Golf notes

DUNDALK GOLF CLUB

The Precision Cables Winter League kicked off with some excellent scoring which resulted in Captain Alan Uzell’s Team Alder taking a slender lead two-point lead into Round 2 at Dundalk Golf Club.
 
David Corrigan and Derek Teather were their top scorers both contributing 34 pts to the team score while team captain Alan Uzell had 33pts and Ultan Gaughran with 31pts was their fourth and final scorer.
 
Team Hawthorn captained by Brian Ward is lying two points behind. Tony Ryan was their top scorer with a tremendous 35pts resulting in an overall team score of 130pts with three other players – Seamus Bailey, Paschal Keenan and Conor Murray - also contributing 30pts plus to the cause,
 
Team Hazel captained by Sean Ward are third on 129pts. Sean himself scored 34pts and was only bettered by teammate John McKeever with an excellent 35pts.
 
John was top individual scorer in week one of the Winter League with only Gearoid Ó Conluain from Team Birch matching his 35pts over the weekend.
 
While week one saw a big turnout of players, Team Alder were the only one of the ten teams to have all eight players playing so the other captains need to make sure their teams have maximum participation in each round.
 
A spectacular start with birdie threes on the first two holes for back-to-back four-pointers set Ben Walsh, playing off a 13 handicap, on his way to bringing in the joint best score, with 38 points, in the weekend Singles Stableford competition which was played in tandem with the Precision Cables Winter League over 14 holes with the four closing holes not in play.
 
With no overall prize, Ben, for the second week running, claimed the honours as the winner of Division 2 and shared the best score of the day with Brian Crombie, playing off a 20 handicap who also finished on 38 points.
 
Ben built on his impressive start and continued with a streak of solid points scoring with straight pars at the par-four fourth, par-five sixth and par-three ninth holes, all for three-pointers, while also tagging on three two-pointers to finish the opening nine holes with 25 points.
 
On his closing five holes he accumulated four three points in a row with pars from the 10th to the 13th holes and, while only securing one point on the final fourteenth hole, he finished the closing five holes with 13 points.
 
Brian Crombie had a faltering start with three points after two holes and but he quickly recovered and set off on a scoring spree, parring the index one par four fourth, par five seventh and par four eighth holes, all for four points, adding three pointers at the fourth, fifth and ninth holes, to complete the nine holes on 26 points.
 
He struggled to maintain his high scoring momentum on his final five holes, a brace of three points and three two pointers, brought his back five to a conclusion with 12 points and his overall 38 points saw him win Division 4.
 
Competition was also very tight for the Division 1 honours with Graeme Smith (4), thanks to a better closing five holes score, just edging past Mark Cumiskey (9), after both finished on 34 points. 
 
In Division 3 the spoils went to Alan Uzell (15) with 33 points, his better closing five holes taking him past John McKenna (17) who also finished on 33 points.

The next Last Person Standing competition will take place on the weekend of December 21. Entry fee is €10 and entries can be made through the Bar. All proceeds go towards the Junior Golf Fund.

Saturday, 30 November and Sunday, 1st December - Singles Stableford - Division 1: Graeme Smith (4) 34/23/16 pts, Mark Cumiskey (9) 34/23/15pts. Division 2: Ben Walsh (13) 38pts, Andrew Shekleton (12) 37pts. Division 3: Alan Uzell (15) 33/23pts, John McKenna (17) 33/21pts. Division 4: Brian Crombie (20) 38pts, David Corrigan (28) 34pts.
 
Precision Cables Winter League Standings after Round 1: 132pts - Team Alder (Capt Alan Uzell). 130pts - Team Hawthorn (Capt Brian Ward ). 129pts - Team Hazel (Capt Sean Ward). 124pts - Team Ash (Capt Patsy Cole ). 119pts - Team Birch (Capt Sean Hession), Team Cherry (Capt Colm Coburn ). 117 - Team Rowan (Capt Tommy Renaghan). 114 Team Oak (Capt Nigel Giff). 113 -  Team Willow (Capt Austin Shaw). 110 - Team Elm (Capt John McCann). 

MANNAN CASTLE GOLF CLUB

Mannan Castle Men

Joe McGeown was our overall winner with a brilliant score of 31pts. Joe won on the count back, with four players finishing on the same score.

Division 1 was won by John Clarke also on a brilliant score of 31pts. A front nine of one over par set John up perfectly to win by three shots.

Pat Healy won Division 2 with a score of 31pts. Pat got off to a flyer with 18pts after just six holes. He continued his brilliant golf to win by one shot.

Division 3 was won by Phillip Duffy, also on 31pts. Having one shot to spare from his nearest challenger, Phillip shot an excellent 23pts front nine.

Winter League Week 4 29th/30thNov/1st Dec - Overall Winner - Joe McGeown (PH.16) – 31pts; Division 1: Winner: John Clarke (PH.11) – 31pts; Division 2: Winner- Pat Healy (PH.18) – 31pts; Division 3: Winner - Phillip Duffy (PH.27) – 31pts.

Mannan Castle Seniors

For the second consecutive week Mannan Castle Seniors made light of the frosty conditions and temporary greens to return excellent score cards. Calm and sunny conditions contributed to the enjoyment of the golf by all.

To the fore in the scoring was Senior Captain Graeme Woodcock (15) with 29 points. From the start, he had a run of eight straight pars before a birdie 2 on hole 10, his ninth. A little error on his final hole cost him a bogey. All in all, it was a remarkable 10 holes of golf.

Categories 1 and 2 saw the Hanratty brothers take first place. In category 1 John (17) started with three pars before a bogey on his fourth hole. He recovered well and had five further pars in his score of 26 points.

Jim (23) took victory in category 2 with a nett of 24 points after a 1-point deduction. He had a steady start to his round before double bogeys on holes 6 and 7. He finished well however with three pars in his last four holes.

Category 3 winner was Gerry Corbally (28) with an excellent 26 points. Highlights of his round were pars on holes 1, 6, 8 and 9. A no-score on hole 4 probably cost him overall victory.

Tuesday 3rd December 10 Hole Competition - Overall: Graeme Woodcock (15) 29pts; Category 1: John Hanratty (17) 25pts; Category 2: Jim Hanratty (23) 24pts (25-1); Category 3: Gerry Corbally (28) 26pts.

Mannan Castle Ladies

It's December, so tricky playing conditions are no surprise and definitely present interesting challenges. Rising best to that challenge this week, Noreen Murphy and Jo Barry both brought in a healthy 26 points for 13 holes.

Both had a smattering of birdies on their card and coincidentally, both made an error on the same hole. In the end, Noreen got the win on the breakdown and Jo had the satisfaction of a sweet par on the thirteenth to add to her second place.

Women's Winter Weekly 13 Hole 4th December 2024 - 1st Noreen Murphy (PH30) 26pts c/b; 2nd Jo Barry (PH23) 26pts. The Winter League Team and Individual competitions have drawn to a close and the final results will follow shortly.

Thanks to everyone who joined in the fun and participated this year. There was a lot of encouragement among the players and their teams.

It's a super way to keep playing during the shorter days and there'll be another opportunity to get involved when the Spring League kicks off in February.