The earliest days of pitch and putt in Tralee began in 1967, when a 9-hole course was built at Champer's Field, then part of the John Mitchel's GAA grounds (now the site of Aldi and Corrib Oil). The founding members include Donie Quirke, Gabriel Curran, John Kinch, Paddy Griffin, Joe Dineen, Christy Lyne, Derry O'Mahony, Jimmy Leahy, and William "Pop" Ryle.
The committee and members had long wanted an 18-hole course and as John Mitchel's GAA Club expanded, it began to need the land the course was on for additional juvenile playing pitches. The old site of the Presentation Novitiate became available in 1977 and Tralee Pitch and Putt Club acquired the land. Work soon began on building an 18-hole course and this was all done by hand.
During this time, some of the club's more prominent and influential members included Bob Casey and Teresa Broderick.
Bob was heavily involved in the administrative side of the sport at club, county, provincial, and national levels and he served across all committee positions at one point in time or another. Bob died suddenly at the age of 59 but his contribution to the club was vast and he is still fondly discussed today.
Teresa is still involved in the club and has also served across a number of committee positions. She is a long-time trustee and treasurer, currently serving as the club's Hon. President. Teresa was one of the leading female players in the country in the 1980s and 1990s, winning a Munster Ladies Matchplay and Ladies Inter-County, as well as losing the National Ladies Strokeplay by a single stroke in Listowel and finishing in the runner-up spot on another occasion.
Work at the new grounds continued and in 1986, the clubhouse was officially opened. For a number of years, a bar was situated upstairs in the clubhouse but the bar license was sold and the upstairs, or the pavilion, now serves as a gathering and meeting place for the club's adult and juvenile members.
Tralee played host to the National Inter County Championships in 1988 and 1995. The Kerry Gents team lost the 1988 holding by a shot while the Ladies finished in 10th.
However, in the 1995 edition, the Ladies team were victorious and included Teresa Broderick, Marian O'Brien, and Bridie O'Sullivan, as well as Castleisland's Julianne Broderick and Deerpark's Norma Lynch.
After Bob's passing in the early 90s, the club was stewarded through the rest of the decade and into the new millennium by members such as Pa Lynch, Brendan Keenan, Brendan Hobbert, David Hobbert, Mike Falvey, James O'Sullivan, Pat Moynihan, Maura Casey, Eileen Moynihan, Owen Moynihan, Jason O'Regan, Tim McMahon, Des Hurley, Tony Blake, and many others.
In 2000, Castleisland were due to host the Munster Strokeplay events but they were only able to hold the team event on the Saturday before heavy rain required the singles portion of the competition to be moved to Tralee. Tralee competitors, Jason and John O'Regan (no relation), scooped up the Munster Senior and Intermediate titles respectively. A report in a local newspaper stated that this was the best day in the club's history to date.
Near the close of the noughties, Tim Scannell, a former member of the club's committee, returned from abroad and assumed a leadership role in the club, one that he would hold for more than the next decade. An engineer through his studies, Tim had been a member of the ESB club in Cork and lived in England for a time. Tim had an engineer's mind and was an instrumental figure through these years. He served in a number of roles on the committee and almost singlehandedly manicured the course for a number of years.
In 2009, Tralee hosted the National Strokeplay and a wet summer made preparations difficult to say the least. Bryan Delaney of Cork took the Senior Gents prize on the day.
Around this time, Jonathon Goodall rapidly developed from a Junior player to one of the best players in the country. He ultimately reached a ranking of No. 1 in the country and among his successes were a National Strokeplay title and 2 Munster Strokeplay wins, one in Rocklodge and the other in Tralee in 2012, where he sealed the win with a chip in on the last.
Tralee co-hosted the 2013 National Scramble with Castleisland and Tralee trio Aidan O'Sullivan, Jason Cregan, and Pa Byrne finished in the runner-up spot in the event. The club also hosted the Munster Foursomes in 2015.
The Covid-19 pandemic was a blessing for the club in many ways. The lockdowns provided members with the opportunity to put in some much needed work on a number of areas throughout the course while social distancing. Trees were manicured, damage to greens was repaired, and other key projects were completed during this time period. The distance restrictions and early opening of pitch and putt as an outlet saw green fee and membership numbers increase and the fortunes of the club began to improve.
Key figures in the club during this period included Tim Scannell, Padraig Hobbart, Rodger Guthrie, Danny O'Leary, Tony Blake, David Hobbert, and Teresa Broderick. Pa Curran, son of founding member Gabriel Curran and former player in his own right, also returned to the club and took up a role on the committee. Before long, Pa became Chairman and he worked alongside Padraig Hobbart, Jason Cregan, David Hobbert, and other committee members to push the club on further.
Tralee hosted its first major event in 2022 with the Munster Scotch Foursomes coming to the course. This was a very successful day for the club with 7 of 9 Tralee pairings scooping up silverware in the event. The event signaled to Pitch and Putt Ireland that Tralee was capable of hosting major events again and this was rewarded with the hosting of the Munster Matchplay in 2023.
This was another successful event for the club in playing terms as Jason Cregan and Catriona O'Connor won the Senior Gents and Ladies Junior events respectively, while Keith O'Brien was defeated in the Intermediate Gents Final.
A number of large projects were completed at this time. Over the years, the course had become significantly worse at shedding water and the club sought a Sports Capital Grant so this problem could be addressed. The funds were received and the works were carried out in the summer of 2024. Another big project was the refurbishment of the tennis court, which had long since been disused and unkempt.
2024 proved a successful year for the club on the playing front as Jason Cregan won the Senior Gents Munster Matchplay in Cunnigar and Jason O'Regan finished in the runner-up position in the National Strokeplay in Glenville. The hosting of the Munster Inter County also took place and saw the Gents Intermediate and Junior teams and the Ladies Nett team finished in first place in their events.
2025 saw Charlotte Blake become the club's first National champion since Jonathon Goodall when she won the Junior Ladies National Strokeplay in McDonagh.