THE Annual General Meeting of the Federation of Kerry Golf Clubs at Killarney on Thursday last was a very tame affair indeed and was finished in just over thirty minutes as Donal Pigott of Killorglin took over the reins of captaincy from Ballyheigue's Michael Dowling.

Fifteen of the county's twenty clubs were represented at the meeting which was called to order by outgoing Captain Michael Dowling who asked for a minute's silence for all who had passed away in 2009.

Killarney's 2010 Captain Kieran O'Connor was then invited to say a few words and he welcomed everyone to Killarney for the meeting. He said that 2010 was a very special year for his club with the hosting of the Irish Open and he encouraged delegates at the meeting to invite the members of their clubs to volunteer as stewards for the event. He congratulated the outgoing administration of the Kerry Federation and wished the incoming officers all the best for the year ahead.

Secretary John Leen then read the minutes of last year's AGM and as there were no matters arising, these were adopted without delay.

Treasurer Michael O'Neill then presented the financial report for the year which showed a surplus of € 2,500. This indeed was a major achievement considering that the federation began the year from scratch with out a cent in the bank and great credit is due to the Ballyheigue administration for this. However, there was one particular club who failed to pay their subscription in 2009 but they shall remain nameless.

Mind you, if I were in charge of the federation I would be banning them from entering any of the 2010 tournaments because they are habitual offenders.

Outgoing Captain Michael Dowling then made his farewell speech saying that it been a huge honour for both him and his club to be at the helm of Kerry golf for 2009 and he thanked his fellow officers for all their help and co-operation during the year. He said that he also wished to thank the clubs around the county for their help in assuring that all the events throughout the year were run very smoothly and on time and he then introduced the 2010 Captain Donal Pigott from Killorglin.

Donal thanked the outgoing Ballyheigue team for the efficient manner in which they ran the Federation in 2009.

He said that it was a proud moment not only for him but for the Killorglin club. Donal a former Captain of the Killorglin club in 2004, then introduced his team for the year of Treasurer Pat Lynch and Secretary Mike Ashe.

The newly-elected Captain encouraged the clubs present to pay their subscriptions on time this year and wished everyone a successful year ahead on the fairways of the county.

A number of important dates have already been fixed for the 2010 calendar and they begin with the present Kerry Captain's Outing on Saturday April 17th at Killorglin where the Captains of the Kerry clubs come together in a type of "Get to know you" event.

Ireland's oldest interclub competition, the Kerry Shield takes place unusually on a Sunday this year, and is scheduled for the 16th of May. The draw has already been made and I will publish this at a date nearer to the event.

Finally, the Kerry Past Captain's Day will take place at Killorglin, on Saturday September 11 and the timesheet for this will be available after the present Captain's outing on April 17th when the draw for the 2010 Dr Billy O'Sullivan Shield will also take place.

As there was no other business the meeting was brought to a close.