Corralejo Golf - TUESDAY 27TH NOVEMBER - STABLEFORD COMPETITION

It was our penultimate game of the season and also the day of our AGM. We had a great turnout with 31 players including 10 guests. I was drawn Jo McKernon along with husband and wife, Bernie and Carol O’Boyle who are currently scouting the Canaries to decide where they want to settle. We certainly had a great day, and despite mishaps on 2 holes, I managed to come off with a very good score of 38. Guest Bernie also did well scoring 33, not bad considering it’s the first time he’d played the course. Unfortunately, neither of us were leading in the clubhouse when we returned, as 2 of the first group out, consisting of Captain Dennis May, Dud Tanton and guest Pat O’Hogan, had beaten our scores, Dennis had scored 40, and Pat had scored 36. Dud was only 1 behind me on 37, but it meant I’d won our little side bet! So it was a waiting game to see how far down the pecking order we’d fall.
Generally it was a high scoring day with 21 of the 31 scoring 30 points or more, and although we’d done our best, Bernie slipped down one more place to 3rd in the guest comp and I slipped into 4th in the members comp. Colin Webb, a 10 handicapper who’d played with us earlier in the year, scored 2 more points than Pat with 38 and won the guest comp, despite feeling somewhat under the weather from the night before, in fact he even had to make a sharp exit before the presentation as he’d gone a little green round the gills! See his brave face on the picture! In the members comp, Dennis McKernon beat me by 1 point with 39 and came 3rd, Dennis May came 2nd with 40, and romping in with a gross 73, just 3 over par was 11 handicapper, Tony Fawcett with 44 points. Tony was hacked by 3 shots, Dennis by 2 and me, Dennis Dud and Aly all lost half a shot for beating our handicaps.
Nearest the pins were won by guest Pat O’Hogan for nearest the pin in 2 on the 9th, and he was only about 2 feet away, not bad when consider he had to hit a little white ball just twice to reach 324 metres and get only 2 feet away! Nearest the pin on the short 14th hole was Aly Tanton who also got pretty close. Three of us managed to get a 2, Captain Dennis May, Aly Tanton and myself! Lucky sweep winner was that old dog, Dennis McKernon.

Corralejo Golf - TUESDAY 11TH DECEMBER 2007

To mark the end of the season and to round up the yearly comps, we celebrate the final comp, the Presidents Trophy in honour of our President Derek Mac. Things were as tight as tight could be in the yearly comps. The eclectic comp could be changed by just one single shot if one of 3 people make birdie on certain holes. I was at the top of the leader board for the player of the year comp but I could be equalled after Tony Fawcetts superb win on the last comp. Tony of course was cut 3 shots bringing him down to an 8 handicap after his round of 73 last week. He had to win the Presidents Trophy and me not come in the top 3 to draw with me and make him joint player of the year, no mean feat with the standard of golfers we had in the days line up. Most people would have put money on Gordon Gilhooley to win after beating me in the match play final 2 days previous and shooting an average round of 75 on par 70 courses off a 9 handicap all week, but there was such a strong field it was anyone’s day.
My game was pretty much doomed from the start, for the first 6 holes I made par then no score, then par, then no score, then birdie, then no score, so with 13 points on the front 9 it was safe to say I was out of contention. I was playing with the man of the day, Derek Mac along with Phil Richards and single figure handicapper Steve Bennett. Phil got a great score of 19 on the front 9 but unfortunately fell apart a bit on the back 9. However, he did scrape 13 points on the back to leave him in a card play off for 2nd place. Phil, Aly Tanton and Mike Turner all scored 32 points playing off ¾ of their handicaps, so with 13 on the back Phil finished 4th, Aly came in 3rd place with 17 on the back, but pulling it back from the brink of death with only 11 on the front, Mike Turner scored 21 points on the back 9 securing him 2nd place in the comp. So the winner, well what can you say, against all odds he pulled it off, Tony Fawcett scored that all important one more point than the others to not only win the Presidents Trophy, he also made an all important birdie to tie him the yearly eclectic with Jo McKernon and tie the player of the year with me. Was I gutted? No, to be honest, hats off to Tony, he found form when it was needed and deservedly ranked the top golfer of the year. Incidentally I finished 6th overall in the days comp, not bad after the start I had!
There were many sponsored holes for nearest the pin prizes. The 4th was sponsored by Tony’s bar Chaplins in Caleta, which was won by Jo McKernon, the 7th sponsored by Dud & Aly from the Grapevine Magazine was won by John Cockroft and the 9th in 2, also sponsored by the Grapevine was won by Rob Hughes. The 12th sponsored by Phil at Castaways bar was won by none other than me, Dave Brown! (Nearly a hole in one!) The 15th sponsored by our Captain, Dennis May, was won by Vince Price, and our President Derek Mac from Rogues Gallery Bar sponsored the nearest pin in 3 on the 17th won once again by Jo McKernon! The final hole, the 18th was sponsored by me and I got nowhere near, but my playing partner Steve Bennett did after nearly driving the green in 1! In the 2’s comp, there were only 2 people that got a 2 on the day, Jo McKernon and John Cockroft. The guest winner was someone who only plays about 3 or 4 times a year, normally with us but was a guest on the day, Andy Knapman scored 25 beating off competition from 5 other guests. All year we’ve had a fund running for anyone who gets a hole in one. Paul Benham late last year on a federation comp got a hole in one on Fuerteventura GC, but our only hole in one this year was achieved by Jo McKernon on the 12th at Salinas so she scooped the whole pot, as if she needs the money!
As is tradition, Derek chose El Rancho restaurant in Villaverde for the evening presentation meal where golfers, wives/girlfriends, friends and family all joined us to celebrate the end of another great year for the society. After a superb 3 course Christmas dinner we presented the prizes for the day and the year after which we danced, drank, sang on karaoke and had a party ‘til the early hours. You’ll have to ask others present how it all ended up as I have a few blank spaces in my memory banks!
Incidentally, our next event is on Tuesday 8th January 2008 to be held at the Fuerteventura golf course, tees from 10am. The following 2 games are at the Salinas Golf Club, 15th and 22nd January tees are from 11am. If you would like to join us for this or any other events, or if you would like any further information about the society, please call Dave Brown on (0034) 620 161360 or drop me an email to corralejogolf@yahoo.com

So for the moment I would like to wish all our members, friends, readers and supporters of the society a very Merry Christmas and a prosperous, healthy, happy 2008!

All the best, cheers

Dave Brown.