The big day had arrived, Captain’s Day. Sadly it was Captain’s Day without a Captain whose wonky knee still persists so he was relegated to spectator for this glorious day. Miraculously everyone arrived in time to enable the coach to depart for Alenda at the scheduled hour. A good start !

Dave Pope had been up since 3 am to make individual breakfasts for the travellers, he even provided the brown sauce. Many thought for a moment they were travelling Ryanair and reached into their pockets for a £10 note. On to Alenda which was in absolutely superb condition in the sunshine. After a quick practice the boys were ready.  It didn’t start well when the Captain upset the starter by kicking off the first fourball two minutes early.

The fact the no-one had been seen on the first tee for 15 minutes before did little to placate him. Having tearfully waved his members off, a quick trip to the 3rd green allowed the Captain to tend the flag for anyone who hadn’t run out of shots before they reached the green.  At the 10th, the Captain manned a “halfway house” more beverages were consumed as players contemplated the serious fade they would have to play if they had any chance of landing their ball on the fairway.

Play continued, the Captain mingled, putts were missed, bunkers were hit and when the players climbed the hill to the 18th green, there was their leader to greet them. Not that many were smiling. A few had missed the water, a few got to the green with the odd shot to spare, and so the day ended. 

Back to the clubhouse, to tot up the scores then onto the bus for the trip to San Miguel for dinner. The list of prizewinners is as follows :

Nearest the pin on 2 Ron Colclough. Nearest the pin on 5 Graham Moore. Nearest the pin on 10 Stephen Eno.  Nearest the pin on 16 Bob Eno. The winner of the front nine was Denis Warren and the back nine winner was Nigel Cotton. Best Guest was Bill Humes. The two’s pot was not claimed and so the money will be donated to the RBL Poppy Appeal.

In fifth place was Ron Colclough, fourth was Bill  Humes. In third place was Vice Captain Ted Harris and in second Nigel Cotton. The winner of the Captain’s trophy 2017, was Graham Moore who played brilliantly on the day and amassed 39 points.

Well done Graham ! Special thanks go to Dave Pope for his magnificent work to arrange the day and keep it running smoothly. A mammoth task which was executed to perfection.

Next stop is the Captain’s Dinner on Saturday.