Helen Walsh: To be captain at Mount Juliet is a huge honour
Helen Walsh is the Ladies Captain at Mount Juliet for 2022 and like everyone else at the the Kilkenny venue she is gearing up for a busy week at the Horizon Iris Open.
Looking back to last year’s action, she acknowledges that the tournament will look a lot different this year.
“Last year it was a test event post covid for sport in Ireland and while it was a wonderful event you couldn’t really relax like you normally would.
"It still had it’s benefits too as you could get up close and personal with the players and this year will certainly be a different experience, a positive one but certainly different.
“The course is well able to host big events as it’s had Irish Opens in the 1990’s as well as the Amex Championship in the early 2000’s and the venue is well suited to those type events.
“The course is wonderfully designed from a spectators point of view and there are so many mounds and vantage points wherever you go”.
The Kilkenny woman admits it’s a huge honour to be Ladies Captain at Mount Juliet and outlines her role on a daily and weekly basis.
“To be captain in any year is an honour and to be captain of Mount Juliet is an extreme honour, Walsh admitted.
“I’m from county Kilkenny and I'm originally from Slieverue and my father is from Rower-Inistioge so we have very strong connections locally and to have this honour of being captain this year is very exciting.
“It’s very humbling and an absolute privilege.
“The role of the captain is to predominantly represent the members so Mount Juliet is what we call a proprietary owned club and that means it’s not a members owned club and the call on captains is different to what would be asked in a members owned club.
“That being said were are moving to a one club model and we are working very diligently on that this year with the committee.
There is a great social side to events at the Mount Juliet Estate and while the membership is relatively small, Walsh is still always on the go.
She added- “I have to say the members in this club are so supportive of the captains and it’s fantastic to see.
“It’s an easy club to be part of and there is a great social side to this club and we compete in many inter-club competitions.
“We have a relatively small membership of 350 and from the ladies side of the house we have 85 members.
“We compete in three inter-club competitions as well as mixed competitions so we are still in the Challenge Cup and we play in the Quarter-Final of that, the week after the Irish Open.
“As well as supporting the members, the role of the captain is to support the teams and ensure they have what is required too facililiate their management of the team”.
“It’s very hectic the first few days in particular with tee-off times at 7am and even from a social point of view there is a tented village that wasn’t here last year and there will be music after the golf aswell”.