Deerpark Diary
Carlow Golf Club’s Monthly Newsletter
Issue 7: 05 August 2015
Captain’s Prize Special Report
In this issue:
 Brendan scoops
the Captain’s
prize… and the
bride!
 Spanish victory
at the Boys’
Scratch Cup
 Temple Street
Fundraiser –
steaks on the
bar-b-que and a
rare hot
summer’s day
 Teams and
competitions
Updates
Captain Thos Hennessy presenting his prize to the winner, Brendan Corrigan.
 Around the
Course and in
the Clubhouse
The Captain’s Prize to Men is the highlight of the year and the 2015 tournament
took place over an extended four-day weekend (Thursday the 9th to Sunday the 12th
of July)… and we hear that some were still celebrating into the early hours
of Monday morning too. The event was successfully organised by Competition
Secretary John Brennan and from a field of 329 players, Brendan Corrigan emerged
as the champion. Although he only hits a utility club off the tee, the big man from
Ballon played brilliantly and rumour has it that he is now trying out a driver –
maybe there’s a lesson for us all there.
Deerpark Diary: Page 1 of 10
The first round took place in mixed weather
conditions with Anthony (Ronnie) Ryan heading
the leader-board on 65, going into the second
day’s play. Flying the flag for Graiguecullen he
was joined by Keith Kelly and Shane Kelly in the
last 3 ball in the top 99. As usual some of the first
round leaders fell away on day two with others
coming from the rear – most notably John
Webster who shot 72 gross to become a main
contender in the 9 hole play-off.
The playoff was one of the best on record with
some great scoring from a number of players. The
lead jumped from Anthony Ryan to Tom Flynn,
Keith Kelly and Dave Munnelly with Brendan
Corrigan having a great 9 holes. After chipping
into the 3rd hole for a two, Brendan played solidly
apart from a bad tee shot on the 12th which saw
him in knee high rough only 100m off the tee at
the same time that Ronnie Ryan and Tom Flynn
were playing the 10th. Keith Kelly who was second
in 2014 was chasing a win and was playing solid
stuff however the invincible Corrigan carded a 5
on the 12th, recovering from a horrendous
position. He followed this with a 2 on the 17th and
a solid par on the 18th for a well-deserved win.
Pictured are (left) Derek Kilbride and (below) Tom
Munnelly, receiving their prizes from Thos.
In his speech Captain Thos thanked the
competitors and everyone who contributed to the
success of the day. He mentioned that his three
highlights of becoming Captain were: being
presented with the Captain’s blazer; the Captains
Drive-In and the Captains Prize. Thos thanked his
family for all of the support they have given him –
not just this year but throughout the years.
After the prize giving there was a social night to
top all nights. There were many fine performances
and with John Forde on keyboards Paul Hennessy
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got the show off to a rousing start before he dueted with Tom Hennessy for the Rose of Mooncoin and
Delilah. Paul then acted as a backing singer for most of the other performers including the Captain who
sang a Johnny Cash number. Ber Shelly got the dancing going with some great numbers on the
saxophone. Other performers included Jason "The Flower" Brennan, Tommy Lennon, Brendan
Hennessy, Ber Shelly, Mary Hughes, Steve Cronly and many more. Singing and dancing was the order of
the night with a La Bamba train exiting the club house, chugging back in through the Members’ Bar,
picking up some busy staff enroute before delivering its carriages of exhausted passengers back to the
lounge.
Captain Thos wishes to thank all the members for supporting the event and all who helped in making it
a success. The members wish to thank Thos for the wonderful prizes and for giving everyone a weekend
to remember for a long time.
Enjoying the fun at the
Captain’s Prize night
were many, many
Munnelleys!
Above L-R are: Ger
Munnelly, Mark
Munnelly,
Dave Munnelly, Thos
Hennessy, Ross Munnelly
and Colm Munnelly.
Left are Paul Hennessy
and Dan Collier
Deerpark Diary: Page 3 of 10
The Stars Align for Brendan and Christine
The month of July was certainly a busy one for Brendan
Corrigan as not only did he win the Captain’s Prize but
he also got married to the lovely Christine Walker.
Congratulations to Brendan and Christine.
Felicitaciones to Quim on winning the
Carlow Boys Scratch Cup 2015
Hola! We weren’t sure if we were in Carlow or at the
Spanish Open when Carlow welcomed four Spanish
visitors to participate in the annual Carlow Boys Scratch
th
Cup sponsored by the Seven Oaks Hotel on 24 of July. John Dillon brings us this report:
Sixteen year old Quim Vidal Mora (pictured
left) was the first ever international winner of
the competition.
Playing off 1 handicap,
Quim was one of four Spanish boys coached
by PGA professional Eddie Doyle (The Heritage
GC) to play in the event over our
championship Deerpark course. The event had
a particularly strong field and included some
fine performances from our Carlow boys with
a number of locals also featuring in the prizes.
The course was presented in excellent
condition and despite a few early showers, the
weather held up. Leading after 18 holes was
Dean Keogh from Grange Castle with an
excellent opening 69 gross.
Dean was closely followed by
Quim and Carlow’s James
Lennon both on 71, with locals
Craig Bolger on 73 and Dale
Bolger not far back on 76.
Pictured below are Paddy Doyle (organiser), Andy Gilbert (PGA), Marc
Berdala Galobandes, Lucas Mota Pascual, Eddie Doyle (PGA), Quim
Vidal Mora, Manel Beltran Pomedio and John Dillon (competition
organiser).
However, Quim’s consistency
prevailed as he added a
second round 72 for 143 which
was the lowest winning score
for a number of years. Ronan
O’Callaghan (1 handicap) from
Mannan Castle GC shot steady
rounds of 74 and 73 to finish
Deerpark Diary: Page 4 of 10
runner up. Another Spaniard, Marc Berdala Galobandes finished in third place with 148 (74, 74) and
James Lennon finished fourth on 149. The best score from the afternoon round was delivered by
Carlow’s Brain Cox who shot a superb 71 gross to add to his opening 79. Quim is pictured on the
previous page and below receiving his prize from sponsor Daniel McCarthy, (Seven Oaks Hotel) and
Captain Thos Hennessy.
Our thanks to the Seven Oaks Hotel who have sponsored this event for over 30 years, and have played
such an important role in the competition’s continued success.
Above: a number of the competitors and Carlow Boys Scratch Cup prize winners including locals Brian
Cox (1st left) and camera shy James Lennon, Dale Bolger and Craig Bolger doing their best to hide behind
the sponsor! The photo also includes the honorary starter for the day Fergal Browne (6th from left).
Temple Street
Fundraiser 13th July
Con O’Neill sends us this
special report:
Thirty-seven teams played in
the Temple Street Fundraiser
which raised a whopping
€11,445.00 for the worthy
charity and the golf was great
too.
Weatherwise it was the finest
day of the year and
competitors and visitors were
treated to a bar-b-que with
superb food which is still being talked about. As the evening wore on the beer flowed and everybody
Deerpark Diary: Page 5 of 10
felt like a winner. Brendan Hennessy stole the limelight as the Auctioneer for the proceedings and a
new talk group which will remain anonymous sang their head off until day break.
Thanks to all supported and special thanks to the organising committee for this magnificent event:
Willie O’Rourke, Ann Doyle, Mary Hughes, Bernie Green (flowers), Mary Farrell (prizes), John L Brennan
and Mike Maher (cards), Eimear Hennessy and Bernie Green (Raffle), Brendan Hennessy (Auction),
photos Cepta Burke and Karl McDonagh and of course, our Master Chefs Eilis and James on bar-b-que.
Enjoying the fun at the Temple Street Fundraiser
Deerpark Diary: Page 6 of 10
Teams and Competitions Update
The Junior Scratch Cup
Five loyal supporters of
the
event
(Cormac
Mullarkey, Justin Mc
Hugh, John Mc Hugh,
John Dillon and Derek
Kilbride) prepare to teeoff in the Junior Scratch
Cup. Congrats to John
Mc Hugh, a former
winner who shot 151
back in 1993, who
actually finished third
this year.
Stop Press…. Carberry takes Conry to the cleaners!
In a hard fought first round of Club Championship Eoghan Carbery took Derek Conry to the cleaners
with a great display of golf to win on the 16th. Last year’s winner, Brian Healy bowed out in first round
to Jim McVeigh who recently broke par to win an open singles. Jim is obviously back on form and will
take some beating as competition progresses. Peter Murphy has progressed to the second round
beating John Barry, and John McHugh also exited in the first round courtesy of James Lennon. John
Dillon lost to Paul Dowling after a tight encounter on 16th and Derek Kilbride battled hard but could not
get past Paul Bulfin. More news in the next edition!
Central Towns Trophy and the Leinster Fourball Team Matches
This weekend sees two teams representing Carlow Golf Club in semi-finals. The club has experienced
some good fortune in the Central Towns Trophy over the last five years and hopefully this year will be
the same. The team under the management of PJ O’Neill and John Webster take on New Forest on
Saturday afternoon with matches in Carlow and New Forest (Co. Westmeath). Tee-off 2 p.m.
The second team playing a semi-final is the Leinster Fourball Team who will meet Coollattin GC on
Sunday afternoon. This team is manged by Brendan Laffan and Seamus o’ Farrell. They have had a long
journey to get to this stage and we wish them luck on Sunday. Tee-off 3 p.m.
Members: these teams would welcome your support so stick on your club jumpers and get out to the
club or to one of the away venues to cheer the lads on.
Deerpark Diary: Page 7 of 10
The Midland Scratch Cup
The 72-hole Midland Scratch Cup competition will take place on
Saturday and Sunday the 5th and 6th of September. Entry forms
for local players are available through the office. A lot of
organising is going on behind the scenes and the return to the
72-hole format is part of the bid to build the Midland Scratch Cup
back up to its former glory years. Why 72-holes? Well this
format provides higher ranking points for players, attracts higher
calibre players and gains a higher profile for Carlow Golf Club.
Amateur Golf is gaining lots of publicity of late with a number of
rising stars in the game and players like Paul Dunne of
Greystones proving that top amateurs can mix it with the best of
the professionals, just as he did in St Andrews. The club boasts
some great past winners of the Midland Scratch Cup, including
Padraig Harrington who has agreed to be the face of the Midland
Scratch Cup 2015. Much thanks goes to Ken Doyle, Adrian
Mitchell (Padraig's Manager) and Padraig himself for this
support. Applications are rolling in and it would be fair to say
that we have a few of our own players who will be knocking on the door, judging by their recent form in
the Boys Scratch Cup.
*Alternative arrangements for members will be in place for the Oakpark Course for the weekend
of Sept 5th and 6th.
Lady Captains Prize to the Men
This weekend, (August 8th and 9th) sees the men compete for the third Major of the season: the Lady
Captain’s Prize to the Men. This event has become increasingly competitive over the years and is always
hotly contested. With 220 players already on the time sheet the Lady Captain, Ann Doyle is looking
forward to the big competition turnout and to a packed Prize Giving on Sunday night at 9:30 p.m. There
is also a Ladies Team of 3 on Sunday evening. The timesheet is available on line with the presentation
also taking place at 9:30 p.m. Best of luck to all those playing and looking forward to seeing you all on
Sunday night!
Around the Course and in the Clubhouse
Congratulations to Gerry Redmond who aced the 3rd hole in the
Professional’s (Andy Gilbert) Prize to Men. Unfortunately the
competition was rescheduled due to bad weather.
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Big Birthday Surprise for Declan…
…and Lady Captain Ann Doyle, Mary Hughes and Kevin Rea were there to help Declan Doody to
blow out all those candles.
Condolences
Carlow Golf Club extends sincere sympathy to
Bernie and Brian Cox on the passing of Eddie Cox; Tony O’Sullivan on the passing
of his Brother Christy O’Sullivan; Tom Mulhall on the passing of his brother
Paddy Mulhall; Margaret Stacey, Peter and Ger Murray on the passing of Martin
Murray; and Maura McEvoy and Fran Fitzpatrick on the passing of Fran’s
brother Tom Fitzpatrick.
May they rest in peace.
Deerpark Diary: Page 9 of 10
Calling all Newshounds
Attention Club members! The Deerpark Diary is written by members for
members and we would really welcome your contributions. If you don’t tell
us about it we can’t tell everyone else about it! So send us your news,
photos and snippets and we’ll include them in next month’s edition.
Special thanks to all who supplied the photos and news this month. If
you’re sending anything to us, please submit it by the 20th of the month to
ensure inclusion.
You can email us at [email protected]. We look forward to
hearing from you!
The Ed’s, John Barry & Jean Cullinane
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