Match Play Qualifier

Match Play Qualifier

Portrush Golf Club was the venue for the first round of the 36 hole match play qualifier. Although the sun was shining brightly conditions were extremely difficult with winds recorded at over 30mph. The top 8 net qualifiers after the 36 holes are played will proceed into the quarter finals to compete to be the match play champion.

The leading qualifier after round one was Conall Murdock with an excellent net 67. Conall began his round in steady fashion with three pars in his first four holes. He finished the front nine strongly with a good par on the tricky par three ninth hole. Conall also had a solid back nine compiling a total of four pars and two birdies including an excellent birdie two on the difficult par three fifteenth hole.

In second place two shots further back with a net 69 was Jules Preston. This was Jules' best performance of the year to date having compiled a total of eight pars during his round in the most difficult of conditions. 

In third place was Dylan Carton with a net 71 followed by Caolan Smith in fourth place one shot further back with a net 72.

Short Game Lessons

Last week the students underwent further short game lessons. The shots that they were assessed on this time were the chip shot and the bunker shot. Each student was given specific teaching points with practice drills which were recorded into their dairies. They also received video analysis with the videos later uploaded onto their personal google drive accounts. Timescales were given and these particular short game shots will continue to be assessed over the coming weeks.

Short Game Skills Testing

The students were put through their first recorded short game skills test of the year last Thursday. For most it was their first full test and will therefore act as an excellent starting platform from which to improve upon. There was a total of twelve shots within the test with every shot from a 3 foot putt to a 50 yard pitch shot tested.

The highest score recorded on the day for the test was 104 points from Paul Conroy with the class averaging an excellent total of 92. Everyone will be working hard on all aspects of their short game with their next test scheduled for mid February. 

Long Game Skills Testing

This week the students will undergo their first long game skills test of the year. The test involves approximately 70 shots recorded on the FlightScope launch monitor with the distances ranging anything between 20 yards to 240 yards. Each test will take approximately 45 minutes so every student may possibly not complete it this week. Stay tuned next week for updates on the scoring.

Fitness Testing Results

Having now completed all of the relevant fitness test the students can now view their test results on their google drive accounts. The test involved nine separate tests with the pass mark set at 120 points. However each student had to ensure that they didn't fail a total of four of these tests otherwise they would not pass the test.

The effort and commitment shown to date in the fitness classes has been very refreshing and if this continues throughout the year huge progress will be expected within the fitness department.