The Short Game

Gort honour FallonGort Golf Club last week honoured one of their favourite sons by presenting jockey Kieren Fallon with honorary life membership of the club in recognition of his contribution to international sport.

Fallon was reared in nearby Ballinruan and attended Our Lady's College, Gort. Fallon's first love was boxing - he was trained by Jimmy Regan - before he turned to racing.

A member of Newmarket Golf Club, Fallon plays to a 15 handicap and in the company of racing commentator Des Scahill and club captain Joe Byrne played some excellent golf in last week's festivities. Gort GC, in the heart of the Burren, was designed by Christy O'Connor junior and opened at its current location in 1996. The club has more than 1,100 members and is becoming very popular with visitors.

Ladies Alliance tees off

Another season of the Leinster Ladies Alliance is about to get underway next month, with their opening outing of the new campaign scheduled for St Margarets on Monday, October 6th. Prior to that they will hold their annual general meeting on Monday, September 29th, at Milltown golf club (8 p.m.). For those interested in playing in next month's outing, a timesheet applies. For details phone 01 4923016.

Cantwell going well

Making great strides in the game this season has been Maeve Cantwell at Powerscourt golf club in Enniskerry, Co Wicklow. Back in January she joined the club with a handicap of 36, but has seen it steadily move downwards.

Early on in the season she was in consistent form and her handicap was reduced to 33. Then just two weeks before the Captain's Prize she dropped three more shots, while on Captain's Day itself she got cut another shot. Last week playing in the monthly medal she shaved off another two shots, after a score of nett 69 off her handicap of 29, which now sees her playing off 27.

Development posts

Junior Golf Ireland is accepting applications for Development Officers (two), whose brief will be to facilitate the roll-out of the Junior Development Plan throughout Ireland.

Formally established in 2003, Junior Golf Ireland is the partnership responsible for implementing the Junior Golf Development Plan 2003-2007 as drawn up by the Golfing Union of Ireland, the Irish Ladies' Golf Union and the PGA (Irish Region).

The principal roles of the partnership are to introduce golf to juniors at grassroots level and to provide more underage golfers with access to playing facilities.

The Golf Foundation, the UK-based organisation that performed this role in Ireland prior to the establishment of Junior Golf Ireland, is a support partner and will assist the body in formulating and rolling out junior golf development initiatives.

For further information apply to: The Chairman, Junior Golf Ireland, c/o Golfing Union of Ireland, 81 Eglinton Road, Donnybrook, Dublin 4.

Seán Óg in ace form

To grab a first hole-in-one is a rare enough thing for most golfers, so to record an eighth is indeed special. However, that is exactly what RTÉ GAA broadcaster Seán Óg Ó Ceallacháin achieved last Saturday when playing in the club fourball competition at Hermitage.

Only a few weeks after winning the midweek medal, Seán Óg, was celebrating once again at the fourth hole when he saw his sweetly struck seven wood disappear at the 157-metre hole, much to the delight of his playing partner and the club's competition secretary, Dennis Sullivan, and the two other members of their group, Tom McAuley and Ian Kehoe, both former captains of Hermitage.

Amazingly, it was the third time Seán Óg, who recently celebrated his 80th birthday, had aced the fourth at Hermitage - the last time being on March 21st, 1981 - and the eighth hole-in-one of his career. In fact, the club have had a few holes-in-one in recent weeks, including Gerry O'Donnell's ace at the 13th at the end of August.

Saturday's fourball competition, meanwhile, was won by former Shamrock Rovers star Johnny Fullam, who playing off nine and in partnership with Michael Hanlon (18) won with a score of 43 points.

Dixon on winning roll

It has been a good season for former Shamrock Rovers star Billy Dixon on the golf course. Having won the Irish Professional Footballers Golf Society outing to Lucan earlier in the year, he collected another major honour last month when he won Dennis Stephens's Captain's Prize at Turvey golf club in Donabate.

Playing off 12, Dixon, who also played soccer with Drumcondra and Waterford United, fired 37 points to clinch victory. The other major winners on the day included Ronnie Nolan, the Society's President and winner of 10 senior international caps while with Shamrock Rovers, who won class one with 36 points.

Jackie Hennessy, a cup winner with Shelbourne in the 1960s, won class two with 36 points off 16.

Lyon travels in style

Royal Dublin member Frank Lyon will have fond memories of his recent visit to Wales, where he was part of the Railway & Steampacket Golfing Society annual trip. The Society are celebrating 90 years of existence, having been founded in 1913, and played North Wales GC, Conwy GC and Holyhead GC during their visit.

Lyon, who plays off 14, was winner in two of the three outings. He won in Conwy with a score of 41 points, good enough to beat Delgany's Eamon Markey (8) on the back nine. Then the following day he made it back-to-back wins at Holyhead, firing 42 points to beat John Bridges (12) from Moate.

It had also been a good few days for Bridges as he won in North Wales with a total of 42 points, five clear of Howth's Niall Harkin (14). The Society's next outing is to Howth on Friday, September 26, where they compete for the Rose Bowl.

Higgins best in Belgium

Irish women have discovered the habit of winning on foreign soil - and it's not just the triumphant Home Internationals-winning team. Laurette Higgins, a member of Bray Golf Club but nowadays domiciled in Belgium, where she plays out of the Chateau de La Tournette club in Brussels, capped a great season when winning the Belgian Ladies Mid-Amateur Championship at Damme Golf Club last week.

Higgins, a two-handicapper, had already won three individual tournaments in Belgium this season. She beat players from Belgium, France, Britain, Germany and Holland to take the title.