Shane Lowry-mania has hit the Faithful County and inspired some hard-working volunteers and local business people to set up the Offaly Junior Golf Academy.

The Open champion was his own one-man golf academy growing up at Esker Hills where he'd play 54 holes in a day and hone those magical short game skills for hours on end at a club that did not even have a practice ground.

He had lots of help along the way, of course, as his talent was quickly spotted by Leinster Golf and the GUI and he went on to win the Irish Open as an amateur and become one of the best players in the world.

The Clara man has lots left to achieve in the game, but his unforgettable, six-shot win in The Open at Royal Portrush last summer has sparked golf mania among kids all over Ireland and his native Offaly in particular.

The "Lowry Effect" has been so great that a group of local businessmen have pledged substantial sponsorship to fund the Offaly Junior Golf Academy — a joint venture by Esker Hills, Tullamore, Edenderry, Birr and Castle Barna - that's designed to give kids aged eight to 18 the chance to enhance their enjoyment of the game over the next five years and learn life skills along the way. 

"It was crazy," said Bernard Quigley, who will carry out the Academy coaching sessions with fellow PGA professional Eamonn O'Flanagan even though he is leaving Tullamore Golf Club after a five-year tenure to become Head Professional at Naas Golf Club on March 17.

"As Shane was leading The Open into the Friday and Saturday, the kids were out on the putting green in Tullamore, just enjoying the buzz of the local boy doing well. He has inspired the next generation, and it is having a knock-on effect on golf across the country."

Lowry's home club has experienced a significant upsurge in Junior membership, where his father Brendan is one of a small cadre of dedicated volunteers who give up their time to help the youngsters.

"We had 20 or 30 Juniors before The Open, we now have more than 70, and that's all because of the Shane Effect," explained Ray Molloy from Esker Hills. "We only had a couple of girls, but we have over a dozen now. They say it's cool to be down here, and the girls like to move in numbers! Golf is the winner big time."

The Academy was launched last weekend and while finding the next Shane Lowry or Leona Maguire would be a bonus, the objective is to give boys and girls some basic golfing skills that will allow them to get more enjoyment from being a member of their club.

More than 100 youngsters have been nominated by the participating clubs to undergo assessments under the watchful gaze of O'Flanagan and Quigley at Rahan Driving Range near Esker Hills on February 17 and 21 next.

"The first phase starts with two skills selection on 17 and 21 Feb and following that we will have 72 who will take part in the Academy from the ages of 8 to 18 and they will receive eight coaching sessions apiece," explained Tullamore's Brian Monaghan, one of the leading lights behind the initiative and the first chairperson of the Offaly Junior Golf Academy committee.

 "Then there will be five open sessions at each golf club for all the remaining kids who don't make it to the Academy proper. So there will be a support session for all the volunteers at the clubs to show them how to assist structuring an opening coaching session along with formal coaching of skills for the kids who didn't make it on to the Academy. These additional coaching sessions will be delivered by Bernard and Eamonn during the season. 

"Effectively you are talking about 21 coaching sessions under the Academy with a tournament at the end of the year for boys and girls to be hosted by the Academy at one of the clubs."

Lowry's Open win was the catalyst for the Offaly Junior Golf Academy, as the committee chairman explained.

"I started the Junior Development Committee at Tullamore three years ago to find new ways to make golf more accessible to young boys and girls," Monaghan said. "Two local businessmen in Tullamore came to me with an idea and asked if we could bring something together shortly after Shane's win and into the autumn of last year. 

"For want of a better word, we jumped on the Shane Lowry bandwagon and tried to make it something that belonged to Offaly, and that was the kernel of it. 

"There are structures in place for juniors in Ireland, which reaches out to another level of golfer. When you look at the success of the Leinster Golf Pathway, we can help prepare the boys within the academy who may wish to transition onto their programme and who meet their criteria. There are probably 500 junior members in Offaly, so we felt there was a space to do something more." 

The Confederation of Golf in Ireland has come on board and plans to use the Academy to run a pilot Junior Golf-Sixes competition with the five participating clubs this year, allowing boys and girls aged 8-10 with 38 handicaps to play fun golf in a team environment in just 90 minutes. 

Offaly has punched far above its weight in golfing terms over the years with Birr's Richie Coughlan winning his European and PGA Tour cards, his club mate Justin Kehoe making it to the Challenge Tour and Tullamore's Stuart Grehan now trying to make the grade as a professional following a highly successful amateur.

Former Shamrock Rovers winger Stephen Grant, another Birr native, took up the game late in life and went on to turn professional, reaching the Second Stage of both the European Tour and PGA Tour Qualifying Schools. At the same time, Banagher's Joe Lyons won the West of Ireland championship and remains one of the country's leading amateurs.

There are several Offaly young guns on the GUI's Provincial and Regional Coaching Panels along with juniors on Leinster Golf’s Pathway panels, but for coach O'Flanagan, there's more to the Offaly Junior Golf Academy than potentially finding another superstar.

"This is designed to focus on the Juniors and create a pathway for them as they get established in the game so they understand how to progress," the Donegal native explained. "It's about preparing them to get the skills that enable them to enjoy the game in their own time. 

"It's a fantastic initiative because it focuses on the county and the clubs within the county. There is an identity theme here, and Shane Lowry is just one of their heroes. Many of the girls also really look up to the likes of Leona Maguire who visited Esker Hills on a number of occasions with her sister Lisa to practice and play. 

"The committee has clear objectives which are to promote and encourage junior golf within the Offaly clubs while also offering the opportunity to develop life skills of friendship, respect and fair play while representing both themselves and their clubs. 

"This is really going to help nurture that for the kids and give them a really good environment that will allow them to develop to whatever level they want. It is also about enjoyment and fun and learning social skills. 

"Who is to say what kids can or can't achieve within the game if they are given the right environment, opportunities, some coaching and competition exposure amongst their friends. That can inspire a lot of kids, as we have seen with Shane himself. If they stay within the game and play actively in their clubs, it is a win/win for everyone, the clubs, the kids and the county."

Volunteers are critical to the success of Junior golf at Irish clubs, and Offaly's clubs are no different with people such as Austin Handy or Lowry's father Brendan at Esker Hills, Mark Kelly at Castle Barna, Mary Farrell and Catherine Rochford at Edenderry and Birr's Mikey Horan, just some of the key people.

"There are great volunteers at all the clubs, and Brendan is like the Pied Piper every time I see him," Quigley joked. "There are always kids hanging out of him. They can have 50 Juniors down at the range in Rahan every Monday night. They are like machine guns hitting balls. It's just getting them involved. They see golf as a fun game, and this is the next step for these kids to get some good fundamental coaching. This is the next step up."

Open champion Lowry is not directly connected with the new Academy, but he's been an inspirational figure for the Juniors at Esker Hills, where his uncle Tommy Newman is captain this year.

"Brendan is Junior Golf Co-Ordinator in the club, and sometimes Shane doesn't know he is sponsoring stuff," Ray said with a chuckle. "Brendan organises it, and Shane sponsors all the prizes for the Junior Captain's Prize, which the kids love. Everyone gets a prize, and we invite the local clubs to send three or four players to compete."

Quigley and O'Flanagan are heavily involved in Leinster Golf's coaching programmes and see the new Offaly Junior Golf Academy as an ideal feeder for those aspiring to a higher level whilst also ensuring it caters for boys and girls getting established in the game within their clubs.

After all, Quigley has seen first hand how youngsters blossom when given even a little encouragement.

"I knew Shane growing up because I played my golf in Birr originally and I played with Shane and his cousin Dave, who is my best mate," he recalled. "We used to take Shane out for games and the first year he wasn't very good. Then the next year we could see he was getting a bit better. By year three, he didn't want to play with us at all. We weren't good enough to play with him!  

"It was mad seeing the progression. Not having a practice ground at Esker Hills was probably an advantage to him because he'd play 54-holes a day in a buggy and he wasn't stuck hitting balls in the same place. He was constantly moving around, hitting different shots, and that stood to him. He didn't see that as practice. He saw it as fun.

"Shane was encouraged from a very young age in Esker Hills, just as the Juniors are encouraged in Tullamore and other clubs. There was never a time when people were saying, get these juniors off the course or get them off the putting green. We've always encouraged them, and that's massive. Golf is a game to be played. It's fun. It's a welcoming environment. You are there to meet friends and have a game for life. 

"So what we are looking for in the Offaly Junior Golf Academy isn't superstars. It's boys and girls who will play the game for life and become lifelong members. 

"If we discover that outlier or that next Shane Lowry, we will put schemes in place to develop them further. We are including girls also, and that's important to have them in with the boys, and it's a team effort. Golf needs more women coming through, and that will bring more people and more families."

Chairman Monaghan has been fielding calls from hosts of people since the launch, including local businesses eager to help. Additional funding is always welcome which will help the Academy with some ambitious plans to add additional services over the years. But he points to the power of volunteerism as key.

"The support from the inception and gestation of the idea right through to the club participation has been parental support from day one," he said. "Bernard and Eamonn have the credentials and the connections and the ability to make it work." 

As O'Flanagan explained, the Academy has a role to play in the Irish golfing eco-system. But it is also an ideal educational tool.

"One of the things that the Academy has done is get in contact with CGI to have discussions around how the Boys and Girls frameworks can help us deliver this programme," he said. 

"Leinster Golf also has its Pathway programme for boys which is now in its third year. So there is a recognition of the CGI and Leinster Pathway. The CGI can help with the younger kids getting established, and the Offaly Junior Golf Academy can help with junior boys transitioning up and potentially getting involved with the Leinster Pathway programme. 

"We are teaching them golf, but we are also giving them more life skills beyond golf - friendship, respect, self-development, learning how to improve, perseverance. These are skills that will help them at school and through life.”

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