Month: July 2019

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WATCH: Thomas Detry breaks Guinness World Records™ title in Spain

  • Belgian Thomas Detry broke previous individual record by nearly four seconds
  • Sean Crocker, Paul Dunne and Guido Migliozzi also took part in the attempts
  • New record was set at Real Club de Golf Guadalmina on the Costa del Sol

Thomas Detry sensationally set a new GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ title for the ‘Fastest hole of golf by an individual’, shaving nearly four seconds off the previous quickest time in the process.

The European Tour and Official Partner Hilton challenged Belgian Detry, along with American Sean Crocker, Ireland’s Paul Dunne and Italian Guido Migliozzi to break the existing record of one minute 33.37 seconds at Real Club de Golf Guadalmina, near Malaga, in the south of Spain.

The rules of the attempt dictated that the par five tenth hole had to play a minimum of 500 yards with each player required to finish the hole carrying the same number of clubs they started with.

After some highly respectable – and often dramatic – attempts, it was 26 year old Detry who succeeded in breaking the standing record, going from tee to green in just one minute 29.62 seconds.

Following some exuberant celebrations, new record holder Detry said: “It was so tough but it was a lot of fun! As a boy I used to get the Guinness World Records book for Christmas and I guess my name will be going in it now which is very cool!”

Guinness World Records Official Adjudicator Anna Orford, who also presided over Team France’s successful relay golf attempt at Valderrama in 2016, said: “As the Official Adjudicator for Guinness World Records, I was able to witness the four players give their absolute all to bring home the title, however Thomas Detry’s speed and shot-making secured the Belgian his Guinness World Records title for the Fastest hole of golf by an individual in a hugely impressive one minute 29.62 seconds. An officially amazing record breaking moment!”

This is the third time the European Tour has challenged some of its stars to break a Guinness World Records title, after a four-man team from England bettered a record set by a French quartet a year earlier for the relay-based ‘Fastest hole of golf by a team of four’ title.

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El Plantio2 GS July Medal

A sadly depleted turnout, due to members returning to the dubious delights of the English Summer and others on flying visits, left only five competing for El Plantio 2’s monthly medal. After two years of trying to win the coveted trophy, Barry Walthall was finally successful with a bogey free round.

Nearest the pins – Hole 5, Bryan Watson and Hole 9, Alistair Douglas..

Second place, Handicap 6.9, Alistair Douglas – 56.1 shots.

First place, Handicap 15.6, Barry Walthall – 53.4 shots.

If anyone would like to join our Society, we play at El Plantio Golf Club every Tuesday, Friday and Sunday. We use both courses – the Par 3 9 hole course and the main 18 hole course, so we cater for all abilities.

The membership rates are very competitive, so call for more details. Anyone who wishes to play in the Society as a guest or join as a new member, contact David Swann on 865 779 983 or 648 476 752.

 

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Celts GS May Championship

Last Sunday we celebrated our May Championship game.  The tournament was again well supported with over 80 players.  The competitions committee on the day were marshalled by Philip Mountford who had drafted in Kenny McGeehan and Jane Knight to assist with the absence of Camillus and Terry who are back in Ireland for communions.  Well done to all.

The course is presented in immaculate condition although the greens are just a tad slow. To the staff in the pro-shop, jean and Jose, thank you for your attention to detail and for preparing the cards and collating the results. Gloria, Maria and the Vanessas  and all the kitchen staff well done as always, we were treated to some lovely tapas, thank you.

Our club captain James Hayes was on hand to present the prizes, James is feeling a little under the weather and we wish him a speedy recover. James again made the point of thanking all the organisers and all those who stayed for the presentation to honour those good enough to win a prize.  As it is Jim’s big day next month maybe we could all wear the club polo.

Results of the day, the NTP’s Carmel McShea, John Doyle O’Brien Sally Hopkins, Bob Smith and James Hayes.

We had one Crystal event during the month and the  winners were, Kevin McBride 44, second Anthony Davis 42 and third Richard Nicol. The Monthly medals went to, Cat I Pauvla Serakova 69, Cat II Gordon Montgomery 71 and Cat III  Terry Welsh 38 Just a little note, I do not keep track of those who collect your prizes on your behalf if you are not present Cat. III Myra Coull 39, Carmel McShea 38 andJohn Adlan 37. Cat II Ole Rong 37, Logan Nayager 37 David Cosson 35. Cat I. Andy Currie 40, Ian McMillan 35 and Denis McCormack 34.

The gross was won by John Doyle O’Brien 29. Second overall  with 40 Pauvla Serakova and the winner with 43 points and a cut of 2.1 of his handicap George Thomas. Well done to all the winners and congratulations to so many whop remained behind to honour those who won a prize.

We are really making good progress in relation to slow play again might I suggest that players please keep up with the group in front of them. Do not wait until it is your turn to play to start your routine, putting on or taking off your glove, marking and cleaning your ball, selecting your club, measuring your distance for your shot etc. all of these can be done in advance and this will help the smooth flow of the game.

We have a waiting list in operation at the moment for membership at La Serena, however membership of The Celts is always available. If you would like information on joining our club or entering a team in any of the federation events why not send an e-mail to johnobrienalicante@gmail.com or call 615466398?

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MONTGO – FRIDAY 26th PETER WINS THE MEDAL COMPETITION

Today Friday 26th July Montgo Golf Society played a Medal competition, it was sponsored by Susie & John Snelling.

The winner was John Snelling with a Net 71 however in our tradition that the sponsor cannot win their own competition it means that Peter Gardiner won with Net 72, second was Tom Atkinson also with a Net 72 but Tom lost out on countback, third place went to John Ross with a Net 73. The best gross score was John Hall who had an 88.

We had 4 Nearest the Pins, these were won by Richard Fox with 8.83m on the 3rd, Neil Cuming with 1.35 on the 16th, John Hall with a second shot on the 5th to 2.17m & Julia Hall with a second shot on the 18th to 2.72m.

There was only one 2 today and this was by Neil Cuming who converted his shot on the 16th.

We had some knockout results this week, Sally Cottrell beat John Feek in the single by 1 hole. In the pairs knockout Terry Moore & John Ross beat Geoff Willcock & Richard Fox 5+4, and Ross & Jim Fletcher beat Sally & Keith Cottrell 2+1.

Next week is the Yorkshire Rose Bowl sponsored by our Vice Captain Gordon Gleeson, it is a Stableford.

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Magnificent Miguel reaches the 700 mark on the European Tour

• The charismatic Spaniard reached 700 European Tour events when he teed it up at The 148th Open Championship
• Jimenez earned his place at Royal Portrush after winning last year’s Senior Open

Miguel Ángel Jiménez became just the second man in the history of the European Tour to reach 700 events when he teed it up at The 148th Open Championship at Royal Portrush Golf Club.

The charismatic Spaniard, who turned professional in 1982 and became a full Member of the European Tour when he won his card at Qualifying School in 1988, is no stranger to record-breaking feats and fittingly reached yet another milestone in his 32nd consecutive season on Tour at this year’s final Major.

The 21-time European Tour winner holds the record as the oldest winner in European Tour history after his victory at the Spanish Open in 2014 aged 50 years and 133 days, and the record for the most holes-in-one following his tenth professional ace at the 2015 BMW PGA Championship.

The 55-year-old earned his place at Royal Portrush after winning last year’s Senior Open Presented by Rolex, which he will defend at Royal Lytham & St Annes. He is now fast closing in on another significant moment in his career as he approaches Sam Torrance’s all-time record of 706 European Tour appearances.

Jiménez said: “This is a very proud moment for myself and my family and to reach the milestone of 700 events on the European Tour at the Open Championship makes it even more enjoyable.

“I have had many great moments over the past 32 years including winning 21 times. Winning any tournament is memorable but I particularly cherished the four tournaments I won in Spain where my friends and family were there – those were very special.

“Of course I am now only six tournaments away from tying, and seven away from beating the all-time record held by my great friend Sam Torrance. I don’t know exactly when that will happen but the record is definitely in my sights! ”

One of seven brothers, Jiménez took up golf as a 15-year-old while picking up balls at the range and caddying. Inspired by watching the likes of Seve Ballesteros, Sandy Lyle and Torrance when he was caddying at the 1979 Spanish Open, he decided to take up the game seriously.

His maiden win came at the 1992 Piaget Belgian Open, yet since turning 40 in January 2004, he has turned a great career into a tremendous one, claiming another European Tour record for the most wins by a player aged 40 and over, with 12 victories to his name.

I represented Europe as a player on four occasions at The Ryder Cup in 1999, 2004, 2008, and 2010, as well as captaining the European Team at the inaugural EurAsia Cup in 2014.

A Ryder Cup vice-captain on two occasions, he helped Seve Ballesteros steer Europe to an emotional victory on Spanish soil at Valderrama in 1997 before playing a vital role behind the scenes once again in Medinah in 2012, where he helped another lifelong friend, José María Olazábal, invoke the spirit of Seve and inspire that miraculous Ryder Cup comeback on American soil.

Keith Pelley, Chief Executive of the European Tour, added: “Miguel has been a trailblazer not just on the European Tour but also on the Senior circuit, with two Senior Majors to his name to date, and I am sure they sit proudly alongside his 21 European Tour titles and the many records already associated with his tremendous career.

“Sport is all about entertainment and Miguel has always delivered on that front. From his now world famous warm-up routine to his swashbuckling celebrations after a hole in one or a scintillating approach shot, he always leaves the fans smiling with his wonderful personality and passion for the game.

“On behalf of the European Tour we congratulate Miguel on his 700th appearance – a phenomenal achievement – and we cannot wait to see what the future holds for one of Spain’s favorite golfing sons.”

Martin Slumbers, Chief Executive of the R&A, said: “ The Open is always very special and this week we are making history by staging the championship at Royal Portrush for the first time since 1951. In many ways that sense of history is added to by Miguel’s remarkable achievement.

“I was always a huge admirer of Seve Ballesteros and the magic of the way the Spanish players play the game is exemplified by Miguel. It is a great privilege for us that the 148th Open Championship is Miguel’s 700th European Tour event and everyone at The R&A wishes him will for this week and for the future.

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In The Bunker With Mick The Grip

THE WOMENS’ BRITISH OPEN takes place from 1st August on the Marquess Course at Woburn.

Not to be outdone, Trump Turnberry is holding a Ladies Open on August 22nd on the King Robert the Bruce course.   Prizes range from fourball vouchers to an overnight B&B stay at Donald’s place.  Nervous ladies are assured Mr.Trump will not be in residence.

WHEN MAX FAULKER won the Open in 1951, people asked Bernard Darwin if he had managed to get a word with the Champion. “My readers,” said Darwin, “are interested in what I think about his win, not what he thinks.”

WHEN GENE SARAZEN’s BALL landed in a bunker at the 1932 Open Championship at Prince’s Golf Club, Sandwich he pulled out a club hidden in his bag that he designed himself. Inspired by how air travels over an aeroplane wing, Sarazen built a lofted club with a flange lower than the leading edge so the club would “bounce” through the sand and produce more consistent shots.  It’s known today as the sand wedge, but after  Sarazen’s win his competitors dubbed it “The Weapon.”

ROYAL LYTHAM & ST. ANNES will host the 33rd edition of the Senior Open Championship from 25-28 July.  Miguel Angel Jimenez is defending champion, having had a one-stroke victory over Bernhard Langer last year at St. Andrews.

Puffing on his Opus X Arturo Fuento cigar, he explains in a video what was in his bag on the day, including his Ping Sigma Fetch putter with a hole in the middle to pick up the ball.  Unfortunately, as his English makes Sevvy sound like Sir Laurence Olivier we have to guess why he only uses 10 clubs.

BERND WIESBERGER  finally sunk his three foot putt and Benjamin Hebert three-putted to end the Scottish Open playoff.   The two protagonists had to go down the 18th three times after both parring and bogeying the hole on the first two trips and missing putts like 36 handicappers, while the onlookers put on more jumpers and hoped the pair would wrap it up before the pubs shut.

NO CHANCE of the pubs shutting in Portrush on the Open Sunday.  The clubhouse ran out of beer at around 9.00 p.m.   Lowry and family, complete with Claret Jug in the back, headed for Dublin, where the odd drop of Guiness could still be found.

A GOLFSPY REVIEW on the Honma TW747 VX irons:  “This classy-looking forged steel iron packs a real punch. The extra forgiveness will be welcome news for those pondering a first switch to a forged iron.”   Justin Rose uses them, but at over  £1,000 for six, pondering is all most of us will ever do.

Justin also uses an Axis 1 Rose Proto putter made from 303 stainless steel and carbon fibre, with wing-like extensions.  From 2012 to 2017, Justin was giving away shots on the green.  Then, in 2018 he dedicated himself to improving his stroke.  The hard work paid off and he won twice, collected eleven top-10 finishes and took home the FedEx Cup.   On the PGA Tour this year he is the Most Improved Putter.   Just goes to show there’s nothing like practice.

LEE WESTWOOD chatting to Radio 5 Live:  “One of the main reasons youngsters dont take up golf is it’s too hard.  We should be trying to make it easier, perhaps different formats where maybe the hole is bigger, and theres not so much rough on the courses so people are not out there looking for their golf balls all the time.  I think that’s part of the problem, that it is a hard game to play.”   I know the answer Lee, attach elastic to the ball!

Why didn’t someone tell us golf was hard when we started?  Knowing that would have put us right off and saved us years of misery.

Until next time: Happy Golfing.

Contact Mick for regripping and repairs. 638 859 475.

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El Plantio2 Hidden Partners

Ten players formed the basis of a Hidden Partners Competition where, no matter how well you played, you could end up as an also-ran if your partner had a bad day. Fortunately, the players scoring well today drew partners scoring well enough to allow them to claim the prizes.

Nearest the pins – Hole 6, Ian Burroughs and Hole 9, Graham Blakeway.

Third Place, Janice O’Brien (36) Bryan Watson (27) – 63 Points.

Second place, David Swann (29), Paddy O’Brien (34) – 63 points C/B.

First place, Ian Burroughs (37), Mike Davies (30) – 67 points.

If anyone would like to join our Society, we play at El Plantio Golf Club every Tuesday, Friday and Sunday. We use both courses – the Par 3 nine hole course and the main 18 hole course, so we cater for all abilities.

The membership rates are very competitive, so call for more details. Anyone who wishes to play in the Society as a guest or join as a new member, contact David Swann on 865 779 983 or 648 476 752.

Picture from L to R: Graham Blakeway, Bryan Watson, David Swann, Mike Davies, Ian Burroughs, Kenneth O’Brien, Janice O’Brien, Paddy O’Brien.

David Swann

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‘I’ve worked really hard’ – Georgia Hall eyes second Major

EVIAN-LES-BAINS, FRANCE – 23rd July 2019: The reigning Women’s British Open champion Georgia Hall MBE has been able to take a proper break this summer to fine tune her game ahead of the most important part of the women’s golf season, starting on Thursday.

With back-to-back majors over the next fortnight, the 23-year-old from Bournemouth says she feels ready to perform to the best of her abilities. This week, she will tee up in the Evian Championship in France, which is the fourth major of the season, while next week, she will defend at the fifth major, the AIG Women’s British Open in England.

Speaking at the Evian Resort Golf Club in the picturesque lake-side town of Evian-les-Bains on Tuesday, she said: “I’ve played here the last two years and come 10th and 15th, so I’m very happy with how I’ve played and I’m confident coming into this event. It’s really nice to be close to home, the weather is absolutely perfect and the golf course is in great condition. I love this golf course and it’s quite fiddly, so you have to place the ball in the right areas of the greens. I’m looking forward to teeing it up on Thursday.”

Hall skipped the Marathon Classic and Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational over the last fortnight to spend two weeks preparing at the Wentworth Club in Surrey, where she is an ambassador. She recently moved to an apartment in Sunningdale with her boyfriend and caddie, Harry Tyrrell, who is a professional golfer himself, so feels that she has had the ideal preparation.

She had a congested programme at the start of the year, playing in 14 tournaments across the world in six months. Although she started well with a ninth place in the Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions, she then played across the continents from Australia to Japan, which drained her energy and saw her make eight cuts from 13 starts. She says that she has now learned the value of building proper breaks into her schedule.

“I played in too many events at the start of the year, but it’s a good learning curve for me to be able to plan my schedule next year,” said the world’s 30th ranked player. “I made sure that I had a good two weeks off to prepare before this three week stretch and the weather has been really good at home, so I’ve worked really hard over the last fortnight and I’m really looking forward to the next three weeks in Europe.

“I’ve been working on my swing and also on my chipping, to get a bit more consistency. I’ve been playing a lot of golf and I think that’s important, not just hitting balls on the range. I’ve been practising with my dad and also next week will be really important going in as defending champion, so it’s been a great couple of weeks of preparation. The weather was great so I was very lucky.

“My dad has been helping me clear my mind and keep things simple, not trying to complicate me, my swing or me as a golfer: just go out and be Georgia. I’ve been working on keeping my posture a bit lower, because I’ve been playing so much golf, my posture has become a little bit upright when I’m hitting it: that is my only swing thought. Most importantly, I think mentally for me, it’s about keeping calm and enjoying it.”

Having competed for Team Europe in the last Solheim Cup and having won the Women’s British Open at Royal Lytham last year, Hall knows a thing or two about dealing with pressure.

She has a tattoo on the inside of her right wrist which says ‘Deep Breath’ and when asked if she still looks at it on the golf course, she says: “Sometimes. I’ve got another one which says ‘Be Brave’ so I should listen to that, too. Both of them are important… being brave is very important in life.”

If Hall has been shaken by her recent run of results, then she certainly doesn’t show it. On the contrary, she looks fit and ready to contend for a second major.

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SMGS at El Pantio. July 17th, 2019

It has to be said that El Plantio is a course which divides opinion – some people simply won’t go having been let down in the past by poor condition and very high prices. Some people like the course lay out and are prepared to give it the benefit of the doubt especially at this week’s price of €36 including a buggy.

Well, the course was a bit of a mixed bag – the greens have not long been tined and were generally sandy, bumpy and woolly – not to everyone’s liking. The rest of the track was good to middling with the fairways showing improvement since our last visit although some tee boxes are rather scruffy.

We decided to hold a quick vote amongst the players as to who would keep El Plantio on the fixture list and most said they would – especially at the lower price.

Anyway, on to the competition results.

We had four guests this week with Kyrre bringing along some of his Norwegian chums – and didn’t they do well with cousin Nicklas Soderberg (29) coming second to Hasse Sorenson (35).

Only two categories this week as we only had 25 members playing.

In silver division Ken Flaherty (30) was 4th – Brian Mulligan (32) 3rd – Gerald Bannon (33) 2nd and Keith Little (34) 1st.

All very close and the scoring on the low side – this trend was repeated in the gold category. Dave Gibson (29) won on countback to take 4th – Graham Temple playing off 3 looked like he was going to demolish the course but sadly faded to take 3rd with 30 – Phil de Lacy (31) 2nd and Robin Eastman (32) 1st to leap to the top of the order of merit.

Nearest the pins – sponsored by The Property Shop – went to Nicklas Soderberg, Dave Alderdice (that one was very close), Dave Bishop and Kyrre Skarsmoen who was obviously showing off that he can hit the ball straight.

Last of the runners up was Alan Maidment who won a nice bottle of red sponsored by Mike’s IPTV.

There were 2 matches in the in-house matchplay league – Robin Eastman beating Norman Cahill 9 holes to 5 and Ken Flaherty beat Mick Roscoe 6 holes to 5 a close match.

Our thanks to El Plantio for an enjoyable day. To find out more about SMGS visit our website www.smgs.org or give our Captain, Tony Smale a call on 639129223. Next week we’re at Vistabella, then Hacienda Riquelme and Las Ramblas the following Wednesdays. We would welcome guests at each event.

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ROBIN IS MONTGO’S BOGEY MAN

Today July 19th Montgo G.S played a Bogey competition. Our sponsor was Alan Webster.

The ladies did not get all their own way today as our winner was Robin Thatcher @ 1 up.

2nd place went to Julia Hall loosing to Robin on count back and 3rd place was Sally Cottrell at level par.

We had 3 nearest the pins, on the 3rd this was won by Julia, third shot on the 14th was won by Sally, no one managed to stay on the 18th green with their second shot so this prize went to a card draw which was won by George Braddick. There were no two´s recorded today.

There was a Single Knockout match played and Tom Atkinson beat John Hall 3 & 2.

Next Week we have a Medal Competition sponsored by Susie & John Snelling.

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