The memory of John Ball

lives on in Ireland

By Liam Connolly

Golf had its beginnings

in Ireland thanks mainly to the influence of the British regiments stationed there in the 19th century. From about 1850 onwards the fledgling game of golf developed slowly to a situation where the first organised Irish golf clubs were founded in the 1880’s. This was a time of growth

in the game of golf in Britain and it was in this decade that, due to the pioneering

efforts of Thomas Owen Potter, Secretary, The Royal Liverpool Golf Club, The Amateur Championship was inaugurated. By the time that this championship was properly established and recognised in the early 1890’s the organisation of golf in Ireland had been put on a proper footing by the establishment of the Golfing Union of Ireland (GUI). This Union founded in 1891 was the first golfing Union in the world. One of the primary objectives of the GUI was to foster and promote the game of golf in Ireland. Observing how the game of golf was organised in Britain

the GUI inaugurated The Irish Amateur Open Championship in 1892. This championship attracted many eminent players from mainland Britain. Two of its most ardent supporters were John Ball and Harold Hilton. In the 1890’s these players were at the peak of their game and were contenders in all the championships that they entered. Remember that, other than the Amateur and Open

Championship, no other ‘majors’ as we know them today, existed. All the leading players were keen to participate in and ideally win the Amateur Championship and indeed any national championships that were played at that time. In the period 1892-1902 the Irish Amateur Open

Championship was won on no less than seven occasions by Messrs. Ball and Hilton, recording their victories on such courses as Newcastle, Dollymount, Portmarnock and Portrush. As far as the Irish golfer was concerned, Ball and Hilton were the big names in the game of golf. The GUI was not just satisfied to organise the Irish Open

Amateur Championships for the leading golfers of the era, it also saw its role as promoting club golf for club golfers as

The Irish Junior Cup

well and inaugurated both the Irish Senior Golf Club Challenge Cup (Senior Cup) and the Irish Junior Golf Club Challenge Cup (Junior Cup) for competition within all its affiliated golf clubs. The trophies were first played for in 1900 and at that time the majority of the golf clubs were located in the northern half of the island of Ireland. The Junior Cup competition is for players with a handicap of 5 or greater and is a match play event with 5 players on the club team. The competition is played at local and regional levels in the earlier stages but then progresses to the Provincial finals from which the 4 teams which play in the All Ireland finals emerge. The National Finals, held every September, are the highlight of the amateur golfing year in Ireland. It was decided that the trophy should be adorned with a

golfing figure on its top. The identity of the player is often a topic of conversation among the cup winners and, generally, following a little research, the figure is quickly recognised as that of John Ball Jr. of Hoylake, and following further enquiries his golfing record is promulgated much to the enjoyment of the golfing aficionados. In the 110 years since its

inauguration the trophy has been won by 58 different clubs. Thus we can be confident that the memory of our great clubman, John Ball, has long been vivid throughout golfing Ireland, and will remain so in the future.

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