Pádraig Harrington excited about his game and new public putting green in Dublin's Marlay Park

Pádraig Harrington has designed a new 3,000-square metre putting green in Dublin's Marlay Park. Photo: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile

Brian Keogh

October 29 2021 02:30 AM

European Ryder Cup captain Pádraig Harrington returns to action in the Portugal Masters next week as excited about his game as he is about giving back by designing a huge public putting course in Dublin’s Marlay Park.

Just a few hundred yards from the now disused par-three course in the park where he taught his mother Breda the game, the Dubliner has designed a 3,000-square metre putting course that will open for play in the spring 2022 when the poa and bentgrass surface is established.

Funded by the Pádraig Harrington Charitable Foundation with a golf development grant from The R&A and a grant from Golf Ireland, it’s being built by Turfgrass and Atlantic Golf Construction in partnership with Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council.

“There’s going to be loads of undulations on it,” Harrington said of the green, inspired by the famous Himalayas putting course at St Andrews, which will be seeded with cores from Dun Laoghaire Golf Club and irrigated by nearby Grange. “It’s not going to be a flat green, there will be loads of fun and frustration in this. We will be putting to plateaus and over and around the hills. It’ll be something that everyone can enjoy, and it will be free to use.”

Harrington will likely debrief the Tour on the Ryder Cup in Dubai next month and he hopes to be there as one of the top 50 in the Race to Dubai who qualify for the season-ending DP World Tour Championship.

He’s ranked 68th with two regular events remaining and after having his eyes opened to the weaknesses in his mental game and wedge play by two indifferent performances on his Champions Tour debut – “I was well and truly lapped” – he’s excited about next season, when he will try to compete on four tours.

"I am running off the right-hand side of the page now with options of where to play," he joked. "Some weeks I could play four tournaments. I have never been as excited about my golf, and I don't know if it is because I am freed up after the Ryder Cup, or I have started on the Champions Tour, or maybe just the fact I a m hitting the ball better than ever. I’m excited.”

As for golf’s distance debate, he sees an equipment rollback is nothing to fear, telling a press briefing with sponsors Wilson Golf: “Happiness on the golf course is based on your expectations. If it was unheard of that somebody could hit the ball 270 yards and somebody at the club hit it 280, everybody would be talking about that.

“So it’s not about how far the golf ball is going, it’s about how far it goes against expectations. Players will enjoy the game the exact same. Two or three months into this, everybody will think, yeah, this is the norm.”