LIFE membership is not something that people strive for when they join a club or an organisation and for Darryl Shaw that was certainly the case when he first fronted up to the Coleraine Golf Club 30 years ago.

It was also when he first took up the game that has given him so much joy, friendship and camaraderie over those years.

“The club has been a great source of fun, friendship and camaraderie over the years, and I figured that if I was going to play the game, then I should join the club as well at the same time,” Shaw said.

In his time as a member of the club, which was formed and run continuously since 1898, Shaw has filled many different positions and roles.

Firstly, as a plain club member and then a committee member, president for three years, club captain for two years, and treasurer for the past 27 years with many of these roles overlapping.

“Coleraine Golf Club is a good little club that is self-sufficient and one that owns its land the course is built upon, which means we don’t have to apply to various government departments and bodies if we want to knock down or plant a tree,” Shaw said.

“The members drive the direction of the club, and it welcomes anyone to come and play and join.

“Being club captain during COVID was a trying time for us all, as we did a mountain of work to get the club and the course ready for the season and come the Monday before we were due to start the first lockdown occurred.

“As restrictions began to ease, we were able to undertake the work again only for the lockdowns to return just as we were to begin.”

A right-handed golfer who plays off a handicap of 21, a number which has been as low as 17, with a lowest score of 82 around his beloved Coleraine course.

The Coleraine Golf Club has been located at its current location since 1963 with it calling Coleraine racecourse and Queen’s Park home before that.