Another good SMGS turnout saw 42 members and 5 guests arriving at a sunny but chilly Vistabella for a 9am shotgun start. Indubitably, the cold air increased the usual rate of first hole knee-knocking among those who had bravely opted to wear short trousers. Where do we find such men?
Thanks to the recent deluge which hinted at the second coming of Noah, buggies were restricted to the concrete paths for two reasons:
1) to avoid damaging sodden fairways
2) the vehicles are not amphibious.
This led those who use buggies – the old, the infirm, the downright lazy – to actually walk more than the, erm, walkers with trolleys. And they paid 5 euros more for the privilege!
Greens were in excellent condition but, like a Katie Price autobiography, difficult to read. There were some tricky pin positions and some bunkers awash with water channels but overall the course was in great nick given the heavy rain at the weekend.
Unfortunately one of our members was unable to continue after 7 holes due to sudden illness. However, on hearing this, Vistabella management issued him with a free voucher – a munificent goodwill gesture greatly appreciated by the society.
At the par three hole 11, Hugh Reilly proudly put his name on the nearest–the-pin card until it was unhelpfully pointed out to him by his fellow players that his first shot had been a mis-hit that barely made the Ladies Tee!
Winning results, by category and in reverse order, were the following:
Bronze Category: 5th Carmel McCann(28), 4th Roger Brierley (32), 3rd Bob Eyland (33), 2nd Mark Ronson(34) and 1st, Ken Flaherty (39) Taking top points for the order of merit.
Silver Category: 5th Adrian Roberts (36), 4th Steve Hart (37), 3rd Kyrre Skarsmoen (38 on CB), 2nd Paul Lambert (38 on CB) and 1st Phil De Lacy (39)
Gold Category: 5th Ivor Turkington (34 on CB), 4th Robin Eastman (34 on CB), 3rd Graham Temple (34 on CB), 2nd Hugh Reilly (36) and 1st Joost Boelhouwer with 39 points.
Nearest the pins (sponsored by Property Shop): Hole 2 Phil De lacy, Hole 7 Mick Roscoe, Hole 11 Barry Roehrig, Hole 15 Joost Boelhouwer
Abacus (sponsored by Adrian Rudge): John Rose
Best Guest: Roddy Duncan (37). Second Best Guest: Bruce Boswell (35)
Our thanks go to all Vistabella staff for their contribution to the day. Next week we will be at Alenda, then on following weeks at El Valle and Font De Llop. Keep up to date with all SMGS matters by logging on to our website www.smgs.org or simply give Captain Tony Smale a call on 628 22 76 87.
