ORLANDO, FLORIDA | Only a foursome of stools could fit inside. The countertop was constructed from a chestnut tree planted 266 years ago in Northern Ireland, its scent infused with the aroma of aged spirits and freshly poured Guinness.
Behind the bartender is a mirror that reads “Jameson,” while the surrounding walls are cluttered with leather-bound books, pictures, mugs, golf memorabilia, miniature wooden sculptures and every Irish liquor you can name. In a secret compartment behind one of the photos, there is “the good stuff,” which is said to be reserved for special occasions – although the special occasions appear to happen multiple times a day.
Welcome to Pub Óg. At a distance it could pass for a first tee starter’s hut, an infrared sauna or an old-school phone booth. But the closer you get, the more it becomes apparent that this 10-by-10-foot octagon structure holds the smallest version of an authentic pub you’ve ever seen.
This one isn’t the Jigger Inn off the Road Hole at St. Andrews or Frawley’s behind the second green at Lahinch. This one sat tucked away among the thousands of new-fangled golf products sprawled across the cavernous Orange County Convention Center floor at last week’s PGA Show, and did it ever garner intrigue from curious showgoers. The micro pub, created by Irishman Cormac Artt, came as a solution to not being able to sit in his local watering hole with friends during earlier days of the pandemic when restrictions prohibited such a thing.
Never underestimate the unbridled creativity of an Irishman needing a drink. Artt, who happens to be a builder of movie sets, was perfect for the job of bringing the pub experience alive.
If you are wondering, and you definitely are, this 19th hole didn’t travel to Orlando purely for the spectacle. You can buy one, as more than two dozen folks did during the Show, for $80,000 including shipping and the beer on tap from two kegs behind the bar.
Although it’s not technically limited to golf, no Irish pub of this size could be created without thinking of the game. Maybe it will serve as an unexpected halfway house for parched golfers around the globe, or maybe it will serve as a home office in the ultimate man cave next to a simulator and putting green.
Remember, it can be customized to your vision, a personal Irish pub to your own specifications, permanently at your disposal. It takes about 12 to 15 weeks to build before the pub is disassembled, shipped to your location and built by a Pub Óg contractor, but the waiting hardly seems like a hardship for the payoff.
We can all dream.
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Sean Fairholm