- Details
Following the long absence due to Covid of an official Prize giving night we finally got to get together and award the following prizes in person
Winter League sponsored by Briege McShane
Tom Martin sponsored day
Singles sponsored by Terry Beirne
PGA Tankard
Prize giving took place on Tuesday night 7th June. It was great to see a busy clubhouse for the occasion. Ladies enjoyed the get together and there was lots of catching up to be done. Congratulations to all those who collected prizes on the night and of course sincere thanks to our valued sponsors. All sponsorship is very much appreciated and welcomed by the Ladies Committee and members. You can sponsor a prize individually or as a group. If you wish to do so please contact Lady Captain Siobhán.
Get into Golf
The final night of Ladies Get into Golf took place on Thursday 2nd June. We had a 3 hole scramble and prizes were awarded for First and Second place. The ladies showed true golfing spirit and didn't let the Irish weather get in the way of a good night. A total of 30 ladies took part and many have now taken up GIG membership for 2022. Please welcome our new members and assist where possible. Sincere thanks to Ann Marie Pryal who is the co-ordinator of this very valued initiative.
Inter Club
Our Junior Foursomes, Intermediate and Challenge Cup teams are still going strong. Upcoming matches are as follows:
Junior Foursomes V Royal Curragh Tuesday 14th June 3.30
Intermediate V Gowran Park Saturday 18th June 3.18 home / 1.04 away
Challenge V Mount Juliet Sunday 19th June 3.30
Please support where possible. We are now into Round 3 which is a great achievement for players, caddies and managers.
- Details
The strong, cool wind that both teams had to contend with on Saturday, June 4 th , blew our Pierce Purcell team off course as they bowed out of the competition with a loss to Portlaoise. The Portlaoise team manager indicated that it was very difficult for any team to come away from Portlaoise with any points in inter-club competitions due to the course layout with local knowledge being a distinct advantage. And so it proved for our two away pairings, Paul Birchall & Mark Corcoran and John Beirne & Gavin Condon as they both suffered defeat. This meant that we had to win our three home matches to advance in the competition. Our first pairing of Keith Barnes and Richie Quinn started brightly and turned 2 up after 9, which went to 3 up after 10. They were odds on to win 11 and establish a 4 hole lead when the opposition holed a monster putt from off the back of the 11 th green for an unlikely win. Momentum, which is key in these matches, went to Portlaoise and they won 12 to be only 1 down playing 14. Meanwhile, our second pairing of Niall Galvin & Aaron Devereux had a very tough start losing the first three holes. While they kept battling away manfully they could never close the gap to less than 2. Turning 3 down they lost the 10 th and Portlaoise closed out the match on the 13 th . Our final pairing of Dave McDonagh & Pat McGrath turned an early 1 hole deficit into a 2 up lead after 9. Portlaoise battled back and were 1 up playing 13 when the match was called in.
In truth it was a comprehensive victory to Portlaoise and we wish them best of luck in the competition.
A big thank you to managers Keith White and Luke Minogue for all their hard work in managing the team. Well done to the Pierce Purcell panel for all their efforts. A positive note to take from this year’s competition is the number of players who represented Castlewarden for the first time in inter club competitions. I know, from speaking with them, that they thoroughly enjoyed the experience and will be back next year for another bite of the cherry.
We have two matches upcoming next Sunday, The Barton Shield, vs Co. Longford, with 1 home match @ 2.30pm and the Jimmy Bruen, vs Palmerstown House with 3 home matches starting @ 3.30 pm. Hope to see as many supporters as possible lining the fairways to support the teams.
Des O’Neill (Captain)
- Details
Thursday 26th May Mary McKenna Trophy V Donabate
The second round of the Mary McKenna took place in Donabate Golf Club. Five pairs played scotch foursomes format under the leadership of Breda Sheedy and Deirdre Sheehy. With all five matches away this was never going to be easy. Despite a very strong team with most matches going to the 17th and 18th holes it was not to be for Castlewarden. However, there was some great golf played, the ladies enjoyed the day and got to meet Mary McKenna, founder of this most popular competition.
Saturday 28th May Intermediate V Edenderry
A very tight match for a very strong team under the leadership of Janice Fleming. With two matches at home and three away again it was a difficult task. Matches went on to the 20th an 21st holes in some cases so it was a nail biting fight for all involved. Thankfully Castlewarden didn’t give up and kept the fight up winning 3/2. Next opponent if Gowran Park. Details to follow.
Sunday 29th May Minor V Kilkenny
Another very tight match, led by Susan Hart, which unfortunately didn’t go our way. Kilkenny had home advantage which of course is always a huge benefit. The ladies fought hard and played some excellent golf but local knowledge won out in the end.
Sunday 29th Challenge V Enniscorthy
A very good match with some very brave players, many playing inter club for the first time. The ladies, under the leadership Róisín Harpur battled on and won two away matches, one at home and the other match was called in. It was a great victory for team. Next match is V Mount Juliet on Sunday 19th June at 3.30 p.m.
The ladies committee would like to acknowledge the commitment of players, caddies, managers, assistant managers, supporters and our team co-ordinator Emer O'Flaherty their input and dedication to Inter Club.
.
- Details
Jimmy Bruen Shield:
This foursomes match was against Blessington Lakes, with 3 home and 2 away matches.
Our junior pairing of Cal Duggan and Jake Quinn were first out and were absolutely flying over the front 9 establishing what we all thought was an unassailable 7 up lead after 9. But the back nine proved to be a different story as the Blessington Lakes pairing dug in and chipped away at the lead. Despite being dormie 3 down the opposition never gave up. Momentum was with them and after a great par on 16 to win the hole and an even better birdie on 17, it was down the 18 with Cal and Jake 1 up. A short drive by Blessington Lakes put them under pressure, knowing they had to win the hole, which resulted in them putting their second shot out of bounds. A relieved Cal and Jake shook hands with the opposition before they reached the green to record a 2 up win. Phew!!
Thankfully, there wasn’t the same drama with the other two matches
Conor Dunne and Shea Phelan were out in match 2 and were 4 up after 9. Despite losing a ball on the tenth from the drive they managed a half on that hole and were always in control of that match winning on the 16 th .
Last up at home was Keith White, no doubt buoyed by managing the Metro team to victory, playing with Dave McDonagh. It was a very comfortable afternoon for Keith and Dave, playing some really good golf they turned 5 up after 9 and had a chance to close out the match on 12. They lost 13 to a birdie but finished the match on 14.
First away pairing was Peter Sinnott and Stephen O’Brien. They went all the way to the `17 th before losing a tight match.
Another of our juniors, Eoghan Light, partnered Damien Birmingham in the final away match. A very close game which could not be separated. Match was all square after 18 and as the overall result had been decided there was no need to go down the 19 th . Match halved.
Next up for the Jimmy Bruen team is a match against near neighbours Palmerstown House, to be played by June 12 th .
A magnificent week-end for our inter- club teams with our Juniors advancing to the Quarter finals in the junior foursome competition after their 12 hole victory against Millicent on Saturday followed by the ladies winning their Intermediate Cup match against Edenderry. 7 matches played with 6 wins! The month of June is going to be busy as our inter-club teams advance in a number of competitions.
Pierce Purcell vs Portlaoise is next Saturday, June 5 th @ 3.00 pm
Jimmy Bruen vs Palmerstown House by June 12 th
Senior Cup vs Tullamore by June 19 th
Metro vs Edmonstown by June 26 th
Junior Foursome vs winners of Gowran Park vs Waterford by June 26 th .
It would be great to see more members coming out to support the various teams as they strife to advance further in their respective competitions.
Des O’Neill (Captain)