Golf Vacations in Ireland
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IGTOA NETWORKING EVENT & AWARDS DINNER

8th March 2005:
The annual IGTOA Networking Event and Awards Dinner were held at the K-Club this past weekend. Now a permanent fixture in the Irish golf travel calendar, the networking event brings together the golf oprators, golf clubs, accommodation & transport providers and other ancillary enterprises who have products of interest.

Foremost in the latter category this year was Clubs4Hire, a Dublin-based company who will take the hassle out of transporting golf clubs by renting sets to visitors for the duration of their golf holiday in Ireland. They will offer all leading makes of club and promise to make the cost attractive.

The networking event that began the weekend was the usual hectic schedule of meeting and swapping information with our accommodation and golf partners. Possibly the most draining 3 hours of our year, the stress is soon forgotten in the social atmosphere of the K-Club Hotel where a superb buffet supper was served.

Monday morning was the golf tournament, obstensibly a chance to check course preparations for next years big event, but in reality a chance for fresh air to clear heads. The River Liffey will surely soon be dammed at Straffan with the number of balls that are lost there. The hole that will be the 17th at the Ryder Cup will test frayed nerves, especially from a new tee being built almost in the middle of the river. Captain's advice should be to win by the 16th!

Two new bunkers, that look seriously deep, are being added at the 18th into the driving zone. This makes 17 bunkers on that one hole to match the water all along the left had side toward the green. Another fascinating prospect.

The weekend concluded with a gala dinner in the Smurfit Clubhouse attended by nearly 350 people. Tailor-Made Golf Tours had the pleasure of sharing a table with represntatives of the Clarion Hotel and with the winning golf team on the Palmer Course. This was Carton House Golf Club led by Lee Mallaghan, owner of Carton House, and the new head professional, Francis Howley. Lee's stories of shell cottages and fairies will appear on this site shortly.

As reported elsewhere the golf links at Carne was awarded "Golf Course of the Year", Hayfield Manor in Cork was awarded "Golf Hotel of the Year" and a new category of "Small Hotel or Guesthouse" was won by the ever popular Teach de Broc in Ballybunion. Peter McDunphy of The Island Golf Club was awarded "Secretary/Manager of the Year".

As with all golf events many new friends were made.

Tailor-Made Golf Tours would like to acknowledge the efforts of and thank Catherine Murphy of Carr Golf who was principal organiser of the event which is a mammoth undertaking. Well done Catherine and enjoy your new challenges.

We look forward to the 2006 event wich will be held in Sligo.

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