SHORT GAME: THE Juniors at Rosslare Golf Club are beginning to make a name for themselves. Always a club that produces fine players, the Co Wexford club's juniors have not always hit the same heights.
However, this year will see the junior boys team hit the international stage to show off their talents. Last year saw the club victorious in the Fred Daly Trophy, the first such occasion that they had won this highly prestigious competition. The members of the team were: Tiarnan Rossiter, Caolan Barron, Ian Cuddihy, Conor Kelly, Chris Drumm, Ross Young, Gary Collins, John Skerritt, Mark Holohan and Eamon Kelly.
As a result of this win they are currently representing Ireland in La Manga in Spain in the under-18 Home Nations Inter-Club Championship.
The participation of the team in Spain this week is the culmination of a determined effort over the last few years to improve the underage section of the club.
They have also begun to perform well outside of the club, with Young winning last year's Ulster Boys Under-15 open as well as finishing third in the British Boys Championship, while Drumm, now playing off +1, was awarded a Paddy Harrington Memorial Golf scholarship at NUI Maynooth.
The success owes a lot to the effort of not only the players themselves, but their parents, various Rosslare committee members and club professional John Young.
Hilary society tee off at Laytown
THE Hilary Golf Society tee off in the first of seven winter outings at Laytown and Bettystown on Sunday, February 8th, and will conclude with a shotgun start at Sutton GC on Friday, April 17th.
In between, the society will have outings to Portmarnock Links, Seapoint, Royal Dublin and Co Louth, while this season also sees a return to the European Club in Brittas.
The Hilary gold medal will be decided by the best three nett scores from five selected outings.
The Niall O’Brien silver medal will be decided by the best three gross scores from five selected outings also.
SCHEDULE: February 8th: Laytown Bettystown GC: February 22nd: Portmarnock Hotel Links; March 8th: Seapoint GC; March 15th: Royal Dublin GC; March 29th: Co Louth GC; April 5th: European Club; April 17th: Sutton GC (shotgun start).
Dawson succeeds Fay as chairman
Peter Dawson, chief executive of The RA, has been named chairman of the World Golf Foundation for 2009. Dawson succeeds USGA executive director David Fay, who served as the foundation’s 2008 chairman.
The World Golf Foundation is a non-profit organisation that develops and supports initiatives that benefit people through the game of golf and its traditional values.
The foundation, which was founded in 1993 and is supported by major international golf bodies and professional tours, oversees the World Golf Hall of Fame, The First Tee, Golf 20/20 and other industry initiatives.
Dawson joined the World Golf Foundation Board in 2006, when the board was reconfigured to include the chief executives of golf’s leading global organisations. At that time, it was determined that the role of chairman should rotate among the members of the board’s executive committee.
Judy Brennan and Lola Harrington have been proving their worth in fourball format since the start of the year at Delgany Golf Club, managing two wins already.
Having shot 33 points to win on the opening Saturday of the year from Ruth Raymond and Mary Courtney, Brennan (15) and Harrington (17) followed up with another win the following Saturday.
The partnership shot 28 points, this time winning by a point from Susan Lennon (26) and Toni Mulholland (17).
Boost for Irish Women's Open
The magic number for golf at the moment is 3, as the global telecommunications giant have confirmed their sponsorship of the Irish Women’s Open Strokeplay Championship to be held at Douglas Golf Club on June 20th and 21st 2009. The announcement follows 3’s recent commitment to a three-year sponsorship of the men’s professional Irish Open, to be held at Co Louth Golf Club in mid-May.
Last year’s winner, Breanne Loucks from Wales, beat Scotland’s Roseanne Niven by three shots with 13-year-old Lisa Maguire finishing in third place. Loucks has since secured her Ladies European Tour card entitling her to full playing rights on the LET for the 2009 season.
Chief executive of the ILGU, Sinéad Heraty, believes the deal with 3 will provide a welcome boost to the support of elite women’s golf in Ireland.
“The 3 Irish Women’s Open Strokeplay will ensure a top-class overseas entry for this year’s championship. With the number of international players increasing each year, our home players get the opportunity to compete with Europe’s best and grow their international experience.
“We are delighted to welcome 3 as a major sponsor of top level women’s amateur golf.”
EGU sanction use of DMD
THE English Golf Union (EGU) has followed the pioneering decision of the PGA by allowing Distance Measuring Devices (DMD) to be used in all its championships in 2009.
The PGA were the first major golfing body to sanction the use of GPS measuring devices, announcing the decision at the start of last year for their use in all national and regional events.
Now the EGU’s board of directors have agreed the move following the recommendation of the Championship Committee at their recent meeting at Woodhall Spa, and the change will be written into the conditions of each of their 2009 events.
EGU officials have contacted The RA and the other Home Unions to inform them of the move.
Only DMDs which calculate distance are permitted. Those which provide other information, such as wind speed, temperature and elevation, are not allowed. Any player found using such a DMD will be in breach of Rule 14-3 for which the penalty is disqualification, regardless of whether any such additional function is actually used.
