Until now, the national championships has been the almost exclusive preserve of the long established clubs but Lowry has carried the venerable trophy back to Esker Hills, a club founded just 10 years ago, outside Tullamore. Just how the odds were stacked against the Esker Hills man on this occasion can be gauged from the fact that the other clubs represented in the quarterfinals were Clandeboye, Cork, Douglas, Dungannon, Muskerry, Newlands and Royal Dublin, all of which have produced champions through the years, with the youngest of them being Clandeboye which was founded in 1933.

Now a definite crack has appeared in the edifice of Irish championship golf and it seems certain that those clubs which have dominated things for the best part of a century are about to face leaner pickings as the newcomers gain in confidence.

Lowry is a cheerful veteran of just 20 summers. He is fearless, ambitious in a charmingly boyish and inoffensive way, and with an amazing ability to attack the game and squeeze results where others have failed.

The son of ex-Offaly GAA player Brendan Lowry and first cousin of Dublin's David Henry who plays againt Meath today, young Lowry started at Moate. He moved closer to home, to Esker Hills, began to play golf intensely with 36-holes per day being normal during the summer holidays. In successive years his handicap went from 18 to 16, to eight to four and to two by which time he was picked up by the radar of the GUI coaching scheme and was entering tournaments.

He loves to play. He is not keen on long sessions on the practice ground yet his self belief has been growing rapidly from year to year.

Even the loss of his set of clubs after playing in the East of Ireland the weekend before the Close Championship failed to upset him and, with borrowed clubs, he got a good feeling on the lovely old course in Cork and after the first practice round was telling friends that he felt that this could be his week.

"All I wanted was clubs with the same shafts, lies and lofts as those I lost, " he says, "and I was comfortable. Stephen Grant gave me a loan of a set of Taylormade irons with the same specifications as my missing Titleists, Paul Cutler gave me a driver, I bought an Odyssey twoball putter just like my own, and my friend and caddy Paul Reynolds loaned me three wedges with which I managed to chip-in a few times."

"I have always driven the ball well and hit a fair number of greens but my putter wasn't always hot, " he says.

"I knew that I could win if I could make more putts. It happened for me in Cork and those chip-ins were valuable too."

Now he is away to bid for the Amateur Championship next week and onwards to play for Ireland in the European Amateur Team Championship next month happy in the knowledge that he is now a champion for life. And it could get better if only that putter stays warm.

AMEN CORNER EXPLAINING THE RULES

Q. What happens when a movable obstruction interferes with the ball in play?

A. A player can take relief, without penalty, from a movable obstruction.

If the ball has not landed directly in or on the obstruction, it can be removed. Should the ball move as a result of the obstruction being taken away, it must be replaced without penalty.

If the ball lands directly in or on the obstruction, it may be lifted and the obstruction can be removed. The ball must be dropped, or placed if the obstruction occurs on the putting green, as near as possible to the spot where it lay without being any closer to the hole. An obstruction that might in"uence the ball when it is moving, other then an attended "agstick or player's equipment, must not be removed.

GOLF TIP OF THE WEEK

Your swing: using the hips Your hips play a very important role in your golf swing and a lot of golfers don't understand the motion their hips should make for a good swing. The common myth is that you should simply turn your hips from the top of your swing, however this is not the case. Your hips should move slightly to the side and then turn.

Your weight should shift from your front to back foot during your backswing which will allow your arms and shoulders to drop and your hips can then turn allowing you to "re through the ball as hard as you want. Make sure not to shift your upper body along with your hips.

Golf tip thanks to Emmanuel Riblet, Golf Pro, Premier Golf Santry