The Munster PGA will finally get their Winter Series back on track next week when they play in Castlemartyr. Monday next will see only the third event of the weather affected season. David Ryan won the opening event in Fota in November and Cian McNamara won last month in Adare Golf Club. Wayne O’Callaghan was the winner last year in Castlemartyr, he shot a six under par 66 to win by one shot from John McHenry and Daniel Sugrue. A large turn-out is expected as the 2016 half of the season eventually starts. There are only two further events planned in the shortened season, Waterville will host the William Rushby Pro-Am next Month and the annual Morgan O’Donovan Perpetual Trophy will round off the PGB Winter Series in early April.
Danny Sugrue
Charlevile PGA Professional Frank Holly finished up in Charleville last week, marking an end of the “new” old guard at the north Cork club. Frank had worked with Jamie O’Sullivan for several years, and now both have departed. Holly is headed for North Carolina shortly and Monday’s Munster PGA event in Castlemartyr could be his last of the season. Holly will have happy memories from Castlemartyr, he recorded his first competitive hole in one on the 12th hole during last year’s event. Mark Collins was recently appointed Head Professional in Charleville, moving from Adare Golf Club. Dooks made another addition to their staff when they announced this week that Killarney Professional Daniel Sugrue is joining the popular south-west Kerry club. The club is a summer favourite for many Cork golfers and over the past decade the club invested heavily in developing the course and also the clubhouse. In the off-season they announced that Maurice O’Meara was taking over the role of General Manager. O’Meara has extensive experience in the top end of the Irish golf market. Prior to Dooks he was Secretary/Manager of the Island Golf Club and prior to that he spent a successful term at Killarney Golf Club. During his time at Killarney he played a key role in Killarney’s hosting of the Irish Open in 2010 and 2011. Sugrue joins Dooks from his position as a PGA Professional attached to Killarney Golf Club. Danny has been a prolific winner on the PGA Irish Region tour and is a two time winner of the Munster PGA Order of Merit. He qualified for the Irish Open in 2014 at Fota Island and Sugrue will be a great addition to the Glenbeigh club.
The last nine weeks have been challenging for Cork’s golfing community, to borrow a phrase from Muskerry, it started with Abigail and continues with Imogen. The past two months have been unprecedented in terms of the disruption caused by the weather. While a bit of frost and even snow might be expected, the volumes of rainfall have effectively shut down the business of golf across the county and beyond. While course and clubhouse damage has been minimal, the disruption has been severe. Courses, bars and restaurants and pro-shops have all been affected, with courses in particular seeing footfall drop to close to zero since November. Muskerry is a case in point, the ladies club has completed just one competition since November with eight consecutive cancellations since the start of December. The Men’s club in Muskerry hasn’t fared much better with seventeen competitions cancelled since November. It’s not all bad news however as the club has succeeded in growing it’s 
Tralee Man Kenneth Quillinan is currently on the bag for Turner. Kenneth is a university lecturer in Korea and is spending his summer holidays keeping the Cork man company as he travels across Asia in the opening weeks of the 2016 Asian Tour. Quillinan is also a freelance golf writer and his golfing pedigree traces back to Cork in the middle of the last centuary. Ken’s grandfather was the Captain in Muskerry Golf Club in 1951. Not only that, Ken’s Grandmother on 
