Mount Juliet Golf Notes

The Lady President’s (Mrs. Mary Jones) Prize was played on Thursday last in very testing conditions with a very strong South Westerly wind blowing which made scoring very difficult. The very convincing winner was Sandra Carr who returned 32 points to win by four shots from her nearest opponent. It was a case of keeping the ball in play in the conditions and Sandra executed this to her advantage over the eighteen holes. In second place came the Lady Captain (Margaret Twomey) with 28 points. No player broke the C.S.S. for the day so the competition became a non-counting one as it was deemed to be for reduction only for handicap purposes. Mrs. Jones made the long trip over from the South of England for the occasion. The evening ended with a dinner and presentation of prizes in Mount Juliet House.

This week-end sees the final of the Lexus Race to Mount Juliet with the top Irish Professional Golfers playing for the Order of Merit title which will be defended by the 2010 winner, David Higgins, and will include Kilkenny Professional, Jimmy Bolger, in the line-up. The Pro-Am takes place this Friday with the professionals taking pride of place on Saturday and Sunday.

Results of Lady President’s (Mrs. Mary Jones) Prize

Winner Sandra Carr (18) 32 points

Second Margaret Twomey (36) 28 points

Third Laura Mahony (17) 27 points

Fourth Myra Phelan (22) 27 points

1st Nine Mary Divilly (25) 14 points

2nd Nine Brenda Fitzgerald (21) 14 points

Par 3’s Hilary Hegarty 8 points

Par 5‘s Ursula Mason 9 points

Longest Drive Ruth Mulholland

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

Last week was an important one for our junior members as the competition for the Captain’s (James J. Brett) prize and the Lady Captain‘s (Margaret Twomey) prize took place. This competition was washed out last June when it should have taken place in conjunction with the adult competition. Some fine scoring was recorded by our Junior members as both Darcey Carr, a granddaughter of J.B. and Luke Donnelly, nephew to the hurling Fennellys, scored 42 points and were winners in their respective sections. Darcey, playing off the ladies red tees, had a remarkable two over par gross. She dropped a total of four shots to par but struck back with birdies on the 13th and 15th holes, a fine achievement indeed. As a result Darcey now sees her handicap of 8 reduced further.

Luke Donnelly playing off the yellow tees had a level par round for 42 points and will see his handicap of 6 reducing further in the near future as well. Luke dropped two shots to par at the 9th and 16th holes but made up for these lapses with birdies at the 2nd and 15th. No doubt there is a bright golfing future in store for both of these young players. Other notable scores were recorded by Brian Staunton, Jack Cullen in the boys section and Elizabeth Shields scoring 40 points in the girls section, with the Mulcahy brothers scoring well on each nine holes. Prizes were presented in the clubhouse with proceedings ending with a social get-together for all contestants.

Myra Phelan, followed in the footsteps of her husband Bryan, a previous winner, by capturing the Residential Trophy last week. This annual competition which has a much sought after prize and is confined to the many residents who grace the estate and add great life to the social scene at Mount Juliet. Myra recorded a fine score of 38 points and had a shot to spare from her nearest rivals. Myra scored a first nine holes of 17 points but really came to life on the back nine holes by scoring a further 21 points to clinch victory from John Thompson. The youthful Iona Stevenson won the Junior Prize with a very commendable 37 points and so reduced her playing handicap further in the past week. Myra, who is also Lady Handicap Secretary, will no doubt have to adjust her own handicap accordingly after her fine winning score.

On Saturday afternoon last a Member/Guest 18 hole singles competition was held and competitors had to endure some heavy, thunder showers during the course of play. The winning score of 33 points was returned by Conor Spain with Martin Holohan and Liz Hedigan finishing second and third respectively.

Next Sunday sees the “vice-versa” competition down for decision and this is a Golfer of the Year competition. The competition is officially the Captain’s Prize to the Ladies and the Lady Captain’s Prize to the Men and both competitions are run off together with a “shotgun start” at 11a.m. sharp. Starting holes will be allotted to all competitors on Sunday morning. This competition is another of the “majors” on the golfing calendar and could clinch the G.O.Y. competition as the “Summer Golf” nears a conclusion.

Also the next round of the popular Summer Series takes place on Tuesday 16th August and as usual this is a 4 person team event over 18 holes with any combination eligible to partake and 2 scores to count on each hole.

Results Captains Prize for Juniors

Results Residential Trophy

Member/Guest 18 Holes Singles 6th August