Captain’s Update

Dear Members,

As we now enter the Autumn series of Golf in Gowran ,I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their support throughout the year so far. To all who managed and played in all the Inter Club Competitions ,to Gearoid and the Tuesday evening volunteers, and to all of you who continue to play in the weekly Club competitions a huge thank you.

Congratulations to all the Club matchplay winners and a special thanks to our competition secretaries, Pat and Sinead for getting them finished on time. The Captain’s Prize this year produced a very worthy winner with Frankie Kavanagh winning by the narrowest of margins, in a very close contest, again the numbers playing the Captain’s prize continue to increase so thanks to all who played and supported the competition.

On the weekend of 12th/13th of October we will have our final Major Competition of the year with the Men’s and Ladies Captain reciprocal prizes. Hopefully the weather will be kind to us so it would be great to see as many of the Ladies as possible playing in the men’s Captain Prize to the lady Golfers .There will be both a 9 hole and 18 hole stableford competition to facilitate as many playing as possible.

The course continues to be presented in pristine condition and with a further programme of work again being prepared for next year there is no doubt that Gowran Park will again climb the course rating ladder, so thanks Joe to you and all your team for your hard work and to Annmarie and Catherine for all their help this year. How great it was to hear our recent visitors from Adare Manor, Portmarnock and other courses pay the course such high compliment during their visit to play Gowran.

So finally thanks to all the Officers and committee for your continued support in preparing and putting the Golf programme together it is with your work and the support of you the members that we have such a vibrant and successful club in Gowran Park, we look forward to a strong winter program and our AGM will be coming around again shortly in December.

 

Best Regards

Seamas Fitzpatrick
Captain

Dear Lady Members,

 

Welcome to the half year update. It’s been a tumultuous 6 months for golf weatherwise and it feels that we are only really starting into the golf year now.

I would like to extend a warm welcome to our new Lady members, Catherine Gardiner and Katie Mullins. I would also like to welcome back one of our previous Lady Captain Kerri Bolger.

There has been a lot of work going on behind the scenes with myself and my committee where we are prioritising the overall golfing experience of our Lady members.

The first being the initial phase of the locker room which has resulted in a fantastic facelift and a much more inviting atmosphere.

We hope to have the computer installed shortly, the delay is unfortunately out of our control and relates to supply issues, however, we have been assured by the company that they are working to deliver same as soon as possible.

The three showers are now up and running and available for use after golf.

We are awaiting a seating area outside the showers for completion of this area.

An agenda for the ladies weekly competitions continues to be sent out on a monthly basis by our hard working competitions secretary Sinead and same is available both in the Ladies locker room and on the ladies whatsapp group.

The Eclectics competition for all Ladies is also in full swing and the weekly update of same is posted in the ladies locker room for perusal. We have decided this year as an introduction to same to not set any entry fee and have a small prize for the overall winner in each category. Any questions around how same works can be directed to myself or Sinead.

In respect of our own in house club match play, the draws have been completed and it has been decided that all finals in respect of the Ladies singles, men’s singles and mixed matches will be played on the 15th of September. If any person happens to be in the final for both mixed and singles, an alternative date will be set. I encourage you all to get your matches fixed and played as early as possible. Please mark the winner on the sheet in the ladies locker room and best olf luck to you all.

In respect of our interclub competitions, we have two ladies teams left. The first one being the Leinster Trophy managed by Niamh Connolly who are progressing well and the second team being the Junior Cup managed by Niamh Bolger and myself who are through to the quarter finals with a bye.

In respect of our Juniors who play a big part in the future of the club, we are looking for some volunteers who could spare a few hours to assist with being available while the juniors are out over the summer holidays. It is a very rewarding aspect of our golf to see our younger members progress. Anyone that wishes to assist one of the days, please text Judy Dick on 086-2291580 to have your name added to the list.

We are currently running our very successful Ladies into Golf programme with the assistance of Joe Scriven and Dominic Bolger. I have met with our first two groups of ladies who are delighted with the initial induction and are really enjoying same. We are hoping to add a third group as the interest is high.

I am to outline the following ‘save the dates’ for your calendars;

Ladies Prize Giving:

I will hold the prize giving evening for our Lady winners over the last month on the 26th of June in the club house. This will start at approximately 8pm and I would encourage all prize winners to attend to collect your prize.

Presidents Prize:

This can be played on either Saturday the 13th or Sunday the 14th of July.

2 x 18 hole or 2 x 9 hole qualifying rounds or a mixture of each is required to win 1st/2nd/3rd or Gross prize. Both qualifiers need to be part of the Ladies weekly competition.

Lady Captains Prize:

This can be played on either Saturday the 3rd or Sunday the 4th of August. 4 x 18 holes or 4 x 9 hole qualifying rounds or a mixture of either are required to win 1st/2nd/3rd or Gross prize. All qualifying rounds need to be part of the Ladies weekly competition.

The prize giving for same will be done on the Sunday evening.

For the first time, Gowran Park Golf Club will be holding a reciprocal Ladies to men and men to ladies captains prize, this will be deemed a major and will be held over the weekend of the 7th and 8th of September.

Lady Captain’s Away Day:

This day will be held on Sunday the 22nd of September and I intend to hold same at Borris Golf Club to support our neighbours.

The format will be a 9 hole singles competition with a few fun elements to the day. I would encourage as many of you to sign up to same, I will put a sheet in the ladies locker room in due course.

Finally, I want to congratulate some of our winners of the external ladies competitions.

Firstly our Australian Spoons winners, Sinead Kearney and Kate Hennessey who progress to the Regional Final of same.

Secondly, our Valerie Doyle winners in each category, these being Rachel Dick, Shanni Stallard and Breidette O’ Donnell.

Well done to you all and best of luck representing our club.

In relation to our weekly ladies competitions, a gentle reminder to please ensure to sign your name, date and return your card.

I hope you are all enjoying the bit of summer weather we have got recently and I look forward to the next few months where I hope to see you out on the golf course at some stage.

 

Regards.

Lucy Condon, Lady Captain

Seamas Fitzpatrick Portrait Photo
Lucy Condon Portrait Photo
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