Sean’s letter wins Tour Experience for Gaelscoil Ui Drisceoil

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Dubai Duty Free Irish Open, Wednesday 18th May 2016

Sean Reddy pictured with the letter that won him a behind the scenes VIP tour at the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open. Picture: Niall O’Shea

Nine year old Sean Reddy had the experience of a lifetime during Irish Open week when he got a behind the scenes VIP tour.  Sean was a guest of the European Tour on the Wednesday after his letter was selected as one of four winning entries from hundreds of letters sent in from pupils and schools all over Ireland.  In addition to his VIP tour, Sean also won a prize for his school, and several of his friends from Gaelscoil Ui Drisceoil in Glanmire were also in the K Club for a special golf clinic courtesy of the Confederation of Golf in Ireland.

Sean’s VIP tour started in the media centre where 2015 winner Soren Kjeldsen was holding his press conference, and young golfer from Ballyvolane was invited to ask Kjeldsen a Continue reading →

Ladies Open Singles at Castlemartyr

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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 →