SPA NEWSspagolfclub@btconnect.com August 2017 Ph (028) 97562365

SPA BAGS MAJOR PGA EVENTONE of the most important events in the Northern Ireland golfing calendar will be played this year at Spa.

The NI PGA Championship sponsored by GolfNow the online tee booking service will take place on Wednesday and Thursday October 11 and 12.

Not only will Spa members and visitors have the chance to see the cream of Northern Ireland golf play their game but the opening day – a Pro-Am – will offer amateur golfers the rare opportunity to play and compete in a team with a Professional.

Ladies, gents and Spa visitors who wish to take part in this prestige event should contact the Club office and they will be assigned to a Professional.

The second day of the tournament is reserved for the Professionals and their score for the Championship will be carried forward in what promises to be an exciting event and as Club Captain John Brannigan said providing “an excellent showcase for Spa.”

Full details will be available later – but early reservations for those team places are advised to avoid disappointment!

Pictured at the official launch of the PGA Championship at Spa were (from left) Captain John Brannigan, PGA NI Secretary Phil Posnett, Gary Wardlow (Spa Professional) and Andrew Hollywood of sponsors GolfNow.

THE LONG JOURNEY TO SPA GOLF CLUBProfile – PGA Professional Gary Wardlow

GARY Wardlow’s journey to the post of Head Professional at Spa Golf Club began when he took up the sport at the age of 12.

And what an incredible journey it has been for the gifted 37-year old.

Along the way he has slept in cars, camper vans, cheap bed and breakfast establishments and on one occasion in the arrivals lounge at Shannon Airport where the public address system was his alarm call.

“Sometimes we didn’t sleep at all – we just drove through the night, arrived at whatever Club we were playing at, had a shower and went to the first tee box,” he recalled.

He lived for a time in Spain as he learned his trade earning just enough money to survive before transferring to Florida where he worked as a junior professional in the Marriott Golf Resort on International Drive.

“Like the other juniors I worked in the shop, helped out with golf lessons, cleaned shoes – whatever had to be done. I was basically just a dogsbody. You did what you had to do to survive but all through that I never lost my passion for golf,” he said.

Throughout these years he was “consistently broke” but kept his head above choppy financial waters by winning prizemoney while success at Pro-Am tournaments in the seven years to 2010 gave him “just enough to sort of pay the bills.”

A 2011 full-time position with American Golf in Belfast proved to be a turning point as Gary discovered his widely recognised talent for teaching the sport and gradually built up a client base of around 300 eager students.

By this stage he was developing his ambition to become a Club Professional after the realisation he wasn’t going to make it as a Tour Professional - as only the very elite can attract the kind of sponsorship required to fund the relentless regime of the circuit.

TALENT SPOTTERS

His work and reputation at American Golf brought him to the attention of the Spa “talent spotters” who invited him the apply for the Professional’s job. Subsequently Gary was appointed the first Spa Professional for over 80 years.

“I’m very happy here. It’s a friendly, progressive and ambitious Club. We have a fantastic golfing package at Spa and the course is just magnificent. The members have all made me very welcome and I just hope they recognise the improvements I’ve tried to introduce. I hope they are as happy with me as I am with them,” he said.

Certainly no one knows the world of golf like Gary Wardlow. With his CV that’s as long as Spa’s first fairway no wonder our talent scouts were impressed!

Aged 12 his first handicap was 21 but soon it plummeted to match his age and four years later he was playing off scratch.

“I started taking golf really seriously when I was 16 and then I got to represent Ireland in the Home Internationals when I was 17/18,” he said.

At this time his fellow internationals included Graeme McDowell and Michael Hoey on a side which defeated Scotland 10.5 to 4.5, England fell 9.5 to 5.5 and Wales were beaten 10 – 5 for Gary and his team to win the Home Internationals.

Playing off plus-3 Gary also added the Ulster Schools Championship (1996), the Ulster Boys Championship (’97), the Munster Boys Championship (’98) to his bulging trophy cabinet.

“When I won the Munster Boys I ran out of money and slept in the lounge at Shannon airport for four nights until an official of the GUI heard of my plight and gave me a bed for the night,” Gary said.

He was a member of Shandon’s Fred Daly championship winning team in the ‘97/98 season followed by the British and European championship.

Multiple Pro-Am tournaments in Ireland and the UK have also been claimed by Gary whose titles also include the Order of Merit for the leading Northern Ireland Professional.

“It has been quite a rollercoaster and it hasn’t all been glamorous but I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.”

Today Gary is a devoted husband to Susanne and dad to Jaxon (6), Luke (4) and Carter (1). Confirmed Barcelona and Liverpool fan Jaxon is already showing a keen interest in following

in his father’s footsteps.

“Jaxon goes to golf coaching twice a week and definitely has a great interest in the sport. I will help him all I can but I won’t push him – it will be up to him to make up his own mind.”

Under Gary’s expert coaching many Spa members – including both the young and the experienced – have seen a dramatic improvement in their game. One of his most notable achievements was the lady who after just one lesson went out and scored an incredible 51 points resulting in her handicap being slashed from 16 to 8!

The Tour’s loss was certainly Spa’s gain.

BUNKERS, LEAKS AND DIVOT EVENINGS LATEST NEWS FROM THE COURSEBy Greens Convenors Jimmy Kelly & Mike Porter

DESPITE the heavy rain over the past couple of weeks, the ground staff have continued with the cutting programme and strive to reduce the rough throughout the course to a height of between 30-40mm.

The damp conditions have impacted on presentation leaving unavoidable grass cuttings in the wake of the mowers but these will normally disappear after a second cut in dry conditions.

The greens have been sprayed with fertiliser (liquid iron) and are cut and rolled at 3mm. Fairways are cut to a height of 15mm with aprons set at 12mm..

A number of bunkers have been identified as needing major overhaul – ie all filling removed with linings replaced and re-sanded. This work will be carried out over the winter months and in the meantime the bunkers will be marked as GUR.

The soft areas to the left-hand side of the 1st and 7th fairways and the middle of the practice area caused by leaks to the irrigation system have been repaired but this is an ongoing problem and many of the common joints throughout the course and stopcocks adjacent to the greens need to be replaced to avoid further damage.

This work along with replacing several sprinkler heads is to commence at the end of the golfing season.

Two enjoyable divot evenings were held recently and have improved the appearance of the fairways. Players are reminded to replace their divots and any others as soon as practical.

All members are welcome to these evenings and the Captain may even get you a drink!!

We wish to thank Stephen Lewis (grounds team) who was with us on a part-time basis over the summer months for all his endeavours and hope to call on him again next season.

Worth the wait………TOM Wilson who is no stranger to the winners’ enclosure at Spa confided – after collecting two prizes on Hugh Hegan’s President’s Day – that the last time he won a President’s Day prize was back in 2000 when Don McNamara was in that office. Well done Tom, it was worth the wait.

Cheeky Comment!CAPTAIN John Brannigan was recently accosted by a man of his acquaintance who shouted at him across the street: “Hi Boy – I see your photo in the paper all the time and you’re still wearing that same ould blazer!!”

DAYTIME TV - LIFE WITHOUT GOLFBy Lady President Mandy Murphy

WHAT a time of the year to miss your step, hear a crack from your ankle and then – within a split second – find yourself landing face down in the middle of the road.

I would, at this stage, just like to confirm that NO alcohol had been consumed.

That was really all I could think of while sitting waiting on my X-ray results to confirm what I already knew in my heart of hearts – fractured distal fibulas on in plain English I had broken a bone on the outside of my ankle.

My beloved golf season was about to enter one of its busiest periods with interclub matches, my annual weekend away to play in the Scratch Cup at Royal Portrush and two majors – Lady Captain’s Day and Lady President’s Day. If I had to have such a mishap I could have timed it better over the winter - and to top it all our two weeks of summer had just arrived.

Armed with crutches and strict instructions not to bear any weight on my right foot for the next two weeks my golf world ground to a temporary halt……..all in that split second.

Sitting around doing nothing is not something I do easily but I had no option but to suffer daytime tv – Homes Under the Hammer, Escape to the Country, A Place in the Sun. It was getting to the stage where I was starting to see the repeats!!

TARGETS

To break to tedium I began to set myself targets – the first to get down the stairs. Thank goodness for Youtube – it is remarkable how you can put your question into Google and you will find any number

of videos in any language showing you how to get up and down the stairs with a non-weight bearing ankle injury. So armed with crutches and strategically placed dining room chairs all over the house and my information from YouTube I finally made it down the stairs after a week of my isolation!

The next aim was to get out of the house. No prizes for guessing where the first trip would take me (no pun intended!). Yes, it was to Spa Golf Club to support my fellow Junior Cup team who were playing at home against Ballycastle. It was great to see them all although I would have loved to have been in the thick of it playing alongside the girls.

Thankfully after two exhausting weeks trying to hop around on crutches I progressed to what seems to have been the latest fashion accessory this season amongst Spa Lady members – the support boot. At last I was beginning to see light at the end of the tunnel so I began to set my sights on playing for Mr Captain’s prizes in another five weeks.

Unfortunately that target was a little too optimistic so instead I went out that Friday evening in a buggy and quietly played six holes to see how my ankle would stand up to playing golf and whether I would have the confidence to swing the club.

It was lovely to get out into the peace and quiet of the course and what a difference a few weeks had made to the condition of the course. It made me realise that sometimes you don’t see or appreciate the obvious until you have missed it – the course was looking magnificent.

I finished those six holes on a high with a par on the 18th. It may not have been the prettiest or most orthodox golf swing but it was still there in some shape or form – if only I could do that in more competitions when fit and able!!

Next target – play on Lady Captain’s Day. Although not fit to walk 18 holes I was determined not to miss the biggest competition on the Ladies calendar and with the use of a buggy I managed it alongside fellow member of the “boot club” Alice Hamilton who was recovering from a stress fracture in her foot.

I was extremely fortunate not to have suffered a more serious injury that Monday

evening but it has made me realise how easy it is to take the simplest of things for granted and how so quickly it can also be taken away.

So the next time I hit a bad shot, or miss that six inch putt I will just be thankful for being able to go out onto our course at Spa and enjoy the wonderful game of golf. Maybe that is something we call all learn from.

(Mandy not only competed in Lady Captain Heather Edgar’s day, she picked up one of the main prizes. Now that was a great golfing recovery!)

Four of the gents who took part in Mandy’s Lady President’s Day competition (from left) Roy Carter, Billy McCready (Spa’s oldest playing member at 86), Mandy’s dad Bobby Wallace (almost 80-years old and still playing to a single figure handicap) and Sean Murnin.

The Back Nine…..A view from the stretch!! By Patrick McCluskey

DANIEL De Burg Kinahan or Danny as he likes to be known, is, oops, sorry, was, the Member of Parliament for South Antrim up until the 9 June 2017 when he was unceremoniously unseated by the great unwashed.

It’s not often that I have pangs of sympathy for politicians. I suspect it’s one of the consequences (and there are many) of getting older. I’m now 61 and when I turned 50 I remember discussing with an older member of my fourball the three imperatives men of our age need to take cognisance off.

A heightened sense of discretion and the knowledge that there might be some ladies reading this precludes me from rehearsing them here. However, I am happy to discuss them in the privacy of the Wallace Bar. But to give you a clue they all started with the word ‘Never’.

But I digress!! In the matter of Danny Kinahan, the sympathy has nothing to do with him losing his seat as an M.P. but that while he was out at the election count, he had the misfortune to have his house burgled

Wait for it!!

The thieves stole his golf clubs and his wine. I can only imagine the temporary inconvenience of losing the wine but losing your clubs - well that’s another matter!

ADVANCING YEARS

His loss had wider resonance for me because a further consequence of my advancing years is the fact that I have Type 2 Diabetes. Part of the recommended regime for dealing with the conditions is increased exercise. I have over the course of the summer, thus far, been trying to play as much as possible (everyday if I can make). It is with some satisfaction that I am pleased to report that it works. My blood sugar levels are showing improvements.

There is also a significant body of evidence within the Diabetic community that Red wine prevents the absorption of sugar in the intestine. As they say in today’s vernacular….Who knew?

So, if you are like me and you are on the ‘Back Nine’ of life: firstly, give a thought about sympathising with Danny about losing his clubs but moreover, if you or your friends have diabetes don’t discount golf as a serious way of controlling what is a developing chronic condition.

Secondly, raise a glass to celebrate the Club and the facilities it provides - as long as it’s red wine of course.

Cheers Danny!!

OPEN WEEK CHAMPIONS

Saturday Open Stableford – August 12 – Sponsored by Calor Gas

Winner – Scott McVeigh (43 points) Gross - Barry Stevens (74)

Open Mixed Greensomes – August 13 – Sponsored by The Carriage Rooms

Winners – Amy Geddes and Jordan Graham (44 points)

Ladies Open Stableford – August 15 – Sponsored by Willis Insurance

Winner – Heather Kitson (36 points) Gross – M. Henderson.

Men’s Open Stableford – August 16 – Sponsored by Electronic & Security Services

Winner – Chris Harland (39 points) Gross – Philip Gregg

Men’s Open Seniors – August 17 – Sponsored by Bobby Wallace

Winner – Brian Murphy (44 points) Gross - Davy Gibson (75)

Ladies Open 3 Ball Scramble – August 18 – Sponsored by Montalto Estate

Winners – Sharon Beattie, Elaine Beattie and Alex Murphy (61.2)

Men’s Open Stroke (for the Spa Cup) – August 19 – Sponsored by Moore’s Caravan Sales

Winner – Stephen Proctor (69 on a countback) Gross - Chris Harland (76)

WINNERS: Spa Captains Heather Edgar and John Brannigan pictured with (front centre) Stephen Proctor winner of the Spa Cup and a group of major winners after the successful Festival of Golf.

Spa News production costs kindly sponsored by Lady Secretary Denise Cunningham