Munster PGA Captain Padraig Dooley pictured with Cian McNamara and Brian, Liam and David Higgins prior to the Munster PGA event in Fota Island on Monday. Picture: Niall O’Shea
The Munster PGA got their Winter Series off to a great start on Monday with a very successful competition in Fota Island. Close to thirty club professionals turned out for the first event of the series, one of four events planned to take place before Christmas. Fota Island was the venue for the first outing, with the three time Irish Open venue hosting the popular fourball as usual. Comeptition was close, that was until the card from David Higgins and Dan Sugrue came in with the Kerry pair claiming first place. Higgins is a regular winner in the series but it was the first win in a while for Sugrue. The Dooks based Professional was in hospital following a very serious operation just 11 months ago, but it was like old times on Monday when the Kerry native came home in first place. Sugrue had five birdies, including three in a row from the 5th to the 7th. Sugrue’s -5 was Continue reading
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 
A large number of PGA Professionals in Cork have embarked on an ambitions fundraising drive to help Tramore native Ian St John as he battles to recover from a devastating illness. Led by Cian McNamara, eight Cork based professionals have committed to raising €4,000 as part of a €40,000 nationwide fundraising campaign. The project is aiming to collect €20 each from golfers, pro’s and supporters with the aim of collecting €4,000 in each of the ten selected regions. The funds are being raised to purchase a piece of specialised equipment to help Ian’s recovery.
Sean Reddy is one of Cork’s emerging young golfers who continues to work on his game and improve, and the 2018 season was an important one for the 11 year golf nut. Having started playing golf many years ago, Sean joined Douglas Golf Club at the start of the season and quickly became a regular on the course. The young golfer rounded off his season when he got his hands on some important silverware last month, he won the Minor Matchplay Cup in Douglas in September. Any the way he won was pretty impressive. Playing in a matchplay competition, he won the 18th with a birdie to force the match onto the 19th hole. And on the testing par four he won the match with a par. Sean was a busy boy all Summer, playing competitions and practicing. Like most young golfers, the summer holidays meant more time on the course and he put himself to good use picking up the club almost every day. “All summer I played most days in Douglas and then other days I practiced in the Academy in Fota Island” said Sean, “I was usually playing or practicing everyday. I got to play Hollywood in Belfast, Rory Milroy’s home course, it was incredible to play there. My favourite also was the K Club, last time I was there on a Sunday was to watch Rory win the Irish Open in 2016.” Unlike many other golfers of his age, Sean doesn’t just practice for fun, he does it to improve. And he spent the summer working on a few important areas. I worked on my swing path and alignment mostly, trying to keep my swing consistent on every shot” explained Reddy, “I know my swing speed and distance will come as I get older, I am not 12 until next year and I want my swing to be perfect now so when I am older it hopefully will be always be consistent as I swing faster. I worked on many speed and strength drills with Peter for most of the summer.” Now playing off an official GUI handicap, Sean has seen this tumble as he played in Douglas over the Summer. He dropped ten shots and he’s now playing off 14 – a very impressive mark for an eleven year old. “In February had a handicap of 24” explained Sean, “I am now down to 14 since 
After over a decade in the America, Aaron O’Callaghan Made another big career over the summer, taking up the position of Associate Head Coach at Wake Forest. After four years with the Cardinals at University of Louisville, the Douglas native headed for North Carolina to coach with Wake Forest. The Deacons are ranked as a top 25 college in the NCAA Division One golf rankings, playing in the top level of college golf. Head Coach Jerry Hass, brother of tour star Jay Haas, has led the Deacons golf programme for over two decades. He joined Wake Forest 20 years ago and rebuilt the golf programme, winning 15 conference titles and 15 individual wins over that period. The ranking and legacy of success at Wake Forest makes O’Callaghan’s move a great career choice, and with a strong player roster hopes are high that Aaron can add to the results that have repositioned Wake Forest. “Dan Walters [Associate Coach in Wake Forest] had a business opportunity that was going to take them out of college coaching” explained O’Callaghan, who initially qualified as a PGA Professional after college. “As a result both he and Head Coach Jerry Haas reached out to me to see if I was interested in the position. I have had a relationship with Coach Haas over the last four years since I’ve been in college golf. I have always respected and admired him.” Haas is a former tour pro, and brother of Jay Haas. Ireland’s Paul Mc Bride recently graduated from Wake Forest and soon after turned pro, he’ll be one of several Irish golfers to tee it up at the European Tour Qualifying School later this month. Alex Fitzpatrick, brother of tour star Matt Fitzpatrick is currently in his second year with the Deacons.
It was win number four for Gary O’Flaherty in Lee Valley when he won the Munster Mid-Amateur title on Sunday. His season started with a win in the Lee Valley Senior Scratch Cup in April, and he closed out on Sunday with another win on the championship course in Ovens. Back in April O’Flaherty maintained his overnight lead to win his third Lee Valley title, this time he overturned a three-shot deficit to win on the final green in a tense finish. Although the weather was much better than the wet conditions on Saturday, there was a stiff breeze blowing through Lee Valley which tested many of the golfers. O’Flaherty played some very tidy golf, his only bogey of the day came at the 7th and his birdie on the 9th got him back to level for the round. He birdied the par five 15th to get into the red, and he narrowly missed good birdie opportunities on the 16th and 17th. Standing on the 18th, Gary was one 