Paddy Kelly - a great showcase for Pitch and Putt

Paddy Kelly was in ebullient mood when fippa.org spoke to the Ireland team manager/non-playing captain in the wake of his charges victory at Lucan in the IX European Team championship. "It was fantastic," said Paddy of the whole experience. "It was a great showcase for Pitch and Putt. It was a pity about the weather on a Sunday morning but apart from that, it was excellent. I really enjoyed it. I never encountered anything like it. I think it was great for the game," enthused the man who has extensive experience of team play in golf as well as in Pitch and Putt."

"It was great to see the kids at the opening ceremony.  Everything about it was top class," rhapsodised Paddy of Thursday evening's preude to the three days of play. 

What was the most difficult part of the job of non-playing captain for Paddy?

"The most difficult part was selecting the wild card. It was extremely difficult and very stressful. I'm very happy with my pick but I found that the toughest part of the whole lot. It's part and parcel of the job but it's tough when you know a lot of the players. I would be familiar with and friendly with a lot of the players."

Stephen O'Reilly was the recipient of that wildcard pick and justified his selection to the delight of his captain. "As it worked out, I was delighted. I thought Stephen was entitled to it. I thought he played great. He's a former (Irish) Matchplay champion and a great scratch cup man. He came out the following week and won three scratch cups. A very nice fellow and a top-class player."

Preparation and thoroughness were keys to paddy's approach to the taks as captain. "I was trying to familiarise myself with the players, which I did. I was in constant touch with them over the period of four or five weeks. I spoke to them every second day. I got their feelings and thoughts on different things. I got to know their personalities. They're all different, obviously. We built up a very good relationship, I felt. They respected me as captain by the time we got to Lucan."

Paddy considered the synergy between the two Ireland teams important. "I had a get-together in McDonagh on the Saturday beforehand. We had the ladies there as well. We played a scramble. We put a lady with two of the lads. I found that a very useful exercise. The ladies got to familiarise, got to know the lads as well. Chrissie would know them well, but the likes of Amy Galvin and maybe Tara not as much."

That synergy extended to his ladies counterpart. "Ger Holland, of course, was a great help. The two of us worked very, very well together. She was great. As regarding the clothing and everything, we were on that from the day after the trial in Lakeside. I met her in McGuirks (leading Irish equipment and clothing retailer) on the Monday. I know the manager in McGuirks in Blanchardstown. He's from Trim (Paddy's home town). I was very conscious of them (the players) being comfortable in their clothing. We got a great deal there. Adidas Performance was brand name."

"Presentation is very important to me and I think the gear on the weekend of the Euros was just brilliant. When you look back at some of the recordings, it looks really, really well."

Paddy's view on the standard of the other teams and their general approach?

"I was very impressed with Britain and the Catalans. I firmly believe that if the Irish lads didn't bring their A game, they would have got caught in some of those matches, I have no doubt.Obviously, the Catalans, it's not their game. They're used to longer shots and all that, but they're all class players in their own right. Their putting was exceptional."

"Five footers, six footers, seven footers. They (the Catalans) just knocked them in. Whereas the Irish guys would spend more time looking at breaks and looking at things, they just seemed to be able to hole out so well, just as they did when I was over a couple of years ago for the ladies and juvenile international match."

"I was very impressed with the other teams  and our lads had to play really, really well to get the wins."

Permutations in the foursomes present a poser for any non-playing captain. 

"I don't know whether it was luck or whatever, but the foursomes worked out very, very well. Eamon Gibney was very happy with Stephen O'Reilly. I know Eamon since he was very young and I know how he thinks."

Another partnership was ready-made from the 2024 World Cup at El Vendrell. "Kieran Earls and Damien Fleming get on really, really well. And then Stephen Shoer was anxious to play with John Walsh because he's his idol since he was a young lad!"

Lucan is a club with a large membership, all of whom are willing to rally round and help in any way they can and bring a diverse range of their profesional skills to assist in the hosting of major events. A formula that worked in the estimation of Ireland's successful captain.

"Lucan was fantastic. Everything about it was perfect. The clubhouse, the facilities, the course was manicured to the last. And obviously Orla and Tanya with the food and everybody who helped. I was very, very impressed."

Were there any crises during the weekend?

"Obviously Stephen O'Reilly lost and he was very upset. He was very unlucky because Luis Cucurull got up and down out of the bunker on the second. That was just class. And then he landed the ball short of the bank on three and skipped it up onto the green. There was nothing Stephen could do. And I thought he played really, really well. But you see, I suppose the fact that he was the wild card selection, there was more pressure on him than there was on any of the other players really. And he probably felt it, even though he only lost on the 18th."

"I rallied him then in the singles against Britain. He was three down to Liam Malone (who was very good) and I stayed with him and he played fantastic. He lit up and just got going."

"Stephen's a lovely, lovely fellow and he sent me a really, really nice message a couple of days after the championship was over, to thank me for sticking with him He was three down and then all of a sudden he just lit up and he got going."

Paddy then recounted a story concerning the final international trial, held at Lakeside a month before the European Team championship. John Walsh and Stephen O'Reilly tied for the final automatic slot.

"They went into a six-hole playoff, which John won. "And I went over to John Walsh and I congratulated him. And I said, 'I'm delighted that you're on the team.' And he said, 'I'm delighted to be on your team, Paddy.' And then he said, 'it's none of my business. But you could do worse, he said, than look at that man he says for the wildcard.' I thought that was a great sign of the team spirit to come." 

It wasn't all plain sailing then?

"Obviously they (his team) were the favourites. But you still have to go and do it. The other teams were no slouches and Deeble showed that in the Strokeplay. And the Catalans they are good good players. Having looked back at the videos, Eamon and Kieran went through a few blips here and there and there are a couple of bad holes there. And I know they produced the goods then. But they could have been caught very handy. Very handy."

Did Paddy see much of the ladies' championship? "I did." And he puts Pitch and Putt into perspective. 

"I watched as much as I could. And I stayed there until the last ball was hit on Saturday evening. It was great sport and reasonably competitive. I think they're great. And I'd be very fond of Ger Holland. I think she's done a great job. I would have been friends with Anthony Galvin (Amy's dad) from years ago, from my golfing days. Anthony Galvin's sister-in-law was buried on Saturday. She was only 53. And Amy was at the funeral. And got to Lucan at 1.30. They were playing at two o'clock."

Was that a one hit wonder for Paddy? Is he going to seek the Irish team manager job again?

"I don't know. I did enjoy it.  It was wonderful. It was a great experience for me. I was kind of taken aback when I got the call originally. Then people were saying you'll win handily. That's not the way I look at things. You still have to go and do it. The lads were very very well prepared. And there was a lot of work went into it. And anything I asked them to do they did. It wasn't just a matter of we'll get together a couple of days beforehand and head for Lucan. I wouldn't. I'd be 110 percent. Anyone now that knows me would. That's the way I operate. And I wouldn't take it unless I thought I could do it.You shouldn't fail but you never know. If you don't prepare you could. You need to put the preparation in.I probably wouldn't be asked again. Someone else should probably get a chance."

Captaincy responsibilities aside, Paddy is still a keen player. And one of Ireland's top rules officials.

"I played the last two years (for his native Meath in the Inter-County championships). I lost my place this year, probably because of taking the Irish job."

He is however, first reserve on the Meath team for the provincial and national Inter-County championships in August and September, which Paddy delights in.

"It'll mean, I won't have to referee. I get a break. I'll be able to say to the Pitch and Putt Ireland President. "Davy, you'll have to find another referee!"