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The Carr Mara Trophy 2013 Olympic Club September 9th - 11th.  For details see Golf Club notice board.

 

 

Carr Mara Trophy comes to Rosses Point



The Carr Mara Trophy will once again be held in Ireland in 2011. The hosts will be County Sligo Golf Club in Rosses Point. This event will bring together seven of the top clubs in the United States and seven from Ireland.  The objectives of the competition are to honour the lives of Joe Carr and Wellington Mara through this friendly event between Irish and United States golf clubs and to foster relationships among the members.
Below is a list of the 14 participants for the 2011 tournament at County Sligo Golf Club.

IRELAND
U.S.A.

Garden City Golf Club

Pine Valley Golf Club
 


This event was first held in Ireland in September 2007 at Portmarnock Golf Club and then moved to the U.S.A. in 2009 where the host club was Winged Foot Golf Club. The 2011 event returns to Ireland and the championship links at Rosses Point from the 5th to the 7th of September.

Carr Mara Golf Trust

The Carr Mara Golf Trust was founded in 2006 and was conceived by Joe McAleese, then honorary secretary of Portmarnock Golf Club in Dublin, and Len Horan, then President of Winged Foot Golf Club in New York. The Trust was set up to celebrate a pair of sporting greats who passed away a few years earlier: Joe Carr, Irish amateur golfing legend and member of the World Golf Hall of Fame – and Wellington Mara, longtime owner of the New York Giants and member of Winged Foot Golf Club. 

The Trust has two main objectives, a bi-annual golf tournament between leading Irish and US golf clubs and a bi-annual 4 year scholarship for a young Irish man or woman to Fordham University in New York City. Fordham was selected for the scholarship because this is where Wellington Mara graduated from.


The Tournament

The golf tournament will be competed for bi-annually with the host club alternating between Ireland and the US every two years. The inaugural Carr Mara Golf tournament was held in 2007 at Portmarnock Golf Club, Dublin, Ireland. Ten golf clubs participated in the first tournament which was won by the Olympic Golf Club San Francisco, California.
The number of clubs increased to 14 for the 2009 event which was held at the Winged Foot Golf Club and was won by Bel Air Golf Club, Los Angeles, California.
The participants were: Ballybunion, County Louth, County Sligo, Lahinch, Portmarnock, Royal Portrush and Sutton,
Belair, Garden City, Oak Hill, Oakmount Country Club, Pine Valley, The Olympic Club and Winged Foot.
The Olympic Club San Francisco will stage the 2013 tournament which will return again to these shores in 2015 when the hosts will be Royal Portrush.


Format

The tournament is played bi annually over three days, one practice day and two days of competition. Each team consists of eight players in various handicap categories. The aggregate score of each teams best six scores accumulated over the two days will decide the winner. There is also an individual prize for the lowest scratch score.


The Trophy

The beautiful Carr Mara Trophy was designed by Waterford Crystal. The centre piece is a replica of the British Amateur Trophy won by Joe Carr at Royal Portrush in 1960 which was generously donated by his wife Mary.


The Links

Founded in 1894, County Sligo Golf Club is one of the oldest and best known courses in Ireland. The links are set out in one of the most scenic locations in the country, bounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and Benbulben mountain dominating the view on the northern skyline. Benbulben bears a striking resemblance to Cape Town's Table Mountain. To the east is Glencar Valley and the Dartry mountains with the impressive peaks of Lugnagall and Truskmore, while the southern vista is completed by Knocknarea topped by a large Cairn of stones, 'Meascan Meabha', reputed to be the grave of Meabh, the 'Warrior Queen of Connaught'.

The course was designed by Harry Colt in 1927, with his able assistant Captain Hugh Allison taking credit for the bunkering arrangement. Allison was noted for deep bunkers with a high ridge line to be negotiated for a successful exit.

The club has hosted many prestigious events over the years. It is home to the West of Ireland Championship, held each Easter. The club has hosted the Irish Close Championship as well as the Interprovincial and the Home International Championships which were staged here in 1991 when Ireland won the Raymond Trophy.

Co Sligo Golf Club (left), Sligo Yacht Club (foreground), Oyster Island (right) & the village of Rosses Point in the distance.

In recent years the golf club engaged the services of the renowned course architect, Martin Hawtree, to strengthen areas of the course that were being challenged by the continual improvements in golf equipment. Improvements are ongoing under the guidance of Consultant Agronomist Dr. Ian McClements. These include new tees that have been added to the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 6th, 11th, 17th and 18th holes, also included is the reshaping of existing bunkers and the creation of new bunkers on the 6th, 7th, 11th and 15th.

These changes will ensure a stern test for the elite amateurs of Britain and Ireland as they compete for the Raymond Trophy Home Internationals scheduled for County Sligo in 2011.  It is now over 100 years since the clubs inception and Harry Shapland Colt's classic course design has stood the test of time, so that even with today's advances in golf technology and coaching, it still offers a stern test for even the most accomplished golfer.

The legendary Tom Watson has described Rosses Point as "a magnificent links" and made particular mention of the stretch from the 14th to the 17th that run adjacent to the Atlantic Ocean.  This course is considered by many to be the finest 18 holes of golf in Ireland.

Course Type: Links
Designer: Harry Colt
Championship Length: 6817 yards / 6234 metres
Par: 71


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