Short game

Compiled by SHAY KEENAN

Ryder Cup Experience competition

THE K Club have announced a new competition – The Ryder Cup Experience.

This fourball competition will offer golfers the opportunity to play at the K Club, with the monthly winners qualifying for the overall finals on the Palmer Course on September 25th and 26th.

Qualifying rounds will take pace on the Smurfit Course from March to September.

The qualifying dates are March 14th/15th, April 11th/12th, May 30th/31st, June 20th/21st, July 18th/19th, August 22nd/23rd and September 12th/13th.

The monthly winners will stay in the hotel and relive the “Ryder Cup Experience”, to include two nights accommodation and one practice round on the Palmer Course, as set up for the Ryder Cup, on September 25th, followed by the finals the next day.

For inquiries call (01) 6017321 / 6017234, visit www.kclub.com, or email marie.connolly@kclub.ie

Brabazon tops at Portmarnock

DAVE BRABAZON from Balbriggan got his Hilary GS season off to the perfect start with victory in the BMW-sponsored outing to Portmarnock Links on Sunday.

New member Brabazon fired a one-over-par 73 to win the nett off a four handicap from Stephen Prendergast from Royal Dublin, with Lloyd O’Rourke third on 75. Greenore’s Séamus McParland, who started with a seven, won the gross with a 74.

Gary Cullen (Beaverstown) won the professional’s prize by matching Brabazon’s 73. The team title went to McParland, Jim Harnett from Portmarnock and Daragh Callaghan from Balbriggan with 64.

THE West Waterford Golf Club Sunshine Classic will take place on the Easter weekend from April 9th through to April 12th. The cost is € 160 for a four-person team.

Teams can be women, men or mixed, with the handicap limit for men 22 and 36 for the women. The format will be two scores to count per hole. Sponsorship opportunities are also available.

Further details, phone 058 43216 or 058 41475 or email info@westwaterfordgolf.com.

30 clubs back Barretstown PowerPlay

BETWEEN Friday the 13th and Sunday, March 15th, some 30 clubs across Ireland will participate in a fundraising event in aid of Barretstown.

The PowerPlay Golf Barretstown Serious Fun Weekend is a new initiative from the people behind the “two-flag game”, which aims to give Irish golfers the chance to try this nine-hole format on some of the best courses in the country and at the same time raise money to bring children suffering from serious illnesses to Barretstown for some serious fun of their own.

Robert Hill, PowerPlay Golf chief executive in Ireland, explains, “With 30 golf courses and over 600 tee-times, this is a weekend for fun and fundraising. We want golfers everywhere to get out and try PowerPlay Golf at their nearest venue.

“The clubs supporting the event are offering some fantastic value and all are contributing € 10 of their green fee to Barretstown.”

PowerPlay Golf is played over nine holes with two flags on each green – one white, and one the black PowerPlay flag. Golfers must take three “PowerPlays” in their first eight holes and score double Stableford points for nett birdies or better.

Contact: Robert Hill on 01 287 0215, Ireland@powerplay-golf.com, or see the next edition of Golfingmagazine.

Bowen to chair GUI group on boosting numbers

THE Golfing Union of Ireland have set up a five-man committee, under the chairmanship of Frank Bowen, to explore ways in which clubs in Ireland can boost and maintain membership in the present economic climate.

Clubs have already been active in offering membership on a weekly and monthly basis, and new president PJ Collins from Armagh says: “Clubs are finding ways to maintain cash flow. The clubs that are not prepared to be proactive will have problems in the coming years.”

With little more than half of the active golfers in Ireland affiliated to the GUI or ILGU, Collins expressed a particular interest in establishing a system which would bring the large number of society golfers and non-members into the club fold.

Meanwhile, the GUI also announced that Tourism Malaysia will be sponsors to a new event on the Irish calendar, the Irish Seniors Close Championship, which will take place at Roscommon GC from July 8th-10th.

Other decisions taken include the number of players in the Fred Daly Trophy will now be seven per team in all provinces, while in the Fred Daly and Junior Foursomes, players will have to declare for their home club if needed.

The Irish Senior and Youths teams will be captained by Kevin Flanagan, from Co Sligo; the Boys by Castletroy’s Liam Martin; and Barry Doyle, the immediate past president, will lead the Seniors.

NUI Maynooth's Winterpro joy

NUI Maynooth won the inaugural ILGU Winterpros from the Midland District at the Champions Club, Moyvalley, over the weekend.

Ciara Butler, Sarah Cunningham, Louise Mernagh

and Lucy Simpson, all students availing of the Paddy Harrington Scholarship at Maynooth, were in fine, early-season form to edge

out Laura McCarthy, Emma O’Driscoll, Karen O’Neill and Catherine Tucker by just one

stroke in the three scores to count format.

Mary Dowling fired a 74 to help the Midland District to a four-shot victory over the Northern District, while the Western District avoided the wooden spoon with a two-shot victory over the Eastern District.

Results: South bt East, NUIM bt Midland, North bt West, NUIM bt West, North bt East, Midland bt South, Midland bt East, South bt West, North halved with NUIM, NUIM bt South, Midland bt North, West bt East. Final Standings: 4 pts NUI Maynooth, 3½ pts Midland District, 3 pts Northern District, 2½ pts Southern District, 1½ pts Western District, ½ pt Eastern District.

LADY CAPTAIN Margaret Ahern of Lee Valley got her year off to a great start with a fantastic hole-in-one at the 146-yard sixth hole on Wednesday, February 18th.

Ahern holed out with a precision shot from the tee with a seven-wood to be the first name engraved on the club’s newly commissioned hole-in-one plaque.