Above:Many a tall golfing tale has been told in an Irish pub.
the growing enthusiasm for golf and, above all, the setting. Mention must be made of an enchanting place that inspired so much of the poetry of Yeats. No wonder Yeats loved this country so . . .” Among Carr’s fund of golf stories, one of my favourites
concerned a match in the South of Ireland Championship involving local butcher, Mick O’Loughlin and Joe O’Reilly, a Dublin bus conductor from Newlands GC. Down the old 12th at Lahinch, O’Loughlin hooked his tee-shot onto the beach and with the green hidden from view, proceeded to walk up to have a look at his target. Having satisfied himself as to its precise location, he then walked back along the sand to his ball and proceeded to hit a wonderful recovery onto the green, before holing the putt for a birdie three. Whereupon O’Reilly claimed the hole, on the grounds that his
opponent had used his own footprints in the sand as a line for his second shot to the green, thereby employing an outside agency. O’Loughlin insisted, however, that he had done nothing wrong and with the argument raging, they were duly brought before the championship committee. The situation was given careful consideration, not least for the
fact that Mick was a much-loved figure locally. Yet when he admitted that he had, indeed, played over his own footprints when executing his second shot to the 12th, the committee felt obliged to disqualify him. But an outraged O’Loughlin wasn’t finished. Stabbing the air with a finger pointed towards the Newlands player, he retorted: “Did he expect me to stick some seagull feathers up me backside and fly back to my ball?” The decision was reversed.
Their closeness, however, can be gleaned from Slattery’s
decision to promptly send a messenger for O’Loughlin after two American visitors, proud of their golfing skills, suggested they might have a match. And on being informed that the butcher would close his shop for the afternoon so as to accommodate the golf match, one of the Americans concluded: “He can’t make much money doing that.” To which Slattery replied: “No, but think of all the friends he makes.” Dublin golf also has its characters, most notably Michael
Doran, the starter at Portmarnock Links, who seems to reserve his best lines for American visitors. One such occasion happened a few years ago when a group arrived on the first tee, announcing they were from Oklahoma. “I’ve been in Oklahoma,” the bold Michael piped up. Whereabouts, he was asked. Was it Tulsa, perhaps? Or Oklahoma City? “Neither,” said Michael. “I was in the chorus.”
OVER TO YOU
Golf is a game that breeds characters, and nowhere more so than in Ireland. Do you have an Irish golfing story? Share your experience with us on the Golf Ireland/ Time to Play Facebook page.
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