NOEL TAKES PRESIDENT'S PRIZE PLAUDITS
Having fulfilled several different club roles with much distinction over the last two decades and more, Walter Neville was a perfect choice to succeed Dr Oliver Woods as President of County Armagh Golf Club in January 2016.
A most successful and pleasurable President's Day on 5 August 2017 then was just reward for Walter, who has since carried out his presidential duties with characteristic dignity, energy and attention to detail.
Family, friends and members surrounded Walter for a Saturday coffee morning, where the Ladies' branch excelled themselves with customarily effective organisation. The coffee morning afforded everyone present a great chance to catch up with old pals, admire the superb array of prizes on offer and wish our fine President all the very best for his big day and beyond.
The pristine clubhouse, enhanced with beautiful floral decoration provided by the ladies, and the delicious refreshments prepared for those in attendance also served as fitting testimony to all the club staff and volunteers who work so diligently to ensure that such showpiece occasions run smoothly.
On the sporting front, with the lady members and juvenile girls and boys already having competed in their various categories, almost 200 men packed the city fairways and greens in the hope of grabbing President's Prize glory, an opportunity that arises only every two years.
Persistent heavy rain earlier in the week had led to understandable fears as to what the weekend's weather would entail but a mercifully dry 48-hour period immediately in advance of President's Day meant that competitors were greeted by a course in excellent condition and setting a suitably stiff golfing examination.
Passing that test with flying colours was Noel Muldoon, whose spectacular scorecard boasted a massive 44 points and sealed his most deserved victory.
Noel had demonstrated some good form in the Open Stableford competition on Wednesday 12 July, when he ran out a comfortable winner with a peerless 45-point plunder. The subsequent handicap reduction would've been enough to curtail the competitive ambition of many players but, instead, Muldoon has seemingly been inspired by the extra challenge that it has posed him.
His President's Day round began with an inauspicious, if not disastrous, six at the opening hole and ended with further double bogeys at the 17th and 18th. However, at the 15 holes in between, Noel was a model of steadiness and consistency — or, to put it more starkly, an insatiable points-collecting machine.
A hat-trick of pars at the 3rd, 4th and 5th helped Muldoon on his way to a terrific 41-stroke outward trek that left him five under his handicap at the turn. More solid and fruitful play would follow on the back nine, where a par at the 15th nestled nicely among half a dozen useful bogeys elsewhere.
It all added up to a gross 87 that means Muldoon will enter the fray of his upcoming golf battles as a 22-handicapper, although that is unlikely to daunt him in this mood.
After Samuel Jenkins was the first to get his name engraved on the County Armagh Golf Club Captain's Day Perpetual Cup in June, Noel is the maiden recipient of the President's Day trophy. He also got his hands on a beautiful set of Mizuno irons, the top prize on offer — not a bad day's work!
Noel Muldoon is presented with the new County Armagh Golf Club President's Day Perpetual Cup and a set of Mizuno irons by President, Walter Neville, and his wife Mabel
Noel Muldoon is presented with the new County Armagh Golf Club President's Day Perpetual Cup and a set of Mizuno irons by President, Walter Neville, and his wife Mabel.