What a waste of time.

The final game of the year was switched from Levante to Puig Campana and was set up as a "Green Miles Ted" game? We were told to wait until the day to find out what this format was. But that didn't stop quite a number of players spending many, many hours Googling, trying to find out for themselves. What a waste of time.

There was nothing on the R&A, nothing on USPGA. The nearest thing we found was a Spanish equivalent, "Red Kilometres Frederico" game. But, even though there was a Spanish equivalent, we were sticking with the original, Scottish, "Green Miles Ted" version. Why couldn't we find it? Because, no existe! Our Captain, taking a leaf from some match reports, had made it all up. And if you were under 70, you would have no clue what he was on about. Now, concentrate. The inspiration for this format came from;

Green = Hughie Green. Presenter of Opportunity Knocks. 1949 - 1978. Remember the clap-o-meter? Remember double your money?

Miles = Michael Miles. Presenter of Take Your Pick. 1955 - 1968. Remember Open the Box? Remember the yes/no interlude? Remember the Gong?

Ted = Ted Rogers. Presenter of 3-2-1. 1978 - 1987. Remember Dusty Bin?

Can you believe it, we used to stop in on a Saturday night to watch these programmes. And can you believe, we would be playing golf in Spain, 50 or 60 years later, to a format based on them! No, is the answer to that question - Gong!

And so, to the game. Teams of four, each playing there own ball and scoring stableford points as normal, but not all points would count. It went 3-2-1, 3-2-1 etc. Those scores would be aggregated to produce a score for the round. Back in the clubhouse, there would be a chance to Gambrill and double some points, or lose points by opening the box. And then, more points could be added or lost with a quiz. Simples.

Here are the teams:

Team 1. Wayne Stallings, Tony Bowers, Martin Oddy

Team 2. Jordan Duffy, Max Gatrell, Ray Stone

Team 3. Mick Callanan, Ray Gambrill, Dave Lawson, Gordon MItchell

Team 4. Gerry Clark, Peter Dymyd, Dave Lesbirel, Neil Robertson

Team 5. Andy Price, Craig Longstaff, Christoph Dünwald, Roger Miller

What happened and who won? First off, which teams Gambrilled with their hard earned points?

Team 1. Gambrill. Double points on hole 7. 3 points so + 6.

Team 2. Gambrill. Double points on hole 2. 2 points so + 4.

Team 3. Gambrill. Double points on hole 12. 1 point so + 2.

Team 4. No Gambrill

Team 5. Gambrill. Lose points on hole 13. 6 points lost.

Second, which teams got bonus points in the quiz?

Team 1. 0 points. Q. How many Ryder Cup Events ever? A. 44.

Team 2. 0 points Q. How many have GB/EUR teams won? A. 15.

Team 3. 1 point. Q. Which GB/EUR player has won most points? A. Sergio Garcia.

Team 4. 0 points Q. What handicap was Ian Poulter when he turned professional? A. 4.

Team 5. 0 points. Q. How many golf clubs in England? A. 1888.

And the winners in 3-2-1 order?

3rd. Team 2. 67 + 4

2nd. Team 3. 71 + 1 = 72

1st. Team 1. 73 + 6 = 79

The Team 5 Gambrill was an absolute disaster. One of the worst decisions Captain Andy Price has ever made. Painful. His team scored 74 points. No Gambrill and they would have finished second. However, 74 - 6 = 68, sent them into last position.

Team 4 finished 4th with 69 points with a sage no Gambrill.

LBS

The kitty had swelled to €45 thanks to the rollover from the last game. It was going to be won by the nearest guess, if not on the money, as a good will Christmas gesture. Everyone went low thinking that Puig Campana was not going to trouble us. Wrong. 59 balls lost. Mick Callanan wasn't even close with his guess of 46, but he was the closest.

AGM

This went quite smoothly. The Minutes will be distributed but for now, here is a quick summary of the highlights.

1. The Society finances are in good shape but we will still require €30 subscriptions for 2025 to cover routine expenses and keep a contingency, for unforeseen expenses.

2. We will enforce our Green Fee policy as the level of unpaid fees increased during 2024 to an unsustainable level.

3. The Committee were re-elected.

4. Tony Bowers was elected as a Committee Member

5. The Senior Category would be discontinued for 2025.

6. We will introduce Divisions 1 and 2 instead.

7. Members over 80 will be able to play from blue tees if they prefer.

8. The White Coast CBL League Team will be in Division1. The Squad is in place to take on the challenge. The new season will begin in late January.

9. The new shirts were distributed.

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It was a great day, and we avoided the rain, again. Did everyone enjoy it? Yes! Gong!

Our next game is at Benidorm, Levante on Wednesday 8th January 2025.

As ever, this game will be sponsored by Blevins Franks, International Tax and Wealth Management. peter.hodgkinson@blevinsfranks.com

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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.