Written by Stephen Moloney (www.twitter.com/TheCheeky9)

On Thursday afternoon of last week, like a sudden downpour after months of drought, the European Tour made the very welcome announcement that, come July, professional, European golf will be returning to our screens in the shape of a six-week block of events spread across five courses in the United Kingdom: The Betfred British Masters at Close House Golf Club; The English Open at Marriott Forest of Arden; The English Championship at Marriott Hanbury Manor; The Celtic Classic & Wales Open in back-to-back weeks at Celtic Manor; and then the UK Championship at ‘The Belfry’.

Yet, upon seeing this schedule – one that I’ve seen christened as ‘The UK Swing’ – it got me thinking: if, when all the relevant decision makers were having their numerous Zoom calls to organise how to pull this comeback off, Keith Pelley, the tour’s CEO, suddenly interrupted the tremendous fun the group was having because Marcus from accounts had put up a rather humorous background that made it look like he was under the sea, and said, “Do you know what? I know we’ve been kicking around the idea of this ‘UK Swing’ for the comeback, but what if, instead … we did it in Ireland and called it ‘The Emerald Swing’?”

Well, first of all, I think everyone would have gone, “That’s a cracking name, Keith – well done.”

And, secondly, given Irish golf courses are amongst some of the most beautiful – yet at the same time challenging – in the world, I think such a swing would have made for a spectacular six weeks of viewing – never mind how great all the free advertising would have been, but that’s another matter altogether.

The questions are, though, what form would such a string of tournaments have possibly taken? And, perhaps most importantly, where would said tournaments have taken place?

The Four Proud Provinces

As we all know, one of the biggest benefits of any ‘National Open’ is that it gives a country an annual chance to showcase the best of what it has to offer when it comes to golf in order to entice visitors from overseas to go on golf trips there – though, let’s be honest, Ireland doesn’t really need a televised tournament to lure golfers into coming here.

There are, however, drawbacks to this model. The most obvious is that you only get one chance to show off one course in one part of the country per year. And, two, though you may come from a country, like Ireland, where you have any number of fantastic courses that would both look and play amazing for a professional tournament, the reality is that the requirements to actually host and broadcast a European Tour event from a logistical standpoint means many of those same fantastic courses just have to be ruled out.

Now, when it comes to the former of those two points, having an entire ‘swing’ of events on the island would, obviously, solve the problem of only getting to showcase one solitary course. And as for the latter of those points? Well, with a situation like that which we currently find ourselves in, the fact that there’ll be no spectators allowed on the courses for any of those upcoming events in July, gives slightly more leeway in terms of what’s required to host an event (i.e. no need to find room for parking facilities, tented villages, hospitality areas, corporate areas etc.) so that brings a lot more golf courses that would normally miss out back into the mix.

So, with all of that in mind, now we can get down to the nitty gritty of how exactly I’d run an ‘Emerald Swing’.

In much the same way as the ‘UK Swing’ will see European tour pros battling it out for titles such as ‘The British Masters’, ‘English Open’ and ‘Celtic Classic’ over the six weeks, I would see same said professionals coming over to Ireland for a four-week stay, wherein they would be presented with the best this island has to offer by competing in each of the four provinces for the Leinster, Ulster, Connacht and Munster Championships – with each title on offer named after the most famous Irish golfer from that province.

Where this quickly becomes quite tricky, though, is when you try to decide where exactly each of those individual championships should take place. See, having had discussions in the past about the Irish Open and what venues get chosen to host it, many people have been of the opinion that, given authentic ‘links golf’ is perhaps the main draw for Ireland as a golfing destination, our National Open, as a result, should always take place at a links course. And going on the fact that for three years straight, from 2017 to 2019, the Irish Open was indeed contested on some of the best links courses in the country in the shape of Portstewart, Ballyliffin and Lahinch,  it would appear the tournament organisers and European Tour would agree to a certain extent.

But whilst I see the logic in showcasing the plethora of links courses we have over here, from both a business and personal perspective, I think you need to spread the love a bit. Because, yes, Ireland has great links courses, but we also have some great parkland courses, so therefore I think it’s only fair that they get given them the same opportunity to be beamed into thousands of people’s homes every year – people who might, in return, decide to donate some Pro-V1s to the local wildlife in our parkland courses as well as our links on their next golf trip over here.

So what does this mean for my pandemic-induced ‘Emerald Swing’? Well, let’s take a look.

The Leinster Championship – ‘The Harry Bradshaw Shield’

Given the vast majority of competitors would be coming through Dublin Airport to get into Ireland – along with any tour trucks/broadcast trucks coming in through the ports –  I thought it best, and most convenient, to have the first event of the ‘Emerald Swing’ take place in Leinster.

Now, initially, when I was first contemplating where to host the Leinster Championship, my first thought was, immediately, the Old Course at Portmarnock. It’s an iconic Irish links; the current third best course in the country and former number one; it’s only 15 mins from Dublin Airport; close to plentiful accommodation; it held the very first Irish Open back in 1927, plus 18 more after that (the most of any venue on the island); it hosted the Walker Cup in 1991; and when recalling his experience of playing at Portmarnock in the 1961 Canada Cup with Sam Snead, the great Arnold Palmer said, “I recall saying to Sam on the way home that every aspect of our games was examined that week.” I mean, as far as résumés go that’s a pretty impressive one.

Yet, if I’m being 100% practical – in a situation where I’m discussing a 100%  hypothetical string of golf tournaments – as appealing a choice as Portmarnock may be, in the end, I decided to go for the place where this year’s Irish Open was meant to be happening in Mount Juliet. Now, that may seem like the obvious choice to make, but there’s nothing wrong with that – like, if you open a bottle of milk only to find that it has gone completely rancid, then the “obvious” choice is to throw it down the sink, not guzzle it down like it’s a particularly thick milkshake. I mean, think about it; the course at Mount Juliet would already be in tournament shape; the broadcast and tour trucks would already have designated spots to set up shop; and there would be more than enough room to house nearly everyone involved in the tournament on-site for the duration of the week thanks to the accommodation provided by the hotel. Like, for me, you couldn’t ask for a better spot to open up a month-long stretch of tournaments.

The Ulster Championship – ‘The Fred Daly Jug’

Once the winner of the ‘Harry Bradshaw Shield’ would be crowned on the 18th green at Mount Juliet, the next stop on the ‘Emerald Swing’ would see the tour, via a quick hop up the M9 and M1, swapping the leafy surrounds of Thomastown in Kilkenny for the windswept coastline of Newcastle in Co. Down – and, in particular, the specific part of said coastline where the world famous Championship links of Royal County Down Golf Club call home.

Founded in 1889 and home to one of the most photographed holes in golf, Royal County Down – which, need I remind you, is currently the number one ranked best golf course on the entire PLANET (according to ‘Golf Digest’, at any rate) – has long held a cult status amongst golfers all over the world and it’s for that very reason why I thought it would make the perfect destination for the Ulster Championship portion of the ‘Emerald Swing’. 

Of course, there are several other courses dotted around the province that would have been every bit as capable of hosting this tournament – the previously mentioned Portstewart and Ballyliffin, for example – but, really, my decision came down to a straight shootout between Royal County Down and the home of last year’s Open Championship, Royal Portrush. And what very nearly saw Royal Portrush actually get the final nod was – along with the fact that it’s obviously a Major-calibre course and set up to broadcast a tournament – the fact it has such a connection with Fred Daly, the man I chose to name the prize for this particular championship after.

When I looked at Royal County Down, though, and factored in, not only how gorgeous a piece of land it is, but the fact it’s only three hours away from Kilkenny by road and that it hosted the Irish Open as recently as 2015, I felt it would make for a slightly more special week of viewing over Royal Portrush, as it was only last year we saw Shane Lowry capture the Claret Jug there.

The Connacht Championship – ‘The Christy O’Connor Snr. Cup’

After a week of lapping up the spectacular views on the north-east coast, the Tour would make their longest journey of the ‘Emerald Swing’ across the island to the north-west coast for the Connacht Championship.

Now, amazingly, of the four provinces, Connacht is the only one to never have hosted an Irish Open. Is this down, like I mentioned earlier, to just a lack of suitable courses from a logistical or competition standpoint? Well, when you look at the actual quality of the golf courses spread around the province, one can only be left to think that, yes, this must be the case. I mean, you have the likes of the ‘Galway Golf Club’, ‘Westport Golf Club’, ‘Connemara Championship Golf Links’, ‘Ballinrobe Golf Club’, ‘Strandhill Golf Club’, ‘Portumna Golf Club’, ‘Galway Bay Golf Resort’ and the list goes on.

When deciding where to have some of Europe’s finest golfers duke it out for the ‘Christy O’Connor Cup’, however, my decision, in the end, came down to three courses in particular: the Carne Golf Links at Belmullet Golf Club in Co. Mayo; the County Sligo Golf Club at Rosses Point in, you guessed it, Co. Sligo; and, finally, Enniscrone Golf Club in, again, Co. Sligo. 

Now, Carne (currently the 19th ranked best course in Ireland), has, like Royal County Down, been building something of a cult status for itself amongst golfers thanks to the fact a large part of the course winds its way through MASSIVE dunes that makes for a very unique experience in links golf, but could be problematic for a live broadcast. 

The County Sligo Golf Club at Rosses Point, as well as being a stunningly beautiful links that’s currently ranked the 12th best course in Ireland, has a long, distinguished history of hosting one of the Irish amateur ‘Majors’ in the ‘West of Ireland Amateur Open Championship’, doing so since 1923 (and, interestingly, not only is it a tournament that Rory McIlroy won back-to-back in ‘05/’06, but his caddie, Harry Diamond, did so as well in 2012). The only problem with Rosses Point, though, is that it’s currently undergoing some changes to help upgrade it and keep it challenging for the modern game. How extensive are these upgrades? I’m not sure, but it was enough to rule it out for me in this particular instance.

So – given the above two points – that obviously means I opted for the 13th best golf course on the island in Enniscrone Golf Club to host the first ever Connacht Championship. This decision, though, isn’t to be viewed as a consolation prize because Rosses Point might not be currently capable to host such an event – far from it. The Championship Links at Enniscrone already holds a place on many people’s ‘Bucket Lists’, both from Ireland and abroad, and for those people who I’ve spoken to that have navigated their way through the dunes up there, their praise-filled testaments are enough to leave me feeling confident that it would be a suitably stunning location to highlight the best of what Connacht has to offer when it comes to golf.

The Munster Championship – ‘The Jimmy Bruen Trophy’

After three weeks on the road, the final instalment of the ‘Emerald Swing’ would see the Tour head south along the Wild Atlantic Way for the Munster Championship.

Just ousting Ulster for hosting the second-most Irish Opens behind Leinster, Munster’s abundance of tournament-ready courses made deciding where exactly to have the “grand finale” of the first ever ‘Emerald Swing’ somewhat tricky. I mean, if you think “elite Munster golf courses”, off the top of your head you’re probably naming the likes of Fota Island, Killarney, Hogs Head, Ballybunion, Waterville, Tramore, Tralee, the Old Head, Cork Golf Club etc. etc.

But, again, just like with the other provinces, my decision really came down to two clear choices: Adare Manor (which hosted back-to-back Irish Opens in ‘07 & ‘08) and Lahinch Golf Club (which, of course, hosted last year’s Irish Open for the very first time). Now, when you look at these two courses, they couldn’t be more different. In Adare, you have the number one ranked parkland course in the country (10th best overall) that’s fresh off a redesign by Tom Fazio and all set within one of the most luxurious estates in the world. And in Lahinch? You have the fourth ranked best links course in the country (& 4th best overall) that’s been offering one of the purest and most highly lauded tests of links golf since 1882 – and to give a bit of perspective of just how long ago that actually was, it would be another fifty-two years before the town of Lahinch got connected to the electricity grid.

So, no lights, but a great golf course. Priorities.

In the end, however, out of these two phenomenal courses, I decided that the ‘Jimmy Bruen Trophy’ would be battled for over the pristine acres of Adare Manor. Why? Well, there are numerous reasons. First and foremost, given I’d already included two links courses in the preceding fortnight of the swing, I felt it only right to include some balance with another parkland course. Similarly to picking Royal County Down over Royal Portrush, given Lahinch hosted the Irish Open only last summer, I thought seeing Adare Manor would make for a refreshing change of scenery. Like was the case with Mount Juliet, having everyone involved with the tournament be able to stay on-site thanks to the plentiful accommodation at Adare would be incredibly convenient. With the Ryder Cup coming to Limerick in 2026, I thought hosting the Munster Championship would give a great preview of how the redesigned course is looking to a television audience. And, finally, once the final putt would drop on the Sunday afternoon, with Shannon Airport so close, it would make for a convenient journey home for the players and anyone else who’d been involved with the tournament.

Plus, and I think this is very important … look how pretty.

Now, in reality, we’re never going to see an ‘Emerald Swing’ where the European Tour rolls around the country like a very smartly dressed circus for a month-long string of events, but, in the same vein, when we finally figure out how to give the Coronavirus a right good shoeing, we’re never going to see a ‘UK Swing’ again either.

So what – if anything – can we take from this imaginary jaunt around the island?

Well, I would think exactly four things:

1. Ireland is blessed with an embarrassment of riches when it comes to golf courses – as in, you could keep rotating the quartet of courses that would make up an ‘Emerald Swing’ for years without repeating a course and not run out of top quality tracks to host a tournament.

2. If, for whatever reason, an ‘Emerald Swing’ did come to fruition, those four events would be amongst some of the most well attended the Tour would see all year.

3. It would be really cool if each of the four legends that I named the prizes after for this particular swing – Harry Bradshaw, Fred Daly, Christy O’Connor Snr. & Jimmy Bruen – actually had titles named after them which were then the focus of professional tournaments.

4. ‘The Emerald Swing’ is still an absolutely cracking name – this is a fact.