Courses :: Offaly Pitch & Putt County Board

Courses - Ferbane: History

The Ferbane Pitch & Putt Club was founded on July 17th 1966 on the original 9 hole course at Cody's field located on the picturesque banks of the river Brosna. In 1978 the owner of the property decided to develop the land for other purposes and the club had to seek an alternative home. Fortunately the club moved to it's present location Delvin Park in 1979, also known as the ESB course. The course was also only 9 hole however the commitment and vision of the committee of the early 90's saw the course converted to an 18 hole championship course in 1995.

The first committee of Ferbane Pitch & Putt Club was as follows:
Chairman: Harry Rickland
Secretary: Joe Connolly
Treasurer: Joe Longworth
Committee: Rev. Fr. Brennan, Fred Clarke, Thomas Walshe, John Moylan, Patsy Burke and Martha Ryan (Patsy and Martha are the only surviving officers)

In the early years the there were no senior grade players in the club as the game was only in a development and experimental stage for most members. The majority of the members were female and it was no surprise that the ladies were the first to bring honours to the club. In 1970 they brought the then Junior team title back to the Brosna side course. This was a provincial team competition in which the top two teams from each county league qualified to compete in the Leinster Team Championships. The team that claimed the first championship title for Ferbane on that memorable occasion was Kathleen McDonnell, Kathleen Claffey, Marie Cunningham and Eileen Wright.

The Gents then stepped up their game and proved that they could also bring glory to their club when they won the Offaly/Westmeath Junior Leagues in 1972. The team included T. Kennedy, T. Wright, B. Dermody, D. O'Sullivan and D. Egan. The first of the club's Provincial singles titles came early in July 1974 in the form of Kathleen Byrne. Kathleen overcame a strong competitive field to claim the Leinster Junior Ladies Strokeplay in Kilbeggan.

There has always been a strong juvenile membership in the club and this is especially the case throughout the summer months. As the years rolled on it was no surprise that the standard of play rose and the number of senior players increased over the past decade. John Dunican was the first player to turn senior followed closing by the talented left hander Patsy Reams. Other notable senior players in the present day game in the club are Kieran Egan, Noel Duffy, Sean Robinson, Tommy Murphy Snr., Jim Heffernan and also the ever consistent lady Ann-Marie McCabe. Associate senior members in Ferbane include Eamonn Kidney, Sean Dunican.

Among the club's most recent success are Ann-Marie McCabe and Patsy Reams. In 2008 Patsy fought it out with club mate Noel Duffy for his first County Matchplay on home soil in Ferbane and a week later added the prestigious Offaly Masters title to his name. Ann-Marie McCabe has had a memorable playing career coming through the juvenile ranks to become a formidable force. Ann-Marie has won a Leinster Inter Matchplay title and in 2008 impressively won the Inter Strokeplay title in McDonagh. She has come close to claiming the club's first national honors; beaten finalist in the 1990 National Inter Matchplay and a close runner-up in the National Inter Strokeplay at Rocklodge in 2008. Both Ann-Marie and Patsy have teamed up in the mixed events notably coming runner-up in the Leinster Mixed Foursomes in 2008 in Erry, both have also claimed caps for respective Offaly Inter-County Teams.

Ferbane Pitch & Putt Club also has a successful Level One Coach, John Dunican, who is available on request for personal or group coaching sessions. The club is in the process of securing their course as a dominant location for the Active Retired Community Group in Offaly, which will see their course available for outings for the actively retired of the county each week morning.