02/06/2026
The Mighty Quinn Scores At The Castle โณ๏ธ๐ ๐ดโซ๏ธ
Having captained the Down Minor football team to All-Ireland glory in 1987, Mark Quinn knows a thing or two about winning and while his beloved Arsenal were denied a famous win in the Champions League final on Saturday night, Mark still had reason to be cheerful as he claimed the win in the Saturday Stableford competition at Bright Castle Golf Club. This yearโs Club vice-Captain is one of the steadiest performers week in, week out at Bright and his hugely impressive 40 points total on Saturday saw him claim victory, two points clear of Ron Dunwoody in second, with Arnold Ennis a further point adrift in third. Damien Oakes took fourth spot ahead of Ross Dunwoody in fifth, while Darren Boyd (75) claimed the gross prize award, as well as two shares of Saturdayโs twos pot, with other shares going to overall winner, Mark, Paul Kelly, Donal Smith, Stephen Stranney, Darren McConnell and Brian Smyth.
Having mentioned in a previous report that winning scores in excess of 40 points are a rarity at the Castle these days, Raymond Love totally debunked that theory when his superb 45 points saw him top the leaderboard in the May 16th Saturday Stableford event. Needless to say, Raymondโs World Handicap Index rating took a bit of a hit thereafter but given the nature of this system, it will regulate in time as he gets more and more competition cards in. Paul Brown, Gary Carberry, Damien Oakes and Ken Montgomery filled the minor placings and Darren Nelson took the gross prize. Having waited ages to pocket one share of any competition twos pot, Ken Montgomery managed to bag two shares, with single shares going to Patrick Bell, Darren Nelson, Brian Smyth, Damien Oakes and Stephen Stranney.
Bright sunshine on Saturday, May 23rd greeted all those taking part in that dayโs stableford event and it was Stevie Maxwellโs time to shine, his 40 points haul enough for a two points victory, ahead of this yearโs Club Captain, Donal Smith, who also shared the twos pot with Damien Oakes and Mark Regan. Mussen Laverty, Sean Kearney and Owen Breen filled the other minor placings, with Darren Nelson faring best of the low men to secure the gross prize.
Sean Toner (39 points), Peter Mitchell (39) and Neil Smyth (38pts) have all enjoyed successes in recent Sunday Sweepstake competitions, while last Mondayโs Bank Holiday sweep went to Gerard Creggan. Members are reminded that they must have entered a minimum of four competitions in 2026 to be eligible for prizes on Captainโs Day, which is pencilled in for Saturday, August 1st. Captainโs Day entry sheet lists are now available in the Club shop, where members can select whether they wish to play in the morning (830am) or afternoon (130pm) shotgun starts.
The Bright Castle Junior Cup team travelled to Rockmount on Sunday past and while they failed to secure a top four spot which would have seen them make the knock-out stages, they performed with credit to finish ninth overall, with Darren Boyd (+3) faring best of the Castle Lads. Ciaran Mahonโs Jimmy Bruen are in action this coming Saturday, (June 6th), when they face Warrenpoint, while the Senior Men Over 50 will tackle Letterkenny in round three of that competition on Saturday, June 20th.
The scheduling of that Letterkenny match has resulted in the Captainโs Charity competition for members now taking place place over the weekend of June 27th & 28th, although the Captainโs Guests Charity evening will go ahead as planned on the evening of Friday, June 19th. As per previous reports, all the various fundraising events this year, including the aforementioned Members and Guests events, will be raising money for this yearโs nominated Captainโs charity which is Life Changes, Changes Lives (LCCL) & Pop-Up Art, Downpatrick.
The draw for this yearโs Club Matchplay took place recently and anyone involved in first round matches should note that first round matches need to be played on or before Sunday, June 14thand not Sunday, June 7th, with all other subsequent rounds also pushed back a week. The full draw is available on the Master Scoreboard app and is also on display in the Club shop and on the noticeboard opposite the shop.
The third of this yearโs Order of Merit competitions, (the Nora Ennis Memorial Trophy), takes place this coming weekend and after two events, Gerard Kelly jnr. (71pts) leads the way, just ahead of Phil Bullock (70) and a trio of players on 69 points, namely Arnold Ennis, Peter Mitchell and Chris Murray. Members are reminded that their six best scores from the eight 2026 Order of Merit events count towards their overall total.
As the summer reaches approaches and the evenings are at their longest, members and visitors alike are reminded that they must book a tee time, even if they are not intending to play a full round. Members are also asked to remove their names from weekend tee time slots if they do are unable to play. With the course in such good condition, (credit as ever to Arnold, Gordon & co), everyone playing at Bright Castle is asked to repair pitch-marks on the greens, replace divots on the fairways and to rake bunkers after use. These three simple actions take very little time but if we all get into the habit of doing all three, it will help keep the course in the fine fettle itโs in at the present time.
