RETURN TO THE FAIRWAYS
Following some recent exceptionally turbulent weather conditions the course re-opened for play again on Friday 25th thanks in no small part to the efforts of our hardworking ground staff – well done folks! Conditions for the weekend saw some challenging wind on Friday but the fairways seemed to have firmed up reasonably underfoot.
Weather forecast for the coming weekend 4th/5th/6th March seems reasonable (as of now) but there is a possibility of some frost so please check course conditions on 025-24231 for up-todate conditions on the day.
MEN’S CLUB NOTES
25th, 26th and 27th February 15 Holes Open Singles results - 1st Barry O’Brien (20.2) 36pts (b9). 2nd Kieran Casey (12.0) 36pts (b6). Cat A <10 John Hanley 34pts. Cat B 11- 14 Ken O’Keeffe 34pts. Cat C 15+ Liam Quirke 36pts
The Corbett Court Spring League 2nd round was also held on weekend 25th, 26th and 27th. The competition saw a good turnout of 100+ as usual. Team A lead at present with 204 pts followed by Team K with 196pts. Team L are a close 3rd with 195pts
The third round will be played on weekend 4th/5th/6th March with the fourth round planned for weekend 11th/12th/13th March. The final is planned for weekend of 25th/26th/27th March. Please see the clubhouse noticeboard for any weather-induced changes to dates or other structure of the League.
LADIES’ CLUB NOTES
New lady members are welcome for 2022. We had no competition last week as the course was closed following Storms Eunice and Franklin. This week’s competition is sponsored by Bunty Flynn and next week’s competition for Sat, Sun and Wed, 5th, 6th and 9th March is sponsored by Nellie Collins. With the longer days and hopefully finer weather, we hope to see as many ladies as possible on the timesheet.
SEANOIRI
No Seanoiri competition was held last week Thursday 24th due to adverse weather conditions. The AGM had to be postponed also and will be held on Thursday, March 10th. Seanoiri competition to be held again this week Thursday 3rd March.
ANNUAL DRIVE-IN
It will be good to see the return of the Annual Drive-in which had to be omitted last year due to Covid restrictions. This year’s event is planned for Sunday, March 20 at 1pm and will see the return of Kieran Casey as President, Kieran Dennehy as men’s captain, and the incoming of Mairead Perry as lady captain and Clement Motherway as junior captain – we wish them all a successful year in their leadership roles. All members welcome to join Kieran C, Kieran D, Mairead and Clement for their memorable day.
The Drive-in will be marked by a shotgun start scramble with starting times at 9am and again after the Drive-in at 1pm on the day. Food will be available in the clubhouse after the afternoon scramble.
ST PATRICK’S DAY PARADE
The club will, as always be represented in the Mitchelstown St Patrick’s Day Parade on Thursday, March 17. The parade commences at 1pm with assembly beforehand on Georges St at 12.30pm. We would like to encourage members to join in colourfully to promote and raise awareness of our fantastic club and the sport of golf in general. Please bring golf buggies, trollies, and any golf promotion ideas you can come up with. A good turnout would be much appreciated.
BATT PASSES ON THE BATON!
It is with considerable regret that we announce that Batt Power has decided to hand over the baton as PRO of Mitchelstown Golf Club. Batt first took up this role during the last Millennium (1999 to be precise) when Joe Mullins approached him to take over the job of posting results in The Avondhu and The Cork Examiner. Batt subsequently developed the role from a results report to a news item. Batt remained as PRO up to 2011 and was asked to take the post up again in 2018 by Liam O’Sullivan, this time with the much-appreciated assistance of Sean Ryan to whom he expresses his sincere gratitude. The role has now passed to a blow-in from Mayo - John Lineen.
Over the years Batt has also served 11 years on The Men’s Club Committee and 2 years on the Management Committee. He was vice captain in 2006 and club captain in 2007. He served as Men’s Club Secretary for Denis Nolan and Brendan Reid, and as handicap secretary for Jerry Quinn, Colman Murphy and Jerry O’Riordan.
Notable events during his time as PRO were the occasions of the club winning 2 Munster Pennants (Jimmy Bruen 2006 and Junior Cup 2011) and a National Pennant (Junior Cup 2011). He fondly remembers his role of PRO as having been special for the club’s Centenary year in 2010.
Over the years Batt has promoted and represented the club with pride and his efforts have undoubtedly attracted many new members through his Avondhu coverage of club activities. Membership has increased from 320 to 700+ over the past 4 years. Batt has served Mitchelstown Golf Club admirably over the past 23 years and we owe him a great debt of gratitude. Many thanks also for his assistance from Sean Ryan over the past 4 years.
Batt has been a great help and source of encouragement to me in taking over the role – to come close to his PRO achievements would be, I consider, a very tall order. Go raibh míle, míle maith agat Batt. Fad saol and many years of happy and successful golfing.