I hope everyone is joining their golf so far this year and fingers crossed the weather picks up ahead of the weekend.

Drive In

Thank you so much for making my Captain’s Drive In such an enjoyable event. It was great to have a chance to catch up with so many of the society and I enjoyed chatting with the pavilion members over lunch.  I really appreciated your kind words, generosity and support. Although the weather wasn’t particularly warm, I felt we were lucky to have a sunny and dry day in February. I would also like to thank the committee for their work organising the golf, lunch, cake and the score cards.

New Members

I am delighted to welcome our new members to the society. I know everyone will be looking out for new names on the timesheet and will help them integrate into the society.

Notice of Weather Cancellations 

In the event that the course is closed due to bad weather and golf is cancelled, a notice will be posted on the website. The intention is always to update the website as soon as Leopardstown have contacted me. If you have concerns about the weather and there is no word on a cancellation, please contact me or you can ring Leopardstown

Rules Night

The date of the Rules Night has been fixed for the evening of March 29th. The Green Room can accommodate 80 people which means 20 spaces for the Saturday Strollers. Any used seats will be distributed among the other societies.

If we have more than 20 responses, we will use a waiting list to ensure no spaces are unused.

Ahead of the Rules Night, please email me any questions you would like addressed in the session. 

Congratulations

The Golfer of the Month for February was Lorraine Culloty (category B).

There were four birdies during February

• Aideen Murphy
• Eileen Smith
• Niamh Quinn
• Kathryn Geraghty

I hope everyone is enjoying the first signs of spring and fingers crossed in February we have some great weather for our golf.

Captain’s Drive In

The Captain’s Drive In is on Feb 25th which is a scramble with Siren start, followed by lunch.

There are two sign in sheets on the notice board, one for golf and the other for lunch. If you have not had a chance to sign up yet please do so.

Our pavilion members are very welcome to join the group for lunch and I hope to see you all there.

New Members

There is a lot of interest from potential new members. The committee are currently reviewing the waiting list and available spaces. We will be offering membership during February.

Birdies

January got off to a flying start with three birdie winners. Congratulations to
Rose Leonard
Rosaleen Clancy
Linda Galligan

The Golfer of the Month – Category A is Niamh Quinn.

Rule’s Night

It is a number of years since our last rules night and there is some interest in a refresher course. With the other societies that play on a Saturday, we are arranging a rules night in March. This will be an in-person evening in The Green Room in Leopardstown. We will aim to accommodate as many people as possible.

Upcoming Events

On Feb 11th we are playing the back 9. The Signets are having their Captain’s Drive In on that date, so there will be limited access to the The Green Room.

The Spring Lamb competition starts on Feb 18th.

Congratulations to the following September winners:

 Birdies

• Caroline Galloway (x 2)
• Eileen Smith
• Anne O’Hanlon
• Berenice Keatley

Golfer of the Month – Category C is Fiona Freeman

Our annual Ping Competition took place recently and the winners were – Caroline Galloway and Bairbre Cathcart with runners up Lia Egan and Eileen Smith.

Our Away Holiday to Alvor Portugal, took place last week.  Twenty-six members (including six committee members) went on the trip.  We all had a great time, played some challenging golf courses, enjoyed nice food and wine.

Upcoming events/activities:

• There is no golf on Saturday 15^th and 22^nd
• The Golfer of the Year competition started on Saturday 9^th April and is concluding next weekend.
• The Turkey Competition starts on Saturday 29^th October and runs until 26^th
• Our next Away Day is on Saturday 15^th

Location – Grange Castle Golf Club, New Nangor Road, Clondalkin, Co. Dublin D22WY66

Away Day

Our next away day is Saturday 15^th October 2022.

• Location

Grange Castle Golf Club, New Nangor Road, Clondalkin, Co. Dublin D22WY66

• Competition

18 Holes only

• Time slots

6 Rows

24 Players (4 per row)

• Time

Start 11 am

• Cost

€34.00

The sign-up sheet will be put on the noticeboard shortly.

Handicaps

The committee has received a number of queries on changes to handicaps which I hope are clarified in the summary below.

Members handicaps are reduced automatically when the points received in a qualifying competition are greater than 18. The details of this process are available on the society’s website (https://saturdaystrollers.ie/handicapping/)

A member’s handicap may also be reduced by observation. Cuts by observation are at the discretion of the Lady Captain and Handicap Secretary, in consultation with the committee and are intended to ensure fairness across competitions.

Where a player wins three prizes over a six-month period her handicap is reviewed. First, second or third place prizes are all included in the review. If no automatic reduction in handicap has been applied because her winning scores were lower than 18 points, her handicap will be reduced.

Prizes won in qualifying competitions, which are the standard Saturday competitions and non-qualifying competitions, which are Lady Captain and Lady President days, are all included in the review.

In the event that one of the three relevant prizes is in a non-qualifying competition and the player’s score was above the buffer zone i.e.,18 points for 9 holes and 36 points for 18 holes, her handicap will be adjusted by observation with a reduction proportionate to the score.

Congratulations to the following August winners:

 Birdies

• Aideen O’Leary
• Catheirne Cathcart
• Dympna McCabe
• Lillian McDermott
• Marion Benville
• Mary Jackson
• Patricia Murphy
• Sheila Corballis
• Teresa Comerford

Golfer of the Month – Category B is Thérèse Cahill

Our Lady President Margaret’s day took place on a very warm and sunny Saturday (27^th August).  The meal in the Green Room, Leopardstown was lovely.

Congratulations to Noreen McGeehan who won the President’s Prize and to all the winners on the day.

Our annual Match Play Competition took place over June and July and the winner is

Anne O’Connell.

Upcoming events/activities:

• There is no golf on Saturday 10^th
• We are playing the Back Nine on Saturday 24 September.
• We have an Early Start on Saturday 1 October.
• The Golfer of the Year competition started on Saturday 9^th April and is ongoing.
• Our Away Holiday to Alvor Portugal, takes place from Friday 23 September to 30 September. Twenty-six members (including six committee members) are going on the trip.

Congratulations to the following July winners:

 Birdies

• Aideen O’Leary
• Anne O’Hanlon
• Deirdre Howard
• Eileen Smith
• Lia Egan
• Maureen Kelly
• Marian Byrne
• Marie Maher

Golfer of the Month – Category A is Patricia Murphy

Upcoming events/activities:

• The Golfer of the Year competition started on Saturday 9^th April and is ongoing.
• Match Play Competition started in June and is ongoing, details are on the noticeboard.
• Lady President’s Day – Margaret’s day is on Saturday 27^th August.
• The sign-up sheets for 9- and 18-Holes competitions and dinner are on the noticeboard.
• To be eligible for the President’s prize a member must have entered three cards in the previous six weeks of play.
• If you are putting down a friend, please ensure that they are aware of it and can play on the day.

Margaret hopes you can join her after your day of golf at Green Room, Leopardstown Golf Centre for dinner and prize giving.

• The cost of the dinner is €35.
• Please bring your own wine as they do not have a licence.
• There is corkage which will be paid for by SS.
• Drinks reception is 7pm with dinner 7.30pm.
• Please pay by bank transfer on or before Saturday 20^th August 2022.
• The final day for cancellation is Tuesday 23 August, monies are non-refundable after this date as we will have submitted our list to the chef.
• Bank details:
  • IBANIE34AIBK93339244427027
  • BICAIBKIE2D

Congratulations to the following June winners:

Birdies

• Lillian McDermot
• Maureen Kelly
• Marian Byrnes

Golfer of the Month – Category C is Patricia McCarron

I would like to express my sincere thanks to you all for your kindness, support, generosity, and good wishes for my Captain’s Day.   I had a great day; I hope you did also.  We were so lucky with the weather.

Congratulations to Patricia Murphy who won the Captain’s Prize and to all the winners on the day.

The meal in Killiney Golf Club was lovely, we even managed to sit outside for our reception.

I want to thank our Vice Captain Niamh for her assistance in the build up to Saturday and especially on the day.  I would also like to thank our wonderful committee members who worked so hard to make the day so successful.

Upcoming events/activities:

• The Golfer of the Year competition started on Saturday 9^th April and is ongoing.
• Match Play Competition started in June and is ongoing.
• The next big event is Margaret’s President Day on Saturday 27^th

Happy Golfing, Thanks, Karen

Congratulations to the following May winners:

 Birdies

• Marie Maher
• Niamh Quinn
• Sheila Corbalis

Golfer of the Month – Category B is Anne O’Hanlon

I want to say a BIG Thank You  to you all for your support with our Charity Day 2022, to everyone who donated so many prizes for the raffle, played golf and bought tickets for the raffle.  We raised €2,700 for our chosen charity – The Alzheimer Society of Ireland with special emphasis on Dementia supports.

We had beautiful weather for golf, and we all enjoyed a well-deserved cup of tea/coffee and scones in the Green Room afterwards.  The raffle was a great success, and everyone went home with a prize.

 Noticeboards

Based on recent questions I have received members are not checking out our Saturday Strollers Noticeboard.

• Saturday’s timesheet is available each week on the noticeboard to the left as you enter Leopardstown Golf Centre. This noticeboard includes timesheets for all societies.
• Please note that this noticeboard is not the main Saturday Strollers board. Our board is in the Ladies Changing Room.  I would encourage all to check it out each week to see what competitions are pending, winners of competitions and any other notices.

 Prizes

Please do not be shy – if you are a competition winner you can approach a committee member to collect your prize.  As members play at different times and may not go upstairs for a coffee it can take some time to distribute prizes.

Upcoming events/activities:

• The Golfer of the Year competition started on Saturday 9^th April and is ongoing.
• Match Play Competition starts this month, details of the draw are on the noticeboard.
• Playing dates to note –
  • 18^th June – Back Nine
  • 25^th June – Early Start
• My Captain’s Day is on Saturday 2^nd
  • I hope you can join me after your day of golf at Killiney Golf Club for dinner and prize giving.
  • The sign-up sheet for 9/18 Holes competitions and dinner is on the noticeboard.
  • To be eligible for the Captain’s prize a member must have entered three cards in the previous six weeks of play.
  • The cost of the dinner is €35.
  • Please pay by bank transfer, if possible, on or before 30 June 2022.
  • Drinks reception is 7pm with dinner 7.30pm.

Happy Golfing, Thanks, Karen

Congratulations to the following April winners:

 Birdies

• Dympna McCabe
• Kathy Newell
• Kay Kennedy (x 2)

Golfer of the Month – Category A is Kay Kennedy

Spring Lamb competition – Kay Kennedy

Easter Competition – Congratulation to the 3 winners in each category.  It was held on a very sunny Saturday in April.

Thank you to all who showed off their crafting skills on Easter Saturday with their Easter Bonnets on display, a few even managed to play in them.

 Upcoming events/activities:

• The Golfer of the Year competition started on Saturday – 9^th
• Match Play Competition starts in June and the sign-up sheet will be put up on the noticeboard shortly.
• The Charity Day this year is 28^th May 2022.
  • The chosen charity is The Alzheimer Society of Ireland with special emphasis on Dementia supports.
  • This is a team event, and the notice will be put up on the noticeboard for you to put your name down.
  • It will be a Siren start at 1pm, can you all please collect your scorecards no later than 12.30pm.
  • The suggested donation is €20.00.
  • Raffle tickets will be on sale on the day.
  • If you have any donations for the raffle, it would be much appreciated. Items can be given to any member of the committee or bring on the day.

I would like to try and have prizes for all.

I look forward to seeing you all on the 28^th

Happy Golfing, Thanks, Karen