Castleisland golf club’s call to arms

CASTLEISLAND Members Golf Club has issued a call to arms over the weekend under the heading ‘Important Notice’ and the content of the text was equally unambiguous.

“The upcoming Classic Bonanza is crucial for the finances of the club. We appeal to all members to play, ideally with two guests.

WDue to the weather in August and September, green fees were behind expectations. We only have one go at this and need a big effort from all.”

The Open Golf Classic Bonanza, will be played over the next two weekends on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, October 11, 12 and 13 and over the following weekend of October 18-20.

The Open is, as the title suggests, open to all teams of four and of all combinations of ladies, gents and mixed at €200 per team. There is a handicap limit of 28 for gents and 36 for ladies.

The list of prizes included the top-of-the-tree Golf Trip for four to The Algarve for four nights bed and breakfast and three rounds of golf.

The list also includes prizes from second to sixth of fourballs in the following order: Ballybunion; Killarney; Castletroy; Dundrum House; Kill, Co. Kildare and Youghal.

Twenty years ago on April 1st 1999 a group of enterprising locals met at the River Island Hotel with the formation of a club and the building of a course on top of their agenda.

It turned out to be one of the most positive meetings in the history of development in Castleisland and it was facilitated by local development association members, Sheila Hannon, Tomo Burke and Andrew Kelliher.

The meeting was convened to find the level of interest or otherwise in the proposal to locate a golf course in the vicinity of the town – and over 100 people from a wide geographical and interest base showed up.

Nobody promised it was going to be easy to sustain a magnificent course like it in Castleisland.

However, a gritty management / membership policy has, over the years, managed to keep it going through one initiative or another since the course opened in 2002. The Open Golf Classic Bonanza is the latest of these initiatives and hence the well merited call to arms at the weekend.

For more on the event call: 066 71 41709. Castleisland Members Golf Club log on to: www.castleislandgc.com

Photo by John Reidy Castleisland Members Golf Club 2019 captains, Bertha O’Sullivan and Eamon Feeley flagging the club’s Open Golf Classic Bonanza which takes place from this weekend.