Captain’s Day at Vistabella teed off in spectacular fashion Wednesday on with the traditional shot gun start – Phil de Lacey, Peter Turbefield and Sandra Dibble managed a chaotic 45 minutes prior with entry fees, score cards, Twos, subs, shirts and dinner fees being paid and sorted. Everybody got to their correct tees in time on a slightly cooler day than we had all been used to in the preceding months of July and August.
There were some fantastic scores recorded with Brian Fairbrother winning the day with an exceptional 43 points thus winning a fantastic prize of a two night break in Mallorca at the Steigenberger Hotel & Resort Camp de Mar at Andratx Golf courtesy of Michaela at Golf Hot Spots. Brian also won in Silver. Dave Rowe won in Gold with a fabulous 42 points and Richard Cleary in Bronze with another fabulous 42 points.
Everybody headed back to Flannigan’s bar for the presentation of various prizes for each hole – too many to mention and they all received their wine and sleeve of balls with the lucky nearest the pins and longest drives winning an extra prize of a golf towel kindly donated by Gary at Kameeleon who have also done our amazing new golf shirts. Everybody enjoyed a few drinks, some lovely food and a few laughs.
Then on to the serious stuff as the AGM was held directly afterwards. The minutes of which will be distributed soon. We all went home tired but happy, fed and watered.
Then a few days later we had the Captain’s Dinner and Presentation
A lovely room and Cava reception awaited nearly 80 guests at Meson el Prado in San Miguel on Friday night. Pile, Galla and their staff provided amazing service and wonderful food (especially the Oven Lamb). With our outgoing Captain, Darren Strugnell, taking centre stage, he eloquently handed over to our incoming Captain, Lee Eastman, who presented an equally eloquent speech – they both welcomed Mick Pryke as the new Vice-Captain. They were both applauded loudly. They thanked everybody especially the new Secretary, Sandra Dibble, and presented her with a wonderful bouquet of flowers.
The Awards Ceremony: And the 2024 Winners are…
The President’s Trophy: Alan Bryce with Barry Roehrig as runner up
Club Championships: John Osborne (Gross) and Paul Lambert (Nett)
Bogey’s Shield: Phil de Lacey with Tony Smale as runner up
Eclectic: Adrian Roberts with Mick Pryke as runner up
SMGS Annual Away Trip: John Osborne with Mick Pryke as runner up
Order of Merit: John Osborne
I think we can agree that John Osborne needed a truck to take his trophies home…. Well done and also a big thank you to him for organising a gift donation from Galaxy Golf to the raffle.
Many of the members donated some wonderful prizes to the raffle raising over €600. Bottles of booze, gorgeous handmade cards, a fantastic meal voucher, a beautiful handmade leather head cover, IPTV subscription, tees, golf hats and Galaxy Golf vouchers and finally a big old cash prize, apologies if any were missed out. A big thank you to Barry Roehrig, Peter Turbefield and Macker (aka Alan Macdonald) for doing their thing selling the tickets. And another big thank you to Barry Roehrig, our retired Secretary, who still does so much in organising things in general. We also wished our member, Rod East, a very happy birthday.
No Captain’s Dinner would be complete without some music and a little dancing, and the night ended with a bang – literally, as fireworks lit up the sky outside due to the Fiesta being held in San Miguel – there was only a little time left after all the presentations but Gavin Riddall (Albatross Golf) did his best to keep everybody’s spirits high in what time was left. Everybody went home happy and some a little tipsy!
Final Thoughts
Captain’s Day 2024 was one for the books. From the well-played golf to the lively banter afterward, it was a perfect blend of tradition, competition, and fun. A huge thank you to our Captain, Darren Strugnell, the organising committee, and all the participants who made it such a spectacular day. We can’t wait to see what next year brings!
Until then, may your drives be long, your putts true, and your golf balls always find the fairway!
