It has to be the golf course in San Juan. There are no sign posts for it, there are no entrance signs when you finally get there, the car park is small, the place for coffee is hidden away across a bridge, and they won't let you take buggies to your car. Is it really a golf course? It is, and it's a good one. The real problem is us. Even though we know the answers to these secrets, we seem to forget them for the next visit, and then complain. Must be an age thing.
But, 23 of us found it, one way or another. The conditions were near perfect. Warm, sunny, little or no breeze. Mid February, and almost shorts weather. What could possibly go wrong?
Nothing, for Ben Wilcock. His short game has been iffy of late, but he's cured that. He's had a bout of gout lately, but cooling his toes in the pool has cured that. And he has fully embraced the new shirt colour with some lovely co-ordinating accessories. He certainly looked a winner as he stepped out onto the first tee. And so it turned out. A flash of green, blending in nicely with the surroundings. 40 points was more than enough to ensure a comfortable win. It could have been way more, he said.
Full results as follows;
Overall winner
Ben Wilcock - 40.
Division 1
Winner. Ben Wilcock - 40
Runner Up. Merrick Robinson - 34
Division 2
Winner. Sean Carr - 35
Runner Up. Dave Pell - 35
NP's
Hole 6. Doug Kinloch
Hole 12. Nick Austin
LBS
Martin Oddy and Andy Price used the Callanan formula to work this out. The answer, using this formula, was 62. However, Martin knew that Tony Bowers was going to dump his ball in to the water at the 12th, that it would be near the edge, and that he would retrieve it, so no lost ball. He deducted -1 from the formula and selected 61. Shouldn't have.
Andy Price, on the other hand, knew that whilst the Callanan formula was good, indeed very good, it did not have a variable for "tractor in the middle of the 14th fairway". He also knew that there was a very good chance that Craig Longstaff would send his drive screaming towards the tractor (and the groundsman), hit the wheel, bounce off at a rate of knots, ball never to be seen again. So, he added +1 to the formula and selected 63. Shouldn't have.
As an aside, Craig wasn't overly concerned about the lost ball, but he was very concerned when he was subsequently referred to as "Tractor Boy". Understandable, and totally unnecessary.
€22 to rollover to El Saler. That should boost numbers.
Back in the shady part of the clubhouse, which was now open btw, our Captain did his thing, congratulated the winners, and awarded the prizes. He reminded everyone that we had a league match against The Swingers from El Bosque, back here in two days time.
Our next Society game is at El Saler on Wednesday 5th March.
As ever, this game will be sponsored by Blevins Franks, International Tax and Wealth Management. peter.hodgkinson@blevinsfranks.com
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 €105.70. 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.
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