2013 Skibbereen RFC Golf Classic

Last Saturday 24^th August was the 22^nd anniversary of the first Skibbereen RFC Golf Classic –started back in1992 - and continues to this day to be the main fundraising vehicle of the Club – and not unexpectedly came through on a par with the best to date. After a brilliant early morning start the weather became a little mixed during the afternoon but came good in the end thus ensuring all sixty plus team sheet entries got through the day without any major incidents. Once again Skibbereen Golf Club hosted the classic and there were compliments all round by the various speakers at the presentation of prizes,  to the hard working ground staff and catering staff for looking after everyone’s needs throughout the day.

As with the previous 21 classics, current Skibbereen Rugby Club President John Field was again the chief organiser of this very popular event and its continued success is in no small way a measure of his popularity within the sporting and commercial fraternity. Of equal importance to the success of the classic  is the work done by local Auctioneer and equally popular sporting enthusiast Charlie McCarthy - the man charged with the task of compiling the time-sheet which he does with the help of his very obliging  office staff each year.

Once again the main sponsor for the classic was Heineken Irl. and the beautifully inscribed Cork Crystal glass were well received by the main winners on the day. John Field in his address paid a special thanks to the support given by Heineken to the Club over many years of association and also thanked Pat Maher, a Skibbereen native,  who as National Events & Sponsorship Manager for Heineken Irl. has consistently shown himself to be a true friend of the rugby club and always available to help out. Also in attendance representing Heineken Irl. was their regional sales Manager Jonathan Barry who spoke warmly of the continued sponsorship with the Club and also his delight in attending the function for the first time. Jonathan went on to congratulate all the winners and complimented the Golf Club and ground staff for having the course in such pristine condition and looked forward to a long association with Skibbereen RFC.

Noel Kearney the ever popular Golf Club Captain for 2013 extended a special welcome to the Rugby Club and expressed his delight at being able to share the Golf Club facilities with other sporting organisations - and went on to say that in the harsh economic climate it is fitting that clubs support each other – to survive the challenging times we find ourselves in.

The Chairman of Skibbereen RFC Bertie Hourihane thanked all who supported the Club in the Golf Classic over the years and paid a special mention to the work of John Field as chief organiser – and without which, he said, this classic would never have enjoyed the level of success it has had. He went on to thank the Golf Club for the use of their facilities and paid a special thank to the course and catering staff for their help as well as fellow committee members present on the day who gave a helping hand.

The winning team on the day was sponsored by local Castlehaven based industry “Drombeg Spirits” and was represented by well known Castlehaven goalie Paudie Hurley, and the combined youth of Dave McCarthy and Michael Hurley – Michael playing off a handicap of 4. Together they returned a nett score of 52.5 points to leave their nearest rivals trailing but still on a very respectable score of 57 – and this magical figure actually tied the next four teams in the competition, the separation only coming in the breakdown of the fractions. Such was the standard of the combined talent of the Drombeg winning team in the 3 ball scramble competition - they recorded a massive ‘twelve birdies’ over the 18 holes – a truly phenomenal achievement.

Another interesting occurrence in the competition was the details of the successful team in the ladies section who, in recording the winning score of 65 1/6,  did so with three generation of the same family – Eileen O’Regan –  her daughter –in-law Maureen O’Regan, and her grandchild  Leah O’Regan.

The battle for the long drive contest took place on the 16^th hole this year and the leading contender for most of the day was the aforementioned Paudie Hurley of the successful Drombeg team – but  as the light began to fade another local golfing phenomenon unleashed a powerful drive to beat Paudie’s best by another 10 metres. The striker was of course one Kieran Lynch who played in the company of the main Heineken sponsor representatives of Pat Maher and Jonathan Barry . Jonathan had himself unleashed an equally impressive strike moments earlier only to see his effort trail into the rough at the last minute – and out of contention. The talented Kieran Lynch also registered his exceptional golfing talent in the nearest the pin contest at the 14^th hole. Kieran is presently attending College in Maynooth in Co. Kildare and building on his skill levels in the exciting world of golf – Kieran played of a handicap of 0 on Saturday.

The winner’s on the day were as follows:

Included are a few photographs taken in the course of the day: