Mullingar Golf Club 1894-1994 – The First 100 Years

Mullingar Golf Club, originally known as the County Westmeath Golf Club, was founded on 18 October 1894. The club has a rich history, starting with its early years at Newbrook Racecourse. Over the years, it moved several times firstly to Mount Prospect and then Lynn road a mile outside Mullingar in 1909 which was the nine-holes designed by W.C. Pickeman and then a site near Lough Owel in 1919 before leasing 120 acres from Col Howard-Bury at Belvedere in 1937, the driving forces  behind the move, Joe Downes and Dermot Shaw, planned an eighteen-hole layout. In 1995, the club purchased the course from Westmeath County Council, ensuring its long-term future.

The course at Belvedere was designed by the legendary Scottish golf course designer, James Braid, a five-time Open Champion. Braid’s fee was £21 plus travelling expenses and he planned the new layout in a single day despite the wildness of the terrain upon his arrival. Braid’s design has largely remained unchanged, with some enhancements to maintain its challenge.

Mullingar Golf Club is known for its challenging layout. The course runs to 6,685 yards with a par of 72. It features a mix of rolling parkland, mature trees, and greens that require a precise putting stroke. In 2005 the course underwent major developments, overseen by golf course designer David Jones, to bring it up to USGA standards and this was followed in 2017 by the development of a short game facility designed by Ken Kearney. The 2nd hole is the signature hole, a par 3 measuring 209 yards with an elevated green guarded on three sides by deep bunkers. It is often cited as one of the best par 3s in Irish golf.

1963 saw the inaugural Mullingar Scratch Cup, a 72-hole event in August and the first winner was Joe Carr and it was following by a veritable who’s who of Irish golf as the prestige of the tournament grew to its position a one of the marquee events outside the national and provincial titles.