Ladies Open Singles at Castlemartyr

Castlemartyr Ladies SinglesFollowing the successful launch of the ladies club late last year, Castlemartyr have just launched a weekly open singles for ladies.  The competition takes place every Tuesday and the competition fee is €25 (€7 for members).  There are prizes for the top three every day and Castlemartyr are mirroring the competition for men on Wednesday’s.

Membership is currently open at the ladies club and there is currently no joining fee.  The annual subscription for the remainder of 2016 is just €400, normal rates apply from 2017.

It’s been an exciting time for the Ron Kirby designed links and resort.  The resort was sold in last 2015 and the Castlemartyr course is now entering a new era as PGA Head Professional Brady Sherwood outlined: “We’ve have quite a bit of investment from the new owners in machinery.  Equipment in excess of €100,000 will soon be delivered to Castlemartyr, new fairway and rough mowers and Continue reading

Davey on Path to PGA Qualification

Golf_Davey Barry_2 2016

Assistant Professional Davey Barry pictured on the range at Douglas Golf Club. Picture: Niall O’Shea

Davey Barry is at the starting point of his career in golf.  The Ballinlough native is working as an assistant pro in Douglas Golf Club while he also studies for his PGA qualification.  Davey is in his second of three years and he’s enjoying the experience so far: “The first two years of the PGA Foundation Degree course have been really interesting” said the trainee.  “We have studied a whole range of subjects from golf coaching to time management.  It’s been a real eye opener for me, I used to think I knew quite a bit about golf, but learning from and talking to some of the best coaches and teachers in the game has shown me I need to keep my head in the books and keep studying.  It’s been great learning from people with such a deep knowledge of the game of golf and added to that they have a passion for the game also.”  The PGA course is not just a professional designation.  It’s a degree level course with a focus on the business of golf as Davey explained: The business side of the degree has been quite challenging for me.  Over the last two years though the course has helped with giving me a good understanding into the business side of our industry and again I have been very lucky with Stephen [Hayes, Club Pro in Douglas] as he has always helped here and involved me in the business side of the pro shop.  This has made my assignments and exams a little easier because it is now part of my daily life.  During the year we also spent a week over in the Belfry where we had a couple of Continue reading

Castletroy Scratch R1 Results

First Round Scores:

Cathal Nolan Galway 68
Paul Tobin Cork 69
Fergal O’Sullivan Tralee 70
Gary O’Flaherty Cork 71
Eanna Griffin Waterford 72
Jonathan McDonnell Castletroy 72
Ian Spillane Mallow 72
Greg Barrett Mallow 73
Eoin Goggin Mallow 73
Andrew McCormack Castletroy 73
Eddie McCormack Galway 73
Keith Bermingham Castletroy 74
Mark Campbell Castletroy 74
Fergus Harold Castletroy 74
Cian Healy Ballyneety 74

Strong Cork Challenge for Castletroy Scratch Cup

No less than 14 Cork golfers will be aiming to win the Castletroy Senior Scratch Cup tomorrow.  Gary O’Flaherty is a golfer on form, as is James Sugrue, Mark Shanahan and Ian Spillane.  The Bank of Ireland sponsored event takes place at the picturesque course on the northside of the city and Continue reading

Tom Cleary wins Irish Seniors Amateur Open

2016 Irish Seniors Amateur Open Championship at Ardee Golf Club

Tom Cleary (Cork) with the 2016 Irish Seniors Amateur Open Championship trophy after his victory at Ardee Golf Club today.  Picture by Pat Cashman

Tom Cleary added another prestigious title to his collection today, the Irish Seniors Amateur Open.  The three time Munster Seniors Champion won his first national seniors title at Ardee Golf club after a final round 72 left him three ahead of the field.  Cleary was tied for the lead going into the final round, and there were nine other players within two shots of the lead.  Just like the Munster Seniors in Waterville, Cleary played very steady golf while all around him dropped shots on another testing day in Ardee.

The Cork Golf Club member opened on Wednesday with a three over par 74 to lie two shots off the lead.  He followed on Thursday with another 74 that saw him lead alongside England’s Andrew Carman.  The English international carded a four over par 75 in his final round to fall out of contention.  Cleary had a testing start, he bogied the 2nd & 3rd holes but he added two birdies at 6 and 8 to reach the turn on level par.  Two more pars followed and at that stage Tom was three shots ahead of Carman.  Cleary bogies the 15th but he was three shots ahead of the leader in the club house.  Cleary reached the 18th tee Continue reading

Cleary in the lead at Irish Seniors

Tom ClearyCork’s Tom Cleary shots a second consecutive 74 to lead after two rounds at the Irish Seniors Open in Ardee today.  Cleary was in 8th place after the first round, but he was only two shots off the three way tie for the lead.  He followed up with another 74 today to tie with England’s Andrew Carman.  Cleary was happy with his performance, this was his first competitive outing since representing GB&I in the Concession Cup in Florida: “It was very windy out there to be honest, very hard to keep the ball straight but I’m happy enough”.

The competition still has a very crowded leaderboard after 36 holes.  There are three players just one shot behind and Tramore’s John Mitchell is in a group of six players who are two shots behind.  Three more Cork golfers made the cut for the final round, Doneraile’s Michael Quirke is four shots off the lead and Peter Cowley and George Mellerick also made it through.  The final round takes place tomorrow with Continue reading

Fota Island cause an upset by beating Kinsale in Fred Daly Trophy

EMC Lee Valley Senior Scratch Cup 2016

Cillian Moloney

Fota Island cased an upset this evening when they beat Munster finalists Kinsale in the Fred Trophy area semi final.  Cork Golf Club was the venue, and twelve months ago Kinsale had a comprehensive win over Fota at the same stage of the competition.  Fota Island started strongly with Cillian Moloney beating John Murphy 6&5.  Kinsale’s Mark Healy balanced the match when he won his match against Josh Hogan on the 16th.  The 14th green proved crucial as Davis Howard won a second point for Fota, winning 5&4.  Things were looking good for Fota at that stage,  Garan Manley was losing to Daniel O’Flaherty but Fota’sRonan O’Connell was in the lead in his match and it was O’Connell who closed out his match first.  He won 5&4 on the 14th meaning the final match was called in.

 

Fota Island will now go on to play Munster champions Mallow in the South Munster final.

Fred Daly Trophy Area Semi-Final:
Fota Island 3.5-1.5 Kinsale
Cillian Moloney beat John Murphy 6&5, Josh Hogan lost to Mark Healy 3&2, David Howard beat Eric Rumley 5&4, Garran Manley and Daniel O Flaherty called in, Ronan O Connell beat Eric Costello 5&4.  (Fota Island names first)

Fota Island Fred Daly Team 18th May 2016

Irish Call Ups for Cork Golfers

ILGU AIG Senior Cup Munster Final, Douglas Golf Club, Sunday 8th May 2015

Rachel Thompson

There was a great deal of excitement yesterday as four Cork golfers were called up for international duty.  Mairead Martin, Valerie Clancy and Rachel Thompson were all selected to represent Ireland at the European Girls Team Championship.  All three golfers have had very strong starts to the season and the selection is justified on their recent performances.  The competition takes place in Oslo over five days in early July.

Kinsale’s Cathal Butler was selected to play in the World University Championship which takes place in France next month.  The Maynooth University student is studying for his first year exams at present so is not playing in the Castletroy Scratch Cup this weekend.  Castletroy have put a huge effort into their Bank of Ireland sponsored event, and they have attracted a top class field which takes place over 36 holes on Saturday