Eddie Hackett
Encyclopedia
Eddie Hackett was an Irish golf course architect.
Eddie Hackett was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1910. As a boy he suffered from tuberculosis
, the effects of which left him without the strength or stamina to play active sports. He began playing golf with his father, and as a teenager got a job at his hometown Royal Dublin Golf Club. By the 1930s he had worked his way up as a golf professional, making clubs and competing in tournaments. In 1939 became the head golf professional at Portmarnock Golf Club
.
and Robert Trent Jones
, who commonly move tons of soil to create their courses, Hackett worked like the architects of a bygone era, laying out a course on the land as he found it. As Hackett himself said, "I find that nature is the best architect . . . I try to dress up what the Good Lord provides."
While his designs show his appreciation of the classic Scottish links where he refined his game, his own designs rarely include the forced carries or the blind shots sometimes found on older links such as Carnoustie
or Royal Troon.
The majority of Hackett's courses are true links
courses, defined by having been built on rolling, sandy ground adjacent to the sea, with native fescue grasses and few if any trees. This linksland (so named because it "links" the fertile, arable soil inland with the sea) is ill-suited for farming or commercial use, and it was on linksland that the game of golf was developed over 500 years. Hackett also designed or revised a handful of parkland courses (inland, built on soil and frequently wooded.)
Ardee
Athenry
*
Ballyliffin
*
Beaverstown Golf Club
Carne
Ceann Sibéal
Connemara
Donegal
Dooks
Dunmore Demesne Dunmore Demesne
Elmgreen
Enniscorthy
Enniscrone
Hollystown Golf Club
Letterkenny Golf Club
Magheramagorgan links
Murvagh
Old Conna Golf Club
Nenagh
Golf Club*
Rosapenna*
Ring of Kerry
Tuam
Golf Club*
Waterville
* Modified existing design
Eddie Hackett was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1910. As a boy he suffered from tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
, the effects of which left him without the strength or stamina to play active sports. He began playing golf with his father, and as a teenager got a job at his hometown Royal Dublin Golf Club. By the 1930s he had worked his way up as a golf professional, making clubs and competing in tournaments. In 1939 became the head golf professional at Portmarnock Golf Club
Portmarnock Golf Club
Portmarnock Golf Club was established in 1894, and lies just North of Dublin, in Portmarnock, Fingal, Ireland. The course was laid out by William Pickeman on land owned by the distiller John Jameson, and originally consisted of just 9 holes, with another nine being added two years later.Portmarnock...
.
Design Philosophy
Unlike the better-known of Hackett's contemporary golf course architects like Pete DyePete Dye
Paul B. "Pete" Dye is a world-renowned golf course designer and a member of a famous family of course designers. He is married to fellow designer and former amateur champion Alice Dye.-Early life:Pete Dye was born in Urbana, Ohio...
and Robert Trent Jones
Robert Trent Jones
Robert Trent Jones, Sr. was a golf course architect who designed about 500 golf courses in at least 40 US states and 35 other countries all around the world...
, who commonly move tons of soil to create their courses, Hackett worked like the architects of a bygone era, laying out a course on the land as he found it. As Hackett himself said, "I find that nature is the best architect . . . I try to dress up what the Good Lord provides."
While his designs show his appreciation of the classic Scottish links where he refined his game, his own designs rarely include the forced carries or the blind shots sometimes found on older links such as Carnoustie
Carnoustie
Carnoustie is a town and former police burgh in the council area of Angus, Scotland. It is situated at the mouth of the Barry Burn on the North Sea coast...
or Royal Troon.
The majority of Hackett's courses are true links
Links (golf)
A links is the oldest style of golf course, first developed in Scotland. The word "links" comes from the Scots language and refers to an area of coastal sand dunes and sometimes to open parkland. It also retains this more general meaning in the Scottish English dialect...
courses, defined by having been built on rolling, sandy ground adjacent to the sea, with native fescue grasses and few if any trees. This linksland (so named because it "links" the fertile, arable soil inland with the sea) is ill-suited for farming or commercial use, and it was on linksland that the game of golf was developed over 500 years. Hackett also designed or revised a handful of parkland courses (inland, built on soil and frequently wooded.)
Courses
Below is a partial list of courses which Eddie Hackett designed or modified.Ardee
Ardee
Ardee is a town and townland in County Louth, Ireland. It is located at the intersection of the N2, N52, and N33 roads. Ardee is on the banks of the River Dee and is approximately 20 km from Dundalk, Drogheda, Slane and Carrickmacross...
Athenry
Athenry
Athenry is a town in County Galway, Ireland. It lies east of Galway city, and one of the attractions of the town is its medieval castle. The town is also well-known by virtue of the song "The Fields of Athenry".-History:...
*
Ballyliffin
Ballyliffin
Ballyliffin is a small village located in the North Western tip of Inishowen, County Donegal, Ireland.The surrounding landscapes are picturesque, with the village being surrounded by Pollan Strand, Binion hill and Crockaughrim hill.-History:...
*
Beaverstown Golf Club
Carne
Ceann Sibéal
Connemara
Donegal
Dooks
Dunmore Demesne Dunmore Demesne
Elmgreen
Enniscorthy
Enniscrone
Hollystown Golf Club
Letterkenny Golf Club
Letterkenny Golf Club
Letterkenny Golf Club is a golf club located on the banks of Lough Swilly in Letterkenny, County Donegal, Ireland. The Club was founded in 1913.- History :...
Magheramagorgan links
Murvagh
Old Conna Golf Club
Old Conna Golf Club
Old Conna Golf Club is an 18-hole golf course in Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland. With a total yardage of over 6,500, this par 72 course features views of the Irish Sea and rolling hills. Opened in July, 1987, the Old Conna Golf Club is home to 700 members....
Nenagh
Nenagh
Nenagh is the county town of North Tipperary in Ireland. It is the administrative centre of North Tipperary and in 2011 it had a recorded population of 7,995. It is a civil parish in the historical barony of Ormond Lower...
Golf Club*
Rosapenna*
Ring of Kerry
Tuam
Tuam
Tuam is a town in County Galway, Ireland. The name is pronounced choo-um . It is situated west of the midlands of Ireland, and north of Galway city.-History:...
Golf Club*
Waterville