Markham's 6,800-mile odyssey unearths some hidden gems
Kevin Markham, author of 'Hooked - An amateur's guide to the golf courses of Ireland' has played every 18 hole course in Ireland, travelling 6,800 miles in his 20-year-old camper van
A Dublin golfer possessed of a glorious madness has succeeded in his solo quest to play every 18-hole golf course in Ireland. And now Greystones GC member Kevin Markham has brought the tale of his 18-month odyssey via camper van to the public with his book: 'Hooked -- An amateur's guide to the golf courses of Ireland' (The Collins Press, €19.95/£18.99).
Camper Van? Oh yeah, baby. A 20-year-old camper van and 6,800 miles of travel around the country.
It was an eventful journey, during which the bold Kevin broke down in Birr, paid €1,500 for repairs, and froze in Newbridge when he had no heat in the van and temperatures dropped to minus five degrees centigrade.
He walked 2,100 miles playing golf, wearing out three pairs of golf shoes in the process. The most golf balls he lost in one round was eight, which happened at The Heritage, and he witnessed the death of a crow struck by an exocet shot by a playing partner at Ballykisteen.
There were other mishaps, such as breakdowns, punctures, broken wing mirrors and visits from the police but, as he says, "I had fun. Lots of it.
"Standing on the skyline at Carne, playing the brilliant Ballybunion, coasting through the beauty of Adare, chatting in clubhouse bars, marvelling at courses you've never heard of -- you have to admit Ireland has it all and there's no better place to play golf."
descriptive
A freelance advertising copywriter by trade, Markham has no difficulty with the descriptive prose and, as a seven handicap, he knows his golf.
But how did it all start?
It began in the simplest of ways at his own golf club with two words: Newcastle West. Two words and a placename that sparked the journey of a lifetime. Let Kevin explain.
"I was sitting with some other golfers in the bar at Greystones. Somebody asked about Newcastle West golf club. No disrespect to Newcastle West, but I had never heard of it. None of the others had either.
"So that got me thinking about all the golf courses out there that people know nothing about. I think that's wrong. That, and the kind of money the big courses were charging, like the K Club.
"Everybody hears about the big courses, but many people don't know that you can find other courses that also give a very good golfing experience. It may not be the same as The K Club, but for €30 you can still enjoy a nice round of golf.
"And then I started wondering if it would be possible to play every golf course in Ireland. Of course the other motivation was, from my own point of view, that I could go out and play all the best courses in the country."
Markham considered playing all the courses in the country but settled on playing just the 18-hole layouts -- all 349 of them.
"To add the nine-hole courses would have just taken too long and some of them are upgrading to 18 holes, so I felt it best to just concentrate on the 18-hole courses," he said.
The mission was simple: play every course, write a description of it, and rate it. Markham came up with as comprehensive a rating system as he could.
Each course was ranked out of 100 and there were eight categories: Course Design (CD) -- 20 points; Appeal (A) -- 10 points; Greens/Fairways (G/F) -- 10 points; Bunkers/Water (B/F) -- 10 points; Location (L) -- 10 points; Facilities (F) -- 10 points; Value for Money (V) -- 10 points; Golf Experience (G Ex) -- 20 points.
For example, Dooks in County Kerry gets a total rating of 94, made up under the aforementioned headings in this way: CD -- 18; A -- 10; G/F -- 10; B/W -- 10; L -- 10; F -- 8; V -- 10; G Ex -- 19.
A high rating indeed, but this is a course that offers, in the author's words, "a stunning golf experience".
Markham has been blunt about some venues that didn't appeal to him, but he says: "I was told I'd make some enemies, but I set out to give an honest view of what I found at each course."
The first reason golfers will pick up this book is to see, 'what does this guy say about my course?' And depending on its ratings, he or she will praise or pan it.
However, from an objective point of view, it's a valuable addition to golfing reference books, especially as the author sets out to give the 'ordinary' golfer's assessment of each course.
Last Saturday I played an open fourball at Turvey, near Donabate in North Dublin -- great value at €15 per head -- and could not disagree with Markham's statement in his review of that course that it "falls into that category of appealing courses that always entertain".
My playing partners, all non-Turvey members, also enjoyed their game. It just proves Kevin Markham's view that you don't have to pay hundreds of euro to enjoy a game of golf in this country.
HEHIRS A CUT ABOVE IN SAWGRASS CHALLENGE
After three months of qualifiers on the Championship Golf Course at Adare Manor Hotel & Golf Resort, the winners of the Adare Manor Sawgrass Challenge were determined in a 12-team playoff .
The winning team comprised of the Hehir brothers -- Micheal, Fergal, Thomas and Mervin -- from the Crosses of Annagh, Co Clare, who shot a score of 95 and will now jet off to the world-famous TPC Sawgrass, Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, for a six-day golfing challenge against a selection from their hosts.
Fergal and Thomas are members of Woodstock GC, Micheal is a member of Gort GC and Mervin is a member of Portlaoise GC.
Over 320 teams participated in the challenge since January with teams qualifying on a weekly basis.
- Liam Kelly
