Mount Juliet Golf Notes

There were two competitions played during last week and both were 18 hole singles stableford. The first one took place on last Wednesday for members and the second one took place on Saturday and this was a Member/Guest competition. On Wednesday last Alan Hearne, who has had a wonderful year of golf, was again the winner with a score of 37 points. Alan’s handicap has come tumbling down this year and he has now reached single figures, quite a commendable feat. Alan had nines of 18 and 19 points respectively and was two shots clear of his nearest opponent, Tom Mulcahy, who returned 35 points. The C.S.S. for this competition was 36 points and so Alan will reduce his handicap even further before the end of the year.

On Saturday last the Member/Guest competition was won by Robert Brassil on a countback from Ted Hoyne with both players returning 35 points. The weather on Saturday was testing for all golfers and it was a precursor for Sunday’s weather. With the testing conditions the C.S.S. for Saturday was 34 points.

This Thursday sees the resumption of the Winter Series and the competition will be an 18 holes singles which is an open to all golfers and tee times can be reserved by phoning the golf shop.

Results Wednesday 19th October 18 hole Singles

Winner Alan Hearne (9) 37 points

Second Tom Mulcahy (17) 35 points

Results Saturday 22nd October 18 hole Singles

Winner Robert Brassil (3) (Rathsallagh) 35 points

Second Ted Hoyne (9) (Gowran Park) 35 points

Last Sunday saw the May Monthly Medal decided with fine, cloudy, weather and a tricky wind for players to contend with. However the scoring was good with Kevin McCartan returning the best score of the day in the men’s section and Sally Gleeson almost matching his score in the ladies category.

Kevin had nines of 21 and 18 points respectively to beat John Barrett by a shot in category 2. The other categories were won by Hugh O’Connor and Frank Kelly, both players scoring 36 points each to edge home from the opposition. This is Hugh’s second medal this year and he is obviously retaining his early season form. Sally just got the better of Amelia Drumm in the ladies section and consequently both players are leading contenders in the Golfer of the Year competition. In the G.O.Y competition for the men, the leader now is Kevin McCartan as a result of his achievement over last weekend, and he is 3 points clear of his nearest rival, Alan Hearne, who in turn is 2 points clear of Stephen Price and John Barrett.

In the ladies section, Amelia Drumm and Liz Beatty top the table on 20 points and they in turn are 3 points clear of Ruth Skehan and Sally Gleeson. The C.S.S. for Sunday was 36 points for the men and 37 points for the ladies.

Last Wednesday the Ladies Invitation Day for May took centre stage and the format was a 4 person scramble. Myra Phelan led her team to success with 84 points and they just pipped the team led by Lady Captain, Margaret Twomey, with Elizabeth McCalmont’s team in third place.

On the Inter Club front, the Pierce Purcell foursomes team made their exit in the qualifying round at Borris G.C. last week. On a day of disappointment, the pairing of Kevin McCartan and Alan Hearne returned the best score of the day with a score of 81 gross. Unfortunately the rest of the pairings failed to match this fine score and as a consequence failed to make the knockout stages of the competition. The full team comprised of Alan Hearne/Kevin McCartan, Pat Doyle/Tim Kavanagh, John Barrett/Tadhg Gleeson, Terry Sullivan/Frank Kelly and Terry O’Reilly/John Browne.

May Monthly Medal

Ladies Invitation Day Wednesday 11th May – 4 Person Scramble

At long last two competitions got off the ground in the past two weeks and these were the first round of the Winter Series and also the first member/guest competition of the new season. Both the Winter Series and the member and guest competitions proved to be a triumph for members of local clubs. The Winter Series was won by a team from Callan Golf Club and the Member/Guest competition included members of Gowran Park and Carlow Golf Clubs.

The Winter Series was won with 87 points and the winning team put together nines of 43 and 44 points. The team started well scoring 7 points on the long 2nd and thereafter scored solidly with their worst score on any hole being four points.

The Member/Guest competition was a fourball betterball stable ford and this was won with 41 points. The winners had 18 points for the first nine holes but really came to life on the second nine amassing a further 23 points. The runners-up scored 40 points with a solid 20 points on each nine holes.

The next round of the Winter Series takes place on Wednesday 9th March and next Sunday there is a member/guest competition with a one tee start as the two tee starts are now finished with the arrival of March. The competition next Sunday is a three person rumble over 18 holes for a member and his/her two guests and scoring is by stableford.

Results, Winter Series

Winners

Sean Brett (9) Callan Golf Club

John O’Dwyer (5)

Paul Cashin (16)

Paul Madigan (5) 87 points

Member/Guest Fourball Betterball Stableford

Winners

Michael Collins (13)

Richard Dowling (14) (Gowran Park) 41 points

Second

Bill Connolly (14)

Bill Fanning (15) (Carlow) 40 points