The Firm & Fast Golf Podcast Shane Derby

Royal Portrush hosted it's first Open Championship in 1951, with Max Faulkner triumphing over Harry Colt's Dunluce Course... at the time Bernard Darwin was minded to write that Colt's design of the Dunluce links was 'a monument more enduring than Brass'.


As listeners will know the Open Championship returned to Royal Portrush in 2019. In advance of the 148th staging of the Championship MacKenzie & Ebert undertook improvement and revision works on both the Dunluce & Valley courses at RP. With the club due to host the 153rd Open in 2025, members at Royal Portrush approved a comprehensive improvement plan for the Valley. These works began in November 2023 and are expected to be complete by August 2024. Works focus upon improving and augmenting the spectator, player and member experience throughout the property.


I joined consulting course designer Martin Ebert at Royal Portrush recently for a course walk and podcast recording session as DAR Golf Construction enter the finishing straight on these improvements. Over the course of our hour long chat we explore the works on the Valley Course while also lingering a while on M&E's improvement works at Enniscrone over the past winter. Finally we briefly touch upon M&E's upcoming projects at County Sligo Golf Club, Noordwijk Golf Club in the Netherlands and New South Wales Golf Club in Sydney, Australia.


Thanks to Martin, Graham, Graeme, Ashley, John, Nigel and Jim for their help and assistance in putting this episode together, thanks for tuning in, we hope you enjoy our chat.


The master plan for the Valley works can be viewed by clicking the following link.


A new book on Chicago Golf Club, The Prairie Raynor, published by Grant Books, was mentioned briefly towards the end of the episode, hit the link for more information.
Special Guest: Martin Ebert.

County Sligo Golf Club celebrates 130 years of existence in 2024. Club members recently approved a course development plan, prepared by course designers M&E. In this episode we catch up with Council member David Dunne to hear about the scope of these plans, which will be implemented over the coming years.


David has an interesting back story which we explore in parallel with our chat about the Rosses Point links.


Many thanks for tuning in, we hope you enjoy the show!


Epiosde imagery courtesy of County Sligo Golf Club


Episode music used under license from Epidemic Sound
Special Guest: David Dunne.

Friend of the pod Mark Millar, the Superintendent at County Sligo Golf Club, joined us for a chat in the Ewing Room in the clubhouse at Rosses Point during a recent visit to the home of the West of Ireland Amateur Championship. The Club has hosted the event since its inaugural hosting of the event in 1923.


We take a look at the site at Rosses, discussing some of the challenges that Mark faces through the seasons and tke a look at his well travelled career. We also look forward to the clubs hosting of the Irish Amateur Championship which the club was awarded as they celebrate their 130th year in 2024.


Be sure to get to Rosses this year, there is still teetime availability and you will not regret it.


We hope you enjoy the episode.


Music under license from Epidemic Sound
Special Guest: Mark Millar.

The First in a four part series that cover the F&F Spring Break to Counties Sligo and Mayo. Myself and a good mate set off from Dublin to the Atlantic West Coast of Ireland to explore the delights of links golf at Rosses Point, Strandhill, Enniscrone & Belmullet.


Please take a look at the F&F Instagram page to view a number of reels showing County Sligo, Strandhill, Enniscrone and Carne in all of their early season splendour.


Please find a few links below for accommodation, eating and non golfy stuff that might be of use to you when planning a trip Westwards


Radisson SAS Rosses Point
Glass House Hotel Sligo


Otto Pizza Sligo
Flipside Sligo


Bartragh Restaurant Enniscrone GC (the curry was divine!)
Diamond Coast Hotel Enniscrone


Shraigh Air BnB Belmullet (sleeps 4 comfortably - highly recommended)


Broadhaven Bay Hotel Belmullet
Talbot Hotel Belmullet


Blacksod Lighthouse
Ceide Fields


We hope you enjoy both this episode and the series which will dive a good bit deeper with some of the characters we encountered.


The West is Awake!


Episode image credit to Nick Wall, Air Swing Media


Music under license from Epidemic Sound
Special Guest: Niall Higgins.

Tony Cunningham is a long standing member at County Sligo Golf Club at Rosses Point. While visiting recently we sat down with him to explore the origin story of ine of the grand old dames of Irish Golf. Founded by members of the Sligo Militia in 1894, the club celebrates 130 years in 2024.


The Club has hosted the West of Ireland Championships since its introduction/inception in 1923 - the West heralds the beginning of the elite amateur golf season and is held over the course of a week every Easter. Former champions include Shane Lowry, Rory McIlroy, Padraig Harrington, JB Carr, John Burke & County Sligo's very own Cecil Ewing.


As part of the 130 year celebrations, County Sligo are also hosting the Irish Amateur Open in May 2024.


This episode is the second instalment from the F&F Spring Break 2024, future episodes feature a great catch up with Mark Millar the Superintendent at County Sligo and Council Member David Dunne who is acting as the main point of liason between the club and their consulting architects MacKenzie & Ebert on a 5 year improvement plan for the links which is scheduled to commence later this year.


Thanks for tuning in, we hope you enjoy the show.


Episode Music, under license from Epidemic Sound
Special Guest: Tony Cunningham.

Leo Barber the GM and Course Manager at Paraparaumu Beach Golf Club on the Kapiti Coast of the North Island of New Zealand joins us for this episode.


I have had the great pleasure of playing the links at Paraparaumu Beach on a number of occasions, over the course of 4 rounds there, thus far, the washboard fairways and associated dunescapes really resonated with this self confessed links junkie.


Leo recently marked the 75th anniversary of Alex Russell's arrival at Paraparaumu with a presentation to the members of the club and joins us today to recount both the story of the links and his own journey which began a mere 15 minutes down the road from the club in Pukerua Bay.


We hope you enjoy our chat!


Please check out the following links for some additional supporting content


Leo Barber's pictorial history of PBGC


Ran Morisset's course tour of PBGC on Golf Club Atlas


Christian Cullen best try's link


Clyde Johnson website - Book on North Island Country Golf in NZ


Intro and outro music - _Shoreline Serenade by Dye O _- under license from Epidemic Sound
Special Guest: Leo Barber.