ROSSLARE LADIES: The course is in superb condition, with credit due to the course committee and the groundsmen who worked all through the winter in testing conditions. Sheets are available on the noticeboard for any lady wishing to represent the club in inter-club events.

Saturday, February 13, fourball 14-hole competition (eleven pairs played): 1, Mairéad McNamara (7/5) and Marie Garahy (23/17), 34 points; 2, Niamh Byrne (17/13) and Cathy Atkinson (18/14), 29 points.

Tuesday, February 16, singles 14-hole competition (59 played): 1, Eileen Doyle (26), 33 points; 2, Betty O'Brien (36), 32 points; 3, Margaret Martin (29), 27 points; 4, Ann Redmond (27), 26 points (back seven); 5, Eleanor O'Connor (20), 26 points.

COOLLATTIN LADIES

Saturday, February 13, and Wednesday, February 17, 13-hole competition: 1, Pauline Walker (21), 25 points (back nine); 2, Noeleen Williams (18), 25 points; 3, Deidre Baynes (26), 24 points.

RATHASPECK MANOR

There was a very good turn-out for the Rathaspeck Manor Golfing Society A.G.M. held in the clubhouse on Sunday last.

Despite the inclement weather, particularly over the latter part of last year, the Society was extremely well supported and this was reflected in the large attendance for regular competitions and particularly for away outings.

Nick McBride, the outgoing Captain, was thanked for his work and support over the past year, and his successor for the coming year, Michael Murphy, was welcomed into the fold.

This year will see regular Sunday competitions on a fortnightly basis, with members being given the option of playing on the Saturday if unable to play on Sunday due to family/work commitments. This is to enable all members to partake in competition to as great an extent as possible. There will also be three away outings again this year. The venues have yet to be decided, but will all be within easy driving distance.

The membership fee for the coming year remains the same (¤70), and new members are more than welcome to join.

The first competition will be the 'free sub', which is scheduled for Sunday, March 7. Only members with their annual sub paid in full will be eligible to win a prize in this competition.

Finally, sincere thanks also to Bertie and Kevin who stepped down from the committee this year. They are, to a large degree, responsible for the Society's continued success.

The new committee for this year is as follows: Mick Cuddihy, Michael Murphy, Tony Doyle, Nick McBride and Harry Malone. Any new members wishing to join should contact any of the above.

BALLYMONEY

Bathed in beautiful brilliant sunshine, Ballymoney played host to a very well-attended stableford competiton on Sunday last. Committee members were very pleased to see such a large turn-out of members, and particularly some newcomers to competition.

One such participant was Owen Devlin (13), although this handicap might have to be reviewed (!), who signed for an excellent card which yielded 40 points. This was good enough for first place.

On a course that was in superb condition and with such glorious weather, scoring was in the main of the highest order. Three players finished with 38 points - Robert Kehoe (11), the ubiquitous Sammy Walker (10) and Joe Lee (11) - and thus finished second, third and fourth in that order on countback.

The commitee would like to thank all who took part and hopefully next Saturday's stableford will be even bigger. Be mindful of the fact that there are two golf societies playing next Saturday also, but as always all are welcome at the club.

ST. HELEN'S

Parkinson's Preachers qualified to play Furlong's Furies and Lynch's Lurchers qualified to play Bossy Breda's in the Winter League semi-final on Saturday, February 27.

Saturday, February 20, singles sweep stableford (eleven holes): 1, Mark Doyle, 28 points; 2, Frank O'Kennedy, 24 points.

We enjoyed a lovely day's golf in very benign weather conditions. Well done Mark on a great win and for pushing the Captain into the runners-up spot!

Sunday, February 21, singles sweep stableford (12 holes): 1, Paddy Dunne, 27 points; 2, Mick Brosnan, 26 points (countback); gross, Mark Byrne, 23 points.

Despite the overnight rain and sleet, weather conditions were beautiful - clear skies, dry and crisp! The course is looking and playing very well, thanks to the efforts of the greenkeeping team. Well done and welcome to Paddy and Mark who are both new members of St. Helen's Bay.

Wednesday Club, February 17, singles stableford (eleven holes): 1, John Lyons, 35 points (including ten bonus points); 2, Shay Thornton, 30 (including eight bonus points); 3, Cyril Pierce, 24 (including two bonus points); 4, Brian D'Eath, 24 (including four bonus points).

All members of St. Helen's Bay are welcome to play in the Wednesday club competitions. Register at 10 a.m. each Wednesday for the draw. New players are most welcome.

Fixtures: Wednesday, February 24, Wednesday club, meet at the clubhouse at 10 a.m. for the draw; Friday, February 26, Friday wine competition; Saturday, February 27, Winter League semi-finals (singles stableford competition for non-qualifiers); Sunday, February 28, singles stableford.

See the club website - www.sthelensbay.ie - for further details.

ST. HELEN'S LADIES

It was a great weekend for golf in St. Helen's Bay, with the play-offs for the winter league taking place on Saturday.

Parkinson's Preachers' great score of 97 qualified to play Furlong's Furies, and Lynch's Lurchers' great score of 94 qualified to play Bossy Breada's in the semi-finals on Saturday next. Good luck to all teams.

A singles sweep was run in tandem with the winter league. Ruth Kennedy (18) brought in 24 points and Jean O'Kennedy (20), hot on her heels, brought in 22 points.

Sunday's play was delayed due to heavy frost, but once this cleared the day improved and was extreamly pleasent for golf, which showed in the excellent scores brought in by some of our ladies. Well done to Ruth Kennedy (18) on her excellent score of 31 points over 12 holes, with Leonie Furlong (16) in second place with a terrific score of 27 points. Well done also to Eileen and Leonie for getting twos on the third hole.

NEW ROSS LADIES

A 14-hole competition commenced on Wednesday, February 10, and continues each Wednesday. There are informal draws at 9 to 9.15 a.m., 10 to 10.15 a.m., and 2 to 2.15 p.m.

There were insufficient numbers for a competition on both February 10 and 17. A nine-hole competition continues until the end of February.

The Captain's drive-in will take place on Sunday, March 7, at 2 p.m. We look forward to seeing everyone there for the start of the 2010 golfing year. Wishing all a happy and successful year in golf.

ENNISCORTHY

Though Saturday was a beautiful day for golf, unfortunately the course was closed due to frost until well into the afternoon. However, not to be deterred, the Competitions Secretary, Christy O'Connor, and his aid, John Noblett, were determined to allow the newly-introduced fourball aggregate format competition to go ahead and, surprisingly, 77 members took part with a full timesheet Sunday morning.

The competition was played over 14 holes with the third out of play as, it being sheltered, had not fully thawed. The course staff are to be commended for their diligence and for making every effort to accommodate the members when possible.

In first place was senior and veteran golfer Michael Wickham (12), partnered with Murt Mangan (6), with a great score of 65 points, closely followed by two stalwarts of the senior tour, Tommy Kehoe (14) and Jack Sheridan (16) on 64.

In third place the young guns of Graham Donohoe (1) and Seán Mernagh (7) posted 63 points and, with their combined low handicaps, are to be commended for carding such a worthy score.

Results of the ladies' club-sponsored 15-hole stableford competition held on Tuesday of last week were: 1, Marie Dunphy (19), 30 points; 2, Nicki King (5), 29 points.

This coming Saturday there will be a ladies' nine-hole competition starting at 2.20 p.m. and timesheets are already in effect. Tuesday's ladies' day competitions continue as usual, weather permitting, as frost continues to pose a threat. On March 2, tee-time draws are from 9 a.m to 11 a.m., and the 15-hole stableford competition will take place from 12.30 p.m. to 1.30 p.m.

It's a sure sign that the golfing year is starting when the Barton Cup squad are grooming themselves for their first encounter against Mount Wolseley in March, and this Saturday they will be out fine tuning under the watchful eyes of their mentors and team managers, 'Butch' O'Connor, Jim Delaney and Liam Spratt.

The Captains, Tom Clifford and Bernie Whelan, kickstart the golfing year at the club with their drive-in this Sunday. Members are expected and encouraged to come out and support their Captains, and there will be a collection for the victims of Haiti. Timesheets for the drive-in are posted in the locker rooms, so make sure your name is down for the team selection.

For up to the minute results and further details, please visit the blog at www.enniscorthygc.com and www.Twitter/EnniscorthyGolf.

COURTOWN LADIES

The stage is set for the eagerly-awaited Azure Winter League final on Sunday, March 14, between the Yellow team and the Black team.

Yellow team: Clare Duggan (capt.), Kate Sheehan, Eileen Moriarty, Frances Sinnott, Rita Mahoney, Breda Nolan.

Black team: Laura Funge (capt.), Catherine Quinn, Ann McNamara, Niamh Doran, Kay McGarry, Maeve Buckmaster.

The Black team had a very close one-point win over the Red team led by Frances Swords, Denise Kavanagh, Ann Morgan, Angela Merrigan, Ingrid Ashmore-Butler and Ann Deacon.

It was an exciting finish to the semi-final, and the results board was well scrutinised as the teams came in off the course on Sunday last. The Yellow team led from start to finish of the league. They scored 46 points to ensure their place on March 14.

The Black team with 43 points did enough to edge out the Red team who scored 45 points. Top three results were: Yellow, 298 points; Black, 271 points; Red, 270 points.

We look forward to a good final where two very consistent teams will compete.

All six members of each team will contest the final - three fourballs (singles stableford, combined scores) at 2 p.m., 2.09 p.m. and 2.18 p.m.

All lady members are invited to take part in the final day fourball competition (timesheet 2.27-3.40 p.m.) with a draw for partner, time and opposition. The timesheet is available in the ladies' locker room, and the draw will be posted also.

The Winter League was very successful and this is mostly due to the new format decided on by the committee. The league was co-ordinated and efficiently organised by Frances Swords. We now look forward to the new season and better weather as we leave the winter frost behind.

February 16, 14-hole stableford (60 played): 1, Julie McCartan (25), 33 points; 2, Mary Halford (23), 31 points; 3, Frances Sinnott (29), 29 points.

COURTOWN

With more heavy frost during last weekend, the gents' comptition was postponed on Saturday and Sunday. We did, however, manage to play one more round of the Winter League on Sunday over nine holes.

NEW ROSS SENIORS

Another bumper crowd turned up for the weekly outing last week in almost perfect golfing and weather conditions which stayed completely dry but with a nip in the air. Fourteen four-man teams teed off in search of the elusive 'Paddy' and the Titleist balls, and as usual competition was fierce between the participants.

There was tension in the clubhouse too before the eventual winners could be announced, as on top of the scoreboard we had two teams finishing deadlocked on 91 points each. Referring to the scoring system which is so peculiar to the game of golf, the adjudicator or card checker could not give a verdict on the best last nine to decide the outcome as the teams were still tied on the total.

Going to the best scores on the last six holes, we eventually got the white smoke, albeit by only one point (29-28), where the team of Hugh O'Connor (14), John Roche (15), Tom Kent (19) and Frank Boyle (21) were officially declared victors.

The second team who said they 'left the winning of it out on the course' were Denis Kirwan (12), Jim Ryan (15), Tommy Tyler (18) and Michael Vaughan (22). Third spot was filled by Dick Cuddihy (11), Tony Wallace (16), Eamon Delaney (18) and Brian Dolan (28) with 86 points.

Nearest the pin prize went to Denis Kirwan. Please note the draw is at 10.45 a.m. sharp each Thursday, and do please be on time as latecomers upset the smooth running of the competition.

64 SOCIETY

Sixteen members of the 64 Golf Society took to the fairways on the trip to Drogheda, playing the courses of Laytown/Bettystown on Friday last, and Dundalk on Saturday last. The course the first day was a pure links course with fast funning fairways and exceptionally fast greens for the time of the year.

Fourball: 1, Paddy Dore (17) and Ollie Quigley (9), 44 points; 2, Ray McGrath (7) and Paul McDonagh(11), 40 points (last nine). Singles: 1, Michael Cullen (14), 39 points. On the second day, because of severe frost overnight, we had to play the course on temporary greens. Nonetheless, the scores returned were very good, or maybe most of the golfers were very relaxed from their frolics the previous night?

Fourball: 1, James Timmins (9) and Fergal Mulhall (19), 48 points; 2, Paul McDonagh (11) and Jimmy Woods (17), 45 points (last nine).

Singles: 1, Fergal Mulhall (19), 43 points; 2, Pat McCarthy (17), 40 points; 3, James Timmins (9), 39 points (last 9); 4, John Grannell (7), 39 points; 5, Ollie Quigley (9), 38 points; 6, Matty O'Dowd (20), 37 points (last nine); 7, Jimmy Woods (37), 37 points; 8, Brendan Sheehan (4), 36 points.

Following the outing, Paddy Dore thanked all those who travelled on what turned out to be a very enjoyable few days, both on the course and in the evenings. He especially thanked organiser Brendan Sheehan.

Our next official outing is to Arklow on Saturday, March 6. All members will be informed.

TUSKAR ROCK

The eventual arrival of good golfing weather has resulted in a surge of new members joining the very active nine-hole course. A positive approach to the club moving 'business location' to the St. Helen's Complex could be the reason for this membership interest.

Now all the changing, showering and parking facilities at St. Helen's Bay will be at the disposal of all Tuskar Rock members, as will the bar/food clubhouse facilities. Coupled with this change in surroundings is the ability for Tuskar Rock club members to enjoy more competitive golf from now on through more weekend events and midweek competitions. So roll on March 19 when the changeover takes effect.

The necessary work to facilitate the change is well in hand and all the staff, with the St. Helen's members, wish the new arrangement loads of success. Results of the 13-hole singles sweep competitions - January 31: 1, James Carthy, 29 points; 2, John Furlong, 28 points.

February 7: 1, James Carthy, 31 points; 2, Paddy Brady, 30 points.

February 14: 1, Jim Fallon, 32 points; 2, B. Hanton, 30 points; 3, David O'Connor, 30 points.

February 21: 1, David Bradley, 36 points; 2, Derek Evans, 36 points.

The presentation of prizes to the winners will take place in St. Helen's clubhouse at 6 p.m. on February 27.

WEXFORD

The Chinese Year of the Ox ended quietly in the middle of the month, with Kevin Bradley (18) claiming his lamb with 32 points in the 14-hole single stableford competition. He won on a countback from Seán Buckley (17), also with 32 points, who pipped Billy Dodd (12) who had a similar score but lost out with a weak finish.

The Year of the Tiger was heralded in on Saturday in the two-man team event, which Dermot Greer (17) and Damien Bolger (13) won by a solitary point over 14 holes from Seán Furlong (19) and Jimmy Thomas (24) with 44 points.

St. Valentine's Day produced no massacre, with Nicky Lacey (17) and Derek Casey (16) bringing home the bacon with 41 points. Kenny Walsh (13) and Seán Buckley (17) claimed second place on a countback with 40 points, holding off the challenge of Tom Kehoe (21) and Mick Cronin (24) on a countback.

Wednesday's singles stableford had Ken Roche (17) in the winners' enclosure with 35 points after 14 holes, closely followed by Paddy Cleary (10) on 34 points.

There was a big crowd in the club on Saturday last for the inaugural Society Day. A total of 43 societies participated in teams of three, with two to count at every hole and all to feature at the final hole.

North End United ended at the top of the ladder with 73 points. The winning team was Paddy Kearney (13), Ger Kearney (16) and Mick Nolan (17). In second place with 72 points was Theo Bennings, represented by Mark Sweeney (18), Philip Carthy (19) and Paddy Walsh (19).

Goresbridge Golf Society, represented by Tommy Bolger (19), Liam Hutchinson (17) and John Barcoe (17), was third with 70 points. The Rainbow Golf Society was in fourth spot with 68 points, featuring Paul Collard (18), Alan Newsome (18) and Jonathon Queen (10). The catering was provided with her usual flair by Mary Butler, and a good day's play was had by all.

Sunday's team event was delayed by frost, so much so that the Captain failed to get his team out. He badly needs the practice for his drive-in, which will take place on March 7.

The winners were the Three Amigos ably assisted by Terry Lyons (14) who posted a winning score of 76 points. For the few who don't recognise the Amigos, they are Richard (13), Tommy (18) and Michael (21) Byrne. Second on 75 were Paul Bridges (16), Larry Forrestal (18), John Stafford (21) and Pat Harnett (13).

ROSSLARE

Three competitions were played in Rosslare during the week, with big numbers competing in all three.

On Wednesday the open singles was the battle of the brothers, with Jimmy Dempsey (20) beating his brother Peadar (Wexford, 8) on the breakdown. Both had 37 points. In third position on 35 points was Aidan Murphy (Wexford, 8).

Saturday fourball, 16 holes: 1, Pat Goff (12) and Jim Hennessy (18), 40 points; 2, Dermot Walsh (5) and Eddie Fortune (11), 39 points; 3, John Roche (11) and Niall McGuinness (16), 39 points.

Sunday, Scotch foursomes, 16 holes: 1, Stephen Rossiter (14) and Paul McDonnell (18), 57; 2, Sonny Lynch (12) and Paul Boggan (11), 57 3/8; 3, Pádraic Rossiter (7) and Pat Rossiter (11), 58 1/4; 4, Nicky Mernagh (5) and Mark Fitzpatrick (10), 58 3/8.

Tomorrow (Thursday) there is an 18-hole open Seniors (Over-50). Visitors: ¤25. On Sunday next the final of the Winter League (scramble) takes place, followed by music and refreshments.

NEW ROSS

Winter League round four: 1, Robert Whelan (14), 35 points; 2, Tom Tyler (18), 32 points; 3, John Kehoe p/f (20), 32 points; gross, Andrew Ryan (15), 27 points; Cat. 1, Emmett Ronan (5), 27 points; Cat. 2, John Hartley (12), 26 points; Cat. 3, John Murphy (16), 32 points; Cat. 4, Jamesie Wallace (21), 32 points.

ROSSLARE LADIES

The course is in superb condition. Credit is due to the course committee and the groundsmen who worked all through the winter in testing conditions. Sheets are available on the noticeboard for any lady wishing to represent the club in inter-club events.

Saturday, February 13, fourball, 14-hole competition (eleven pairs played): 1, Mairéad McNamara (7/5) and Marie Geraghty (23/17), 34 points; 2, Niamh Byrne (17/13) and Cathy Atkinson (18/14), 29 points.

Tuesday, February 16, singles, 14-hole competition (59 played): 1, Eileen Doyle (26), 33 points; 2, Betty O'Brien (36), 32 points; 3, Margaret Martin (29), 27 points; 4, Ann Redmond (27), 26 points (back seven); 5, Eleanor O'Connor (20), 26 points.