Captains Changeover and Drive-In
Captain Rod Sumner & Lady Captain Jane Gardner
On Saturday night, at a sparkling dinner at the Quinta do Lago Hotel, 163 members and guests shared the moment when our Captains become ‘Pasts’ and our Vice Captains became Captains. The simple donning of the green jacket was the symbolic moment when Rod Sumner and Jane Gardner took over the reigns from Terry William and Marianne Jespersen. And then on Sunday afternoon, after a very well attended Fourball Stableford competition won by Philip and Carolyn Cort, just as the sun was going down, Rod and Jane drove into office with 2 well hit drives. The Vice-Captains, Brian Murphy and Diana Mucklow, had sold lots of markers to be placed in the fairway to guess where the drives would end, raising nearly €1400 for charity. The winners of the champagne were Rupert Mucklow and Aileen Hickey. It all rounded of a very good AGM Week. The new Captains would like to express their thanks to all the members who so kindly offered their congratulations and good wishes for the year ahead. They hope this sentiment continues for another 364 days!
The Team: Vice Captain Brian Murphy, Lady Captain Jane Gardner, Captain Rod Sumner, Lady Vice Captain Diana Mucklow
Gardner & Chase-Gardener Win Club Championships
The Men’s and Ladies Club Championships were held over 2 days last week, with both competitions finishing on the North Course on Friday. There was a certain symmetry to both events as there were clear leaders after day 1, with Jane Gardner, having shot a 76 (net 68), taking a 6 shot lead into the second day, and Julio Mendes, who shot 75 (net 69) on day 1, three shots clear of the chasers. Day 2 on the North Course was altogether more challenging, as Val Tassell made a comeback for the Ladies, although not quite by enough to overtake Jane’s first day lead. In the end Jane won by 3 shots from Val, with a total gross score of 155, and was declared a worthy Club Champion for the second time.
Day 2 for the Men’s event saw the three leading scorers, Julio Mendes, John Farrell, and Paul Chase-Gardener have a torrid time, so much so that it was with some surprise that on entering the clubhouse. Paul and Julio discovered that they were still in the lead and tied on 159. So, for the 2nd time in three years, the Men’s Club Championship headed down to the 1st tee of the North for a sudden death play-off. Having halved the 1st in par, Julio then struck his tee shot on the 2nd into the water, while Paul put his safely 20 feet from the pin. Julio hit a 2nd from the tee onto the green, about 15 feet from the hole, but was now lying 3 to Paul’s 1. Paul knew he had 2 putts for the championship, but the first putt was aided by a little adrenalin, and instead of lagging up before the pin, went a couple of feet by. Julio then just missed his putt and recorded a five, easing any tension that his opponent may have been feeling. One more putt and Paul Chase-Gardener, who only joined the Club in 2016, was declared Club Champion for 2017. The Club Championship Trophies and Prizes were awarded at the Annual & Captain’s Dinner.
Left: Val Tassell & Jane Gardner complete 36 holes on 18 North, and Paul Chase-Gardener & Julio Mendes on North 2, after the play-off.
Other winners on the Friday were Aileen Hickey and Martin Burns, the respective winners of the Mimosa Cup and the Ria Formosa Cup, the net competitions run at the same time as the Club Championship. Aileen won with a score of 141 beating Jane Gardner into the runner-up position thanks to a better net score (69) on day 2. Martin Burns (143) won the Men’s net competition by 2 strokes from Simon Blair (146).
The Ladies Say Goodbye to Marianne
The Ladies gather around Marianne Jespersen on the outside terrace of the Captain’s Lounge
Last Tuesday, on Lady Captain’s Day, the ladies said farewell to their Captain, Marianne Jespersen, for the 2016/2017 season. In a break from tradition, Marianne played in the competition, and ended on the winning team of the AM-AM Stableford with Diana Mucklow, Brenda Brown and Janet Dodd. The 60 plus attendees then sat down to a Mexican themed lunch, with a further prize being awarded to Val Tassell for winning the birdie tree. The Ladies gave Marianne some special presents which included an embroidered jersey with the words ‘Quinta do Lago, Lady Captain 2016/2017’, and a similarly embroidered set of oven gloves! It was a great send off for a popular Lady Captain.
The Graysons and Julio Mendes Awarded Gold Medals
At the Annual & Captain’s Dinner, the Club invited a table of dignitaries from the Portuguese Golf Federation to make some special awards to Quinta do Lago members. Introduced by previous Federation President, Manuel Agrellos, the Federation gave out their highest accolade, the gold medal merit award, to Eric Grayson, Denise Grayson, and Julio Mendes for their 17 years of service to the Handicap and Course Rating Committee, which has transformed not only the management of handicaps within Portugal, but has significantly influenced the way that handicaps are administered across continental Europe. The recipients of these awards were given a standing ovation by the members present.
News From the Assembly Board
Executive Board Chairman speaks at the Annual General Meeting
Executive Board Election Result: An election was held at the AGM for the 6 vacancies on the Executive Board. 85 ballot papers were returned; 25 on-line, 8 postal ballot papers, and 52 voting slips at the AGM. In total, there were 416 votes cast. The following candidates were elected: Frank Prust, Chris Gardner, Terry Williams, Tony Brown, Brian Murphy and Rod Sumner. Frank Prust & Chris Gardner are elected to serve on the Executive Board for a period of 3 years; Terry Williams & Tony Brown are elected to serve for 2 years; and Brian Murphy & Rod Sumner are elected for 1 year.
Assembly Board: After the count, a meeting of the newly-elected Assembly Board resolved that Peter Heel would remain as Chairman and that Brian O’Connell become Vice-Chairman.
New Executive Board Appointments
The Executive Board (left to right): Jane Gardner, Tony Brown, Frank Prust (Chairman), Chris Gardner, Terry Williams (Deputy Chairman), Brian Murphy, Rod Sumner
The new Executive Board met on Thursday morning to elect a Chairman and Deputy Chairman. Frank Prust was unanimously selected to be Chairman, and Terry Williams was selected to be his deputy. The Board then discussed appointments to chair the various committees for this coming year. In addition to his role as Captain, heading up the Golf Committee, Rod Sumner will remain as Club Treasurer. Terry Williams will run a new Social Committee that looks after all social events, as well as attends to matters regarding the Franchisee. Now that the clubhouse is uniquely the responsibility of the Club, the new Building Committee, headed up by Chris Gardner, will oversee the maintenance of the current building and grounds and will present any projects for extensions and alterations as necessary. Brian Murphy will be in charge of overseeing Club communications, including the content of the newsletter and the Club websites. Tony Brown will continue is his role of course liaison with SGQL. In addition to these appointments, it was agreed to invite Denise Grayson to continue as Handicap Secretary.
Lazer Telecom Sign Sponsorship Deal for 2017/2018
We were delighted to welcome to the clubhouse over last week the new representatives of Lazer Telecom, Greg Lynch (left) and Ricardo Santos (right), who signed the renewal of the sponsorship agreement with the Club for Men’s Day.
Next Week’s Schedule
The events scheduled for next week are listed below. Please refer to the members website for further details of individual events.
Not long now until the first beach lunch of the season on Friday 5th May. Time to get out the flip-flops, sun hat and the sun cream and head down to Antonio’s Beach Restaurant. The cost for the three course meal including beer, wine and softdrinks is €40 per person. For everyone who hasn’t already done so, there is an entry list outside the Spike Bar.
Next Sunday the Club celebrates one of our oldest national day holidays, St.George’s Day. Never mind that St.George never visited England, never fought a dragon, and almost certainly never swilled real ale or swallowed roast beef, every year on 23rd April the English mark has saint’s day as their very own. Come and join in the festivities which start with a golf competition in the morning (red and white apparel obligatory) followed by lunch and entertainment. Golfers should sign in via the booking system, while non-golfers should register on the list outside the Spike Bar.
Coming up in May is the annual Ben Hogan Trophy – a 2 day match against Pinheiros Altos, now in its 13th year. The format of the match is 10 pairings of ladies and mens fourballs at Pinheiros Altos on Friday 12th May. This is followed on Saturday 13th May with 20 pairs of mixed fourballs at Quinta do Lago. The competition is rounded off with a lunch hosted by CGQL in the Captain’s Lounge for players and non-playing guests, at which the Trophy will be awarded to the winning Club. The total entry fee is €35 per player, including (at both venues) welcome coffees and buggies, and the final lunch at Quinta. Please watch out for the entry list outside the Spike Bar.
All buggy signage has been removed from the approach to the greens on both courses and replaced with automatic warnings that appear on the GPS system in the hired buggies. The warning is activated if you stray closer than between 90 and 100 metres from the green, and you must then make your way back to the buggy path. Members who use their own buggy must still respect these distances even though there are no longer specific signs on the course. 
Graham Morgan, fitness coach at ActiveQ – one of our Gala Week sponsors, wants to get you fitter for golf. A specialised programme will help you hit the ball further, play more consistently and stop all those post-match aches and pains. 
Newsletter of Quinta do Lago Golf Club 