Golf
Lough Erne is one of the jewels in the crown in terms of golfing resorts in Northern Ireland and offers some of the most idyllic views in the country. Chris McCullough went along to meet Course Superintendent Sean Reilly to discover how things are progressing under new, American ownership
T
he Lough Erne five star golf resort extends to 600 acres and sits in the heart of County Fermanagh, which is famous for its many lakes, and offers not one but two courses for
both professional and amateur golfers. The Faldo Championship Golf Course is by
far the best known of the two courses and, as you can guess, was designed by six time major winner Nick Faldo. The resort has been chosen as a venue to
host a future Irish Open Golf Championship thanks to the popularity and respect the course has earned amongst top golfing professionals over the years. The resort itself is also famous for having hosted the G8 summit of world leaders back
in 2013, when snipers lay in wait in the sand dunes keeping an eye on UK Prime Minister David Cameron’s meetings with presidents Obama and Putin and the others. At that time, the resort was undergoing a period of financial uncertainty and was up for sale by the administrators. However, in August 2014, the resort was snapped up by US billionaire Tony Saliba and his associates, who have invested heavily in the business and are now taking a very much hands on approach to running it. A resort this size takes a lot of looking
after and, for the past nine years, the man with all the responsibility is Golf Course Superintendent, Sean Reilly. Prior to taking up the position at Lough Erne, Sean had
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