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The Great Reopening: Golfers tee it up as kids are ‘champing at the bit’ for training
Sean Doyle and Luke Casserly playing tennis at Herbert Park council playgrounds Dublin. Photo: Sasko Lazarov
The sense of freedom was palpable today around Ireland’s golf courses and sports clubs as they welcomed back members after four months of closure.
Non-contact training resumed for children under-18 in all sports in pods of 15 while adults can now tee it up or head to their local club for a game of tennis.
Basking in glorious sunshine, Ballyneety Golf Club opened bright and early on Monday morning as members returned for the first time in 2021.
The Limerick club has endured a tough year with some admin staff losing their jobs while an independently-run restaurant and bar on site had to let go all staff go due to the pandemic.
Manager John Leamy said the return to action was long overdue, and thanked the members for their backing.
“We were able to undertake project work while the course was closed that you can’t normally do but now it’s about rewarding our members. They pay their subscriptions to play golf and they couldn’t do much of that this year. We now want to look after our members who never once gave out, despite the course being closed.
“We were depending on our members,” John said.
The club’s reopening had an added boost this morning as they are the first golf club in Ireland to install Trackman simulators in their driving range, meaning people can play multiple golf courses virtually.
“This is bringing an awful lot of people into our complex now, it’s just unreal. It’s full to the gills all morning,” John said.
One such member in bright and early was Shane Hogan, who described the opportunity to play a ‘real’ round of golf as “glorious”. Shane installed a golf simulator in his house in an attempt to keep his skills honed throughout lockdown and ended up playing a virtual Augusta National at the same time as Shane Lowry teed it up in Georgia earlier this month.
“Nothing compares to the real thing with the sunshine and people, to the feeling of normality coming back, though. It’s a pleasure to be able to do this again,” Shane said.
26/04/2021 Yvonne and Pat Sheahan from Monaleen pictured enjoying their first round of golf at Ballyneety Golf Club, Co Limerick since restrictions lifted. Pic: Don Moloney
Meanwhile, Mungret St Paul’s GAA club swung open its gates for training for the first time since December this evening and the sense of excitement had the complex abuzz.
The children were “champing at the bit” to return to on-field training, said Wanda Dwane, club PRO and mother of two young players.
Children had previously been confined to brushing up on their skills via Zoom sessions with mentors, but that is thankfully confined to memory from today.
“There is only so much training over Zoom that kids can do. They are absolutely bursting to get out there and touch the ball and feel the pitch and just be there in person.
“We had to make sure the hurleys are the right height, it’s been that long since they were training, and to make sure the boots still fit.
“It was before Christmas the last time they were training, it’s a very long time – there will be tired legs tonight,” Wanda joked.
Situated on the outskirts of Limerick City, Mungret is fast becoming one of the biggest GAA clubs in Munster with enough players to fill three teams at most underage grades.
Keeping the training pods structured while also allowing the kids to socialise in a meaningful way is the challenge for coaches as they return.
“It’s tough when you are trying to organise camps but it is brilliant to see so many kids returning to training and happy,” Wanda said.
Tennis clubs opened their courts and hoisted their nets for the first time since December this morning, which means Hugh O’Loughlin will be a busy man once again.
The Dubliner splits his free time coaching youngsters in Donabate-Portrane Tennis Club and St Anne’s Park club in Raheny.
Over 150 kids will likely descend on the clubs in the coming days and weeks to catch up on many months of missed practice and Hugh said the excitement is palpable.
“There is real excitement among the kids, they are just dying to get back, they are just hopping off the ground. Especially the younger kids, what is a few weeks to us adults can feel like years for them. They haven’t been with us since before Christmas,” Hugh said.
While there won’t be any competitive matches, Hugh expects the hunger and energy to be in full flow.
“They’re really looking forward to it but I’m hoping the one thing that has happened is that being outdoors more during lockdown will have toughened them up a bit as I’d have them out in all weather if I could,” Hugh laughed.
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