Greystones Golf Club Centenary 1895-1995 A History of the Club

Greystones Golf Club was founded in 1895 and is located in the heart of the Burnaby Estate, in one of Ireland’s most scenic locations, surrounded by the Wicklow Mountains and with panoramic views of Dublin Bay. The course was on the Dublin, Wicklow and Wexford Railway and located on Jones’ Hill which was uneven, overgrown with shrubbery and strewn with rocks but the vistas were beautiful. The designer of the original course is unknown and may have just grown organically but it is likely that James Barrett, the club professional, may have been responsible for the second iteration at the turn of the century. In 1914 the club agreed to an extension of the course to 18 holes and Tom Walker, the club professional and internationally renowned clubmaker, was asked to design the lower nine holes. In 1920 Harry Shapland Colt was asked to report on the old and new nine and make recommendations and he duly obliged at the cost of £28-5-9 but his proposed alterations were shelved as the expense was prohibitive. In 1978 the club managed the purchase the leased land at a cost of £57k.

The front nine of the course was redesigned by Paddy Merrigan in 1996, with the official opening of the revised layout performed in 1998. Every hole in the nine was, with the exception of the 7th, totally redesigned and re-routed. The course has been upgraded with USGA standard sand-based greens and tee boxes. Between 2003 and 2005 the club embarked on upgrading the course by renowned course designer Ron Kirby and remained true to the Harry Colt philosophy. In 2015 an early stage proposal was notified to members about a land swap deal with Castlepark Building Company whereby the club would be relocated to Bellvue Hill in Delgany, between the existing Delgany Golf Club and the Glen O’ The Downs Golf Club. This deal never amounted to anything in the end.

Notable golfers include Paul Dunne, who represented GB&I in the 2015 Walker Cup and secured his first victory in the British Masters in 2017, has been associated with the club. Other players of note would be Josephine Marks, Alan & E. Condren, E.K. Figgis, J. Rowan Shaw, Miss Rose Meldon, Miss May Fitzgibbon, Miss Shiela Tobin, Cecil West, Patrick Campbell and Dylan Holmes the 2025 winner of the West of Ireland championship. The club suffered a number of casualties during WWI including Rowan Shaw and Capt. R.P. Tobin (Shiela’s brother). Jimmy Martin started with his Dad at Greystones and after six years went to work for Arthur Lees as an assistant in Sunningdale in 1954.