SHORT GAME:HOLLYWOOD LAKES' Paul Darby took the spoils at the North Dublin Golf Club Captains Association annual Christmas outing at Malahide on Friday last.
The 21-handicapper fired 23 points for a single point victory over the host club's Fred Moran, playing off 15, with another Malahide member, Frank Gallagher (22), in third place on 21 points, the same score as Tony Fetherston, playing off 19 and from Donabate.
The three category winners were Owen Morton (Sutton) in the seniors, Séamus Campbell (Sutton) in the veterans and Kevin Woods (Donabate) in the senior veterans.
Meanwhile, 2013 will see Sutton’s Campbell take over as the association’s president, while Deer Park’s Stephen Flynn will have the honour of being the association’s captain for the next 12 months.
Nenagh duo finish sixth in Turkey
THERE WAS no luck for Nenagh’s Ryan McCann and Seán Minogue last week in the PGA’s Lombard Challenge at the PGA Sultan Course at Antalya Golf Club in Turkey.
The 36 hole event featuring a club’s professional and captain saw10 teams travel to Turkey. The Irish pair had to settle for sixth place. Club pro McCann and club captain Minogue finished with a two round total of 137, five under par, following rounds of 68 and 69, with seven birdies and only two bogeys on their card over the two days.
Ian Walley and Adrian Shaw, from Shirland GC in Derbyshire in England were victorious on 12 under par, two clear of their closest rivals.
Special competitions to mark Leinster centenary
Leinster Golf will celebrate its centenary next year with two special competitions.
The winner of a nominated monthly medal in each club will be invited by Leinster Golf to play in a Centenary Medal final at a date and venue to be decided in the new year.
And the traditional captain–secretary outing and the competitions foursomes outing will be replaced with a team of four event.
The captain, honorary secretary, competitions secretary and handicap secretary will be invited from each club to take part in a celebration of golf to mark the Leinster Branch Centenary.
Co Down and Adare Manor still top lists
With input from readers now making up almost a third of the total vote, the leading positions are unchanged in this year’s Golf Digest Volvo Top-100 Ranked Irish Golf Courses.
The latest list also indicates that quality will shine through, whatever the venue’s circumstances. This is certainly the case for Portmarnock Links, which has made the most significant move rising eight places from 31st to 23rd.
The other most notable move in the upper regions of the list is, surprisingly, by the Killeen Course at Killarney, which has slipped seven places to 33rd.
Another notable decline has been by Royal Dublin, which loses its top-20 position by slipping to 24th.
The top parkland (Adare Manor) and links (Royal Co Down) courses are unchanged.
Negative reception for several novel motions
NINE motions of national relevance were debated at the annual delegates meetings in the four provinces last week but only some received a minimum of support.
A Tandragee motion restricting the number of 0.1 increases in handicap, in categories two, three and four only, to 20 in any one year was carried in Munster but defeated in the other three provinces.
A Castletroy motion that “All players entering competitions must complete 18 holes of golf before their score may be considered as a qualifying score” was carried in Munster but not supported in the other three.
A Balcarrick motion that any boy aged 18 or under, who has been a member of a club for at least two years, upon transferring to a new club, shall be ineligible to represent his new club in GUI Inter-club competitions for a period of one year was carried in Leinster but defeated in the other three, as was a motion from Elm Park on the issue of full handicaps in fourballs. All other motions were defeated.
Good Counicl claim Leinster schools title
Good Counsel College, New Ross, won the Irish Schools Junior Championship, Leinster Section, at Killeen GC last week.
Aidan Moore and Luke Kelly both shot 66 and Niall Dunne 71 for a total of 132 (best two cards) to win by six shots from St Colmcille’s, Knocklyon 138; St Aidan’s CBS, Whitehall, 139 and Scoil Mhuire, Clane, on 140.
Good Counsel College will now go on to represent Leinster in the All-Ireland Finals at Balmoral Golf Club on April 24th 2013.
skeenan@irishtimes.com
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