Autumn may have arrived and the holidaymakers headed back to the UK, but nobody seemed to have told the traffic on the way up to Murcia. Thankfully, clear skies promised a glorious day, and the sunshine duly delivered, with temperatures reaching a very warm 31°C.
It was our Club Championship Medal competition, and we also asked Ramona, the new Caddy Master, to help us run a Spanish Federation competition alongside it. No mean feat given technology that could give a certain flagship British Airline a run for its money!
Overall, Altorreal was in lovely condition. The greens still showed signs of hollow tining a few weeks earlier, but the front nine rolled pretty quickly. The back nine had a few more tricks up their sleeves: dry surfaces and some puzzling reads made putting a challenge, while getting an approach shot to stop required a little persuasion and a fair amount of hope.
Unfortunately, the pace of play didn’t match the condition of the course. A society ahead held us up from the outset, resulting in one of the slowest rounds I can personally remember. Plenty of time to admire the scenery – and dwell on the last missed putt.
Thankfully, two birthday celebrations brought some much-needed cake and a welcome sugar boost. Guy Wade Palmer was treated to a rendition of “Happy Birthday”, while the other birthday boy – big in stature and personality, and about to reach a big milestone – was Alan Macdonald. “Macca” turns 80 early next week, so residents of Playa Flamenca might want a little advance warning. It could be quite a night!
A big thank you to Ramona and all the staff at Altorreal for their help and continued warm welcome.
Despite the long day, there were some very good scores. Our division winners were:
Gold: Darren Strugnell – 69 net, also returning the lowest net and gross scores of the day
Silver: Sean Nevin – 74 net
Bronze: Richard Cleary – 72 net
There were three Twos, courtesy of Drew Niblock, Darren Strugnell and Peter Turbefield. Nearest the Pins went to Gavin Parke, Darren Strugnell (twice) and Peter Turbefield.
With birthday celebrations looming, Macca clearly felt his wine fridge needed reinforcements and took home the McBride Bottle. Whether it survived the journey home unopened is another matter – as a passenger, of course! Jimmy Skelly successfully chose Hartlepool on the football card.
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This week, we swapped the usual winners’ photograph for one of the birthday boy and his group, boasting a combined age of over 300. From left to right: Alan “Birthday Boy” Macdonald, Norman Padmore, Gavin Parke and Barry “BTB” Roehrig. A fair few years of golfing experience there – and no shortage of stories, either.
