Tandragee golf club Armagh

Members Achievements

James Hewitt was selected on the Ulster Interprovincial Championship team at Moyvalley Golf Club from Tuesday 29th August to Thursday 31st August 2023.
Other members of the team were Fionn Dobbin (Malone Golf Club), Lewis Gowdy (Bangor Golf Club), Cian Harkin (Letterkenny Golf Club), Darcy Hogg (Belvoir Park Golf Club), Jordan Hood (Galgorm Castle Golf Club), Shane McDermott (Slieve Russell Golf Club) and Rory Williamson (Holywood Golf Club).
They were Captained by Rory Leonard (Banbridge Golf Club) and Managed by Peter Waddell (Knock Golf Club).

Tandragee Golf Club qualified for the Quarter-Finals of the All-Ireland of the Irish Senior Cup at Tramore Golf Club on Saturday 3rd September 2022.
They were drawn against Lahinch Golf Club and won their match by 3½-matches to 1½-matches.
They were led out by James Hewitt who won his match against Aaron McNulty by 4 and 3, he was followed by Adam Brown who went down by 5 and 4 against Stephen Loftus, next up was William Small who had a 2 and 1 win against Michael O’Kelly, in the penultimate match Ross Dutton also had a 2 and 1 win against Mark Campbell and the bottom match of Stefan Greenberg against Thomas Neenan was halved when called-in.
They met Carton House Golf Club in the All-Ireland Semi-Final the following morning but lost out to the Co. Kildare Club by 4-matches to 1-match.
James Hewitt led them out against Darragh Flynn and recorded a halve, next on the tee was Jamie Stothers who lost his match by the minimum against Marc Boucher, he was followed by William Small who halved his match against Keith Egan, in the penultimate match Ross Dutton had a bad day when going down to Aidan Dooley by 7 and 5 and the bottom match of      Stefan Greenberg against Paul O’Hanlon went 3 and 1 to the Maynooth Club.  
Carton House met Cushendall in the All-Ireland decider and went on to win the green pennant by 4-matches to 1-match.                                                 

Tandragee Golf Club won the All-Ireland Jimmy Bruen Shield at Westport Golf Club on 21st September 2019 when they beat Leinster Champions The Island Golf Club by 3-matches to 2-matches.

In the top match Benjamin Boyd with James McConville lost their match against John Grant with Paul Cullen by 3 and 2, they were followed by Christopher Fearon with Adam Proctor had a very comfortable 6 and 5 win against John W. White with John Blake, next on the tee was Johnny Quinn with Dean Acheson who lost their match on the 19th against Conor and Cillian Hurley, in the penultimate match John Haffey with Andrew Thompson won their match by 1-hole against Cian McCormack with Rory Govan and the bottom match of Jeff Forde with Aidan Place had to go up the 19th before securing the point and the green pennant against John Gartland with Conor McGleenon.
They were drawn against Connacht Champions Roscommon Golf Club in the All-Ireland Semi-Final and recorded a 3½-matches to 1½-matches against the team from the West.
They were led out by Dean Acheson with Johnny Quinn who halved their match against Kevin Connaughton with John Walker, they were followed by Christopher Fearon with Adam Proctor who had a 3 and 2 win against Francis Grehan with John McHale, next on the tee was Benjamin Boyd with James McConville who beat Jack Sharkey with David Farrell by 2 and 1, in the penultimate match Jeff Forde with Aidan Place had a similar result against Fionn Horan with Sean McGahon and in the bottom match Paul Headley with James Campbell lost out by 5 and 3 against Matt Farrell with Shane McConn.

Tandragee Golf Club won the Ulster Final of the Jimmy Bruen Shield at Edenmore Golf Club on Sunday 18th August 2019 when the beat Balmoral Golf Club by 4-matches to 1-match.
They were led out by Dan Acheson with Johnny Quinn who had a 1-hole win over Donagh Finnegan with John Toner, they were followed by J. Forde with Aidan Place who beat Paul McKee with Anthony Dougan by 4 and 3, next up was Christopher Fearon with Adam Proctor who recorded a 4 and 2 win over Dermot Rooney with Jack Flynn, the bottom two matches of Benjamin Boyd with James McConville against Aidan Finnegan with Andrew McCallin and Paul Headley with James Campbell against Jonathan Flynn with James Boyle were recorded as halves when called-in. They made their way to Westport Golf Club to participate in the All-Ireland deciders.

The boys of Tandragree Golf Club were runners-up in the All-Ireland Fred Daly Trophy at Moyola Park Golf Club on Tuesday 25th August 2015 when they lost out to Leinster Champions Kilkenny Golf Club by 4½-matches to 2½-matches.
First on the tee William Small who won his match against Mark Power on the 19th he was followed by David Cunningham who won his match against Luke Donnelly by 1-hole, next up was Jake Rowe who lost out to Evin Power by 2-holes he was followed by Edward Rowe who lost out to Brian Crowdle by 2 and 1 , next up was Peter Taylor who lost his match against Harry Duggan by 5 and 4 in the penultimate match Cameron Fox halved his match against Richard Duggan, in the bottom match Jordan McKenzie lost his match against Jeff Kealy by 3 and 2.
They played Munster Champions Mallow Golf Club in the All-Ireland Semi-Final and recorded a 5½-match to 1½-matches win over the North Cork team.
First on the tee was William Small who beat Conor Roche by 3 and 2, he was followed by David Cunningham who went all the way to the 20th before beating Edward Walsh, next up was Jake Rowe who had a 2 and 1 win over Greg Barrett, Edward Rowe recorded the same margin against Liam Dowling, Peter Taylor lost out to Eoin Aherne by 1-hole, in the penultimate match Cameron Fox had a 2-hole win over Roy Whelan and in the bottom match Jordan McKenzie recorded a  halve with Daniel O’Sullivan.

Tandragee Golf Club won the Ulster Final of the Jimmy Bruen Shield when they beat Greenisland Golf Club by 3½ matches to 1½ matches at Letterkenny Golf Club on 9th August 2013.
They made the long journey to Royal Tara Golf Club to participate in the National Deciders. They were drawn against Connaught Champions Athlone Golf Club in the All-Ireland Semi-Final. They were led by S. Burns with J. Rowe who beat Thomas Gilhooly with M. Evens by 2 and 1 they were followed by P. Hedley with C. Fearon who had a 1-hole win over Conor Rice with Mark Kelly next up was G. Haire with M. Bannerman who recorded a 2 and 1 win over Tony Corry with Gerry Kelly the penultimate match of W. Jardine with W. Small was halved against C. Quilty with Michael Ryan in the bottom match E. Nixon with J. Quinn had a 3 and 2 win over John Rice with Desmond Rush.
They met Munster Champions Killorglin Golf Club in the All-Ireland Final on Saturday 21st September, this time they were led out by S. Burns with J. Campbell who beat J. Joy with Denis Byrd by 4 and 2 they were followed by P. Headley with C. Fearon who lost out to Keith O’Sullivan with Cormac Foley by 3 and 2 next up was G. Haire with M. Bannerman who lost their match against Roberty Kennedy with Shane Collins by 3 and 1 in the penultimate match J. Ford with B. Fyffe went to the 18th before losing their match against Mike Ashe with John McCarty and with it the green pennant the bottom match of E. Nixon with J. Quinn against Joe Kennedy with Darragh Carmody was halved when called-in.

Tandragee Golf Club won the Ulster Final of the Jimmy Bruen Shield when they beat Cushendall Golf Club on Friday 13th August 2010 by 5 matches to 0 matches in the decider.

They made the long journey to Castlebar Golf Club to compete in the National Deciders where they met Connacht Champions Swinford Golf Club in the All-Ireland Semi-Final on Friday 17th September. First on the tee was Gordon Haire with Johnny Quinn against Sean Geraghty with Niall McNicholas who won their match by 3 and 2, they were followed by Stefan Greenberg with Mark Bannerman who lost their match against Eamon Byrne with Tomas Geraghty 2 and 1, next up was Ryan Harpur with Warren Jardine against Sean Kavanagh with Simon Ronane who won their match by the solitary 1-hole. The penultimate match of Ross Dutton with Stefan McNeill who won their match against Michael Rooney with Kevin Feeney by 2 and 1 and the bottom match of Emmit Nixon with Jeff Forde against David Ronane with Niall O’Neill was halved.

They met Leinster Champions Clontarf Golf Club in the All-Ireland Final the following morning. First on the tee was Gordon Haire with Johnny Quinn against Sean and Conor Stone this match went all the way to the 20th green before Clontarf secured the point, they were followed by Stefan Greenberg with Mark Bannerman who won their match against D. Cameron with M. O’Flynn by 3 and 2, next up was Ryan Harpur with Warren Jardine who lost their match against Ray Maguire with Adam Burke. The penultimate match of Ross Dutton with Stefan McNeill against Paul O’Brien with Tony Duffy was halved and the bottom match of Emmit Nixon with Jeff Forde against Paul McLoughlin & Paul Kealy went 3 and 2 to the Dublin pair. 

Tandragee Golf Club won their first Ulster Championship in the Pierce Purcell Shield when they beat Moyola Park Golf Club by 3 matches to 2 matches at Lurgan Golf Club on 27thAugust 2006.

It was on to Enniscrone Golf Club for the National Finals, where they where drawn against Connaught Champions Loughrea Golf Club in the All-Ireland Semi-Final on Thursday 14thSeptember.

First on the tee were Philip Mehaffey with Sean McReynolds against Gerry Lynch with Aidan Donohue, this match went all the way to the 19th-hole before first blood went to the men from the West. Next up were Don Johnston with Terry Davies who went down to Ronan Killeen with Derek Keane by 2 and 1. They were followed by Harry Hall with Keith Steenson against Johnny Greally with Paul Keane this match resulted in a halve. The penultimate match resulted in another halve with John Hanna with Barry Steenson against Kevin Greally with John Flynn. The last match of Billy Wilson with Jim Padlow against Matt Kavanagh with John Dervan saw the men from the West have a convincing 7 and 5 win and their ticket to the All-Ireland Final the following day.

The Ladies of Tandragee Golf Club won the Mid Ulster Alliance in 2005, when the team was, L. Lawson, I. McAteer, D. Richards, J. McCarten, B. Ward, B. Richardson, M. Lappin and L. Weir.

Prior to 2001

Tandragee Golf Club won the Ulster Final of the Barton Shield in 1991, when the team was, N. Hazard, S. Pall, G. Sherman and P. Topley, they were captained by B. Hazard.

Tandragee won the Holt Shield in 1995, when the team was, E. Nixon, A. Eagle, K. Poole, M. Armstrong, J. Nicholson, R. Black and N. Walker, they were captained by T. Davies.

Tandragee won the Senior Cowdy in 2000.

The Ladies of Tandragee Golf Club won the Cowdy Cup in 1999, when the team was, Barbara Ward, Kathleen Acheson, Sadie Robinson, Caroline Warde, Barbara Richardson and Claire Donnell, they were captained by Vera Brady.

Members who played representative golf for Country or Province;

Stewart Paul represented Ireland as a Senior International from2001 to 2002 playing 11-times, won 6-matches halved one and lost 4-matches accumulating 13-points. He represented Ireland at international Youths level from 1990 to 1992 playing 14-matches, won 6-matches halved one and lost 7-matches accumulating 13-points. He represented Ireland at Irish Boys level from 1988 to 1989 playing 11-times won 7-matches halved one and lost 3-matches accumulating 15-points. He represented Ulster in the Senior Interprovincial’s from 1990 to 2002 playing 55-times won 25-matches halved eight and lost 22-matches accumulating 58-points. He represented Ulster as a Youth in the Interprovincial Championships from 1988 to 1992 playing 26-times won 14-matches halved two and lost 10-matches accumulating 30-points;

Adam Brown represented Ulster at the Boys Interprovincial Championships in 2010 playing 5-times won 3-matches and lost 2-matches accumulating 6-points;

History of Tandragee

Instituted 1920 affiliated1922: The original, nine holes were built in, 1911 by the, Duke of Manchester with the club being formed in 1920. An additional nine holes were opened for play in 1974 and the land purchased from the Duke of Manchester’s Estate in 1997.

A new clubhouse was built in 1981 with extensions added in 1984 and 1989. New land was purchased and the course lengthened by 400m with 4 new holes being made. These were opened in 1997, which raised the par from 69 to 71.

1911The ninth Duke of Manchester, brought Mr. John Stone, an eminent Scottish professional from Sandy Lodge Golf Club on London, to lay out a private course on his estate in Tandragee. In those days, there was no clubhouse and Mr. Stone, his wife and their two daughters collected fees at the Gate Lodge where they had set up residence. The Duchess of Manchester, who was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.A., even designed some of the original bunkers which were laid out in the shape of the Great Lakes and these remain to this day.

1922
The club became affiliated to the Golfing Union of Ireland.

1923
Membership broke through the ‘100' barrier for the first time.

1928
Green fees were set at "two shillings per day with no reduction for visitors staying with members overnight". The Council decided to procure a cup for a ladies open competition to be called ‘The Manchester Cup’. This competition is now one of the most popular ladies competitions held in Northern Ireland. At this time, the men had three competitions and there also was an annual caddies competition where the first prize for the caddies was 10 shillings (80 cents). There was regular problems supervising caddies and a rule was introduced that "any caddies under 14 who absent themselves from school for the purpose of caddying will be expelled from the club".

1930
The Club appointed its first auditor as there had been a large increase in members (185) and associated income.

1933
At the invitation of Council, Dr. Evans from the Board of Green-keeping Research produced a report on the greens and the club decided to accept his recommendations to purchase a tractor for £159 ($230) and triple gang mower for £138 ($200).

1934
At the A.G.M. membership stood at 125 men, 77 ladies and 14 juveniles – a total of 216. There were 675 visitors during the year paying £64 ($93) in green fees and the balance in the bank was £48 ($70) in debit.

1939
The Council decided to allow Members of His Majesty’s Forces free use of the course during the war. It is alleged that some members threatened to park their tanks on the greens if they were not permitted to play on Sundays as the course was only open six days per week.

1941
All Open fixtures were cancelled in this year because of the war and petrol rationing.

1942
The weekly wage of the Greenkeeper, Mr. J. Patterson, was increased by 5 shillings (35 cents) and he was given permission to go to nearby Portadown for six days on a Home Guard Training Course.

1949
The club received a notice to quit from the Duke of Manchester’s Estate to take effect on 12th November 1949. After many meetings and prolonged negotiations, the club agreed to a 10 year lease at a rent of £100 ($145 ) for the first year and £150 ($220) for the following 9 years.

1953
At this time the course was used to graze sheep and it was passed at Council that the Greenkeeper should spend one-third of his time cleaning up sheep droppings on the course.

1954
A new tractor was bought for £250 ($360 ) but it was thought that a direct water supply at £100 ($145) was out of the question at this time.

1958
An extension to the lease for the course was successfully negotiated for another 9 years.

1962
Membership stood at 158 gentlemen, 50 ladies and 22 juniors.

1965

Work started on an extension to the Clubhouse, comprising of a new dining room and kitchen.

1967

A rule was passed at the A.G.M. so that the course would be open for play on Sundays. Membership stood at 233 gentlemen, 61 ladies and 26 juniors. A new lease for a further 7 years was agreed with the Duke of Manchester’s Estate. This included 39.8 acres of woodland and an additional 5 acres of meadow.

1970

The Club was granted a license for selling intoxicating liquor.

1971
In June, an additional nine holes were added to the original nine.

1974
New members were joining at a tremendous rate – 110 joined this year with total membership now standing at 490.

1975
The course was purchased from the Duke of Manchester’s Estate for £39,380 ($57,000). Plans were being made for a new clubhouse to be built in three to four years.

1976
An interim extension was carried out to the clubhouse which was too small for the numbers wishing to use the facilities.

1977
Installation of a water irrigation system was carried out at a cost of £17,000 ($25,000).

1980
The first sod of the new clubhouse was cut on 3rd March.

1981
The clubhouse was completed and occupied on 11th May and an Open Week was held in August to celebrate this important development in the Club’s history which also involved a Pro-am held during the week. The club now had over 700 members.

1984
The Club was thriving, both in membership terms and on the playing front, and, in response to the continued increase in membership, another extension was made to the clubhouse.

1989
Yet another extension to the clubhouse was made with enlargement of the Function Room, a fitness suite and a sauna being added. An active social scene at the Club was evident with many evenings of entertainment taking place, as well as regular bowls and fitness training nights.

1991
Further development on the course was carried out comprising of a new 18th green with adjacent pond, new first tee and extensive landscaping around the course.

1992
Council decided to subscribe to the Sports Turf Research Institute who would provide continued advice on development of the course and provide an annual report.

1993
A borehole was sunk which supplied enough water for the course sprinkler system and the clubhouse.

1994
Membership stood at 624 gentlemen, 195 ladies and 100 juniors. Green staff was increased to 5 full-time employees. The tees at the 6th and 8th were rebuilt and a new lake provided at the 6th.

1995
A major re-furbishment of the Function Room and lounges was undertaken at a cost of £75,000 ($110,000). Additional land was purchased for over £100,000 ($145,000) to extend and improve the course.

1997
Four new holes opened on 2nd May following extensive work over the previous two years. The new holes involve lengthening the course by 400 metres and raising the par to 71. Total membership stands at 625 gentlemen, 200 ladies, 150 juniors and over 500 social members. The club becomes the first golf club in Northern Ireland to have it’s own site on the World Wide Web.

1998
The Clubhouse ‘Manchester Lounge’ was re-named ‘The Austin Best Lounge’ in memory of the late Austin Best who for many years served as an Official and later Secretary Manager of the Club. The main function room was then named ‘The Manchester Room’.

1999
Following a survey of the course by one of their field operatives, Tandragee joined the Ulster Wildlife Trust as a Corporate Member. Wolsey White was appointed Course Manager. David Clayton took over as Secretary/Manager.

2000

A new 12th green came into play following a complete rebuild. Membership at the start of the new Millennium stood at 670 gentlemen, 128 ladies and 94 juniors.

2001
Ashley Stewart joined David in the office as his Personal Assistant. Stuart Paul (right) won the North of Ireland Amateur Championship at Royal Portrush GC and went on to represent Ireland, truly putting Tandragee on the map in golfing terms. The 5th & 6th holes were rebuilt. These should come into play in 2003.

2002
Stuart Paul adds the West of Ireland Amateur Championship title (played at County Sligo GC) to the North of Ireland Amateur which he currently holds.

2003
The new 5th & 6th holes were opened in May 2003. Work begins in August 2003 on re-designing the 1st and 2nd greens.

2004
The new 1st and 2nd greens open for play.