So, where to start!

A quick repeat of the thanks on the day to Clarkey for once again organising the location, accommodation and most importantly ensuring the group would receive the discounted rate on beverages. Thanks also to Richard and David and latterly Mark for stepping in at varying lengths of short notice to ensure our event kept a semblance on competitiveness.

Day 1

Day one started with Europes formidable opening pairing of Steve Davies and Dave Hadden taking on the USA weak link, sacrificial lambs of Si Davies and Zach Jones. Right from the moment Si launched his first tee shot into the pond on the right, this pair were up against it. Team Europe Ham and Egging it nicely, whilst Si and Zach were just Egg and Egging it really, their games stunk!! Whilst Steve was just rolling par putt after par putt in the USA lads had given up the ghost on the match. Their misery finally confirmed on the 12th green with a “Dog licence” defeat for those old enough to remember 7&6!

The game behind was much closer, our polite enquiries were met with a small deficit ongoing for Europe, but as the match progressed Dan and Ev where clawing it back and were seemingly reminding Rob and Mark they were choking ! A great performance from the European lads to claim the half on the last hole

When our first game had reached the 17th tee we were joined by Game 3 players in Wadders and Degsy for Europe and Richard and David for Team USA. They were trying to avoid the impending soaking by walking in with “A serious case of the CBA’s” said Wadders. He and Degs had lost all hope of giving the younger Dreaves pair shots and conceding 150 yards off the tee!

The “Experience” of Clarkey and Kirky cruised to a comfortable victory against Keith and Les N. I think I was actually envious of Keith, who said the batteries had gone on his hearing aids with a few holes to play, how I wished I couldn’t hear Simon questioning himself about why he kept smashing it 300 yards, but into the lions enclosure

As Steve and I were basking in the immediate warm glow of victory on the 13th green we looked across to the 11th and asked Lee and Matt how they were getting on against Les H and John A, I confidently suggested that they couldn’t be as bad as Si and Zach, but Team Europe were 6 down and lost the next 2 holes to lose the match 8&6!

The final game saw Josh and Mark C defeat Team USA’s Banker team of Paul F and Frank. The match result by all accounts looked closer on paper that it should have been. This match notable mostly for the site of Josh looking like a drowned rat on the balcony at the end having no brolly or waterproof trousers

I thought it was nice of the hotel to provide a realistic viewing experience for the United game at 5:30, by having the rainwater come gushing in through the ceiling onto the assembled speccies!

After the match it was on to dinner and there seemed to be a consensus that the food was great and it was onto the draw for the singles- the “luck” of the draw threw up some tasty games and after much goading we retired to bed with the promise of doing it all again the next morning

Frankie was in Group 1 having accepted a shared half point with Team Europe’s missing player. This was meant to relieve Frank of the pressures of the matchplay and hopefully mean he wasn’t reacquainted with the wooden spoon for the daily event, unfortunately this didn’t not quite work and by the time the results were read out Frank could be seen cuddling his comfort spoon! Ann-Marie had messaged me to say could he have it back as he was struggling to get to sleep without it on the pillow this last month!

Summary of the Sunday singles would show Team Europe winning 7 points to Team USA’s 5 points to give Europe an overall victory of 10.5-7.5

We tried to present the trophy, but it became apparent, we didnt have it!

Rob had brought it to dinner and after a quick check behind the bar, Les believed that he or John A had taken it back to their room for “safe-keeping” but then had checked out earlier without it. A handshake from Paul sufficed in the moment, whilst we would check on leaving if it had been found in room 203!

Whilst I was at reception enquiring and then waiting, Les came running in saying he had found it under the seat in Johns car ! 

A great couple of days and a great result for my boys, well done men! I retire with a perfect 2/2 record as skipper, a victory for strategy and gut feel over Paul’s finger in the air style. Let’s do it all again next year fellas.

A final quick shout to Society Legend Col, who will be chomping at the bit to be sharing our fairways some time soon. We missed him, his golf and his banter this weekend.

….

Thanks and congrats to our winner, Steve Davies

For full schedule see; Herons Reach

Long Drive – Josh Hadden

NP – Josh Hadden

NP2 – Simon Davies

2’s –

For current League and Eclectic standings see Current Season.

See you all at the next event

Stand Golf Club — or, as I will forever remember it, Sit Golf Club. Thank you, Kev, for leaving me with the most memorable image of this trip: you driving up hill and down dale in your personal golf chariot. Kev was in the group behind us and every time I looked back and saw him driving around, I kept thinking he looked like someone who’d been given a tiny car with permission to use it, and that at least he didn’t have to ask for a lift for once 😂.

The second most memorable moment? The Captain’s drive on the first!!!!

I had a great day with Clarkey, Wadders and Les 2. I only really got to see the latter two on tees and a few greens, as I was trying to keep up with Clarkey. Talking of pace of play… actually, I’d rather not talk about it but, wow. Really!

I really enjoyed the course and thought it was in great condition. I ended up winning on the horrible countback, preventing Rob from winning his second event of the year. Sorry, pal. At least you can console yourself with a one-shot handicap cut 😊.

Looking forward to the Ryder Cup being played in my backyard (well almost) next week, see some of you there. Let’s Go Europe.

Thanks and congrats to our winner, Lee Hardy

For full schedule see; Stand

Long Drive – Dan Foode

NP – Mark Murray

NP2 – Keith Dreaves

2’s –

For current League and Eclectic standings see Current Season.

See you all at the next event

Captain Hadden set the scene for a bright July day at Mossock Hall, with a healthy contingent of 26 FFGS members and advice to “mind the pond” on the 1st hole (cue most of the first few drives ended in the pond).

Light breeze, sunshine and an underrated course offered the chance of some good scoring, with Messrs Bower and Hurst’s Matchplay kicking off proceedings, Les having to be advised which hole he was aiming at down the 1st !

Despite the usual Lee Hardy “Andy who” jibes (my response was “Andy two” after making two consecutive monthly events), the day started well alongside playing partners Kirkland, Draper and Stuart, all of us noting the many undulations at Mossock, though receptive greens helped.

Much huffing and puffing later – and Kirky hitting the robot mower on the 13th – and it was clear that scoring was tougher than first thought. The short par 4 9th hole being a great example with many of the big hitters driving into the stream. A blob on the short par 3 11th (?) could have scuppered momentum, as could a lot of finding Stevie Stuart’s balls 10 balls lost?!). But a recovery out of the bunker on 18, a flicked wedge and one putt par meant 34 won the day – giving an idea that Mossock was tougher than first thought. A great day and thanks to everyone who made the trip, see you all at Stand (or in my case Mytton Fold!).

Andy Hanson

Thanks and congrats to our winner, Andy Hanson

For full schedule see; Mossock Hall

Long Drive – Paul Foode

NP – Josh Hadden

NP2 – Josh Hadden

2’s – Josh Hadden

For current League and Eclectic standings see Current Season.

See you all at the next event

After one too many beers at a beer festival on Saturday it would be fair to say I was worried about my Sunday performance at Darwen. Broken sleep and a hazy memory of the Brazil game paired with the sub par digestion of a late night takeaway pizza felt like a recipe for disaster. Thankfully I was in the last group so had plenty of time to arrive and recover before heading to the first tee (although there was significantly less time after my Dad headed down the M57 in autopilot instead of the M58). I have to say I thought our host in the clubhouse was a breath of fresh air and everyone we met was so welcoming, getting sausage and bacon on our breakfast made me feel like it might just be a great day after all.

Heading to the first tee I have to admit I was more concerned with my quarter final battle against Foodey Snr (or should that just be grandad Foodey now) and any ideas of a big individual score were firmly at the back of my mind. We both started well and halved most of the holes on the front nine. After a half way count up of 19 and 18 points I knew we were in for a high quality affair. Paul decided to tell me he had been watching course flyovers as preparation for the day which sounded a bit too much like a serious game plan to me, I needn’t have worried however when he said he realised half way through he had been watching a flyover of Darwin GC in Australia and admitted it had looked rather fancy for £35. A joke about Darwinism and evolution writes itself at this point. I just managed the win finishing on the 17^th hole and then my attention turned to my score realising a par on the last would get me 40 points. I tried to pretend the out of bounds wasn’t staring straight at me and play a nice sensible hole and got the job done.

I thoroughly enjoyed the course. Good condition, scenic and testing in both mind and body. I felt a bit sorry for Kirky when the battery ran out on his trolley and he had to push it up the hills on the back nine, the same can’t be said of Paul who was laughing whilst setting his trolley to the highest speed to rub it in his face. Steve Davies rounded out our group and whilst he didn’t treat us to his usual 36 pointer this season he claimed half of the prize holes with some great shots at the right time. All three were great company as always and it was another cracking day out with FFGS. See you all at Mossock.

Thanks and congrats to our winner, Josh Hadden

For full schedule see; Darwen

Long Drive – Steve Davies

NP – Steve Davies, Andy Hanson

NP2 – Andy Davies

2’s –

For current League and Eclectic standings see Current Season.

See you all at the next event

Mosquitoes, Monkfish Curry & 2 Plates… and a 50ft Putt

Despite looking forward to our annual golf soiree as much as usual, my excitement was being tempered slightly by Foodie’s (aka Michael Fish) regular doom-and-gloom weather forecast updates. It became obvious during the week that he was desperate for rain, just so he could say “told you so” — and when it did rain, he looked extremely smug whilst saying so. (Wa-ker)

Due to my distinct lack of social skills, I decided to hire a car for the trip rather than endure the six-hour airport transfer each way. More importantly, it meant I could smoke my rollies to my heart’s content. I had great intentions of using the car to explore the local area, having never been to Almeria before. However, I parked it on Tuesday afternoon and it didn’t move again until we left on Saturday morning. Those stolen rollies ended up being very expensive.

I thought the hotel was outstanding and the rooms were awesome, despite it taking three minutes to walk from the door to the balcony. Jesus, they were big. I also know Stevie Davies appreciated being directly above the gym and waking up to the drill-sergeant bootcamp every morning.

As we gathered on the first evening, it quickly became apparent there may be some accent and language barriers between certain members of our group and the local staff. Everyone will already know this — primarily because he told everyone individually, including probably people not even with our group — but on ordering three Estrella beers on his first visit to the bar, Col was presented with three ashtrays. He blamed the barman!

I think everyone had a good night, particularly Josh, who (unlike me) got to experience some of the local culture by taking an hour and a half to get back to the hotel from the marina — a five-minute walk away. Apparently, he vaguely remembers views of the course the rest of us never got to see.

Then came some golf.

I had a great first day with the Captain, Si and Josh, with the latter two playing some outstanding golf and coming in with 38 and 39 points respectively. Yet again proving that whatever escapades the younger Hadden gets up to the night before, he can play. Dave and I played… intermittently.

Despite not seeing it, we heard Kev had hit his longest drive of the year on the first hole. Sadly, it ended up behind him — and everyone else. Not sure whether that deserves a “well done” or a “hard luck”, Kev.

It was after the round that the mosquito issue became apparent. Looking around was like watching a gathering of nervous chickens searching for a worm — hands reaching parts of the body some of us had forgotten existed. At one point, Les showed us his back and it looked like a map of the moon. Ouch. Must be all that sweat blood, Les 😊

Anyway, enough about the mozzies. We were in their home. Back to the golf. Day two paired me with my buggy buddy Stevie D(avies), Evan and Dezzer. We had a cracking day and Stevie played brilliantly — genuinely the best I’ve seen him play — and deservedly won the day with a fantastic 39 points. Not ideal for the rest of us chasing him in the league, though. At no point during the round did we come close to purposely driving the buggy into a lake, which was unusual for us abroad.

That evening, the Captain declared he required monkfish curry, and some of us obediently followed him to a quaint little marina spot where he assured us his culinary demands would be met. We ordered drinks and asked for the menu. That’s when the problems started. The menu was QR code only — entirely in Spanish — and the waiter, bless him, spoke no English whatsoever. Things became complicated quickly.  (I know… how dare a Spanish restaurant, in a Spanish town, have a Spanish menu and Spanish-speaking staff. Just rude.) I spent a good ten minutes trying to explain that I wanted monkfish curry. Eventually, after much effort from both sides, the waiter finally understood me. There was a brief moment of mutual jubilation before his face suddenly dropped and I think he said: “No monkfish.” I announced this to the group, and it was at this point that Frankie Mc proceeded to have what sounded like (to me at least) a completely fluent Spanish conversation with the waiter. Afterwards, Frank informed us: “They’ve got no fish”. Half an hour of my life I’m never getting back.

So we left in search of the mythical Stumble Inn. A couple of minutes after arriving, I noticed the Captain was no longer with us. I assumed he was finishing a drink or perhaps visiting the ablutions. However, he reappeared shortly afterwards proudly carrying two ceramic plates… with fish on them. He claims he had “purchased” them for €10 each from the previous no-fish restaurant — a claim he was unable (and still remains unable) to provide any evidence for whatsoever. I had a chicken tikka masala, which I’m assuming tasted nothing like monkfish curry.

Back to the golf. Last day. Stevie, Josh, Bower and me in the last group. To win, I needed a birdie on the 18th and somebody else had to blob it. That’s what happened, including a 50ft putt, So I won.

Another fantastic trip with top top blokes. Cheers guys. Looking forward to Lagos ’27.

Thanks and congrats to our winner, Lee Hardy

For full schedule see; Society Championship, Almerimar

Long Drive – Martyn Wilson, Josh Hadden, Si Davies

NP – Dave Hadden, Mike Bower, Martyn Wilson

NP2 – Andy Davies, Evan Bale x2

2’s – Josh Hadden x3, Andy Davies, Mark Campbell

For current League and Helix standings see Current Season.

See you all at the next event

For full schedule see; Wilpshire

Long Drive – Dan Foode

NP – Zach Jones

NP2 – Mike Kirkland

2’s – Rob Hodgson

For current League and Eclectic standings see Current Season.

See you all at the next event

For full schedule see; Davenport

Long Drive – Mark Murray

NP – Andy Davies

NP2 – Mike Bower

2’s – Andy Davies, Evan Bale

For current League and Eclectic standings see Current Season.

See you all at the next event

For full schedule see; Formby

Long Drive – Simon Davies

NP – John Nelson

NP2 – John Nelson

2’s – John Aylward, John Nelson, Andy Hanson

For current League and Eclectic standings see Current Season.

See you all at the next event