Fixture debutant, Ian Raisbeck, writes:
Purgatory at Portmarnock
As I stood on the 15th tee, rental clubs on my shoulder, having suffered a humbling 6&4 defeat, a smile crept over my face—all was not yet lost, I realised.
This message, however, may not have reached either British Airways, who couldn’t locate my golf clubs, or my teammates, who struggled to locate their golf balls on the fine links.
The annual golf match between the DUGS and the LUGS took place on 30–31 January 2025 at Portmarnock Golf Club. This traditional fixture featured a 12-man team format, with competitors playing 36 holes of foursomes over two days. Captain Kershaw spent the first evening drowning his sorrows following his 18th loss at the hands of Nicholas Plunkett Dillon before rousing the troops in an attempt to overturn the 5–1 overnight scoreline.
As the sun rose on the second day, we believed our luck had changed. My clubs had finally arrived and, fuelled by the White Sands’ “eggscellent” breakfast, the squad was ready and raring to go. LUGS top-loaded the order, sending out Raisbeck and Holt, whose match at times resembled a heavyweight boxing bout—trading birdies—before swiftly devolving into something more akin to a sorority-style pillow fight.
A singular win, a couple of halved matches followed by several defeats meant that DUGS ran out 9-3 victors, inflicting the biggest defeat in this fixture’s history. This led several members of the squad to swear their allegiance to Porky’s leadership as he struggles to outlast Liz Truss’s lettuce.
Portmarnock Golf Club, renowned for its challenging links course and rich history, provided an excellent venue for this year’s match. And perhaps we will see an Open here before too long….
Both teams displayed commendable sportsmanship and competitive spirit—both on the course and in the clubhouse. We look forward to hosting the DUGS at Sandwich next year as we continue to celebrate our shared passion for golf, claret, Guinness and the enduring camaraderie between the two societies.
Thursday Matches
| DUGS | LUGS | ||
| Dermot O’Grady/Mark Murnane | W | James Bull/Andrew Berryman | L |
| Aidan Neill/Nicholas Plunkett Dillon | W | Mike Kershaw/Leo Faganelli | L |
| Aiden Jameson/JP Conway | W | Scott Beattie/Nick Holt | L |
| Andrew Bryce/JS Conway | W | Ian Raisbeck/Neil Falconer | L |
| Stephen King/Paddy O’Sullivan | W | Jonathon Lavelle/Mark Conway | L |
| Mike Fleming/Barry Grundy | L | George Yeandle/Nick Page | W |
| 5 | 1 |
Friday Matches
| DUGS | LUGS | ||
| Aidan Neill/Mark Murnane | Halved | Ian Raisbeck/Nick Holt | Halved |
| Dermot O’Grady/Nicholas Plunkett Dillon | W* | Mike Kershaw/James Bull | L* |
| Aiden Jameson/Andrew Bryce | Halved | Scott Beattie/George Yeandle | Halved |
| JP Conway/Mike Fleming | W | Jonathon Lavelle/Neil Falconer | L |
| Paddy O’Sullivan/JS Conway | W | Mark Conway/Nick Page | L |
| Barry Grundy/Stephen King | L | Andrew Berryman/Leo Faganelli | W |
| 4 | 2 |
DUGS wins by 9 to 3
*Shoeshine match
London University Golfing Society 