Roganstown Golf Club has developed a famed reputation for developing young stars and Mark Cadden looks like another gem from the stable and he hopes to show his mettle at men’s level this year.
Cadden has had a very fruitful winter and is already a winner in 2025, picking up the Flogas Irish Junior Open title at Knightsbrook and crucially, the World Amateur Golf Ranking points that go with it.
The Oldcastle native carded a final round of 68 to set the clubhouse target at five-under before edging out Headfort member Tag Burns and John William Burke on the second playoff hole after hitting his tee shot on the par-3 18th to a few feet for a winning birdie.
“It was nice to start the season off with a win and especially to do it under pressure in a playoff, it was great. It shows that the hard work in the winter has been paying off so that’s been great,” says Cadden who adds that title to his Ulster Boys triumph two years ago and is pleased to see his winter work paying off so early in the year.
“Worked hard on my short game, wedges, that’s where the money is made. Been practicing that mostly and then just tightening up on a few things, trying to get straighter with my driver. I am relatively straight but just trying to keep that going.”
Cadden’s golfing journey began at the age of four when his father bought him a classic junior set. It wasn’t until he was aged ten that he seriously caught the golfing bug and was itching for his father to bring him out.
He took his first steps into golf at the local pitch and putt club in Oldcastle before joining Headfort Golf Club soon after. But it wasn’t until he joined Roganstown and its famed junior academy in 2022 that he started to show some real promise.
Under the tutelage of Geoff Loughrey and the excellent junior committee led by Antony Mongey and Colm McGuinness, the ‘Made in Holywood Golf Academy’ has produced some seriously talented amateurs with 17-year-old Seán Keeling and four-time major winner Hugh Foley the pick of the bunch.
“Roganstown have a great junior set up so it’s great being a member there. The work they do with us is paying off,” Cadden adds.
“Geoff is brilliant, he does a great job with the juniors, he is always pushing us to get better everyday and he has a great bunch of lads there and we are all just so competitive up there which makes us improve so much. The junior committee are just so good up there, they put so much time and effort into it to try and help make us better and that’s probably why we have a great junior team up there all that takes time.”
Cadden enjoys rubbing shoulders with fellow Srixon strikers, the Keeling brothers and recently turned professional Foley.
“It’s great playing with them and you learn tricks and tips off them which helps my game and then learning off Hugh Foley is outstanding. Everything helps.
“You can ask Hugh any questions you like, he just gives so much time Seán is the same and you just ask them questions about how to be successful and how do they win all the tournaments they have. It helps if you are in contention that you can learn from them and get over the line.”
Cadden though, isn’t just looking for top marks on the course. The Leaving Certificate exams loom large for the 18-year-old who is already weighing up a scholarship offer from a Division One college in the United States.
A career in golf is the dream for the Meath man and in order to balance the sticks and the books he practices at 7am every morning with his homemade net and chipping green at home.
Thoughts of the Leaving Cert won’t put him off from competing in the West of Ireland next month or the Irish Amateur Open in May.
“The golf will be a bit slower in the next few months. But I’ll squeeze them in alright!” he laughs.
“I put a lot more time into my golf than I do at school but that’s changed now but I practice before or after school whichever suits me the best and that’s when I get my work done.”
As is the case for so many who complete their Leaving Certificate examinations, it also coincides with their final year of Boys’ Championship golf and winning another Boys event is top of his list for the year.
Cadden played his first full season of Men’s Championships and finished 13th at the Ulster Strokeplay before reaching the last-32 of the West at Co. Sligo Golf Club, where he lost out to David Howard.
“It’s good to throw yourself in the deep end and experience men’s golf before you finish boys’ golf so it’s not a big shock,” he explains.
“You have to be much more consistent and your game has to be stronger, the courses are longer so that’s where you need to gain some distance.”
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