Mount Juliet Golf Notes

The draws for the Midland Championships for ladies were made last week by the I.L.G.U., and as far as the Mount Juliet ladies are concerned they have been pitted against Gowran Park in the Intermediate Cup, handicap range 16 – 22. This match will be played at Borris Golf Club on 11th April. Their opponents in the Minor Cup, handicap range 23-29, are Kilkenny and this is scheduled to take place at Callan Golf Club on 18th April. In the Challenge Cup, handicaps 30-36, their opponents are Borris and this will take place at Gowran Park Golf Club on 11th April.

Last Sunday saw the Member/Guest competition take place in cloudy, dry and mild conditions. The competition was a three person rumble over 18 holes and scoring was by stableford. Scoring conditions for this competition was the best single score over the first six holes, two best scores over the next six holes and all three scores over the last six holes. The winners scored a total of 85 points and this was compiled of 19 points for the first six holes, 34 points for the middle six and 32 points for the last six holes. They held on by two points from their nearest pursuers from Mount Juliet who in turn beat the third placed team by virtue of a better back nine holes. The runners up would have been much closer to the winners but for only amassing a moderate 29 points for the middle six holes. However it was good to see John Browne feature in the prizes after his recent illness and our good wishes go to him for a full recovery.

Results Member/Guest 18 Holes Rumble

Winners

Bill Connolly (14)

P.J. Butler (17) (The Heritage)

Bryan Byrne (9) (The Heritage) 85 points

Second

John Browne (18) (Mount Juliet)

Margaret Twomey (36)

Sheila MacDonald (30) 83 points (last nine)

Third

Pat Doyle (13)

Gerry Lenihan (13) (Ring of Kerry)

Gary Tobin (12) (Mahon Golf Club) 83 points

The next member and guest competition takes place on Sunday 20th March and the format will be a fourball stableford. This Wednesday sees the Winter Series take place and as usual this is a four person team event.

Tony Sparkles in Monthly Medal

The July Monthly Medal was played for last Sunday and competitors were lucky with the weather, as almost an inch of rain had fallen in the previous 24 hours, but Sunday remained nice and dry for a good turnout of golfers.

Best score of the day was recorded by Tony Frew who scored a very impressive 44 points which equated to a round of level par off his handicap of 8. Tony had nines of 22 points on each nine holes with bogies on the 7th and 14th holes, but he countered these dropped shots with birdies on the 2nd and 10th holes. He had no other dropped shots but completed his round with 14 pars for a very fine score indeed. Tony easily won his category and was an impressive six shots clear of his nearest rival.

In category 2, Alan Hearne just beat the present Captain, Jim Cusack, on a countback to claim the spoils with another fine round of 40 points. Alan had a rather sluggish start to his round by only recording 11 points for his first seven holes which included two double bogies and four bogies, but he really came to life from thereon as he scored 29 points for the last eleven holes and only dropping two shots to par on the 14th and 18th holes.

Category 3 was won by Paul Carty, who is having a very successful year on the golf course. Paul recorded 32 points for his round.

The ladies division also had a decisive winner in Margaret Clandillon who had three shots to spare from her nearest rivals. Margaret scored a fine 38 points with nines of 20 and 18 points respectively and had only one blip in her round, on the 16th where she failed to register a point. Margaret had three shots to spare from Paula Moore and Lady Captain, Sally Gleeson.

In the Golfer of the Year competitions, Stephen Price leads Alan Hearne with Andrew Nixon holding third place. Ruth Skehan holds sway over Amelia Drumm by four points. Ruth has scored in six competitions whereas Amelia holds a slight advantage by only scoring in five competitions, and can overtake her rival over the next few weeks. The C.S.S. for the men was 36 points and for the ladies was 37 points.

Last week also saw the running of the July Ladies Invitation competition and this proved to be a triumph for Ursula Mason who returned the winning score. The competition for July was an 18 holes singles stableford and Ursula hit top form by scoring 39 points and won by a shot from Brenda O’Sullivan with Sheila MacDonald a shot further behind. Ursula had nines of 21 and 18 points respectively and after a shaky start to her second nine holes, where she only scored two points in total on the 10th and 11th holes, she settled down again to record an impressive win. Brenda had a very indifferent start to her round by scoring 16 points on the first nine holes but came to life on the second nine by scoring a further 22 points.

The popular Summer Series continued last Thursday and the July competition proved to be a triumph for a team led by two New Ross members who returned the winning score of 90 points. They just held on by a shot from a team led by Stephen Price and three friends based in Dublin clubs. The next round in this series will continue in August with a similar four person team event.

The Friday evening competition, which is a social occasion for members and their guests, continues over the next few months and the next competition in the Member/Guest series will be on Sunday 25th July and this will be a Mixed Scotch Foursomes over 18 holes.

RESULTS

Ladies Invitation Day, 7th July 2010

Winner Ursula Mason (30) 39 points

Second Brenda O’Sullivan (33) 38 points

Third Sheila MacDonald (30) 37 points

First Nine Ruth Skehan (27) 19 points

Second Nine Helen Comerford (20) 21 points

Summer Series, 8th July 2010

Winners

Richard Murphy (14) (New Ross)

P.J. O’Connor (7) (New Ross)

James Nelson (20) (Corrstown)

Michael Murphy (14) (San Jose) 90 points

Runners Up

Stephen Price (7) (Mount Juliet)

Darren Kelly (18) (Malahide)

Ciaran Maher (20) (Balcarrick)

Brendan Feeney (7) (Balcarrick) 89 points

July Monthly Medal, 11th July 2010

Category 1 Tony Frew (8) 44 points

Category 2 Alan Hearn (15) 40 points

Category 3 Paul Carty (19) 32 points

Ladies Margaret Clandillon (26) 38 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