Never fear. Tickets are still available but at a price. Browsing the internet revealed that four day tickets are available at 1,500 each from a company called alltickets. co. uk. If you prefer the telephone call 00 44 164 2732030.

Closer to home 1,945 will purchase a four day ticket with accommodation in a choice of three and four star hotels in Dublin with daily transfers to and from The K-Club. These tickets can be allocated to separate users daily once names are recorded.

Contact info@events4ireland. ie for details.

CAPTAINS ARE ALL MIXED UP FOR VICTORY Rathfarnham's invitational mixed foursomes for club captains and lady captains, past and present, is one of the social highlights of the year. Everybody eligible in Dublin golf covets an invitation and dreams of a victory.

Winning comes easily to some people, of course, and former Gol"ng Union of Ireland president Eamon Curran has won the event three times in a Woodbrook partnership with Anne O'Reilly.

This record looked quite safe until this year when Malcolm Connolly and Dorothy Kilroy of the host club chalked up their second win, having won in 2004 during their year in of"ce. They are still young enough and playing well enough to aspire to another victorious day!

CHRIS BANGS DRUMM FOR ROSSLARE YOUTH Watch for Chris Drumm of Rosslare as he matures in the game. Last year he won the Under-15 titles in Connacht, Munster and Ulster. This year he has won the Ulster Boys' title and added the Wicklow Boys' Trophy last week with a magni"cent total of 295 at Greystones.

Rosslare is abuzz with young talent right now as they have 150 juniors in a development programme with no fewer than twenty of them already into single "gure handicaps.

This is having a big positive effect on the club overall, as four of the boys are in the Rosslare team to compete the All-Ireland "nals of the Jimmy Bruen Shield in Enniscrone: John Skerritt, son of the legendary professional Austin, Ian Lynch, John Stewart and Tiernan Rossiter.

A REAL FRIEL FOR VICTORY IN WESTPORT Lovely Westport was where Dubliner Willie Elliott found himself last Sunday, hosting his captain's prize with the most rabid of Mayomen!

Diplomacy ruled okay from early morning, as Elliott adjusted the timesheet to allow his western friends watch the football lesson, sorry, match on television. By presentation time he had recovered enough to lie through his teeth to the effect that he was delighted that Mayo had won. He was warmly applauded for every reason.

Oh, yes, the captain's prize was won by Liam Friel who parred the last hole of the playoff to win by one-third of a stroke from Thomas McLoughlin. Liam's daughter, Laura, made it a real Friel family affair by winning the prize for ladies!

CULLEN IN FORM FOR CLUB FOURBALL FINAL Des Cullen is a man to watch these days. Two weeks ago he was runner-up at the Woodenbridge Junior Scratch Cup. Last weekend at the Courtown Junior Scratch Cup he "red rounds of 77 and 79 to win by by one from local hero Barry Symes.

This form should be noted by Kevin O'Sullivan and Frank Garland back at The European Club as they prepare to tackle Cullen and partner Emmet Hedigan in the "nal of the Club Fourball!

MERNAGH SETS RECORD TO BE QUEEN OF NURSES Form is a glorious commodity.

Ask girl star Louise Mernagh who continues to improve as she got 45 points off a 5-handicap to win by four from Margaret Ringwood in the Nurses on Call event at Woodenbridge. Her strokeplay score was 68, a course record, and her handicap has fallen to 4!

PUPILS ARE FOLLOWING MCDAID'S LESSONS Brendan McDaid is a very happy teaching professional at this time because his pupils are winning right, left and centre at Rathsallagh.

The two John Ryans, unrelated to each other, "nished "rst and second in the Professional's Prize with scores of 38 and 36. Then, in the Captain's (Matt Brazil) Prize for juniors up stepped Anthony McDaid (yes, son of Brendan) to win the under 14s and continue a blaze of form which saw him play a big part in his dad's winning team in the pro-am not long ago.

FORMER CAPTAIN STILL ABLE TO TAKE CHARGE Former Irish team captain Sheena O'Brien-Kenny, now that she is back in civil life and enjoying her own game, is a woman apart at Grange Golf Club as her name crops-up in the prize list virtually every week.

This week she won the gross prize with 28 points, last week she won the gross prize with an 81 and in June she won the lady captain's prize with 71 points for two rounds. To say that she is a sound six-handicapper is to understate her talent.

THE OTHER TIGER HITS AN ACE TO WIN They don't refer to Tom Banahan as "Tiger" for no good reason at Glen of the Downs. This lion hearted fellow reacted strongly when asked whether he wanted to place an each-way bet on himself in the captain's prize and retorted "I didn't come here to lay-up!"

Out he went, then, and scored a hole-in-one at the 181-yards "rst hole with a magni"cently struck 6 iron worthy of the other Tiger and he kept it going for 140 points and Patrick Nunan's prize.

DANAHER BLOWN AWAY BY CHINOY HURRICANE There is no more beautiful course in Ireland than the Ring of Kerry.

It is lovely within itself and the views of the Kerry mountains and Kenmare Bay are breathtaking.

All of which failed to register with 16-year-old twin terrors Aidan and Kieran Chinoy as they focussed as only youth can and truly dusted the veterans of the club this week!

Last week's winner Paul Danaher thought he had the double when returning 38 points.

But just as he was lining-up the celebratory drinks for one and all, along came Aidan Chinoy with a hurricane "nish. It featured a run of level par gross for seven holes from the tenth and it was only a double-bogey at the seventeenth and a blank at the last that stopped it becoming a massacre.

As it was, scoring for the lastnine decided it in favour of Chinoy while his twin brother Kieran slid unobtrusively into "fth spot just behind old-timers Cathal "Mr.

Reliable" O'Mahony and Tom "Massive" McSweeney.

AT LEAST TIPP WILL GET ONE ALL IRELAND The verdant fairways at Roscrea Golf Club have been a distraction for many years to gol"ng motorists "ying by on the DublinLimerick route. Whether such distraction has contributed to any pile-ups no one knows or wants to know.

What is important is that the 13th All-Ireland Club Captains' Prize Winners' competition will take place there on 12 September for ladies and on 15 September for men. Racket Hall Hotel, located right beside the "rst tee, is sponsoring the event again and sending the top "ve men and top "ve women off to the Algarve in the New Year to compete in a playoff!

All winners of club captains' prizes this year are eligible to enter. Contact Roscrea Golf Club at 0505-21130.

Meanwhile, there is much talk within Roscrea of the brilliance of David Kennedy who won last week's charity event with 44points off a handicap of 13. A great achievement for a juvenile and wasn't his granny, Nora, very proud of him as she stepped-up to win third in the ladies' division!

Lady captain Kathleen Phelan is thrilled by all this with the prospect of more good things to come as the club is organising free junior coaching sessions on Saturdays from 9 September.

Professionals Sean Hunt and Kevin McGrath will travel from Thurles and Birr to conduct the sessions.

BROTHERS IN ARMS AT CARRICKMINES They take no prisoners on magni"cent Carrickmines Hill where golf is played in the spirit it should be and even brothers battle it out over every last stroke.

As it should be!

Stephen Stewart was in relentless form in winning the cherished Guildford Cup with rounds of 64 and 66, which saw his handicap tumble from 17 to 13. He won by a margin of ten strokes from his older brother Sean who "red a brace of 70s off a handicap of seven.

The Stewart boys are sons of the great Terry Stewart who was the affable and ef"cient secretary-manager at Dun Laoghaire for many years. He keeps busy following the sporting achievements of his sons. He would have been particularly pleased to see Stephen play "rst team hockey for Avoca last season, despite the fact that the traditional family ties are with Pembroke Wanderers.

GOWRAN PARK ARE FIRST PAST THE POST Gowran Park Winners! What a lovely ring to it. The Gowran Park Golf Club is less than "ve years old and has already struck gol"ng gold by winning the Provincial Towns Cup, beating mighty Tullamore in a "nal which went to a three-hole playoff.

Tullamore took a 7-2 lead after the "rst leg of the "nal at home.

But that wasn't enough as the scoreline was reversed in the second leg. Denis Drennan became the home hero by winning the playoff with a par on the eighteenth.

The Gowran team was Denis Drennan, Shane O'Brien, Dave Kearney, Brian Minogue, Kevin Fennelly (player/manager) , Larry Clear, Davey Hogan, Ray Kent and Morris Mason.