Punt and swing at Ballinrobe

Whether it’s a flutter on the horses or a round of golf you fancy, the racecourse and golf course in Ballinrobe have put together an attractive package that caters for everyone, details of which were revealed at a launch at the golf club last Friday.
For €45, a round of golf, admission to the racecourse, two-course meal and racecard is included. With Ballinrobe Racecourse regarded as one of the leading country tracks in the land and the Ballinrobe Golf Club considered one of the finest parkland courses in the province, both clubs hope this partnership will appeal to the many people who take an interest in both sports.
“We look forward to welcoming both the punters and the golfers to our two venues,” said club captain Martin Boyle, who went on to remark the current economic climate. “It is by pulling together that we can rise to the challenge of these times. It is through our partnerships we will thrive and succeed,” added Martin.
The histories of the two clubs have been intertwined for much of the last century as they shared the same home at Rathcarreen until 1995. The golf club’s move away from Rathcarreen facilitated extensive development at the racecourse and in turn allowed the golf club develop its championship course at Cloonacastle. Indeed, since the mid ‘90s, the two have emerged as leaders among sporting venues in Connacht.
Chairperson of Ballinrobe Racecourse, John Staunton, echoed the words of Martin Boyle and noted how lucky Ballinrobe was to have two such wonderful sporting facilities.
“Many towns throughout Ireland would be delighted to have one such facility,” remarked John, who told of how it was nearly 60 years ago since he first joined the golf club.
“The golf club made a very wise decision when they decided to buy the land here in Cloonacastle and develop it into such a wonderful facility. Since the golf course moved, the racecourse has been involved in a lot of development and we now have a wonderful racecourse which is acknowledged throughout the country as being one of the finest and most enjoyable places to go racing in.
“Our two facilities are of immense importance to tourism in the west of Ireland and certainly deserve better recognition. In these difficult times all businesses need to increase revenue. With this joint promotion, we hope that more of the racing fraternity will play golf and we hope more golfers will find time to go racing in Ballinrobe. We hope this joint initiative will be a great success,” added John.
Martin Boyle thanked Brendan Donovan, ladies captain Helen Healy and all those who helped organise the launch. He welcomed Golfstyle for coming on board as new sponsor of the Ladies and Gents Open Friday Grand Final on September 28th and thanked Declan Cunningham for his loyal support of the golf course.
Racecourse manager, John Flannelly, spoke of the need to promote local businesses and facilities and how this partnership represents a terrific opportunity to do so.
“We have the facilities, the network of roads and above all, a loyal base of supporters of both the racecourse and the golf club. The best in the land and indeed in the world of racing and golf have acknowledged our facilities in Ballinrobe. We’ve always had these great facilities on our doorstep and I’ve no doubt the overlap of people who like both racing and golf will recognise this too and avail of the great package deal on offer.”