Mannan Castle Golf Notes: Club President takes the spoils in Spring League

Week 4 of the spring league seen challenging conditions across both days. Oran Martin took home first place in Division 1 with a score of 29pts. He did very little wrong, with his round consisting of nine pars, beating Mark Lambe by two shots.

Division 2 was won on the count back. Peter Marron was victorious with 30pts. He went one under par for the final four holes to beat Barry Maguire, who also had 30pts.

The highest scores over the weekend came in Division 3. Sean O’Rourke had seven pars and a birdie on his way to a brilliant score of 35pts. Sean Finnegan finished runner-up and must count himself unlucky after shooting an also brilliant score of 34pts.

Spring League Week 4 Stableford 13holes 18/19 February 2023: Div 1 - Oran Martin (PH. 12) - 29pts. Div 2 - Peter Marron (PH. 18) - 30pts.  Div 3 - Sean O’Rourke (PH. 19) - 35pts.

MANNAN CASTLE SENIORS

Mannan Castle seniors were once again blessed with good weather for their weekly 9-hole competition. Another great turnout had a very competitive day, with half the field covered by two points.

Eamon Trainor was the overall winner, parring each of the three par 5’s and a par on the par 3 seventeenth. He finished level with Fergal Brady and Tommy Duffy on 20 points. Fergal was subject to a one-point deduction due to a previous success. Eamon beat Tommy on countback.

Fergal's nett score of 19 points lost out to Oliver Fox who took Category 1 on countback thanks to three pars in the final four holes. Senior Captain Tommy Duffy's 20 points was enough to win Category 2, with only one error on his card at the 14th hole.

The seniors thank the green staff for their cooperation to enable the competition to take place during essential green maintenance works.

Seniors Result 21st February 2023 (9-hole Handicap): Overall: Eamon Trainor (9) 20pts. Category 1: Oliver Fox (6) 19pts. Category 2: Tommy Duffy (11) 20pts.

MANNAN CASTLE LADIES

It was great to see so many ladies play in this week’s weekly competition. We had thirty ladies play and some fantastic scores.

Okay, so we had to play on temporary greens as our greens are being pole forked/aerated. With that in mind, a shout out to our hard-working green keeping staff, who are busy getting our greens ready for the year ahead.

President Deanna MacGuinness had a shaky start with a double bogey on the first, but settled herself and played solid golf, with no scratches on her card.

Her round included four pars, the best was definitely on the 13th hole. High fives were in order when she chipped in for a par to finish her round on a high, finishing with a fantastic score of 31pts.

Angela Evers was on the podium again after last week’s win. I think she’s found her groove. Angela parred four holes on the trot, including our difficult 7th hole, an index one. I suspect we’ll be seeing more of this girl in the season ahead and no doubt that handicap will be going down.

Angela Gartlan had a strong start with four pars in the row, but waned on holes five and six with a triple bogey and a double bogey. She then steadied herself to finish with 29pts, enough to claim third prize.

Week 4 Ladies Spring League: 1st Deanna MacGuinness (27) 31pts, 2nd Angela Gartlan (21) 29pts, 3rd Angela Evers (27) 30pts /29pts (-1pts for previous win).

Three weeks remain in this year’s Spring League. It’s team ‘Painted Ladies’ captained by Marie Finnegan who have played the most consistent golf so far. However it’s not over, perhaps the pressure of being top of the leader board might get to them.

Don’t forget that golfers on the 1st and 2nd placed teams are not eligible for the four individual category prizes, so there is still lots to play for. Keep ‘er lit girls and enjoy your golf.