Maura Cassidy is a former GUI official who worked with amateur golf's governing body from 1978 to 1995 when she took up her present employment as golf director of the Portmarnock Hotel and Golf Links.
Membership: Portmarnock Hotel and Golf Links is unique in Ireland in that there are no members. The golf course is designed to encourage visitors from overseas to sample the golfing delights in Ireland. There are 20-year gold cards for the corporate sector, for private use or corporate entertainment.
Status: The Bernhard Langer-designed course was voted number 14 in Ireland within two years of opening.
Honours: On a personal level, I have captained Ireland at junior international and senior interprovincial levels, winner of the Irish Foursomes, reached the semi-finals of the Irish Close, appointed as a selector to the Leinster team. Has been an official of the eastern executive of the ILGU.
Finest Hour: I would have to say the day that I was appointed as golf director to a links course with stunning potential and also witnessing the opening of the hotel in 1996.
Worst Hour: There has not really been one yet, but I am still waiting.
Club Hero: It has to be Darren Clarke, who is attached to Portmarnock Hotel and Golf Links and is a superb ambassador both on and off the course. On a personal level, it is nice to see someone whose career I have watched since his early days in the amateurs come through to be a huge success and produce great performances in the Ryder Cup and the recent US Masters.
Greatest Rival: The Irish weather. Need I say more!
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