Next year promises to be a busy one for Cork Golf Club, as the Little Island course will hold several major competitions.
Golf Ireland have launched the 2025 championship schedule and Cork will host three major events.
In addition to the Munster Stroke Play which has been held on the May Bank Holiday weekend for over a decade, the course will also host the Flogas Irish Boys Amateur Open and the Boys Home Internationals.
In addition to these, the club will also host the Women’s Cork Scratch Cup in early April
Cork has a habit of being a winning venue for golfers who went on to greatness. Shane Lowry won the Irish Close Championship when it was last held in Cork in 2007.
He beat local favourite Niall Turner in the final to claim his first Irish title. He went on to win the West and North, and the Mullingar Scratch Cup the following year, before winning the Irish Open in Baltray to launch himself onto the professional stage.
Eight years prior to that a young Graeme McDowell won the Irish Youth when Cork hosted it.
Christy O’Connor Jnr was also a winner in Cork, he won the Carrolls Matchplay while his uncle Christy Senior won the 1963 Irish PGA in Cork.
The Alister MacKenzie designed course in Little Island dates back to 1897 when the club moved from a base in Glanmire.
The course would be developed over the next 30 years, with MacKenzie’s design in 1925 remaining largely in play today.
The yardage has been increased from an original 6,200 to the current 6,780 and the par has reduced from 78 to 72, but the layout and styling still provides many of the MacKenzie signature features seen in courses from Britain to Australia to Augusta.
Cork remains a key member of the MacKenzie Society, a prestigious group of clubs worldwide who have strong links to the most famous course designer of the 20th century.
The action in 2025 starts in late April with the Irish Boys, and that is followed by the Munster Strokeplay in the first weekend of May. The Boys Home Internationals will round off the clubs hosting duties when they are staged in mid-August.
2024 saw a number of changes in Cork. During the year Peter Loughnane joined as General Manager, Barry Twohig and Owen Davidson took over the catering, and Jimmy Quirke was appointed as the Course Superintendent.
Loughnane is looking forward to seeing some of the top young amateur tee it up in Cork next year.
“Shane Lowry won the last time we hosted the Irish Close, Graeme McDowell won the last time we hosted the Irish Youths, so we are hoping for a winner of similar pedigree from the Flogas Irish Boys’ in April,” said Loughnane.
“Our club member John Carroll is also the captain of the Irish U18 squad in 2025 so it’s great validation of the support that the club has given Golf Ireland over the years that we have our captain on site while we are hosting this event.”
“The Munster stroke play it is the foremost stroke play event in Munster. Last year Paul Coughlan won it and he went on to have a great year and made the Irish Mid-Am team at the end of the season.
“Max Kennedy played in it and made his Challenge Tour card last week.”
The biggest accolade for us is to be trusted with the Home Internationals for boys and girls.
“We try very hard to encourage junior golf in the club for boys and girls. The economic impact shouldn’t be overlooked, the business community in Cork and the tourism community of Cork have been very supportive.”
Elsewhere in the 2025 schedule, Kinsale was also confirmed as the host of the Irish Mens Senior Close and the Irish Senior Women’s Open in Early July.
Kinsale was widely praised after it hosted the Munster Mens Seniors in 2024 and club is no stranger to major events having hosted the GUI Cups and Shields finals in 2012.
Monkstown is also on hosting duties next year, in July the course will host the Munster U16 Boys Open.
The course is currently undergoing with the club completing its bunkering programme on the front nine.
