A shotgun start at 9 a.m. (without the shotgun it seemed, at least from the distant hole 17 tee box) saw 37 members and 5 guests take on a course that has become a permanent SMGS monthly fixture.
The Monday night and Tuesday day rains had done little damage. Only bunkers remained sodden, and waste areas appeared to have suffered even further damage following their littering with rivulets during September’s DANA. DANA 2 was substantially more respectful than its predecessor.
The damp conditions did, though, mean that buggies were not allowed on fairways, which meant a few members had to drop out. This seems a shame as we all look forward to our Wednesday’s with SMGS, and one wonders why, especially on the 11 old holes, it was not possible to enter fairways at right angles from the cart paths. The course had drained really well and quickly, and this could, one feels, have been accommodated.
Concerning the actual golf, as always at this course some great scores were posted. Mike Greatorex led the way with a superb 41 points, closely followed by guest Lee Parsons with 40, and Keith Wickham with 39. This author paused alongside the par 3 11 th to watch a spectacular off-green holing by the latter.
Having been beaten by him in the relevant category, perhaps the buggy should have been revved up at the moment just before contact. It would have made little difference. Keith clearly likes Vistabella, having won his category there on more than one occasion.
Finally, a mention for those in Gold. It is amazing, going back through past results, how close this category always is when playing Vistabella. On one occasion all four prize winners were only decided on countback. This time three tied runners-up, with Danny Toft just capping the rest as winner by a point, ahead of Norman Cahill, Mark Prestonand Andy Shaw. Congrats to the Handicap Secretary!!
The day’s prize winners were the following:
Bronze Category: 4 th Mike Jordan (33), 3 rd Norman Padmore (34), 2 nd Brian Butler (35) and 1 st Keith Wickham with 39 points
Silver Category: 4 th Ken Flaherty (34), 3 rd Mike Kaylor (37), 2 nd Charlie Harkin (38) and 1 st , with the day’s best score of 41 points, Mike Greatorex
Gold Category: 4 th Andy Shaw (36 on CB), 3 rd Mark Preston (36 on CB), 2 nd Norman Cahill (36 on CB) and 1 st Danny Toft with 37 points
Nearest the pins on par 3’s (Sponsored by Property Shop): Hole 2 Noel Bannon, Hole 7 Lee Parsons, Hole 11 Roger Brierly, Hole 15 Russ Bailey
Abacus (Sponsored by Mike IPTV Kaylor): Roger Brierly
Best Guests: Lee Parsons (40) beat Alistair Gordon (35) in to second place Our thanks go to all Vistabella staff for their contribution to an enjoyable day. Next week we will be at Altorreal, the following week at La Serena for the first round of this season’s Bogey’s Shield. Keep up to date with all SMGS matters by logging on to our website www.smgs.org or simply give Captain Phil de Lacy a call on 966774197.
