Golf notes

Mannan Castle

Mannan Castle’s Captain’s Drive-In 24th March 2024

Captain Fergal Brady and Lady Captain Carol McMahon arrived in style in a classic 1958 Rolls Royce to their 2024 Captains Drive-In.

This year’s captains decided on a Downton Abbey theme for the attire, Captain Fergal dressed in a stylish suit, bow tie bow tie iconic of an earlier era and Lady Captain Carol arrived ready to dance the night away in a 1920’s black tasselled sequenced flapper dress, no detail overlooked.

Greeted to a champagne reception and the paparazzi. President Eamonn Trainor poured the champagne, a few sips and photos and everyone was ready to head to the tee box for the traditional drive-in.

The captains would both like to thank everyone who helped make their day a success, those who played golf, who came out to greet them as they arrived or who made the evening presentation.

Especially our hard working greenskeepers who had the course presented beautifully, led by head Greenskeeper John McBride; to both PGA Professionals Kevin McGivern and our new Professional Chris Blackmore for all their help.

A special thanks to member Philip Cassidy for sponsoring the luxury car and Patrick their chauffeur for the occasion.

Lady Captain’s daughter Lorraine made a cake especially for the occasion, to everyone who helped in any way it was appreciated.

I’m pretty sure that Captain Fergal regretted producing an antique wood for last year's captain, as Barry Conroy had the club ready for Fergal to use for his tee shot.

A few photos on the tee box and Captain Fergal Brady, Lady Captain Carol McMahon, Vice Captain Raymond (Joe) O’Hara and Lady Vice Captain Angela Evers headed off to enjoy their round of golf.

Congratulations to the runaway winners of the 2024 Captains Drive In Scramble, John Hand, Paul Shannon, Gary Capaldi, and Ryan Carolan who finished 5points, better than second place team.

2024 Captains Drive In Champagne Scramble 24th March 2024

1st Place Team John Hand (11), Paul Shannon (18) Gary Capaldi (17) and Ryan Carolan (23) – 83pts

2nd Place Team David Mac Guinness (17), Patrick Darby (20), John Clarke (9) and Seamus Bellew (17) - 78pts

Mannan Castle Men 17th March

Trevor Markey won Division 1 with a brilliant score of 33pts; Trevor had three birdies on the front nine to set himself up for a great score.

Division 2 was won by Leo Murphy; Leo shot a score of 30pts with a strong finish to his round, which saw him win by one point.

The score of the weekend came in Division 3; Sean O’Rourke shot an incredible 36pts on Sunday morning. Sean couldn’t do much wrong throughout and is one to watch this year.

Weekend Singles Stableford 17th March 2023

Division 1: 1st - Trevor Markey (PH.13) - 33pts

Division 2: 1st - Leo Murphy (PH.17) - 30pts

Division 3: 1st - Sean O’Rourke (PH.19) - 36pts

18th March

Our final 13 hole competition of the year was played on Bank Holiday Monday. With a big turn out, the scoring did not disappoint.

First place was won on the count back by Gary Capaldi. Gary shot a brilliant 34pts, with 23pts on the front nine, Gary showed no signs of stopping with a superb birdie 2 on the 12th hole.

Runner up and probably feeling unlucky to be bet on the count back was Sean Pierson.

Sean also shot a brilliant 34pts and the highlight of his round came on the 3rd, having hit the green he then rolled in the putt for a birdie 2. Tom Lynch finished in third position. Tom shot a score of 31pts.

St. Patrick’s Day Bank Holiday Open Singles Stableford 18th March 2024

1st Gary Capaldi (PH.19) - 34pts

2nd Sean Pierson (PH.15) - 34pts

3rd Tom Lynch (PH.24) - 31pts

Mannan Castle Seniors - 9 Hole Competition

It was another great day for Mannan Castle Seniors 9 hole competition on Tuesday 19th March with some excellent scoring.

Best score on the day was by Tom Fox who despite a slight wobble in the final three holes recorded a round of 22 points.

He was subject to a 2 point penalty but his nett score of 20 points was good enough to win category 3.

In Category 1 an excellent score of 21 points was good for victory for Tony Rooney. He had a flawless round including a great par, par finish.

Kevin Gavigan maintained his recent good form with a score of 21 points. His first hole yielded no points but thereafter he was error free including a great birdie 4 on hole 4.

Result: Tuesday 19th March 9 hole competition (9-hole handicap)

Category 1: Tony Rooney ( 8 ) 21 pts

Category 2: Kevin Gavigan (10) 21pts

Category 3: Tom Fox (12) 20pts (22-2)

9 HOLE COMPETITION

Mannan Castle Seniors took advantage of a break in the wet weather to have their usual 9 hole competition on Tuesday last.

In Category 1 Con Hanneffy and Declan Govern had a close tussle with Con prevailing on countback. Both players had a very good 19 points.

Category 2 saw some excellent scoring with Sam Duffy and Kevin Gavigan returning cards with 23 points. Sam came out on top on countback.

Senior Captain Denis Murphy will hopefully have his drive in on Tuesday 2nd April, weather permitting.

Result in 26th March 9 Hole Competition

Category 1: Con Hanneffy (6) 19pts c/b (Declan Govern (9))

Category 2: Sam Duffy (16) 23pts c/b (Kevin Gavigan (10))

Mannan Castle Ladies

A great turnout for the final Spring Series 13-hole competition. Brianan Kingham emerged as the leader of the pack with a birdie on the 12th, a highlight in her round of efficient scoring to finish a clear winner.

Three players finished a single point behind. Noreen Murphy's strong finish elevated her 25 points into second place on countback with the ever-reliable Kitty Sharkey, on the same score, taking third place.

Women's Weekly 13 Hole STB - Week 7

1st Brianan Kingham (20) 26 pts

2nd Noreen Murphy (30) 25 pts c/b

3rd Kitty Sharkey (21) 25 pts c/b

Spring League

The Ladies SPRING LEAGUE sponsored by Dundalk Credit Union reached a conclusion with standings very close going into the final week and results for winning teams and individual categories are eagerly awaited.

Dundalk Golf Club

A blistering display of scoring on the front nine holes set Declan Curran (31) well on his way to bringing in a final tally of 43 points and claiming the overall winner’s prize in the weekend 18 holes Singles Stableford competition sponsored by Fairways SuperValu.

Declan started with a three-pointer on the first hole, picked up four points with a par on the third and added back-to-back three-pointers on the fifth and sixth holes.

He boosted his score considerably with a birdie three at the eighth and tagged on another three points on the par three ninth to turn on a spectacular 26 points.

The back nine, while not as remarkable, included three-pointers at the 12th and 13th holes and a run of solid two-pointers from holes 14 to 18 for 17 points on the back nine.

Runner up was Christopher McGeady (22) on 42 points, with his 23 points on the back nine edging out Brian Gaughan (10) and Michael Gill (13) who both also finished on 42 points.

Teenager Odhran McShane (8) may not have made it into the winner’s enclosure but he had a round to remember with a hole-in-one on the par three ninth hole.

Saturday, March 23 and Sunday, March 24 - Singles Stableford Competition sponsored by Fairways SuperValu – Overall: Declan Curran (31) 43 pts, Christopher McGeady (22) 42pts. Division 1: Brian Gaughan (10) 42 pts, Kevin Redmond (11) 41 pts. Division 2: Michael Gill (13) 42 pts, Malcolm Drake (19) 40 pts. Division 3: Gary O’Brien (23) 41 pts, Patrick Cole (25) 40 pts. Gross recognition: Garrett Duffy (3) 35pts.