THE TALES AND TRAILS OF EDDIE HACKETT

Kevin Markham delves into the work of Ireland’s greatest golf course architect

- Kevin Markham

It is an interesting state of affairs that the name Eddie Hackett is revered among Irish golfers, while anyone else will probably frown, shrug and ask “who?” Hackett, or simply Eddie, was one of Ireland’s greatest golf course architects, but one who didn’t design outside Ireland. He had a hand in the design of over 100 courses… but not outside Ireland. And he worked for 33 years… but not outside Ireland.

It is easy to see why his name might slip beneath the radar, but that is the type of man Eddie was. He was quiet, understated, humble. In a way, that was how he went about his designs, too. He was never fussy, he didn’t overembellish and he let his layouts and the land work hand-in-hand.

Eddie once said: “I find that nature is the best architect... I try to dress up what the Good Lord provides.” It was an approach common to all his designs over those 33 years and his is a gift that keeps on giving. He believed in challenging the player with a testing tee shot, followed by a more gentle approach… or vice versa. He preferred to avoid the more penal elements of modern architecture, such as vast bunkering and forced carries, and he wanted the golfer to see as much of the hole as possible. Above all else, he let nature and not the designer take centre stage.