Month: October 2019

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SMGS at Vistabella. October 23 rd , 2019

A shotgun start at 9 a.m. (without the shotgun it seemed, at least from the distant hole 17 tee box) saw 37 members and 5 guests take on a course that has become a permanent SMGS monthly fixture.

The Monday night and Tuesday day rains had done little damage. Only bunkers remained sodden, and waste areas appeared to have suffered even further damage following their littering with rivulets during September’s DANA. DANA 2 was substantially more respectful than its predecessor.

The damp conditions did, though, mean that buggies were not allowed on fairways, which meant a few members had to drop out. This seems a shame as we all look forward to our Wednesday’s with SMGS, and one wonders why, especially on the 11 old holes, it was not possible to enter fairways at right angles from the cart paths. The course had drained really well and quickly, and this could, one feels, have been accommodated.

Concerning the actual golf, as always at this course some great scores were posted. Mike Greatorex led the way with a superb 41 points, closely followed by guest Lee Parsons with 40, and Keith Wickham with 39. This author paused alongside the par 3 11 th to watch a spectacular off-green holing by the latter.

Having been beaten by him in the relevant category, perhaps the buggy should have been revved up at the moment just before contact. It would have made little difference. Keith clearly likes Vistabella, having won his category there on more than one occasion.

Finally, a mention for those in Gold. It is amazing, going back through past results, how close this category always is when playing Vistabella. On one occasion all four prize winners were only decided on countback. This time three tied runners-up, with Danny Toft just capping the rest as winner by a point, ahead of Norman Cahill, Mark Prestonand Andy Shaw. Congrats to the Handicap Secretary!!

The day’s prize winners were the following:

Bronze Category: 4 th Mike Jordan (33), 3 rd Norman Padmore (34), 2 nd Brian Butler (35) and 1 st Keith Wickham with 39 points

Silver Category: 4 th Ken Flaherty (34), 3 rd Mike Kaylor (37), 2 nd Charlie Harkin (38) and 1 st , with the day’s best score of 41 points, Mike Greatorex

Gold Category: 4 th Andy Shaw (36 on CB), 3 rd Mark Preston (36 on CB), 2 nd Norman Cahill (36 on CB) and 1 st Danny Toft with 37 points

Nearest the pins on par 3’s (Sponsored by Property Shop): Hole 2 Noel Bannon, Hole 7 Lee Parsons, Hole 11 Roger Brierly, Hole 15 Russ Bailey

Abacus (Sponsored by Mike IPTV Kaylor): Roger Brierly

Best Guests: Lee Parsons (40) beat Alistair Gordon (35) in to second place Our thanks go to all Vistabella staff for their contribution to an enjoyable day. Next week we will be at Altorreal, the following week at La Serena for the first round of this season’s Bogey’s Shield. Keep up to date with all SMGS matters by logging on to our website www.smgs.org or simply give Captain Phil de Lacy a call on 966774197.

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Marabu Golf Societyat Vistabella on 24th October 2019.

  • In association with Costa Blanca Green Fee Services

For this month’s meeting a group of 30 players visited the established course at Vistabella taking advantage of the excellent society deal obtained from Costa Blanca Green Fee Services.

The weather was beautiful and the course in superb condition despite the recent heavy rain.

Today was our Captains Day and we thank Jim Speakman the bottle of wine given to each player.

The winning Scores were as follows:

Gold Division – 1st – Annie Pardoe – 35 points, 2nd – Alan Templeman – 32 points

Silver Division – 1st – Colin McDonald – 34 points, 2nd – Bill Fantom – 32 points

Bronze Division – 1st – Gordon Neve – 44 points, 2nd – Tony Wonfor – 31 points

Nearest the Pins – Probert (2),Templeman (2),Thursfield,Ollier

Longest Drive – Tony Ollier, Football Card – Colin MacDonald, Dog of a Day – Till Preston

After the game we had a chip butty feast in the Vistabella clubhouse which was enjoyed by all for it’s simplicity.

Today was also our Poppy Day Appeal and we made a contribution to the British Legion via their representative Mick the Grip Reeves.

We also announced that with immediate effect we have a new base and will now be found at Edina’s Bar and Grill in Dona Pepa.

Our next fixture is the bounce game at Altorreal on 31st October 2019 followed by the interim day also at Altorreal on 14th November 2019 and the monthly society day at El Valle on 28th November 2019.

Report by Mike Probert of Costa Blanca Green Fee Services on 966 704 752 or 661 345 931 or see us at our web-site at www.costa-blanca-greenfees.com.

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Las Ramblas Golf Society Results for w/c 21.10.19

Mike Mahony and Olga Douglas had a great start to their week. Having been paired together in our ‘2 ball better ball’ competition on Monday they took the spoils with a tremendous 47 points. Close behind them with a score of 44 points (which would normally be enough to win) were Bryan Neal and the ‘evergreen’ Reg Akehurst.

On Wednesday it was the third and final round of our ‘Championship’ Medal. Winner on the day, with a nett score of 70 was Olga Douglas who was followed home by Trevor Pullyblank with a nett 72. Mike Chapman was in the frame with 73. There were three ‘2’s today going to Dave Pulling, Ron Phipps and Liz Robertson.

Mike Mahony’s and Olga Douglas’s run of form continued. With the best two cards out of the three to count Mike took the overall men’s title with nett 146 whilst Olga came out top in the ladies section, also with 146. Mike only just triumphed over Mike Chapman on countback! Rachel Lee was the ladies runner up with a nett 148.

Wednesday evening was great fun as about 30 of us took part in Richard Connock’s unique interactive quiz night held at his café in La Zenia called Artesano. We would highly recommend this event to all the other golf societies and clubs out there who are looking to hold an entertaining event. For more details contact Richard on WhatsApp to 0044 7872 601731 or email hello@artesanocafebar.com

Our week ended with a 6x6x6. Winners with 87 points were Jan Svendsen, Nick Lee, Yvonne Phipps and Nigel Price. Just one point behind them were Marleen Billen, Graham Murray, Richard Connock (another plug) and the fictional Albert.

Por ultimo, ‘I’ve spent most of my life golfing – the rest I’ve just wasted’ – Anon

Pues hasta la semana que viene

Peter Reffell

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STELLA WINS THE DAY

Today 25 October 2019 Montgo Golf Society played a Stableford competition our sponsor today was Peter Twine.

Our winner with 40 points was Stella Fox, 2nd place went to Gerian van Ooijen with 37 points beating Neil Carter on countback who also had 37 points.

The nearest the pins were won by Stella on the 3rd, Sally Cottrell on the 11th and Richard fox took the 5th on a card draw as the marker was not put out by the first group. There was also a lucky Dip, and this was won by Geoff Willcock.

There was only 1 two won by Mick Farmer who left before the prize giving.

We welcomed 2 guests Christine & Peter Curtis.

Next week is the Montgo Quaich a pairs medal competition this is sponsored by Liz & Barry Butler

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GLENYS WINS MONTGO’S HANNAH MARSDEN TROPHY

Today 18th October Montgo played a Stableford Competition for the Hannah Marsden Trophy sponsored by Bob Marsden.

Our winner was Gleny´s Cuming with an excellent 42 points, 2nd was Franz Budnik with 40 points, 3rd was Richard Fox with 38 points and 4th place went to George Braddick with 37 points.

The nearest the pins were won by Susanne Duner on the 3rd, Neil Cuming on the 16th Ilona Mathieu on the 5th There were 3 twos won by Franz Budnik, Sally Cottrell & Neil Cuming who each received a coveted Montgo Ball. We also had 2 card draws for other prizes and these were won by Stella Fox & Ian Bonser.

This is the last time that Montgo will play for this trophy as Bob will be retiring from golf and Montgo. As many of you will know Bob has for many years has had health problems and he feels that this is the right time for him retire. Bob will be presenting the trophy to the young lady after which it is named later in the year. Montgo wish Bob all the very best for the future.

Our next competition is a Stableford sponsored by Peter Twine

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Las Ramblas Golf Society Results for w/c 14.10.19

Monday saw us compete in round one (of three) to determine our winner of this year’s Stableford championship. With individual prizes also available on each day, it will be the player with the highest total number of points at the end of the week that will receive the ‘Major’ trophy.

Graham Murray got off to a great start winning with 38 points. John Shervell, with 35 just edged out Ron Phipps on countback to take second place. That dark horse, Mike Chapman, is also still in the frame having scored 34 points. Two ‘2’s today. One for Bryan Neal with the other going to Richard Connock.

Wednesday and it was round two of Stableford week. Graham Murray managed to stay in contention having come in 5th with 33 points. Our winner on the day, with 41 points, was Nick Lee. Unfortunately for Nick, he had missed out on Monday’s round so will not be picking up the ‘Major’ this year! Paul Brown beat Yvonne Phipps on countback to take second with 36. There were an incredible seven ‘2’s today! Far too many to mention although Richard Connock (yet again) got two of them.

Friday and it was ‘Seconds out. Third and final round.’ Our winner on the day, making a very rare public appearance, was Peter Radcliffe with 42 points. Trevor Pullyblank took second spot from Paul Brown on countback with 34. Ron Luffman cleaned up today as he was the only player to score a ‘2’.

So, to the moment you’ve all been waiting for! Graham Murray took 4th place today with 33 points which was enough to see him crowned champion for the week with a total points tally of 104 points. Well done Graham! Second overall, after today’s great performance, was Peter Radcliffe with 98 and Richard Connock came in 3rd with 96 points.

Por ultimo, in the words of Don Adams, ‘I had a wonderful experience on the golf course today. I had a hole in nothing. Missed the ball and sank the divot.’

Pues, hasta la semana que viene

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El Plantio 2 GS Waltz

I do not normally report on the non-club golf days, but one special round deserves a mention. I was privileged to witness a superb performance on Sunday by infrequent visitor, Peter Brammer, who scored 15 pars, 2 Birdies and only 1 Bogie in a superb Stableford Score of 46 points off Handicap 9.

Peter, with his new drastically revised handicap slightly came back to earth in the club ‘Waltz’ on Tuesday but still scored a creditable 34 points and one nearest the pin but was unable to help his team get among the prizes.

His wife, Sam, however, upheld the family  by being part of the winning team. Special mention must go to club stalwart, Ian Henderson, who is still battling fitness issues, but has recently returned to play and was part of the team finishing second.

Nearest the pins – Hole 4, Peter Brammer, Hole 8, Ray Housley..

Third Place, Ian Burroughs, Barry Philpot, Mike Williams – 67 points.

Second place, Ian Henderson, Barry Walthall, David Swann – 67 points (C/B).

First place, Ray Housley, Sam Brammer, Mike Davies – 72 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 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.

Picture from L to R: Barry Philpot, Ian Burroughs, Sam Brammer, Ray Housley, Mike Davies, Barry Walthall, Ian Henderson, David Swann, Peter Brammer, Mike Williams.

David Swann

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Rubys GS Poppy Appeal

Captain George Marshall Deane selected the Royal British legion poppy day appeal for his charity day this year and hand picked his team to try again to win this annual event. With an excellent turn out of 32 players we all tackled Vistabella Golf course with great gusto to help George achieve his dream.

Sadly this did not happen as his players scores were just below the Vice captains, in actual fact were well below what was needed for the win. However the real winner on the day was the charity who benefited to the sum of 775 euros which was raised from a raffle, donations from members and golf courses, and a special mention to Mal  who knitted over 80 poppy’s which were sold and worn by our members as you can see from the picture, well done Mal.

The results on the day were: The captains cup was won by the vice captains team, the highest stapleford score was Alan Corder who was not at all happy about his forthcoming handy cap cut. Nearest the pin on the par 3’s were Mike Thomas, Peter List, El Stevo and Bill Martin.

Back at O’Brien’s where we enjoyed some nibbles the auction and raffle took place and where we raised this incredible amount of money, the celebrations continued on, during which the football cards were won by Alex Bolton and Keith Markham. A great day was had by all and a substantial amount was raised for the charity, well done all.

Birthday boy

Our fun/ bounce game was at Font Del Llopp and was also a huge birthday celebration for one of our oldest members Jim McCarthy who reached the ripe old age of 80 and still playing golf quite well, what an achievement, sadly he was not in the winning team this week but as you can see from the picture he was well looked after and had a great day.

We played the yellow ball format and it was good fun for all the teams, the results were as follows; Nearest the pins were Terry Brooker, Michelle Evans, Andy (come on you yellows) Rawlings, Marc De Roos, and Hermine De Roos. The best Stapleford score on the day was Mike Thomas.

Only two teams brought the yellow ball back and the winning team with 151 points was Mike Thomas, Martin Collins, Sonia Parijs and Hermine De Roos. Back at O’Briens where we continued to celebrate the “old” boy’s birthday the football card was won by Steve (lucky again) James. If anyone wishes to play with us or needs any further information please email us at rubysgolf@yahoo.co.uk

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SMGS at Font de Llop. October 16th, 2019

A beautiful day and a course in excellent condition greeted the 38 members and 8 accompanying guests making the trip to Font de Llop. Some complications over green fee arrangements led to a few Committee Members, and pro-shop staff, getting some unnecessary stress before play commenced. In the end, though, all was resolved amicably.

Set up pretty short, with some work still going on to recover areas affected by recent heavy rains as well as general maintenance, some high scores were expected.

However, prize-winning scoring across all categories was pretty even (and average) with only Dave Alderdice amongst the members taking full advantage, beating his nearest rival for maximum Order of Merit points by a mere cinco puntos. Well played Dave!! Peter Devlin, a regular visitor, also beat his handicap.

Another visitor, Ray Waite, almost had a hole-in-one on the across-the-water par-three 12th , missing by a mere 6 inches.

The day’s results, by category and in reverse order, were the following:

Bronze Category: 4th Mick Seymour (33), 3rd Mike Jordan (34 on CB), 2nd Keith Wickham (34 on CB) and 1st Ken Flaherty with 35 points.

Silver Category: 4th Ivan Hanak (31), 3rd Keith Little (35 on CB), 2nd Noel Bannon (35 on CB) and 1st Brian Mulligan with 36 points.

Gold Category: 4th Theo Boelhouwer (33 on CB), 3rd Andy Shaw (33 on CB), 2nd Colin Rust (36) and 1st Dave Alderdice with easily the day’s best score of 41 points.

Nearest the pins (sponsored by Property Shop): Hole 3 Alister Gordon, Hole 8 Peter Devlin, Hole 12 Ray Waite, Hole 16 Dave Alderdice, and Hole 17 Ian Merga.

Abacus (sponsored by Mike Kaylor IPTV): Tommy Boyle

Best Guest Winners: 1 st Peter Devlin (38), 2 nd Ray Waite (36)

Our thanks go to all Font de Llop staff for their contribution to the day. Next week we will be at Vistabella, the following week at Altorreal. Keep up to date with all SMGS matters by logging on to our website www.smgs.org or simply give Captain Phil de Lacy a call on 966774197.

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‘Mike Probert talks Golf

Sponsored by Costa Blanca Green Fee Services

Here on the Costa’s golf is one of the biggest leisure time activities for both tourists and resident alike and with this in mind we have secured the services of Mike Probert of Costa Blanca Green Fee Services to provide a weekly round up of local golfing events and topics and in conjunction with us at THE LEADER will provide discounted golf prices to all of our readers and run our golf competitions.

Around and about the golf courses

Since our last around and about the golf course article we have faced the worst storms and floods for more than 100 years which devastated some local course particularly those in Murcia so it is only appropriate that we provide our readers with a full update.

Campoamor

They have re-laid all 18 greens over the summer months and had planned to re-open the greens and the course in full by the 16th October 2019 and this has not been the case with play currently on 9 greens (which are in a poor condition) and 9 temporary greens and we will keep you updated when this situation changes.

La Marquesa

The front nine holes (which were being re-modelled) were badly damaged by heavy floods and currently only the back nine holes are open for play so they offer only 9 hole rounds or 18 holes by playing holes 10-18 twice and this situation will not change in the immediate future and we will keep you updated of changes

La Serena

Although the course was not too badly affected (except bunkers as on all courses) they lost their buggy fleet and they are currently operating with a reduced number of buggies.

La Torre

There was significant damage to bunkers but the biggest problem is that after the water receded it left the fairways covered in silt and mud and the course is still closed and will remain that way until the 1st November 2019 although they are targeting the 25th October 2019.

Las Colinas

The course was not too badly affected by the storms (other than the bunkers of which 80% are now back in play) but again they lost their entire buggy fleet and while they have been successful in obtaining at least 30-40 buggies they are still operating buggies on a first come first served basis.

New Sierra Golf

This is currently an excellent 9 hole course and they have now started initial works on the other 9 holes and have plans to open these additional holes by October 2021.

Saurines

This course was probably the worst affected by the storms and floods with extensive damage to the course infrastructure and the course is still closed and will remain that way until the 30th November 2019.

Mosa Trajectum

We understand that work is taking place to re-open 9 holes but with significant changes to the original course design and will provide more information when known

We will attempt to keep you updated of any changes.

We at THE LEADER are committed to providing to our golfing readers affordable golf without the need to join a club or apply for a card but simply contact the number below to have instant access to discounted golf prices, many of which are exclusive to us.

The deals shown in the table are some of the best currently available to you:

Golf Course Price Comments
Alenda €158 Two Players and Buggy
Alicante €145 Two Players and Buggy
Altorreal €120 Two Players and Buggy
Bonalba €130 Two Players and Buggy
Don Cayo (Altea) €114 Two Players and Buggy
El Plantio €112 Two Players and Buggy from 12pm
Font Del Llop €136 Single Green Fee and Buggy
GNK Golf Courses €146 Two Players and Buggy (El Valle,Riquelme & La Torre)
La Finca €176 Two Players and Buggy
La Manga West €75 Single Green Fee
La Marquesa €49 Single Green Fee
La Serena €52 Single Green Fee
Las Colinas €99 Single Green Fee
Las Ramblas €124 Two Players and Buggy
Lo Romero €168 Two Players and Buggy
New Sierra Golf €82 Two Green Fees and Buggy
Roda €150 Two Players and Buggy
UGolf Courses €146 Two Players and Buggy (Saurines & Hac. Del Alamo)
Villamartin €142 Two Players and Buggy
Villaitana Poniente €66 Single Green Fee and Buggy
Vistabella €122 Two Players and Buggy

For Bookings and more information contact Mike at info@costa-blanca-greenfees.com or direct on 966 704 752 or 661 345 931 quoting reference LEADER.

The following vouchers are still available for purchase with all the proceeds going to the British Legion Poppy Appeal:

Alenda for 2 players for €80 valid from 02/12/19

Roda for 2 players and buggy for €90 valid from 25/11/19

 

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