Once again we were blessed with glorious sunshine as 56 players competed for the coveted Martine Barthelemi Memorial Trophy.
The venue for our 2nd Charity Golf Day was the prestigious Seve Ballesteros signature course, Quinta do Vale.
Before I start my review I would like to offer my sincere thanks to every member of the Ayamonte Golf Society who took part & for their kind donation of 175€ to the charity.
As is now tradition, Martine’s partner of many years, Chad Smith, got the tournament underway. As the day was all about raising money for the AONES Children’s Charity, we applied the slope rating to provide the best opportunity for everyone to enjoy the course. This proved to be a welcome measure as the players faced a fairly strong headwind on the first tee, even more welcome was the “Home Made” Sangria prepared by Rod King.
My prediction for the winning score was in the low 30’s but the day was to provide more than a few surprises with only 11 players achieving 30 points or more, even with the extra shots gained from the slope rating. Ultimately it was Gary Coxall who emerged as our champion shooting a fantastic 42 points with Graham Whitehouse finishing 2nd from an excellent 35 points. Another notable performance came from Lynne Reid, our top lady competitor with 32 points. Lynne also managed to bag a prize for nearest the pin on the 12th hole. My thanks go to Lynne Burnell, Karen Coxall & Janet Arnold for supplying the on course G&T’s which raised over 50€! I must also, for fear of severe reprisals, thank my wife Jane, children Molly & James & also the delightful Trina Orlov for their sterling efforts throughout the day.
With the golf completed we headed over to Cyndi’s Bar, Punta del Moral, for our Gala presentation evening. Proprietor Carol Mc Cauley, as always, did a fantastic job in taking care of over 80 guests. We enjoyed a superb paella freshly prepared in a huge pan which provided the centre piece of the delicious hot buffet. Carol was hoping to have the assistance of her partner Guy during the evening. Guy, however, was a little worse for wear after enjoying "muchos" on course Sangrias & G&T’s and was later found slumped behind the bar clutching a mop.
We started proceedings with the prize raffle, which took slightly longer than expected – partly due to a late surge in sales (obviously due the vast array of excellent prizes on view!) and partly due to the heckling suffered by our M.C. (yours truly). Jerry “10 Points” Simpson was a major culprit hurling several abusive remarks, one in particular very cutting, referring to my lack of inches (height) However, having received several sessions of counselling & purchasing a milk crate on which to stand, I now feel confident enough to continue hosting our golf presentations.
The raffle was followed by the announcement that the players fines had raised a superb 306€ The fines were made for all 3 putts & shots into water, I will leave you to draw your own conclusions as to the abilities of our players to do both! A special mention must go to James Burnell who pledged to match the amount raised from the fines which gave us a total of 612€ - fantastic!
Our Charity Auction is always something to look forward to & this year was no exception. In total we had 11 auction items, ranging from green fees to a luxury boat trip. The auction raised a whopping 2490€ in just over 10 minutes with our tournament patron, Chad Smith, taking the top prize with a winning bid of 875€ No doubt all who enjoy the boat trip will do their utmost to recoup the 875€ in free food & drinks! So with all the evening fundraising completed we were all able to sit back, relax & enjoy the live music provided by the superb T-Bag.
So, a superb day was had by all, but we had one task left to complete…the official presentation of the cheque to the AONES Children’s Charity. This took place on Monday 18th May at The Andalusian Bar, Isla Canela. Our hosts Kevin & Susan Allder made us feel very welcome & provided us all with a delicious chilli. The President of the charity Sñra. Elena Fernandez Pineda attended with some of the delightful children. No doubt you’re wondering how much we raised…a fantastic 4,120€!!! A superb effort by everyone who took part in the event.
Sñra. Elena Fernandez Pineda pictured second from left along with some of the delightful children of the AONES Children's Charity.
We look forward to doing the same next year. The date is set for 15th May 2010. If you would like to take part in what is one of the highlights of our Tournament calendar drop me an email at info@linksgolfeurope.com
Our 2009 Champion, Mr. Gary Coxall pictured left.
Linksgolfeurope.com
THIRD ANNUAL CHILDRENS CHARITY GOLF DAY MAY 2010
DON T FORGET 14TH MAY 2011 FOR OUR FOURTH CHARITY EVENT QUINTA do VALE Sunday 16th May Saw the hosting of our third Childrens Charity Day Golf Tournement. Held at Quinta Do Vale . It was a great day, with the sun shining throughout. There were 2 refreshment stands set up on the course so as to assist the players to combat the Sun. The compulsary Sangria was served on the 1st Tee The contest was well supported with 66 players taking part. Unfortunately the scores did not reflect the good weather. The day was won by Phil Thomas with 35 points. He had a wonderful day, also winning the pairs competition and along with his playing partners winning the 4 men team event as well. Anybody knowing Quinta do Vale will relish the idea of of a 2 euro fine for every ball played into the water, another cunning ploy to boost the Charity Funds. A raffle and auction were also held following the golf. Entertainment was provided by our fellow Golf pal Paul Jones and everybody joined in the sing song. . We would like to thank all the Sponsors and helpers that made this day a great success. A special thanks goes to Brenda Smith, the captain of Quinta do Vale for giving up the whole day to assist us. We raised 2500 euros and this will go to the childrens orphanage, SANTA CASA DA MERSIRICORDIA in Villa Real San Antonio. Portugal. LOOK AT OUR SPECIAL OFFERS PAGE
The past 2 years has seenus give the money raised to AONES Downes Syndrome charity in Huelva Spain
We therefore thought it would be ;Just; to find a charity in Portugal. Given that we play half of our golf there.
