Mount Juliet Golf Notes

The Summer Series played last week proved to be a triumph for four golfers from Newbridge Golf Club as they swept to victory in a very decisive manner returning a fine score of 97 points.  They had seven points to spare from their nearest rival competitors who all hailed from Tipperary.  The Newbridge team were consistent throughout their round with nines of 48 and 49 points respectively.  The next and final round in the series will take place on Wednesday 21st September and already the timesheet for this is filling up at this point, almost four weeks out.

Last Sunday, a Member/Guest competition took place and this was won in emphatic style by Pat Doyle and his guests from the Ring of Kerry Golf Club who obviously thought it unnecessary to cheer on their football team in Croke Park.  This competition proved to be a landmark for Pat as well as he scored three birdies on three of the four par 3’s.  Pat registered birdies on the 3rd, 6th and 11th holes as part of his team’s winning score of 86 points.  The format of the competition was a three person rumble and Pat’s team scored 20 points, 32 points and 34 points for each six holes. With a fine entry of 30 teams in the competition Pat’s team had 3 points to spare from his nearest rival teams led by Sean O‘Neill and Jim Cusack.

The final stages of the McCalmont Cup are drawing to a conclusion with Amelia Drumm waiting to play the winners of the match between Ruth Mulholland and Jeff Howes.  This competition could yet end up as an all ladies affair for the first time in its history.  Amelia is having such a good year as she is almost assured of the Golfer of the Year title as well as possible victory in the cup.  The men’s competition in the Golfer of the Year is still up for grabs but it looks now like a straight fight between Alan Hearne and John Keane with Alan holding the upper hand with only two ranking competitions to go.

The President’s (Des Fitzgerald) Prize takes place on Saturday 10th September with a shot-gun start at 12 noon and the timesheet for this “major” opens on Monday 29th August.  Presentation of prizes will take place after play and this will be followed by dinner in Kendals Restaurant.

The course closes this week for annual maintenance up to and including this Wednesday and as the Summer comes to a close, there was some interesting golf played last week. The final of the McCalmont Cup matchplay between Michael Brennan and John O’Connor was played last Friday. After a very close match in which fortunes for both players ebbed and flowed, Michael came out victorious on the 18th by a one hole victory. Michael was giving John six shots in the match over the eighteen holes and the result looked ominous for him after 16 holes as they were all square with John to receive a further two shots on the 16th and 18th holes. However, Michael managed to half the 16th and win the 17th and held on for a half and the match on the 18th.

This is Michael’s second time to win the trophy since its inception and congratulations go to him on the achievement. As this was a Golfer of the Year competition, the result had no significant bearing on the leaderboard.

Stephen Price still maintains his lead, but only just, from Alan Hearn by one point. The advantage still rests with Stephen as he has fewer competitions played but it still looks as this will go to the wire before a result is known.

In the ladies section the competition is hotting up with Ruth Skehan holding a narrow advantage over Amelia Drumm with Kathryn O’Connor reducing the gap on the leaders in third place.

The President’s (Des Fitzgerald) Prize will be played on Saturday 4th September with a shotgun start at 11am. The timesheet for this competition is now open and bookings can be made by phoning tee reservations at 056 7773071or 7773064.

Last Sunday there was an 18 holes 3 person rumble competition and there was a very good turnout of members and their guests for this popular competition. With one score to count on the first six holes, two scores on the next six holes and all three players scores to count on the last six holes, competitors had to be at their sharpest. The winners had 18 points for the first six holes, followed by 29 points for their middle six holes and they finished off with a further 45 points to register a total of 91 points. They had eight shots to spare from their nearest rivals. The key to their success was that they all scored on each hole for the last six holes and this is where the competition is usually decided.

Results

Member/Guest 18 holes Rumble Sunday 22nd August

The only team surviving in the inter club competitions, The Ladies Challenge Cup team, played Killerig in the quarter final on Monday last with Mount Juliet hosting three of the 5 matches at home. Unfortunately for the home team there was no joy to be related at the end of the day with Killerig coming out victors on a 3/2 scoreline. The vital win was secured on the 18th at Mount Juliet by Miriam Farrell of Killerig as Mount Juliet had lost their two matches at Killerig. All the team and their manager, Helen Comerford, are to be commended for the committment and dedication given during the earlier rounds and with a small bit of luck could have gone on to reach the Semi-Final. So that ends that chapter for another year and we will look forward to better things in 2009.

The July Summer Series was played last Wednesday and a full turnout of teams participated with the honours for the day going to the team comprising of members of Craddockstown and Black Bush golf clubs. Conditions were ideal for scoring but again most of the players found the course playing to it’s full length. The winning score of 92 points just beat the combination of Boystown, South County and The Heath players by a shot with a team from the Rebel County a further point behind. The winners had nines of 47 and 45 points respectively whereas the runner-up had nines of 46 and 45 points. The crucial hole was the long par five ,17th, where the winners scored an eagle and a birdie to record seven points whereas the runners-up had a total of 5 points with two pars. Special mention has to be made to our sponsors for the competition, Golf Andalucia, who provided magnificent prizes for the day to the lucky players who won.

Results July Summer Series:

Winners:

Frank Byrne(8) – Craddockstown G.C.
Alan Kavanagh(12)
Barry Mc Carthy(12)
Nicky Power(6)- Black Bush G.C
92 points.

Second:

Pamela Harrington(32) – Boystown G.C.
Philip Wardick(10)
Shay Doherty(9) – South County G.C.
Michael Whelan(16) – The Heath G.C
91 points

Third:

Mathew Geaney(17) – Kanturk G.C.
Derek O’ Donovan(14) – Fermoy G.C.
Eamon O’ Sullivan(14) – East Cork G.C.
Peter Gibney(20) – Kanturk G.C
90 points.

Fourth:

Jim Walsh(10) – Gowran Park G.C.
Mick Walsh(10) – St. Helens Bay G.C.
Ger Walsh(9)
Les Walsh(7)
88 points.
Our Next Summer Series competition is Tuesday 8th July sponsored by Coca Cola.
The 8th of July event is now full, but a wait list is in operation. Places are still available for the 12th August and 1st September events and as usual tee times can be booked by phoning 056/7773064 or 7773071