Today the interleague team set off for the far eastern shores of Castro Marim on the Spanish border.
Despite an early start, a long drive and initial very high winds on an extremely tricky course we managed a commendable 3-2 defeat.
Whilst perhaps not as impressive as our two previous home results which yielded a mighty combined total of 9.5 for to 0.5 against, the interleague points system recognises the difficulty of playing away from home and so our two victories today should stand us in good stead in the league placements.
Results
John Hall & Dave Darling lost 5 & 4 (John could only carry me so far at his age!) Des Briggs & Eddie Kassner won 3&1 (a stunning result in the conditions) Wayne Sinfield & Ria Raap lost 2 up (but Wayne is distracted at the moment!)
Steve Edwards & Marijke Rombouts won 1 up (two real competitors fighting to the last as always) Mel Huxtable & Homayoun Madjrouh lost 2&1 (Both sides agreed it was nip and tuck and could have gone either way)
The food was great (apparently the steak exceeded all expectations), the company was, as always, friendly and the course was definitely challenging. This was a team picked on form (with the obvious exception of the captain for the day!) and availability and performed very well on the day.
Please put your name down for the up coming fixtures (Morgado on the 27th and Castro Marim on the 4th of May) so that we can continue to put our best foot forward and do our club justice.
On the trivia side:
Wayne Sinfield is definitely worth following when he puts his next lottery ticket in – look how many balls he got when he put a single token into the ball machine - the video is hilarious however its too large to attach!
As we are playing the return match on May 4th (known to some as “Star Wars” days – “May the force”– geddit?”) rumour has it that if selected Mel will turn up as Jabba the Hut – see enclosed picture of Mel with his dessert plate!
A large field of happy golfers had lot of fun during Captain´s Drive in Saturday 1st April. To fit everybody in, we needed to shorten the interval between the groups from nine to eight minutes. That worked well, not much waiting and no big gap between any of the groups.
The new Captain Per Lars Tonstad drove in as early as 8 am, with many players watching. He found the fairway on his second attempt!
After golfing, around 50 players stayed for barbecue and others just for a drink. The food was good, and people enjoyed sitting in the sun and chat with others. Per Lars held his speech and introduced Rita Pinto, the leader of Castelo de Sonhos. She presented the organization chosen for the Captain´s Charity this year. Castelo the Sonhos is a local organization, based in Silves. During many years the have supported underprivileged people in our neighborhoud with food, clothes, furniture and other things needed. They also have special program for children that can´t live with their parents. The need for support is huge, and the club will find different ways of raising money for the charity throughout the year. The first day we collected €675, and Rita Pinto was very happy and grateful when she received the money. Finally outgoing captain Mags Taylor showed us how to putt, she made an impressive two-putt from a difficult position on the 18th green. Another great day in Algarve, and a great day for Serra de Monchique.
What a great day for our Inter League-team! We won 5-0 against Laranjal.
Impossible to do it better than that.
A huge contribution from everyone. Maybe for the first time, we played with five ladies in our team. For sure, it will not be the last time.
They performed very well, and deserve a glass of quality red wine tonight, make sure it will happen.
We are in the third and lowest division in Inter League, but when it comes to the food, I think we are in the top of the first division. The lunch was excellent, the lamb shank was so tender that you could eat it with a spoon. Our guests were very impressed and happy. And they told me, don´t expect anything like this when you come to Laranjal.
Sorry, of course we do! Our course is located among orange and avocado fields and next to a cork factory that continuous deliver smelling smoke to us. Laranjal is surrounded by luxury villas with heated pools and I don’t know how many expensive cars in the garages. And they invite us for spaghetti Bolognese for lunch! It is not so important, we take what we get and will be happy and give a smile to everyone, and more important is what will happen on the golf course.
Thanks to everyone, be proud and get ready for next match.
Results:
The Thursday Ladies gave a very big thank you to Karen and Wendy for running the ladies golf for the last five years.
Karen and Wendy have worked so hard making SdM ladies section the envy of many Algarve Golf Clubs. They were presented with flowers by Julie Barratt who is taking over the running of the Ladies Leisure matches on Thursday mornings.
This year's Roses vs Thorns was again a huge success. It was a cold and windy day but this did not detract for the fun had by all. Every match was keenly contested with the final result being a 10-5 win for the Thorns (well played guys)!
Afterwards the packed clubhouse saw our organiser Dave Tweed present every lady with flower and gift.
Many thanks to Dave for all his hard work, as well as Stu and Maz McGill for providing the trophy.
Maz presented the trophy to Thorns acting Captain Dave Darling.
Many congratulations to SdM member Elaine Milor on achieving a hole in one at the par three 5th hole at Silves. Obviously delighted with her ace!
"Lovely day at Silves and to top it off on the 5th hole I used my 5 wood and looked all over only to find it in the hole -magic!"
After a few frosty mornings, with delayed start times, we were delighted to be able to begin our Texas Scramble competition on time.
All muffled up in our winter attire, we coped with the cold temperate and biting wind to enjoy a fun morning – Jan Daapan certainly did, with his “eagle” on the 2nd hole!
The BBQ following the game was well received by the hungry players and Pestana presented us with a fresh, tasty lunch, which was followed by the presentation of the trophies and mementos.
For the winners and runners up who could not attend the presentation, the Captain will arrange with you to receive your well deserved mementos.
Thanks to everyone who supported the day and congratulated the worthy winners. A great club atmosphere – again!