Ballyliffin Golf Club's History Of Success And Failures

nd is a bastion of golf course, whether be itwhen the landowners agreed to extend their
parkland or links courses, and they have morelease. The club's association with the Irish Christian
than enough for its 4 million population tobrotherhood has also helped it recruit more
accommodate many other golfers from all overplayers and improve their revenues. By the time
the world. Blessed with beautiful land and scenicthe 1960's were ushering in, the confidence of its
views, vacation golf spots in Ireland are a definitemembers soared and the prospect of owning the
must-play and should provide a wondrous timeland was getting brighter.
whether you are just a beginner or a seasonedThen by the late 60's problems with the land
golfer.arose again as the owners weren’t keen
To those who have already gone and played aton renewing the lease once again. This prompted
the Ballyliffin Golf Club, they have been blessed ofthe club to look for a larger area to lease and
having a chance to play at two great golf coursesconvert into a links course.
adjacent to each other. Both straddles the shoresBy 1970, the Ballyliffin Golf Club transferred to a
of the Atlantic Ocean and provides a challengingmuch bigger area and construction soon started.
game as the wind constantly blows erraticallyBarely three years after 18 holes were ready to
swaying the flight of the golf ball.be played.
Either the old links or the Glashedy links provide aBut problems soon arose again. Financial concerns
relentless pursuit to providing a fun yetplagued the club and the seawall was being eaten
unpredictable day of golfing with the best of theup by the sea as more gravel were being
old and new provided to its members and visitors.removed for the construction. A masterfully
Before the Ballyliffin Golf Club enjoyed its vastplanned charity, bazaars and concerts saved the
popularity today, it has experienced a number ofclub from financial disaster and the stopping of
success and failures that have shaped it to beconstruction by the sea saved the property.
one of the more exciting golf links Ireland has toSoon, more members joined the club and green
offer.fees were rising with its new found fame adding
The concept of starting a golf club in Ballyliffinmore finances to the club's coffers. A new
started out in the later part of the 1940's afterclubhouse was now opened and more facilities and
the Second World War. By then, a group ofamenities were being put up.
people interested in the idea banded together andFive decades after the original group members
leased lands and converted it into a 9-hole golfdecided to start the Ballyliffin Golf Club, a new
course. The club itself prepared the greens beforecourse was now added. By 1993, the construction
playing, doing the menial tasks of mowing thestarted on the new course beside it and was
grass and checking the area.finished two years after. Many professional and
But the development of the club and the coursegolf enthusiasts that the new championship links
itself was a slow and painful process. With such acourse was stunningly beautiful and was well
small club that doesn’t have really anydesigned.
resources at all, frustrations and doubts onWith the success Ballyliffin Golf Club has
whether the club should be continued at allexperienced, and the failures that has made it
flourished. Then the impending end of the leasewhat it is today, you can be sure that a golfing
also was hanging over their heads and the futuretrip to this eventful course would be well worth
of their club was slowly darkening.the long trip from across the globe.
But the sun shone the little golf club from Ballyliffin