Mount Juliet Golf Notes

As things begin to slow down with the change of weather and less competitions, our thoughts begin to focus on the arrival of the New Year ahead. Mount Juliet has entered the usual number of G.U.I. events for 2010 and it would be nice if one of the teams could have success after some great efforts over the past few years. The nearest any team got to winning a pennant was the Irish Mixed Foursomes team back in 1996 which got to the Leinster Final. Perhaps this year may bring that elusive pennant to the club.

Our congratulations go to Kilkenny golfer, Gary Murphy, on retaining his tour card for 2010 and which is no easy feat in the light of the number of players trying to earn that distinction.

This week sees the last round of the Winter Series for 2009 down for decision this Thursday and the series returns again on Thursday 14th January 2010.

The Leinster Branch of the Golfing Union are deliberating over the recommendations from various clubs in the province for reductions and increases to members handicaps on performance during 2009 and these recommendations should be known this week.

On Christmas Eve in Mount Juliet House a group of carol singers will perform at 6.30pm. As they did for the past few years they will sing traditional carols, this was well received by guests and members alike as it added to the start of the Christmas festivities.

On the Inter Club scene two teams progressed to the next round of their respective competitions. The ladies won a hard fought victory over Rosslare in the second round of the Ladies Challenge Cup and now progress to the third round where they will meet the winners of Waterford or Tramore. Mary Quigley won the vital away match of three in Rosslare and this added to the two matches won at home by Anne Murphy and Mary Cotter to give the overall result reading of a 3/2 victory having lost the other two matches at Rosslare.

The second team to win were the Ladies Junior Foursomes Team who defeated The Curragh in rather unusual circumstances. After the first leg at The Curragh, Mount Juliet ladies stared defeat in the face with the Co. Kildare ladies holding the upper hand after winning all three matches comfortably. But they were dealt a cruel blow of fate when it was discovered some days later that one of their ladies, Maria Donnelly, had unknowingly played with a non-conforming driver and then in a very sporting gesture informed her team manager of the situation and she in turn conceded the particular match to Mount Juliet. So it meant that instead of being 3-0 down they were now 2 matches to 1 down but with an advantage of holes won as the concession meant that it was a 10/8 victory in that particular match. So low and behold in the second leg Mount Juliet won two matches and lost one to draw level overall and on a countback of holes up Mount Juliet just had the upper hand as a result of the conceded match. This indeed was a very sporting gesture on behalf of Maria and the ladies from The Curragh and one that has to be congratulated.

Junior Foursomes Team: Maire Shee, Susan Mahony, Rita Garvey – Lady Captain, Pearl Brennan, Margaret O’Rourke, Gwen Walshe

The only team to make their exit was the Irish Mixed Foursomes team who conceded a walkover to Woodenbridge in rather different circumstances and unfortunately was not in the same sporting manner as the match outlined against The Curragh.

The Golfer of the Year competitions are now beginning to take shape and with two rounds completed the early leaders are Stephen Price and Lynda Hickey in their respective divisions. Some fascinating matches will be played in the McCalmont Cup matchplay as a result of the draw after the qualifying round. Four ladies have made the matchplay proper and they are Mary Quigley who plays Bill Hutchinson, Lynda Hickey plays Ray O’Malley, Rita Garvey plays Richard Duggan and Noel Murphy plays Una O’Sullivan. Richie Guilfoyle will have to be at his best to give John Mulholland 18 shots in his first round. A new name will be added to the trophy this year as the 2007 winner Rebecca Nixon failed to make it through to the matchplay.

The next round of the Summer Series takes place on Tuesday 13th May with a shotgun start at 2pm. The presentation of prizes takes place immediately after play and the format is a four person team event over 18 holes with two scores to count on 17 holes and three scores on the last. The prizes for this round are sponsored by Heineken Ireland. The time sheet for this competition is filling up fast so intending players should ring 056 7773071 or 056 7773064 for a tee time.

Two more competitions for members and their guests were played last week with the first of the Lady Invitation Days played on Wednesday last and the Member/Guest Team Event played last Sunday.

The Ladies Invitation Day prizes were won by Norma Sullivan and her guest Michelle McCarthy with 36 points, who were clear winners from Jon Hegarty and her guest Phyl Doyle. They in turn just pipped Frances Doyle and her guest Anna Glavin. The format was a fourball betterball stableford and on a pleasant day scoring proved to be difficult.

On Sunday the team event was won by Pat Doyle’s Team which also included Kevin McCartan, Frank Kelly and T.J.McIntyre. They were 3 points clear of the team of Padraic O’Connor, Hugh O’Connor, Colm Darling and Neil Darling who scored 84 points.

The final round of the Waterford Crystal sponsored Winter Series was completed last week with the running of the 3 person rumble. This proved to be a cakewalk on the day for the Kilkenny based team of John Galvin, John Clarke and Bill West. On a very difficult day for scoring, with a strong south westerly wind blowing, the trio had a comfortable 8 points to spare from their nearest opponents. They scored a very good 16 points on the first six holes, followed by 27 points on the next six holes and rounded off a memorable round with 36 points on the last six holes. They now complete the line up of 31 players to take part in the Grand Final on Monday next when play will be off the Blue Championship Tees which measures 7264 yards. The format of the final will be an 18 holes singles stableford for all qualifiers, a daunting task for all competitors but a very enjoyable one. Presentation of prizes will be followed by dinner and as the cliché goes there will be “a prize for everyone in the audience” as well.

With the end of the Winter Series at hand the new Summer Series will be launched on Wednesday 16th April. This will be in the form of a 4 person team event and will be run each month from April through to September. The difference between both series is that the Summer Series will be a shotgun start each day at 2pm and the prizes will be presented after play each evening. There is no grand final similar to the winter series as each competition will stand alone. All competitions will be sponsored by well known firms and there are great prizes on offer each day for anyone lucky enough to win a prize. The entry fee is the same as the Winter Series and the entry is limited to 32 teams each day. Callaway Golf are the sponsors for the inaugural competition and the rules of the competition are that 2 scores will count on the first 17 holes with 3 scores to count on the 18th. The handicap limits are 22 for the men and 32 for the ladies. Tee times can be booked for any of the series by phoning golf reservations at 056/7773064 or 7773071.

On the Inter Club scene our neighbours Mountain View have defeated St. Helen’s Bay and so qualify to meet Mount Juliet in the second round of the Leinster Fourball Trophy. Two of the Ladies Teams were in action on Monday last, the Intermediate Cup Team of Margaret O’Rourke, Jon Hegarty, Pearl Brennan, Maire Shee and Helen Hedigan lost to Borris Ladies on a scoreline of 3 matches to 2 matches.
The Minor Cup Team of Rita Garvey, Gwen Walshe, Susan Mahony, Sarah Jane Costello and Catherine O’Halloran met a similar fate against the Castlecomer Ladies Team losing two of the matches at home on the 19th .
In Ladies Inter Club competitions, apart from the Miele Fourball, this now only leaves the Challenge Cup team who are due to meet Kilkenny next weekend and the Junior Foursomes team to represent the club in the coming week. The Barton Cup and the Irish Mixed Foursomes are in action this coming weekend also.