Silverwood golf club Armagh

Members Achievements

History of Silverwood

What the Club tells us:

Silverwood Golf Club asked long time member and current Club President Frank Gallagher for a few paragraphs on the beginnings of Silverwood Golf Club. In typical Frank fashion, he has went above and beyond the call and wrong an incredible piece as seen below.
These are some of my sketchy memories of how Silverwood golf club came into being.
It was during the mid 70s when I was living in Lisburn and the government at the time were issuing all sorts of incentives to move to Craigavon (New City) and I duly took them up on their offer and moved to Craigavon in 1974. It was during 1975 that I became very aware of the excellent sporting facilities provided in the area. The nine-hole golf course became very appealing to me after watching Tom Watson winning the 1975 British Open that I became interested in the game but I had never played golf in my life. It was at this point that myself and my brother-in-law Eamon McConaghy thought that we should give this game a try.
It was then that we decided to buy a couple of full sets of clubs. Well you couldn’t really call them a full set of clubs, but we each managed to get about six or seven old clubs with Hickory shafts (probably worth a fortune now!) The memory of our first introduction to the game is very vivid. As we stood on the first tee with these clubs and a few old balls, the river seemed to be a long way away, eventually we reached it after five or six shots and probably a few lost balls before we got over it. Eventually we made it to the green with shots too numerous to mention.
As there was no signage to say where the second hole was and we assumed that what now is the eight tee box must be the start of the second hole. We proceeded to play it and flogged our way to the green again losing count of the number of shots taken. The ninth tee box we then reckoned was the start of the third hole, we played it with the same enthusiasm, shots by this stage didn’t matter, The fact that you were able to hit the ball and move it a short way was in itself a measure for success. That brought us back to the first tee box and it was at this stage we decided that even though it was supposed to be a nine hole course you must have to play these three holes three times. It was only when we reached the first green for the third time that we heard voices on the other side of a very high hedge. From memory there appeared to be a hole in the hedge and when we investigated where the voices were coming from, we were able to see the flag on which is now the seventh green.
We spoke the people who were playing the seventh and they directed us to the second hole and explained the layout of the course. That meant that we were playing the course for about six hours that day. It transpired that in order to get to the second hole you had to go through a hole in the hedge to the right of the first green into the lane and then proceed across Boconell Lane and unto the second hole.
After the golf we went to the Country Club Hotel for a few pints and that’s when I reckon that the golfing bug set in. This became a regular occurrence and we started meeting quite a few people like ourselves who played golf just for the sport of it.
Around 1976/77 about 15 or 20 of us started what was then known as the Craigavon Golf Society and at the outset I was in charge of the handicapping. We started off having weekly competitions and all the money for the entrance fees was put into prices for the following week. The draw for the time slots was done by drawing out the cards on the morning of the competition and on the completion of the competition the prices were given out very soon afterwards. We also every now and then had weekends away at other clubs and because of this the society became very popular and the numbers started to increase.
I also remember during these years that there were political decisions made that meant all sporting facilities / Complex’s including swings, swimming pools and parks were to be closed on a Sunday and if you flouted these regulations you would be fined. It meant that though the payment office of the golf complex was closed you still could gain access to the course, A number of members of the society including myself continued to use the course on a Sunday even though there was a police man who stood on the first tee and took names and addresses of everyone who went to tee off.
This happened for a period of time but no prosecutions were ever made because it transpired that the maximum they could’ve fine us was one shilling (5p) and it wasn’t worth the effort.