No matter where you golf, if you enjoy your time on the course, greenkeepers do the essential groundwork for playing pleasure.
It’s the same for countless golfers around the world.
So an official day of thanks is the least we can do for these unsung heroes.
At Carr Golf Maintenance, we’re proud to manage 200+ dedicated greenkeepers throughout Ireland.
These talented turf-care professionals brave the elements year-round to ensure golfers always get the best possible playing conditions.
It’s a life of early mornings, long days, and late nights.
That’s why we hope you’ll join us for this special appreciation tour of 22 venues from our portfolio.
Let’s tee off on Thank a Greenkeeper Day 2025.
1. Seapoint Golf Links
Like 2023 and 2024, the award-winning Seapoint Golf Links boosted its reputation as a premier tournament venue in 2025. Following back-to-back OFX Irish Legends, the Flogas Irish Men’s Amateur Open arrived.
Stuart Grehan – now a Walker Cup veteran – prevailed after an unforgettable playoff. Yet again, the competitors raved about the championship conditions created by Lester Winters and his greenkeepers.
2. Narin & Portnoo Links
Links purists from around the world venture to delightful Donegal to play Narin & Portnoo. Since March, Carr Golf has overseen preparations for their arrival.
Alongside Course Superintendent John Doran and Head Greenkeeper Mark McDevitt, we introduced a tailored agronomic plan for the showstopper that Gil Hanse revamped. Certainly, golfers have enjoyed the resulting 52% improvement in ball roll quality.
3. Newcastle West Golf Club
Meet one of the newer additions to the Carr Golf family. At Newcastle West, ‘Munster’s friendliest golf club’, you’ll find a beautiful 18-hole parkland that has consistently improved throughout 2025.
Working alongside Aindriu, Head Greenkeeper Eamonn Moran and his team have improved fairway drainage, levelled tee boxes and upgraded 10 bunkers. The course received rave reviews during a recent Pro-Am.
4. Limerick Golf Club
It’s been a busy season for Head Greenkeeper Greg O’Connor and his staff at Limerick Golf Club. The mature parkland (partially designed by Alister McKenzie) has undergone wholesale upgrades.
This includes new greens for the 2nd, 4th, 6th, 9th, and 16th holes. The renovation of every bunker and additional bunkering. Finally, they completed drainage works on the back nine fairways.
5. Mallow Golf Club
Nestled among the towering trees of the Blackwater Valley, Mallow Golf Club is home to the ‘hidden gem’ of Munster parklands. Course and operational improvements have been steady since partnering with Carr Golf in 2024.
Darren O’Connor, the Head Greenkeeper, and his team recently levelled all tee boxes. Meanwhile, equipment and irrigation upgrades are also on the agenda at Mallow.
6. Ballyneety Golf Club
Late last year, Ballyneety Golf Club was selected to host the 2027 Junior Ryder Cup. Undoubtedly, this picturesque parkland will be a perfect venue for the prestigious event.
Our client since 2019, the Ballyneety maintenance crew have been working hard on bunker rebuilds and irrigation improvements. Head Greenkeeper Dave Dailey has new tee boxes and fleet upgrades planned for 2026.
7. Blainroe Golf Club
Head Greenkeeper Tony Redmond and right-hand man Dale Flaherty have maintained top-notch playing surfaces all season at Blainroe Golf Club. That’s a significant achievement after such a dry summer.
So much so, in fact, the seaside parkland retained its spot in the Irish Golfer Top 100 Courses in Ireland. This year, Blainroe also added a new practice green for members.
8. Skerries Golf Club
Efficient irrigation is essential for maintaining healthy turf and quality playing conditions. It’s the beating heart of every golf course, pumping water to tees, fairways and greens.
At Skerries Golf Club, Head Greenkeeper Michael Calvey and assistant Ian Ferguson just commenced the replacement of the entire irrigation system. Soon, Skerries will have a state-of-the-art system feeding its 18-hole championship course.
9. Forrest Little Golf Club
Last Thank a Greenkeeper Day, Forrest Little had just unveiled the brilliant bunker renovation delivered by architect Ken Kearney and DARGolf Construction.
In 2025, with the benefit of maturation, the revamped bunkering truly came of age.
As ever, Head Greenkeeper Robbie Moore has been presenting the par-71 parkland in tip-top shape, particularly the smoothness and trueness of the putting surfaces.
10. Elmgreen Golf Centre
There’s no rest for the wicked at Elmgreen. North Dublin’s premier multi-experience golf centre features an 18-hole layout, a pitch-and-putt course, and the wildly popular Swingyard.
Somehow, Paddy Foy and his grounds staff maintain the same level of excellence on every surface throughout the property. Plus, this month, their fairways and tees achieved year-high KPI scores following our on-site assessment.
11. Edmondstown Golf Club
Whether it’s the entrance, driveway, carpark, pathways, or fairways, landscaping should be a staple of your maintenance programme. It’s the surest way to make a good first impression.
Clearly, Edmondstown – in the foothills of the Dublin Mountains – does just that. Under the new Head Greenkeeper, David Stritch, the club continues to enhance its facilities, equipment and golf course.
12. Stackstown Golf Club
Greenkeepers Eddie Mulligan (Head) and Garry Duff have maintained excellent course standards across the scenic 20-hole layout at Stackstown Golf Club.
Set on the slopes of the Dublin Mountains, the home of Padraig Harrington also opened two new greens in 2025 and will soon begin an ambitious bunker renovation project. Meanwhile, the club is developing its maintenance team and fleet.
13. Rathsallagh Golf Club
Last month, Rathsallagh was one of our four clients on the prestigious Today’s Golfer Top 100 Courses in Ireland. The website described this championship parkland in Wicklow as elegant and pretty.
It’s a well-deserved plaudit for Head Greenkeeper Barry Kavanagh and his staff. Lately, they’ve boosted their fairway KPI scores through crosscut mowing patterns with a new John Deere 7700A.
14. Thurles Golf Club
We design a custom maintenance plan for every client. But every plan has the same North Star – the Overall Course Condition score. It’s an aggregate of 13 data-driven KPIs.
Since joining our portfolio in May 2024, Thurles Golf Club has increased its rating by 16%. Head Greenkeeper Dennis O’Dwyer and Thomas Hewitt deserve great credit for this incredible improvement.
15. Ardee Golf Club
Great golf courses inspire great victories. And so it was last month when the AIG Irish Women’s Amateur Close Championship came to Ardee Golf Club.
Anna Dawson took the main event following wins for Eva Branks (Girls), Mairead Martin (Over-18), and Brendan Lawlor (ISPS Handa G4D). Unsurprisingly, the conditioning of the parkland course managed by Darren Henry received major praise.
16. The Blackwood
Another Carr Golf KPI is Agronomic Plan Adherence. It scores (out of 100) how well greenkeepers deliver the programme designed by our Regional Superintendent.
In 2025, Jonny Eager’s team at The Blackwood regularly hit 90+ on their monthly course assessments. Thanks to such reliably high-calibre surfaces, the 36-hole property in charming Clandeboye Estate has seen a significant uptick in play.
17. Corballis Links Golf Club
Firstly, congratulations to Conor Howard on starting his new position as Course Manager at Corballis. Already, the grounds team are preparing for winter play by installing synthetic turf on select tees.
Elsewhere, stellar reviews from prestigious sources have been coming thick and fast for the unique par-66 links at Corballis, from Top 100 Golf Courses to GolfMagic and GOLF.com.
18. Corrstown Golf Club
Challenging. Exciting. Beautiful. In Dublin, championship parklands don’t come much better than Corrstown. Ask anyone who witnessed the immaculate conditions for May’s Flogas Irish Girls’ Amateur Open.
Like Forrest Little, throughout 2025, the maintenance team consistently optimised the smoothness and trueness of the Corrstown greens (all 27!) for better playing experiences. George Eastwood, the Course Manager, leads this golfer-first approach.
19. Castleknock Golf Club
It’s not just Thurles hitting sky-high Overall Course Condition scores. Since June, the greenkeepers at Castleknock Golf Club have persistently outperformed their best numbers from 2023 and 2024.
The results speak for themselves. This summer, 89% of surveyed golfers were satisfied with the course conditions. Obviously, members and visitors cannot get enough of the pristine parkland overseen by John Jennings.
20. Ballyclare Golf Club
Unfortunately, there are times when greenkeepers must respond to emergencies. Between December 2024 and January 2025, storms Darragh, Eowyn and Herminia felled more than 100 trees throughout Ballyclare Golf Club.
Head Greenkeeper Jordan Harrison and his team dedicated six weeks (742 labour hours) to the cleanup operation. Thanks to their incredible efforts, the course was ready for the new season.
21. Foxrock Golf Club
The genius of Harry Colt permeates Ireland’s golf landscape, from Royal County Down to Rosses Point and Royal Portrush. Among his lesser-known creations is Foxrock Golf Club.
A valued partner since 2012, our collaboration with Course Manager Walter O’Toole has always been based on preserving and refining this scenic 9-hole parkland. More than 13 years later, it’s still going strong.
22. Royal Curragh Golf Club
Ireland’s oldest course has lived in harmony with the ancient ecology of the Curragh plains since 1852. The undulating, wooded heathland layout at Royal Curragh is a sight to behold and a joy to play.
Course Manager Robert Kilduff maintains this delicate coexistence through site-specific agronomy and detailing works, which has elevated his Trees & Landscaping KPI to new heights.
Finally, if you want to show your appreciation for greenkeepers on social media, remember to use #ThankAGreenkeeper.
And feel free to explore more of our brand-new website.
Keep reading
Get expert maintenance tips, meet our happy clients, learn about our team, and see how Carr Golf uses a data-driven approach to create the golf course that your members and visitors love.
- Prevent turf disease. Discover our 5 proven strategies to implement an effective integrated pest management programme
- Meet the team. Our dedicated in-house experts help your greenkeepers deliver continuous, measurable golf course improvements
- Customer success stories. Hear from clubs that have transformed their course maintenance results with Carr Golf
- How it works. Find out what you can expect from your first year as our partner
- Get world-class bunkers. Explore our guide to maximising the performance of every bunker on your course