Early mornings, late nights, day after day, rain, hail or shine. The keepers of the greens do it all for your playing pleasure.
Officially, it only happens once a year, so let’s make the most of Thank a Greenkeeper Day.
Carr Golf Maintenance works with 25+ venues across Ireland and the UK, so we see the science, art and graft it takes to create great course conditions.
This is our tribute to a special group of dedicated turf-care pros.
Ballyneety Golf Club
Another fantastic year for Ballyneety Golf Club. Its championship parkland won the GB & Ireland Golf Course of the Year award and debuted in the Irish Golfer Top 100 Rankings.
From course conditioning to supporting renovations, Head Greenkeeper Dave Bailey and his team have been pivotal in this period of dramatic improvement at Ballyneety.
Soon, we’ll begin preparations for the much-anticipated 2027 Junior Ryder Cup.
Seapoint Golf Links
Like 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025, Seapoint Golf Links added to its impressive tournament resume in 2026. For the second successive season, the club staged the Flogas Irish Men’s Amateur Open.
Aindriu Jackson, our Director for Agronomy & Sustainability, devised a tailored programme to prepare the award-winning Championship Links for the event.
Once again, Seapoint’s Lester Winters and his greenkeepers implemented it to a T.
Blainroe Golf Club
We build your golf course maintenance strategy based on 13 data-driven key performance indicators (KPIs).
For Agronomic Plan Adherence – to measure the completion of scheduled tasks – the Blainroe Golf Club greenkeepers averaged a monthly score of 90%. The Tony Redmond-led team also topped our portfolio leaderboard for Green Speed.
Meanwhile, the beautiful seaside parkland jumped another four places to No. 92 in the Irish Golfer rankings.
Elmgreen Golf Club
The season is just getting started for Paddy Foy and his greenkeepers.
After another unusually dry summer, Elmgreen Golf Club moved to a crucial phase of our Agronomic Plan and began trialling a new technology-driven initiative.
The latter involves robotic mowing to increase sustainability.
The former includes granular fertiliser, overseeding and topdressing application to improve:
- Plant growth
- Root health
- Disease resistance
- Turf density
- Surface smoothness
Narin & Portnoo Links
Even world-renowned, top-ranked and Gil Hanse-revamped golf courses can be improved.
Narin & Portnoo Links, nestled along the stunning southwest shores of Donegal, partnered with Carr Golf in January 2025.
Since then, Superintendent John Doran and his team have increased its Overall Course Condition score (our 13 KPIs aggregated) by a whopping 30%.
Recently, Narin provided the ‘wow factor’ for this Irish Golfer Event.
The Blackwood Golf Centre
Last year, the maintenance crew – overseen by Jonny Eager – at The Blackwood Centre made their biggest gains in Agronomic Plan Adherence (Av. 90%).
This year, they have taken it to new heights. In August, the 36-hole Bangor venue received its highest Overall Course Condition score.
That means the entire program, from operational efficiency to traffic management and turf uniformity, has never been better.
Corrstown Golf Club
Corrstown Golf Club also welcomed a prestigious tournament for the second time in as many years. Olivia Costello reclaimed the Flogas Irish Girls’ Amateur Open Championship at the 27-hole complex.
Conditions were immaculate, especially the Approaches and Fairways (also KPIs), where George Eastwood and his staff have consistently outperformed our group average.
The construction of new bunkers – with DAR Golf – added to their hectic schedule.
Corballis Links Golf Club
Ultimately, you play golf for enjoyment. So we should rank layouts accordingly.
Enter the 2026 Top 100 Fun Courses in Great Britain and Ireland.
Along with North Berwick, Rosapenna, Prestwick, and Carne, this extraordinary list features Corballis Links at No. 39.
Course Manager Conor Howard and his grounds staff deserve huge credit for such a notable recognition – and many rave reviews from visitors (some famous).
Limerick Golf Club
More top-class tournament action.
This time, at Limerick Golf Club, where Conor O’Rourke won the 116th TouchStore Irish PGA Championship following an unforgettable playoff.
Being chosen to host such a storied event doesn’t happen by accident. It’s the result of consistent excellence in course performance, presentation and playability.
For that, everyone at Limerick, especially Head Greenkeeper Greg O’Connor and his team, should take a bow.
Edmondstown Golf Club
According to this golfer survey, tee boxes are among the three areas that require the most improvement (it’s also on our KPI list).
Need some tips?
Ask David Stritch, Head Greenkeeper at Edmondstown Golf Club, who just delivered a year-high score for Tees through our nutritional and irrigation input plan.
Furthermore, presentation greatly improved with the acquisition of a new Toro 3250 Triplex Mower.
Forrest Little Golf Club
That survey also revealed what golfers value most. Greens topped the list.
We use six data points to track the performance of putting surfaces. For example, Green Speed (how fast a ball rolls) is an objective metric that greatly impacts the subjective playing experience.
To date, Robbie Moore and his staff have increased green speeds at Forrest Little Golf Club by 14% year on year.
Newcastle West Golf Club
Perfect timing. Ahead of hosting an Irish PGA Pro-Am in August, Newcastle West Golf Club achieved its best-ever Overall Course Condition score.
A Carr Golf partner since January 2025, the Eamonn Moran-led operation has now delivered a 27% improvement to one of the premier parklands in Munster.
It’s a well-deserved success built on last year’s enhancements to fairway drainage, tee box levels and 10 bunkers.
Mallow Golf Club
Another beloved parkland course in the Munster region. Another record Overall Course Condition rating.
This time, it’s Mallow Golf Club in the picturesque Blackwater Valley, County Cork. Darren O’Connor and his greenkeepers earned their top score of 2026 in August.
Like Newcastle West, they couldn’t have timed it better. Only this week, Mallow held its annual 54-hole Senior Scratch Cup
Rathsallagh Golf Club
With tree-lined fairways, a smattering of water features, and an acclaimed collection of bunkers, maintaining this elegant championship layout requires pinpoint planning.
Thankfully, that’s Barry Kavanagh’s strong suit. The Course Superintendent at Rathsallagh Golf Club is a born organiser.
Always seeking to boost operational efficiency, Barry added two new John Deere Utility Vehicles to the fleet. Irrigation and bunker renovations are also in the pipeline.
Royal Curragh Golf Club
Yesterday, Ireland’s oldest golf course hosted a milestone event.
A century after the trophy was first contested there, Royal Curragh Golf Club welcomed the Defence Forces for the Collins Cup. Congratulations to everyone involved.
Interestingly, Robbie Kilduff and his greenkeepers have also increased overall year-on-year Green Speed by 14% through mowing, rolling and surface management refinements.
Thurles Golf Club
May marked the second anniversary of our partnership with Thurles Golf Club.
We’ve also advised club management on asset acquisitions, including a new Greensmaster 3250-D mower, to support their agronomic programme.
This investment, combined with our tailored nutrient applications, helped Dennis O’Dwyer’s greenkeepers achieve excellent Smoothness and Trueness (also used to evaluate greens) scores and enhance ball-roll quality.
For golfers, it’s the ideal putting experience.
Castleknock Golf Club
Like last year, John Jennings and Co. have reliably earned some of our highest Overall Course Condition scores throughout 2026.
As wetter winters, drier summers, and stricter regulations present maintenance teams with new and unexpected challenges, this is a remarkable achievement for Castleknock Golf Club.
No wonder 59club UK nominated John for Greenkeeper of the Year.
Skerries Golf Club
Following Aindriu Jackson’s promotion to Director of Agronomy & Sustainability, John O’Sullivan rejoined our team.
John, who served as Course Superintendent at Waterville Golf Links and Director of Golf at Druid’s Glen, offers a unique mix of agronomic and operational expertise.
At Skerries Golf Club, where he works with Michael Calvey and his staff, course presentation and playability continue to meet and exceed our benchmarks.
Foxrock Golf Club
From Royal Dublin to County Sligo and Royal Portrush, Harry Colt left an indelible mark on Ireland’s golfing landscape.
He also crafted the wonderful parkland at Foxrock Golf Club, our valued client since 2012, where you’ll meet some of his trademark elevated greens.
But there’s always room for improvement. This year, Course Manager Walter O’Toole and his team successfully embedded a stunning new 5th green.
Stackstown Golf Club
First and foremost, congratulations are in order. On April 1, Stackstown Golf Club celebrated its 50th anniversary. It’s been a pleasure to work with their staff over the last four years.
As Regional Superintendent, John O’Sullivan’s new remit includes Stackstown, and he has been incredibly impressed with the know-how of greenkeepers Eddie Mulligan (Head) and Garry Duff.
Maintaining a 20-hole layout is not for laymen!
Burhill Group Limited
In late 2025, we announced a historic partnership with one of the UK’s multi-club operators.
Burhill Group Limited chose Carr Golf to develop data-driven maintenance programmes at five of its venues across England.
Why? To enhance agronomic standards, improve sustainability and elevate playing experiences.
The staff greenkeepers, guided by our Regional Superintendent Andy Hampson, have already made great progress with these goals.
Keep reading
- Future-proof your golf course against the next winter playability crisis
- Get our 10 proven strategies for delivering excellent bunkers year-round
- Prevent costly turf disease with an integrated pest management programme
- Learn how to tackle earthworm castings on your golf course