First out this afternoon were our Jimmy Bruen team, managed by Michael Keating and Gerry Kenny. The team faced a tough challenge up against an, always competitive, Elm Park team but on the plus side we had three home matches.
In line with tradition, the visitors had the honour and unfortunately first tee nerves got the better of their player in the opening match who knocked it down. Ben Crowley, playing with Richie Taylor, hit the first Greystones tee shot of the day and finished pin high but fifteen yards left of the green. The Elm Park second shot found the green but was thirty feet short of the pin and when Richie chipped to a foot it was enough to win the hole, a good omen perhaps ?
Ray Crotty teed it up for Greystones in the second match. Ray, who was playing with Frank Marmion today, pulled his tee shot twenty yards left on the first after seeing his opponent find the heavier rough a further twenty yards left. Both teams hit good recovery shots but Franks was the better of the two and when Ray held his par putt they too moved to the second tee, one up.
Our third pairing today was that of Derek O’Regan and Niall Stokes. As with the earlier matches, both pairs in this match missed the first green and Derek had to hole a great putt for par to halve the hole.
Not a bad start for the home team…
Back in the first match Ben & Richie lost the second but stormed to a three hole lead with wins on the third, fourth and fifth holes. They scrambled a half on the tricky sixth but lost the next two to be pegged back to a lead of just one. They say good things happen in threes and Ben & Richie then reeled off another three wins without reply to go four up after eleven holes.
Frank & Ray followed up their win on the first with another on the second and, after halving the third and fourth a par win on the fifth had them in a comfortable position at three up. Things can change quickly however and their Elm Park opponents came back fast & furious, winning the next three on the trot to square the match with a half on the ninth seeing the four men walk down the lane to the tenth, back where they had started on the first at all square.
Derek & Niall were playing a tough match with Niall playing particularly well and the pair turned two up, thanks to wins on the third, eighth and ninth holes with their only loss on the front nine coming on the seventh.
Meanwhile, up the N11 in Elm Park our first pair of David Kirby and Trevor Phillips had been called in at late notice to fill in for an unwell Ray Nolan who had played such a pivotal role in our Irish Mixed win yesterday. David & Trevor never got going at all today, not helped by Trevor’s unfamiliarity with the course. The pair turned five down and their race was unfortunately run by the twelfth, 7&6.
Our second away pair were Brain Murray who played alongside Gary O’Connor. Brian played so solidly today and, with Gary also doing little wrong, this was a very strong pair indeed. Brian & Gary were two up at the halfway stage of the match and gave their opponents no opportunities to recover control of the game from there on in. A win on the sixteenth finished the match 4&2 to even the overall score at 1-1 with a usually crucial away point in the bag.
Back in Wicklow, Ben & Richie had halved the twelfth and looked comfortable at four up but if good things happen in threes so, it appears so can not such good things ! The pair lost the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth holes to find themselves just one up. Richie held his nerve to hit the sixteenth with his tee shot while Elm Park had mis-clubbed and found themselves over the back resulting in a Greystones win to go dormie two up.
Behind them, Ray & Frank had had a tough start to the back nine, and found themselves three down after fifteen. A win on the sixteenth was followed by another on the seventeenth after a lay up by Frank and an excellent chip to picky-up by Ray for par.
Derek & Niall had increased their lead to three with a win on the tenth and were still three up following a loss on the twelfth and a win on the thirteenth.
In the first match, an excellent approach shot to ten feet from Richie on the seventeenth had been matched by the Elm Park pair but after Elm Park missed their putt for a three Ben knocked in his birdie putt to finish the match 2&1.
Needing just one more game, our second pair of Derek & Niall had battled hard from the fourteenth and got to dormie 3up however losses on the sixteenth and seventeenth had the galleries nervous. On the eighteenth, Niall hit a good drive, and with Greystones first to play, Derek found the correct level on the green with his excellent approach shot. Elm Park also hit the green but ran through and failed to get up and down while Niall trickled his putt to the hole side for four and a win, 2up.
Ray & Frank had, by this stage won the eighteenth after Elm Park missed a short putt for the match and were heading to the nineteenth when called in.
Game over – 3.5 to 1.5 – well done to Gerry, Michael and all the team.
After the Jimmy Bruen, our Fred Daly team took on Woodbrook in the second round of the 2023 competition. Peter Anderson & Karl Holes had picked a very strong team today for this scratch, under 18 competition. With three matches at home and a strong handicap advantage a win was anticipated but not assumed by any means. The away matches teed off thirty minutes ahead of the home games with Steven Gormley making his debut for Greystones against the Woodbrook low man. Steven played solid golf and was one hole to the good after nine. Second out in Woodbrook was Toby Murphy who turned four up and was in total control of his game.
At home, Dylan Holmes lead the team out in match one, turning three up and closing out his game on the thirteenth 6&5. Jamie Anderson turned four up and also finished his game with a 6&5 win while William O’Riordan really had it all his own way today recording an early victory.
When called in, Steven was all square playing the fourteenth and Toby was four up, also on the fourteenth.
It should be noted that the Woodbrook team all had higher handicaps and should be commended for the way they played today.
Well done to Pete, Karl and all the team.
