connemara Golf Links has a pro shop that can offer rental clubs and other things that a golfer may need. You can get souvenir items as well as caddy cars, motorized buggies, and get caddies to accompany you while you play.  The Connemara Golf Links newly renovated locker rooms are also world class quality and there is also practice fairway and putting greens where you can warm up and get ready before setting your foot in the actual course.  There are many accommodations that are set up near the Connemara Golf Links so you won’t have to drive too far just to get in a game. All of them provide excellent service and fantastic rooms.  Enjoy the Irish welcome and great culture as you go to the Connemara Golf Links on your next golfing vacation. This will be a golfing experience you will never forget.