Des Smyth has marked his 50 years in golf by delivering a pertinent message to Ireland's young golfers.

The 1979 and '81 Ryder Cup player believes every child in the country should draw confidence from Padraig Harrington's phenomenal success on the Major championship stage.

Harrington is one of golf's superstars after winning three of the last six Majors but, as Smyth pointed out in his address to the GUI's second annual Champions Dinner last weekend, the Dubliner wasn't born with a gleaming claret jug in his cot.

Of course Smyth has been awestruck by Harrington's achievements, saying: "The big three in my day were Jack Nicklaus, Arnie Palmer and Gary Player and, if you think about it, today we have got Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Padraig Harrington.

"I never imagined that at some stage in my life I would see an Irishman ranked among the top three Major champions in golf and if Padraig gets to No 1 in the World Rankings, it wouldn't surprise me at all.

"He's one fantastic person but younger players today must understand that when he turned professional so many years ago, he wasn't such a fantastic player.

"This is one of the beauties of golf. It is entirely up to you what you achieve in the game. There are no goalkeepers stopping that ball going in.

"Padraig epitomises what any one of us can do if we have the determination he has and you are prepared to work as hard as he does. The fact he's Irish and one of us should instill great confidence in these young men whose achievements we are celebrating this evening."

Pointing out that he "stumbled into the game" at age six in his native Bettystown, Smyth saluted the Golfing Union for providing the framework upon which he built an immensely successful career.