Season resumes at Banbridge GC

There has been three weeks of frost and snow and the course has been closed practically every day. But, thankfully, the weather has improved and the players are back in action.

For this Saturday sweep 14 holes were open and only one temporary green was used. The greens at the 12th and the 14th are not the normal greens but they could hardly be classified as temporary.

Everyone was delighted to get out onto the course and there was a pleasant surprise for them all at the sixth hole. The pond to the left of the green has got a complete makeover and it looks fantastic.

As for the standard of golf, it was very impressive. Cecil Johnston, Shane Rooney and Gerry Blevins all scored 38 points over the 14 holes course.

To give you an idea as to how good that was Cecil and Shane were both round in three under par gross while Gerry was only three over par.

SECTION 0–9: 1st, Cecil Johnston (9) 38 points; 2nd, Shane Rooney (9) 38.

SECTION 10-18: 1st, Gerry Blevins (17) 38; 2nd, Malcolm Hanna (13) 36; 3rd, Timothy Beattie (16) 34.

SECTION 19+: 1st, Sam Wilkinson (23) 36; 2nd, Dominic Quinn (20) 33; 3rd= Shane Crossan (20) 32.

SUNDAY JANUARY 17 - The very popular Sunday sweep is up and running. The first winner was Malcolm Hanna, a golfer whose season has got off to a flier.

Malcolm was second in his section on Saturday and followed that with victory on Sunday. It’s no wonder he was smiling.

1st, Malcolm Hanna (13) Nett 29.5; 2nd, Colin Kennedy (14) Nett 30; 3rd, Alex Clarke (13) Nett 30.5.

MONDAY JANUARY 18 - The sweeps on Mondays and Thursdays should really be better supported. It’s difficult to explain why the entries have dropped.

Generally they are played over 14 holes and the prizes are good. Hopefully we will see an increase in the number of entries this season.

Albert Morrison won the first Monday sweep of the year with 34 points. Albert had to wait until April last season before he registered his first win in the sweeps. He is off to a fast start this year.

1st, Albert Morrison (19) 34; 2nd, Sean Quinn (16) 34.

THURSDAY JANUARY 21 - Dougie Stevenson is once again the competitions convener and he is the man to talk to if you have any queries or suggestions regarding competitions.

He is also one of the most enthusiastic players in the club and he very rarely misses a competition.

He has notched up his first win already with the best score in this Thursday sweep.

1st, Dougie Stevenson (12) 28.