Dundalk Golf Club 1905-2005 – History of Dundalk Golf Club

Dundalk Golf Club has a rich history dating back to 1893 when a nine-hole course was first laid out at Deer Park by Captain McLaren and P.L. McArdle when the military (13th Hussars) had been transferred from the Curragh and then moved to Dublin in 1897. The club was officially founded in 1904 and affiliated with the Golfing Union of Ireland in 1905. The course was initially located at Deer Park (play prohibited May-September) west of Dundalk and designed by George Coburn but moved south east to its current location in Blackrock in 1922. Tom Shannon and James Martin were engaged as course designers. The lands at Blackrock were bought outright in 1938.

The course has undergone several redesigns, with the most notable changes made by James Braid in 1934 and later by Peter Alliss and David Thomas in 1980. The course features several signature holes, including the 4th hole, a long par 5 with a narrow fairway, and the 18th hole, a challenging par 4 that requires precision to avoid the water hazard. Dundalk Golf Club is set on an elevated site above the seaside village of Blackrock, Co. Louth, offering magnificent panoramic views across Dundalk Bay.

The blue riband event for the golf club is the 36-hole Scratch Cup which was started in 1963 and can count many of the great Irish golfers on its list of winners. The great golfers most associated with Dundalk Golf Club include Yvonne Cassidy, Mick Ferguson, Brendan Lawlor and, probably the most decorated of them all, Caolan Rafferty.