The world’s top golfers will be able to sink pints as well as putts during the JP McManus Pro-Am in Adare Manor in 2020.
Golfers will now be able to get a round in while getting a round in between the ninth and tenth holes thanks to the granting of a new bar licence.
The aptly named Halfway House will make the ideal stop-off for ‘a straightener’ when shots have gone askew, instead of having to wait for the traditional ‘19th hole’.
The new Halfway House — located between the ninth and tenth tees on the newly redesigned course by golf architect Tom Fazio — was granted full bar facilities at Limerick’s Circuit Court earlier this week.
Senior counsel Derry O’Donovan instructed by Brendan Gill, solicitor, applied for the current alcohol licence to be extended to cover the expansion of the hotel. It includes a new luxury 42-bedroom wing and a ballroom with capacity for 350 people.
Owned by the McManus family, tens of millions have been spent transforming the hotel and golf course. The renovations include a corporate boardroom, revitalising spa, a brand new swimming pool, and even a cinema.
The extension of the current licence was granted by Judge Tom O’Donnell who wished the new enterprise “every success”.
It is hoped Jordan Spieth will be among those taking to the greens for the charity pro-am in 2020. The tournament, last held in 2010, raised over €100m for charities in the Mid-West, as well as attracting the world’s best golfers and A-list stars to Co Limerick.
The hotel held a recruitment drive to hire 170 extra staff this month ahead of the grand opening in the autumn. The Adare Manor website says: “It will be worth the wait.”
This story first appeared in the Irish Examiner
