Mount Juliet Golf Notes

The President’s (Des Fitzgerald) Prize for ladies and men was played last week and the format, as usual, was 18 holes singles stableford. On a very testing day weather wise, the scoring was reflected in the conditions that players had to endure to complete their rounds with a strong blustery wind accompanied by occasional showers. The standard scratch scores of the day tumbled to their lowest with 32 points for the men’s competition and 33 points for the ladies. However both Ray Moore and Mary Fulton beat the conditions to win their respective sections of the competition. With a “shotgun” start all players had to endure similar conditions for their round.
Ray recorded a winning score of 35 points to win the men’s section and Mary returned 34 points to beat off her rival competitors in the ladies section.

Ray started his round with a double bogey six and only had 15 points after nine holes. He started his back nine with a double bogey seven for a further point but then turned on the style to record a further 19 points for his last eight holes giving him a total of 35 points. He just got home by a shot from Norman Kilroy who played very consistently to record scores of 17 points for each nine holes. Norman had the misfortune to blank the third hole and double-bogied the long 17th in an otherwise faultless round.

Mary also started her round in a slow manner and after five holes had only recorded 6 points but for the remaining 13 holes she was the model of consistency with a further 28 points. She finished with two very solid pars on the 17th and 18th, both par 5′s, for a closing six points which clinched the title for her. In second place came Amelia Drumm who after scoring three points on her opening hole proceeded to blank the 2nd, 3rd and 4th holes and finished her first nine holes with a total of 11 points. She then proceeded to register a great 22 points for her last nine holes only to come up short by a shot from catching Mary for the winner’s prize.

Last Sunday the September Monthly Medal was played for and with a blustery wind blowing, scoring again was difficult. The best score of the day was by Alan Hearne, who spreadeagled his field of fellow competitors by shooting 38 points which was five shots better than his nearest rival. The foundation of Alan’s round was his first nine holes which he covered in 38 shots, just two over par, to record 21 points. He added a further 17 points on his back nine to end up a comfortable winner of his category. James E. Brett won category 2 with 31 points and Ken MacDonald had a fine 33 points to win category 3.

The ladies section was won by Sandra Carr with 33 points who started her round with two sixes and also failed to score on the long 5th hole but she steadied the ship on the last nine holes by adding a further 18 points to her first nine holes of 15 points to emerge a worthy winner. The conditions reflected in the C.S.S. for the day with the men’s standard scratch reaching its lowest figure of 32 points and the standard scratch for the ladies becoming non-counting at 33 points.

As this was the last counting competition for the Golfer of the Year, the clear winners in each section were Alan Hearne and Amelia Drumm. Both golfers had a very successful year and their respective handicaps came tumbling down during the last few months. There will be more details of their achievements next week as Amelia plays Jeff Howes in the McCalmont Cup final this week.

Next Sunday sees the Captain’s Team play the Lady Captain’s Team in the annual challenge with a “shotgun” start at 11 o’clock and there are still vacancies on both teams for members to put their names in the hat for this fun event which will be a fourball stableford.

The popular Winter Series Team Event commences on Thursday 13th October and tee times can be booked in the usual manner by contacting reservations or the golf shop at Mount Juliet.

Results September Monthly Medal

Results President’s Prize

Ladies Section

Two competitions were completed in the past week, the penultimate round of the Winter Series for 2010/2011 and the popular Member/Guest competition. The Winter Series proved to be a triumph for Co. Galway, who seem to have a hoodoo on Kilkenny on the playing fields at the moment, as a team from Ballinasloe Golf Club literally ran away with this event. They scored an impressive 99 points with scores of 53 and 46 points respectively for each nine holes. The aggregate score for the first nine holes was almost 6 points per hole which was indeed an impressive tally.

In the Member/Guest competition, the format of which was a fourball betterball stableford, the father/son combination of James E. and Niall Brett ran out deserving winners with a score of 43 points. They had a shot to spare over Frank Kelly and his Kerry based partner Joe Healy. The winners had nines of 20 and 23 points respectively and a par on the 18th by James proved to be the clinching score.

The final round of the Winter Series takes place next Wednesday 30th March and as usual it is for teams of four golfers, any combination, with two scores to count. Next Sunday sees the commencement of the Golfer of the Year competition with the running of the March Medal over 18 holes and play will be off the white tees. Last year’s winner, Stephen Price, will be out to retain his crown. On the inter club scene the first team in action will be the Fourball Trophy team and they are pitted against Athy Golf Club who are expected to be formidable opposition. The month of April will see the majority of teams in action, both ladies and gents, hopefully with success.

Results Winter Series

Winners

R. Fitzgerald (11) (Ballinasloe)

T. Kelly (14) (Ballinasloe)

N. Egan (20) (Ballinasloe)

E. Moloney (18) (Ballinasloe) 99 points

Member / Guest Fourball Stableford

Winners

James E. Brett (14)

Niall Brett (10) (Callan) 43 points

Second

Frank Kelly (23)

Joe Healy (10) (Dooks) 42 points

Last Sunday saw the new Captains for 2010 installed into office and the end of a great year for outgoing Captains Billy Murphy and Sheila MacDonald. Mount Juliet is indebted to Billy and Sheila for their charm, wit and general good humour throughout a difficult period for all golf clubs in these turbulent times. The new Captains “drive in” took place in the late afternoon after two nine hole golf competitions, which were played in the morning and early afternoon, were completed. A good turnout of members competed for some seasonal hampers and despite the recent very wet conditions, thanks to Aidan and his staff, the course was in excellent condition and but for a few heavy showers the day turned out to be a pleasant one.

The new Captain, Jim Cusack, featured in the prizes on offer and the new Lady Captain, Sally Gleeson, also featured rather indirectly as well. There was some excellent scoring for the 2 person rumble with one score to count on the first six holes and 2 scores to count on the last 3 holes. There was a four way tie on the back nine for prizes but the front nine was very much a “cut and dry affair” and whether the back nine played more difficult than the first nine is a matter of conjecture. Sufficient to say that the competition will be remembered by Bryan Phelan who scored a “hole in one” on the 3rd hole. It was still not sufficient to overtake the winners James J. Brett and his cousin James E., who powered their way around by returning a very solid 30 points. The competition for the back nine was won by Captain Jim Cusack and his partner, Michael Coughlan, with 24 points on a countback from Paul Carty and Gerry Magee. All competitors enjoyed a day interspersed with seasonal fare at the 10th tee provided by resident chef Chris and his helpers.

The new vice Captains were announced at the presentation of prizes and they are James J. Brett and Margaret Twomey who are a very popular choice with all the members.

The “Drive In” took place with the usual pomp, ceremony and general banter in front of a captive audience at the Hunters Yard with the surroundings bedecked with holly and decorations.

Next Thursday sees the last round of the Winter Series take place for 2009 and intending competitors can reserve their  tee time by phoning 056 7773064 or 056 7773071.

Results “Drive In” Competitions