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Irish Examiner
19-07-2025
- Business
- Irish Examiner
Golf booming as club membership costs fall below €650, says Golf Ireland
The average cost of golf club membership in Ireland is now under €650 and 'comparable to a leisure centre or gym', Golf Ireland said. After a slump exacerbated by covid, golf is enjoying a renaissance in Ireland, buoyed by the international success of players such as Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry, and Leona Maguire. This week, the Open Championship — one of the sport's four majors — comes to Royal Portrush in Co Antrim, attracting 278,000 visitors and worth an estimated £200m (€230m). Ireland now has more than 223,000 members in 377 clubs nationwide. Golf club membership fees and subscriptions are worth €143m, which accounts for 20% of the total consumer spending on the sport. Golf Ireland chief executive Mark Kennelly says that the increased membership has coincided with the game being within reach economically. 'The whole thrust of our strategic plan is around making golf more accessible and inclusive,' said Mr Kennelly. 'We have a big focus on encouraging more people from non-traditional backgrounds. We have a big focus on encouraging more women and girls. 'In some of the bigger urban areas, golf is more expensive just because demand is outstripping supply. But in your average golf club, membership is around €600 or so. 'We would see that as comparable to a leisure centre or gym membership — there's not a huge gap there.' Golf Ireland Chair Paul Haran, R&A Director of Public Affairs Robert Oxley, Golf Ireland chief Mark Kennelly, Prof Simon Shibli of Sheffield Hallam University, and Golf Ireland COO Tracy Bunyan at the launch of Golf Ireland's report on the impact of golf, which was published in June. Picture: Inpho/Tom Maher Memberships are up 20% in the past five years. 'We've nearly 380 clubs who are quite dependent on strong numbers because members pay an annual fee and contribute to the running of their clubs, so that bedrock of growing membership is very important for the future vibrancy of our club network,' added Mr Kennelly. Casual golf — played by people who are not yet members of clubs — now stands at about 350,000 people who play full-length golf at least once in the year. Professor Simon Shibli, director of the Sport Industry Research Centre at Sheffield Hallam University, conducted research for Golf Ireland which showed the game contributed €717m in direct economic value to the Irish economy. The game generates €277.6m annually in taxes alone from consumption, income, and corporate profits, said Prof Shibli. The Open in Port-rush will see a huge influx of visitors to the island. 'There isn't the capacity in Northern Ireland to absorb all of the economic shock that comes with the Open so some of that will bleed into the Republic of Ireland. There will be spillover effect,' added Prof Shibli. Leona Maguire competing at the KPMG Women's Irish Open Golf Championship at Carton House earlier this month. International success by Irish players is adding to the game's reach. Picture: Seb Daly/Sportsfile The 2025 Women's Irish Open took place earlier this month at Carton House in Kildare and attracted a record 37,000 spectators, while the men's Irish Open will be held in the K Club in Kildare in September. AIB business banking head of hospitality and tourism Jonathan Clarke said golf now links in with the wider visitor ecosystem. 'It's not just the golf which attracts tourists to Ireland,' added Mr Clarke. 'The warm hospitality, history, and scenic beauty in conjunction with highly personalised services in hotels, guesthouses, and golf clubs create memorable stays. 'Ireland's compact size allows golfers to combine multiple courses and sightseeing all within relatively short travel times. 'This area of the economy has remained resilient. While prices have increased, high-net-worth tourists who are less sensitive to price changes continue to favour Ireland's golf offering.' In 2027, the Ryder Cup will come to Adare Manor in Co Limerick, and the Government has committed €50m towards the biennial competition. Separately, the Government has signalled it would support Portmarnock in Co Dublin hosting the Open Championship, with State funding in the region of €40m, which if successful would be the first time the event is staged outside Britain or Northern Ireland. Robert Oxley, director of public affairs with the R&A, the governing body which oversees the Open Championship, says there's a cumulative effect of having a series of events in Ireland. 'We haven't reached a point where we are cannabilising each market for those events. The more opportunities to advertise Ireland to international audiences, the more people are going to come over and spend.'
Irish Examiner
08-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
'I can see Killarney hosting professional events again in next number of years'
Elite level golf returns to Killarney Golf & Fishing Club this week as Golf Ireland hosts the prestigious European Team Men's Championship, 50 years on from the event's one and only previous staging on Irish soil, at the same Kerry venue. And even as the Killarney staff were putting the finishing touches to the Killeen course and the property in general ahead of Tuesday's opening day of action as Ireland takes its place among the top 16 teams on the continent, the mindset at the club is that this week's competition is only just the start of staging such events. Director of Golf Colin Finlay told the Irish Examiner that a return of the men's professional Irish Open for a fifth time and a first since 2011 was within Killarney's scope given the investment that has already gone into the property and the funds still to be deployed. For now, though, the hard work has been to get the 7,200-yard Killeen layout in pristine condition in readiness for Europe's top amateur men. "The most important part is getting the course looking how it needs to be for a high-level championship,' Finlay said, 'so Enda Murphy the head greenkeeper and the greenkeeping team have been working day in, day out and putting in a really good effort to make sure it's going to be tip-top for the guys coming over here because that's what is expected. "There's hundreds of hours' work that's gone into this. It was 100 per cent a Golf Ireland bid but we at Killarney are delighted to be hosting these championships again. "Preparations started the moment we're won the bid last year and it's been a full-on process ever since from all the team on the ground here. "Everyone in the club has been working towards this championship and so you're looking at hundreds and hundreds of hours of work that go into five days, and the practice days and the set- up. "It's exciting, it's good and it's going to look impressive. Killeen is a beautiful golf course and as parkland courses go it's 7,200 yards and it can be a beast but the setting doesn't get much better with the first four or five holes around the lake. "But the holes themselves, €100,000-plus has gone into the 18th hole. From the 18th tee you used to just see a water hazard down the left, but now there's a stone perimeter around the lake and two stone bridges, so it's framed beautifully now. "All the work done here just adds to the professionalism and the quality and the standards that have been kept high over the last five or six years." Finlay spoke of the combined efforts of Killarney town and its golf club to get this championship up and running and said: "The town lends itself to these events and hosting large groups of people, which it does every year. The hotels have been on board with the Castlerosse next door and the Brehon booked out for the week and the facilities here are second to none. 'The practice facilities we have across the road in the academy will be absolutely spot on for the championship and I think that's probably where we can shine a little bit this week. 'The investment has gone into the academy with grass tee boxes, it will be like a tour event because we want this to be a memorable week for the guys. It's a serious week but we want them to enjoy it and enjoy what Killarney has to offer and I think they will." Finlay believes a successful staging this week can be a stepping stone to hosting professional tour events once more. " I think you can absolutely see some high-level events coming here in the near future. "What that will be remains to be seen but I think we'll have this week as a very high-level event which I think we will deal with very well. We've hosted big events and large numbers of people before and if we can do that again in the future I don't see why wouldn't at least try. "Killeen is a stadium course, it's set up for these events. We have the infrastructure, we have the course, we have the facilities. 'I can see us getting up to hosting professional events again in the next number of years. Whether it's an Irish Open, or a Seniors Tour or Women's event, I don't see why not. The sky's the limit. "We have the people on the ground, we have the people behind the scenes and we have the drive to be able to do that sort of stuff now. It's going to be an exciting five or six years ahead."
Irish Examiner
08-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Ireland ready to end 50-year wait to host European Amateur Team Championship
Mark Kennelly has more reasons than being Golf Ireland chief executive for his excitement at Killarney Golf & Fishing Club's staging of the European Amateur Team Championship this week. The top 16 nations in elite men's amateur golf are in the Kerry town to play Killarney's renowned Killeen course this week with the first of two days of stroke play getting underway on Tuesday morning to be followed by three days of match play as teams battle for medals or strive to avoid relegation to Division 2. Surprisingly it is only the second time that Ireland has hosted this prestigious European Golf Association tournament that has provided a stepping stone on the route to professional stardom for the likes of Team Europe Ryder Cuppers Jon Rahm and Ludvik Aberg as well as Irish major winners Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry. It is 50 years since these shores welcomed the European Amateur Teams Championship and so it is fitting the event should return to the club where it was first staged here, and Kennelly could not be happier. The Golf Ireland CEO remembers that 1975 staging because his father Colm was in charge of score recording during that week half a century ago. 'It's the only golf club of which I am a member,' Kennelly told the Irish Examiner. 'I'm originally from Killarney and joined when I was a child, and have maintained my membership ever since. 'Even though I lived abroad for a number of years, I always kept up my membership. There's a family connection, my dad Colm was heavily involved as both captain and president and my aunt, who's still with us was also very heavily involved, and was captain and her husband was also captain and president. 'So even though I haven't lived in Killarney since the day I went to college I still keep up the connection. 'My dad's original sport was Gaelic football. He had been an All-Ireland medal winner for Kerry back in the 50s, then took up golf in the 1960s, when he lived abroad for a while. Then he came back into Killarney and got the golf bug. 'He was captain of Killarney in 1971, which is actually the year the Killeen course opened, and where the four Irish Opens have been played and this championship will also be played. 'So it was a new-ish course for the event in '75, which I actually remember even though I was a very young child at the time, but it is one of my early childhood memories. I was seven at the time and my dad was in charge of score recording. 'I was looking at the club history and there's a picture of him at the scoreboard, but I do remember the big walkie talkies and the big scoreboard, and the other thing I remember about it, I was chatting with my aunt a couple of weeks ago, when I was home, was the weather. 'It was played in an absolute heatwave. That does stick in my memory and in fact, even though we're now 50 years on, it was originally due to be played in Killarney two years earlier but because of the security situation in Northern Ireland at the time in the early 70s, a couple of countries refused to travel and eventually the EGA withdrew the event and rescheduled it for it two years later, when all the teams came but it was a difficult time from a security point of view then. 'So it was quite a big deal. When you think in the intervening years, Killarney has hosted the Curtis Cup and the professional Irish Open four times but in 1975, this was quite a big event for the club to host.' Kennelly believes Killarney's successful hosting of the EGA event paved the way for the club's subsequent hosting of a Curtis Cup and four Irish Opens. 'It helped put Killarney on the map. And even meeting people in the club who remember it, and whom I have come across since we secured the hosting of it, they caddied for players in 1975 and have vivid memories of it. It was quite a big deal for the club at the time to host what really is the premier amateur golf event in Europe, it was very exciting.' Coming full circle 50 years on this week is another cause for excitement and a lot has been invested in making the 2025 edition a big success. 'First of all we had to engage in a bidding process to secure the hosting because it was quite a sought-after event. That mainly happened during 2023 with the announcement made early last year that it was being awarded to Killarney. 'We've had really great engagement with the club. Our Championships team have been down a number of times to meet with the club representative and management and head greenkeeper, and preparations have gone really well. 'The club are very excited about it. We definitely are, and it's only the second time it's ever been played in Ireland, with a 50-year intervening gap obviously, so it's very exciting for us to be going back. 'We've had fantastic cooperation from (Killarney director of golf) Colin Finlay, who has been a huge help to us, as has his team and the management committee there and the head greenkeeper. 'And credit to Killarney, they've done really fantastic course improvements on both courses but especially on Killeen and it's going to be a spectacular test. All we're hoping for now is a repeat of the weather from 1975, but I'm not sure we can depend on that. 'But this is a really special place and we're reminding people that this is really a future champions event if you look at the top players in the world, the ones from Europe representing their countries in this event before turning professional, you know, Rory and Shane but also Jon Rahm and Aberg. 'I think all but one of the European Ryder Cup team from Rome played for their countries in this event so it's really the pinnacle of their amateur career for players who go on turn professional and for leading amateurs, this is what they aspire to play in. So there's going to be a lot of a talent on display.'
Irish Examiner
07-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Hull helping inspire next generation
Golf superstar and ISPS Handa ambassador Charley Hull was on hand at the Golf Ireland Academy last Tuesday where she lead a junior clinic that underscored Golf Ireland and ISPS Handa's commitment to creating clear pathways for Golfers with Disabilities. Hull, who was one of the star attractions at the KPMG Women's Irish Open in Carton House eventually finishing fourth, spent time on the putting green and practice area mentoring juniors and elite golfers with disabilities who have benefited directly from the organisation's Golf4All initiatives which are supported by their partner ISPS Handa. The clinic, delivered by Golf Ireland PGA coach Callum Slater and supported by ISPS Handa, featured interactive drills, skills challenges and a lively Q&A. Hull demonstrated some of her short-game techniques, fielded questions about life on tour, posed for photos and signed autographs. 'It is really important. Obviously, a lot of respect to them, how many things are stopping them from playing golf and they still go out there and play it. It's unbelievable, it's great to see,' said Hull. ISPS Handa and Golf Ireland joined forces in October 2023 with a view to support Golf Ireland's Golf4All programmes and increase development pathways for elite amateurs with a disability. ISPS Handa also become the title sponsor of the Irish Open for Golfers with Disabilities. 'Golf Ireland have a wonderful partner in ISPS Handa, who support our disability golf initiatives right across the board,' said Golf Ireland CEO Mark Kennelly. 'We were delighted to be joined by ISPS Handa ambassador Charley Hull and Brendan Scannell, to perform a clinic here for a combination of our elite national panel and some of our younger golfers with disabilities. 'It's been a wonderful experience with them. We are delighted that Charley spent so much time with the players, giving them tips, answering their questions. 'So it's been a really special occasion and we really appreciate the support we are getting from ISPS Handa in making today happen.' The Golf Ireland ISPS Handa Junior G4D Pathway Programme, aims to develop the golfing ability of junior golfers with disabilities by providing High Performance Coaching Support and a pathway to represent Ireland on the ISPS Handa Golfers with Disabilities team. Players are offered coaching in their respective regions as well as building connections and community with other golfers with a disability. 'It was a great invite to get and an experience that I might never get again to meet Charley, she's a world class player,' said Golf Ireland ISPS Handa Junior G4D Pathway Player, Julia Falvey Ryan. 'It was unbelievable for ISPS Handa to do this for us, they are a great support as always for the disability golf in Ireland. 'This is what we need for disability golf to become a bigger thing, it's great to hear because when you see the people with ISPS Handa on their tops you know they are part of the good crew.'
Irish Examiner
26-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Examiner
Report: Golf contributes €7m annually to Irish economy
New Golf Ireland research the sport contributes €717 million annually to the Irish economy and supports 15,600 jobs. Conducted by the Sport Industry Research Centre at Sheffield Hallam University, in collaboration with The R&A, the study assesses consumer spending, Gross Value Added (GVA), employment and tax revenues. The report indicates that in 2023, golf activities contributed €717 million in direct economic value to the Irish economy, marking significant growth. This is fuelled by increased participation, strong club membership, and a recovery in golf tourism following the Covid-19 pandemic. Golf-related consumer spending reached €703 million, averaging €100 per head of population. Club memberships accounted for €143 million, or 20% of all golf expenditure. Golf directly supports approximately 15,600 jobs across Ireland, while the sport generates €277.6 million annually in taxes from consumption, income and corporate profits. 'These findings highlight golf's major economic role here, underscoring our sport's ability to drive growth and create employment across Ireland. Through initiatives like Get into Golf, Unleash Your Drive and iGolf, we are actively working to make golf more accessible and inclusive, ensuring its continued appeal,' said Golf Ireland CEO Mark Kennelly. 'We are particularly encouraged by the growth in golf tourism and event attendance, which signals a strong future for golf as both a sport and a key driver of economic activity in communities throughout the island of Ireland.' The return of The Open to Royal Portrush next month is set to deliver a further boost to the Northern Ireland economy. In 2019, The 148th Open generated more than £100 million of economic benefit for Northern Ireland, according to the study. Mark Darbon, Chief Executive of The R&A, said: 'We have seen the benefits that golf brings in many other parts of the world but what this research makes clear is that golf makes a substantial contribution to the economy of Ireland and positively impacts the wider community in numerous ways. 'The continuing strength of the golf sector throughout Ireland and the efforts of Golf Ireland to encourage more people to take up the sport are hugely impressive. The staging of global sporting events such as The Open can help to catalyse further growth in the sport and The R&A will continue to play its part in helping to maintain that momentum.' The report identifies opportunities for future growth by encouraging higher female participation, investment in infrastructure, and leveraging Ireland's international reputation as a world class golfing destination. 'Golf is a significant industry in Ireland, which might otherwise go under the radar were it not for the Satellite Account research,' said Professor Simon Shibli, Director of the Sport Industry Research Centre, Sheffield Hallam University. 'It is an industry that has grown impressively since our 2017 study, based on 2014 data. The fundamentals are in place for future growth in economic impact, notably in the form of invisible exports from visitors coming to play or to watch golf.'
