Golfing Union of Ireland

Infobox Sport governing body
assocname= Golfing Union of Ireland
logo=Gui_Logo_Web.jpg
sport= Amateur Golf
abbrev = GUI
founded = 1891
aff = The R&A
affdate =
region =
regionyear =
location = Carton House, Maynooth
president =Barry Doyle (Leinster)
chairman =
chiefexec =
secretary =
coach =
womenscoach =
replaced =
prevfounded =
url = www.gui.ie
country
The Golfing Union of Ireland (GUI) is the governing body for men's and boy's amateur golf in Ireland. It represents over 400 golf clubs with over 250,000 members and is affiliated to The R&A, which is the global governing body of golf outside the United States and Mexico.

The GUI was established in 1891 and was the first national golfing union to be established anywhere in the world. [Menton, William A., (1991) "The Golfing Union of Ireland, 1891 - 1991", p.14]

Organisation

The GUI consists of a Central Council and four provincial branches, namely the Connacht, Leinster, Munster and Ulster branches. Each provincial branch manages the golfing affairs of that province and all clubs in the province are affiliated to that branch. Branch delegates are elected by club members on an annual basis and each branch has delegates on Central Council. The head of the Central Council is known as President of the GUI and the four branch chairmen are vice-presidents. The presidency is for a one-year period and rotates between the four provinces.

History

It is suggested that the origins of the Union lie in the desire by a number of golf clubs to create an Irish Championship. [Menton, p.12] There were 28 clubs already established in Ireland before the foundation of the Union, although they were known as 'greens' at that time. [Menton, p.6] The Union was established at a meeting in Belfast on 13th November 1891, which was attended by representatives of nine clubs, all of which were located in the province of Ulster. Once a properly constituted organisation had been established to administer the game, golf in Ireland became more popular, evidenced by the fact the a further 97 clubs were formed between 1892 and 1900.

External links

* [http://www.gui.ie GUI Official site]

References