Slieve Russell Overnight Outing 12/13th September 2022
Our Slieve Russell overnight outing was played on September 12th and 13th and was a huge
success. After a long absence it was great to see the overnight trip back on the Red Barons
calendar. The Red Barons last played Slieve Russell in 1994!
The weather again was fantastic, although leaving Dublin on the morning of the 12th there was
many a worried golfer as the incessant drizzle continued until the outskirts of Cavan. However
the rain stopped and the clouds cleared and the golf was played in beautiful sunny conditions.
Made up of a great mixture of youth and experience, 22 golfers took part. As is customary now
Capt Jeff Brownlow continued to test the patience of the committee narrowly making his tee off
time with seconds to spare! Soft conditions due to heavy overnight rain resulted in some golfers
asking for placing. After much deliberation this was declined and with light winds and nice
sunshine, scoring was good on day one.
The early pace was set by F/O Wilson Greenlee shooting a superb 38pts. At the end of round
one, the leaderboard was a tight affair with 4 points separating the top 7 players.
​
Day One Leaderboard:
1st: F/O Wilson Greenlee 38pts
2nd: Capt. Paul Neeson 37pts
3rd: F/O Emily Donoghue 36pts
4th: F/O Peter Dennison & Capt. Jeff Brownlow 35pts
6th: F/O Dean Rogers & Capt. Keith Reid 34pts
After post round drinks, dinner was served in the Conall Cearnach Restaurant. The delightful
meal was accompanied with some fine wine and after dinner all retired to the bar for some much needed refreshments and banter. As the night went on the more sensible retired to bed leaving 6 die hards to fend for themselves in the bar with F/O John French giving a fine display of his bar skills!
Day two began with some players having a morning run and swim although most decided to go straight to breakfast for 9:30am deciding not to wear themselves out before golf commenced at 10:40am. After some concerns as to whether Capt. Dave Morgan would make it, all 22 golfers teed off on day two.
Conditions again were very favourable with a gentle breeze and warm conditions prevailing. With no overnight rain, conditions underfoot were good, with the greens drying out nicely.
F/O Emily Donoghue teeing off in the first group took full advantage of the favourable conditions giving an excellent demonstration of regulation golf finding 14 of 14 fairways with her accurate driving. With 35pts she set the early clubhouse lead with a combined score of 71pts. A nervous wait ensued, but an hour or so later with all scorecards returned her score remained unbeaten and Emily was declared the winner of the H.E. Martineau Trophy.
Day one contenders Capt. Paul Neeson, Capt. Keith Reid, and F/O Dean Rogers played some
great golf but were just unable to match the target set by Emily, and despite a heroic effort by
Capt. Fran McDonald shooting a superb 39pts on day two, he ultimately had to settle for second place with 70pts.
As for Overnight leader F/O Wilson Greenlee, he fell off the pace considerably and must be ruing his decision to stay up late with the seasoned professionals the night before!
​
Final Results:
1st: F/O Emily Donohue, 71pts
2nd: Capt Fran McDonald, 70pts
3rd: Capt Paul Neeson, 69pts
Longest Drive Day 1: F/O Wilson Greenlee
Longest Drive Day 2: F/O Dean Rogers
Nearest Pin: F/O Ken Gregory, 6ft 7ins
Best Front 9: F/O Wilson Greenlee
Best Back 9: Capt Keith Reid
​
Our last Red Barons event of 2022 will be the RIALPA Outing to be held at Malahide Golf Club on
Thursday, October 6th. Please see website for timesheet.