So, you want to know about real pressure on a golf course? Don't be fooled into thinking you'll find it on the 18th green at Augusta National, or the 13th at Druids Glen. After all, professionals are paid to cope with such extremes. Aren't they?
No, real golfing pressure surfaces in an amateur inter-club team event where you're not only playing for yourself, but for others too, and where a duffed chip can be as crucial as a 40 foot birdie putt. All of which earns the Bulmers Irish Cups and Shields concept a special place in the calendar and, when all is said and done, few competitions actually match the Pierce Purcell Shield for drama, enthusiasm or sheer heartbreak.
For the next four months, club players' will be battling it out on the fairways in their quest to reach the national finals in Athlone on the second weekend in September.
The Pierce Purcell - which consists of teams of ten players, with the combined handicaps of any pair not less than 27 and subject to a minimum handicap not being less than 12 - pits the "ordinary" club player into a highly pressurised arena and, this weekend, the opening shots of the popular competition will be played in Leinster, Munster and Ulster.
Skerries begin the defence of their Leinster pennant against Coldwinters - who play out of the Swords Open Golf Centre - in sectional qualifying at the nicely-appointed Corrstown club in north county Dublin. Other sectional qualifying takes place on Saturday and Sunday at Lucan, Castlewarden, Old Conna, Greenore, Portarlington, Mountrath and Baltinglass. Each section winner advances to the provincial finals at Ashbourne on July 11th.
Down in Munster, last year's national winners Thurles open their 1998 campaign this weekend at Castletroy while other sectional qualifying takes place at Ennis, Ballybunion, Cahir Park and Faithlegg, while Ulster qualifying is scheduled at Carnalea, Balmoral, North-West and Enniskillen on Sunday. Meanwhile, Tullamore, who captured the provincial pennant in the Jimmy Bruen Shield last year, compete in the first qualifying section at Moate this weekend where they take on Clane in their opening match.
Garth McGimpsey picked up his first title of the season at the weekend, but he didn't have to hit a single ball to do so.
Instead, McGimpsey, in his role as manager, provided the inspiration (for the second year running) to his young Ulster players in steering them to the Youths' Interprovincial Championship at Connemara.
Ulster finished the campaign with a clean sweep over the other three provinces - but they had a real scare in their match with Leinster. After losing all three foursomes, the northerners' transformed the match by collecting all six singles to turn a 0-3 deficit into a 6-3 winning margin, with four of the six singles going to the last hole.
Irish youths' international Ciaran McMonagle, from Dunfanaghy, was the top Irish player in the Lytham Trophy 72hole strokeplay tournament at Royal Lytham and St Annes over the weekend, finishing with a sixover par total of 290, two shots behind the winner.
What have Dublin Fire Brigade, Telecom Engineers, Broadmeadows GS, Muldoons GS and Kealy's GS all got in common? They're all previous winners of the All-Ireland Societies Matchplay Championships and qualifying rounds for this year's competition - with Kealy's defending their crown - will take place at Hollystown on Monday and Tuesday next with the top eight societies going forward to the quarter-finals on May 18th. The final is scheduled for May 28th.
