Padraig Harrington has teamed up with Dun Laoighaire-Rathdown County Council to develop and design a 'unique' putting course in Dublin's Marlay Park.
The 3,000 square-meter course, which is set to open in Spring 2022, will be publicly accessible and family focused aimed at opening up the game of golf to future generations.
And the 2021 Team Europe Ryder Cup captain claims that St Andrews' huge successful putting course provided the inspiration for his Padraig Harrington Charitable Foundation to get involved.
"I have always been in awe of the popularity of the Himalayas Putting Course in St. Andrews and wanted to be involved in providing something similar for the people of Ireland to allow them to experience golf in a fun and family focused setting," Harrington said.
"With this in mind, the Padraig Harrington Charitable Foundation, with the assistance of a golf development grant from The R&A to contribute towards the construction of the facility and also a grant from Golf Ireland, supported by Sport Ireland’s special projects scheme, will fund the design and construction of a state of the art, undulating and unique putting course covering 3,000 square metres at Marlay Park, working in partnership with Turfgrass® and Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council.
"My sincere thanks go to John Clarkin and his team at Turfgrass®, Anthony Bennett at Atlantic Golf Construction, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council and its Parks team, all the contractors who have also offered their time and services for free or at preferential rates, as well as both The R&A and Golf Ireland for their generous grants."
Golf Ireland CEO Mark Kennelly said; “As the national governing body for golf, we’re delighted to support this project. We appreciate the support from Sport Ireland, so we can provide funding to this project. It’s exciting what Padraig is doing in Marlay Park, in bringing new people to the sport. As an initial introduction to the sport, it’s a fantastic concept.
“It’s going to be a huge success. We look forward to seeing the final product next year, and the project is opened to the people in the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown area. Hopefully it is something that can be replicated in other areas around the country."
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