{"id":5019,"date":"2025-07-19T05:09:09","date_gmt":"2025-07-19T05:09:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/5019\/"},"modified":"2025-07-19T05:09:09","modified_gmt":"2025-07-19T05:09:09","slug":"why-golfs-open-has-the-town-smiling-all-over-again-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/5019\/","title":{"rendered":"Why golf\u2019s Open has the town smiling all over again \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

At Royal Portrush Golf Club<\/a> this week, everyone is smiling. <\/p>\n

They are smiling in the clubhouse, where members are enjoying the excitement of hosting one of the world\u2019s most prestigious sporting competitions, the Open Championship<\/a>, one of golf\u2019s four Majors, and there is relief that months of careful preparation have paid off. <\/p>\n

They are also smiling out on the course, where about 270,000 spectators have come from around the world to watch \u2013 and maybe even meet \u2013 their sporting idols. <\/p>\n

And those who are totting up the financial benefit of Open week \u2013 estimated at hundreds of millions of pounds \u2013 are certainly smiling. <\/p>\n

But the broadest smile of all is from 10-year-old Eoin Corrigan, who waves a bright yellow replica of the flag on the 18th hole covered with autographs. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe saw Rory McIlroy<\/a>,\u201d he says. \u201cHe\u2019s the world\u2019s best golfer, and he\u2019s here. We saw him.\u201d<\/p>\n

From Trillick, Co Tyrone, and a member of Bundoran Golf Club in Co Donegal, Eoin is inspired by McIlroy\u2019s success. \u201cHe\u2019s in the top two in the world, and he\u2019s from two hours up the road.\u201d<\/p>\n

Co Down\u2019s McIlroy was always going to be one of the stars of this tournament; his success in the US Masters this year \u2013 making him one of only six people to win a career Grand Slam, winning all four golf Majors \u2013 ensured the expectation would be off the scale. <\/p>\n

In the Co Antrim town of Portrush, McIlroy is, quite simply, everywhere; a mural of his face made of sprinkles adorns the wall of the ice cream parlour, Morelli\u2019s. <\/p>\n

Golf enthusiast John McNally was lucky enough to catch McIlroy in action on one of the practice days earlier this week. <\/p>\n

\u201cRory birdied the 17th, and then played the 18th … Rory managed to hold his and get his birdie three,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n

He takes out his phone to play a video of McIlroy surrounded by young fans.<\/p>\n

\"JohnJohn McNally: ‘Golf will help our next generation to feel more proud of where they come from.’ Photograph: Freya McClements <\/p>\n

For months, McNally has watched the infrastructure of the Open take shape from his home just across the road. The founder and vice chair of the Portrush Heritage Group \u2013 and a club member at Portrush \u2013 he is in no doubt about the sport\u2019s significance to the town. <\/p>\n

\u201cGolf has always been the golden ticket for Portrush,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n

\u201cGolf is in the blood. It\u2019s been part of the development of Portrush going back to that [Victorian] era, and the level at which Portrush is now experiencing exposure since the return of the Open is unprecedented.\u201d<\/p>\n

This has brought its advantages.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you compare Portrush with other towns, and you look at where we are in terms of development and investment and everything, we\u2019re pretty much up in the championship league,\u201d McNally says.<\/p>\n

It is easy to see how Portrush has expanded since the course last staged the Open in 2019 when Co Offaly golfer Shane Lowry<\/a> won. There are new restaurants and new places to stay, including new luxury hotels, and others have been refurbished to cater to the golf market. <\/p>\n

This has brought benefits, but also challenges. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe level at which Portrush is now experiencing exposure since the return of the Open is unprecedented,\u201d McNally says. <\/p>\n

Property has become more expensive, meaning people who were born and raised in the area are unable to afford a home and are leaving for other towns instead. <\/p>\n

\u201cThey need to get affordable social housing in Portrush as a priority,\u201d McNally says, as is transportation. \u201cWe can\u2019t go on just blindly creating hotels and apartment blocks and not work out a plan for parking.\u201d<\/p>\n

But, he says, \u201cwhether we like it or not, it\u2019s going to be a bucket-list destination for as long as we\u2019re able to come and play golf in Portrush.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the golf will help our next generation to feel more proud of where they come from, and that will effectively secure a good future for Portrush. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re now in the golden years, I believe, of Portrush.\u201d <\/p>\n

More people agree. Last year 30,000 international visitors came from overseas to play golf on Northern courses according to Tourism NI. The value of golf tourism overall was worth a record \u00a386 million (\u20ac99 million) in 2024, it said. <\/p>\n

\u201cFrom a golf perspective, we have seen the amount of money being spent by golfers coming to Northern Ireland increase by 66 per cent since 2019, and the Open has played a very significant part in that,\u201d John McGrillen, chief executive of Tourism NI, says.<\/p>\n

There has also been a \u201cvery significant uplift and investment\u201d in the accommodation sector thanks to the Open, estimated at about \u00a3100 million in either acquisitions or investment in new properties. <\/p>\n

I have no doubt that in the not-too-distant future the Open will take place in Portmarnock<\/p>\n

\u2014 \u00a0John McGrillen, chief executive of Tourism NI<\/p>\n

Sheffield Hallam University has predicted that the Open week is worth \u00a3213 million to Northern Ireland, made up of \u00a363 million direct economic spend and a marketing boost worth \u00a3150m. <\/p>\n

\u201cI wouldn\u2019t underestimate the other benefits that we get from being able to promote Northern Ireland positively in the international marketplace,\u201d McGrillen says. <\/p>\n

\u201cAll Tourism Ireland\u2019s research would suggest that the key motivator for people to come to the island of Ireland is the landscape, so this is a huge opportunity to show off some of our greatest pieces of landscape to a global audience.\u201d <\/p>\n

This gives a boost on both sides of the Border. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we\u2019re out selling golf in the international marketplace, we sell it as the island of Ireland … it makes it a stronger offer all round, so it\u2019s to our interest to do it collectively,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe people who are here to watch the Open, I was talking to guys yesterday who have just come from Portmarnock [in Co Dublin] and are heading to Donegal afterwards. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe whole of the island benefits from this, in the same way that we will all benefit from the Ryder Cup being hosted in Adare in two years\u2019 time.\u201d <\/p>\n

He is one of many this week who have spoken confidently about a potential first hosting of the Open south of the Border. <\/p>\n

\u201cLooking at it from an all-island perspective, the success in the north will ultimately benefit the south, because I have no doubt that at some point in the not-too-distant future the Open will take place in Portmarnock,\u201d McGrillen says.<\/p>\n

This is for the future; for the meantime there is still golf to be played at Royal Portrush and business to be done in the town. <\/p>\n

Maggie Sutherland owns Memento gift shop in the centre of Portrush. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe Open coming in 2019, there\u2019s no getting away from it, it had a big impact,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n

\"MaggieMaggie Sutherland, right, owner of Memento gift shop in Portrush, with colleague Patricia Quigley. Photograph: Freya McClements <\/p>\n

\u201cThere was a lot of environmental work and improvements done, and a lot of positivity. It\u2019s just really nice for your small town to hear it on the international media.\u201d <\/p>\n

As in 2019, some traders have been sceptical about the boost to business in Portrush itself; one change which was welcomed was decision to allow spectators to re-enter the course after leaving. This boosted footfall in the town and helped retailers. <\/p>\n

\u201cIn the medium to longer term, it\u2019s only good for Portrush,\u201d Sutherland says. \u201cIn the short term, sure, there\u2019s disruption, you don\u2019t get your local people coming in as much because they think it\u2019s all golfers.\u201d <\/p>\n

Others agree, including local volunteer on the course, David Hanna. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis is massive for Portrush, and it\u2019s not just this week,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\"VolunteerVolunteer David Hanna at Royal Portrush. Photograph: Freya McClements <\/p>\n

\u201cVirtually every family is involved \u2013 everybody knows somebody who\u2019s working or volunteering at the Open. It helps the economy, it helps Portrush.\u201d <\/p>\n

In 2019, many reflected on how a major international event such as the Open would once have been unthinkable in Northern Ireland, and saw its return to the North for the first time since the Troubles as evidence of how times had changed. <\/p>\n

Now, in 2025, times have changed again. The Open is not an all-but-impossible dream, but a reality \u2013 and why shouldn\u2019t it be? <\/p>\n

Naoimh Quigg, lady captain at Royal Portrush and a former captain of the Irish women\u2019s golf team, says: \u201cI know economically it\u2019s fantastic, but, mentally, I think it\u2019s worth more for us here than we know.\u201d <\/p>\n

To have an \u201cevent of this magnitude\u201d shows \u201chow far we\u2019ve come\u201d, she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can host a truly world-class event and we can present ourselves to the world in a positive way,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd everybody here \u2013 they\u2019re so appreciative of the golf and of being here and having the event. Everybody\u2019s just smiling.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"At Royal Portrush Golf Club this week, everyone is smiling. They are smiling in the clubhouse, where members…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5020,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[566],"tags":[6770,64,63,759,755,5492,756,757,85,6771],"class_list":["post-5019","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-antrim","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-british-open","tag-golf","tag-northern-ireland","tag-rory-mcilroy","tag-royal-portrush","tag-sports","tag-tourism"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5019","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5019"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5019\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5020"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5019"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5019"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5019"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}