NEWLANDS Golf Club in Clondalkin staged the 50th annual running of the open Husband & Wife Competition recently.
Now the longest running husband and wife competition in Ireland, the tournament was won by a delighted Aislinn and John Anthony Nolan from Terenure.
The event was a shotgun start with morning and evening sessions on the mature parkland course in Clondalkin. The afternoon starters seemed to get the best of the beautiful conditions.
On one of the hottest days the old course has seen this year, the Templeogue couple, playing off 36 & 11 respectively, combined for a total of 45 points in the fourball format, enough to take the victory by a single point.
Played for the first time in 1969, the Newlands Husband & Wife competition became one of the most popular events in the ‘open’ calendar, drawing competitors from the greater Dublin area and much further afield.
It is now the longest running husband and wife competition in Ireland.
“It is a wonderful day out and it is one of those lovely traditions in Leinster golf,” this year’s club captain Lex Flavin explained.
“This has a great history. It is fiercely competitive as all the best tourna-ments are but it is also played in a spirit of fun and friendship. We see old friends and new faces every year.”
Lex added: “For people getting into golf it is one of those rare sports that a couple can play together. That’s important for a lot of new members coming in to Newlands.
“We had couples here today from as far away as England. We had couples who been together longer than the competition’s 50 years, and we had a couple who got married three weeks ago.
“It is a great fun day and while golfers are competitive types by nature as far as we know all the marriages have survived for now,” Lex joked.
Captain Flavin also thanked all members taking part in his Captain’s Prize qualifying competition last weekend.
Newlands Golf Club is open for new membership at the moment, and anyone interested in either the competition or the club is asked to contact the office at Newlands Golf Club on 01 4593157 or email info@newlandsgolfclub.com.
Newlands Golf Club has existed in Clondalkin since it was founded in 1910. It has established itself as one of the best parkland courses in Leinster.
It is also well-known to motorists as the new N7 flyover at Newlands Cross looks over the grounds.