Club History
Greenore Golf Club was built by the London & North Western Railway Company which at this time co-owned the railway and the hotel. The golf course was first opened with 12 holes in October 1896 and the following year was extended to 18 holes. Its purpose was for recreation for the hotel guests and to generate passenger travel on the railway for people to play golf from both Dundalk and Newry.
The original idea came from a Mr. George L. Bailie from Musselburgh in Scotland. Travelling to Greenore by train, he thought the company’s land beside the railway would make an excellent golf course. It seems Mr. Bailie made a profession of constructing golf courses and may have been on a retainer for some of the old rail companies.
The original Clubhouse had no facilities for ladies, so in 1898 a small room was added to one end of the clubhouse for the ladies.
In 1900 Greenore was one of the 10 clubs in Ireland deemed suitable for G.U.I interclub competition, the others being Athlone, Lahinch, Royal Portrush, Royal Co. Down, North West, Royal Dublin, Portmarnock, Co. Louth and Foxrock.
In 1902 the Railway Company organised a Pro Tournament with top pro golfers from England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland invited. Amongst those playing were Harry Vardon, James Braid, J.H. Taylor, J. Herd & J White who between them had won 18 British Open Titles. Braid was the eventual winner of the competition.
In 1954, the members bought the course at public auction in Dublin when the railway company was pulling out of Ireland, paying £2,000 for 120 acres.
In 1973, Eddie Hackett, course architect, was called in to upgrade and improve the course. Later in 1984, when the club bought some 14 acres of the land at the end of the course, Eddie Hackett was again called upon to design new holes and resize some of the old ones.
The O’Hare (O’Hara) Brothers
Peter, Jimmy and Pat were three golfing brothers born in 4 Anglesey Terrace, Greenore. All three had a natural gift for playing golf and they learned their trade and honed their skills on the lovely links of Greenore.
Peter, the eldest, at 17 was considered good enough to be appointed Club Professional at our fledgling club in 1903. In 1915 he moved to the US where he would establish a very successful career as a Club Professional Golfer. In America, he became known as O’Hara.
Pat, the youngest was born in 1891 and his first professional appointment was in Greenore in 1910. He also spent some time as professional at Foxrock from 1912 to 1914/15. He was professional in Dundalk golf club in 1919, when he won the Irish Professional Championship.
Jimmy was born in 1890 and was professional in Greenore in 1907/08, 1911/12 and 1924/26. He was also Professional in Skerries from 1914 to 1921.
