Newlands success: Newlands Golf Club, the national winners of the 3Ts tournament for 2005, held in July at the K Club, recently won the international final when they took on Pearl Valley GC at neighbouring Erinvale GC, Cape Town, South Africa.
Newlands beat Pearl Valley by 82 points to 78. After nine holes, Pearl Valley held a four-point lead, but the Irish side finished the stronger for their four-point winning margin, with a Mary K O'Mahony birdie at the difficult 18th hole making significant contribution to this victorious score. The members of the Newlands team were professional Karl O'Donnell, club captain Bill Dunne, Mary K O'Mahony and Aidan McNamee.
The 3Ts (www.3Ts.ie) was established in Ireland in 2003 as a charity to help support suicide awareness, education, research, intervention and prevention. The organisation supports existing suicide-prevention charities, prevention-advocacy organisations and research groups.
Beaverstown specials
Looking for value in winter golf? Then put Beaverstown GC high on the list. The north Dublin club are offering a unique deal for societies and visitors.
From October through to March, Beaverstown have three winter specials. For just a30 each for four players, the offer is a 30-minute clinic with the professional and 18 holes of golf, or a steak dinner and 18 holes of golf, while for €40 each all three are included.
Situated on the shores of Rogerstown Estuary in Donabate, Beaverstown offers a fine challenge since it was redesigned by Peter McEvoy in 2001. The greens - built to the highest USGA specification - provide a superior surface all year round, and their undulations will test even the best putters. For details of the winter specials contact the office on 01-8436439.
Curley and Hogan tops
The younger members of Newlands GC Club showed the way home to the rest of the field in last Wednesday's fourball. Cian Curley, a member of the Leinster Youths team in 2005, and Andrew Hogan, of the Boys Interprovincial team, fired a magnificent 49 points to win the competition.
Considering Curley plays to a scratch handicap and Hogan to one, the score represents a better-ball of 12-under-par on the day. For the record, Curley was around in 64 shots while Hogan shot 68.
McCarthy worthy winner
Winning the club championship is something every golfer dreams of. It's never easy to do, but for one golfer in Bandon GC it proved even harder work than usual. Last Friday, past captain Finbarr McCarthy and club secretary John McGinley went head-to-head for that honour. And it was a match that would turn out to be the longest in the history of the club as McCarthy, a six-handicapper, eventually secured victory - and along with it the added bonus of the golfer-of-the-year prize - on the 26th hole after an epic final. So McCarthy was certainly a worthy winner of the coveted title.
Two Irish clubs voted best
Ireland as a golfing destination received a double bonus last week as the K Club and Dromoland Castle received notable accolades. The K Club in Co Kildare has just been voted the top resort in Europe in the Conde Nast Traveller Readers Choice awards, closely followed by Dromoland Castle in Co Clare.
The prestigious awards were voted on by 28,000 travellers and will be announced in their entirety in the November issue of the New York-based publication. It is the first time an Irish resort has topped this category. The K Club will, of course, get even further worldwide exposure next year as it plays host to the Ryder Cup, along with the European Open.
O'Dwyer wins grand final
Local member and 19-handicapper Michael O'Dwyer won the grand final of the Fáilte House Open qualifier last Sunday at West Waterford Golf and Country Club. It was a close-run thing, however, as, with a score of 43 points, O'Dwyer only won on a countback from clubmate Fintan Gee (15), while third was Gold Coast's Dermot Creed (13) with a score of 42 points.
Séamus Power won the gross prize with a score of 37 points, off a handicap of plus one, with Dungarvan's Kevin Stack (scratch) next best on 34 points, a point better than Mick Hassett (8) of Carrick-on-Suir.
Competition was, as always, fierce as all the qualifiers attempted to land the much sought after title, which also carries with it a five-year exemption from qualifying in future Open qualifiers. The Open qualifier forms an integral part of the golfing calendar at West Waterford and runs each season from April, with places in the grand final highly cherished.
Feeney's rich vein of form
How about this for a run of form to help with your scorecard? Earlier this month at the Bearna men's committee annual outing to Enniscrone, three-handicapper Colm Feeney had the kind of run some of us can only dream of. At the 338-yard par-four 13th hole he had a hole in one, and followed that by recording birdies at the next two holes, a 542-yard par-five and a 421-yard par-four.
So he was five under par for the three holes. And having had a shot at the 15th he managed to pick up 12 points for that incredible run of three holes. Amazingly, the hole in one wasn't his first - he has had nine in his career so far.
But then Feeney - who has also cut a shot off his handicap in the past number of months - is playing well this season, as he has won two of Bearna's major titles, the President's (Noreen Joyce) Prize and the Captain's (John O'Meara) Prize, while last season he also won Brendan Davis's President's Prize.
Glynn, Carroll land wins
It was a good week all round for two of Athenry's women members recently as they stole the limelight in terms of the prizes on offer. The two in question were Marian Glynn and Fiona Carroll, each enjoying a win and a second in the space of five days.
In the midweek singles, Carroll, who plays off a handicap of three, won with a score of 37 points, two better than Glynn. But the tables were to turn as victory was to be Glynn's in the weekend's fourball. Partnering Glynn, a 17-handicapper, was Teresa Coen Hynes (18), and they shot 46 points to push Carroll and her partner, Rachel Stewart (35), into second by three points.
Sweeney in the swing
Losing a shot made no difference to West Waterford's Jenny Sweeney this past week, as she still claimed a place in the winner's circle. Last Monday she won the weekly singles competition, playing off a handicap of 14, with an impressive score of 40 points, three better than her nearest rival, Suzanne Dalton (32), who was in turn two ahead of third-placed Reena McDonnell (21). That win saw her down to 13, but she still managed to finish second in the singles event on Thursday, although her score of 31 points, while good enough for second spot, was well short of Teresa Reynolds (8), who won by eight points after shooting 37 points.
