Ballyclare Golf Club 75th Anniversary (1923-1998)

Founded in 1923 following a meeting on 17 October 1922 at the ‘Central Dining Rooms’. At the time of the meeting the land earmarked for the course comprised 32 acres at Springvale Road and the terms of the lease were accepted. It was the Greens Committee who oversaw the initial layout and by 1928 they had added a new wooden structured clubhouse which was replaced in 1969. Like most clubs the war years proved challenging times and the club struggled to survive but prevailed. By 1958 the negotiation the purchase of the land and financed it by means of life memberships or loans from the members.
During the sixties and seventies the club was purchasing parcels of land and Tom McAuley was the course designer for new course as there was only sixty acres available to the club it was decided to keep to nine holes and it came into play in 1974. The club, with the assistance of government grants up to 50% of the cost, continued to purchased land as it became available and by 1979 the 91 acres was available for an 18-hole course again Tom McAuley (Irish Landscapes Design) took the lead on the course design and the work began in Spring of 1980 and the new course opened on 4 June 1983 (after trail runs in September 1982) and commemorated with Fred Daly driving off with hickory shafted golf clubs and was quickly followed by a clubhouse extension in 1987. The club continued the purchased of land and develop the facilities confident that the debt incurred would be settled and in 1994 a new clubhouse was officially opened. The course was also receiving attention as major drainage schemes, lake management, tree planting and redesigns of holes 4-6 (known as ‘The Loop’ and opened in 1990) were undertaken.
Ballyclare Golf Club is nestled in the rolling countryside of County Antrim and boasts a rich history and a strong reputation for its challenging yet fair layout. Ballyclare Golf Club is a private members’ club owned and operated by its members.
Ballyclare Golf Club offers an 18-hole, par-71 course that stretches to 6,373 yards from the championship tees. The course is known for its tree-lined fairways, strategically placed bunkers, and the meandering Ilsekelly River, which comes into play on several holes. The club won the Junior Cup (2001) and Senior Cup (2004) was the home club for well-known professional golfers Gareth Maybin, Johnny Foster and it was here that a seven-year-old Stephanie Meadow, the Olympian, began her golfing journey.