October Competition Reports by Mr. Peter Byrne, Club PRO
October 31st 2009 - Roll-Up Stableford Competition
The descision to move Sundays proposed Stableford competition forward to Saturday morning proved a wise one . Fridays rain ceased more or less just in time to allow play to go ahead but a combination of the assumption of unplayable conditions and other arrangements meant a much smaller field than usual took part .Most of the usual suspects were out and about though and scoring was better than expected.
Joe Lee (11) no stranger to the winners enclosure carried the day with a quite excellent 39 pts . The almost everpresent Andy Carroll (16) took 2 nd place with a creditable 34 pts .The absolutely everpresent Leo Gleeson (13) just pipped fellow Committee member Andrew Byrne (19) for 3 rd place with a competent 32 pts .
October 25th 2009 - Roll-Up Stableford Competition
Mea culpa ! By waxing eloquent about the Indian Summer once too often I greatly fear I hastened its inevitable end ! Alas finally the rains returned to the Auld Green Sod this week and so also Winter rules for golf competitions . The Course was duly lashed with rain for a good part of the week and thus was closed for play on Saturday . Ironically the fierce gales of wind that blew on Sunday , gan aon baisteach ar bith ,dried out the the course to almost perfection . Despite the very tough conditions vis a vis the aforementioned wind a very big turn out of members took part in a Roll up Stableford competition.
Mindful of the time change and the evenings Prize giving in the nearby Orphan Girl play started as early as possible . Making light of the wind Bob Fitzgerald , with an infrequent but most welcome appearance , playing off 15 amassed an excellent 38 pts for 1 st place . John Baldwin (21) struck a blow for the higher handicappers taking 2 nd spot with 37 pts . Showing the way for the lower handicaps Paul Guilfoyle(7) once again played steadily and threw in a few birdies for good measure to nail 3rd place . Jon Williams (14) was nudged into 4 th on countback. Best front 9 went to Pat Madsen with 21 pts and Declan Hayden had the best back 9 with 20 pts. Scoring in the main was more than adequate and despite the wind an enjoyable days golf was had by nearly all .
Later that evening The Orphan Girl played host to the first prize giving ceremony. In what was an understated affair all the Monthly Medal prizes were presented . While not all winners could attend on the night a good spread of recipients were presented with their rather fetching Medals by Commitee member Peter Byrne , probably the closest he will come to actually handling a medal ! Mr Ron Breen presented his handsome Presidents Prizes to Leo Gleeson and Junior winner Mark Woods . Many thanks to Brian Spencer and staff for their hospitality .
A reminder to members , next Sunday sees a roll up Stableford competition and hopefully a good turn out again .
October 17th 2009 - October Medal
Once again the Indian Summer has extended now for another week ! At this rate Summer rules for golf will still be in play until well after Halloween .
The October Medal Competition was played on Saturday as Strokeplay off the back tees .Despite the marvellous weather a somewhat smaller field than usual took part however most of the regulars were to be seen .
Scoring in the main was quite good but Paul Guilfoyles course record (81) from the previous strokeplay competiton is still intact .
Salt of the Earth Andy Carroll playing off 16 held his nerve and put together a very steady round of 84 strokes for a nett 68 . Andys score was good enough for 1st prize just holding off Robert Fry (15) with nett 69. Once again Sean Furlong (15) featured on the podium with an impressive nett 70 .
Well done to all and a reminder that next Sunday 25 th Oct sees a roll up Stableford competition that will be followed by the Medal prizegiving function in the Orphan Girl at 19:30 , light refreshments served .
October 11th 2009 - Three Ball Scramble
Despite the appearance of what Folk from west of the Shannon might refer to as a heavy " misht " a healthy turn out of Members
took to the course for the first team event of the season . A three ball scramble took place from early morning and the
aforementioned light drizzle cleared by half ten and subsequently the Players enjoyed perfect conditions .
Teams of three combined their handicaps and divided that by ten for the teams playing handicap. A lot of the teams turned out to
be regular Sunday morning 3 balls and the eventual winners were definitely members of that select group .
Hardy perennials Joe Lee (11) Shane Fox (13) and Tom Hardiman (16) combined expertly to fashion an impressive nett 61.1 strokes
winning total . Most teams scored well but no one could match the Boys winning score .
Next Saturday sees the October Medal Comp which is strokeplay from the back tees .
October 4th 2009 - Men’s Singles Competition
Once again Ballymoney was blessed with perfect weather conditions for the open Stableford Mens Singles on Sunday. The usual
prevailing wind that was much in evidence on Saturday was marked " as lathair" on Sunday and quite a large turn out took to the
course from early morning . A healthy showing of visiting G U I members were most welcome and the generosity of the Club
Members extended to not contending for the top placings !
John Maher playing off 15 made the very short trip from our neighbouring course of Courtown and posted an excellent 42 pts for
top spot . Brian Kennedy (13) from the Premier County Sleivenemon Club just lost out on countback to John . Third place was taken
by David Hayden (18) from Coolattin with an impressive 41 pts . The visiting players were impressed with the condition of the course
and particularly the perfect greens , many thanks to the hard working ground staff. The competition was played off the back tees
and the course played to its full length .
The Members Stableford Competition was won by Sean Furlong off 15 with 35pts . Robert Kehoe (11) came in near the end of the
field also with 35 pts but lost out on countback to Sean . Paul Young (15) took 3rd spot with 33 pts.
Next Sunday sees a Roll up scramble competition . Teams of 3 will play off combined handicaps divided by 10 . Members are
advised to leave names at reception in Clubhouse if looking to make up a team.