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History of the Irish Open
The Irish Open began as an informal event during the 1980s. One or two foursomes went out for a day of golf and fun. Players were mostly of Irish heritage, or so they claimed. We’re still checking into the familial background of Bob Graham. Today our tournament proudly reflects the cultural diversity of our area.
In 1991 we decided to put a little shine on the event and created a tournament format for the Open. Our tournament format is captain and crew. We picked this format to allow all skill levels within the tournament. Our objective for this tournament is have an enjoyable experience no matter your individual skill level in golf. We added trophies for winners and a banquet after the tournament. Players were free to continue partying after the banquet, as most of them did. Post tournament play is usually held at The Banshee in downtown Scranton.
We’ve played the Open at four local courses, Wilkes Barre Municipal, Shadowbrook, Summit Hills and our current venue Pine Hills. Our tournament has been with Pine hills for 7 years.
Every year since 1992, we’ve had the great privilege of starting our event with pipes and drums from the Greater Scranton Black Diamonds Pipe Band. Many thanks to the members of the band in starting our event in a fine tradition of Irish music each year.
Our first tournament had four teams. Our biggest event involved 11 teams in 2000 and 2001. We average 10 teams in our most recent years.
Most of our players are from the Wilkes Barre/Scranton area. We have a handful of players that travel from New York, New Jersey, Ohio and Philadelphia to play. The longest trip made to play in our tournament? All the way from California!
This year we are celebrating our 13th season of the Irish Open. We thank everyone who plays in the Open for helping to make it a very successful event and much fun for everyone. As always, we will be working on next year’s Open as soon as we recover from Saint Patrick’s Day!
Slainte!
Mike Brislin and John McClurg
Executive Committee of The Irish Open
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