It was a cloudy but dry day at Silves for our annual Captain's Drive In. This sees the outgoing Captain (Ray Groves) putt out on the 18th green,and the new Captain for 2016 (Peter Chapman) drive off from the first.
It was then followed by a 2 ball Seattle Shambles competition, the results can be found at the end of the article. An amazing 80 players participating!
There was a side wager on the 18th between the Captains, should Ray not manage to putt out in 2 a donation would be made to the present Captain's Charity. Sadly he didn't meet the challenge, eventually 4 putting! There were mitigating circumstances however - the ball used did have a large slice missing.
Peter was born in 1956 in to Welsh parents in Corby, Northants, his father working in the steel works at that time. When he was 6 years old the family moved back “home” to Old Colwyn a village in North Wales and he attended school there until he went to The Polytechnic of Wales in South Wales. He gained technical/engineering qualifications in the Gas industry. He was mainly concerned with operational management during these early days but later he transferred to the “dark side” of commercialism and negotiations.
On a lovely sunny December Day in the Algarve 36 SdM Ladies and guests played in this Annual Ladies Christmas event.
The event a Seattle Shambles organized by Eileen Groves proved to be another successful golf and fun day had by all.
followed by the usual very Merry Christmas Lunch in the Clubhouse at the Amendoeira Golf Resort which extended late into the evening.
Lots of prizes were on offer many sponsored by the ladies and guest's but the Team of the day and winning by two clear points were:
| 1st Wendy Emrich, Amy Bray, Jo Ounstead and Kerstin Staeck with 117 Points |
| 2nd Marieke Hofmann, Lydia Harriman, Yvonne Pyper and Sue Goodwin 115 points |
| 3rd Gill Edwards, Janet Bell, Dot Forrester and Helena Sterner 115 points on c/b |
After the lunch Eileen was presented with a lovely Bracelet and Earring set from the Ladies for all her hard work through out the year.
Pinta Clubhouse was again our venue for the Annual Christmas Party. Another fantastic turnout with fine Christmas Fayre and music followed by some lively dancing!
As is customary the out going Captain Ray Groves spent time thanking all those members who have worked hard to make his year a successful and enjoyable one. Without doubt SdM is a better club now than ever before and it continues to improve. Ray announced he had raise over €1600 for his choosen charity Madrugarda and presented Robert Magaw with a checque.
Serra de Monchique Golf Club are proud to announce a new sponsorship deal.
Some of our members will be aware whilst our Captain is on his holidays in South Africa he has been on a strict diet.
We have received some information that may well bring this into doubt..................
On a cold and frosty morning this year's Captain Ray Groves was welcomed into his year by out going Captain Gary Edwards. The now traditional putting out on the 18th green by Gary was followed by Ray driving off on the first. Slightly different this year was the introduction of a hickory shafted putter and driver. Remarkable Gary sunk a long putt followed by Ray hitting a 170 yard drive down the middle of the fairway!