We speak to Enniskillen Golf Club captain Scott Hamilton on an anniversary with a difference

Enniskillen Golf Club is celebrating its 125th anniversary this year and current club captain Scott Hamilton says that it is very much a case of looking forward and building on the success of the club over the years.

Indeed, golf has enjoyed a bit of renaissance in these pandemic hit times with memberships on the rise and Enniskillen has certainly benefitted in that respect.

Glorious

For Scott, the pandemic virtually wiped out his original year as captain last year but at least this year he was able to hold his Captain’s Day albeit with some restrictions in place.

He was, indeed, blessed with glorious sunshine and he says the future is equally bright for Enniskillen.

“In some respects, this year has been similar to last year and there has certainly been a good increase in membership again,” said the club captain.

He added: “It is certainly very encouraging to see so many young people taking up the game and we have a lot of people playing for the first time. Part of it is to get out after the lockdowns but it is also good to see it being sustained.”

Scott feels the club continues to go from strength to strength.

“I think in its 125th year, the club is prospering and that is down to the work of a lot of volunteers in the club, working to keep improving the facilities such as the recent work on the fairways to help combat the Fermanagh climate.”

Most impact

He does though feel that the social end of the club has been impacted most by the coronavirus pandemic.

“We had planned a ball for November but that could not go ahead understandably, we had to be cautious but we have marked the 125th year with a display of old memorabilia in the clubhouse.

“We put new flags on the course and on the flagpole at the clubhouse. We are having a more casual function at the start of November where we will present a few prizes and also mark the anniversary.”

Scott says the club is also working on fully integrating the ladies section.

“The club is proactive in integrating the ladies section fully into the club. Barbara Thompson and Tanya Cathcart have been on the main committee for some time and the ladies have played in some of our competitions as well. It is important the club is more reflective of what is going on in society at the minute and that will be a key development in the weeks and months ahead.”

There can be no doubt that Enniskillen Golf Club is a very different beast to the one that started 125 years ago on links opposite Castle Coole.

It has developed and moved with the times, survived two world wars and is currently battling its way through a pandemic.

Moreover it is showing no sign of stopping and that, as one would expect, is simply par for the course.