Tipperary Hills Re-Opened

Michael Brennan stood on the first tee and welcomed over one hundred people who had turned out to support this event.
Archdeacon McGrath blessed the fields behind him and all those who had worked so hard to recreate the beautiful pitch & putt grounds. The Mayor of Tipperary Cllr.Mary Swords, officers of the County Pitch & Putt Board and members of the County Team were all present to give their full support.

Myles McMorrow, County Board Chairman and PPUI Vice President, gave a welcoming speech and congratulated everyone on their hard work and paid special mention to the Tipperary Hills Club who have fought so valiantly to get the Club back up and running.

Michael Brennan addressed all who were present and outlined the history of the club. The club was originally formed when Noel McInerney, in April 1970, put forward the idea that The Hills should be developed as a town park. The idea of a pitch & putt course was proposed in November that year and the first committee was formed. The first committee comprised of Archdeacon Ryan as President, Michael Dermady as Chairperson, Noreen Cullen as Secretary and Treasurer Michael Ryan.

The original course went along the old road and came back to the 18th which is now the first green but due to insurance problems the course was moved to its now present layout. Over the years many County Provincial and Nationals Competitions were held on the Hills and for some years it was one of the best supported in the County. The Mazda Scratch Cup attracted the top players from all over the country and was an event not to be missed.

Some excellent players were produced by Tipperary’s Pitch & Putt Club; Christeen Glasheen & Richard O’Halloran were the first to bring a national title to the club in 1981, when they won the National Foursomes at Waterford Glass. Seamie O’Halloran followed in 1986 and Edward Lonergan in 1987 when they won the National Juvenile Strokeplay. In 1988 Breda Lonergan won the Ladies Title and in 1995, Willie Collins and Anthony Cuchane, who were leading members of the club, won the All Ireland.

Many members have represented the club on county teams over the years.

In 2005, after 35 years, due to numerous reasons the club closed down. This was a big loss to the people of Tipperary at that time but fortunately, in November 2008, a public meeting was called and a new committee was formed. Driven by Sean Keane who had been a founding member, work commenced in February 2009. Sods were ordered for 18 greens and with help from neighbouring club in Cashel, Brian Webster, Jimmy O’Neil and Shane Hoare the greens were laid. The Tipperary Credit Union donated j25,000 to the project and Cavanagh Brothers, Rite Price Kitchens all donated equipment to furnish the clubhouse. All Tee Boxes were sponsored and FAS workers were used to help with the hard work.

Michael Brennan, on behalf of the committee, offered a huge thank you to all those who had worked hard and had sponsored the club .

“I would also like to call on a man who has given his heart and soul to the club since 1970.

It was his vision and drive that got us reformed as a club and in recognition of his hard work and dedication for the last 39 years, it was unanimously decided to reward him with the highest honour of becoming our new Club President." Michael called forward Sean Keane as the new Club President and asked him to cut the ribbon with Mayor Mary Swords and Myles McMarrow. Sean gave an emotional speech and was honoured to receive the great thanks and appreciation from the club.

With the club officially opened, members of the county team tee'd off after the offical opening and then everyone was invited back to the club house for refreshments.

Earlier in the day large crowds attended a Tipp Hills Appreciation Day which was a marvellous success.

People of the town celebrated the re-opening of The Hills and
the official re-launch of the Tipperary Hills Pitch & Putt was part of the day long ceremonies.

Tipperary Co Board Scramble

28 Teams took to Larkspur Park last Sunday for the Annual Scramble. We were treated to some flawless Pitch and Putt and the Co Board would like to thank each team who participated in this competition.

Here is a list of the Winners

Overall 36 Nett 63
Finbarr Noonan Kilshannig
Timmy Murphy
James McGrath

Overall 36 Nett Runners Up 65 1/3
Dan Hunt Majestic
Pat Connell
James Ryan

Overall 36 Gross 75
Stephen Shoer Riverdale
Paul Shoer
Paul Shoer Snr.

Overall 36 Gross Runners Up 76
Paul O Brien Lakeside
Noel Stapleton
David Morrissey

Tipperary Teams Take Third

Cloghogue was the venue of the Ladies and Gents Inter County Championships for 2009 and what a feast of Pitch & Putt our teams displayed. The ladies were rank outsiders to get a medal but the team was very confident they could get in the medals for the first time since 1990. They got a great draw when playing with Cork and every player tried their livings best to bring home the spoils. Led my leading light Michelle McCarthy who returned -1, Tipp were nicely poised to raise a gallop. Margaret Webster, Bridget Shelley and Martha O'Brien were next to come in and all played incredibly well considering they were only permitted to play one practice round due to the inclement weather conditions. Last but by no means least Brid Ryan led the girls to claim the Bronze medal. Brid has been at the forefront of the ladies game for well over a decade now and it was fitting that she would have the final say to get Tipp the Bronze medal. This Tipperary team if they stick together and perhaps get one or two more inclusions could well challenge for this Championship over the next few years.

The Men took to the Tee at 9am on a rain soaked Cloghogue the following morning. The wind was swirling and the rain was heavy but this didn't dampen the spirits of the lads. Noel Joyce led the team from outset, Noel Stapleton, James Cleary, Sean Minogue and Paul O'Brien followed. Cleary who has had an indifferent season really got going in horrendous conditions to post a fantastic -5 for his opening 18 holes while the remaining 4 players playing consistently well. However come with the man come with the hour, the evergreen Minogue who made his debut for Tipperary back in 1979 produced his best pitch and putt for Tipperary since 1995 when he captained the team to victory. Sean's 2nd round of 47 left him on -10 overall and he brought Tipperary to the Bronze medal for the 3rd successive year. It has to be said though that the Tipp lads might look back on this and wonder did they leave it behind them. This team are slowly getting to the level needed to challenge for this title in the next few years they have a serious change to challenging once again for the Anchor Cup

McCarthy Wins Ladies Intermediate National Strokeplay

McCarthy Wins lands Ladies Intermediate Title.

The weather continued to deteriorate for the final 18 holes in the Ladies National Intermediate Championship at Glenville, however the leader going out Michelle McCarthy, despite her relative youth, showed a steely determination in adding a final 18 score of 53 to emerge champion with an overall score of -1. Michelle now joins the elite of players who have managed to win the Munster & All Ireland Ladies Strokeplay in the same year. Michelle is one of the leading lights within the ladies game and will be a force to be reckoned with in next years Senior Championships. Talent likd Michelle's is badly needed to energise the ladies game as a whole and it will be ineresting to see how she tackles the top players in the years ahead. She was followed in second place by Anne-Marie McCabe (Ferbane) with a score of +10 while Martha O’Brien (Lakeside) came in third with a score of +11. Michelle who has a great future ahead of her in the game will now be pushing towards the Senior Ranks, where she is more than capable of holding her own. The ladies game in Tipperary is going through a major resurgence in recent months and only time will tell whether or not our ladies can be chasing National Senior Honours.
Congratulations once again to Michelle on her fine triumph and also to Martha who finished a gallant third place.

Cahill Claims National Honours

Brian Cahill is the new leading light at Lakeside at the present time after his fantastic All Ireland Junior Strokeplay Championship played at Tralee last Saturday. Cahill, although playing the game for a number of years now, really only concentrated on participating in tournaments this year and what a year the Drom man is having. Having already won the Munster Junior Strokeplay at Bruff in late May, he justifiably went into last Saturday’s competition with the favourites tag, the question was could he live up to the expectation? He seemed nervous at the beginning and this was to be expected, he made a few errors in the middle of the round and found himself +3 after 16 holes. The next 20 holes Brian played some outstanding pitch and putt. He was –5 in total playing his 36th hole but more importantly he was –8 for the 19 holes previous to that and this would be incredible standard for a Junior player in a competition of this magnitude. An unfortunate bogey on the last hole left Brian on –4 after 36 holes and he was well and truly in the driving seat. He would have a 3 shot lead going into the Final round and this would be to prove very beneficial. Brian started the Final 18 very steadily and was level par after 6 holes, he managed to birdie the tough 7th hole and his opponent took a bogey and Brian was ahead by 5 shots now at this stage. His opponent birdied the 8th hole but he bogeyed the 9th and Brian was playing very steadily, making no mistakes which was vital at this stage of the competition. By the time Brian reached the treacherous 12th hole he was nearly home and hosed but this hole was killing people all day and although Brian bogeyed it, the relief could be seen from his face that this was hole was now over and he could smell the taste of victory only 6 holes to go. Once again he birdied the 13th hole, the pitch he played was majestic and left himself a tap in much to his delight. He pared the next 4 holes and playing down the last hole he had a 5 shot lead and only he could lose it at this stage. He pitched behind the green which was the sensible tee shot as the green was surrounded by a big bunker, he failed to get up and down but he tapped in for a bogey and with it claimed the All Ireland Junior Strokeplay Title. His band of supporters went wild with celebrations and Brian proved to be an extremely popular winner. Although Brian is a quite, unassuming young man, his desire to win and will to succeed has ensured that he has a very bright future in the game.

County Matchplay Results

Co Matchplay Results @ Lakeside

Senior:
Paul O’Brien (Lakeside) bt Davy Morrissey (Lakeside)
Stephen Shoer (Riverdale) bt Stephen O’Reilly (Hillview)
Noel Stapleton (Lakeside) bt Sean Minogue (Lakeside)
Jason McNamara (Hillview) bt Jimmy O’Neill (Larkspur Park)

Semi Finals:
Paul O’Brien bt Stephen Shoer
Noel Stapleton bt Jason McNamara

Final: Paul O’Brien bt Noel Stapleton

Intermediate:
Christopher Hickey (Larkspur Park) bt John Kennedy (Lakeside)
Alan Maher (Lakeside) bt Paul Shoer Jnr (Riverdale)
Brian Cahill (Lakeside) bt Joe King (Riverdale)
Ronan Loughnane (Lakeside) bt Evan Hickey (Hillview)

Semi Finals:
Alan Maher bt Christopher Hickey
Brian Cahill bt Ronan Loughnane

Final: Brian Cahill bt Alan Maher

Junior:
Paul Tuohy (Lakeside) bt Austin Purcell (Lakeside)
Anthony Maher (Lakeside) bt Paddy Quinn (Lakeside)
Simon Ryan (Riverdale) bt Pat Guidera (Riverdale)
Liam Leahy (Lakeside) bt Frankie Sage (Lakeside)

Semi Finals:
Anthony Maher bt Paul Tuohy
Simon Ryan bt Liam Leahy

Final: Simon Ryan bt Anthony Maher

Ladies:
Breda Lonergan (Tipp Hills) bt Mary Quinn (Lakeside)
Bridget Shelley (Lakeside) bt Reenagh Murphy (Tipp Hills)
Bríd Cullinan (Hillview) bt Frances Ryan (Lakeside)
Martha O'Brien (Lakeside) bt Joan Ryan (Tipp Hills)

Semi Finals:
Breda Longergan bt Bridget Shelley
Martha O’Brien bt Bríd Cullinan

Final: Breda Longergan bt Martha O’Brien

County Strokeplay Results

Co Strokeplay Results @ Riverdale

Senior:
1st: Stephen Shoer (Riverdale)
2nd Brian Webster (Larkspur Park)

Intermediate:
1st Darren McGrath (Larkspur Park)
2nd PJ Ryan (Riverdale)

Junior:
1st Simon Ryan (Riverdale)
2nd Pat Guidera (Riverdale)

Senior Ladies
1st Breda Longergan (Tipp Hills)
2nd Margaret Webster (Larkspur Park)

Intermediate Ladies:
1st Frances Ryan (Lakeside)
2nd Martha O’Brien (Lakeside)