![]() ![]() In many clubs, being a caddie was the traditional route to playing as an artisan. The family's land touched onto the old course that overlooked the estuary, and from the age of eight he started to caddie there. A professional for 50 years, his introduction - and that of his famous brothers Paddy, Tom and Mick - came through artisan golf in Malahide. Almost as if, in this ultimate game of honour, this is the most honourable form of all. We love it." Indeed, there is something immensely romantic, and pure, about artisan golf. "And, yet, I don't think there is a nicer or better way to play golf. "Things have certainly changed over the years," admits Jim McAuley, joint-treasurer of the IAGA. ![]() There were times when an Irish team wouldn't be a real Irish team unless it had at least one artisan on it and, while that may no longer be the case, it remains that the association has some 600 members, attached to 17 clubs, who wouldn't play their golf any other way. ![]() Although peculiar to the eastern seaboard (around Dublin and north Wicklow mainly), it maintains a rich history. In fact, the Irish Artisans Golfers' Association (IAGA) is alive and very much kicking. In these days as the game explodes - more people playing golf than ever on more courses than ever - and the advent of pay-to-play, there is a mistaken concept that the artisans have simply integrated into more regularised golf. Artisan golf is reminiscent of another era, almost a throwback to an age when it was the only way for bluecollar workers to play. ![]()
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