Saturday saw our club’s third OBN Series Grand Final. The weather was very kind to us. We got the best day of the entire week, with no rain and practically no wind—apart from a slight warm breeze. A few thank-yous need to be acknowledged: Thanks to Barry and everyone who helped him erect the signage around the new first tee box beside the clubhouse. Also as always Kevin and the on course team had the place looking amazing. Thanks to Frank Duffy for having all the scorecards ready and ensuring the driving-range bays were fully stocked with free balls. Thanks to the members who hadn’t qualified but still came out to help set up the tents, tables, mascot costumes and everything else Thanks to the OBN Financial employees who came in on their day off to help and to Carmel Taylor, who helped all day with the tea, coffee and meal. and Murrin O Boyle who gave us great help throughout the day. A special thank-you to my wife, Deborah, and our children, Adam, Erin and Conor, for all the work you put in both before and during the event. Thank you all! As organiser and sponsor, there is always a fear that this might be the year it doesn’t work or that people will become bored with the format. Thankfully, it appears we got away with it for another year! The feedback was very positive, and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. We got down to the golf at 12 noon—thanks to Fiachra Neary for providing the shotgun start. I started on the second tee, and we had a bit of a wait. When it finally came time to play, I was surprised by how nervous I felt taking that first tee shot. I later learned, after chatting to the lads, that I wasn’t the only one! Only three players bettered their handicaps on the day, which was surprising considering the conditions and the course were perfect. It’s amazing how one small change to the course can make such a difference. There was a huge amount of talk about the first tee shot and, if reports are correct, it took its toll on several scorecards. Our winner, Mark McShera, told me he had been worrying about that shot the whole way around. All in all, it added greatly to the sense of occasion, so I’m very happy with it. I’m not going to say any more about golf, other than to congratulate our prize winners—Mark, Leo, Sam, Jim and Tom. Well done to you all! I have one final thank-you for everyone who came out to the Tipsy Tailor for the after-party. It was mighty fun and a great opportunity to chat with everyone who had played. Fair play as well to the lads who won big in the auction—you were buying drinks to beat the band! I’m not going to say too much about the auction, as I’m still not entirely sure everything we’re doing there is fully legal, so the less said, the better! But fair play to you all for getting stuck into it the way you did. if I have forgotten to thank anyone it was not my intention. Congratulations Mark, I played with you on Saturday and you were annoyingly good 😜. Your tee shots were down the middle every time. your putting was aggressive like only a young lad could be. It was probably the worst score you could have had. You are our 3rd OBN Series Champion, Enjoy. [image: image.png]

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