Mannan Castle Golf Club notes
News from Mannan Castle Golf Club
Mannan Castle Golf Club - Men
The first full weekend of golf this year saw a brilliant turnout across the whole weekend. The overall winner this weekend was Joe McGeown shooting a superb 34pts. Joe had a front nine to remember with two birdies and seven pars.
Division 1 was won by John Clarke. John shot a score of 31pts on Sunday morning. A great birdie two on the 12th hole topped off a great day’s work.
John Minnock won Division 2 with a brilliant score of 33pts. Doing very little wrong throughout, John finished strongly, birding the par 3 12th.
Division 3 was won by Paul Trainor on a score of 32pts. A brilliant front nine of 22pts set Paul up well to win his division by two points. The runner-up was Bernard Crawley on 30pts.
Winter League Week 5 - 17th, 18th and 19th January
Overall Winner - Joe McGeown (PH.16) – 34pts. Division 1 - 1st - John Clarke (PH.11) – 31pts; Division 2 - 1st - John Minnock (PH.18) – 33pts; Division 3 - 1st - Paul Trainor (PH.29) – 32pts; 2nd - Bernard Crawley (PH.36) – 30pts.
Storm Éowyn didn’t stop a few determined golfers from playing on Saturday 25th of January.
Men’s Weekend Competition 25th January 2025
1st - Patrick Byrne (PH.15) – 36pts
Mannan Castle Golf Club - Seniors
Mannan Castle Seniors' first competition of the new year was supported by a large turnout of seniors eager for golf after the Christmas layoff.
The unseasonably mild weather contributed to some excellent scoring with fine margins separating the field over the nine holes played.
The best card of the day was returned by Ken Murray (PH 10) with 23 points. After a stumble on hole 2, Ken then shot a remarkable level par for the following six holes.
He was subject to a deduction of two points for previous wins but still deservedly took the overall prize on countback. In Category 1 senior captain Graeme Woodcock (PH 7) was also subject to deduction of one point.
Carrying on the theme of the day his nett score was a winning one finishing on 20 points. A strong level par finish over the final three holes was the difference.
Another who overcame a point deduction was Category 2 winner Sean Harvey (PH 13). He prevailed over Joe Mullen (PH 11) on countback with 21 points. Sean had six 3-point holes on his card.
Yet another player on 21 points was Seamus Geoghegan (PH17) in Category 3. Seamus scored three points on five of the nine holes and was a comfortable winner.
Tuesday 14th January 9 Hole Competition (9 hole playing handicap)
Overall: Ken Murray (10) 21pts (23-2); Category 1: Graeme Woodcock (7) 20pts (21-1); Category 2: Sean Harvey (13) 21pts (22-1); Category 3: Seamus Geoghegan (17) 21pts.
Mannan Castle Seniors nine hole competition on Tuesday last saw some magnificent scoring. Pride of place on the day and the overall competition winner was Pat Sheridan (PH 6).
He carded a remarkable 25 points thanks to four pars and three birdies finishing one under par. A two-point deduction for previous victories made no difference to the outcome.
On any other day, John Hanratty (PH 9) with 22 points would have finished top of the pack. He had four pars in his round and was the clear victor in Category 1.
Category 2 was decided on countback. Tom Lynch (PH 10) and Thomas O'Rourke (PH 12) each finished on 20 points after Tom was deducted one point.
However, Tom managed to pip Thomas on countback thanks to his par/par finish. In Category 3 Bernard Crawley was the clear winner with a steady 19 points despite being pointless after two holes.
Tuesday, 21st January 9 Hole Competition (nine hole handicaps)
Overall: Pat Sheridan (6) 23pts (25-2); Category 1: John Hanratty (9) 22pts; Category 2: Tom Lynch (10) 20pts (21-1); Category 3: Bernard Crawley (18) 19pts.
Sunday Singles Stableford -12th January 2025
Division 1 - 1st - Ciaran Marron (PH.11) - 30pts c/b; Division 2 - 1st - Joe McGeown (PH.16) – 37pts; Division 3 - 1st - Martin Oliver (PH.27) – 35pts
Weekend Competition 3rd/4th January 2025
1st Liam Thornton (PH.26) - 34pts c/b; 2nd- Paul Trainor (PH.29) – 34pts
Champagne Scramble -31st December 2024
1st - Alan McMahan & Ciara McMahon – 37pts; 2nd- Gary Duffy & Liam Thornton – 36pts
Ryder Cup Format 28th December 2024
Division 1 - 1st - Ciaran Marron (PH.11) – 33pts; Division 2 - 1st - Joe McGeown (PH.16) – 37pts; Division 3 - 1st - Kevin Gavigan (PH.20) – 32pts.
3 Club and a Putter - 27th December 2024
Division 1 - 1st Jason Hughes (PH.9) – 28pts; Division 2 - 2nd Darren Campbell (PH.14) – 31pts; Division 3 - 1st Clifford Clinton (PH.20) – 29pts.
Mannan Castle Golf Club - Ladies
The Mannan Castle premier golfer left no room for doubt in an emphatic win in the first individual competition of the year.
Louise Hanratty got off to a red-hot start with three birdies in the first four holes, finishing one over par for the 13 holes, totaling 28 points for the clear win.
If Louise wasn't already playing off four, some might be advocating a reduction in handicaps. Margaret Carroll had two birdies of her own in her first four holes.
But for a couple of costly errors late on, her points would surely have bettered the still admirable 25 she finished with, still enough to claim a solo second.
Women's Weekly 13H Stableford 15th January 2025
1st - Louise Hanratty (4) 28 pts; 2nd - Margaret Carroll (15) 25 pts
Pars on the 9th and the 13th went a long way to ensuring Ciara McMahon had the top score this week. Consistent scoring on every hole did the rest. Ciara's 31 points earned her the win.
Two players finished on 28 points. An impressive par on the ninth was undone by an unfortunate misstep elsewhere on Marie McKeown's card but her 28 points was still enough to finish in third spot.
However, a round of the day surely goes to Gill Rouiller. Six pars over the round of 13, four of them in the final four holes, Gill's 28 points taking second place on the countback.
Women's 13 H Stableford – 19th January 2025
1st - Ciara McMahon (41) 31 pts; 2nd - Gill Rouiller (15) 28 pts c/c; 3rd - Marie McKeown (35) 28 pts.
Marie McKeown is playing consistent golf so far this year, this week’s score of 30 points gave her the top slot. Another second-place finish for Gill Rouiller this week.
Women's 13 H Stableford 26th January 2025
1st - Marie McKeown (35) 30 pts; 2nd - Gill Rouiller (15) 29 pts c/b.
A reminder that the 'Spring League' has started. The Spring League is played over 13 holes. More details can be found on the noticeboard with a signup sheet. Alternatively, please give your details to VC Angela Evers.
A date for your diaries! You are invited to Mannan Castle on, Tuesday, 11th February at 7:30pm. They will have guest speakers from the UPMC Sports Surgery Clinic.
Sam Baida, Head Physiotherapist & Tommy Mooney, Strength & Conditioning Coach, who will discuss injury prevention especially in golf as their speakers.
This will be a very informative evening especially for anyone concerned about hips, knees etc. Both their speakers have worked with elite athletes in many different sports.
A Q&A session will follow afterwards. Spread the word and everyone welcome. No entry fee, anyone involved in local sporting clubs are welcome to attend.