Douglas academy to open in 2018

CGN_Douglas GC_29th Dec 2017_05

Progress is being made on the new five hole academy in Douglas, while work has also started on the redesign of the two practice greens in the distance.  Picture: Niall O’Shea

2018 promises to be a milestone year for Douglas, the southside club will open a brand new five hole short game facility and work should also conclude on a new practice facility and range.  The five hole short game area is currently under construction, all of the earthmoving and shaping has been completed and the greens and tee boxes have been laid out.  The team from DAR Construction have finished the first and second stages of work, a substantial amount of ground works took place in stage one including the installation of services, and after that several tonnes of sand were laid on the new greens and approaches to provide top quality playing conditions.  The seeding Continue reading

Sara set for another super year

Sara Byrne GB&I 2017Sara Byrne might only be 16, but in the past two years she blazed a trail on the golf courses of Cork and further afield.  The Douglas member has represented Munster, Ireland and GB&I in 2017, and more importantly she has seen her golf game improve on several levels.  While Sara has been used to winning, and she has ben part of the IGU coaching programmes for a few years, 2017 was a breakthrough year and she’s planning to build on that through the winter and into next season.  “I have some great memories this year including winning the Munster girls championship, getting my first cap for Ireland, becoming an honorary member of Douglas Golf Club and shooting the course record of five under 67 in Douglas” said Sara.  “But my best memory was seeing the Irish tricolour being raised and the Irish anthem being played when I was playing for Great Britain and Ireland at the Vagliano Trophy in Italy.”  Those experiences and performances didn’t happen by accident, they were a result of a very strong work ethic and a focus on constant improvement.  And the young Douglas golfer saw the results on the course.  “I think my ball striking this year has Continue reading

Douglas celebrate International Success

Douglas Internationals 3Douglas Golf Club recently celebrated the successes of three of their members, all three were capped for Ireland this year.  Sara Byrne, Karl Bornemann and Peter O’Keeffe were the centre of attention on the evening when members, families and friends gathered at the club.  As well as receiving presentation from the club, the trio were also granted honorary membership from the club with Management Committee Chairman Jerry Cronin presenting certificates to all three.  It was a great year for all three golfers.  In addition to being selected for Ireland Girls, Sara Byrne was also selected for the GB&I team that played in the Junior Vagliano trophy in Italy early in the season.  She also Continue reading

New Member Applications open in Douglas

Douglas Golf ClubDouglas Golf Club have just opened applications for membership in 2018.  The southside club operated a similar process last year and the all of the available places were fully subscribed.  It’s an exciting time for Douglas.  After extensive research and planning the club has just commenced and ambitious programme that will see a major expansion to their practice facilities, and also a brand new five hole short game area.  The facility upgrade will be followed by a major upgrade to the clubhouse and proshop.  That is currently at design stage and is scheduled for completion in early 2019.

Douglas reduced the joining fee a few years ago, and introduced a new membership programme which saw the club open for applications at this time of year.  The club remains popular with Cork golfers and has seen membership numbers climb back to peak levels over the past four years.  Anyone interested in joining the club should contact Conor O’Brien, Manager, Douglas Golf Club.  The final date for completed applications is 15th November.

Bornemann enjoys Irish Debut

Sean O'Leary Karl Bornemann

Irish Seniors Captain Sean O’Leary pictured with Karl Bornemann after Ireland won the European Senior Team Championship 

Douglas’ Karl Bornemann celebrated his Ireland selection by being part of the winning team at the European Senior Team Championships.  Karl was one of two new caps selected by Irish Captain Sean O’Leary, and both justified their selection winning matches at crucial points.  Bornemann had a great start to the competition in the strokeplay rounds.  On the opening day he shot a two under par 70, helped by an eagle on the par four 5th.  He calmly holed an uphill wedge from 100 yards to give himself a boost in his first round in an Irish shirt.  Karl was heading for an under par finish on day two also, but a bogey on the last meant that he signed for a level par 72, and he finished in a tie for 6th place after 36 holes.

Ireland finished in the joint top position on the team rankings alongside Scotland, and qualified for the top flight matchplay phase.  The format for matchlplay stage was one foursomes match and four singles.  In the quarter final they faced hosts Sweden and came away with a 3-2 win.  Ireland faced England in the semi final and they had a surprisingly easy win, taking three matches very early to secure the win.  Karl had the luxury of being called in on Saturday, but in Sunday’s final he led the charge.  Ireland were up against outsiders Denmark, they had a surprise win over Scotland in the semi-final.  Bornemann was first to finish in the final as he recorded a 5&4 win to Continue reading

Super 67 for Sara Byrne

2017 Irish Girls Close Championship at Mallow Golf Club

Sara Byrne pictured during the Irish Girls Close, picture: Pat Cashman

Sara Byrne shot a career low round of 67 in Douglas on Sunday, and won the Girlie Hegarty Trophy in the process.  Six birdies and just one bogey saw Byrne finish well ahead of the field.  The sharp shooter was on form, helped by the fact that Douglas is her home course.  Sara finished four shots clear of the field with her 65 nett, Aoife Ni Thuama won the best gross with a 73.  Bandon’s Sarah Higgins won the 18 hole stableford competition while Aoife Keating (Douglas) won the nine hole competition.  It’s been a solid year for the Sara Byrne.  The teenager has had a very busy summer and her five under par round was yet another milestone in a year that saw several improvements.  Byrne was in action Girls Home Internationals recently, where Ireland narrowly lost out to England, and prior to that she was representing Great Britain and Ireland in Italy at the Junior Vagliano Trophy.

Next up for Sara is the British ladies Strokeplay which takes Continue reading

Muskerry win three local league titles

CGN_9th July 2017-1Muskerry hosted the local league finals last Sunday and they came away with three wins in the battle of the “four Cork clubs”.  Home advantage may or may not have been a factor but in any case Muskerry won all three competitions in which they were competing.  There was one win each for Cork, Douglas and Monkstown in the other three finals.

Local Leagues & Shields Finals, Muskerry Golf Club, Sunday 9th July

Senior League: Muskerry defeated Monkstown
Junior League: Muskerry defeated Douglas
Summer Shield: Cork defeated Monkstown
Mixedmost: Muskerry defeated Douglas
Topmost: Douglas defeated Monkstown
Utmost: Cork defeated Monkstown

 

Sara leads the way in Douglas

Munster Senior Championship_Sara Byrne

Sixteen-year-old Sara Byrne is set to represent Ireland again later this month.  The Douglas golfer has been selected to represent Ireland at the European Young Masters later this month.  Oslo Golf Club in Norway will host the event over three days and Byrne along with Annabel Wilson were selected as Ireland’s two representatives by the ILGU.  Byrne has enjoyed a great season so far, and representing GB&I and Ireland in addition to several impressive individual performances.  On the representative front, Byrne was in Italy last week as the GB&I side took on Europe in the Junior Vagliano Trophy.  She also represented Ireland in the annual matches against Wales.  A large number of notable individual performances has seen her handicap drop from four to one over the first half of the season.  She hit the 1 mark in April while playing in the Munster Senior Open in Cork Golf Club.  That was an impressive result considering that the Douglas member opened with a disappointing 80.  She followed that with rounds of 75 and 73 to take second place overall.  She also captured the Munster Girls trophy as the best under eighteen golfer in the field.

In May she travelled to the Fairhaven Trophy in Lancashire where she finished in third place in the girls competition against an impressive international field.  She also recorded top three placings in the Lahinch and Carlow scratch cups in the early part of the season.  Most recently she had a top ten finish in the Irish Women’s Close.  Last week Sara represented Continue reading

Desmond claims first Scratch Cup win in Douglas

Sean Desmond Douglas SSC 2017

Sean Desmond (Monkstown) receives the Douglas Senior Scratch Cup from sponsor Kieran Canty, Kieran Canty Financial Services.

Monkstown’s Sean Desmond made a successful return from injury today when he won the Douglas Senior Scratch Cup.  Desmond suffered ankle ligament damage earlier this month and that kept him off the course for three weeks.  Douglas was his first competitive outing and this morning he shot a solid level par 72.  The first year UCC student was two shots off the lead after the first round when his Senior Cup partner Eoghan Long led the field with a 70.  It was a packed leaderboard with over 20 golfers within four shots of the lead. Desmond started fast the second round and he was three under through 10 holes.  He gave two shots back thought on the 12th and the 16th.  A birdie on the 17th however proved to be the difference and he went on to win by one shot.

“It’s my first scratch cup win and absolutely delighted to get one, especially in a big competition like Douglas” said a happy Desmond who was equally happy with the way he played.  “I played very solidly.  I hit the ball well in general, and hit a lot of greens. I put myself in the right spots most of the time except for a few holes where I made some very sloppy bogeys.  But overall I  Continue reading