ONtheFAIRWAYS
WEXFORD LADIES
Our A.G.M. was held on Monday, November 21, in the clubhouse and outgoing Captain Denise handed over the reins to our new lady Captain, Una Doherty.
The full list of officers and committee for 2017 is: lady President, Marie Byrne; lady Captain, Una Doherty; lady Vice-Captain, Patricia Hanton; ex-officio, Denise Dunne; Hon. Secretary, Rita Douglas; Hon. Treasurer, Patricia Boyd; Competition Secretary, Tara Dunne; P.R.O., Jane Duignan; Handicap Secretary, Mary Fallon; general committee: Ann Conway, Louise Boshoff, Ena O’Donoghue, Bernie Power, Ruth Kennedy.
In the meantime, on the fairways last week Monday was very wet and miserable so the Senior competition was called off, however, on Saturday and Thursday we had some very pleasant sunshine and we wrapped up well to keep the cold out!
Results: 1, Deirdre Colfer (26), 31 points; 2, Tara Dunne (4), 29 points (back seven); 3, Eileen Kent (26), 29 points; 4, Leonie Furlong (13), 28 points; 5, Trina Walsh (18), 27 points; nearest the pin, Geraldine Broaders, 8m 50cm.
This week our congratulations go to Helen Lacey and Darren Robinson who got married last Saturday, and a great day and night was had by all!
Next week’s competiton is a fourball and on Friday it will be time to get the Christmas jumpers out of the mothballs and perhaps win best jumper on the night! Our annual Christmas party/concert should be a most enjoyable night as usual.
TAGHMON SOCIETY
The Society returned to New Ross Golf Club again recently and 24 players participated on a cold but windless day after a frosty start. The course was in great condition for the time of year, so congratulations to the staff.
The Wicklow man made the long journey down to take part and went home with the goods and a three-point cut down to 8 for the next few outings to boot. He said that his playing partners provided such quality opposition that he really had to dig deep and that they spurred him on.
He even had to loan out his putter as one eejit left his in the car until it was couriered over in time for the tenth hole. The same eejit only had two balls in his bag, and nothing concentrates the mind on golf so much after losing the first ball early on! He was seen scrambling around in ditches looking for lost balls just in case.
Results: 1, Philip Wadding, 39; 2, Noel Kendrick, 37; 3, Ryan Cashin, 35; Cat. 1, Barry Stafford, 34; Cat. 2, Donie O’Brien, 31; Cat. 3, Joe Cashin, 35; front nine, David Rossiter, 19; back nine, Ted Mangan, 17; nearest the pin, Brendan Doyle (14th), 87”.
There were two winners of the twos club and €20 each went to Joe Cashin and Barry Stafford. The visitor’s prize went to Eamon Noblett with 27 points.
Well done Philip and congratulations to all our winners. ‘Smiley’ went home early as he just couldn’t hack it after being beaten on his home course two days previously; the memories were still haunting him!
There has to be a special mention for one of our own, the one, the only, Seamus McLoughlin, who excelled himself recently at the inaugural inter-society competition at Enniscorthy Golf Club where 32 teams from Carlow, Kilkenny, Waterford, Wexford and Wicklow were invited to take part in both a singles and team competition.
Seamus scored a fantastic 41 points to win the singles competition outright, with three following behind him on 39 points. Taghmon G.S. finished a creditable fourth, just outside the prizes. Never mind, we will do it all again next year without the weak link on the team.
The next and last outing of the year is in Faithlegg Golf Club on December 17. Try to be early please and have all of those full Christmas draw cards with you please. Bring along a friend or a lapsed member as a visitor.
It will also be our Christmas party and the announcement of next year’s Captain too, so it will be a busy day. All back to Alice Brady’s that night for the draw itself at 9 p.m. and to show some support for our sponsor and our home base please.
ROSSLARE LADIES
Tuesday was the winter test of men or mice. It was a lovely sunny day, but oh so cold. In the end eleven ladies ventured out and Catherine Haugh has her turkey for Christmas!
Vandra Deacon and Mairéad Esmonde had a great score on Saturday in the fourball with 45 points.
Get the glad rags out as it’s our Christmas party on Friday, December 2, while the ladies’ A.G.M. is on Tuesday, December 6, at 7.30 p.m.
Tuesday, December 6, is a ladies’ Scotch foursomes competition.
Saturday, November 19, winter fourball: 1, Vandra Deacon (15/12) and Mairéad Esmonde (25/29), 45 points.
Tuesday, November 22, 14-hole singles turkey competition: 1, Catherine Haugh (22/17), 25 points (back seven).
ROSSLARE
Sixteen-hole turkey fourball: 1, Matt Ryan (17) and Paul Kennan (25), 44 points; 2, John Howard (14) and Gerry Haugh (20), 43 points.
Sixteen-hole turkey singles: 1, Liam Brett (16), 36 points; 2, Philip Breen (18), 36 points; 3, Michael Geraghty (12), 35 points; 4, Ned Kinsella (18), 35 points; 5, Derek Evans (10), 35 points; 6, Jason Walsh (10), 35 points; 7, John McDonald (21), 35 points; 8, Paul Boggan (11), 34 points.
Sixteen-hole turkey fourball: 1, Davy Noonan (6) and John Long (6), 39 points; 2, Ray Roche (6) and Tony Wright (12), 39 points; 3, Pat Wright (20) and Syl Farrell (13), 38 points.
Sixteen-hole turkey team of three: 1, P.J. Doyle (5), Rory Murphy (9), Dermot Cahill (7), 72 points; 2, Paddy Lonergan (12), Ray O’Donovan (19), Kevin Driver (20), 69 points.
WEXFORD
Congratulations to Dermot Aherne who was last week’s winner of the ‘Split The Pot’ draw.
Philip Doran and Michael Furlong were the winners of Wednesday’s 14-hole fourball stableford.
Friday’s competition was a three-person team event played over 14 holes and the winners were the Sarsfields duo of Alan Keeling and Pat Furlong along with Andrew Rynhart with 57 points.
Saturday’s 14-hole fourball was won by Ted Mangan and Adam O’Neill on 34 points (back nine). The brothers Ian and Ger Thomas finished in second place, also with 34 points.
The Seniors’ section held their competition on Tuesday and the winner was the consistent Paul Lauhoff with 32 points. The evergreen Lar Rossiter finished second with 31 points, followed by Pat Kavanagh in third place on 29 points. All prize-winners’ vouchers may be collected in the bar.
The Seniors’ Christmas competition takes place this Tuesday and the Seniors’ Christmas party will take place on Tuesday, December 6, commencing at 4.30 p.m.
The club Christmas party will take place in the club on December 16. The incoming committees commence their year-long functions on this Tuesday and we would like to thank the outgoing officers and committees for their time, effort and work over the past twelve months.
For details of all club activities and events please see our website: wexfordgolfclub.com
ST. HELEN’S LADIES
Wednesday, November 23, singles stableford: 1, Jo Devitt (14), 18 points; 2, Susan Stewart (23), 18 points; 3, Frances Reid (30), 16 points.
Sunday, November 27, singles stableford: 1, Susan Stewart (20), 29 points; 2, Mari Byrne (27), 29 points (countback); 3, Jo Devitt (23), 28 points.
ST. HELEN’S
The season-ending Captain’s drinks and annual prize-giving takes place on Saturday, December 3. We will meet in the clubhouse at 11.30 a.m. for the draw for a shotgun start to a novel round of golf.
Going out in groups of three over eleven holes, we are restricted to three clubs plus a putter - should be interesting. Festive drinks, food, music and craic will follow the golf.
We are looking forward to a great fun day and night, so don’t miss it. Having recovered from the celebrations, we will sit down to the Wednesday club Christmas dinner on Wednesday, December 7.
We are stunned and saddened at the news of the untimely passing of our neighbour and friend, Noel Goff. Our thoughts and prayers are with Mary, Barry, Niall, Laura and David. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis.
Wednesday, November 23, Wednesday club (eleven holes): 1, Mark O’Donoghue (15), 24 points (countback); 2, Paddy Dunne (18), 24 points (countback); 3, Brian Buttimer (14), 24 points.
Saturday, November 26, turkeys (15 holes): 1, Seán Moore (11/9), 37 points; 2, Mick Brosnan (13/11), 34 points (countback); 3, Jim Brauneisen (16/13), 34 points.
Fixtures: Wednesday, November 30, Wednesday club; Saturday, December 3, Captain’s drinks and annual prize-giving; Sunday, December 4, winter league round five and sweep; Wednesday, December 7, Wednesday club Christmas dinner.
NEW ROSS SENIORS
The sunny south-east certainly lived up to its reputation on Thursday when we were treated to a benign November day for our outing.
Fourteen teams took part in the competition, and with the greens back to their brilliant best all was set for a great day’s golf which winners and losers thoroughly enjoyed.
Even though a stiff north-easterly wind blew for a while, nevertheless conditions were perfect underfoot for the time of year. Sometimes in a team competition there can be one squad who would run away in scoring terms from the rest of the field.
That is precisely what happened when the team of John Shalloe (5), John F. Roche (16), Martin Forristal (20) and Tom O’Neill (20) romped home in first place with an outstanding score of 95 points.
In second place some nine points adrift with 86 points were Patsy Farrell (14), Willie Whitty (17), Aidan O’Connor (19) and Brian Dolan (22).
A point further behind on 85 saw John Kennedy (16), John Fitzpatrick (19), Dan Quigley (20) and Richie Byrne (21) take the third position. At last we had one nearest the pin prize won, and John F. Roche took that with a shot ending up six inches off the pin on the ninth hole.
All members please note that the A.G.M. is on this Thursday, December 1, at 9.30 a.m. sharp and that on that day we will take the fee (€20) for the Christmas outing which is on December 8. On the board for December are Jim ‘Ross’ Ryan, John Fitzpatrick and Tony Sexton.
NEW ROSS LADIES
Wednesday, November 23, 14-hole stableford - club: 1, Mary Rose Ryan (33), 26 points (last seven); 2, Margaret Furlong Adm. (16), 26 points; 3, Anne Curtis Adm. (20), 26 - 1 penalty point = 25 points (last seven).
Wednesday, November 30, and Wednesday, December 7, will be 14-hole stableford turkey competitions. The draws are now at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.
COURTOWN LADIES
Tuesday, November 22, ladies’ nine-hole competition: 1, Louise Holohan (36), 20 points; 2, Tina Smith (36), 18 points.
BALLYMONEY
Wednesday nine-hole (mixed): 1, Anthony Fortune (16), 21 points; 2, Dermot Noctor (18), 20 points; 3, Stephen Greene (19), 19 points, holding off Kevin Byrne and Derek Robinson.
Winter league round two - Group 1: Pádraig Grainger and Christy Dodson beat Donal Byrne and Michael Byrne (substitute for Mark Read).
Foursomes: 1, Robbie Kehoe and Seán Furlong, 79 nett 68; 2, Richard Temple and Tom Keogh, 87 nett 69.
Weekend singles stableford: 1, Stephen Greene (19), 44 points; 2, Mike O’Grady (13), 41 points; 3, Donal Byrne (4), 39 points, holding off Marty Lawlor (6).
ENNISCORTHY
Our Monday ladies’ and gents’ open singles is proving very popular judging by the number of participants. The competition is scheduled to be on almost every Monday until well into the winter months.
The entry fee is €5 for members and €10 for visitors, open to all membership categories. If you know of anyone who might be interested in this competition, then please bring them along.
Where else would you get such great golfing facilities for €10? The next competitions are on December 5, 12 and 19 and the booking sheets are open.
There will be a gents’ Scotch foursomes on December 10 and 11, and booking opens on December 2.
The next gents’ open Seniors will be on Thursday, December 15, followed by Christmas dinner and will be sponsored by Morgan Dunne and Cllr. Paddy Kavanagh. This will be a nine-hole shotgun start at noon, with €20 entry fee including the dinner.
The booking sheet is open and filling fast. The draw for the free range turkeys will take place after the dinner.
The Brittle Bones Christmas dinner will take place on Thursday, December 1. Golf starts at 11 a.m. and the dinner will be at approximately 4 p.m.
Last Thursday Ger Collins, Jimmy Devereux and Joe Leacy were the winners with 55.7. There was a near mutiny on the first tee-box with somebody throwing their bottle out of the pram, but we got over it!
In the previous three outings the winners were Tom Conway, Matt Mernagh and Ger Collins; Michael Booth, Martin Collins and Matt Mernagh; Tom Hogan, Michael Pierce and Malo Roban. Apologies, but I have no scores for these.
The first five, after the third round of the P.G.A. winter series, are Frankie Morrissey (65), James Morrissey (62), Dan Byrne (61), Keith Whelan (61) and Philip Browne (60).
Winners for the third round were: 1, Frankie Morrissey, 33 points; 2, Vincent Byrne, 32 points (back seven); gross, Martin Sludds, 28 points (back seven).
The next competition is on December 3 and 4, and the booking sheets are open.
There is a packed schedule on the course over the Christmas period with competitions on every day from St. Stephen’s Day through to January 2 except December 31. Booking sheets open on December 14 for almost all these competitions.
The club A.G.M. will be held on January 8. Anybody who wants to propose a motion needs to have sent it to the Hon. Secretary at least a fortnight prior to the meeting itself.
The trial period to change the order of the course temporarily for the month of November finishes on Wednesday, November 31.
Feedback from our members will be considered, and a decision made shortly as to how we progress will be announced at the A.G.M.
Last Saturday we held a fundraising concert in a packed clubhouse, featuring Ireland’s finest tenor, Anthony Kearns, accompanied by pianist Patrick Healy.
COURTOWN
Wednesday sweep, November 16: 1, Niall Nolan (15), 31 points; 2, Tommy Kinsella (18), 29 points; 3, Ed O’Brien (7), 27 points (back ten); 4, Bryan Hughes (13), 27 points (back nine).
Turkey fourball, any combination, Saturday and Sunday, November 19 and 20: 1, Karl Caulfield (7), Dave Tyrrell (19), 39 points; 2, Martin Griffiths (11), Peter Travers (19), 37 points (last nine); 3, Des Roche (5), Pat Kinsella (18), 37 points (last nine).
Weekly turkey: Cat. 1, Pat Walsh (7), 22 points; Cat. 2, Niall Nolan (15), 24 points.
Wednesday sweep, November 23: 1, Jimmy Flynn (22), 33 points; 2, Peter McAteer (22), 31 points; 3, Tom Kitt (23), 28 points; 4, Ed O’Brien (7), 27 points (last nine).
Any combination fourball, Saturday and Sunday, November 26 and 27: 1, Owen O’Kelly (7), Pat Roche (21), 38 points (last nine); 2, Gabriel Allen (11), Michael O’Shaughnessy (21), 38 points; 3, Brendan Travers (10), Simon Doran (16), 37 points (last nine).
Weekly turkey: Cat. 1, Joe Turner (12), 23 points; Cat. 2, Shea Currivan (19), 22 points (last six).