Killarney lay foundations to return resort to former glory

A plan aiming to restore Killarney’s reputation as one of the premier parkland golf resorts in the country has just been launched.

The club have engaged consultants Golf Course Maintenance Services (GCMS), which will work with the club’s course maintenance team to ensure a positive future for a club that have had their share of mixed headlines of late.

Killarney have engaged the services of Gerry Byrne, resort superintendent at the K Club, who will oversee progress on both the Killeen and Mahony’s Point courses to ensure they are skilfully developed and presented at their best.

Mr Byrne has spearheaded course developments for 11 European Open championships as well as directing the course preparation project for the 2006 Ryder Cup at the K Club. He will also be to the forefront of preparations for the 2018 Ryder Cup which will be staged at Le Golf National, on the outskirts of Versailles, near Paris.

The consultant will work with Killarney’s own agronomy supervisor, Enda Murphy, to improve playing facilities on the two championship courses.

“The courses here have struggled throughout a few particularly long winters and it has presented us with many challenges. Restoration work has started and there has already been a marked improvement in playing facilities,” said Byrne.

“It is very much a work in progress but our aim is to have Killarney back where it belongs as one of the top courses in the country within a short period of time. Certainly by the spring of 2014 it should be fast approaching its best.”

The team has immediate plans to redevelop the greens to radically improve surfaces and green speed. Fairways, bunkers, pathways and the surrounding landscape will also be afforded a major overhaul.

Murphy, who first joined the club staff in 1992, returned to Killarney after a successful spell working on golf course developments in Minnesota. He held the position of head greenkeeper at the Lackabane course in Killarney from 1998 until it was sold by Killarney Golf Club Ltd last year.

“Enda has a fantastic eye for detail and he is very much the key to the success of this project. Our role is to provide a shoulder for him to lean on in terms of mentoring, monitoring and fine-tuning,” said Byrne.

The new agronomy supervisor, a native of Killarney, will lead a 10-strong greenkeeping team and said he is really looking forward to the challenges ahead.

One of the first challenges for the new regime at Killarney Golf Club will be the hosting of a Senior Scratch Cup on July 13-14.