Peter O’Keeffe (Douglas) rejoins the Munster team for the first time since 2007 when he was part of the winning team. Picture: Niall O’Shea
It’s been a busy off season for Peter O’Keeffe, while many golfers have put the sticks away until January, O’Keeffe is still working hard. The Doulas elite amateur was in Spain last week, and he finished sixth in a Gecko Tour event. The Gecko Tour is a mini-tour based in Spain, generally featuring emerging professional golfers. O’Keeffe shot a final round 67 to jump up the leaderboard and finish on -4 for his 54 holes. It was a good finish for Peter, he was +3 halfway though his second round so his strong finish was a real positive. Peter has had another good year at the top level. In March he retained his Kerry Scratch Cup title, and while he didn’t repeat his 2017 feat of winning a national championship, he was competitive in almost every event. He reached the quarter final of the Irish Close and finished in the top eight on the Bridgestone Order of Merit. He retained his place on the Irish team for the Home Internationals, a team that narrowly lost out to England. O’Keeffe has risen up the international rankings also, he started the year at 752 on WAGR, but he Continue reading
2018 was a breakthrough year for Sara Byrne, and that was recognised last week when she won the Irish Golf Writers Womens Amateur of the Year award. The award was a reflection on the results Sara achieved during the year as well representing Ireland at two international competitions. It was a busy year for Sara, although she committed to playing in fewer events this year, the competitions she did select were higher in profile and the quality of the field was generally stronger. In terms of other awards, Byrne topped the Girls Order of Merit by a clear margin, and she also finished third on the women’s order of merit. Sara’s season started in March when she finished third in the Munster Womens Championship in Killarney. Rounds of 74, 75 and 78 saw her claim a podium finish although she did miss out on retaining her Munster Girls title by one shot. Despite playing well, she couldn’t manage to claim the top spot until she got to Enniscrone in June for the Irish Womens Close. She came through two rounds of Strokeplay and five rounds of matchplay golf to win the national title. Aside from the mental battle of matchplay, she also had to contend with extreme weather as wind and 
It was a busy year for Lee Valley, but one that they will remember. 2018 marked the 25th anniversary for the club, and while everyone celebrated the milestone the club also went on to win their first Cups and Shields pennant. From the celebrations in January, through to the AGM this month, the club pulled together to celebrate. This time last year the club made Lee Valley owner Jerry Keohane and honorary Life President of the Club, and it was an honour that was very much appreciated by Jerry. He was involved in the consortium who purchased the land and commissioned Christy O’Connor Jnr to design the course. Jerry and his family would later take over full control of the Clashnure venture, and since then they have continued to develop and improve the course with a consistent focus on presenting a championship experience for every golfer. Lee Valley remains a 
Although the competitive golf season is well and truly over, James Sugrue was back in the news last week when he picked up an award. He was one of two recipients for golf at Mayor Patrick Gerard Murphy’s Co Council reception last week. Although Sugrue didn’t hit the high of a championship win, he continued to progress with two local wins and some great individual performances during the year. The season was book-ended by his two wins, the first in the Fota Island Senior Scratch Cup in early April, and the second in September when he won the John Whyte Fermoy Senior Scratch Cup to close out the season. The two wins may be highlights, but to be fair the Mallow golfer has had a very impressive summer of golf which was recognised with his selection to the Irish team. Sugrue joined the Irish Mens panel this year and represented the Irish selection at the South African and Spanish Amateurs in the early season, and in October he travelled to South America for two international events. His full cap finally came when he was selected to play for the Home Internationals which took place last week. Capped on multiple occasions in Boy’s golf, this was a big step up for Sugrue but one he took in his stride.
Dan Sugrue made it three from three in Castlemartyr on Monday when he won the third Munster PGA outing of the 2018 Winter Series. In fact it was a double for Sugrue as he teamed up with his brother John and Tim Rice to claim the team prize. Sugrue had a flawless front nine of 32 with birdies on 4,6,8 and 9. He had a further birdie 2 on 12 followed by his only drop shot on 13 – his first in 49 holes of competitive golf. His final birdie came on 15 for an inward 35.
Even though it’s less than two years old, Cork Golf Centre in Ballincollig continues to develop their offering to Cork golfers, with resident PGA Professional Wayne O’Callaghan investing in a new Trackman Simulator. November can often be the quietest month of the year for anyone involved in golf, but not so for Wayne who has remodelled his teaching bay to incorporate the state of the art technology. The new simulator was built earlier this month and already there has been a huge amount of interest in the new service. “The trackman 4 was purchased with the aim of bringing the experience of playing golf to the range environment” explained Wayne who has been the resident pro since the range opened in 2017. “Having owned previous Trackman models I knew what a quality product the Trackman 4 simulator would be 
It’s just a year since greenkeeper Paudie O’Sullivan was appointed as Head Superintendent at Castlemartyr. Now in his third decade as a greenkeeper, the Little Island man has had a busy year at the prestigious East Cork golf resort. “It has been a whirlwind twelve months, to get the Head Superintendent job at Castlemartyr was a fantastic step in my career” added Paudie. “Everyday is a learning day in Castlemartyr as you never know what each day will bring. In the twelve months since being given the Head Superintendent position, we have been through storm Ophelia in October, from November to February we had over 500mm of rainfall, and in March we were covered in snow and closed for 12 consecutive days. Any then this summer we went through the driest summer I have incurred.” That dry spell in July was O’Sullivan’s biggest task in a challenging year. Weeks went by without any meaningful rain, which isn’t ideal when your trying to maintain over 100 acres of cultivated grass. “Looking back now on the summer, Castlemartyr has come out quite well” explained the man in charge. “One or two areas needed overseeding due to 
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