Not quite! 28 wanted to come and see what our President had been working hard on behind the scenes. 3 didn't make it due to heavy rain from the second DANA to hit the Northern part of the Province in as many weeks. Our President's guest couldn't make it up from the South either. Shame. All a bit surreal really. Here we were again, playing golf in warm, calm, dry conditions when all hell was breaking loose not far away. White Coast Wednesday?
Anyhow, our President had been working hard behind the scenes and he put on a real show for us. Here's what happened.
Pegged Out
Gary's favourite competition and one that he was bound to win. He warned everybody at the start of the day, and again after the round, that there was a peg in play and whoever was left with the peg when time was called, would have to buy him a top shelf shot of whisky. Everyone was covering their back but Gerry Clark took his eye of the ball and lost his focus and concentration during the awards ceremony. Some bar steward pinned it on him at the last moment. Cost him a 12 year old Macallan.
The Chase
He had set a quiz to see how much people knew about him and the Society. We discovered that the Society was founded in 2002 (even though it says 2004 on the website), what the letters WB on the previous logo stood for, and who was the longest still playing member amongst us. There were 15 points up for grabs. Gary The Chaser was predicting a score of less than 10. Captain Jordan beat The Chaser with amazing score of 12. He got wrong the questions about gender, preferences and inside leg measurements.
Indoor Putting
On the club terrace after the game, everyone was invited to a putting competition. We had to get closest to a napkin holder from about 20 yards. The tiles weren't green, but they were quick. There was a slight right to left slope, and there tables and chairs to navigate, as well as the fence and garden if we went long. We could use any part of the putter to try an overcome these obstacles. Paul Harrison went for a new position. Maybe it's not for him? Here it is.
Viv Bacon came in complaining about her putting for 18 holes and how that had cost her. No problem with indoor putting. She was closest and finished just 1.49 metres from the napkin holder, thanks to Rick O'Shea.
Two Stones
There has been confusion about the relationship between Gary Stone and Ray Stone. Most thought they were brothers but Mick Callanan thought Ray was Gary's father. Gary wanted to clarify that he is indeed the younger brother, and given that Ray will be on the move shortly, he wanted him to have a constant reminder. So, he got a framed photo. Here it is. Very thoughtful.
Mystery Partner
Scores on the doors.
Ray & Andy 75
Sara & Hans 69
Martin & Neville 68
Tony & Ben 66
Pankaj & Roger 66
Peter & Paul 62
Gerry & Dave S 62
Ray S & Viv 59
Gordon & Jordan 56
Guernsey & Alan 54
John & Craig 51
NP after 3 on 2
Confused? Pankaj wasn't.
NP's en general
There were prizes for best shots on all par 3's. Our winners were:
Hole 4. John Holgate
Hole 8. Tony Bowers preferred over Dave Smith (President's prerogative)
Hole 11. Pankaj Bakshi
Hole 14. Dave Smith
LBS
39 balls were lost, some in the re-filled hazards lining holes 6 and 7. The majority were predicting more than this. Captain Jordan was the only one brave enough to go low. Too brave, and too low as it turned out. His pick of 37 was over ambitious given the calibre of golfer out there. €27 rollover.
CBKO - The Final
Roger Jennings v Viv Bacon. After lots of matches, heartache and tears, we were down to this. Viv had 10 shots on Roger but it didn't bother him. He was 5 up after 6, and cruising. Viv is not to be messed with though and she started to use her shots wisely. She steadied the ship and got it back to 4, and then 3 as the match progressed. Just for a moment there was a glimmer of hope for her, but Roger didn't panic and kept his nerve. Roger Jennings is our CBKO Champion 2024 with a win 3&2. Congratulations and commiserations.
Stableford
Oh, we did play our regular stableford competition and this was the last one that counted towards GOTY. Apparently there were four players still in the running, but nobody knew who they were, apart from our Captain of course. So, it was a key game for those still involved.
John Holgate wasn't one of them for sure, but he did what he does best. Play rubbish game after game, then come in with a mammoth win. He had 13 points after just 4 holes, helped by gross pars on holes 3 and 4 (he didn't get his birdie on the NP hole). Then he reverted to form with a couple of 7's and a couple of blobs. Just 17 points at the turn. Then, foot back on the gas. 23 points on the back 9 for a score of 40, which was enough.
Playing just as well but fading towards the end were Ray Gambrill and Gerry Clark. They both scored 40 points but had to settle for second and third respectively. Ray Gambrill might be in the GOTY mix and, if he is, this score might help him clinch it?
All were handed very generous prizes donated by Campbell Lamont.
Didn't he do well
Here's President Gary all set to begin the awards ceremony. He did really work hard to make all of this happen. Well done Mr President. The bar is even higher.
Our next big Event is the Annual Awards Dinner at Costa Marco on Saturday 16th November. Our Guests of Honour will be Brett Hanson, Senior Partner at Blevins Franks, and his wife Martina.
Our next Society game will be The Blevins Franks Christmas Texas Scramble at Poniente on Wednesday 4th December. Your chance to look silly, and an opportunity to meet with our Sponsors. Peter Hodgkinson and Brett Hanson will be joining us.
Our final Winter League game is against Peer Gynt at Levante on Thursday 28th November. We go into the match on top of Division 2 and have a chance of promotion. Irrespective of other results, we cannot be knocked off top spot if we secure 6 points. Vamos!
Licence to Play
We expect Members to obtain the appropriate Federated Licence valid in Spain. This licence grants permission to play on all the Courses on our schedule and includes the liability and accident insurance required by Royal Decree 849/1993.
As a general guide, resident Members should be looking to obtain an Annual Licence with handicap from their corresponding Spanish Regional Federation. In the Valencia Region the cost is €104.20. There is a one off joining fee of €15.
Non resident Members can also obtain an Annual Licence if they wish. If not, they should purchase a One Day Licence at each course which affiliates them to the Federation for that day's play. A One Day Licence costs €2.
Great day and a big thank you to Gary
Awesome report Campbell lamont provided the vouchers the rest including the photo were sourced by yours truly. Thanks for sharing my day 🤷🏼♂️