Paul McGinley shocked almost nobody when he revealed to Paul Kimmage in the Sunday Independent that his relationship with Darren Clarke is deader than dead in the wake of the political machinations involved in the last European Ryder Cup captaincy campaign. 

Check that. He surprised some that he would actually give remotely revelatory answers, on the record, in what is a sensitive period for the European Tour in terms of media management and avoiding any potential damage to what is a huge cash cow.

It was no real surprise though that McGinley navigated his way through the Clarke scenario without dropping a particularly explosive sound-byte.

As a wily businessman, it is no surprise either to see that he's also decided to increase his interest and involvement in the club hire business helped get off the ground as a founding investor in 2010, Clubstohire.com.

According to a press release, "he has also committed to representing the Dublin-based enterprise - with its 21 locations across the Mediterranean and South Africa - in a promotional capacity for the next seven years."

“I’m really excited about what the future holds for ClubstoHire, given the speed at which the business has grown over the past four years,” said McGinley, who recently presented the company’s 125,000th customer with a new set of golf clubs and bag.

“I’m delighted to have the opportunity to increase my investment in such an innovative company that is intent on getting more people playing golf at a reasonable cost in different locations across the world.”

McGinley will continue to work closely with ClubstoHire co-founders and fellow Irishmen Gerry McKernan and Tony Judge.

“We’re absolutely thrilled that Paul has increased his investment in the company,” said CEO Judge. “He’s incredibly passionate about ClubstoHire and his international profile and business acumen will be of even more help to us as we look to grow in new markets like Dubai and the Far East.”

ClubstoHire added 1,000 of the latest clubs to this year’s product offering, including the new Callaway Big Bertha driver, and is on target to provide almost 50,000 sets. It won the inaugural ‘Golf Business Community Award for Innovation’ at The HSBC Golf Business Forum in Abu Dhabi six months ago and, more recently, ClubstoHire was shortlisted for the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ award in Ireland, which will be announced in Dublin next month.

Golfers can rent sets of clubs from €35 per week at the following ClubstoHire locations: Spain – Alicante, Costa Dorada, Girona, Gran Canaria, La Linea/Gibraltar, Palma, Malaga, Murcia & Tenerife; Portugal – Faro, Lagos & Lisbon; Cyprus – Aphrodite Hills; Turkey – Belek; Africa – Cape Town (South Africa) & Marrakesh (Morocco); UK & Ireland – Edinburgh, Isle of Man, Dublin, Cork and Shannon.

For more on ClubstoHire, including locations and equipment available, go to www.clubstohire.com.