Clonakilty Golf Club is set to host its inaugural Open Week, running from Monday day next through to Saturday.
With a calendar catering to Gents, Ladies, Juniors and Seniors, there promises to be something for everyone, from low-handicappers to social players looking for a fun day out.
It starts on Monday next with the Gents Over 60’s Open Singles, followed by a Ladies 3-Person Team Event on Tuesday. Wednesday sees the spotlight turn to the next generation with a Juniors & Juveniles Open Day, while Thursday returns to competitive action with a Gents Open Singles.
Friday features a 2-Person Team Event, setting the stage for the grand finale on Saturday.
The week will conclude with an evening of celebration on Saturday evening at Shanley’s Bar, Clonakilty from 7:30pm, with finger food, and weeks prizegiving.
All members, visitors, competitors and friends of the club are warmly invited to join what promises to be a fantastic evening of golf, camaraderie and West Cork hospitality. As a special treat, the wonderful Niamh Kavanagh will be performing live from 10pm on.
That takes the form of a family open classic which is the first of it’s kind in West Cork.
The scramble involves three family members and will be played over 14 holes.
Clonakilty Club Captain Paul Crosbie has spearheaded the inaugural open week and in particular the family classic.
Next Saturday the winners will receive the “Examiner Cup”, a trophy that has a special place for Paul and his family.
“My father, George, was a director at The Examiner newspaper,” Paul explains, “but beyond the paper, he was a serious amateur golfer.
“He represented Ireland in the late 1940s and ’50s, and though he never captured the Irish Amateur Open — losing out three times in the final, twice to the legendary Joe Carr — he was still regarded as one of the finest players of his era.”
George Crosbie’s golfing achievements were impressive by any standard. A five-time Cork Scratch Cup winner and respected figure within Irish golf circles, wrote the book on his clubmate Jimmy Bruen, The Bruen Loop and later served as non-playing captain of the Irish amateur team during the 1988–1990 seasons.
That team, included future Ryder Cup stars Padraig Harrington, Darren Clarke, and Paul McGinley, names that would go on to define a golden generation in Irish golf.
“The talent must have skipped a generation,” Paul jokes, “but I’ve always admired the passion and pride Dad had in both his sport and his family.”
That passion became the inspiration for what is now the club’s signature Open Week event.
“In 2009, when Dad passed away over the August Bank Holiday weekend, we were all gathered at his home in Kinsale.
“It was a tough time emotionally, and we found ourselves waiting around to make arrangements. Rather than sitting idle, we thought: what would George want us to do right now?
“The answer was simple — he’d want us out on the course.”
That impromptu round at Kinsale Golf Club became the start of a tradition. Each year since, the Crosbie family and close friends have gathered for a relaxed and joyful family scramble, playing in George’s memory.
It didn’t take long before the event took on a deeper meaning, helped by the revival of an old piece of golfing history.
“We brought back the old ‘Examiner Cup’, a trophy from the 1980s that was once played for by Munster clubs.
“My brother Alan, a previous CEO of The Examiner, restored the trophy and we began playing for it annually within the family.”
Now, with Paul serving as Club Captain and having returned to West Cork after 23 years in Dublin, he felt it was time to share the event with the wider community.
“This year, we’ve decided to open up the Examiner Cup as a perpetual trophy at Clonakilty Golf Club. It’s a celebration of family and golf — all in one.
“We’re inviting families from across West Cork to come together and compete in a fun, inclusive way. Yes, there’ll be bragging rights at stake, but more importantly, it’s about enjoying the game with the people who matter most.”
The course in Lisselan was first laid out in 1994 by Christy O’Connor Snr as a six hole course, ten years later it was extended to nine holes and formally affiliated to the ILGU and GUI.
The estate including the golf club was sold in 2019 to Colette Twomey who has put in place a plan to extend the course to 19 holes.
