Mount Juliet Golf Notes

The first competition for the traditional Christmas Hampers took place last Sunday and on a day that started on a typical dull damp November day the weather deteriorated into a steady cold downpour from midday onwards.  This did not deter some competitors from returning some fine scores on the day.  Because of the shorter daylight hours, the competition itself was over the first 16 holes of the course, the format was a singles stableford and pride of place went to that man showing remarkable recent form, Sean Brett, who returned 37 points to just pip Ken MacDonald on a countback.  Sean scored 19 points for his first eight holes which included a birdie on the 1st hole and bogies on the 6th and 8th holes to cover his first eight holes in a very impressive one over par.  On the last eight holes he scored a further 18 points to claim first prize as the 16 hole competition was decided over the scoring on the first eight holes and last eight holes.  Ken on the other hand scored 20 points for his first eight holes and added a further 17 points for his last eight holes.  The vital hole, which decided the outcome of first prize, was the 9th where Sean had a par and Ken scored a double bogey.  Young Tim Howes scored 36 points to win the Junior section with eight hole totals of 22 and 14 points respectively.

In the ladies section Ann O’Shea was the convincing winner with 34 points starting in sparkling form with birdies on the 1st and 7th to score 18 points for her first 8 holes and then added a further 16 points on the last eight holes.  She failed to register a point on the long 13th and this was her only blip in an otherwise impressive round of golf.  Her nearest challenger was Liz Beatty who finished with 32 points and will be disappointed not to have scored on the 5th, 10th and 11th holes when victory was within her grasp.

The next hampers scheduled to be played for will be on 18th November when a Member/Guest Fourball Stableford will be the format.  Again this competition will be over 16 holes with a two tee start on the 1st and 10th holes and slots can be obtained by phoning tee reservations or by going  online.

Results Christmas Hamper 16 Holes Singles Sunday 4th November

Men          Winner           Sean Brett (10)                  37 points(last eight)
                   Second          Ken MacDonald (25)           37 points
                   Junior             Tim Howes  (18)                  36 points

Ladies       Winner           Ann O’Shea (13)                34 points
                   Second          Liz Beatty (16)                   32 points

The Ladies Challenge Cup team were in action against Wexford and the venue was Waterford Castle. The overall result was a great win for Mount Juliet by a margin of 3 matches won to 2 matches lost.

Mary Cotter started the winning ball rolling with a convincing victory by a margin of 6 and 5 against her opponent. Then Brenda O’Sullivan kept the winning mood going when she won on the 16th green against her opponent. In between these two victories, Anne Murphy lost her match also on the 16th green and Joan Pierce was having a great battle with her opponent and was one down on the 17th tee. But Wendy Beirne closed out her match with a long putt on the 16th green for a winning margin of 3 and 2. Joan eventually lost on the 17th green but at that stage the important victory was secure. The team now progress to the semi-final on the 25th July against the winners of Woodenbridge or Tara Glen with a neutral venue to be decided. The team is managed by Helen Comerford and is ably assisted by another member of the panel, Dorothy Kilroy, who with Anne Daly completes the full team panel. Hopefully the team can progress to the final for the first time in the history of the club.

The competition for both Golfer of the Year Trophies is hotting up with Alan Hearne just a point in front of Kevin McCartan in the men’s section. In joint third place some seven points adrift of the leader, is John Keane and John Barrett.

The ladies division is led by Sally Gleeson with 41 points and she is five points clear of Amelia Drumm with Liz Beatty some points adrift in third place. This weekend sees the Captains’ Prizes down for decision in both categories and with bonus points on offer in both competitions the Golfers of the Year could easily be decided. A bumper entry will compete for the most coveted prizes of the year with the presentations taking place in Kendals Restaurant after dinner on Saturday night.

The first of five medal competitions for this year were played last Sunday with the running of the March Medal. This competition proved to be a triumph for last year’s Golfer of the Year, Stephen Price, as he returned the best score of the day and duly won his category. Stephen scored a very impressive 43 points, which was one under gross off his handicap of 6. Play was as usual off the white tees and Stephen made the best of the Summer-like conditions to post the winning score.

Stephen started very impressively with a birdie on the 1st hole and followed it with another birdie on the short par three, 3rd , and dropped a shot on the par three, 6th. This was to be his only bogie in the round as he parred all other holes to make a total of 15 pars, 2 birdies and only one bogie. He had nines of 22 and 21 points respectively for his eighteen holes and as a result he leads the Golfer of the Year as this was the commencement of this year’s competition.

In category 2, Alan Hearne also returned a fine score of 41 points to win his category convincingly. Alan had a fine start to his round also with birdies at the 3rd and 4th holes and completed his first nine holes with 23 points. His fine round gradually came to a halt and he returned a steady 18 points on the back nine holes.

Category 3 was won by Padraic O’Connor with 34 points, which could have been a few shots better but for blanking the 1st and 5th holes where he had the unfortunate experience of playing a wrong ball. Also in this category, Frank Kelly had the unusual experience of having an eagle on the 9th when he holed out his second shot with a 5 wood.

The ladies section was won by Liz Beatty with 32 points by virtue of a better back nine holes from three other players and Liz is now the early leader in the G. O.Y.

Next Wednesday, 6th April, sees the first of the popular Ladies Invitation Days for 2011 with the running of a three person scramble.

Results March Monthly Medal

Category 1 Stephen Price (6) 43 points

Category 2 Alan Hearne (13) 41 points

Category 3 Padraic O’Connor (21) 34 points

Ladies Liz Beatty (17) 32 points