Quinta do Lago Golf

Tournament Review – Quinta do Lago –13th July 2013

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This week we played the beautiful Quinta do Lago North course as part of our “Quinta Series” of games over the summer.  Having already played Laranjal and we will  finish with a visit to the South Golf Course on 24th August.  All the players appreciated the fantastic value meal which included a superb buffet with wine and Sangria after the match provided by Felipe and his staff, at Chez Carlos Restaurant.  Our thanks go to them.

We had a large field of 32 players and we were pleased to welcome many guests including 8 visitors from over the border in Ayamonte.  We hope they enjoyed their day and we look forward to welcoming them again at any time in the future.

Starting in sultry conditions the sun eventually came through and it was a fine day for golf.  The golf course was in top condition.  The greens were particularly good, being fast and true.

In view of the size of the field, we had 5 cash prizes and bottles of wine for 2 nearest the pins and a Longest Drive.

The scoring was generally good with 14 players scoring over 30 points.

The winner though, had a special round.  Playing off only 7 hcp, a reduction of 2 in view of his recent successes, Fraser Graham, shot 4 gross birdies in an opening 9 holes and whilst not as spectacular continued to hold his game together on the back 9 to score a magnificent 41 points.  (I fear that Carlos will impose a further reduction next time!)

Second was Darren Hampshy, visiting from Albufeira, with another excellent score of 37 points.  Third, and continuing his good form recently was member Peter Densham with 36 points,

4th was Carlos Ferreira’s guest, Pedro Silvestre who scored a fine 35 points, whilst returning member Peter McMahon finished 5th on 34 points.

Nearest the pin at the 8th hole was Tom Taylor who arrived just in time to claim his bottle of wine before it was consumed by his playing partners!

The longest drive on the 11th hole went to Fraser Graham who launched a mighty blow straight down the middle.

The final nearest the pin prize on the 16th hole was won by Barry Partner and so the cross border raid scored a minor success!

As had been the case on the previous “Quinta Series” , Carlos had managed to organise some special prizes which were drawn at random.  A voucher for 2 nights for 2 people at the Vila Gale Hotel in Vilamoura was won by member Mark Punter.  A similar voucher for any Luna Hotel which includes the Olympus in Vilamoura was won by guest Simon Wingfield.

As mentioned above, we were treated to a superb meal afterwards at Chez Carlos Restaurante .  It seems that many players continued to enjoy each other’s company for a long time afterwards both in Chez Carlos and Parky’s bar .

Quinta Series: Laranjal, 9th June 2013

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Chez Carlos – Quinta Series – Laranjal Sunday 9th June 2013

Set in a valley of orange groves behind the Quinta do Lago resort, this beautiful golf course was the setting for this week’s Chez Carlos Golf Society outing. Those who had played the course previously were loud in its praise before we started and those who had not were similarly impressed afterwards.

The course meanders through parkland with sufficient trees to cause problems for the stray shot, but sparse enough to allow a recovery. Similarly there is just enough well placed water to make several holes memorable for their design and testing to play. The greens were fast and true with subtle borrows to make them a test for even the best of putters. The rest of us just had to accept what happened! The course was immaculately presented and the staff were friendly, courteous and efficient. This is a lovely golf course.

Scoring on the whole was excellent with 9 players scoring in the 30’s. The winner though was David Exley with 38 points, 19 on each 9. Second place went to Peter Bell with 37 points, who benefitted from his new “official” handicap of 20. In 3rd place was Nuno Louro with 36, including 22 on the outward 9 where he holed putts from vast distances much to his delight! Unfortunately the back 9 proved more difficult.

There were two nearest the pin prizes this week and selecting from the 5 par 3’s was difficult as none is shorter than 155 metres. Hole 3 was perhaps the most straightforward and Bob Guard won the bottle of wine with a fine shot to within 3 metres. The testing 11 at 170 metres proved more difficult with Neil Rogerson pipping Ron McLachlan by a few centimetres, but still some way from the flag.

Carlos had two special prizes which were drawn from all the cards, the first a 1 hour physiotherapy massage was won by David Exley, and the second – a free entry to the next match in the series at Quinta North – was won by Peter Bell. First and second again!

Afterwards we were treated to a superb lunch and wine back at Chez Carlos restaurant. Thanks go to Felipe and all his staff for their food and their service. Thanks too to Carlos for organising such a great day at a truly remarkable price.

Quinta do Lago Series – Laranjal Sunday 9th June 2013

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Set in a valley of orange groves behind the Quinta do Lago resort, this beautiful golf course was the setting for this week’s Chez Carlos Golf Society outing.  Those who had played the course previously were loud in its praise before we started and those who had not were similarly impressed afterwards.

IMG_20130609_085148

The course meanders through parkland with sufficient trees to cause problems for the stray shot, but sparse enough to allow a recovery.  Similarly there is just enough well placed water to make several holes memorable for their design and testing to play.  The greens were fast and true with subtle borrows to make them a test for even the best of putters.  The rest of us just had to accept what happened!  The course was immaculately presented and the staff were friendly, courteous and efficient.  This is a lovely golf course.

Scoring on the whole was excellent with 9 players scoring in the 30’s.  The winner though was David Exley with 38 points, 19 on each 9.  Second place went to Peter Bell with 37 points, who benefitted from his new “official” handicap of 20.  In 3rd place was Nuno Louro with 36, including 22 on the outward 9 where he holed putts from vast distances much to his delight!  Unfortunately the back 9 proved more difficult.IMG_20130609_092533

There were two nearest the pin prizes this week and selecting from the 5 par 3’s was difficult as none is shorter than 155 meters.  Hole 3 was perhaps the most straightforward and Bob Guard won the bottle of wine with a fine shot to within 3 meters.  The testing 11 at 170 metres proved more difficult with Neil Rogerson pipping Ron McLachlan by a few centimeters, but still some way from the flag.

Carlos had two special prizes which were drawn from all the cards, the first a 1 hour physiotherapy massage was won by David Exley, and the second – a free entry to the next match in the series at Quinta North – was won by Peter Bell.  First and second again!

Afterwards we were treated to a superb lunch and wine back at Chez Carlos restaurant.  Thanks go to Felipe and all his staff for their food and their service.  Thanks too to Carlos for organizing such a great day at a truly remarkable value .