Update 26th July

VOUCHER - Congratulations to Paul Brown who was the winner of this year’s Voucher competition, and is now the lucky recipient of a year's free membership. Close on his heels in 2nd place was David Gallagher with a 64, 3rd place went to Lochlainn Conboy. 

Women -The women's Voucher competition was won by Mary O’Hara, 2nd was Moira Egan with the gross prize going to Liz Dwyer and Ruth Hogg came 3rd.

Thursday - The men's midweek 12 hole played on Thursday the 23rd was won by Lee McKillen, 2nd was Lochlainn Conboy with Sean Heslin taking the 3rd spot. The 2’s club pot was unclaimed and rolls over to next week.

FIXTURES - Next weekend’s competition is a fundraiser competition for the club itself and will take the format of a 3 person Shambles. For those unfamiliar with a Shambles competition, all 3 players on the team drive off,  then decide which drive is best and all 3 players play their next shot from the location of the best drive, each playing out the hole using their own ball.

CAPTAIN'S PRIZE - The big event of the year for the men, the Captain's Prize is fast approaching. Lorcan Egan is this year’s men's’ Captain and his day will be on Sunday the 16th of August. For the men's’ prize, it is essential to have played just one 18 hole qualifying competition this year, a reduction from the traditional 3 given the shortened golfing season. There is still an opportunity to get a card if you haven’t already done so.

CYCLE FOR SANDRA - The club wishes the best of luck all those participating in the “Cycle for Sandra” event next Sunday August 2nd to Croagh Patrick. This cycle acts as both a fundraiser for North West Hospice and as a fitting tribute to the late and much-missed Sandra McCrann, a former Lady Captain and very popular member of our club. Donation cards are available locally or you can donate online via the ‘Cycle for Sandra McCrann’ event on the North West Hospice page on Facebook

Update 20th July

RESULTS - Well done to Enda Smith who won the PGA Tankard competition on Sunday the 12th of July, just beating Jim Suffin on countback, with Lorcan Egan taking the gross prize and Tadhg Lowe coming third.

The ladies played the same day for the Niamh Nangle Cup, which was won by Marie Hanmore-Cawley, and Patricia Perry came second.

The mens mid week 12 hole Stableford played on Thursday the 16th was won by Tadhg Lowe with 31 points, Lochlainn Conboy came second with 29 points and Jim Suffin took the third spot with 27. The 2s club pot was split between David Wynne, Jim Suffin and John Kelly.

 The James Shivnan Cup took place on Sunday the 19th. Results will be released during the week.

 FIXTURES - Next Sunday’s competition for the men will be the much anticipated “Voucher”, with the winner receiving a free membership voucher for the year or the price of an adult single membership deducted from a family membership. The format will be 18 hole Strokeplay. You must be a member in good standing for 2020 to be eligible to win first prize, so please pay any outstanding memberships this week.

The club will be holding a fundraiser for the club itself over the August Bank Holiday weekend, the format will be decided during the week.

 COURSE - The “Putt Buddy” devices were felt to be causing too much damage to the playing surface of the greens, so they have been removed for the time being with the cups being partially filled with foam instead. Please take care on removing your ball to avoid touching the cup with your hand.

 COMMISERATIONS - The club extends its sympathies to the family of the late Joe Mahon, who passed away this weekend.

Update 5th July

RESTART - This week saw the restart of official club competitions, with the ladies first off the mark on Tuesday last with a 9 hole Stableford, with the men following on Thursday with a 12 hole Stableford. The men played again on Sunday the 5thfor the Bart Moran Cup with the format being 18 hole Strokeplay. Results were not available at the time of going to press. Given that the clubhouse is still “off-limits”, the cup itself will be presented to the winner at a later date.

The mens’ Thursday night competition was won by Lochlainn Conboy with a great score of 32 points for the 12 holes. Gerry Carty came second with 30 points ( and won the 2s club) and Gabriel Lavin’s 28 took third.

COMPETITION RULES - There are a few important things to note regarding competitions - online  tee booking is essential, please put 1 entry fee per envelope, the requirement to sign cards has been removed but you must get your opponent to verify your score verbally. The computer has been reinstated for 18 hole competitions, but hand hygiene is essential, please use the hand sanitizer provided before typing.

FIXTURES - This years fixture list has been re-drawn 4 times already this year and is now on version 5! There is good news though - due to the Government acceleration of the phases of re-opening, the Captains and Lady Captains Prizes are back on the schedule. The Captains Prize to the men takes place on the 16th of August, and the Lady Captains prize for the ladies takes place on the 6th of September.

Next Sunday’s competition for the men is the PGA Tankard played as an 18 hole Stableford, with the James Shivnan Memorial competition taking place the following Sunday, the 19th of August. The keenly anticipated “Voucher” competition takes place on the last Sunday in July, the 26th. The winner of the “Voucher” gets a free single membership for the year. To be eligible to win the “Voucher”, your membership fees must be valid for 2020.

 PUTT-BUDDIES - Removing the golf ball from the hole posed an unexpected challenge these past few months, given the high risk of germ transfer posed when you consider the example of 30 players removing a ball from a hole 18 times each per competition, giving 540 potential episodes of exposure to infection. We have installed the “Putt Buddy” system which has greatly reduced the risk. It has however unfortunately given rise to some confusion and myths! To correct one of the most widespread of these myths - it is not true that your ball is considered to be “holed” if it hits the pin/putt-buddy, part of the hole must stay submerged within the circumference of the hole as has always been the case.

The GUI has recognised that the increased diameter of the device within the hole can be an issue and have clarified it is allowable for a players opponent to hold the pin in a more vertical position if it is leaning. They must, however, hold the pin with the head or handle of the putter, not with their hand.

The pins cannot be removed at present for putting and to remove one during competition could put a player at risk of disqualification.

 BUNKERS - Due to rakes being out of use there is currently a “preferred lie” ruling in place for the bunkers, the exact ruling is on the noticeboard in the clubhouse. Please rake the sand with a club or your foot after hitting your shot (doing it beforehand incurs a penalty as per usual).