Dear members and friends,
I hope you all are well and safe and have managed to avoid the dreadful virus. For those of you in the UK at the moment the news of the vaccine starting to be rolled out is surely the beginning of a safer and more optimistic time. Hopefully the majority of those in most need will be able to access the vaccine really soon. Here in Portugal we are still awaiting confirmation of when vaccinations will start but thankfully the virus has been less prevalent here than some other countries so we have felt reasonably safe so far.
However, even with less cases we have still had local restrictions which have impacted our ability to hold some of our planned events. Unfortunately the annual Christmas Festival was badly impacted so we had the singles competition last Friday and the Sagittarius Salver yesterday. We decided to combine the Christmas singles competition where we play for hampers, wines and even chocolate santa’s, with the Past Captains Competition and played them together on the same day. Even the weather seemed to be against us as it was very windy with a lot of rain showers in between short dry spells. However, nearly every team persevered and finished the game and so we were able to celebrate Team Macca as the winning team in the Am Am Past Captains event and Peter Noone as the overall winner of the Christmas Singles. Congratulations to both and really well done! Also congrats to Jim Brennan and Richard Stead who won the Sagittarius Salver yesterday. It was a qualifier so please remember to check your new handicaps on the federation website.
There is a bit of downside to mention at the moment in our Golf club which, to be honest, makes me a bit sad. I have noticed an increase in members complaining that they don’t want to play with people who legitimately put down their names on the booking list with them. In my opinion this is not really fair. If members want to play only with friends then please book in as a 4-ball. If you put your name on the sheet as less than a 4 and there is space for someone to join you then please accept whoever books in with you.
We call ourselves the friendliest golf club on the Algarve and I think we all should do our best to live up to that reputation.
Christmas is nearly with us and, if you are able to be here, I would like to invite you on Christmas Eve for a 9-hole-competition with a chance for a drink and snack after the game in the bar. We will have mulled wine, Christmas cake and mince pies. Non playing partners are very welcome. Please book in as soon as possible to give Mario an idea about the number of people taking part.
I wish all of you a Merry Christmas and hope that you all can make the best of it wherever you are. I have decided not to write Christmas cards this year, instead of spending money on buying cards I will put Euro 100 into the charity account.
Let’s hope we all get a happy and hopefully more easy 2021
Stay safe and well and I look forward seeing you all soon back on our wonderful Golf Course
Your Captain Brian
