Golf Ireland’s new state of the art indoor facility will be “up and running” in the next few months and is set to open to their high performance golfers and the general public.
Last year a €1.4 million grant was allocated to Golf Ireland to develop its high performance facilities their Carton House academy and a huge part of this is to build a best in class indoor facility for professionals and elite amateurs while also being open to the public.
This proposed building will accommodate a high-performance golf centre consisting of a gym, indoor putting, a physio facility, a trackman facility, a reception/meeting room and changing facility and toilets.
“We want to improve the quality of our facilities and our coaching for the players. It will be a great facility for our high performance players especially and it will be open to other groups as well,” said Golf Ireland High Performance Director Neil Manchip who also confirmed that junior pathway coaching numbers is now touching 600 with a particular boom in applicants coming after Rory McIlroy’s Grand Slam victory.
“Using more indoor facilities is a good idea. With Irish weather it can be absolutely fine at times or horrendous. Any possible developments to improve the quality of our facilities and coaching is welcome.”
Golf Ireland has enjoyed another membership spike with numbers now at their peak since its inception.
By the end of October affiliated membership figures had reached 236,384 on the island of Ireland.
Initially that stood at 182,000 in 2020 and the 30% increase represents a sustainable growth, with the female cohort now standing at 20% of the overall figure.
The largest membership figure since Golf Ireland’s inception has come as a result of an 8% overall increase this calendar year, while junior membership has jumped 25% in that same period.
Just over twelve months since the independent golfer scheme was launched, iGolf members now stand at almost 5000 and Golf Ireland CEO Mark Kennelly stressed the importance of ensuring that the general public whether that be club members, iGolfers, or beginners get equal access to the new indoor facility.
“We were awarded a substantial grant to develop a high performance facility and that’s going to be state of the art, we are hoping we have full planning permission and funding in place,” said Kennelly.
“We are going to have to consider how we engage with indoor facilities. It’s not just a climate thing it’s convenience. I have spoken to a few people who have developed them and they are seeing a steady stream of serious golfers who instead of just playing for a club team or competition at the weekend will use the facility on nights during the week.”
Kennelly also feels that golf participation is continuing to grow in Ireland with more people experiencing golf for the first time whether that be through Get into Golf, iGolf or using driving ranges, short game facilities or the revolutionary Marlay Park putting green built by Pádraig Harrington.
“Golf in Ireland is in a very strong place. Club membership is growing and sustainable, participation is growing, and more people than ever are experiencing the game for the first time through initiatives like Get into Golf and iGolf. Our goal has always been to make golf more open and welcoming, and the progress we’ve made this year shows this approach is working,” said Kennelly.
