Woodbrook Golf Club is a golf club located in Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland. It was established as a private club in 1921[1] by Sir Stanley Cochrane. Woodbook was first affiliated to the Golfing Union of Ireland (GUI) in 1926.[2] Sir Stanley had previously indulged his enthusiasm for cricket at Woodbrook, a fact that is still reflected in the pavilion style clubhouse and the cricket bell which tolled the start and finish of play and now hangs in the bar.
However it is as a venue for top-class international golf that Woodbrook is primarily famous. Woodbrook hosted the first major professional tournament in Ireland, the Hennessy Tournament in 1958. This one-off event proved so popular amongst the Irish sporting public that the following year it became the Irish Hospital Sweepstakes Tournament with the then-biggest prize fund of 5,000 guineas. Woodbrook also played host to the Carroll's International tournament on ten occasions between 1963 and 1974, and as a result, was the first host of the revived Irish Open when it returned in 1975.[3]
Woodbrook has also hosted the Irish PGA Championship on six occasions (1977, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1990 and 1991).