John Craven

2 months ago | irishgolfer.ie | John Craven

My dear Rory,It’s been a while since I wrote you, and sorry if this one arrives a few days later than most. See, I said I’d let the dust settle a bit. Compose myself to compose to you what the last few days have meant. Well, we did it! OK, you did it, but it feels like we did it. The last of my adrenaline drained on a tearful call home from Australia, wishing I could be alongside my family in the living room to share in the sobs and celebrations.

2 months ago | irishgolfer.ie | John Craven

Nothing in life worth having comes easy. Unless of course you were a lad who used to buy his weed in bitcoin off the dark web, forgot all about it, and woke up in a daze ten years later to a leftover balance in the millions. For most of us though, that old adage rings true and for none more so than Rory McIlroy who, after a decade of trying, has 18-holes standing in the way of an immortalising career grand slam.

Mar 22, 2025 | irishgolfer.ie | John Craven

John Craven relives the night his dream job at Carton House turned into a nightmare. It was the dream gig, and to this day I don’t think I’ve had one to match it. Golf concierge at Carton House. To think I was told Transition Year would be a waste of time. Sure, when my ‘Craven a Coffee?’ mini company fell on its arse, I might’ve believed it. Who knew the staffroom was already stocked with Maxwell House coffee, our only product. And theirs was free.

Mar 15, 2025 | irishgolfer.ie | John Craven

Move to Australia for the weather, they said. Be grand, they said. Tell that to Tropical Cyclone Alfred. Last weekend we battened down the hatches in preparation for the Category 2 Cyclone that that was at one time tipped to make landfall in Brisbane as a devastating Category 3.

Mar 4, 2025 | irishgolfer.ie | John Craven

My dad is a very reasonable man, which makes his attitude towards single golfers all the more baffling. Before I go on, I should clarify that by single golfers I mean individuals that play alone. People outside of relationships are free to play as they please, so long as they don’t rock up as a lone wolf expecting an ambulance escort from first tee to last. I used to find it so strange as a kid when Dad would refuse to let a fella on his own play through.