Easter Sunday – Birdie Cup

After a 5 month exile from the golf courses of the Costa del Sol, Easter Sunday way a great time to get back into the swing of things. As well as the traditional “Easter” competition, a stableford with a bonus hole selected from the bag of crème eggs, it was the Biride Cup. You had to record a birdie in the qualifying events the year before, which I managed on the last occasion.

The Birdie cup was a medal format. Not exactly the best way to ease back into golf. An early night was needed. An early night was never really going to happen. A night out with the girls plus Maria and Jaco meant I didn’t roll in until 2:30am. Just over 5 hours sleep then!


"Time to go home?", not a chance Dino!

I had a quick warm up on the practice range that seemed to pay off. A great second shot on the first set up a decent birdie chance but I settled for par. That was about as good as it got for the front 9. I was playing with the captain who was scoring steadily. By the ninth hole I was beaten. I thought I hit a decent tee shot but it drifted dangerously to the right. Too dangerously as it turned out as I couldn’t find my ball, resulting in the dreaded NR.

Still, plenty of pluses to take from the day. The return of the beautiful weather. The proof being my tomato red face at the end that Monica would laugh at all week. The crowning moment was a birdie on the 14th. A beauty of a nine-iron shot over the lake to land within a couple of feet of the pin, leaving a nice uphill putt.


Aproach to the 14th Green.


Always nice to be inside the shadow of the flag.

The end result was that the captain maintained his good scoring throughout the round and won the inaugural birdie cup by a shot. I ended up with 25 stableford points. Not too bad after a long break. Grounds for optimism for the rest of the season.


View from the Club house.


The Captain with the trophy.

The Antequera Cheerleaders

So what happened to the cheerleading plan? Well they didn’t do me any good on the first hole. But what happened to them after that? They were supposed to follow our group for a while in their own buggy. Monica was quite happy to let Angela take the wheel. Big mistake!


Danger! Angela behind the wheel.

Things didn’t get off to a flying start for the girls. Angela caused mayhem in the parking area. Firstly, she couldn’t find reverse gear. Then she struggled to put the footbrake on. I had visions of them flying over the edge of a cliff. It’s a bit steep in places around the course. I advised Angela to practice with the brake. She promptly performed an emergency stop, almost causing a three cart pile up. All this and a ball hadn’t been struck in anger.


Nice vantage point girls but now your stuck behind the others!

So after the first shot the girls had managed to get themselves jammed behind the others. They had to wait until the third group went out before they could continue. By this time our group were long gone. So they decided to follow the third group around. Chris the Pro advised them that they could catch up later when you cross over to the far side of the course.


Our Cheerleaders giving support on the 4th Green.

They caught up with me on the 7th hole. But where was the buggy? Monica’s usual calm demeanour was replaced with a frazzled look. Her nerves had been shot to pieces with Angela’s terror cart driving. They didn’t fancy the drive down the steep hill at the 8th hole so had parked up.

"Keep walking!". Monica's plot to avoid Angela's driving thwarted.


Safer on foot.

They were soon reunited with the buggy and followed us all the way to the 9th green. Or should I say I followed them. Angela was doing her best “Driving Miss Daisy” impression whilst at the same time blocking me off so I couldn’t overtake.

We parted at the 9th green as they went for an adventure finding the new hotel. They were not seen until we had reached the 18th tee. I should say they were not heard until then. After playing my tee shot I could hear the unmistakable northern twang of Angela over the noise of the buggy somewhere in the distance. But where?

It was 2:30pm. They had initiated Operation Retrieve. We had to leave the course by 3pm latest if Angela was to make her flight home. The plan was to come and find me and if required, give me a lift back. However, there were a few flaws to the plan.
Problem 1 was they were heading in the wrong direction. They had set off following the course around from hole 1 to 18. If left to their own devices, it would have taken them the best part of an hour to drive around the course. “They” leads to problem 2. The plan was to pick me up in the buggy. There is only room for two. I would have ended up having run behind them. Still, at the speed Angela was driving, I would probably have won that race.

Luckily the pair heard my shout and turned to see me waving my arms like a lunatic. Disaster averted and they turned back and met me at the 18th green. Just in time to see me miss my birdie putt. I should have let them carry on!

Away Day at Antequera

The TOGS Away day trophy was at stake at Antequera. I had the backing of my two cheerleaders, Monica and Angela. Monica given explicit instruction to cheer my every shot. Angela’s role was to sledge the opposition. The major worry over the day was the weather. It was teeming down on the coast. The girls almost staged a revolt. Luckily, the weather kept improving the nearer to Antequera we got.

Out of the 24 players due to start, 16 had turned up. The others had cried off due to the threat of rain. The rains never came and it was a great day for golf. I was out in the first group. I’m always nervous on the first shot. More so with my cheerleaders in place. The nerves grew as I was last to tee off. The tension was too much as I fluffed the shot in front of a laughing gallery.


Nerves on the first tee in front of a packed gallery.

Things didn’t improve as I hoicked the second shot left. To add insult to injury my third shot to the green went sailing out of play. The second hole didn’t improve much. My tee shot got away this time but too far left. I hacked the ball around and failed to score again.


Approach to the 7th green.

The girls had long since abandoned me and my game slowly started to improve. 2 points on the hardest hole on the course after I wisely decided to lay up my second shot. The girls rejoined at the 7th hole. This time I managed two decent shots to the edge of the green. Then disaster as I hit a poor chip and three putted. My next Tee shot didn’t improve matters as I sliced it into the water. A pretty poor 10 point return on the front 9.


9th Tee and a decent shot for once.

The girls left to go and explore the new hotel and have lunch. My game improved no end. The highlights being a monster drive on the downhill par-5, A 15 footer for par on the long par-4 15th, and a final tee shot within 10 feet of the pin on the 18th. I finished the back 9 with a respectable 18 points.


Final putt for par.

The runaway winner of the first away day trophy was Chris Broderick with 38 points. Chris played in our group and was faultless all day. A symmetrical 19 and 19 point, and a full 6 points ahead of the second placed man, Captain George Clay. Another member of our group took 3rd place with 29 points. So I was only a point off the placings!

TOGS unveil Trophy Cabinet

Now in its 3rd year the TOGS (Torrox Golf Society) who play at Baviera Golf each Sunday morning, has taken itself to a new level by purchasing some magnificent trophies to be played for throughout the season.


TOGS take over Bar Nautico, Torrox Costa.

As the sun went down over the yard-arm, members & guests of TOGS gathered at Bar Nautico, Torrox Costa for a special social event. After some socialising, the Captain George Clay, invited everyone inside for the unveiling of the new Trophy Cabinet, which Marion & Graham Vasey, proprietors of Bar Nautico & golfer, had kindly allowed to be housed in their bar.


Terry Rowley and the Captain poised to reveal the trophy cabinet.

What a splendid cabinet it was! Constructed and sited by TOGS member and craftsman, Terry Rowley, the beautiful trophies of sparkling silver and crystal would compete with any high ranking golf club and surely will be goals for us all to strive for.


The TOGS trophy cabinet is unveiled.
Some of the trophies already have winners names inscribed.


Captains Day Claret Jug-John Parker winner 2008


Golfer of the Year-Dina Albrecht winner category 2 2008
and George Clay winner category 1 2008

Winter Eclectic Shield---------Peter Lomas winner 2008
Summer Eclectic Shield -------George Clay winner 2008

Those yet to be won

Away Day Challenge Cup - 27th September at Antequera


Nautico Challenge Trophy -a lovely ships decanter
donated by Marion & Graham Vasey - October 18th

Spring Meeting Vase - March 14th 2010
Birdie Cup - a special game for those scoring birdies throughout the season - March 28th 2010
Pairs Knockout - ongoing from October 4th
Mens Individual Knockout - ongoing fron Oct 4th
Ladies Individual Knock - ongoing from Oct 4th

After the unveiling the Captain expressed thanks to Terry for the magnificent cabinet and also to Graham and Marian for hosting the event. Members then tucked into a delicious buffet prepared by our generous hosts.

Thanks to the Captain, George Clay, for use of Article and Photos.

Golf Report

It was the culmination of a weekend’s dedication to Golf. It started on Friday. With the inaugural TOFS (The Occasional Fridays and Saturdays) having failed to gather momentum, it was a couple of hours practice down at Baviera. I finally feel that I have sussed out my swing. The chipping and Putting were coming along nicely too.

Saturday and back at Baviera with Nas to take on Jose and Miguel. We had high expectations going into the encounter. “Mejor” y “Peor”. The pair’s best score against the other pairs best score for a point. The same with the worst score. No hiding place in this contest then. Jose played off scratch, I was given 10 shots, Nas and Miguel had 14 shots.

The contest was over before we reached the 14th. By that time Jose had amassed 4 birdies. Miguel was having a blinder. He just chipped out from the bunker and holed it for his birdie to win the match. “Toma!”. All Baviera knew that he had just made birdie. At the end of the round the inquest started. We had been hammered by 14 points. We looked at our stableford scores. I had 34 points, Nas with 32 points. The Spanish handicap system needs a re-think, especially Miguels!

Sunday and I was playing a stableford competition with TOGS. I was feeling confident going into the round. The confidence was not misplaced. I started hotter than the weather. The captain was feeling the heat, getting especially hot under the collar on his putting. A very makeable birdie on the 6th missed, as was the par putt. The story of his day. On the other hand I couldn’t miss. I wasn’t striking the ball well enough to get birdie chances, but I was leaving myself under 10 footers for par and nailing them. After 10 holes my gross score was one over.

23 Points on the turn and the competition was mine to lose. A slight stutter at the 11th, dreaded 12th and 13th netted just a point. The little blip behind me, I went on to score 15 more points finishing with 39 points. The captain was my closest challenger, back on 33 points. It might have been a lot closer if he made his putts. My first win in a while. My prize, a Hibiscus plant. I wonder how long that will last?


Campeon!

A round at Royal Duki

"You always win because you have home advantage and your own clubs!". One of Uncle Martin's theories on why he doesn't seem to get the better of me on Spanish soil. Well, the tables were turned. I was back in the UK at his home club with a borrowed set of sticks. How would I fare?


Martin and Shane on the opening Tee.

The borrowed set came from Shane, who joined us for a knock. It was a Thursday evening tee off at Dukinfield Golf Club. The weather was more like Spain than Manchester. That could work out to my advantage.

"Royal Duki" is going through a facelift at the moment. Phase one is complete in the form of the spanking new 1.2 million pound club house. Very posh! However, the changes to the course have not been completed meaning that only 17 holes are playable. Some of these are temporary holes where it's obvious you are playing from a tee that belonged to a different hole. Work is going on at the Hyde side to make 4 new holes. It's probably another year off completion.


A par-3 in the quarries.

My game started off confidently with a decent tee shot on the opening par-3 hole. I took an instant like to the spare clubs. They are now officially my UK set, although Shane doesn't know it yet. Some of Martin's comments seemed to ring true though on the next few holes. Not knowing the clubs I tended to over hit them. Not knowing the course I left myself with tricky inbetween shots. The result was a shaky start.


Club selection time.

When I settled down I started to hit some good shots. However, the old problem of playing a terrible shot after scoring well on the previous hole kept wrecking my confidence. There are some tricky holes on the course, not least in the dreaded "Quarries" section. Extremely narrow fairways and tricky elevated greens making shot selection difficult.


What will be the 18th Green.

At the end of the round I had done just enough to win the day. The new theory advanced was that Shane's spare set are "Better than the crap ones you've got in Spain". Lets hope the run continues when we play Herons Reach at the end of the month!


At least the 19th hole is complete.

Away day at Anoreta

An away day with TOGS. Today's 4-ball betterball competition was held at Anoreta, near Rincon de Victoria. This was the first time I had visited the course. How would I play?


From the Back Tees

The day was sponsored by Axarquia Golf, based on the N340 near Caleta. The pro, Chris Gask, had kindly donated the prizes. How did TOGS thank him? They made him play from the White Tees!


The final four ball on the tee.

I was partnered with Max who plays off 18. The Captian told me that he was a steady player and that we would do well. He had such faith in us that he picked us to finish second in the Tote. His first pick was the dream team of John Kilroy and Andrew Brooks. No complaints there then as I had them down as the winners too!


Interested Spectator.

The course was interestingly laid out. The walk from the first green to the second is a challenge. It must be well over 500 metres away via a foot bridge over the motorway. Luckily we had buggies. The course was a plesant surprise as a lot of people had complained about it before. The one complaint I had were the greens. Probably the worst I had played on in Spain.


View of the 17th Green.

We played reasonably well. Any hole where we dropped a point or two, we seemed to make up with a 3 pointer. The highlight of the day for me was my Tiger birdie on the 7th. A monstor drive was complemented with a great approach to within 6 feet of the pin. My putt went agonisingly close, the break seeming to take it past on the left, the ball teetering on the edge. The groans soon turned to cheers as gravity went to work and the ball dropped!


The Dreamteam John Kilroy and Andrew Brooks receive the first prize.

We ended the day on 37 points. Conditions were tough but I still thought 40+ points were needed to end up in the prizes. John's team did win with 41 points. We were good enough for second prize! The captain was well chuffed. He made off with at least 50 euros by winning the tote forecast.

Golf lesson from Martin

After you have successfully curbed the "Duck Hook" and found the fairway, a good shot to the green is vital to set-up that birdie chance. Martin explains how to hit those fairway shots to the green.


"Once you have found your yardage and selected the club it is essential that you line up your target and adopt a good stance. Knees slight bent, arms relaxed hanging down over the ball, straight back."

"The swing is a fluid and is not a hitting motion at the ball. Its important to ensure that your weight is kept on the back foot at the top of the swing and then transfered through the ball on the downswing."

"Again, don't hit at the ball or you risk losing balance and making a complete hash of it, blocking out the target and hooking dreadfully left."

"When your approach is slightly off target you might find yourself in a spot of bother. All good golfers know that you need a "Scrambling" ability in your armoury to be successful."

"When you finally arrive on the green remember the golden rule of putting, If its not up it will never go in."

Antequera - Round 2

Re-match time. A slight difference this time. We played in the afternoon and the heat was really on. By the end of the round we were both flagging in the oppresive heat. Lucky we had a buggy or else we would never have made it.


Beautiful setting at Antequera Golf.

It was a promising start. We both came off the first with pars. That's when it all seemed to go down hill. I was struggling with my slice and Martin's "Duck Hook" began to re-appear. After the first 9 holes Martin had a slender 3 point lead.


Nice Villas dotted around the course.

I had to resort to plan B, shake him up in the Buggy. The cart track along Antequera is treacherous. Martin compared it to "The Mouse Trap" at Blackpool Pleasure Beach. A couple of sharp bends at full speed and a few holes later I was back in the lead. All within the rules of golf!


The winning putt on the 17th Green.

So after a combination of excellent driving (I mean the Buggy) and Martin's back legs going I managed to maintain my unbeaten record on Spanish soil. A re-match in the UK looks on the cards at Royal Duki!


The 18th Tee.

Antequera - Round 1

Uncle Martin fancied a change from being thrashed at Baviera this time. He wanted a change of venue. So we decided to take advantage of the 60 Euro summer deal at Antequera. For this you get two green fees and a buggy.




The golf was better than the last time we played at Baviera. Some holes were great, others average and a few more truly awful. The one plus point for me was my putting. I couldn't miss from inside six feet. Truly remarkable for me!


Martin chips onto the 12th green.


At the end of the day I still managed to win by 5 points. It was good practice for the upcoming "Top Dog" golf society event. Mine and Martins combined score was 40 points. Not too bad going.

Streetwise Top Dog - Antequera

Streetwise magazine is holding a "Top Dog" competition for all local Golf Societies. The format is a better ball stableford with teams of 12. The top four teams scores from each society makes the team score. The first round was held at Antequera and some how I made the team.

It was a beautiful sunny day in Antequera. Earlier discussions of other societies using "bandit" handicaps was forgotten and I was determined to enjoy the day come what may. I was partnered with John Kilroy and was hoping to post a decent score.


Dreamteam! Me and John Kilroy.

We were playing with a team from the GINS, the Nerja golf society. It was a "shotgun" start so we headed to the 8th tee to start. At least I wouldn't have my customary bad start at the first on this course. First tee short of the day set the pattern for my driving. Not bad at all for a change. However, a good start was ruined with careless shots around the green. We managed to score 1 point from the first two holes. The GINS pair, Jack and Phil, were looking to run away with it with 5 points already.


Plenty of Agua on the course.

As we started to mess up the next hole thoughts turned back to handicaps. John was convinced that he couldn't play to his new handicap of 11. Capped with that it looked like the GINS may have a "ringer" with Jack playing off 23, giving him 26 shots on the day. He was in his 70's but after the first hole, never looked like duffing any drives. Still, the Sun was out and we had a little laugh and started to relax and enjoy the day.


Long Par-5 down hill.

Looking back, this turned out to be the turning point for us. We started to pick up points but so where the GINS. We were convinced that we were well behind throughout the match. However, we kept racking up the points, the GINS excellent play probably helped us to respond. John chipped in with two great birdies. The final one coming on our last hole was for a crucial 4 points. Totting up the scores at the end and we were in for a pleasant surprise. We had tied with the GINS with 40 points.


Driving up the slope.

40 points turned out to be our teams top score. Other teams came in with impressive results and we ended up with 157 points to take fourth place. We didn't come away with any prizes. The Vinuela society seemed to sweep the board, taking the individual team score with 46 points, and a combined team score of 166 points. A few whispers of "Bandits" were heard and a few tales were told. One of which was that a member of the winning team was on a handicap of 36. But at the end of the day who cares. It was a great day out and beats work!


On the first Tee (Our 12th hole)

Another Lazy Sunday

Finally, the rains have gone. A return to blue skies just in time for my latest outing on the golf course. Today's competition was a better-ball stableford. Good, I could do with some help on the course.

I was partnered with John Kilroy and we took on the Captain and Bob Willett. It seemed that the latest change in the weather had gone to the captains head. He turned up in shorts. The rains may have gone but it was still a chilly day. There was still snow on the mountains and the wind was strong. Strong enough to force the captain to don a pair of trousers on the third hole.

The golfing day went really well. I hit some great shots and more importantly, John hit more. Whenever I had a bad hole John was on hand to rescue the hole, and vice versa. We ended up cleaning up on the competition. We beat the captain's team by one point. There would have been a riot if they had beaten us, especially after the "rub of the green" incident.

The captain's drive on the 16th was sliced right, over the creek and ended up near the 12th green. A very helpful lady (at least to the captain) came to save the day. Before the Captain could ask if it was his ball, she had picked it up a thrown it back to him. The ball landing rather neatly on the 16th fairway. John was not happy and had a word with the lady. "Learn the bloody rules of golf!". The poor lady retreated rapidly from the scene.

Still, we had another points to take first prize, and 3 euros from the captain. John was happy enough with that result. Maybe it's just as well that I didn't remind him that the captain's good fortune helped them square the back nine saving them an extra euro.

Snow on the Mountains

No New Years resolutions this year regarding Golf. No promises to break 80 or become a single handicap golfer. No promises to beat my best score at Baviera. This year I am determined to forget about obsessing over my game. I am simply going to enjoy a good day out, come what may!

So the first round of the Year at Baviera was going to be relaxing, stress free day. The weather looked OK but it was absolutely freezing cold. The snow-capped peak of Maroma was particularly breathtaking. I have never seen it with so much snow. I was due to play with the Captain but he never made it. Rumours abound that he was snowed in! So all preparations for the day were thrown into chaos and no sooner had I arrived I was told to go to the first tee and play. So much for a warm-up.


View from the 11th Tee.


On the 14th green.

Highlight of the day was the par-3 8th hole. A great tee shot leaving a 6-foot putt for a birdie. It was a fairly easy putt but I nearly managed to miss it as the ball horseshoed around the hole before dropping. First two of the New Year! My final score was a poor 20 points but it didn’t bother me. I had a great day out and it even started to warm up near the end.


Walking up the 16th.

TOGS - Golfer of the Year August

A return of the "Golfer of the Year" competition and I needed a good round to get myself in to contention. Another visit to the feria and a late night wasn't the best preparation. It turned out to be a baking hot day and it would soon have an affect on me.

Playing partners for today's round were Charles Wheeler, Avis and George Clay. First group away and Charles let fly with a drive straight sown the middle. What would be my opening shot? The usual 5-iron straight into the bunker. Still, managed to get out easily enough and with a good chip set-up my par. Result!

And that was the highlight of my round. I hit bunkers and had trouble escaping on the next two holes. Oddly enough I seemed to be hitting the ball well. The left to right slice had gone and I was hitting it straight. Trouble was, I was aiming left and ended up in trouble. Still, encouraging signs.


Joe takes Nasir's money but still manages a smile

I scored a lowly 13 points for the front 9. The heat was really getting to me and I was sure that the back 9 would be a disaster. It turned out to be as I failed to break double figures. This included losing 4 balls in two lakes on the 13th and 14th holes. Pathetic!


Captain gets more than he bargained for


The winners