Philip Reid on how low- and high-handicappers are united in pursuit of All-Ireland Cup and Shield glory at Rosslare
Where is the promised land? For amateur sportsmen, it can be many places. The steps of Croke Park, for one; or grabbing the inside lane on the track at Morton Stadium, for another. For the club golfers of Ireland, the search is nomadic. Some years, it can be a links; other years, it can be a parkland course.
This year, it so happens the Bulmers All-Ireland Cups and Shields - the pinnacle of the game for club golfers - is being played on the seaside links at Rosslare Golf Club, where that quest for a green pennant will consume the hearts and minds of all associated with the competition.
The road to Rosslare has been a winding one, with tough matches and close calls en route. Yet, for the 20 provincial-winning teams who have made it to the Co Wexford links who are competing in the five distinct events - the Irish Senior Cup, the Barton Shield, the Irish Junior Cup, the Jimmy Bruen Shield and the Pierce Purcell Shield - there is now an end in sight.
The time for deliverance has arrived and, boy, are each and one of them ready.
In many ways, the romance of the Cups and Shields gets stronger by the year. This year's list of finalists includes no fewer than three teams from Galway Golf Club in a year when one of their favourite sons, Michael "Skip" O'Donoghue, a GUI president in 2003, passed away, and also a first-time appearance in the national finals for another club, Mannan Castle from Co Monaghan.
How have Galway managed to get three teams - Barton Shield, Junior Cup and Senior Cup - to the big show? "I suppose it's just one of those years, like in hurling or football, where you need the breaks and when you get them you take them," says John Nolan, serving a second year as captain of Galway's Junior Cup team.
"We'd a lot of close matches along the way, but this is the highlight of the year and it certainly keeps the summer going that bit longer to have reached this stage. It's great for club morale to get three teams to the finals."
Indeed, the appeal of golf in this country is demonstrated by the geographical diversity of the teams and, also, the fact that players like British Amateur champion Brian McElhinney, of North West, and Jim Carvill, who won the East and South of Ireland championships this season, and who are both plus-handicap golfers, can share the same fairways as mid-to-high handicap players. That is the real beauty of these competitions.
Carvill is part of Warrenpoint's quest to win glory in the Barton Shield, one of two competitions that attract the country's elite players. This time last year he had no inkling that he would be part of the Co Down club's quest for glory. As a former tour professional, he was in a kind of limbo - playing golf, but not competitively - and content with his lot in working with the Dominic Quinn Group in Newry.
At the suggestion of the club's captain, Paul McCartan, however, the process of seeking to regain his amateur status was set in motion. Not only did it prove to be of benefit to Warrenpoint, as they won the Ulster final of the Barton Shield, Carvill's renaissance was such that he won two of the domestic majors - the East and South - and also made the Irish team for the European championships.
Warrenpoint, no strangers to winning green pennants, have one of the best junior coaching systems in the country. Nevertheless, Carvill's decision to return to the amateur game was a huge boost.
"It was a big shot in the arm for the club to get someone of Jim's prestige back," concedes Paddy O'Hanlon, the manager of the club's Barton Shield team. Like all of the teams contesting the national finals over the four days - the GUI has decided to stretch the festival to four days, rather than the traditional three days - O'Hanlon makes the point that "the bottom line never changes, we're here to win. It's an honour to represent your club, first of all, and, secondly, our province. We'll play hard and fair, we're not down here to lose . . . but, if it should happen that we lose, we'll take it sportingly. Our benchmark is to win an All-Ireland."
No doubt, those are sentiments that will strike a chord with ever player and every manager from every club competing in this golf fest.
THE TROPHIES
Barton Shield: Commemorating the former Golfing Union of Ireland president, the Hon Mr Justice Barton, the first club to win the Shield were Portmarnock in 1920. Clubs are represented by two foursomes pairings (playing off scratch).
Irish Junior Cup: Inaugurated in 1900, cup teams are comprised of five players of five-handicap and over, playing matchplay (off scratch). John Ball Jnr is featured on the lid. A member of Royal Liverpool GC, Ball was British Amateur Champion in 1888, 1890, 1892, 1894, 1899, 1902, 1909 and 1912, and runner-up in 1887 and 1895.
He was also British Open Champion in 1890 and Irish Amateur Open Champion in 1893, 1894 and 1899.
Semi-finals: Galway v Clonmel (11.10), Fortwilliam v Castle (12.00).
Pierce Purcell Shield: Named after Prof Purcell, one of Ireland's outstanding golf administrators from the 1920s to the 1960s, the inaugural competition, in 1970, was won by Massereene. Five foursomes pairings represent each club, comprised of minimum individual handicap of 12 and maximum combined of 27.
Irish Senior Cup: Instituted in 1900, the Senior Cup is the most coveted trophy in club golf. Teams consist of five players in singles matchplay (off scratch). The figure on the lid is that of Fred G Tait. A member of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club, Tait was British Amateur Champion in 1896 and 1898 and runner-up in 1893, 1894, 1895 and 1899.
Jimmy Bruen Shield: The Jimmy Bruen Shield is named in honour of a great Cork golfer who inspired Britain and Ireland to their first Walker Cup victory, at St Andrews in 1938, when still an 18-year-old schoolboy at Presentation Brothers. Jimmy Bruen captured the British Amateur Championship in 1946 and enjoyed many other notable successes before injury brought a premature end to the career of a man who is invariably remembered for his huge hitting off the tee and remarkable powers of recovery.
THE COURSE
That the links at Rosslare has not only survived, but flourished, is a tribute to those involved with its development since it was created in 1905.
In their early days, Rosslare's survival owed much to the foresight of the members and the transfer in status from proprietary club to members' club, a change that was made in 1908.
In the book, Fairways of the Sea - which chronicles the history of Rosslare Golf Club - author Tom Williams notes that change "laid the foundations for the successful continuation of golf in Rosslare".
At the time, the course was in poor order because of a lack of financial commitment to its upkeep.
In more recent years, a problem with coastal erosion proved to be more worrying to the members at Rosslare.
Much of its two-and-a-half kilometres of coastline was threatened and it was left to the club to invest heavily in rock-revetment work in an attempt to defeat the forces of nature. Over the years, large tracts of land have been lost to the sea, including the site of the original club pavilion (south of the current 17th green) which was washed away in 1950.
It is another natural element, wind, that is likely to present a continuing challenge for those competitors competing in Ireland's great festival of golf.
The course, too, will provide a stiff challenge in itself with the constant upgrading - including the construction of a number of tees and greens in recent times - designed to keep Rosslare as a genuine championship track.
Certainly, Rosslare's location - it is reputed to be the driest course in Ireland and is rarely closed due to weather - is wonderful. The vista that first greeted golfers in 1905 remains: looking north, there is the Dogger Bank at the entrance to Wexford Harbour, while to the south is the Tuskar Lighthousethat was built in 1815 to warn mariners of the perils of the treacherous coastline.
Over the years, Rosslare have played host to championships including the Irish Close and, in their time, seen such famed professionals as Henry Cotton attempt to conquer their links. This year, it will be the turn of golfers from the length and the breadth of the country to try to win a green pennant for their club on terrain that has survived the test of time.
Tomorrow: Barton Shield semi-finals: Ballybunion v Galway (10.30); Sutton v Warrenpoint (10.50). Irish Junior Cup semi-finals: Galway v Clonmel (11.10), Fortwilliam v Castle (12.00)
Thursday: Pierce Purcell Shield semi-finals: Black Bush v Castleblaney (8.00), Castletroy v Portumna (8.50). Barton Shield Final (11.00), Junior Cup Final (11.30).
Friday: Irish Senior Cup semi-finals: North West v Galway (9.30), Limerick v Hermitage (102.0). Pierce Purcell Shield Final (11.30). Jimmy Bruen Shield semi-finals: The Island v Mannan Castle (1.00), Carrick-on-Shannon v Ballybunion (1.50).
Saturday: Senior Cup final (9.30), Jimmy Bruen Shield final (10.30).
