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This year’s Interleague got off to a flying start yesterday at home on Pinta against Quinta do Vale from the Spanish border The Knockout is an annual competition involving AL teams and last year we got to the semis - finally losing to the eventual winners. Yesterday however was one of our finest days winning all 5 matches and recording a rare 5-0 win and comfortably through to the next round. Our regular AL matches start next month and here’s hoping the form continues !! Dave Lightburn AL Captain
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🌍⛳ International Golf Day There are golf days… and then there is The International Golf Day. The highlight of this year’s event was that the sun actually shone. After over 3 weeks of constant rain, this was an event in itself. To set the scene for Team South’s Wimbledon theme, delicious scones, strawberry jam and cream were served at the halfway house, along with a wonderful spread of homemade savouries, all served up with a smile by Sue and Judith. Which brings us neatly to the day’s most intense sporting showdown- unique in as much as all teams were playing not to lose. Winning was simply a by product of the former, but congratulations to the International Team, who won very convincingly. Congratulations also to Bruce Cook, Peter Hill and Ian Wylie who all won nearest the pin, twice in Ian’s case. The look of delight at winning 2 bottles of Robinson’s Squash for his efforts was gratifying to see. Aside from the golf, congratulations to Linda Cooke for winning ‘Guess the number of balls’ – she deserved the 50 euros for actually guessing the correct number. Kris did an excellent job of coercing anyone within hearing/seeingdistance to take part, so we were able to donate 215 euros to the Captains’ charity. Golf now out of the way, everyone enjoyed a welcome glass of Pimms before sitting down for an excellent meal - delicious, generous, and exactly what was needed after wading through some of the muddy fairways. Thank you to the Pestana catering team. And then the main event – Team Entertainment! 🎾 McEnroe vs Borg In a dramatic re-enactment of the legendary rivalry between John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg, tensions ran high. McEnroe was true to form—arguing with officials, the weather, the chalk etc. Rain interrupted play (of course it did—this is Wimbledon tradition), but fear not! The legendary Cliff Richard rose to the occasion and serenaded the crowd with Summer Holiday. 🌎 And the Winners Are… The Rest of the World! Victory went to the International Team, who not only brought golfing prowess but also a collection of fascinating (and mildly concerning) international facts: • Canada has polar bear jails. Yes, actual holding facilities for bears with behavioural issues. • New Zealand has 5x more sheep than people, meaning statistically at least one sheep probably plays better golf than you. • The French spend more time eating than almost any other country in Europe • The Dutch have more bikes than people • The Americans eat 350 slices of pizza every second • The Germans have over 1,500 different sausages, and some towns have sausage academies. • Switzerland has so many cowbells that the sound of ‘ding ding ding’ is considered part of the national soundscape.🏴 The Celts: The Celts arrived in tartan hats and suspiciously similar orange hair. They performed a spirited rendition of “Strip the Willow,” which appeared to involve spinning, laughter, and mild disorientation. Audience members were invited up to “see how it’s really done.” Several are still recovering. 🛡️ The Vikings (Translation Pending) The Vikings delivered a spirited ditty about “that old man MacDonald and his farm animals.” We think. It may have been a battle cry. Or a farming manual. A translation has been requested. 🤠 The Midlands: Searching for Amarillo The Midlands went on a musical march to find Amarillo, inspired—one assumes—by Tony Christie. Did they find it? Has anyone ever found it? These questions remain. 🎶 The North: “Simply the Worst” The North, singing with great gusto, described themselves as “Simply the Worst.” Whether this was inspired by Tina Turner or brutal honesty is unclear. Regardless, their reward for losing was the prestigious honour of organising next year’s event. We are, naturally, all already looking forward to it. 🍽️ Food, Décor & Dancing into the Night The table decorations were magnificent—international flair everywhere you looked with Flags, colour, strawberries, tennis balls…. To round the evening off, DJ Gavin ‘s music kicked in—and suddenly everyone was 22 again. The dance floor filled. Golfers who had struggled with coordination all day suddenly found remarkable rhythm Final Thoughts Sunshine. Sport. Song. Sheep statistics. Where else can you see Vikings sing, Celts spin, McEnroe argue, and the Midlands still searching for Amarillo. International Golf Day: proof that while golf may be the excuse, it’s the laughter, friendship, and lighthearted national competition that truly win the day. Roll on next year. ⛳ Karen and Neil Stanton hosted 32 players on Sunday. As a nod to their time in Naples, Florida, they ran a Florida Scramble format. All the players agreed that it was a fun, no stress format that allowed everyone to participate as the team moved through the course playing off the best shot made by a member who then stepped aside, playing with 3 shots at a time kept the round moving quickly. And, best of all....EVERYONE was a winner with 8 places being rewarded! The chocolate was received especially well! The good news is that there was no rain, for a change. The bad news is that the course conditions beared no resemblance to Florida, in so much as it was cool, muddy and overcast. However, everyone agreed that trudging through rough course conditions beat staying indoors. Winners: 1st: :Stephen Moore, Bruce Cooke, Michele Richardson 2nd: Gavin Mortimer,Brenda Manley, Beate Kernen, Paul Manley 3rd: Neil Stanton, Richard Turner, Sue Mortimer, Clive Mathews 4th: Peter Cartwright, Richard Conyers, Maren Barthel, Peter Hill 5th: Simon Martin, Rene Van Der Zee, Klaus Flakenber, Jurg Kernen 6th:Simone Morgan, Linda Cooke, Kevin Morgan, Asa Baggstrom 7th: Jim WIllens, Christian Barthel, Sara Mathews, Mike Pledge 8th: Gernot Macschmid, Juliet Smith, Heinz DIlle, Florian Dille Special thanks to Kris for managing the collections and to Richard Conyers and Peter Cartwright who stepped in at the 11th hour to round out our field. Hopefully better weather next week. Karen Stanton 38 players registered for the 1st Sunday Funday organised by Gavin Mortimer. The format was a Sweet 16 with 3 scores to count on every hole with the worst 2 holes to be removed from the total. 1 member decided to withdraw at the last minute, maybe because of being afraid to be washed away by the rain? But we got lucky and managed to finish our round with only a tiny drizzle towards the end. Winners: Nearest to the pin: Gavin Mortimer (5rd) & Gernot Macschmidt (11th) Winning team with 105 points: Juerg, Robert Lench, Ally Bell and Christian Barthel (hidden partner) 2nd: Asa & Ulf Baggstrom, Bob Beatson and Shirley Turner 3rd: Beate, Bruce Cooke, Eddy Laden and yours truly 4th: Ann Terry, Sue Mortimer, Mike Pledge & Gernot 2-4th had to be decided on countback with 103 points each Hopefully better weather next week. Gramacho Cup on Saturday ! René. Results of the Sunday Funday, competently organised by our Gents Vice-Captain Peter Hill A challenging competition format (2 best scores on all holes but 4 scores to count on holes 4-8-12 and 16) played under equally challenging conditions: a wet course with occasional showers and strong winds. 43 players signed up with 4 cancelling after the the draw had been issued. Nearest to the pin on hole 7: Ann Terry Nearest to the pin in 2 on hole 3 : Gavin Mortimer Nearest to the pin on hole 17: Ken Napier The 4 winning teams all had 87 points so the winning team had to be decided on countback 4th : Christian Barthel Marjory Forsyth Jim Willens Beate Kernen 3rd: Sandi Beatson Ulf Baggstrom Anne Terry Christian Barthel (silent partner) 2nd: Jürg Kernen Klaus Falkenberg Theresa Russell Paul Barrow 1st: Peter Hill Marina Bessell Simon Martin Juliet Smith Results of the New Year Goblet competition (postponed from the 4th of January due to bad weather). 64 players were playing in chilly conditions and the following couples prevailed Winners: Bruce & Linda Cooke - 42 points |
