Another Hugely Successful Winter Training Trip

After six months worth of organising and preparations leading up to the Winter Training Trip there was always going to be a certain degree of anxiousness as we all eagerly anticipated our first trip to Mar Menor Golf Resort in Murcia, Spain.

With 8 rounds of golf to play in 10 days and with only 1 day off and 1 practice day it was always going to be a very busy schedule but one that we knew the students would thoroughly enjoy. Throughout the duration of the training we played a variety of different championship courses which were all expertly designed by the legendary Jack Nicklaus. The courses included Hacienda Riquelme, Alhama Signature, El Valle, La Torre and Mar Menor Golf Resort. Each course provided its own challenging test with a huge amount of bunkers with extremely quick and undulating greens.

The students competed in various different formats including a 2 day Ryder Cup competition were they played four ball better ball on the first day and singles on the second day. The first of the British Schools qualifying also took place before the 54 hole Stroke Play event on the final 3 days.

Group picture above taken on the range after day one

Picture above shows the view from the 10th tee on the spectacular Alhama Signature course.

Paul Conroy Takes Victory In The Winter Training Stroke Play Championship

The 54 hole stroke play competition took place at Hacienda Riquelme, Alhama Signature and El Valle Golf Courses over the final 3 days. Thankfully all of the students had the benefit of playing each of these courses in the first week which would be very beneficial.

After round 1 Paul Conroy lead the way with an excellent 2 over par 74. In a tie for 2nd place was Caolan Smith and Darragh Lynch. Caolan Smith produced the best nett score of the day with an impressive score of 60 after playing the back 9 in 1-under par gross. His round was also capped off with a holed bunker shot on the 18th. Gareth Reid made 3 birdies in a row from the 13th on his way to a net 67.

Round 2 would be played at the Alhama Signature course which was the favorite amongst the students. Paul Conroy continued the lead the way with another very solid round of 76 (+4) on a long and very challenging course.

Cold wet conditions on the final day at El Valle day made scoring very difficult but Paul stuck to it and ended up a 14 shot run away winner after shooting a third round 78. Gareth Reid pipped Caolan Smith by 1 shot to win the net competition.

... Gareth teeing off with driver on the first tee at El Valle	... Caolan Smith rolling in his birdie putt on the 18th green at Alhama Signature course	... Harry Thompson hitting 2 iron with his first tee shot at Alhama Signature course

American Claim Victory In Ryder Cup In Spain

Team USA proved to be too strong for team Europe with a 7 1/2 to 4 1/2 victory. However all matches were extremely competitive with all of them going as far as the 17th and 18th holes on the final day. The format on the first day was four ball better ball before playing singles matches on the final day.

The matches over the two days were contested in fantastic spirit with some excellent golf played by both teams.

British Schools Leaderboard

After the completion of 4 British Schools qualifying rounds in Spain the standings are as follows below. Qualifying will continue this week with the 5th round to be played at Portrush Golf Club.

After all of the qualifying rounds have been played the top 4 players will be selected to represent the school. The event will take place on 3rd and 4th May at Trevose Golf Club.

Brendan Lawlor Finishes 4th In European Championship Event

Brendan Lawlor Finishes 4th In European Championship Event

Former Full Time student Brendan Lawlor from Dundalk, Ireland took part in his first European Disabled Golf Association Tournament held at Pestana Vila Sol course, in the Algarve region of Portugal. This is an international event under PGA Rules and is one of 14 or so events each year for amateur players who have a disablement.

Brendan was a Full Time student at the golf school for two years and recently graduated in June 2017. Brendan had many highlights whilst at the school most notably finishing in the top 5 of the International Strokeplay event held out in Spain with a field of over 80 students competing between various schools and also representing the school in the British Schools championship two years running while finishing in the top 5 in the second year.

Since leaving the school Brendan has been in fine form. He is a member of Ardee and Dundalk Golf Clubs and has recently been shooting sub par rounds taking his exact handicap to 1.8. As a result Brendan has been high on confidence and this no doubt gave him plenty of belief heading into the event.

With the tournament boosting a field of 80 players Brendan would have been pleased with his first round 77 (+5) which left him just 1 shot off the lead. Brendan had been leading the tournament after 12 holes of the opening round. His second round had several birdies in it, but he also had two visits to water and also had the unfortunate luck of his ball staying up a true. Brendan would finish his second round with another solid score of 78 (+6) to finish in an excellent 4th place.

Later that evening Brendan attended a Gala Dinner and Prize giving before returning back home to Ireland.

Now that Brendan has made his name with the DGS, he will now enter all of their tournaments next year, including a possible trips to Australia and New Zealand.

We wish Brendan the best of luck for the future and we look forward to keeping track of his progress. Well done Brendan!

Four Ball Better Ball Campionship

Four Ball Better Ball Championship

Congratulations to Paul Conroy and James Fallon on winning the Four Ball Better Ball Championship. Paul and James compiled a total score of 97 points over the two rounds played at Portrush Golf Club and Ballyclare Golf Club respectively to win by a comfortable margin of nine points.                                                                                  

Over the course of the two rounds Paul compiled a fantastic score of four over par in what was extremely difficult conditions over the two days. 

In second place as mentioned a considerable margin of nine points behind were Conall Murdock and Dylan Carton with a total score of 88 points. Conall and Dylan worked very well together as a team with a very solid score over the two days with totals on both days being 44 points.

In third place a further seven points back on a total score of 81 points were Alex Hanneffy and Keelan Evans. Their score improved significantly from the 36 points they had in the first round to compile a total of 45 points in the second round.

Winter Training Trip CONFIRMED

We're all booked and very much looking forward to our winter training trip to Spain in January. A new location for us this year, the Mar Menor Golf Resort and Spa, located just an hours transfer from Alicante. The resort boasts 6 Jack Nicklaus design golf courses and will provide our students with plenty of variety and different challenges along the way.

The students will be staying in apartment style accommodation and mixing up the week with rounds of golf, coaching sessions, competitions and lots of fun, all out in the Spanish sunshine (hopefully!).

The winter trips are not only an escape from the temperatures back home but also a great chance to continue the programme work and game improvements made so far already this year.

Fitness Testing Results

Last week the students completed all of their fitness testing for term two with a fantastic pass rate of 75% across the class. The testing incorporates all aspects of fitness with the pass mark for this term set at 140. In order to pass the test a pass mark of 140 plus needs to be achieved as well as passing six or more of the components of the test. Throughout the remainder of the term the students will be taking part in at least two fitness sessions per week to encourage a steady progress onto the next term.

Pro Am Team Confirmed

Over the last two weeks the students have been competing on an individual basis to qualify for a three man team to play in a Pro Am with Programme Manager Andy Peoples. The three deserved students to qualify are Paul Conroy, James Fallon and Conall Murdock. All three student performed consistently well over the course of the two rounds and we certainly hope that they can re produce this form for the team. The Pro Am will be held at Kirkistown Castle Golf Club on Monday 27th November. Best of luck lads!

Four Ball Championship Underway

Four Ball Better Ball Championship Underway

On Friday the students took part in a four ball better ball competition at Royal Portrush. This was round one of the two round championship and it has been a very competitive leaderboard. 

On what was trickiest conditions of the year to play in so far there were plenty of solid scores from all of the students.

Leading the way with an fantastic team score of 47 points is Paul Conroy and James Fallon. Paul himself had an excellent score of 38 points (+2) playing off a handicap of 4. Combined Paul and James had 25 points on the front nine followed by 22 points on the back nine.

Three points further back in second place with a team score of 44 points is Conall Murdock and Dylan Carton. Once again Conall himself had an excellent score of 38 points playing off a handicap of 11. Once again Conall and Dylan worked together very well on the course with a great total of 23 points on the front nine followed up by a steady 21 points on the back nine.

In third place a further four points back is Harry Thompson and Caolan Smith. Harry and Coalan both worked together well as a team to compile a total of 40 points however a couple of zero pointers on the card derailed their chances of leading after round one. However it is a very good score to build on for round two.

After a lot of hard work during the week on everyone's techniques it was very pleasing to see a number of solid scores especially in the difficult conditions.

Term 1 - Golf Update

Term 1 has flown by and now we are on the lead up to Christmas. The ranking updates for term one are now complete. Please take the time to read over your sons performance and progress from the chart below. Each student will now have the opportunity to achieve rank two in term two if they achieve the specific targets.

Long Game Technical Lessons

Last week the students all received their second phase of long game technical assessments. Having all made significant progress from they received their first phase it was a great opportunity to push on and progress onto the next phase. Each student was given swing analysis which has now been uploaded onto their google drive accounts. Notes from the sessions were also taken and noted into each students diary. Each student has now set an action plan to monitor their progress throughout the duration of term two.

Alan Kane Visit

Having highlighted the visit on the newsletter last week it was fantastic to have Alan Kane visit the school just last Thursday. Alan has been practicing Kinesiology for the past 15 years and has developed a system for golf performance. System K has been used with excellent results on players already and a few of our students were lucky enough to have a session with Alan.

The students all found the experience breathtaking and are eagerly anticipating Alan's second visit with us in a few weeks.

For more information on System K or to see how it can improve your game you can contact Alan on innerpowergolf@gmail.com.

We look forward to seeing Alan again soon for a follow up session with our students.

... Alan speaks to the students about his work and the differences it can make		... Gareth Reid receives some treatment from Alan during one of the sessions

Parents Evening

We would like to remind you that we have scheduled a parent teacher evening for Tuesday 21st November.

If you would like to make a booking to meet with Andy, Stuart and Gary McKeegan from NRC please let me know.

We still have spaces available if you are looking to book in. However if you cannot make this we can arrange a telephone call at a convenient time for you. 

DCGS Match Play Champion

Caolan Smith Is DCGS Match Play Champion

Congratulations to Caolan Smith on winning the Match Play Championship at Portrush Valley Links. Caolan defeated James Fallon emphatically with a 5&3 victory to claim the coveted title before the Halloween break.

Caolan has been progressing excellently since the beginning of term with his stroke average consistently coming down week by week and this result is evidence of that. Also very well done to James on his performances leading up to the final.

... James and Caolan on the first tee prior to their match	... Caolan tees off on the tricky par 5 fourth hole	... Caolan putting for birdie on the par 4 fourteenth hole

Halloween Break at DCGS

It was another fantastic Halloween break here at the DCGS training camp. The training campers and Transition Year students teamed up to make and excellent and fun filled week of games and activities.

Well done everyone involved on all the effort and learning that took place, some valuable lessons. Keep up the practice and we look forward to seeing you all improve over the next few months.

... Young superstar Katie Poots tees off on the 2nd hole at our DCGS Training Course	... The training camp attendees and Transition Year students pictured together during the week	... Transition Year student William Matthews tees off on the par 3 second hole on the DCGS Training Course

Winter Training Trip

We are near to finalising our winter training trip to Spain in January.

We are going very nice resort about an hour from Alicante airport this year which boasts 6 golf courses and excellent practice facilities.

Please see the link to the resort - http://www.intercontinentalmarmenor.com/en/golf-courses-mar-menor-resort.html

We will be flying out on Tuesday 23rd January from Belfast to Alicante and then flying home on the return flight on Saturday 3rd February.

It is once again expected to be a hugely successful trip and it is one that is hugely anticipated from the students already.

Guest Speaker Visit

Kinesiologist Alan Kane will be with us this week as our guest speaker to chat to the students about the physical and mental benefits that they can establish through the correct therapy.

Alan will work with a number of students and you's them as examples in a case study to illustrate the benefits of the therapy and how it can immediately improve performance on and off the golf course. 

We all await Alan's visit on Thursday with great interest.

Parents Evening

We have scheduled a parent teacher evening for Tuesday 21st November.

If you would like to make a booking to meet with Andy, Stuart and Gary McKeegan from NRC please let me know.

The first available appointment slot will be 4:30pm. Each appointment will last approx 30mins (15 mins with education and 15 mins with golf).

I know it will be difficult for some of you to attend so if you’d like to chat at a time other than Tuesday evening over the phone or Skype please let us know.

New Addition To Driving Range

We now have our new automatic ball picker installed at the range which will aid us greatly with our retention of range balls on a daily basis. The picker picks up approximately 300 each time before coming back to base to drop them off onto the convey belt and into the ball washing machine.

Match Play Qualifiers

Match Play Qualifier

On Friday the students completed their final round of the 36 hole match play qualifying. The scoring was excellent in what was fantastic scoring conditions at the Hilton Templepatrick.

Finishing in first place in the qualifying with a net 62 today was Dylan Carton. Following him in second place was Caolan Smith who had an excellent net 63 today. In third place was Conall Murdock who had a steady 70 today.

The best gross scores on the day came from Darragh Lynch with an excellent 73 and Paul Conroy with a 74. Both Darragh and Paul compiled a total of 23 pars and 5 birdies between them.

Well done to each of the students involved who are all showing a great level of progress which has only been made possible by their hard work and commitment so far this term.

Match Play 1st Round Draw

Oliver Doherty Makes First Ever Albatross At Golf School

Massive congratulations to second year student Oliver Doherty who had an albatross on the par 5 16th hole at the Hilton Templepatrick on Friday.

He played his second shot from 228 yards with his hybrid running it up from the front of the green before eventually falling into the cup.

Well done Oliver.

Long Game FlightScope Skills Testing

Last week the students commenced their long game skills testing on the FlightScope. The test is scored out of 345 with the highest score so far being 189. The testing will continue on this week with the aim that every student will have completed it this week. These test give the students a fantastic gauge to start with so they can then measure their progress from this.

Student Success

Former Full Time student Joseph O’Neill is currently studying in the first year of his scholarship at Hutchinson College, Texas. Joe graduated from the Full Time programme only last year after spending two years with us at the school.

Joe is currently studying Sports Management with a weekly timetable that consists of class time from 8.00am – 12 noon and golf training from 1.00pm – 6.00pm 5 days per week. He played for his college team in the Newman Invitational tournament a couple of weeks ago finishing in 6th place with a final round 74.

Joe has described his experience so far as brilliant with the facilities being a fantastic benefit to him with 3 golf courses a driving range, chipping green and a putting green to train on each day.

We would like to thank Joe for taking the time out from his busy schedule to chat to us about his time in America so far and we wish him all the very best for the near future.

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.