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Welcome to Issue no. 1 of our new Quarterly newsletter. In this issue;
Our Course Convenor Paddy May reviews the challenges of the Summer and the clubs plans for a new Cart Path at the 1st, 2nd & 3rd Holes.
Our Plummers Captain Brendan Conway, reviews the Plummers season and the hardships they faced along the way!
We welcome back our Club Scribe Gordon Horsfield. Always worth a read, he takes us through opening night of the Snooker Competition.
Our Captains Keara and Brendan reflect on thier wonderful years as Captains of Killiney Golf Club.
Killiney Golf Club are grateful to the Hillbillies who have donated a wheelchair to the Club
Our Juniors had a great year and in particular our Junior Boys who reached the Leinster final of the Under 18s trophy.
And finally, have you wondered whatever happened to the Captains Prize trophy from 1911? Palmer Carter reveals All!!!
Niall Keyes
Secretary Manager
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Course Notes September 2018
What a year weather wise!! A cold winter followed by an extremely wet, cold and late spring (placing did not stop until May 7th). We then had the hottest driest summer for decades. For a very brief period late May to late June we had a lush green course.
Our greens survived well, greatly helped by our new modern irrigation system which in hind sight was finished in the nick of time. Great credit to the foresight of the previous course convenor – Graham Molloy- for achieving this.
A new dedicated greens mower has been purchased with modern cutting blades giving a more consistent cut going forward.
This year we have started a programme of overseeding our fairways with a hardy rye grass designed for fairways. This along with the second sanding will produce a more consistent grass cover in time. Unfortunately, the dry weather has meant that in some areas the grass density has been lost on our fairways. These will recover in time, but patience is needed.
The drainage slits on the 2nd/3rd are slowly recovering. Again, the weather hindered their progress. These had to be over seeded three times having lost the first to the snow and the second to the drought.
A programme was put in place to upgrade our bunkers to a modern sport bonded design. This design allows the water to drain out but prevents soil contaminating the sand. Some of our older bunkers especially the those on the 5th/14th,6th and 7th holes have come in for some criticism over the year. Our greens staff are constantly rotavating, raking and adding sand to these, but even with their best efforts there are times when the criticism is deserved. These will be upgraded in the next few years and in the meantime your understanding and patience is greatly appreciated.
Our tees fared well over the summer again greatly helped by the new irrigation system. As we approach winter it would be appreciated if members would refrain from practicing from the tees as recovery from divot damage is not possible during the winter months.
Currently the paths around the 1st/3rd greens, along with a new wider gate, and sport bonding of the bunker on the first is being carried out. This along with drainage short left of the bunker will transform the aesthetics of this area. Please observe the restrictions that will be in place during the works.
Finally, the vagaries of the weather along with the removal of insecticides/fungicides due to legislation has made the art of agronomy increasingly difficult. We as members are lucky to have an excellent dedicated greens team under the leadership of Michael Browne who week in week out present the course in excellent condition. Their pride in the course is second to none and I would like to thank them for their efforts.
View from 1st Green to 2nd Tee
Happy golfing.
Paddy May
Course Convenor
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Plummers Season 2018
Plummers golf in 2018 was a very busy season. If you recall the horrendous weather we all endured, starting with the snow, the Beast from the East, then more snow all leading to prolonged course closures, there was a huge pent up demand for golf. By the time of the first Plummers evening on Monday 16th April the worst of the weather was behind us and the Plummers regular Monday evenings benefited greatly from a lovely spring and a beautiful summer.
The Plummers are group of high handicap golfers (17.5 or greater) who play a 9 hole stapleford competition every Monday night between April and September and in season 2018 we had 22 Monday night competitions.
One of the key aims of the Plummers is to encourage new members to participate and become immersed, integrated and comfortable in the warm conviviality that Killiney Golf Club proudly champions. 2018 was by any standards a very successful year for the Plummers. We welcomed several new members who participated and actively engaged in all our activities and featured well in subsequent competitions.
The Plummers Committee responsible for managing the golf each week in 2018 was Brendan Conway (Plummers’ Captain), Frank Fitzgerald (Treasurer), & Peadar Nolan (Competition Sect). However, numerous other roles are carried out by others in the group. Thanks to Matt Campbell who religiously manages the BRS timetable and Peter Bennett who effortlessly provided technical solutions for site web matters relating to the Plummers and also his professional services as photographer.
Busy at work: Peadar Nolan, Frank Fitzgerald & Brendan Conway
One of the great new traditions introduced in 2017 during Paddy McMahon’s tenure as Plummers Captain was the Plummers trip to Spain. Following a successful outing to Woodenbridge in May 2017 the idea of going to Spain was proposed by John Nolan. Indeed, not only did John propose the trip he also went on to organise the event. It was so greatly received that it is now being repeated for 2018. One of the hidden benefits of the Spanish trip was that it enhanced a greater camaraderie among the Plummers and we have enjoyed that bounce all through 2018.
The demand for the Spanish trip in 2018 was evident immediately at the start of the season and a sub committee was formed comprising Brendan Conway, John Nolan, Karl Unger and headed by Tour Leader Ronan King. This year’s trip to El Rompido Spain takes place on 21st to 25th October. 24 brave souls are going on this epic tour and plans are well in place for Ryder Cup competition format. The European team will be led by Captain Brendan McAndrew and Team USA will be led by Michael Purcell. We also welcome the services of club professional Leo Hynes who will accompany the group as team coach and play for either side on alternative days. It promises to be a major highlight.
El Rompido Spain 2017
One of the other events introduced in 2017 is the trip to Woodenbridge. This takes place during the Tuesday of Radisson Mixed Invitation week with subsequent social evening and Prize Giving presentation back in Killiney Club house. It complements and fits in seamlessly with Radisson week activities and is now a regular fixture in our calendar.
Woodenbridge Outing with Practice on the 19th
Our final day’s golf as always is the Plummers Hamper and Dinner which will take place this year on Sunday 11th November. It is always a great finale to the season.
As Plummers’ Captain in 2018 I have had a most enjoyable year and have really appreciated all the great things about golfing in Killiney but mostly I would like to thank the Plummers for attending in great numbers on Monday nights to play golf and later socializing over a plate of food and a pint in the club after our round. I would also like to thank the Men’s Committee for their warm support, Mike Brown and his team for their excellent work on the course, the Proshop for registering our competitions each week, Mark for preparing excellent cuisine, and to John and the bar team for their first class service.
Finally, Some key points for the 2018 Season: -
The Plummers ran 22 weekly competitions with an average turnout of 39 golfers playing.
2018 Plummer of the Year was JOHN URWIN
Winner of Plummers Captain’s prize was RAY WOODROOFE
Plummer of the Year John Urwin
Winner of Plummers Captain's Prize Ray Woodroofe
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Snooker Blitz
The excitement had been mounting for weeks. The start of the weekly Snooker Blitz season had arrived and you could feel the tension on the Baize.
The first night is always a nervous occasion – who will be first to arrive, who will take home the prizes and what will the Stan ‘The Dapper’ Noble be wearing.
There was some commotion early on in the car park with the rustle of sleeping bags and fold-up tents from the fans that had chosen to sleep over to ensure there had the best seats. The first Blitz night of the season is not to be missed.
First to arrive was Maurice the ‘Menace’ McCudden and he gently eased his way through the throng, cue case tucked under his arm. Next to arrive Tony the ‘Hitman’ Jenkins – nobody saw him coming, nobody could definitely say he was or wasn’t there or what he looked like or whether he won but he was there – I think. Willow and Captain Thunder arrived together as is there way – shook a few hands, signed a few autographs and slipped quietly through the adorning crowd. Karl ‘The Retired’ Unger whose recent book “How to cope with retirement having never really worked” will be released this weekend and he will be signing copies in the Pro-shop on Saturday.
It was great news that we had new faces to join our assembly – Charlie, Trevor, Brian and Vincent – several of them potential ‘A’ players but only time will tell.
We have just completed a very successful snooker season culminating with our Golf invitation day in July - we contributed over €1000 Euro to the club from the season’s events.
Unfortunately the lack of match fitness showed in the evening’s snooker performances as the standard of potting was less than we had hoped but Willow finished with a plus – and that’s all that counts. There were great stories exchanged from the summer activities and with Ivan ‘The Terrible away we have more to look forward to. The winners on the night were Stan Noble and Richard Cullen (Owner of Killiney Travel where there are great bargains on trips away) – (Gordon received a gratuity for this ad – well he is hoping to). The runners up were Trevor ‘New boy’ King and the old maestro himself Michael Thunder.
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Captains Keara & Brendan
As the golfing season draws to a close and we’re in the autumn of our captaincy, we will look back with great fondness on 2018. What a year it has been. Following our Drive In, we were faced with a course blanketed in snow. It seemed like the course would never open and then the pendulum swung to the other extreme. The sun seemed it would shine forever, and rain was a distant memory. Fortunately, the installation of our new water system was our saviour over the summer months. Beautiful weather; perfect greens and great camaraderie is our abiding memory of summer 2018.
In particular, we are proud of the achievements of our teams in the various competitions. We consistently surprised some of the big hitting clubs with our tremendous performance.
Now we look forward to the improvements to the first, second and third pathways over next couple of weeks which will greatly enhance our magnificent course.
The outlook for Killiney Golf Club is never more positive and the prudent management of the club finances and unique offering of food, social and golf means that the future is bright. The success of our club is due to the outstanding hardwork, enthusiasm and commitment of our numerous volunteer members. Their efforts make it possible to enjoy this exceptional club. We are particularly fortune to be well supported by our professional staff in all areas of operation of club.
As we reflect on all our activity both on the course and in the club house, we thank you all for your wonderful support which has made this a very special year for us both.
We wish incoming Captains Brendan and Miriam every success and enjoyment in their year ahead.
Brendan and Keara
Captains 2018
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The Hillbillies Golf Society have raised funds and donated a Wheelchair to Killiney Golf Club. This will be of great benefit to our members and visitors.
If you need the assistance with a wheelchair while visiting the Club please contact the bar in advance and we will make sure it is available upon your arrival.
A sincere thanks to the Hillbillies for their generous donation.
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Junior Golf
Junior Golf in Killiney is thriving with 130 junior boys and 39 junior girls actively playing all through the summer.
The addition of 12 new Junior Girls and 16 new Junior boys this year has been wonderful.
Under the active management of Anne Dawson, we had 27 girls playing competitions in the summer months. We now have the opportunity for the girls and boys to play together in Wednesday Competitions. This also has the benefit of allowing all juniors to play at whatever time suits them within the competition hours.
Our entry in the Elm Park Trophy (both boys and girls) was again a most enjoyable experience and a number of new faces donned their Killiney team colours for the first time to participate in this great event. We hosted one of the rounds in Killiney in August which was a huge task fully supported by the entire Junior Committee, Club Captains and Vice Captains (see pic above) to make it a very memorable day.
Mieke Mc Namara, Julie Savage, Anne Dawson & Darina Heavey
We would like to congratulate our Junior Boys team who reached the Leinster Final of the U18s Team Trophy. Under the guidance of Keith Bardon and Brendan Seaver they qualified from an extremely tough group which included teams from Elm Park, Powerscourt, Old Conna, Delgany, Bray, Dun Laoghaire, Grange, Edmondstown, Woodenbridge, Milltown, Castle, Blainroe, Hermitage,Woodbrook, Greystones and Wicklow. The final itself was played in Kilkea Castle on the 15th of August. Tullamore were the winners and went on represent Ireland in the All-Ireland Final.
Pictured above Left to Right James Bailey, Matthew Bardon, Keith Bardon, Brendan Seaver, Capt. Brendan McAndrew, Jacques De Patoul, Oscar Sexton, Luke O’Brien. Special mention also for Erik Kendrick and James Neville who played in the earlier matches.
There have been a lot of changes in the National Guidance for the Protection and Welfare of Children under the Children First Act 2015. To remain compliant with the terms of the Act Killiney Golf Club is hosting a Safeguarding 1 course (compulsory for all involved with under 18s i.e. Team Managers, Club Selectors, Captains and Convenors) on the 11th October at 6.30.
Please attend if you are in any of the above listed roles or feel you might like to become involved with the Junior Section at any stage in the future, as this course remaining valid for 9 years.
Darina Heavey
Junior Convenor
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Trophy Tales
Thanks to Alistair Smith and his interest in Golf memorabilia, the Club has greatly benefitted by his purchase of the 1911 Captain’s Prize. He visited a junkshop in Rome and discovered J. Lyle Stirling’s silver cup and then successfully negotiated a reduced asking price. It raised the question of how it reached Rome.
The suggestion that a Priest member took his prize to Rome was hotly disputed on the grounds that KGC membership was made up of “Stairods” in 1911.
Alistair tracked down a Stirling descendant and having lunched her at Portmarnock GC was pleased that she was delighted that the cup had been found and returned to its rightful home.
Palmer Carter – October 2018
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