ONtheFAIRWAYS
BUNCLODY
Winter league week three: 1, Tom Swaine (18), 31 points; 2, James Doyle (7), 30 points; 3, Pat Byrne (16), 29 points (back nine); best lady, Terri Brennan (8), 25 points (back three).
November 23 and 24, men’s weekend twelve-hole singles: 1, Tom Swaine (18), 31 points; 2, James Doyle (7), 30 points; 3, Eddie O’Neill (15), 29 points (back six).
NEWROSSSENIORS
Before our outing on Thursday, we held the A.G.M. for 2019 which proved to be a very successful year for all Senior golfers.
Prior to the commencement of the meeting we held a minute’s silence in memory of our dear departed colleague, John Murphy, and all other deceased persons with family connections to our group of members.
The meeting was told that we are in a sound financial position and keeping our heads well above water, as detailed by Tony Harford.
Our 2019 schedule of home and away outings was much appreciated by all members. We had seven in the local south-east area plus overnights in Dundrum and Ballykisteen, the much sought after ‘Trip to Tipp’. We will continue to look for the best value for money in all of these courses in 2020. During the year, in light of the pressure being applied on Cat. 4 players as regards the number of drives they had to take, Dick Cuddihy came up with a perfect solution as can be seen from the number one item below.
This, in the view of our ageing clientele, means that all can now enjoy their game and indeed feel part of it that much better.
Main items concerning our weekly competitions are: 1) We will play a champagne scramble each week, with no limit on drives. Play your own ball on the par threes, and the two best scores to count on each hole.
2) In summer months tee-off will be from the yellow disks, and in winter, from the forward or green markers.
3) Nearest the pin - within two flag pole lengths on the ninth and eleventh holes.
4) On away outings all green fees must be paid in advance without exception - timely notice will be given.
5) Current club (G.U.I.) handicaps to be used in all competitions, home and away.
6) Starting times, 9.40 a.m. from St. Patrick’s Day onwards, then 10.40 a.m. from November 1.
Last Thursday, the 13 teams took to the course keen and eager, like racehorses that had been stabled up due to the inclement weather of late.
Like a shot, they were out of the starting stalls (tee-boxes), and some unbelievable scoring resulted, with eleven teams clocking up 90 points or more.
A good start is half the battle and so it proved, with the quartet of Pat Doyle (17), Tony Redmond (18), Frank Boyle (23) and Seán O hUiginn (23) carding a wonderful 53 points on the first nine.
Proving that this was no fluke, they added another 53 on the homeward nine holes to finish clear winners with 106 points.
Second with 103 points came Dick Cuddihy (13), Willie Whitty (20), Tony Sexton (23) and Jim Kehoe (26). A three-person made up of Martin Carroll (12), Jimmy O’Neill (18) and Paddy Bennett (22) took third place with 100 points (94 + 6).
Nearest the pin prizes went to Tom Murphy on the ninth hole and Colin Casey on the eleventh.
On the draw board for December are Jim ‘Ross’ Ryan, Billy Redmond and Michael Gannon.
Our Christmas outing and dinner is on this Thursday with the usual starting time of 10.40 a.m., to be followed by dinner at 4 p.m. approximately.
Anyone who has not booked in should ring or text Jamesie Murphy on 085-1846172 as soon as possible, as the restaurant need to know the number who are dining.
ROSSLARE
Sixteen-hole turkey singles: 1, Alan Cuddihy (18), 34 points; 2, Paud O’Brien (5), 31 points; 3, Ger Doyle (13), 31 points; 4, Jason Walsh (9-2), 30 points; 5, Bobby O’Dowd (22), 30 points; 6, Philip Breen (9-2), 30 points.
WEXFORDLADIES
November 16 and 21, 14-hole singles sweepstake: 1, Cathríona Walsh (13), 28 points; nearest the pin, Marguerite Murphy, 6m.
Monday, November 18, Senior 14-hole singles stableford (24 played): 1, Wendy Tiernan (21), 27 points; 2, Anna Sullivan (18), 26 points; 3, Eileen Lauhoff (38), 25 points (back seven).
Saturday and Thursday, November 23 and 28, 14-hole two-person scramble, strokes (32 played): 1, Carmel Murphy and Margaret Hearne (6.25), 51.75; 2, Trina Walsh and Ger O’Brien (9.75), 54.25; nine-hole competition winner, Mary Burke (18), 14 (back five); nearest the pin, Margaret Atkinson, 27 ft.
Monday, November 25, Senior 14-hole singles stableford: 1, Pat Flanagan (32), 23 points.
Christmas is coming and the decorations are up! The table plan for the ladies’ Christmas party is in the locker room, and we are looking forward to a great night with lots of fun entertainment.
The club Christmas party will be held next Friday, December 6. There will be music and finger food. Join us at the clubhouse for the start of the festivities. All family members and friends are welcome.
And don’t forget the children’s Christmas party is on in the clubhouse on Sunday, December 15, from 2 p.m. Santa will be arriving on the first tee at 2.30 p.m.
Singing practice for the Christmas concert is on today (Tuesday) at 5 p.m. in the clubhouse, and all are welcome.
There will be a Bridge session on Wednesday, December 4, at 10 a.m., with all players welcome.
The joint club A.G.M. will be held on Monday, December 9, at 7.30 p.m. All members are welcome to attend.
BALLYMONEY
A welcome respite from the ongoing incessant rain last Thursday and Friday meant that the course was deemed playable on Sunday.
A 15-hole singles (mixed) was played, with the tenth, eleventh and 17th out of play, a temporary green on the 13th, and a temporary tee on the 14th.
Results: 1, Rob Bradley (8), 37 points; 2, Pádraig Grainger (18), 36 points; 3, Christy Dodson (18), 35 points.
ENNISCORTHYLADIES
A fabulous night was had at Enniscorthy Golf Club on Saturday night, as a large amount of lovely ladies came together for another super ladies’ Christmas dinner.
Good food, music and laughs were the order of the night. Our end-of-season awards were presented to the following:
Gill Leo trophy, Bernie Butler; club fourball, Helen Deathe and Nicola Jacob; club singles, Teresa Bailey; golfer of the year, Ciara Sharkey; silver spoon, Ciara Sharkey; silver medal, Ciara Sharkey; bronze medal, Mary Halligan.
Congratulations, ladies.
ROSSLARELADIES
A whopping one hundred members attended the annual ladies’ Christmas dinner on Saturday night in the Nineteen at Rosslare Golf Club.
Resplendent in their finery, they were greeted on arrival with a welcoming glass of mulled wine in a beautifully festive clubhouse, thanks to Karen O’Keeffe and her team of designers.
Spirits were high as lady Captain Niamh Byrne and lady Vice-Captain Carmel Quinlivan presented a dizzying array of prizes between courses, including Junior medal, Christmas prizes, Nancy Todd competition, ring competition, golfer of the year, medal, fourball matchplay, most improved golfer, pick out prizes, and Split The Pot!
The meal was truly delicious and so tastefully presented. The best-ever mince pies were a welcome surprise after dessert, the first of the season! Thank you to Pierce and his entire staff.
Music was provided by Spotify under the experienced baton of Derek, Michael and the ever-helpful bar staff.
Thank you to Wallace’s of Wellingtonbridge for providing the Christmas hampers.
A most social and festive evening was enjoyed by all the lady members in attendance.
Today’s (Tuesday) competition is a waltzing rumble re-scheduled from last Tuesday due to the seemingly ever-adverse weather.
The ladies’ A.G.M. is scheduled for tonight (Tuesday) at 7.30 p.m. in the clubhouse, while the main A.G.M. and annual accounts meeting will be held on Monday, December 9, at 7.30 p.m. All lady members are requested to attend.
Tuesday, December 10, will be a team of four, with shotgun start, with the ladies’ Christmas jumper and festive lunch to follow with surprises!
NEWROSS
The recent heavy rains seem to have abated and the course is reaping the benefits. The recent essential restriction on buggies has been lifted, but members are asked to take care when using buggies and to use the paths where possible.
Damage done through lack of care for the course will be slow to repair over the winter months, so please behave in the best interests of our club and course. Parts of the course have been roped off. Please do not move the ropes if your ball comes to lie near them. Please take a free drop as per relief rules.
The club A.G.M. will take place this coming Friday, December 6, at 7.30 p.m. sharp. Members are asked to attend please.
Over 120 golfers entered the Christmas hamper singles competition, and scoring was strong. Well done to the winners.
Results: 1, Steve Roche (6), 37 points (last nine); 2, Seamus Aldridge (12), 37 points (last nine); 3, A.J. Mernagh (12), 37 points; gross, Derek Ronan, 31 points; Cat. 1, John O’Connor (7), 33 points; Cat. 2, Mossy Ryan (15), 36 points; Cat. 3, Pat Whelan (19), 35 points (last nine).
Next weekend, the third round of the winter league will be held. The following weekend we will have a Christmas hamper competition.
The Christmas classic will run from December 18 until January 2. The nine-hole turkey competition has commenced also, with the first win going to Mick Malone with 22 points.
The next men’s presentation will be at 5 p.m. on December 15 and will include the first three rounds of the winter league and both of the hamper competitions.
WEXFORD
The winners of Sunday’s 14-hole fourball stableford by two clear points were Declan Furlong (8) and Colm Cosgrave (15) with 38 points.
In second place were Pat ‘Mags’ Murphy (13) and Conor Morris (6) with 36 points, and Ultan Ryan (7) and Ted Mangan (17) came in third place with 35 points (back seven).
Saturday’s 14-hole fourball stableford waltz was won by ‘Patch’ Doyle (19) and Jim Doyle (20) with 36 points. The runners-up were Paul Bridges (13) and John Redmond (17) with 35 points.
Our 14-hole open three-person team event on Thursday was won by Pat Murphy (12), Liam Morris (13) and Nicky Cousins (16) with a total of 66 points.
There was no winner of the weekly jackpot, and this will increase to €1,213 next week. The winner of the weekly prize was Tom Foran.
Members, please note that the A.G.M. of the joint ladies’ and gents’ committees will take place in our clubhouse on Monday, December 9, at 7.30 p.m.
COOLLATTIN
Saturday, November 30, and Sunday, December 1, 15-hole open men’s singles competition: 1, Tom Wilkinson (11), 35 points; 2, Maurice Kinsella (12), 33 points; gross, Brian Wk. Shannon (8), 23 points (countback); 3, Lar O’Brien (15), 31 points (countback).
COURTOWN
The recent bad weather has meant very little golf in the past week or two, with no Wednesday sweep taking place and the fourth round of the winter league plus the previous weekend’s competitions being called off.
However, it was back to business as usual last weekend, with an any combination fourball and winter league competitions running as scheduled. Despite all the rain, the course is still in remarkably good condition, with the greens still running smoothly.
The weekend any combination fourball was won by the husband and wife team of Vincent Kavanagh (14) and Denise Kavanagh (11) with 34 points.
In second place were David Kennedy (13) and Niall Hughes (18) with 33 points, and in third were Jim O’Shea (7) and Donal Sheehan (13) on 32 points (last three).
The weekly nine-hole turkey was won by Vincent Lumsden (16) with 18 points.
With four rounds of the winter league having been played, things are beginning to take shape. There are five Groups with eight teams in each group playing off in a round robin format. Winners of each match receive three points (with a bonus point for a winning margin of three shots or more).
Losing teams within a margin of three shots receive a losing bonus point and, of course, in the event of a draw both teams receive two points.
The leading four teams in each group will advance to contest the winter league final. At the moment the standings in the various groups are as follows -
Group 1: Pádraic Flood and Stephen Ryan, 14; Danny Whitty and Joe Keegan, 11; Darren Moore and Alvaro Temprano, 10; Richard Conroy and Cian Browne, 9; Philip Sherwood and Michael Wade, 8; Brian Kennedy and David Kennedy, 7; Steven Doyle and David Swords, 3; Mark Read and Brian Leavy, 2.
Group 2: Larry D’Arcy and Denis Howell, 12; Cathal O’Donohoe and Karl Caulfield, 10; Martin Griffiths and Mark Morris, 10; Dave Whelan and John Holmes, 9; Paul McDonald and Martin Byrne, 7; Noel Ivanoff and Paddy Bernie, 5; John Fitzgerald and David Stewart, 4; Tom Smith and Dan O’Leary, 3.
Group 3: Joey O’Brien and Tommy Kinsella, 13; Paddy Sinnott and Pat Timmons, 12; John James Dunne and Darrell Cushen, 12; Arthur Nolan and Robert Hogan, 8; Pat Donnellan and Frank Byrne 5; Larry O’Brien and Walter McNally, 5; Con Brosnan and Seamus Kennelly, 5; Dave Tyrell and Malachy Hayes, 4.
Group 4: Colman Doyle and Ciarán Doyle, 11; Leslie Masterson and John P. Maher, 11; Kevin Ivers and Iain Campbell, 11; Terry Noone and Paul Dobey, 9; Michael Quinlan and Brendan Fagan, 8; Evan Byrne and Seáni Quirke, 5; Jim Doyle and Dermot Fitzgerald, 3; John ‘Poc’ O’Neill and Craig O’Neill, 0.
Group 5: Richard Barnwell and Gerry Lennon, 13; Fergus Rapple and Paul Fagan, 12; Michael O’Shaughnessy and Tom Foster, 11; Keith Reid and Alex Reid, 10; Mark McKernan and Peter Timmons, 7; Paul Carmody and Mark McGrath, 5; Alan Gray and Seamus O’Donohoe, 5; Gerry McGirr and Ciarán O’Donovan, 3.
A reminder that the men’s A.G.M. will take place in the clubhouse at 5 p.m. on Saturday, December 7, followed by the club A.G.M. at 6 p.m.