In April of last year, Rory McIlroy crashed to the ground at Augusta National, having finally won the Master to complete the career Grand Slam. Six months later, the Isle of Ireland had another slam winner – one that has no equal. While McIlroy, who is from Northern Ireland, was the sixth member to join the most prestigious club in professional golf, Caolan Rafferty – who is from Dundalk, Ireland – is the only amateur who has ever completed the “Provincial Slam” by winning the championships of the North, South, East and West of Ireland.
The list of legendary Irish fans is long. Names include McIlroy, Shane Lowry, Darren Clarke, Padraig Harrington, JB Carr, John Burke and Hugh Foley, among others. Yet many of the biggest names did not have the extended amateur career that Rafferty had, as he eventually turned to professional golf. Clarke and Foley won three of the four legs of the Provincial before turning pro. Lowry won two.
But only Rafferty finished the “Compass of Ireland”.
“To be honest, it hasn’t set in yet,” Rafferty told GOLF as he prepared to play in the cup of bridgesa high-level mid-amateur event between American and international teams. (GOLF’s holding company, 8AM Golf, hosts the event.) “It’s pretty cool to have my name on it. From an individual perspective, the Provincial Slam is the biggest (achievement), followed closely by playing in the Walker Cup.”
You might think that a man who has etched his name into the history of Irish amateur golf has been tearing up the island’s emerald fairways all his life. But that’s not Caolan Rafferty’s story.
He first started playing the game left-handed, because his father was left-handed. But his coach later made him pass to the right hand, and he was out there, playing the game because he loved it and it filled his soul. It was a rare joy that Rafferty did not want to lose. But he admits he did. In his own words, it was “rubbish” at children’s golf. He had a temper, and sometimes his game did not meet his expectations. He hung up his clubs for a while when he was 18, not sure if he was going to pick them up again.
“I’ve always wanted to play golf for the enjoyment level,” says Rafferty. “It was never originally set to be a career, and definitely not to get to maybe where I did to the current date. But it was always something that I just wanted to be a part of. When I got a little bit better, I thought it was Tiger Woods for a while, and clearly it wasn’t. But that’s the way things went, I guess. I just liked putting a lot of pressure on myself and it put a lot of pressure on me, it put a lot of pressure on me, it put a lot of pressure on me, I liked it. Golf just the expectation in this game we always expect too much from ourselves, and at that time, it was the biggest disadvantage for me.
But he missed golf. Then he took it back, promising to enjoy it whether he was competing or just going for an evening stroll. Rafferty promised that his golf will be guided by a simple but effective motto that speaks to the soul of the amateur game: “Hit it, find it, hit it again, and if you can find it, drop another one and hit it. Just godith it. Pressure does not help anyone.”
Rafferty fell back in love with the game, and sparked an impressive amateur run that is still going 11 years later. He saw him play in the Walker Cup 2019, in the Palmer Cup 2020, in an American amateur and win the Provincial Slam. While Rafferty’s name stands alongside some giants in the history of Irish amateur golf, he did not follow in their footsteps to the professional game. After making the 2019 Walker Cup squad, Rafferty, who was at Maynooth University, had the choice between pursuing professional aspirations and taking a different path. A lot went into the decision: he wanted to finish his degree, the Covid-19 pandemic closed the sport and Rafferty saw how difficult it was for some of his friends who were trying to make their way in the development tours.
In the end, he wanted his relationship with the game that gave him so much to stay where he was and has been since he took the clubs.
“I think when you look at it from one point of view, it’s going to start putting food on the table every week and it’s going to be the only way of income, which changes things,” says Rafferty. “Obviously, the pressure was always going to build, and as I say, I always wanted to enjoy the game. It was my biggest thing, and even today is now: enjoy as much as I can. Obviously, we are still frustrated, and we will be able to throw the strange club and give ourselves a good conversation. But in general, it is definitely what the game has been more relaxed and the game of golf has been more relaxed. opportunities today, and obviously with connections and different things, it opens many doors”.
While Rafferty was deciding whether or not professional work was for him, he fell in love with greenskeeping at Dundalk Golf Club. That job gave him the freedom to escape from work to play tournaments representing the club. But, as Rafferty says, “we have to keep moving forward” in life. Then he moved on from greenskeeping and got a job as a club fitter for Ping. That job involves more greenskeeping travel, which means he’s had to get better at balancing his work, his family and his love of golf. It was a juggling act, but it is one that Rafferty has become good at as the amateur game continues to give him opportunities he never dreamed of.
The next one will come to the Bridges Cup at Trump Turnberry On October 5-7, where Rafferty will play for an International team looking to be the first to knock out the three-time defending US champions. The first mid-amateur event is one that Rafferty is excited to have reached as he looks for revenge after his loss at the 2019 Walker Cup.
“I owe the Americans a bit after the Walker Cup, so I’ve got a bit between my teeth for that,” Rafferty said with a laugh. “What I like is that it’s such a social meeting, relaxed and also competitive golf. And you see, that’s what we want. I’ve only heard good things (about the Bridges Cup). Competitive team golf is very, very difficult to beat and (captain Simon Holt) has us prepared and ready to go.”
More than a decade ago, Caolan Rafferty stopped loving golf. He spoke to them again and sparked an impressive amateur run – one that would continue at the Bridges Cup – which has his name alone among the great Irish fans.
“It just shows there’s something there,” Rafferty said of his amateur success. “I always say that you never understand how good you are yourself. Everyone can tell you how good you are, but I suppose that when I sit down to see what I have done and see what everyone else is doing around me, you have been one of the names that people hope to speak in a good way forever in time.”