Although Shannon Chamber had to postpone its annual Golf Classic again until the fall instead of holding it on the usual midsummer date, Shannon Chamber welcomed 35 teams of 140 players to the Shannon Golf Club fairways on Thursday, September 9th.
The winning team, which represents Career Decisions and consists of Tim Crowe and Davy Fitzgerald (Dromoland GC), Joe Hartnett (Fota Island GC) and Kevin O Hara (Ballykisteen GC), won the crystal trophies sponsored by Gift Innovations and four flight pairs. sponsored by Shannon Airport.
The Smithstown Light Engineering Team, consisting of Phil Alldritt and Fergus Cooney (Dromoland GC), Jason Travis (Ballyneety GC) and Conor Mc Philips (Shannon GC) finished second and also received crystal trophies sponsored by Gift Innovations.
Third and fourth place went to teams from Invesco Ltd. and Powcon Ltd. The next pin was won by Declan Costelloe (Limerick GC), who played on the DHL Global Forwarding team, while the longest journeys, men and women, were won by Ed Rossiter (Castletroy GC), who played on the Invesco Ltd. team. and Suzanne Mc Conway (Dromoland GC) represents AIB.
Adhering to the strict protocol for golf clubs, social distancing, face covering and hand sanitizing was the order of the day until golfers hit the fairways where the intent was evident to be good and have a relaxed, fun day for the stresses of work. The socially distant networking within teams enabled many business people to revive business connections that were denied in the past year.
The day was made possible by the sponsorship of a large number of companies from the Shannon and the wider region, while the eighteen tee boxes in the square were emblazoned with the logo boards of the many companies that support the Classic annually with tea sponsorship. Before entering the fairways, each player received a goody bag sponsored by Shannon Chamber Skillnet with gifts from ZAGG, Laya Healthcare, Smitz Café, Ei Electronics and the Park Inn by Radisson Shannon Airport.
Helen Downes, Shannon Chamber CEO, commented on the day: “We had a great day thanks to the Shannon Golf Club team, whose Trojan efforts and strict attention to health and safety ensured compliance with the COVID-19 protocol . It couldn’t have gone more smoothly and although we weren’t able to present any prizes at night, there was tremendous energy on and off the pitch all day and of course the weather was the bonus.
“I would like to thank the many companies who have supported us despite the many challenges during the pandemic. Your support enabled us to offer a wide range of prizes – 14 in total – and also to give away some additional prizes to give players who were not featured in the main golf prizes the chance to win a snack. The feedback we received on that day was very encouraging. We have great companies in this region with a great “can-do” attitude and we look forward to next year’s Classic which hopefully can be done without the current restrictions and can return to our midsummer deadline.
“Shannon Chamber thanks all of our sponsors, the companies that reported teams, and the staff at Shannon Golf Club. We look forward to hosting our Golf Classic in 2022, ”added Ms. Downes.