Tralee Golf Club, Ireland
Host of the 2026 Arnold Palmer Cup
Instituted October 1, 1896, Tralee Golf Club opened its present Arnold Palmer-designed course for play at Barrow in October, 1984, after moving from its nine-hole course at Mounthawk near Tralee. It was a great achievement for the Club. Having decided to buy land at Barrow back in 1980, the members’ dream of seeing the Club attain world-wide status has been realized.
Back in 1896 the Club had its first nine-hole course in Tralee, believed to be where the Sports field is now located. A year later, in 1897, it opened a nine-hole course in Fenit on the south-western side of Barrow Harbour. There were 120 members then (compared to today's 1,300) who paid a subscription of 10 shillings a year, with visitors having one week free play as introduction.
During the 'Troubles', in the 1920's, a Captain Lionel Hewson was hired to design a new course in Oakpark, Tralee. He was suspicious of the men who sat around on the demesne walls watching him while he measured and made notes. He wrote later that 'bullets used to fly in those days on little provocation. He had reason to cast a wary eye - a Major McKinnon in the Auxiliary Division of the Royal Irish Constabulary was shot dead on the course in March, 1921, while playing golf.
The above is an excerpt from a book on the local area entitled Links: Barrow & Hinterland by Mary O'Connor.
Arnold Palmer Statue at Tralee
From the website of the sculptor, Zenos Frudakis:
”Over-life-size bronze statue of Arnold Palmer dedicated at Tralee Golf Course, Tralee Ireland, on Mr. Palmer's birthday, Monday, September 10, 2007. This is the second cast—the initial cast was dedicated on the same day at the airport named after him in Latrobe, Pennsylvania.
When Mr. Palmer posed for Zenos Frudakis earlier this year in Bay Hill, Orlando, we brought the clay bust Zenos was working on into Mr. Palmer's office in advance of his arrival. Mr. Palmer's golden retriever, Mulligan, lit up when he saw the bust, and began wagging his tail. He followed Zenos, who was carrying the bust, into Mr. Palmer's office, tail still in motion. When the bust was placed on the sculpture stand, Mulligan sat down in front of it, looking into the sculpture's eyes, and continued wagging his tail.
Those who know the subject best are often the harshest critics of sculpture busts, so with Mulligan's approval, we felt the sculpture was moving in the right direction.
Mr. Palmer likes it also.”