Serra de Monchique Golf Club
Captain’s Report No 2 2016
Apologies for a tardy issuing of the second Captain’s Report of 2016 - not to worry at least it means you will only have to read 3 reports in the year rather than the usual 4!!
The club continues to function well with membership steady around the 170 mark and high levels of attendance in nearly all competitions both qualifiers and fun golf. This is due in no small measure to the hard work of Competition Secretary Lynn (and in her absence Marja), Dave Tweed (Thursdays) and Eileen (Ladies Day) – without them our golfing lives would be much more difficult.
Major Competitions
Since the last report we have had a number of Board Competitions which has seen the prizes spread out amongst the membership:
Spring Cup – Winners: Peter Hatherley and Lynn Cook
This year saw the 2 round event played out on a Thursday and Saturday with a rest day in between rather than the Saturday/Sunday of previous years. This was tried as an experiment based on feedback that some members do not like to play 2 days in succession. It received a mixed response so it is likely to revert back to the weekend in 2017
Captain’s Day Trophy – Winners: Stu & Maz McGill
A great day with 96 players on the course was followed up on the following evening with 120 people attending the Captain’s Reception held at Brasserie Rosal. From all accounts everyone had a great time – I know I did. Thanks to all those who helped out and attended the events.
July Cup – Winners: Per Lars Tonstad and Ulla Bischoff
Played at Gramacho due to maintenance work at Silves the event saw some great scores with 15 players scoring 36 points or better
Presidents Day Trophy – Winners Jimmy Cruz, Michael Gittoes, Hermione Macfarlane and David Underwood
The trophy winners were actually second on the day but unfortunately one of the lowest scoring team had played insufficient SdM qualifiers.
The event was followed up on the Sunday evening with a night of food, drink and music held at the Beer Garden, Vila Vita Park. Well done to George and Lynn for organising a great weekend.
Founders Trophy
Don’t forget we have a new “Major” this year in the form of the inaugural Founders Trophy an eclectic event played over two rounds. For those that don’t know this event is being sponsored by the Founders of Serra de Monchique Golf Club i.e. those people who were at the original meeting where it was agreed to establish SdM. I am reliably informed by Charles Bradshaw that the current members who qualify as Founders are: Charles Bradshaw, Judy Davis, Gerry Davis, Mark Ellerton, Don Forrester, Dot Forrester, Susan Campbell (Bradshaw), Judi McDowell, Robert Megaw and Malcolm Cooke.
Of course we recently lost one of the Founder members when Ingrid Helson passed away. As well as being a Founder Ingrid held the post of Social Secretary in the early years. Those of us who knew her will recall the enthusiasm and integrity Ingrid brought to the Club.
A reminder for those interested that the church committee of the German Evangelical Church in the Algarve has decided to hold a memorial service for Ingrid on Sunday November 6, at 16.00. The service will take place in the chapel on the cliffs in Carvoeiro and will be in German and English.
Interclub Competitions
Algarve League (Interleague) – The final match of the season was played last week and SdM has finished second in the division and has achieved promotion to the First Division. Well done to Interleague Captain George Cook and all those who played throughout the campaign.
VACS – despite a valiant effort SdM were unable to retain the VACS Trophy they won last year. A strong performance at the last event saw Carvoeiro beat Alto by one point with SdM in third place in the overall standings
Fermon Trophy – SdM finished in the mid table 3rd place with Alto leading way and Silveds Internation playing for the first time finishing runners-up. The 2016/7 Fermon Trophy will be starting soon so keep an eye out on the website and sign up if you are interested in be considered fro selection.
Social Events
In addition to the Captain’s and President’s Receptions we have managed to run a number of well attended social events including the Quiz Night, Taste Night and the ever popular Summer Ball. It is great to see non playing spouses also taking part in these events. A big thanks to Gary Edwards and the others who put in the effort to make sure these social events run smoothly.
We still have two more social events in the calendar the first being the Presentation Evening which will be held at Vale da Pinta clubhouse on Wednesday 16th November. As well as being a fun event it also provides the opportunity for the members to acknowledge the achievements of those who have been successful in the Board Competitions.
On the 10th December we will hold our Christmas Party also at Pinta. This is always well attended and provides an early opportunity for everyone to get in Christmas spirit.
Registration for both events is open on the website
Support to Charity
A few months ago I presented CRACEP (Cooperativa de Reeducação e Apoio à Criança Excepcional de Portimão) my chosen charity, with a new computer system which they will use in their administration department allowing them to provide improved services to the whole organisation. The system cost €900 and was paid for by your generous contributions. In addition Peter also presented CRACEP with a refurbished computer system donated to the Captain’s Charity by FLIC (Funds for Locally Identified Causes). This system is planned to be used in the re-education centre where mentally handicapped young adults are trained to enable them to obtain employment.
A significant number of you played in or supported with donations the second Silves Golf Charity Day which is organised together with Silves International. It was a great success and over €6200 was made. This money will be used to provide continued support to Fatima’s daughter, Monica, and other local charitable causes.
Website and Payment System
The last few months has seen the launching of the new website and the introduction of the new payment system. Whilst the transition was not 100% seamless both are now running smoothly and once again show SdM as probably the leading club on the Algarve in the use of technology for the benefit of the members. This could not happen without the hard work of Damir Babikov and Steve Edwards so thanks guys. If you have any ideas how things could be further improved by all means let us know.
In Conclusion
As I approach the last quarter of my year as Captain I would like to thank Vice Captain Warren and the extended Management Committee for their continued guidance and support and to all the members for making SdM the successful club it is.
We do have the occasional issue in the club – impossible not to when you have diverse group of 170 members - but thankfully to date they have been relatively minor and have been resolved without long term consequences. Sometimes it is worth remembering that we are doing this for fun!!
Peter Chapman
Captain - Serra da Monchique Golf Club