Tandragee Golf Club is an 18-hole parkland course to the south of the Co. Armagh town. It offers beautiful scenery and stunning views of woodland, rivers, hills, and vales.
The historic Tandragee Castle is visible from parts of the course. Other parts look towards the River Cusher and across the rural Co. Armagh hills. Pine trees line the fairways and the course boasts an unusual duck pond.
The 9th Duke of Manchester established a private course on his estate in 1911. He employed John Stone, a Scottish professional golfer from Sandy Lodge Golf Club, London, to lay out the course. Stone, his wife, and daughters collected fees from their home in the course’s Gate Lodge.
The Duchess of Manchester designed some of the original bunkers and these remain part of the course. As a native of Cincinnati, Ohio, she based their shape on the Great Lakes.
1947 Open Championship Winner Fred Daly tees off at Tandragee Golf Club in Co. Armagh sometime in 1941 while Europe was at war. Copyright Tandragee Golf Club.
War Stops Play
The local council made a decision in 1939 to offer members of the armed services free use of the course during the war. Sunday playing was not permitted. This angered some and stories suggest they threatened to park their tanks on the greens if they could not play seven days a week. By 1941, all Open fixtures had stopped due to the ongoing war.
Records from 1942 show that Mr. J Patterson, the greenkeeper served in the Ulster Home Guard. His pay increased by 5 shillings and he was given permission to attend Home Guard training nearby in Portadown.
Many famous faces graced the Tandragee Golf Club course over the years. In 1941, Fred Daly teed off in domestic competition. He would go on to become Open Champion in 1947.