28th September 2015

Captains’ Jar Raises Money for Paulo

Frank Prust (right) receives the case of champagne from Mark Foot and Terry Williams

A few weeks back, we said that we wanted to raise money for a knee operation for the Club starter, Paulo Martins. At the Gala Week Dinner The Captain announced the winner, Frank Prust, who received a case of champagne (see photo above). The initiative raised a fantastic total of €2200. The contest was to guess the amount collected in the Captains’ Jar, principally for fines for losing balls in the water collected in the Captain’s Jar since May. Frank’s guess was closest at €1400!  Thank you to all who contributed and to Geoff Garbutt for organising it, the amount raised should ensure that Paulo’s knee operation takes place much earlier than would have been possible otherwise.

Volunteers for Scoring Telegraph Juniors

For the third year in succession, the Daily Telegraph BMW Junior Finals will be held at Quinta do Lago from Wednesday 14th October through to Friday 16th October. The organisers are looking for 7 scorers on each day to accompany the groups around the course. The work is not exactly onerous as it only requires you to walk the course and record down the declared score of the players on each hole and radio this information over the Sky TV controller. You are not a referee, nor an official scorer, so a detailed knowledge of the rules is not required. However, it is great opportunity to accompany three talented young golfers around your own course, and see first hand how they approach the game. That week will be very busy with the mixed knock-out match-play competition scheduled as well as a match against Wentworth, but we hope some of you will feel able to give up a bit of time to support this great competition. A sign-up list is on the noticeboard or contact the office if you are able to help out.

Gala Week Pictures Online

Some people have been asking about Gala Week pictures. Thanks to some quick editing by David Proctor, they are all now available on the Club Photo Gallery:

• Flamenco Barbecue
• Fourball Betterball
• Masquerade Gala Dinner

All of these photos can be downloaded individually to your own computer by following this small tutorial.

Club Match v Wentworth GC

We have a match against Wentworth GC on Thursday 15th October. The format is mixed pairs Matchplay and we are looking for players to take part. The golf will take place in the morning followed by a lunch in the clubhouse. The cost of entry is €40pp (this is to enable us to host lunch for our guests returning the gesture they made to us when we visited them). The Captain of Wentworth has also invited our team to join them in a pre-match dinner at Menta Pimenta on the Wednesday evening, details to follow, which is optional. So if you are around and able to play in the match can you please email match manager David Proctor davidproctor2@aol.com or let the Captains know. It would also be helpful if you could advise whether you or not you are able to join in the pre-match dinner. Selection will be on a first come first served basis with preference given to those that can also attend the dinner.

Sunday Funday

It was Jane Beale’s birthday on Sunday, and she invited all those who played in the Sunday competition to celebrate with her, sharing a delicious cake of raspberries, chocolate and cream! Probably as it was her birthday, and because she played very well in the competition, the Captains awarded her the now infamous ‘bandido’ award. The Lady Captain would also like to take this opportunity to thank all those on Sunday who made a special contribution towards the appeal for nappies and baby milk run by the Ladies section and coordinated by Denise Grayson. You raised a further €150 which is currently being spent in Jumbo on baby essentials, thank you.

Next Week’s Schedule

Please note the schedule for next week which is listed below. Please refer to the members’ website for further details on individual events. Don’t forget that you only have a few more days to enter for next Sunday’s Vikings Day celebrations and also the Mixed Fourball Matchplay Competition starting on Monday the 12th Oct.

21st September 2015

Gala Week 2015 – A review

From left to right: Tracey Williams (Lady Captain), Julie Heel, John Farrell, Terry Williams (Captain)

Phew!!! The marathon of golf and socialising that is Gala Week is over for another year. That’s 25 times now that the Club has run a Gala Week, and with improvements every year it still seems to get better and better, principally thanks to the fantastic contribution by our sponsors QdLSA who once again raised the bar. Our thanks therefore go to Arina and her team for another job well done.

Huge congratulations go to our two overall winners, John Farrell and Julie Heel. John totalled 40 points winning his division in the medal, as well as steering his team to a win in the AM-AM. A second place in the final day’s Stableford sealed the deal. Julie also managed 2 wins during the week, with husband Peter in the American Foursomes and also in the final Singles Stableford. She also picked up significant points with a 2nd place in the Fourball Betterball. And a big shout must go to the valiant runners-up, Hazel Allsop and Jo Nally, who both put in superb performances during the week, but failed to garner quite enough points to get into the winner’s enclosure.

Laurie Raper helping at check-in at Laranjal on Thursday morning

There have been too many competition winners to recount them all, but, as the Captain said in his closing remarks for the week, there were one or two remarkable scores. David Hess must get a mention for his net 64 in the medal on the North Course, and also the pairing of Les Hughes and Derek Collins who won the fourball Stableford with 47 points.

The weather was glorious all week, with a small hiccup on Tuesday enough for the organisers to worry about the wisdom of an outside barbecue. But our luck held out and the forecast rain eventually did arrive to wash out most of Wednesday which was the designated ‘rest’ day. Thereafter we finished on three days of unbroken sunshine, and a lovely warm evening to enjoy at Bovino Restaurant.

The Captains generously thanked the many people involved in the organisation, in particular Laurie Raper and Trevor Kelly who did  a sterling job as “courtesy marshals”, and the prize winners reminded us that the true winners of the week were all who had taken part and enjoyed such a wonderful event. See you next year!

Tea with the Lady Captain

It is said that a Lady Captain of CGQL will go to any lengths to keep the Ladies Section happy. Well Tracey Williams is no exception. She had played quite enough golf by the Saturday of Gala Week, so she decided to retire from the last day’s competition and, making the most of living adjacent to the South Course, offered mid-morning tea to all the Ladies as they completed their round. But this was no ordinary tea – it was served in fine bone china out of ‘Tracey’s Teapot’ no less!

Pictures from the Photo Booth

Oh dear! Do you remember the photo booth that was set up at Bovino on Saturday night for the Gala Dinner?. You may have thought that behind the photo booth curtain all was safe and secure. Well, bad luck! All those silly pictures can be viewed on-line. To see your picture please follow this link. Those of you that weren’t there on Saturday there was a photo booth where you had 7 seconds between photos to get ready for the next shot, a great time was had by all as you may see from the photos!!

Autumn in Quinta do Lago

Quinta do Lago has prepared for this mid-term holidays a fun filled calendar with a huge range of activities from Scary Golf, a family barbecue, a Mini Golf Competition, a Halloween Theme Dinner and much more. To view the complete Mid-term Calendar please download at here . For further information, please contact Quinta do Lago event’s team at +351 289 390 700 or info@quintadolago.com.

Vikings Day Coming Soon – 4th October

Our next big event is only a few weeks away. Once again our Scandinavian members have clubbed together to bring you all the very best food (and drink) from Finland, Norway, Sweden and Denmark. Golfers can sign in on-line through the booking system and non-golfers can sign up for the lunch only on a list outside the Spike Bar. A not to be missed event judging by previous years!!!

Next Week’s Schedule

Please note the schedule of events for the coming week. For more details please look up under Events on the members’ website.

14th September 2015

Gala Week Underway

Quinta do Lago F&B team serve breakfast at the halfway house

This newsletter comes to you moments after the final results of Day 2 of Gala Week have been announced. The week so far has gone very well with a wonderful sunset beach party to open proceedings at The Shack, followed on Sunday by the Mexican Scramble. Once again participants have been spoiled with ‘halfway’ breakfast and picnic bags, and our thanks go to Quinta do Lago SA and all their personnel for putting on such a great organisation. Only another 4 days to go!  To follow Gala Week day-by-day with draws, results and photos, please follow this link to the special Gala Week website.

Gala Week Rest Day Skills Competition

This coming Wednesday, instead of putting your feet up and recuperating during the Gala Week rest day, why not come and join in the Skills Competition on the Driving Range. This lasts for about 2 hours, starting at 16h30, and you have a chance to test your golfing skills for points. Best overall player gets a fabulous prize courtesy of Quinta do Lago SA. The entry fee is €10 per person and includes drinks and snacks. Sign up at registration for the Singles Medal, or afterwards on the Club noticeboard. We currently have about 12 people entered and need about 30 to make it worthwhile. Open to all members, whether in Gala Week or not.

Beach Lunch at Antonio’s

On the Friday before Gala Week, 70 members signed up for a beach lunch at Antonio’s on Garrão Beach. This now becoming a regular pre-Gala Week event and increases in popularity every time. The Algarve weather did its job and we were blessed with a lovely sunny day to accompany fresh fish, good wines and great company!.

CGQL Match vs Chigwell Golf Club – Friday 6th and Saturday 7th November

This will be the third bi-annual match against Chigwell Golf Club, and whilst it’s still a couple of months away, there are many Chigwell members who have already booked their flights hoping CGQL can get sufficient numbers to make up our team.  The last two matches were brilliantly organised by the Hubbards and the Youldons, and there is no reason to change the format they started.  So the plan is as follows: 1) Thursday 5th November – Welcome Dinner at CGQL 2) Friday 6th November AM – 1st Round of Competition, Mixed Fourball Matchplay – no organised lunch 3) Saturday 7th November AM – 2nd Round of Competition, Mixed Fourball Matchplay , followed by organised lunch and result.

Chigwell have 24 people confirmed as wanting to come, nearly all of whom have played in this match in previous years.  They could almost certainly add another couple of pairs depending on our availability.  Most of them know Quinta very well, and are very social – most likely they will be found at The Melting Pot or De Barra’s sometime during their visit!  This year Val Harrison has agreed to take on the task of trying to follow in the Hubbards/Youldons footsteps in organising the event.  Whilst not necessarily committing 100% now, it would be really helpful for her to know if you are likely to be in Quinta at that time, and if you would be keen to play on one or both days.  You don’t have to commit as a pair at this stage.  We will do our utmost to find playing partners where necessary.  Please email Val at valharrison54@msn.com to let her know as soon as possible if you are interested in playing in this match.  Val will be at Quinta during Gala Week, so don’t hesitate to let her know your availability.

Temporary Local Rule (Alteration)

The rule outlined in last week’s newsletter has undergone a little amendment after consideration by the Golf Committee. The rule now is similar to that applied under ‘Winter Rules or Preferred Lies’, with an additional allowance for the ‘placing’ zone. The rule is as follows:

Placing on Fairways: A ball lying in a closely-mown area through the green may be marked, lifted without penalty (under Rule 20-1) cleaned and replaced within 15cms (6 inches) of where it originally lay. Additionally, if the designated placing is bare of grass, then the ball may be placed further than 15cms but as close as possible to where it originally lay, and not nearer the hole.

This rule is to allow play to continue in a fair and appropriate manner whilst the course recovers from the necessary treatment for removal of kikuyu grass. Members will note that the treated areas are wetter than normal. This is a deliberate policy to dilute the products used in killing off the kikuyu grass so that they do not, in turn, hurt the recovery of the Bermuda. This does make the course somewhat unsightly at the moment, but the long-term benefit should soon be evident to all.

Club Raffle for Paulo Martins 

Paulo Martins, our starter who is well known to all of us, is in need of an operation on his knee but is unable to fund it himself and the waiting list in Portugal is very long. So following an initiative by Club Doctor Rob Thomson, and again using the enterprising skills of Geoff Garbutt, the club has been holding a raffle during Gala Week of guessing the amount of money in the Captain’s jar to raise funds to help Paulo. So far a grand total of €1700 has been raised with a target of €2000. If you are taking part in Gala Week please ensure you speak to Geoff about helping someone who has been a very loyal servant to the club. A single guess is €10 with 3 guesses for €20. For those of you not lucky enough to be around for Gala Week but would nevertheless like to make a contribution please contact Geoff directly or the office and let them know. Thanks for your anticipated support, it is appreciated.

Next Week’s Schedule

The schedule for the coming week is dominated by the remaining competitions of Gala Week. Next Monday the normal run of weekly competitions recommences.

7th September 2015

CGQL Members “70s” Competition

Laura and Ollie Nettleingham collect prizes from Captains Terry and Tracey Williams

Yesterday (Sunday) saw a fantastic field of 67 CGQL Members taking advantage of the glorious weather to take part in a very special Sunday Mixed Competition. Some 17 members who have celebrated, or are due to celebrate, their 70th birthday in 2015 added to some very generous sponsorship by our normal Sunday Mixed sponsor, Dunas Lifestyle. Captains Terry & Tracey also added to the event by generously providing a very welcome glass of champagne for all players on their return to the clubhouse after their rounds(Our thanks also go to Trevor Kelly for helping serve the champagne).

All the 70’s sponsors together with the Captains

Each of the “70s” sponsors in attendance, all 11 of them, received a very kind gift from sponsor Dunas Lifestyle of a silver money clip for the men and perfume for the ladies. Nearest the pin prizes were won by Oliver Blain & Denise Grayson respectively and “Nearest the line” prizes (a string line had been placed in the middle (ish!) of the 14th fairway) was won by Derek Hickey and Janet Garbutt respectively. There were no less than 6 prizes given out and in third place with 41 points, winning on countback, was Tony and Brenda Brown, Chris & Jane Gardener were runners up with 42 points, while the outright winners, with a great score of 45 pts, was Laura Nettleingham and her son Ollie. The afternoon was rounded off with a slice of a celebration cake specially made for the occasion. Our thanks also go to Geoff Garbutt for the initiative and for making it all happen. More photos of the event can be seen on the Club Photo Gallery or by clicking here.

Algarve League Team Narrowly Lose at Laranjal

Our Algarve Interclub League team’s season is finally at a close, after the last match was played today at Laranjal. Despite being runaway League leaders, the team faltered in this last leg, narrowly losing by 3  matches to 2. The result was pretty close, with wins from the pairings of Tony Brown and Jane Beale, and David Hess and Charlotte Johnston, but 2 narrow losses on the 18th green. Well done to League team Captain Peter Beale, and all league participants, for an excellent season. We now await the final results from the other teams before we can finally confirm promotion to Division 2 and the Division 3 title, however it is going to take some exceptional results by our chasing teams to deny us victory!

World Golf Awards

Voting for The 2015 World Golf Awards is now open – and Quinta do Lago has been nominated for “Europe’s Best Golf Venue 2015”, while the South Course is nominated as the Best Golf Course in Portugal. Last year, Quinta do Lago enhanced its position at the forefront of the world’s premier golf claiming double success at the inaugural World Golf Awards, with the North Course named as Europe’s Best New Golf Course and the South as Best Golf Course in Portugal. Vote here and support our nomination!

Gala Week Details

Gala Week is nearly upon us, and we have a couple of small administrative duties for you all to perform over the next few days. Entries are now closed so, if you need to make any alterations to your current bookings please call the office. Provisional draws will be published on Friday, and changes made after that will be done on a day-by-day basis. Please help us by making the following checks yourselves.

Gala Week – Entries

Click on the links below and you will see a list of all participants and entered competitions and social events. Please make sure that you are entered into the correct events. If there is an error please call the office (289 396141) and they will make the necessary adjustment. Do not try and make the changes yourself as your access to the entry forms will be restricted from tonight onwards. Thank you for your help. [If you have any problems with downloading the files, the office will email you a copy.]

Click here to view competition entries \ Click here to view social entries

Gala Week – Getting Around the Course

On the Gala Week entry form there was a selection box as to how you wish to get around the course every day, with options for Hire Buggy (HB) , Own Buggy (OB) or Electric Trolley (ET). These have been duly recorded and entered against your name. Please follow the link below to check that your instructions are correct. Once again, please call the office if you need to make an alteration.

Click here to view transport choices

Gala Week – Reserves

If you are around in Gala Week but don’t want to, or can’t, play in all the competitions why not enter as a reserve? We always need reserve players to make up teams, and it is a great way to take part in the week if only for one or two days. Reserve players pay an €10 entry fee per competition, and may win prizes but do not get awarded Gala Week points. To enter as a reserve please contact the office.

Gala Week – Opening Cocktail Party

If you are going to the opening Hawaiian theme cocktail party at The Shack, please note that it starts at 18h30 (that’s 6.30pm in old money). Quinta do lago have also put on a special menu at Casa do Lago for dinner after the cocktail party – three courses including selected wines, water and coffee for €50 per head. If you want to attend the dinner afterwards please sign up on the noticeboard in the clubhouse by Wednesday 9th September latest.

South Course Rules

Picture showing bare and treated areas on South 14.

As reported last week, there are many bare areas on the South Course fairways recovering from the Kikuyu grass treatment. For the foreseeable future a local rule – essentially a variant of ‘winter rules’ – is introduced on the South Course as follows:

Areas of Fairway under Treatment: A ball that comes to rest on closely mown grass in a treated area may be lifted, cleaned and placed not nearer the hole and within 15cms of where it originally lay. Additionally, if the treated area of bare grass extends beyond the 15cms tolerance, then the ball may be placed further than 15cms but as close as possible to where it originally lay, and not nearer the hole.

New Members 

We would like to officially welcome the following as new members of the Club – Brendan McCabe from Co.Wicklow, Ireland, Karim & Sally Khalil from London, Anthony & Rachel Williams, also from London, and Nick Bryan from Ascot, England. We hope you will all enjoy your time as members of the golf club.

Congratulations to Paul O’Mahoney

We are delighted to report that news has come through today that our head green-keeper, Paul O’Mahoney has been in Ireland to witness the birth of his first child, a daughter called Aoife O Mahony weighing in at 8lbs 2oz. We trust that Mum and daughter are doing well, and look forward to welcoming them to the Algarve in the fullness of time.

Next Week’s Schedule

The schedule of events for the coming week is printed below – consult the website for more details. Please note that Gala Week entries are now closed, and new entries will only be accepted as reserve players.