This week in the club, it was all about preparations for Captain’s Day. The greens staff and volunteers were beavering away to get the course in perfect condition for one of the most important days of the year.

The workers pulled out all the stops and the course was showcased at its very best.

Saturday, June 25, saw Enniskillen Golf Club host Paul Sheridan’s Captain’s Day. Paul’s day started off with the weather being a bit unpredictable, but our Match and Handicap Secretary Dermot assured Mr. Captain that the day was going to brighten up.

It did remain a bit blustery, making conditions rather challenging. The swirling winds would leave scoring difficult for the entire field, with little advantage to early or late starters.

However, the hospitality and camaraderie on the day shone through, and a fantastic day was had by all with a long field of entrants, with the earliest starters out on the course at 7.20am.

Joe Maguire, in the Men’s section, was victorious with a nett 69 and a steady round of four pars and seven bogeys. Buoyed by a par on the first, Joe played steady golf in difficult conditions.

Shane McCabe finished with a nett 70 and will feel a little unlucky with eight pars and a birdie on the par five eighth still not enough to take the top prize.

Third place went to Daire Gallagher, who also played well with five pars and a birdie on the par four seventh hole, leaving him a nett 71

The Gross prize was won by Nicky Wilson with a nett 77, while the Visitor’s prize was won by Billy Reynolds from Castle Hume with 34 points.

In the Ladies section, the two top ladies played together. It was heads down in a spirited way to see who would do best on the day.

Barbara Thompson produced one of her best rounds of the year, with a nett 67. Barbara had pars on the second, sixth, 17th and 18th and a birdie on the 12th.

Her playing partner, Anne Reihill, upped the ante and managed to pip Barbara at the post, coming in with a nett 66.

Anne thought she had blown it on the ninth hole with a misguided tee shot and unfortunate second shot ending up under the bridge on the first, and ending up with a big fat eight.

Then it was heads down, parring the 11th, 12th, 14th, 16th and 17th to come out the winner. Both ladies were part of the Irish mixed team and would agree that healthy competition brings out the best in your game.

The Irish mixed team were out the following day playing against Rockmount. Arranging matches to facilitate everyone is a logistical nightmare; unfortunately, the team were defeated by a stronger team on the day.

The Ladies panel comprised Josie Boyle, Joanne Daly, Patricia Durnien, Deirdre McSorley, Anne Reihill, Dympna Slowey and Barbara Thompson, and the Gents panel was Roy Cuthbertson, Eugene Donohoe, Dermot Love, Micheal Keys, John O’Neill, Paul Ramsey, John Slowey, Paul Sheridan, Gerry Tierney and Ian Thompson.

Many thanks to Ian for his perseverance in arranging the matches, and to the entire panel of players, who gave it their best.

The Ladies’ Intermediate team defeated Ardglass in the last round and now progress to the quarter finals against Royal County Down.

The Tyrone and Fermanagh team defeated Omagh on Thursday, June 23, while the Tyrone and Fermanagh Seniors have forged forwards from joint first place and are now leading the posse in first place.

The Ladies’ Tuesday competition was the Bob Chambers.

The winner (HC 29) was Jill Hamilton with a nett 70. On Jill’s heels with a nett 71 (HC 27) was Sandra McElroy, followed closely by Josie Boyle in third place with a nett 72.

Josie won out on countback from Moira Parfitt, also with a nett 72. The Front and Back Nines were won respectively by Deirdre McSorley (nett 36) and Hazel Hogg (nett 31).

The 2s on the day, both on the sixth hole, were from Catherine Cordell and Linda Armstrong. The 9-hole competition was won by Gladys Fisher with 17 points.

This was Gladys’ run up to an amazing 44-point score on Carne links in Mayo on Wednesday, June 22.

That said, a group of our ladies, under the organisation of Veronica Bogue, spent a few days in Belmullet on ‘A trip to the West’ and had a wonderful stay in the Erris Coast Hotel. Thank you, Veronica.

This weekend, our competition is sponsored by Richmond Independent Financial.