Sutton and Ballyclare set sights on the senior double

Not since 2000 has any club managed to capture the category-one double of Senior Cup and Barton Shield when Shandon Park were successful at Lahinch. This year, however, two clubs, Sutton and Ballyclare, will set out for Shannon GC this week with the senior double in mind.

After months of joy and a lot of heartbreak for the amateur golfers of Ireland the most coveted championship tournament in the inter-club calendar - regarded as the biggest amateur golfing competition in Europe - will draw the competitive season to a close at Shannon on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

An estimated 20,000 golfers and 1,500 club teams participated at the first round back in April and May and close to 500 golfers and 20 teams representing 18 clubs will be at Shannon for the Bulmers-sponsored finals.

The competition comprises five trophies: The Senior Cup, The Barton Shield, The Junior Cup; The Jimmy Bruen Shield and The Pierce Purcell Shield.

Warrenpoint completed the senior double in 1987 and it has been achieved by Tramore in 1992, Co Sligo in 1996 and 1997, and Shandon Park in 2000.

Now Sutton and Ballyclare have the chance to add their names to that list. Sutton are no strangers to All-Ireland finals having won the Senior Cup six times, including a hat-trick in 1948, '49 and '50, which also included the double in 1949 and '50, when the great Joe Carr led a star-studded team that included Jimmy Carroll, Michael Fitzpatrick, Tommy Fitzpatrick and Ray McInnally to victory.

Carr, who won his first international cap in 1947 and went on to play for Ireland until 1969, was instrumental in the rise of Sutton as a force in inter-club golf. He was a member of 11 successive Walker Cup teams, the first 10 as a player, the last as captain, and was the first Irishman to captain the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews.

He also won the British Amateur Championship three times, the first in 1953 at Royal Liverpool when he beat the American Harvie Ward, a golfer good enough to have almost won the US Masters.

The beautiful Joe Carr room at Sutton and the many pennants on display in the clubhouse attest to the club's golfing successes down through the years. Carr's sons Roddy and John, who both played Walker Cup, were also keen inter-club competitors.

This year's side, managed by Pat Bowen and Brian Wallace, had to dig deep on a few occasions this year to win the double in Leinster. But they come with plenty of experience having been members of the successful Barton Cup sides of 2002 and 2003.

Ballyclare, are comparative novices to All-Ireland finals but can call on the services of international players Gareth Maybin and Johnny Foster.

Maybin enjoyed a very successful year on the US Collegiate scene where he became the University of South Alabama's (USA) all-time record holder for most individual titles (eight), passing current PGA member Health Slocum's record of seven. Maybin captured four titles in the season, including the SBC Individual Championship, the first USA golfer since Freddie Cortina (1998), and fourth overall to do so.

For Foster, this could be his last amateur event as he intends joining the professional ranks in the near future.

For many golfers in Ireland, competing for their clubs in the cups and shields provides a great foundation for possible professional careers.

Last year, Portmarnock's Noel Fox, who this week sets out in pursuit of a professional career, was on the team that won the Senior Cup. This represented an exciting finale to Fox's season after the Walker Cup.

Other household names on the professional circuit to have competed in the cups and shields include Padraig Harrington, Paul McGinley, Darren Clarke, Philip Walton and Colm Moriarty.

The Bulmers All-Ireland finals hold unique memories for many golfers. Co Louth's Barry Reddan will have some of the most enjoyable after playing in three Senior Cup finals and being on the winning side on each occasion, while Val Smyth, a brother of professional Des, has won titles with both Laytown and Bettystown and Co Louth.

Meanwhile, telephones were buzzing around Letterkenny yesterday as club members were trying to get time off work this week so they could compete in the final of the Pierce Purcell Shield.

Despite defeat in the Ulster decider, the Co Donegal club have been handed a place in the final. At the weekend Kilkeel, the Ulster winners, discovered one of their five pairings was illegal because of a too-low handicap and the Mourne club had no option but to withdraw from the competition. It seems a change in the handicap qualifying date caused confusion.

Maurice Breen, marketing director with Bulmers, said the company was committed to supporting amateur golf in Ireland and that the cups and shields were the showpiece of amateur golf.

"This represents a major investment for our company, however, we feel that we are able to reach a large section of our customer base though this sponsorship. In return we feel that our commitment has been good for amateur golf in Ireland," he said.

Breen said an added benefit for the Bulmers team is the quality of golf demonstrated at the finals and the excitement as each of the five competitions are concluded.

Many more tales of Irish golf will be told this weekend as some 3,000 spectators converge on Shannon Golf Club in the hope their Club will come away with the green pennant.