Ambitious Start to 2024 for Druids Glen Golf

Firstly, I would like to wish you all a prosperous 2024 and hope you are all getting out on the course as much as possible and keeping well. 

Unfortunately, the weather has been poor so far this year, but Spring and Summer are around the corner, and we will get back to playing golf, meeting each other, and back to competitive golf very soon.

Following on from a very successful 2023 golf season in Druids Glen Hotel & Golf Resort, a year in which Druids Glen Golf Club was officially re-opened to high acclaim; a year in which Druids Glen won the award for Best Golf Resort in Ireland at the IGTOA awards, it is safe to say that 2024 has commenced with the same high ambitions and great intentions when it comes to golf for myself and the golf team here in the Resort.

The obvious question on everybody’s mind; How could this possibly be true? 

The PGA Show and Curracloe

To begin, the announced development by Neville Hotels of Curracloe Links. A new links golf course in County Wexford along the beautiful southeast coast of Ireland as part of Ravenport Resort. The development will be the fifth hotel and the third golf course from the group, in addition to the Royal Marine Hotel in Dun Laoghaire, Druids Glen Hotel and Golf Resort in County Wicklow, the River Court Hotel in Kilkenny, and the Tower Hotel in Waterford. From a golfing perspective, the group now boasts three courses; Druids Glen Golf Club, Druids Heath Golf Club, and Curracloe Links scheduled to open in 2026.

The promotion of Druids Glen, coupled with the announcement of Curracloe Links, resulted in me packing my bags and jetting off to Orlando, Florida for the annual PGA Show. A first for me!

On the morning of my flight, I must admit, I was feeling genuinely nervous. I am not usually a nervous person but given the incredible news I was bringing to the market, I couldn't help but feel anxious. I knew I was going to be busy, discussing all things Druids Glen and Curracloe with the various media and business meetings ahead of me. There were also several games of golf planned and, given my recent form on the golf course, I was more nervous about the golf than the meetings!  

However, when I arrived at Dublin Airport my mind was immediately put at ease recognising so many familiar faces from the Irish golf industry. The airport bar and flight was dominated by Irish golf industry professionals, there was a great mix of Sales Managers, directors of golf, general managers, tour operators, golf pros, and tech experts. It’s a well-known fact that nobody does golf or hospitality like the Irish, the golf industry in Ireland is synonymous with fun, laughter, and inclusiveness. Given it was my first show, my experienced colleagues from the industry were extremely welcoming, offering great advice on how to make the most of the show.

With my mind at ease, I boarded the nine-hour flight to Orlando. Making my way to my seat, I spotted Druids Glen junior member Shauna on the flight. who was off to develop an already very strong golf game in Orlando, well done Shauna! 

After landing and checking into the hotel, I quickly unpacked and got a good night's sleep to prepare for the week ahead. The first thing on our agenda was to register for the show. A quick visit to the Orange County Convention Centre showed the true scale of the PGA Show, 35,000 people would make the daily pilgrimage to the Convention Centre. To walk from one end of the show to the other would easily take 30 minutes. My hometown's main street does not take me 30 minutes to walk when I’m out walking with my dog. Everything to do with golf is under one roof at the PGA Show, from clothing to golf carts and everything in between. 

Before the show kicked off, Ireland’s world-class golf was highlighted to around 120 golf pros and buyers, at a special Ireland Golf Day – sponsored by Tourism Ireland, North & West Coast Links Golf Ireland, and SWING Golf Ireland – at the Reunion Resort & Golf Club near Orlando. The day was fantastic! My team did well in the competition, and I even won the nearest-to-pin contest. The best part of the day for me personally was listening to all the incredible feedback on the newly restored Druids Glen. Everyone I spoke to who played the course in 2023 had only positive feedback regarding the new Druids Glen experience. Huge credit must go to our greenkeeping team, clubhouse staff, and golf team for this. Additionally, the feedback on our reservations team was phenomenal, it does show the importance of being “easy” to do business with, especially when it comes to the booking process.

The Irish Golf Day is a fantastic event that helps you settle into the week ahead. I can't thank Tourism Ireland, North & West Coast Links Golf Ireland, and SWING Golf Ireland enough for organizing it.

The event spanned over three days and to say that my three days were intense would be an understatement.

I met with Jason Straka in person for the first time on the eve of Day 1. Let me tell you the first and probably most important lesson I learned; Jason Straka is a golf celebrity in North America. Jason is one half of Fry/Straka Global Golf Course Design, which is a partnership with worldwide reach in award-winning golf course design. Jason is also the lead designer of Curracloe Links.

With more than two decades of experience, architects Dana Fry and Jason Straka, bring their collective design experience, talent, indomitable spirit, and renowned client dedication to their shared enterprise, with global scope and limitless possibilities. Many of their designs have been highly acclaimed, including Erin Hills, The Pulpit Club, Acaya Golf Club, and Calusa Pines. When word spread that Jason was not only designing a golf course but that it would be a new Links course in Ireland, the media reaction was insane! All of our appointments filled quickly for the week and the number of press interviews skyrocketed and the nerves returned. 

I recall being called over by one of the Tourism Ireland team members, I was told Ann Liguori wanted a chat with me. Like an eejit, I said no problem, of course, not understanding what I was getting myself into. I quickly learned Ann Liguori is a nationally known sports radio and television personality, talk show host, journalist, author, and television producer in the world of sports media. Ann was the first woman to host a call-in sports show on WFAN-New York, where she hosted a sports talk show for over 20 years and continues as the station's golf and tennis correspondent, covering events including The Masters, the U.S. Open, PGA Championships, US Open and special competitions such as the Ryder Cup. I was LIVE on the show. No cut and edit, LIVE!!! I managed to watch my p’s & q’s and get through that interview. It was only after the interview that I learned how many people had tuned in to listen. I was thrilled to receive this feedback after the fact.

An Interview with Jason Straka 

On day two of the show, Tourism Ireland organised a panel discussion for top American golf journalists. Hosted by Matt Adams of NBC Golf Channel, the panel included Jason Straka, Jason was asked if he felt the pressure of building what is likely to be the last newly constructed Links course in Ireland. I thought his answer was brilliant:

"I look at it as an honour, quite honestly". 

"The pressure is frankly getting the job. It’s going to be an experience of a lifetime."

When asked about the course in Curracloe, Jason gave some great insight.

"Stylistically, we want to do something maybe a little bit different in links golf, something that hasn’t been seen in Ireland," says Straka, comparing his proposed look somewhat to Bill Coore’s and Ben Crenshaw’s design at Friar’s Head in New York.

“There's some that are out there, where the land sort of talking to you on a hole design, looking down over the town of Wexford and out to the coast,”. 

“We need to make sure we add all the nuances to this design. So, you do know that the postcard-perfect backdrop of the 12th hole with the sheep in the background is on purpose, right? We're creating that painting to where it’s 18 holes of a journey."

Below is the proposed course layout in Curracloe:

On the final day of the show, I was on my own and the interviews were fewer without Jason. However, I wasn’t complaining about that at all. Another big takeaway for me was how impressed the Tour Operators I met were with the scope of Neville Hotels. 

Telling Tour Operators that we boast hotels in five counties along 'Irelands Ancient East' and three golf courses, catering to every golfer’s need. A picturesque parkland, rugged heathland, and seaside links set us apart when coupled with the already great feedback received solely on Druids Glen Hotel & Golf Resort.

Course Enhancements Continue at Druids Glen

Upon returning to Ireland, it was time to return to work and focus on continuous improvement at Druids Glen. The first thing I did was catch up with our Course Superintendent Jonathan Bradshaw. When I say I've been busy recently, it pales in comparison to Jonathan and his excellent team. The team worked tirelessly throughout the restoration program to ensure that we hit all deadlines and opened our gates in May of last year. 

Jonathan can verify that we have invested in not only the course and clubhouse facilities but also the machinery. The resort now boasts a state-of-the-art machinery fleet which includes everything needed to produce top quality surfaces. This investment in ongoing deliveries of this fleet will still be ongoing up to May of this year.

Landscaping is another huge part of our continuous improvement plan and the planting and planting schemes have been a great success within the overall concept of the agronomic plan.

On a positive note, we have added an apiary to the resort which will see eighty thousand bees which will produce honey and help our environmental impact within the resort.

We have also commenced our Greens Maintenance Programme across both courses.

We will complete our first major hollow-coring of greens in Druids Glen Golf Club and continue our ongoing aeration and hollow-coring of greens in Druids Heath. There will be two major aeration and hollow-coring programmes undertaken this year, one in March and the second later in the year. This mechanical aeration will have a huge benefit to the greens and is an essential part of the current agronomic programme. We will use over 150 tonnes of topdressing sand on the putting surfaces in March and this will be ongoing throughout the year. This will reduce organic matter and help refine the putting surfaces.

A new state-of-the-art soil surfactant programme was implemented over the past three years, and this has helped the sward throughout the summer season and has meant that the volume metric water levels within the putting surfaces have met the optimum levels all playing season.

I was also sure to relay to Jonathan and his team that the feedback received at the PGA show on our agronomy was first class.

The Member's Year Ahead: Teamwork Drives Member Experience at Druids Glen

As a Director of Golf, you realise very quickly that when it comes to member engagement, you are entirely reliant on the support and good working relationship with your Captains. 

I want to take this opportunity to thank last year’s Captains and Committees and their respective sub-committees for their hard work and dedication to their members and the club. Thanks, must also be expressed to the past Captains for their assistance in their handover of tasks and paperwork. 

I met with Vincent Lynch (Captain Druids Glen 2024) Maureen Mulvihill (Captain of Lady’s Club Druids Heath 2024) and Karl Maher (Captain of Men’s Club Druids Heath 2024) early in the New Year regarding all feedback they receive and action points stemming from member feedback.

The captains ensure that all member's needs and wants from a club perspective are achieved each year. In addition, we are extremely grateful to those members who offer their support and time to assist with interclub teams, competitions, and social roles.

I look forward to working with this year's Captains to implement further improvements to both Druids Glen Golf Club and Druids Heath Golf Club. They are hugely passionate about ensuring the experience at the Resort, wherever possible, exceeds expectations for both members and guests of the resort.