Although he’s a Dub, Matt Sands could nearly be considered a Corkman given that he’s spent the best part of 30 years here. Matt is General Manager in Cork Golf Club and moved from Dublin in 1988 to take up the job. Matt isn’t the only person with long service in Cork, in fact it seems to be a feature with course superintendent Anthony Gillis having worked in Cork for over 50 years. Gerry Kenneally who runs the impressive restaurant has been attached to the Little Island club for 28 years while club professional Peter Hickey has been based in Cork for 22 years. Matt has seen plenty happen in that time. From major competitions like the Irish Close and the home internatioals, to the Pro Am and Munster Strokeplay which are annual showpiece events, Cork is generally a busy spot. Apart from the major competitions, there have been a few major projects that Matt has been involved with in the last three decades and he lists the clubhouse redevelopment (2002) and the course upgrade (2011-2012) as the biggest. “I came in during Centenary Year in 1998” said Matt, “and I Continue reading
Author: niall@corkgolfnews.com
Healy finishes 10th at Irish Students
Kinsale’s Mark Healy pictured in 2015
Mark Healy finished in the top ten in Bray thanks to a great recovery that featured five birdies. The Kinsale man had a poor start with a bogey on the opening hole and another on the second hole. He steadied after that and pulled a shot back at the seventh. He had birdies the 10th and 11th to get back into the red and two more birdies followed on the 15th and at the final hole. Healy’s 67’s matched the best score of the day, winner Stefan Greenberg along with second placed Ronan Mullarney and third placed Jack McDonnell also went around the course in Bray on -3.
James Sugrue had a disappointing final round that saw him drop from third place to 12th. He signed for a four over par 74 which featured only a single bogey. Sean Desmond had a 72 to finish just inside the top 30 while Cathal Butler and Darren Hourihan ahd 77’s to finish in the middle of the pack, while Aoife Ni Thuama finished in 8th place in the Continue reading
National win for Barry & Coughlan, ILGU Australian Spoons
Winners of the 2017 Australian Spoons Claire Coughlan Ryan and Oonagh Barry (Cork) after the 2017 Australian Spoons All-Ireland Final at Longford Golf Club. Pic: Jenny Matthews (www.cashmanphotography.ie)
Claire Coughlan Ryan and Oonagh Barry win the Australian Spoons at Co. Longford Golf Club earlier this week. Despite wet and heavy conditions the Cork pairing of Claire Coughlan Ryan and Oonagh Barry were a model of consistency with 19 points on both the front and extremely tricky back nine at Co. Longford Golf Club in a round that had birdies at the par 3 8th and par 4 15th. Last years winners Helen Jones and Vivienne Houston (Royal Portrush) won the best gross. Presented to the ILGU in 1967 by the Australian Ladies Golf Union to support players representing Ireland at International Competitions, the Australian Spoons is contended for by clubs across Ireland. Clubs hold an 18 hole stableford greensomes qualifier, in which their nett and gross winners progress to the District Finals.
Results:
1st 38 pts Claire Coughlan Ryan (1) & Oonagh Barry (14) – Cork
Gross 30 pts Helen Jones (3) & Vivienne Houston (5) – Royal Portrush
2nd 36 pts Christina Rush (19) & Hannah Grant (20) – Claremorris
3rd 35 pts Caroline Delaney (21) and Mary Dolan (30) – Mountbellew
4th 35 pts Carmel Mullan (33) and Maura Ryan (25) – Elm Park
Sugrue 3rd heading into final round at Irish Students
James Sugrue shot the low round of the day today in Bray, as he jumped up to 3rd place in the Irish Students Championship
The Mallow man had a back nine – included four birdies that saw him sign for a three under par round our 67. Sugrue is just three shots of the lead which is held by Alan Fahy from Maynooth.
Five other Cork golfers made the cut for tomorrow’s final round. Mark Healy is tied for 21st position on +3 while fellow Kinsale member Cathal Butler is two back just outside the top 30, Butler is also second in the team event. UCC duo Darren Hourihan and Sean Desmond also made the cut while Adam McSweeeny was one shot outside the cut mark.
Aoife Ni Thuama (UCC) also made the cut, the Douglas golfer is in Continue reading
Fernhill course set to close
Tomorrow will be the last day to play Fernhill golf course, as the course is set to close for the last time on 31st August. Owner Michael Bowes has confirmed his intention to close the course at the end of the month, citing an ongoing trading loss as the reason. This follows the winding down of the golf club in Fernhill in 2016. The owner did not offer members the option to renew their membership after December 2018 and since then the course operated under a pay and play basis over the past eight months.
Fernhill is the latest casualty in the industry. Ringenane, Blarney, and Harbour Point all closed over through the past decade. Many golfers questioned Fernhill’s ability to reverse trading losses with the loss of the club revenues. Last year in an email to members the ower cited extensive losses in the off peak season and intimated that these were unsustainable in the long term.
A few months ago Bowes put the hotel in Fernhill up for sale with a guide price of €4.5m. The golf course and clubhouse was not included at that time. The entire property which covers approximately 80 acres was designated as a Strategic Land Reserve in the recent draft Local Area Plan, indicating potential for housing development in the future.
AIG Senior Cup :: Munster Finals 2017
Top Ten for Davey in Derry
Davey Barry
Davey Barry was in the top ten at the 36 hole Waled City of Derry pro-am over the weekend. Davey shot a two under par 69 to finish on three under in a tie for 7th place.It’s Davey’s first top ten since May although the busy Douglas professional has been playing on a reduced schedule. Davey has been a busy man this year, he completed his PGA studies earlier this year and he’s been busy coaching and teaching in Douglas over the past three months. He’s made the cut in all 14 events that he has play in, and has earned prize money in nine events.
It has been a quiet year for Cork golfers, Michael Collins and Wayne O’Callaghan cut back their schedule in 2016 and this year both Cian McNamara and David Ryan have also reduced their number of events. Davey will be back in action next week in the St Margaret’s and then it’s on to Rosslare where he’ll defend the title he won last year. After that the PGA season will start to wind down, the last pro-ams on the schedule are Lutrellstown, Tulfarris and Galway Bay with the season closing with the €20,000 Connemara pro-am in late September.
Damien McGrane continues to lead the PGA Irish Region Order of Merit, the Wexford based professional has a sizeable lead over David Higgins and looks likely to win the Order of Merit at this stage. Simon Thornton is in third place and David Ryan is the best placed Cork golfer in 15th place.
AIG Junior Cup :: Munster Finals 2017
Clancy & Martin help Killarney to Senior Cup title
Killarney who won the ILGU Senior Cup on Saturday. Pic: Pat Cashmn
Mairead Martin and Valerie Clancy played a key part in Killarney’s Irish Senior Cup win over the weekend. The Cork girls were playing in the ILGU finals at Royal Curragh and they helped Killarney pick up their first national Senior Cup pennant. Mairead who is playing out of Kanturk and Valerie who is from Mitchelstown have been attached to Killarney for several years and while both have had plenty of individual success, this team win was their first at national level. Both have been capped at international level this year so the Senior Cup winners medal is a great finish to a very busy summer season for the pair. Kilkenny were the quarter final opponents and the Cork girls led the playing order with both girls winning their matches. There was more of the same on Friday afternoon when another two wins helped Killarney overcome The Island. On Saturday morning they faced Continue reading
Gallery: Michael Cashman Trophy Munster Final 2017
Pictures from Fermoy: Continue reading
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