Golf notes

Co Cavan Golf Club - Congratulations to Co Cavan Golf Club for winning the Cavan/Monaghan Alliance Cup in Crover Hotel Golf and Country Club on Saturday 4th October. On a wet and Windy day played on a course in excellent condition along the banks of Lough Sheelin, this was a perfect setting for ending the Inter Club Golf season for 2008. The victorious team was, in order of play, Club Captain Padraig McEntee, Brian Tighe, John Crotty, Paddy Maguire, Liam Henry and Ed Kellett. Sunday 5th October Results will be posted on the Website. Tickets for the Captains Dinner and Dance Night are available in the Club Bar or from any Club Committee member at €50 each. The venue for this year"s event will be in the Radisson Hotel in Farnham. RACE NIGHT SPECIAL on this Friday at 8:30pm in the Club House. 8 Races plus an Auction Race on the Night. Hot Refreshments and plenty of craic on the night. All welcome. Outstanding Vouchers are now available in the Pro-Shop for winners of recent Golf events. MEN"s Club A.G.M on Monday November 3rd. Upcoming fixtures. Sunday 12th October : 18 Hole Singles Stableford Wednesday 8th October : Ladies18 hole Singles stableford. Thursday 9th October : Open 18 Hole singles stableford Congratulations to Padraig McEntee who defeated Ed Kellett to win the Phil Lawlor Cup. Two of the most consistent performers in the past 12 months, Padraig shaded this one with a couple of excellent putts. Well done to both of them. For all the Club news/results please visit our New website at www.cavangolf.ie Belturbet All members please note the Annual General Meeting of the club has been re-fixed for Sunday, November 23, in the clubhouse at 2 o"clock sharp. All motions must be with the club secretary, Neven, before November 17. All motion papers are printed on the noticeboards. There was a large turnout last Sunday morning for the start of the Autumn League. Some great scores were recorded with each week"s competition running from Sunday to Saturday; one repeat, see noticeboard for full details. Winner of last week"s 18 hole stableford Nevin Traynor, 43 points. All forms for new membership for 2009 are printed on the noticeboards. Please fill carefully and return to the committee. Green fees €20, all day, all welcome. Crover House Hotel Last Saturday the Alliance Cup was held at Crover. All eleven teams played. With weather conditions very poor in the afternoon some of the teams did not get finished. Cavan Club came out on top with Crover a close second. Mannan Castle were third. In the Individual competition Crover"s Captain Seamus O"Reilly came out on top with Jim Joe Foster second and Ollie Dwyer third. On October 18 the Winter League starts and runs for six weeks. The draw is on the noticeboards. Shamrocks Golf Society The Garden of Ireland entertained the Shamrocks last weekend with lovely weather and fine golf courses. Despite media reports, Tiger is back - well our Tiger Andy Coleman - who decimated the field with a brilliant 41pts in Woodenbridge from no less a mortal than Captain"s prize winner Gavin Mackey on 38pts. Kieran Rogers made a flying stop over to claim third prize. The challenge of Blainroe on Saturday proved more challenging but again Tiger Coleman came home in front from the gardener Sheamy. Third place went to hot favourite Brian O"Callaghan with the pressure of bookie forcing a complete collapse of Gavin Mackey"s game. The real winner on Saturday was the beautiful Blainroe course and Jim McArdle, who showed unflinching faith and composure in Tiger especially during the steward"s enquiry. This weekend the action for all members is our scramble in Mannan Castle when a large turn out is expected at the reasonable start time of 11.00am. Clones Golf Club Matthews: Clones are hosting the annual Matthews" Open Weekend From Friday 10th October to Sunday 12th October inclusive. This stableford competition has been generously sponsored by Genie & Mary McCaughey of Matthews" of Clones & Monaghan and is OPEN to both ladies and gents with 1st, 2nd and 3rd prizes for each gender. Visitors will be charged the small sum of €15 to enter, €10 for members and €8 to repeat, so why not play all three days! Please telephone 047 56017 for a spot on the timesheet. September Monthly Medal: The Clarke Group sponsored September monthly medal was contested recently and the winner claimed his first ever singles win with a credible 69, congratulations to Sean Bonner. Just pipped into 2nd spot also with 69 was Patrick McCarville. The gross went to Paddy McKeown with 80. 4 Ball Better Ball: The weather was glorious last Sunday and so was the score that claimed first prize in the 4 ball better ball carded by Seamus Keenan and John McNicholas, a magnificent 47 points. Congratulations gentlemen birdies and pars a plenty! In 2nd place were Jack McCarron and Ethan Audley with 44 points September 14 Holer: 20 gents have qualified for the September 14 holer. They will be drawn to play in the final very shortly, congratulations to Paul Igoe, Jack McCarron, Dick Clerkin, Hugo Clerkin, Stephen Trant, Leo Herbert, Paul Clerkin, Sean Bonner, Ethan Audley, F. Connolly, Brendan McBrien, Dara Igoe, Nat Doonan, Michael Connolly, Martin Clegg, Benny Igoe, Bernard Mulligan, Frankie Dolan, Paddy McKeown and Brian Curran. Alpha-Bet: The letters drawn in last week"s Alpha-Bet lotto were JBNY and there were no winners of the 5,700 jackpot which will roll over to 5,800. The 5 lucky dippers each winning 20 were Finbar Reilly Redhills, Mark McCrystal Lisnaskea, Paddy Maguire C/O P. McCrystal, Alex Quigley Clones and Frank Burke Scotshouse. The winner of the monthly sellers prize draw scooping the €250 was Phil McCrystal, Well done! So have a go, pick up an envelope wherever you see the Alpha-Bet posters and ask yourself, do your letters look lucky? Sisters in Winning Form: The ladies competed in an 18 hole stableford competition last week and Section A (0-23) was won by Rosita McCabe on a countback with 28 points and not to be outdone Rosita"s sister, Eileen Maguire won section B (24-36) with 26 points. Well done ladies! Ladies Winter League: The draw has taken place for the Ladies Christmas Hamper Winter League, and I apologise for mentioning the 'c' word in October! But this league will run on a weekly basis up to Christmas, there I"ve mentioned it again! We are delighted that 36 ladies have entered the league and the teams are as follows: Team 1 Vera Tighe (Team Captain) with her team Patricia Brady, Margaret Copas, Irene McConkey, Teresa Fitzpatrick and Celesta McKiernan. Team 2: Joy Cassidy (Team Captain) with Caroline Bailey, Maureen Lynch, Martha O"Grady, Irene Rooney and Nuala Browne. Team 3 Mary Trant (Team Captain) with Mary O"Reilly, Josie Curran, Lyn Whelan, Noleen McCague and Anne McCarthy. Team 4 Una O"Reilly (Team Captain) with Lorraine Brady, Gemma McMahon, Mary McGuigan, Una McCarra and Rosita McCabe. Team 5 Catherine Farrell (Team Captain) with Beatrice Crudden, Lady Captain Noreen McKenna, Brid Finlay, Doli Maguire and Helen Connolly and Team 6 Marie Douglas (Team Captain) with Veronica McGorman, Eileen Maguire, Elaine Hamilton, Eileen Kerr and Ann Keating. Please would the Team Captains agree a Team Name for themselves and contact their players and encourage them to play. This will be a 9 hole stableford competition €5 to enter then €3 to repeat. You can play as often as you wish and the best 2 cards from each team each week will count for scoring points. If you want to win one of the Christmas Hampers (sorry that word again) make sure your team make it happen. And Finally: Ladies don"t forget Matthews Open Weekend! Friday 10th to Sunday 12th October 18 hole single stableford for ladies and gents, so why not book your place on the timesheet now tel: 047 56017 Prizes for 1st 2nd and 3rd for both genders. Cavan ladies Results of Ladies 18 hole stableford from 1st October sponsored by En Vogue and Cavan Flooring:- 1st - Patricia Graham 36 pts 2nd - Ita Sorohan 34 pts Next week"s competition (15th October) is an 18 hole stableford. Ladies weekly competition may be played on the Saturday prior to Wednesday competition. Enter names in Pro Shop and arrange partners, card may be marked by Lady member. Nine hole repeater takes place during the Month of October - 2 best cards to count. The first round of the Autumn League (11 hole stroke) to be played by 14th October. Teams posted on Notice Board in Ladies Locker Room The Ladies AGM takes place on the 6th November at 8 p.m. Any motions for discussion at the AGM must reach the Secretary by 9th October duly proposed and seconded. Nominations for the position of Officers and Committee must reach the Secretary by 31st October and must be proposed and seconded. Dun A Ri Golf Society Last Saturday we travelled to Greenore Golf Club for our Captain"s prize. The weather was poor but that didn"t stop some great scores been brought in. We would like to thank our Captain Trevor Tallon who sponsored first prize and Paul Shekleton for the novelty prizes. The winners were - 1st Glen McCormack, 2nd Peadar Hand, 3rd Barry McArdle. Cat A winners were - 1st Padraig Coyle, 2nd Tom O"Rourke, 3rd Michael Ward. Cat B winners were - 1st Greg Madden, 2nd Padraig McCormack, 3rd Matt Gilsenan. Cat C winners were - 1st Eamon Clarke, 2nd Agnes Clarke, 3rd Paddy Roddy. Nearest the pin and longest drive was won by Padraig Coyle. Congratulations to Padraig McCormack who won player of the year. Our scrambles resume on Saturday afternoons. Anyone interested should assemble in the car park at 4:15pm. Mannan Castle Mannan Castle GC reached the Semi-Finals of the Mail on Sunday 2008 Mens Competition by beating a very strong team from West Hartlepool Yorkshire England by 4 matches to 1 on Monday last in the quarter-finals stages of this prestigious competition at the famous Marriot Golf and Country Club, Worseley, Manchester, England. Mannan Castle GC won the All-Ireland section of this competition by beating Skerries GC Dublin to be Ireland"s representatives at the quarter-finals, where England had 4 clubs remaining in the competition, Wales had 2 clubs, and Scotland had one. The draw was made at the official dinner on the Sunday night where Mannan was drawn against West Hartlepool, with a tee off time at 09.30 the next morning. The West Hartlepool Club would be considered by many to be one of the bigger and more famous golf clubs in Yorkshire in English amateur golf circles, with a playing membership of over 1,000 members to choose from. Consequently the West Hartlepool players picked to play against Mannan ranged in handicap from +1 to -2 and all had represented Yorkshire County at golf at some stage or another. To win this match therefore, the Mannan boys would need to literally play out of their skins. The squad of players travelled over to Manchester on the Saturday afternoon and was met by Brian Finnegan who arranged the transportation for the team, luggage and clubs between the Airport and Hotel. All was going well in that department except for an over-reliance on the satellite navigation system in the vehicle which meant that the team ended up lost. However the 'Bluffer' Cassidy saved the day and got us back on the right track, having first circumnavigated the city of Manchester. The pre-arranged practise day on Sunday was played in glorious weather, with the temperatures rising steadily during the session, and during the back nine holes the heat became almost unbearable. However the Mannan boys got to grips fairly quickly with the trickey course layout and lightning quick greens, and at the end of the practise round the players were confident and ready for the match. Many supporters, together with caddies travelled over from Dublin on the first flight out at 06.30 on the Monday morning, which meant a very early start to the day for everyone, leaving home as early as 03.00 to get to the Airport at the appropriate time. Those supporters who travelled over to Manchester included Club Captain P.N.Brady, Club President J.Hanratty, D.Burke, J Mc Mahon, B Mc Mahon, T.White, Mr & Mrs P Lambe, Mrs G. Finnegan, together with caddies B.Sweeney, and R. Finnegan. The match itself was played in much cooler weather than the previous day and this suited the Mannan players much better. The Mannan players got off to a steady start and after five holes Mannan were down in two matches, up in two matches, and all square in one. After thirteen holes however things had changed significantly and Mannan were up in 4 matches and down in one, a lead that Mannan would hold onto until the very end. This 4 -1 win was the biggest win of the day by any of the teams involved, which included Neville G.C. from Kent and included the current English Amateur champion. After the match tribute was paid to the Mannan team by the West Hartlepool captain as being very worthy winners. John Hughes the Mannan team captain responded by complementing the West Hartlepool team on their sportsmanship and wished the club every golfing success for the future. The team members chosen the represent the club by the team captain John Hughes were in the order of play, Thomas Pepper, Barry McCourt, Shane Corr, Seamus Finnegan, and Mark Lambe, and to a man, played brilliantly against their opposite numbers who on paper at least would appear to be favourite to win. The players were motivated by a dedicated backroom team, consisting of Brian Finnegan, Philip (Butch the Bluffer) Cassidy who kept the craic going over the weekend, Brian Sweeney, Jack Corr, and Ronan Finnegan. Unfortunately due to school and college commitments, the following regulars Rory Fitzhenry, Caolan Duffy, and Joey Hughes, who were present at all the previous matches, were unable to attend this historic win. As mentioned in previous reports this is the last opportunity for a team from Ireland to win this competition as the format changes next year and only teams from the UK will be eligible to play in it. It just so happens that Portumna CG from Galway are the current Daily Mail Champions and Mannan Castle will be hoping to become the last of the Irish Champions in Spain. The semi-finals and finals of the competition takes place at the El Rompidu Golf Resort near Seville, Spain from 24th to 28th November. Judging by the display given in Manchester against West Hartlepool there is no reason why Mannan Castle Golf Club cannot go on and win this competition outright and become club champions of these islands.