By Tom Rooney
There was no shortage of notable events in 1989.
Rory McIlroy entered the world.
The Berlin Wall fell.
Payne Stewart won his first major by pipping Mike Reid to the PGA Championship.
A novel family sitcom called The Simpsons premiered on American TV.
The young Englishman, Nick Faldo, won the first of his back-to-back Masters.
And the maiden launch of an operational GPS satellite would soon revolutionise global travel.
Meanwhile, in Dublin…
A brothers' gamble
Voluntary career changes were not – pardon the pun – par for the course in the Ireland of yesteryear.
But the Carr brothers decided to take a leap in the dark with the family game: golf.
It was a gamble, to say the least, even for the sons of the great J.B..
The Celtic Tiger was still a cub.
And around 50% of small Irish businesses folded within five years.
Eventually, Marty and John landed in an infant niche that most of its target market had never even heard of.
So there was no way of knowing what the next 35 years would bring.
This is the story of Carr Golf.
Struggling clubs and unrecognisable courses
Nowadays, there’s nothing remarkable about 250,000+ golfers flocking to Ireland every year.
But the golf tourism industry of 2024 was unimaginable in 1989.
In fact, venues that have since become world-famous were fighting for survival.
“I remember not long before I started the business there was a big fundraiser in the Burlington Hotel called the Save Ballybunion Golf Club Dinner,” Marty Carr recalls.
“People were buying lifetime memberships for hundreds of pounds. That was long before Tom Watson put it on the map.
“Clubs were struggling, and standards were poor, but the fundamental courses were the same. The standard of the golf courses now is unrecognisable from those days.”
Which begs the question: why start Carr Golf?
Inaccessible, limited and expensive
Creating lifelong memories for countless guests has made the Carr brand synonymous with luxury international golf travel.
However, Marty explains that the original business plan was closer to the grassroots – literally.
“My brother John and I set up Carr Golf because I wanted to get out of financial services. I was working for NCB Group (now Investec), and having returned from the US, we felt we should do something in golf given the Carr name.
“We started with approaching local authorities about developing public golf courses, as golf was inaccessible in those days.
“All clubs were private members courses and unaccompanied outside play was only on Tuesday and Thursday. It was extremely limited and extremely expensive.”
Fittingly, the inspiration for Plan B came from inside the Carr house.
'My Dad thought I was mad'
In 1971, J.B. Carr officially hung up his clubs.
Ireland’s greatest amateur golfer had been a serial winner and a habitual trailblazer.
His 42 titles in 30 years included three British Amateur Championships and four Irish Amateur Opens.
J.B. was also the first Irishman to play in the Masters and become an Augusta National Golf Club member.
Furthermore, he was the first non-American to receive the Bob Jones Award.
As such, to his many friends across the Atlantic, J.B. was the go-to source for all things golf on the Emerald Isle.
And Carr Golf was the unexpected byproduct.
Although supportive, Marty says J.B. was more than a little sceptical about his sons’ new venture.
“The travel business evolved with people reaching out to the family and saying,’ I am coming to Ireland, where should I go?’. So the travel was accidental and only evolved over time.
“My brother Jody and my Dad thought I was mad. Because I was working with Dermot Desmond, one of Ireland’s most successful entrepreneurs, after five years as a stockbroker in New York.
“But Dad’s credentials and reputation in golf got us in many doors.
“Along the way, my brothers Roddy and John also made many introductions and referred many clients.
“It was then up to me to deliver. I can’t thank them enough for their support.”
Incidentally, Roddy Carr, whose golfing life warrants its own retelling, is now read religiously by the Carr Golf faithful.
Fiestas and fax machines
Almost every business – even one with a famous name – has humble beginnings.
And Carr Golf was no different.
Also, the digital age was still the stuff of science fiction.
No email, smartphones, websites, social media, apps, or online banking.
And no booking an international flight with the help of a friendly AI assistant.
So how did a small family enterprise, from a tiny island on the edge of Western Europe, help pioneer a global industry worth €20 billion?
Marty continues:
“I started with £30k in capital. It included £10k in cash, £10k in second–hand trading desks that my brother John had taken a punt on, and a second-hand car I had to sell for £10k.
“I drove a commercial fiesta van and rented a room from my brother-in-law Declan Branagan on Abbey Street, where he had a business supply business.”
Wearing many hats
In those early days, Marty learned to multitask: travel agent, marketer, chauffeur, receptionist, tour guide and accountant.
“Phone calls and letters – everything was manual. I remember buying our first fax machine and that was a game changer.
“Then came the plain paper fax machine, which cost £2,500 at the time. My first mobile in the early 1990s was as big as a pint glass.
“It was adverts in Golf Digest and people would call you. We would type up an itinerary and send it in the post. You would call the clubs, make a booking, send a cheque, and the client would then just show up.
“I would do everything, make the booking, confirm all the arrangements, make the payments, and meet the clients at Dublin Airport.”
Gone but never forgotten
Like family, friendship features on every page of the Carr Golf story.
Sadly, after 35 years, some indispensable people are no longer with us.
“It was a terribly slow burner in those early days. But then I was joined by my best pal Peter Keighery. Peter was our Customer Service Manager and one of the keys to our company’s success,” says Marty.
“He would look after the clients during their stay. And that’s when Carr Golf became synonymous with great service, great craic and a unique personality.
“Peter would take them to all the great spots in Killarney and play the piano in the Butler Arms.
“I tried to get Peter to author a book to recount many of the memories, but he never got to do it.
“My brother Gerry also added to this formula. He played a huge role in growing the business.
“Peter and Gerry were legendary and a big part of the growth of Carr Golf. I miss them.”
Even in his golden years, J.B. Carr continued to break new ground.
In 1991, he was the first Irishman to be named captain of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews.
The following year, J.B. became president of Mount Juliet Golf Club.
He would hold the esteemed office for the rest of his life.
Joseph Benedict Carr passed away on June 3rd, 2004, aged 82.
But he still had one more record to set among Ireland’s golf fraternity.
In 2007, J.B. was posthumously inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame by his great friend Jack Nicklaus.
Since then, Christy O’Connor Snr and Padraig Harrington have been the only other Irishmen to enter this exclusive club.
The boy from Inchicore, who first honed his prodigious talent at Portmarnock Golf Club, started a dynasty.
Marty honours his father’s memory by sharing his extraordinary life with an ever-growing global family.
“I feel my Dad would be incredibly happy that his legacy lives on.
“We get to remind the world not only how good he was, but how much he was respected by the greats of the game.
“The opportunity to tell his story repeatedly, and to have the experiences that we have had, the opportunities created by him, makes me so thankful.”
Quarterbacks, VPs, Bon Jovi and The King
To paraphrase Mr Styles, it’s a sign of the times when the sight of A-list celebrities on Irish courses has become so run-of-the-mill.
But it also speaks to the quality of people and product behind Ireland’s rise as a premier global golf destination.
Not that Gerry Carr ever got starstruck.
Just ask his brother.
“Over the years, Gerry and I made over 100 trips to the US, playing golf and making friends.
“Gerry treated everyone the same, no matter who or how important they were, which many found incredibly refreshing.
“Former U.S. Vice President Dan Quayle once said to me, ‘Marty plays customer golf and Gerry kicks my ass!’
“I remember one time we were at Wayne Huizenga’s club in Florida and were invited to dinner with Jack Welsh (GE) and Matt Lauer (NBC).
“I told Gerry this was an amazing opportunity to which he responded that he had already arranged to have dinner with the caddies.
“I said he should cancel. He told me to enjoy my dinner, and it was not put as politely as that,” Marty recalls.
But it didn’t stop everyone from Dan Marino to Jack Nicklaus, Michael Douglas, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and members of Bon Jovi calling over the years.
Or The King himself. On his last visit to Ireland, Marty and his brother Roddy accompanied Arnold Palmer to Old Head Golf Links.
Interestingly, J.B. helped to create the course.
Many believe it is the most exhilarating layout in the world.
Meanwhile, in 2024, Nathan Followill from the Kings of Leon and players for the New York Islanders were among the well-known faces to hit the links with Carr.
Fathers, sons and daughters
Again, we return to family, friendship and tradition.
But they’re the three pillars of two special events that encapsulate Carr Golf’s past, present, and future.
Last August, 90 teams from 10 countries arrived in County Kerry for five days of world-class golf, camaraderie and craic.
The 35th Father & Son World Invitational Golf Tournament at Waterville Golf Links did not fail to deliver.
It never does.
Still, as Marty explains, this global gathering in the stunning Southwest was far from an overnight success.
“The Father & Son was conceived in New York by me and Terry O’Neill, who was one of the owners of Waterville and owned several pubs in Manhattan, where my school friends and I were good customers.
“I remember in the early 1990s working all night printing letters and preparing a mailing to 300 people around Ireland and in the US, heading to the GPO (Post office) and having to lick the stamps and send them off.
“I had to get rid of the taste with a few pints in the pub around the corner with a mate of mine, who also started a business at that time.
“The first year, in 1989, we had 16 teams, and it was a rent-a-crowd for the next decade. Dermot Desmond was a great support in those early years, as was JP McManus, and they have attended for over 30 years.”
Then, in 2008, Marty and his friend Jimmy Layden decided to share this beautiful experience with their daughters.
Like its elder sibling, the World Invitational Father & Daughter Golf Tournament began as a labour of love.
Those early years were lean.
But fast forward to 2024:
And this cherished event remains – to quote Matt Ginella – undefeated for too many families to count.
A new venue means the 17th Father & Daughter World Invitational will be something of a first.
In 2025, participants and guests will gather at the one-a-kind Rosapenna Hotel & Golf Resort.
Then the boys will once again return to wondrous Waterville.
As always, for Marty, it’s all about the people.
“The uniqueness of the Father & Son and Father & Daughter events which have a combined 50+ years is extraordinary, particularly the enduring friendships and relationships they have created.”
New frontiers
In 1989, you could count the number of golf tour operators in Ireland on the fingers of one hand – and still have digits to spare.
“It was a small market. The late Jerry Quinlan (Celtic Golf), Michael Bowe (Irish Golf Tours), and Jerry Donworth had started JD Golf Tours,” says Marty.
“We did not know any better. It took longer and was more manual, but people were more patient and less in a hurry.”
There is no playbook for the pioneers.
It’s trial and error, learning lessons fast, being a reliable partner, and always delivering for customers.
For Carr Golf, this meant expanding to new frontiers.
You might not know this, but there are a few decent golf courses in Scotland.
After playing their way across Ireland, many guests of Carr wanted to explore the birthplace of the game.
So Marty obliged.
The first Scottish trip, a 48-hour golfing extravaganza for 40 guests, took two years to plan.
But consumer demand rarely stays in any one place for long. And the Carr Golf experience soon included England.
Now 13 of the 14 venues to host The Open Championship feature on its luxury itineraries.
That’s how your reputation becomes your calling card, and your customers become your advocates.
“Carr has always been built on relationships with golf clubs, suppliers, hotels, and our guests. Today, 80% of company business comes from past clients and referrals,” Marty explains.
Surviving, thriving, surviving and thriving
Needless to say, the Carr Golf journey to date has been far from plain sailing.
You cannot account for global tragedies or exceptional events.
“We all had to deal with 9/11, the foot-and-mouth outbreak, volcanoes, and the financial crisis. Later, COVID-19 was a matter of survival. Because no case study allowed for revenues to go to zero for two years,” Marty continues.
“But I had an amazing leadership team around me, including our CEO Stephen Lyons, who has been with us for 20 years.
“We had calls with every single client, honoured every single booking, and worked our way through it.”
Yes, there’s been setbacks.
But the continued worldwide boom in golf participation bodes well for the wider industry.
A rising tide, to borrow from JFK, often lifts all boats.
And Marty and his team have diversified to great effect. The travel business is now one part of the Carr Golf Group.
In 2010, Carr Golf Services arrived.
The company owns and operates four thriving clubs across eastern Ireland:
Meanwhile, Managing Director Ed Pettit and his staff oversee golf course maintenance operations at a growing portfolio of venues.
Swingyard – Ireland’s first golf entertainment centre powered by Inrange technology – opened at Elmgreen last summer.
In short, Carr Golf Group has become Ireland’s one-stop shop for golf lovers at home and abroad.
Endless gratitude
Whether looking back or looking ahead, Marty Carr is always grateful.
Grateful for his wife, Michelle, and their daughters, Sophie and Julia.
Grateful for his memories, friendships and more than 100 full-time employees.
And grateful for the great game in his DNA.
“So many friends and colleagues who played a huge part over the past 35 years have headed off to fairways far away. But their memory looms large over Carr Golf.
“My Dad, brother Gerry, best friend Peter Keighery, Waterville’s Noel Cronin, and Wayne Huizenga, who did so much to help us on our way.
“We are so lucky to be part of golf. While I have the name and not the game, I am incredibly happy to be able to participate in this way.”
It sure beats being a stockbroker.
