Lynn’s enjoying ‘buzz’ during exciting times at Murvagh…

Donegal Golf Club is currently undergoing an exciting on-course redevelopment under the guidance of former Ryder Cup captain, Paul McGinley, and that is part of the reason why the Murvagh-based links course is the perfect new home of Lynn McCool.

The Strabane native has recently taken over as General Manager of the spectacular course that overlooks Donegal Bay and she brings a wealth of experience with her, having been a golf scholarship student in America before studying for her PGA qualification under the watchful eye of Michael Doherty at City of Derry Golf Club.

From there she ventured to the Hilton Templepatrick, where she was Director of Golf before taking the same position at the Lough Erne Resort. From there, she moved south to Glasson House and now she has taken over at Donegal Golf Club where she will be much closer to her home in Enniskillen.

And while the proximity of Murvagh to her Fermanagh base was one of the reasons she decided to apply for the General Manager’s position at Donegal Golf Club, so too was the McGinley redesign of some of the holes on the course and her fondness for the links.

“It’s brilliant, there’s a great buzz about the place with all the work that Paul McGinley is doing. There’s quite a bit of excitement about the place,” she beamed.

“I played here a bit when I was growing up. I would have travelled up here with my auntie to play in the alliance, so I know the place quite well and I did the international Kings Cup amateur tournament here, so when I saw the position coming up I was very excited.

“It’s a links course close to home, so when the position came up, it just seemed so right to express an interest and come up here.”

As a general manager rather than director of golf, McCool will be able to utilise all of her experience from the playing side, to course management and what she learned while working in three of Ireland’s major golf resorts.

“When I was director of golf [at Glasson House], which I was at Lough Erne too, I was over all the golf operations and the only difference here now is that it will entail the clubhouse too, working with the chef and the bar team but apart from that it’s all the same,” she explained.

“When I became director of golf [at the Hilton, Templepatrick], I was working with the hotel, the hotel manager, the food and beverage manager, the chef, the sales team, so I got a real insight into resort life.

“It was great for me because I’ve been able to use so many of the skills I learned there through my career.”

During the winter, one of McCool’s major roles will be overseeing the redevelopment – it’s a ‘fine tuning’ of an already impressive course – which has already seen the 16th, 17th and 18th holes redesigned, while the signature fifth hole – The Valley of Tears – is almost complete and there are improvements taking place on the second, third and fourth holes.

“At the minute it’s about working around the work that’s going on on the course,” she added. “For example, when the Valley of Tears has been closed, we’ve put in a par three and in fact, it’s turning out to be a great little golf hole.

“But the work that’s being done, you’d hardly notice it going on, people were coming and playing a full 18 holes of golf and there’s still a great buzz about the place.

“And it’s lovely to see Paul McGinley because he’s all about the experience of golf, making the golf course playable.

“He’s not going in to design a whole golf course, he’s going in to fine tune it, which is great.

“We were out looking at the work he’s doing at the fifth and the hole has come on so much now.

“The work he’s done means it’s still a very, very good par three but it should make it easier to find your ball, particularly if you’re short.

“It’s still a spectacular par three and there will still be plenty of tears!”

The work that is taking place will certainly make a testing track a little more accessible to the majority of players, while retaining it’s teeth and continuing to provide a challenge to all.

And that combination, McCool hopes, will help Donegal Golf Club become a feature destination on tour operators course lists as they attempt to tap further into the lucrative American market, which it should, particularly when you take into account it’s location in relation to the other great North West courses.

“Golf has become so popular in Ireland now and the courses in the south west that you would always have heard of, your Ballybunions, your Watervilles your Tralees, they are almost at full capacity for the bookings for the year ahead, so the north west of Ireland is really starting to open up,” Lynn observed.

“Golfers are wanting to travel further north now and it’s exciting times for the north and north west of Ireland.

“Everybody, historically, the operators, would have focused on the south west, but now they are really happy with the product that’s here and why wouldn’t they? Look at the stretch from Carne to Enniscrone, Rosses Point, Donegal, Nairn and Portnoo to Cruit and Rossapenna, Portsalon and Ballyliffin, that’s a fantastic stretch.

“But the way Ireland is, some people think, and I think people are getting more educated in this, especially Americans coming in, people used to think you could come to Ireland and play around it in a week!

“They didn’t realise how many courses there are and how many good ones, so the best thing for them to do is, if they’re playing in the south west, stay there, and if they’re coming to the north west, base yourself here and go and play that wonderful stretch of golf courses. And I think over the next year, two, three, four, five and six, Donegal and the north west is going to be on everyone’s ‘bucket list’.”

The McCool family name is well-known in Irish golf these days as Lynn’s older brother Liam is director of golf at Carton House, while dad Liam senior is a former president at Strabane Golf Club.

And while Lynn excelled from an early age, representing Ireland from the age of 13 before progressing to earning a scholarship in the USA where, thanks to the antiquated technology of the late 1980s and early 1990s, she found herself in Hawaii.

“I went to America back in 1990 to 1993 and it was one of the best experiences ever!,” she beamed.

“But back then, there was no email – I’m showing my age now – no mobile phones, so I wrote to 20 schools in America and at Hawaii, the Japanese coach was the first to pick up the phone and ring me, so back then, it took about two weeks to get a letter from Ireland to America, so by the time the other colleges wrote back to me I’d already signed up with Hawaii!”

While in the USA’s most westerly state, Lynn played regularly against someone who would become a legend of the women’s game, Annika Sörenstam.

“Hawaii was amazing and we played on the mainland every week. I wouldn’t change a thing,” she added. “Because I was number one with Hawaii and Annika Sörenstam was number one for Arizona, I used to play with her most weeks.

“We were paired together most weeks, and it was like being on tour. I’d recommend it to any young player.”

Life on Tour was Lynn’s next step after her time in America but it proved to be short-lived due to a sudden reduction in the number of women’s events, so she made the decision to join the club pro ranks, learning from one of the best in the process.

“The first year [on Tour] was brilliant, you had Laura Davis and all the big names, the standard of play was phenomenal,” she enthused. “It just so happened the Tour went down a few events and it wasn’t really sustainable for me, so I went back home and got the qualification.

“For me, one of the best times was working for Michael Doherty, the man was phenomenal. That was shown through the PGA who named him millennial pro of the year and centenary pro of the year. He taught me so much, from club repairs, to the business side, looking after people.”

Having taken lots on board from each and every experience she has had in her career, McCool is keen to make the most of her latest opportunity at Donegal Golf Club. She feels it has the capability to follow in the footsteps of Ballyliffin and host an event like the Irish Open and she’s keen to embrace the increasingly popular golf ‘influencers’ like Rick Shiels and Peter Finch, to help improve the club’s profile globally.

“What the Irish Open did for Ballyliffin was tremendous,” she acknowledged.

“The course [at Murvagh] could certainly hold the crowds, it’s a great lay-out for it, but it’s one step at a time. Get the works completed with Paul McGinley and look after the members the best we can and do tap into that American market big time.

“It’s about making people see Donegal Golf Club as a course they are not going to drive past, they are going to come here and know they are going to be looked after, they’ll enjoy a good golf course and then who knows down the line what can come.

“The course, under Paul Travers, is certainly in great condition and it’s a great test of golf, so who knows, we’ll be looking to work towards something.

“And these top influencers, I’d love to see Rick Shiels here. I listen to him a lot when I’m travelling in the car. These guys are all great and it’s amazing the following they have nowadays.

“He loves golf in Ireland and Gemma Hegarty had him over at Greencastle recently, so you never know and there’s a few from America we’d love to have over and welcome to the club.”