Kinsale. Golf Club. feature and Photos by Alan Mahon

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1 Kinsale Golf Club feature and Photos by Alan Mahon

2 Kinsale Golf Club has a long and distinguished history and can trace its origins back to 1880 through a Scottish regiment, The King s Own Borderers, who established a golf course in the town.

3 Photo courtesy Kinsale Golf Club Kinsale Golf Club is situated 5 kilometers from the Historic town of Kinsale and is just over 20 kilometers from Cork City. The course is in a rural setting and has stunning views of the surrounding countryside. This 18 hole championship is 6,935 yards long from the championship markers. The club has played host to major tournaments including the All Ireland Finals of the Cups & Shields in its centenary year The club has a full range of practice facilities including a six bay driving range, putting and chipping greens, pro shop and catering facilities. History Kinsale Golf Club appears to have moved many times during its early history. The first reference of the club was in the 1880 s at Prehane when it was used by the military, The King s Own Borderers, Scottish regiment. It was not until 1912, however, that the club became affiliated to the GUI and this was the year that the club, as we know it today, was formed. It appears that the club moved to Sallyport in the 1920 s and in 1930 was on the move again, this time to Ringenane. All during these moves Kinsale was a 9 hole facility. There was a burning ambition within the members to, some day, upgrade to an 18 hole course. An opportunity came in 1993 for the club to purchase 114 acres of land at Farrangalway. After a resounding Yes from the members for approval to purchase the land at an EGM that year, the club was on its way to realizing its dream. The new 18 hole layout was designed by Jack Kenneally, a former Head Greenkeeper at Kinsale (and a respected course architect in the region). Construction of the new Membership in 2016 has increased slightly to around 600, a sign of economic recovery perhaps? course was completed in September 1994 and the course was open for play in June 1995 but restrictions for weekend play only were in place for the rest of that year. The course was officially opened for play in the spring of Meanwhile, the 9 hole course at Ringenane was kept open for play and remained so until it closed in 2013 (as a consequence of the economic crash). Many of the course staff who worked at Ringenane 34 moved to Farrangalway to continue with their greenkeeping career. Since acquiring the lands at Farrangalway the club was anxious to get extra land for development of a practice facility and to improve the layout of the course. In 2006 the opportunity arose to purchase an extra 20 acres of land adjacent to the club. This extra land facilitated the redesign of holes 2, 3, 4 and 5 along with the incorporation of a practice ground, complete with driving bays. Construction of the new holes began in 2008 and finished in Spring 2010, and the new holes were fully open for play in Golf Clubs were particularly very badly hit during the financial crisis in Many high profile private clubs were sold at knockdown prices. Member clubs, such as Kinsale, had a level of inbuilt resilience and were able to weather the economic storm which enabled them to survive, be it at a much reduced level. Kinsale, like most clubs, experienced a large fall in its membership and revenues. In 2007 the club had 850 members which brought in a gross income of 1million. In

4 Kinsale Golf Club Padraig Crowley 2012 this had dropped to 560 members with a gross income of 700,00. Costs had to be drastically reduced, members expectations modified and the difficult decision to close Ringenane Golf Club was taken. Membership in 2016 has increased slightly to around 600, a sign of economic recovery perhaps? Staff The Course Superintendent at Kinsale is Padraig Crowley. He succeeded Jack Kenneally as Course Superintendent in Padraig started his greenkeeping 15th green career at Bandon Golf Club. He then moved to Fermoy Golf Club as Assistant before becoming Course Superintendent at Cavan Golf Club. The opportunity of returning back to Cork came in 1999 when the position of Course Superintendent became available at Fermoy Golf Club. Padraig spent nine years at Fermoy before moving to Kinsale. Including Padraig, there are six staff employed to look after the course. One of the remarkable things about the staff is that their combined years of service at Kinsale Golf Club is a staggering 100 years. Padraig is the juvenile at the club with only eight years of service there. That shows a great sense of loyalty to the club. The turnover of staff in golf clubs within a short space of time is a familiar occurrence in many golf clubs around Ireland. The staff at Kinsale are the envy of many such clubs. The club held the All Ireland Cups and Shields competitions during their centenary year in It was a miserable summer that year. The weeks leading up to the competitions were very wet said Padraig but we all rallied around to get the course in proper shape. With all the work we put in and having the sun shine beautifully during Left: David O'Regan, Padraig Crowley, Spencer Wigginton, James Kiely, Teddy Carey, Clive Daunt 35 greenside magazine April 2016

5 Kinsale Golf Club Sand spreading Pine tree on 16th fairway having had the wettest winter on record. The ground at Kinsale Golf Club is very free draining and dries up quickly after heavy rain. The exception to this is around the bottom part of the course where the 15th and 16th holes are located. I could see in the distance sand being applied using a tractor and sand spreader to local wet spots on the course. An annual application of around 600 tons of sand is applied to the fairways to help keep the ground in good condition. Every year Padraig hires in a verti-drain, with 10 inch tines, to aerate the fairways. I find this to be more cost effective instead of purchasing a machine that is only used for perhaps four or I could not help but notice how dry the ground was, despite having had the wettest winter on record. 36 five days in the year says Padraig. Padraig starts his feeding programme for the year with a spring application of a slow release granular base feed. This is then followed up every four weeks during the summer with a liquid feed. The fertilizer programme concludes just before the growing season finishes with an autumn granular feed that is low in Nitrogen (N) but having a higher Potassium level (K). Greens are lightly sanded every three weeks to keep the putting surface true as possible. Padraig keeps the height of cut (HOC) at 3mm in summer, rising to 4.5mm in winter. The greens and tees have automatic irrigation installed drawing water from the club s

6 Kinsale Golf Club Machinery Used 1 x Jacobsen Eclipse 322 triplex greens mower 1 x Jacobsen triplex greens mower 1 x Jacobsen Greensking IV triplex greens mower 1 x John Deere 2500E triplex greens mower 1 x Toro Reelmaster 3100D tees mower 1 x Jacobsen 3100 tees/surrounds mower 1 x Jacobsen 305 fairway mower 1 x Toro Reelmaster 5400D fairway mower 2 x Lastec 425D Articulator rough mowers Driving range 2 x John Deere 2653 utility mowers 1 x John Deere 6x4 diesel Gator 1 x John Deere 4100 compact tractor 1 x New Holland T75 tractor 1 x Tym 603 tractor 1 x Ford 4100 tractor 1 x Ford 1120 tractor 1 x Thatchaway Verti-cut units 1 x Ultra topdresser (greens) 1 x Ultra topdresser (fairways) 1 x Toro sprayer 1 x Agro tractor mounted sprayer Preparing for 2012 Cups and Shields 1 x Buffalo turbine blower 1 x Greens iron true-turf 1 x Soil reliever N E W A R O U G H M O W E R S A NEW LEVEL OF PERFORMANCE AND PRODUCTIVITY IN THE ROUGH Introducing the 9009A TerrainCut Rough Mower Call for demonstration Former Head Greenkeeper Jack Kenneally in 1994 at the foot of the pine tree that is now part of the 16th fairway Sales : Michael Weldon Padraig Weldon ground well (stored in an underground tank). I was blessed with good weather when I walked the course with Padraig. The beautiful sunny Februay day enhanced the beauty of the course. This 104 year old club offers a lot to the golfer and may sometimes lie in the shadow of its neighbour the Old Head Golf Links but you can still enjoy a fabulous round of golf at the Farrangalway club. Interesting facts Former Irish Professional golfer Liam Higgins started his golfing career at Kinsale Golf Club. One member of the club, Willie Dynan, reached the age of 100 years in 2012, which was also Kinsale Golf Club s centenary year. We are delighted to announced that Air 2G2 is now available for hire... For rates or a quotation please contact us directly. The Air2G2 is a self propelled hydrostatic drive three probe air injection machine, injecting compressed air to 10" deep. This causes a fracturing effect of the compacted root zone, with no surface disruption. Seamus Weldon Golf & Turf Eq Tel: Barleymount Killarney Co. Kerry 37 greenside magazine April 2016