{"id":376096,"date":"2025-12-29T23:32:15","date_gmt":"2025-12-29T23:32:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/376096\/"},"modified":"2025-12-29T23:32:15","modified_gmt":"2025-12-29T23:32:15","slug":"from-the-emerald-isle-to-the-putting-green","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/376096\/","title":{"rendered":"From the Emerald Isle to the putting green"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Man
Donnacha O’Connor is an Irishman who became a staple in Minnesota at Alexandria Golf Club in Alexandria. Photos by Alayna Eldred<\/p>\n

Donnacha O\u2019Connor lives near the site of the annual Grape Stomp Festival. Much of it has to do with celebrating the Minnesota area\u2019s award-winning wine production. He may not have been born anywhere near this place, but O\u2019Connor has produced for them in stellar fashion.\n<\/p>\n

In 2026, O\u2019Connor will enter his 25th year as golf course superintendent at Alexandria Golf Club in the town of Alexandria. How he even landed in this lake country town of roughly 15,000 inhabitants halfway between Minneapolis and Fargo, N.D., is intriguing. O\u2019Connor was born in Cork, Ireland. It\u2019s roughly 3,200 miles from Alexandria.\n<\/p>\n

Based on results, his upbringing in golf traveled well across the ocean.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cCork is on the south coast. It has a vibrant city center (Cork is among the largest cities in Ireland), but I grew up in the country,\u201d says O\u2019Connor, a GCSAA Class A superintendent and 28-year association member. \u201cCows in the backyard. Grew sugar beets. Then I went to work on my uncle\u2019s dairy farm, Clash Farm. I was 16 or 17. He sold the dairy. That\u2019s when my life segues into golf. He built an 18-hole golf course on his 130-acre parcel. The golf course fit in nicely. I helped lay it out, including the stones, and helped seed it. I liked being on the equipment, running machinery. It was wonderful.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Harbour Point Golf Club served as a training ground for O\u2019Connor. He enhanced his journey at Reaseheath College in Cheshire, England, which during World War II interrupted its regular agriculture curriculum so it could be used to train recruits in the Women\u2019s Land Army. O\u2019Connor graduated in golf course management in 1995.\n<\/p>\n

During his schooling, O\u2019Connor met a woman who was touring the country. He would visit her in Minnesota, eventually moving there, and they married. His career in America was launched 30 years ago at Wayzata Country Club in Wayzata, Minn., where he worked for Bob Distel. O\u2019Connor came to him from Ireland\u2019s Killarney Golf & Fishing Club. Talk about a small world: Distel first heard about O\u2019Connor through Distel\u2019s general manager, who informed him that he had learned O\u2019Connor was coming to the U.S.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of a sudden, one day this Irish kid is standing in the clubhouse. His brogue accent was thick. You could see right away what an engaging presence he was going to be,\u201d says Distel, a 38-year retired GCSAA member, \u201cand he fit right in our system with experience from a different land.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\"Early
A sweet sight at O\u2019Connor\u2019s place at Alexandria GC.<\/p>\n

Distel, who was 20 when he became a superintendent for the first time in St. James, Minn., says O\u2019Connor quickly moved up the ranks. \u201cDidn\u2019t take long to add him as an assistant. Lot of projects. A lot of laughs. He brought a different flair and a different way of thinking. Always tested me. \u2018Did you think about it this way?\u2019 I appreciated that, to think about a different angle,\u201d Distel says.\n<\/p>\n

Distel\u2019s father, Gerald, came to his son after he was informed that Alexandria GC was looking for a superintendent. \u201cI put him (O\u2019Connor) in touch with them,\u201d says Distel, adding that after Alexandria GC interviewed O\u2019Connor, they realized they struck gold. \u201cIt was clear to them (Alexandria GC) they had something special. He took it there to a higher grade of operation. He was never afraid to take on a challenge. He has a lot of backbone.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

O\u2019Connor\u2019s journey at Alexandria GC started in January 2001. \u201cNeat place. Drains so well. The seasons here are wonderful,\u201d O\u2019Connor says about the parkland-style, semi-private 18-hole course.\n<\/p>\n

Those near him think he\u2019s wonderful. \u201cNo problem is too small. He\u2019s a problem solver,\u201d says Kyle Lee, head golf professional at Alexandria GC. \u201cHe got a standing ovation at the stockholders meeting.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

One of the coolest experiences O\u2019Connor has participated in is the building of Alexandria GC\u2019s Little Darling Par 3 Course. It became reality when it broke ground in 2023, was constructed and seeded in 2024 and opened this year. It was designed in part by club member and 1996 British Open winner Tom Lehman. The Little Darling provides affordable access to more people in the community while introducing golf to youths. Another significant part of the club for O\u2019Connor and his crew, which includes Jake Fenno, superintendent of the Little Darling Par 3 Course, is the annual The Resorters Golf Tournament. In August, Alexandria GC held its 104th annual The Resorters Golf Tournament, one of the oldest open events for men, women and youths in America.\n<\/p>\n

Whether O\u2019Connor remains in the U.S. for the long haul is unknown. The 52-year-old father of three girls \u2014 Onna, Ciara (in high school she worked with the crew for her father, mostly walk-mowing greens and tees) and Aisling \u2014 misses Ireland. Although at one point he surmised that a superintendent stays in his job for five years, O\u2019Connor has lasted way beyond that, becoming a staple at Alexandria GC. At the conclusion of this conversation with him, he did not say goodbye. Instead, he signed off with a \u201ccheerio.\u201d At Alexandria GC, he speaks their language. Perhaps the golf pro, Lee, put it best: \u201cThey love him.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Howard Richman is GCM’s associate editor<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Donnacha O’Connor is an Irishman who became a staple in Minnesota at Alexandria Golf Club in Alexandria. Photos…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":376097,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[443],"tags":[49,48,622,82],"class_list":["post-376096","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-golf","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/376096","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=376096"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/376096\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/376097"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=376096"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=376096"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=376096"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}