The

River Cloud Results—Full Handicap 1 KLIMCKE SANDIE 35 41 32 34 142

2 PEIFER LEN 35 35 35 32 137

3 HARRIS JULIE 30 31 35 36 132

4 QUINN PETER 25 40 35 32 132

5 TURTON PETER 33 36 34 29 132

6 TRAFFORD ANTHONY 30 36 39 25 130

7 DANGERFIELD NEIL 33 34 26 34 127

8 KLIMCKE SIMON 29 39 33 26 127

9 HARRIS IAN 25 28 34 32 119

10 HUDSON DI 26 32 30 31 119

11 BARKER MALCOLM 30 28 29 29 116

12 SINGLETON MIKE 23 33 37 23 116

13 BICHARD JOAN 29 30 26 29 114

14 WEBSTER MARY 28 27 28 30 113

15 JAGGER JOHN 28 33 22 29 112

16 CROSSLAND DENISE 28 30 27 26 111

17 LE MAISTRE JANE 26 34 20 30 110

18 QUINN MICHELLE 24 30 27 27 108

19 BACH KIKI 25 33 23 26 107

20 LONG JOSIE 23 30 26 21 100

suringly expensive Russian cav-iar. The only pity was that by now it was pouring with rain and we were unable to enjoy the garden. The nibbles were so good that some were thinking that we did-n’t need dinner, but the restau-rant had been booked and so 9 of us went and didn’t regret it. The Moules Frites were certainly the best I have ever tasted.

Next day dawned grey, cold and windy and as we were heading for the coast at Royal Ostende I feared we might be in for a past-ing. As it turned out it was just blustery showers and although we got wet it wasn’t too bad. The rough was quite penal but again straight driving was rewarded and Jackie Carter and Malcolm Barker excelled with 38, with Lodewijk the only other player to get near his handicap with 35. By the time we drove home the rain was lashing down and it didn’t stop all evening.

When we woke the next day it was hard to tell whether the sun had risen at all. Breakfast was subdued while we watched the rain pour down. But golfers are

As Helen remarked as we drove down the slip road to Dover docks, “The White Cliffs are rather spotty”, but to me they are a bit more than an item in a Vera Lynn song. I spent the years from 13 to 20 living about 4 miles from the edge and spent many a happy hour playing amongst the gun emplacements with my brother. On our way to Bruges they were bathed in sunlight and the English Channel sparkled in the morning sun.

We were soon aboard the P&O ferry sitting in the lounge watch-ing those iconic cliffs disappear over the horizon as the rather inferior French version (just as spotty) hove into view. In short it was a beautiful September day to be travelling to one of Europe’s prettiest cities.

I only mention this because it was practically the last time we saw the sun on this ill fated trip. We checked in to the luxurious Kempinski Dukes’ Palace right in the centre of the ancient city and felt immediately at home. A wel-come cocktail in the garden was extremely convivial even if it was without John Tate who had failed

to adjust his clock!

Our first round was at Oostburg just over the border in Holland and although the sun kept shin-ing the gathering clouds looked ominous. This course was a last minute substitute and although the layout was excellent the gen-eral consensus was that they should have spent a bit more on course maintenance and a bit less on the enormous clubhouse. The rock hard fairways kept the ball rolling until it hit the trees which were of the thin, spindly kind forming impenetrable thick-ets making it virtually impossible to recover. Frustrating really but if you were driving the ball straight it wasn’t that hard. Pat-rick Vaulkhard enjoyed it with 37 points and Dave Newmarch and Malcolm Barker both scored 36 and Brenda Tily had her best Greencard showing with 35.

After the round Lodewijk Schlingemann and his charming mother Gretje invited us to her little country cottage for drinks before dinner. They were won-derful hosts. Gretje had pre-pared plates of cheese and little canapés topped with some reas-

John Meagher, Malcolm Barker, John Tate and Caroline Walker shelter from the rain at Zoute

ZOUTE ALORS!

C o n t e n t s

Tour Points 2

Yorkshire 3

Ireland 4

Denmark 5

Looking Forward to 2014

6

Changing of the Guard

9

Grand Finals Quinta do Lago

10

Scotland 8

Kent 7

G r e e n c a r d G o l f H o l i d a y s 3 P a g e s Y a r d , C h u r c h S t r e e t , L o n d o n W 4 2 P A T e l : 0 1 2 4 9 8 2 1 5 0 7 F a x : 0 1 2 4 9 8 2 1 4 5 8 W e b : w w w . g r e e n c a r d g o l f. c o . u k Golfer

S e p t e m b e r 2 0 1 3 V o l u m e 5 , I s s u e 3

In Th is Issue

Bruges

Ireland

Yorkshire

Ayrshire

Sandwich

2014 Brochure

Scotland

Changing of the

Guard

Grand Finals Venue

Bruges Results—Stableford 1 BARKER MALCOLM 36 38 25 30 129

2 TATE JOHN 33 32 31 26 122

3 MEAGHER JOHN 29 28 33 31 121

4 WALKER ALISTAIR 34 27 31 29 121

5 ROBINSON IAN 33 28 28 28 117

6 WALKER CAROLINE 29 32 31 25 117

7 VINE RICHARD 34 22 33 26 115

8 CARTER JACKIE 30 38 27 20 115

9 SCHLINGEMANN L’WIJK 32 35 20 26 113

10 VAULKHARD PATRICK 37 28 28 19 112

11 APPELDOORN CASPAR 24 29 26 25 104

12 ROTHWELL DAVID 20 29 30 20 99

13 NEWMARCH DAVID 36 32 0 20 88

14 TILY BRENDA 35 30 16 0 81

15 BARKER RITA 26 23 16 13 78

16 VALCKE MARTINE 0 26 28 15 69

17 BERNARD HELEN 29 26 0 10 65

18 SCHLINGEMANN G’TJE 21 0 16 6 43

P a g e 2

THE RACE TO QUINTA DO LAGO AFTER BRUGES Name Hcp Points Club Name Hcp Points Club Name Hcp Points Club

ever optimistic and so we set off for Royal Latem through clouds of spray with crazy Belgian drivers behaving as though they were racing at Spa. When we arrived at the club, a beautiful park-land course, we were met by the caddy master and head green keeper who informed us he was on the verge of closing the course. A few minutes spent huddled over the rainfall radar and we decided to have a coffee and see what it was like in 30 mins. As it turned out the sun came out and we were given the green light. We got through 9 holes on this exquisitely maintained course before the rain re-turned, and boy did it rain. There was another brief interlude with some sun before the final deluge. But being hardy souls we all finished and none of us regretted it as the course was su-perb. Unsurprisingly it was the early starters, John Meagher and your hum-ble correspondent, who had the best of the weather and the best score with 33 apiece. Caroline and Alastair Walker and John Tate were next with 31. So this left Malcolm, a few weeks short of his 80th birthday, on top of the pile with 99, 3 shots clear of the Tour Points chasing John Tate and Jackie Carter. The rather snobby secretary at Royal Zoute has clearly forgotten that we left a million dead soldiers behind us to

free little Belgium from the Boche, as at first she refused to honour her ver-bal agreement to let us play, and then only grudgingly allowed us to book when our good friend Martine Valcke intervened on our behalf with a little help from the Captain. We had to agree to be off the tee by 09.45 which meant a very early departure from Bruges. The weather was awful again and a fairly glum group of English struggled in the car park with brollies and waterproofs. On the first few holes it wasn’t too bad. Just a howling gale with intermit-tent showers but by the time we got to the 8th hole, a little par 3 of 165 yards, only one of our group made it to the front with a driver and even then the wind blew the ball back into a bunker. By the time we got to the 9th, the green was flooded and a small group of Greencarders stood by the halfway hut hoping that the tournament direc-tor would call it off. Indeed as I had cleverly left my waterproofs in the bedside dresser at my Mum’s house I felt as though I had just been pulled out of an icy swimming pool fully clothed. Marching back to the club-house with a half hearted demand for a partial refund and a good lunch seemed by far the most sensible deci-sion. But just as I was about to aban-don play with a 9 hole comp John

Meagher made an impassioned plea to carry on as he had 3 Tour Points and wanted to win his place in the Finals. The course wasn’t officially closed and the 9th green was visibly improving in front of our eyes. So against my personal better judgment we decided to complete the round. Hard to say whether it was the right decision as the conditions were awful but the course was excellent. The rough wasn’t too penal and so scoring was possible. John Meagher was best of the day with 31, a herculean effort of concentration in the circumstances, and it was enough to pro-pel him to 3rd place and a ticket to Portu-gal. Malcolm continued his good form with 30 and so stormed to victory by 7 points. John Tate was second and so will be joining John and Malcolm at the Finals as will Ian Robinson. Caroline Walker was leading lady and poor old Jackie just missed out on her place in the Finals by 2 measly points. The French say Zut Alors! when things aren’t going their way. Loosely translated it means Damn It! I always say that my job is 99% weather dependent and in this case I got a big fat F. Zoute Alors! But having said that we all loved the city and although the courses were a little burnt out after the dry summer they were all good and very enjoyable. I think that Bruges is worthy of a return visit and hopefully next time we’ll see the sun.

Gerald Gentle 13 28 John O'Gaunt

Neil Gillam 9 24 Wentworth

Neil McGarva 5 24 Kilmacolm Martin Fell 4 20 Copt Heath

Peter Roe 12 20 Workington

Paul C Speakman 10 19 Workington

Anthony Trafford 14 19 Eaton

Melvyn Fern 14 18 Willesley Park

John M Tate 9 18 Berkhamsted

Anne Bridges 4 17 Mentmore

Lodewijk Schlingemann 17 16 Moscow CC

Pauline Crosthwaite 7 15 Hankley Common

Tim Elliott 12 15 Hankley Common

Ian Robinson 8 15 Rufford Park

Patrick Vaulkhard 16 15 Beeston Fields

Sally Ward 20 15 Royal Lytham

Philip Crossland 14 14 Southport Old Links

Ian Harris 8 11 Domaine Imperial

Julie Harris 10 11 Domaine Imperial

Val Harrison 23 11 Shirley

Malcolm Barker 12 10 Harewood Downs

Elizabeth Fern 11 10 Willesley Park

Robert Girvan 11 10

Ian McWhirter 17 10 Drumpelier

John Meagher 6 10 Forest Pines

Barry Birdsall 15 9 Woburn

Jackie Carter 14 9 Rufford Park

Karen Hartley 15 9

John Shearan 5 9 Co Louth Channy Sims 14 9 St George's Hill

Russell Smit 5 9 Woburn Rod Churchill 12 8 Royal Mid Surrey

Bill Davidson 12 8 New St Andrews

Sharon Fell 25 8 Redditch

Barry Limb 13 8 Prestbury

Christine Richardson 22 8 Celtic 2010

Mike Singleton 18 8 Penwortham

Phil Bermingham 9 7 Fulwell

Dennis Coe 14 7 Don Cayo

Inge Kent 17 7 Windlesham

Tony Marshall 12 7 Wildwood

Ann Saunders 13 7 Little Aston

Alistair Walker 7 7 Copt Heath

John Ward 14 7 Anglesey

Robert Young 7 7 Moray

Melanie Barton 10 6 Sandiway

Simon Fisher 13 6 Chart Hills

Janette Roe 14 6 Workington

Tony Wells 8 6 Triangle

Malcolm Baker 11 5 East Devon

Richard Bleakley 14 5 North Wales

Pat Bute 14 5 Camberley

George Chambers 24 5 Castletown

Angela Churchill 20 5 Royal Mid Surrey

Linda Coe 22 5 Don Cayo

Neil Dalton 12 5 Meon Valley

Stella Goldstein 16 5 Torksey

Oliver Newman 4 5 Delamere

David Rothwell 7 5 Shaw Hill

Melanie Staff 17 5 Woburn

Caroline Walker 10 5 Copt Heath

Derek Blackburn 18 4 Aspley G & Woburn S

Alan Bute 16 4 Camberley

Adrian Carran 9 4 Ladbrook Park

Diana Hudson 8 4 Royal Guernsey

Glyn Pepper 6 4 Wellingborough

Philip Raybone 9 4 Hankley Common

Joan M Bichard 8 3 Royal Guernsey

Kathleen Birdsall 21 3 Woburn

Anne Day 18 3 Dulwich & Sydenham

David Johnstone 10 3 Bramhall Park

William McGinnes 15 3 Troon Welbeck

Alan Orritt 9 3 Penwortham

Paul Traynor 16 3 Ashbourne

Dorothy Blackburn 16 2 Aspley G & Woburn S

Jackie Bleakley 16 2 North Wales

Neil Dangerfield 22 2 La Moye

Reuben Fielding 11 2 Davenport

Peter Miles 16 2 Lee-on-the-Solent

Jonnie Oldham 20 2

Marian Raybone 15 2 Hankley Common

Mike Reynolds 9 2 Fulwell

Margaret Ryan 29 2 Balbriggan

Peter Abbott 12 1 Ladbrook Park

Caspar Appeldoorn 16 1 Moscow CC

June Gauke 20 1 Lincoln

Sandie Klimcke 11 1 Clandon Regis

Dave Simpson 14 1 Sundridge Park

Seamus & John Shearan stand on the step below so as not to tower over Glen and Jackie

P a g e 3

John Shearan, Jackie Carter & Neil McGarva at Co Louth Golf Club

PAUL SPEAKMAN MAKES IT TWO IN A ROW FOR WORKINGTON

Yorkshire Results—Stableford

The event in Yorkshire was held over three rounds and included some of the finest courses in the county. We assembled for the opening round at Ilkley Golf Club. This very picturesque parkland design offered the opportunity for the group to start the week on a reasonably straight forward track before tackling the more challenging courses in the following days.

Paul Speakman was the one to make the early move with a tremendous 38 points. Anne Bridges was hot on his tail with 37 whilst Phil Crossland finished with 34, a remarkable effort considering the car problems he had endured that very morning. His usual Angel Jimenez Style warm up routine ruined by having to spend the time trying to source jump leads from anybody who could help. Linda was clearly affected by the whole affair as she had to scramble to achieve 26 points, but a good second round could put her back in contention.

We were staying at a De Vere hotel just a few minutes drive to the golf courses. Its location allowed easy access to several restaurants close by or the option of a short taxi journey into Leeds centre. A few members of the group headed to a recom-mended Argentinean steak restaurant, where clients had a card that was green on one side and red on the other. If the green side was showing the staff contin-ued to serve the table with different cuts of meat from the menu of over twenty types. In principle this is a great idea but when you have eight people on a table all with different ideas of how much steak they can eat the green and red card idea does struggle to cope!

The following day we all moved to Alwood-

ley for the second round and were de-lighted to see the Crosslands arrive with-out problems. This is a truly beautiful course and as you walk under the arch-way from the car park area to the first tee the view, with the sun shining, is simply breathtaking. The course cer-tainly offers a challenge, with some won-derful holes and is a pleasure to play. As this event was over 54 holes the second round was all the more important and it was Ian Robinson who made a signifi-cant move towards the top with a fantas-tic 36 points. Reuben Fielding, Jackie Carter and Paul Speakman all finished the day with 33. Meanwhile Anne Bridges dropped down the leader board a little with 29.

Going in to the final round Paul held a four shot lead over Ian, with the field then very tightly placed with only five shots covering the next five positions. It was going to be interesting to see if the winner would come from the final group or somebody could pass from the pack to take victory. All would be revealed at our final course, Moortown. This is an-other fantastic course and as you enter the clubhouse you can’t help but feel its wonderful history.

The opening hole is tough par 4 and the first move of the round was made with Paul not scoring and Ian making a solid par. At the next hole, another par 4 Ian found the bunker with his approach shot and made bogey. Anne made a good par here and the three way race in the final group was well and truly in motion. At the half way stage there was only a few points separating Paul, Ian and Anne. At the short par 3 10th hole Paul’s tee shot

flew over the green leaving an impossible up and down resulting in a bogey. Ian then missed a shot putt on the same hole to also make a four. Meanwhile, Anne made a solid par and gained a point on the other two. The 11th hole is a short par 4 but Paul’s approach shot again went long which took him out of the hole. Ian made par and this brought him with a point. The 12th is a downhill par 5 where Paul sunk a huge putt to save par and Ian missed an-other short one to loose the advantage gained at the previous hole. Anne was hanging in there too and with only a few holes to go the victory could go to any of them, providing of course that nobody from the pack had shot 40 points and above. Although given the difficulty of the course this seemed unlikely.

The next couple of holes went in Paul’s favour but then on the 16th Ian hit a tre-mendous approach shot which led to a birdie and brought him within touching distance of Paul. However, the last two holes were played in style by Paul resulting in two pars and a finishing score of 32 and 103 in total. This proved enough to secure the victory and gave Workington Golf Club their second successive tour event winner following Peter Roe in Ireland. Anne and Ian both finished the round with 33 points, giving Ian second place on 100 and Anne third on 99.

Congratulations must also go to Phil Cross-land who came through all the jump lead issues to finish in fourth place and qualify for the finals in November.

Ian Robinson, Anne Bridges and Paul Speakman in Sunny Yorkshire

1 SPEAKMAN PAUL 38 33 32 103

2 ROBINSON IAN 31 36 33 100

3 BRIDGES ANNE 37 29 33 99

4 CROSSLAND PHIL 34 28 31 93

5 ELLIOTT TIM 28 29 35 92

6 CARTER JACKIE 31 33 28 92

7 CARRAN ADRIAN 31 32 27 90

8 ORRITT ALAN 32 26 29 87

9 FIELDING REUBEN 26 33 27 86

10 ABBOTT PETER 30 30 26 86

11 TRAFFORD ANTHONY 26 30 29 85

12 MEAGHER JOHN 33 24 28 85

13 MUNROE RICHARD 35 30 20 85

14 SINGLETON MIKE 33 23 27 83

15 MCGARVA NEIL 28 24 27 79

16 SUMNER PETER 28 25 24 77

17 WARD JOHN 28 25 21 74

18 CROSSLAND LINDA 26 20 24 70

19 DORSEY LARRY 26 16 24 66

Marshall was just one point back and this was followed by a three shot gap to Brian Haynes in third.

The following day the average score in the field had increased but the best remained at 33 points. Linda Crossland was all but an inch from recording a wonderful hole in one, I believe it was an arrowed 3 iron which rattled the pin!

However, the day belonged to Carol Jones on her first Greencard event and Alan McLaughlin who shared the top spot. At the half way mark Alan was leading the field on 62 points with Brian, Lewis and Tony all hot on his heels with 60.

The sun was still shining and the temperature was still rising as we teed off on the Sunday morn-ing. The scores dramatically im-proved with over half the field shooting over 30. However, it was Geoff Bickerton playing off a handicap of 3 who came into form with 36 points. Brian continued to play well and finished the day on 35. Lindsey Parker shot 34 and was enough to secure her spot in the final four ball in the last round.

So as we began the last round Brian held a slender two shot ad-vantage over Lindsey and three shots over Geoff and Tony.

Bowood is a course where you really cannot relax on any hole. You really do have to play well to achieve a good score

here. Despite some horrendous lies in the bunkers Geoff battled away and showed just why he is playing off 3. His 36 points was well de-served but Brian ensured that the door was firmly closed as he carded par upon par. His final round of 40 points really was excellent to watch and despite the pressure, by the 17th the tournament winner had all but been decided.

Our congratulations to Brian who qualifies for the Greencard Finals in October at the wonderful Monte da Quinta in Portugal. Geoff Bickerton eventually finished in second place with Lindsey Parker taking third spot. Carol Jones' great round of 41 points on the last day was enough to secure fifth.

Thanks to all who attended the event. The overall feedback for the hotel and golf setup at Bowood was very positive and we hope to revisit in the near future.

It has been many years since the Greencard Tour visited Bowood, indeed since our last event there much has changed. The problem in the past was the question of where to stay, as hotels within easy reach really are limited.

However, there is now a wonderful hotel and spa on site which al-lowed us to return. The layout of this fabulous course in the grounds of Bowood House course has been altered as the order the two nines are played have been reversed. This Dave Thomas de-sign laid out in beautiful Capability Brown parkland, has already gained a very good reputation.

As always with the UK events you are wary of the forecast as the date approaches. In this instance we really couldn't have timed it better, we enjoyed glorious weather for the four days and the only time an umbrella was seen was to protect its owner against the sun!

With our shorter events we miss out the AM AM and head straight into the main competition. We decided to play the course from the white tees which gave the men a testing 6890 yards to negoti-ate. The ladies par was 75 but again was a good distance at a touch over 6000 yards.

The scores on the first round were reasonably low with the highest being just 33. This belonged to Lewis Mosse who was again find-ing his form after an excellent 2010 on the Greencard Tour. Tony

SLIGO SUN SHINES ON PETER ROE

I first visited Ireland in the winter of 1984 with a tour of the South West, and ever since we have had an annual Irish event. Whilst the weather has usually been pretty kind to us (no sniggering at the back please) we have never seen anything remotely rivalling our recent tour in Co Sligo. Ireland’s North West is not normally renowned for its surfing and sunbathing but this week we have played golf alongside some normally deserted, beautiful beaches that have been thronged with bathers and surfers enjoy-ing Ireland’s best heat wave in living memory. We wore shorts and factor 50 everyday and the biggest complaint was lack of water to drink on the course. The North West of Ireland is largely undiscovered by mass tourism and consequently the at-mosphere is traditional Irish hospital-ity. The recession has also reinvigorated the Irish desire to provide good service at a reasonable cost. The Celtic Tiger is now purring rather than roaring but to the outsider the country feels more comfort-able with itself. Rampant consumerism was never really the Irish way. Whilst I am sure that the internal de-valuation is having devastating effects on the economy and people’s lives, they are stoical and still smiling. The most telling area is the effect it has had on room rates and green fees. There are pack-ages to be had everywhere and the Co Sligo Golf Pass formed the backbone of this trip. Strandhill, Enniscrone and Rosses Point are three magnificent links and we added the Co Donegal club at Murvagh for good measure. For our base we chose the excellent Radisson SAS at Rosses Point and once again we were not disappointed. Large rooms, comfortable beds, a hearty breakfast and a welcoming bar form the basic ingredients for a good

golf holi-day. Add in perfect weather and beautiful golf courses and it becomes memorable. After an excel-lent cocktail reception where we re-united with old friends most of us sat down for a meal in the hotel. One man making his reappear-ance was our

old friend the Bookie – Ted Steed. Not seen on tour since 1999, Ted was one of the most popular members throughout the 80’s and 90’s. He went to Australia and has now returned and his broad smile was a reminder of those fabulous Bookie’s Classics. He declared that he had retired from bookmaking and teed off at Strandhill in the first round as a competitor. This was the shortest of the courses we were to play and in perfect windless conditions I expected good scoring. But the rough was up and only the straightest hitters were going to profit. John Tate is one of those and he led the way with 36. Pauline Crosthwaite led the ladies with 35 and the ever present John Shearan was close at hand with 34. New boy on tour, Phil Ber-mingham was next alongside Sally Ward and Malcolm Baker. On another perfect day we had a bit of a drive down the coast to Enniscrone. This links has undergone a major transition in recent years and is now a real mon-ster. Again the rough was up and coupled with several blind drives conditions were tough. Someone was searching for a ball on almost every hole. The round seemed interminable and was an endurance test for concentration. Ian Harris was the only one to take a caddy and freely admitted that it saved him at least half a dozen shots on his way to 36. Pauline Crosthwaite, George Chambers and Peter Roe were all one back on 35 and that left Pauline out in front at the halfway stage ahead of Ian Harris, Peter Roe, Sally Ward and John Shearan. But at just a couple of minutes under 6 hrs the round was hard work in spite of the stunning views. Next up we headed North to Co Donegal GC, better known as Murvagh, leaving Sligo enveloped in thick fog. This soon

cleared as we approached one of my favourite links in Ireland. In contrast to Enniscrone there are few blind shots and you can see what you have to do from the tee. But that is not to say it is any easier. Tricky greens and devilish bunkers keep the wayward hon-est. There must have been a similarity to Fulwell in Middx as both Phil Ber-mingham and Mike Reynolds accompa-nied John Shearan to 37 points. Peter Roe kept up his challenge with 36 and Peter Quinn and Malcolm Baker were just behind on 35. So John & Peter Roe tied for the lead on 103, two clear of Phil, and Pauline was one further back. Mike Reynolds, Sally, Ian Harris and John Tate were all in striking distance but they would need a miracle. Our final round was at Rosses Point. A wonderful links in the shadow of the majestic Ben Bulben shaped like an alien machine from Star Wars. The course starts quite benignly climbing a gentle slope for a couple of holes and then descending before you stand on the 5th hole high on a cliff above the fairway with the whole course laid out below with views of the coast stretching far into the distance. There wouldn’t have been many in Greencard who would have bet against John Shearan to take the title. Coming from one of Ire-land’s toughest links courses he is used to the conditions and when he came in with 37 we assumed he had won, but we hadn’t reckoned with the resilience of Peter Roe who played a stunning final round of 39 to win by two. Malcolm Baker and Sally Ward scored 36 but Pauline still hung on to the La-dies prize and 3rd place, both ladies qualifying for the finals. Ian Harris’ 34 was also enough for him to qualify. But they were all overshadowed on the day by John Ward who found his touch in fine style with 40 points. It’s a wonder that we have not been to Sligo since 2007 because the quality of the courses and the hotel are hard to beat, but traditionally the North West serves up a diet of cloud and wind and rain. But those who attended this event will be telling their grandchildren about the heat wave of 2013 and one of the best golf holidays ever. Next year we return to the East Coast where the weather is supposedly finer and we will be based in Portmarnock for the Old Course, the Links, The Island and Baltray. Another fabulous selection of links courses to whet the appetite and all just a few miles from Dublin.

John Shearan, Peter Roe & Pauline Crosthwaite in Sunny Sligo

form again with an excellent 39 and Pat-rick ensured he was still in the running with 37. So going into the final round Melvyn had a four point lead from Patrick, Karen now in third position was a point further back. The rain forecast for the final day was a little worrying but as we set off for Holste-bro the clouds didn't look too threaten-ing. Holstebro is a wonderful tree lined course where each hole has been cleverly designed so that you can only see the hole you are playing. As the leaders set off the question was whether Melvyn could hold onto his four shot lead or could the chasing pack come through. After playing so well all week Melvyn had a slightly shaky start to pro-ceedings and with just 12 points after nine holes. This gave hope to those be-hind but Patrick was also struggling for the first time in the week and although Karen had a solid start she had not managed to significantly narrow the gap. The back nine started in a similar fashion for Melvyn but on the 13th he finally redis-covered his swing. Four pars on the run followed allowing him the freedom to en-joy the final two holes in the knowledge that the victory was secured. However, there was still the question of who would claim second place. Patrick having found some trouble on the 18th slotted a long putt for a point taking his final round score to 26, which would ultimately leave him just a shot behind Karen whose 28 points secured the runner up position. Tony Mar-shall had a great round with 33 which moved him into fourth place. Congratulations also go to Anne Fern and Neil McGarva who qualified for the finals week in November. The five courses played during our stay all supplied different challenges but all were very enjoyable to play. The hotel was well positioned with several restaurants and bars within easy walking distance and the location on the river was very pictur-esque. Denmark certainly gave us a great week and we would like to return in the future.

Greencard last visited Denmark 28 years ago and we felt it was time to return. We chose Silkeborg as our base and would travel to the various golf courses in the region. Silkeborg is delightful town with a main square from which you have the choice of sev-eral side roads each with a selection of restaurants and bars. We stayed at the Radisson Blu Hotel, originally a paper mill, the building has been converted into a hotel and several restau-rants. On the banks of the river which runs through Silkeborg, the setting is very picturesque and the terrace over-looking the river is a lovely place to enjoy a cold drink after golf. Although slightly cloudy when we ar-rived the weather was due to improve as the week progressed with a threat of rain on the final day. However, when we arrived for the Pairs event on the first day of golf at Stensballgaard the skies,were threatening and we feared a soaking. Fortunately, the wind actually picked up and kept the rain away giving us a virtually dry round. Stensballgaard is a links style course on the coast, a very open golf course with some excel-lent holes but little shelter from the prevailing winds making club selection very difficult. It was the combination of Dave Johns-tone and Tony Marshall who rose to the top of the pile with a tremendous bet-ter ball score of 45. Newcomer Karen Hartley took the runners up spot with Richard Munroe. Her fantastic shot on the 17th par 3 shall be remembered for many a year as the perfectly struck 8 iron bounced twice and rolled straight in the cup giving Karen her first hole in one. Huge congratulations. The first round of the tournament was at Silkeborg. This was a totally differ-ent set up from Stensballgaard with the course winding its way through trees and lakes. It is a hugely picturesque course and the group thoroughly en-

joyed the experience of playing. The only slight disappointment was that the greens were a touch slow. This didn't stop Melvyn Fern scoring a wonderful 40 points, Patrick Vaulkhard wasn't far behind with 38 and Tony Marshall continued where he left off from the Pairs with a solid 35. The weather had been glorious throughout

the day and as Silkeborg was only 10 min-utes from the hotel, we headed back to enjoy an early evening beverage on the terrace overlooking the river. The following morning the sky was still blue and the sun continued to shine as we headed over to Lubker. The course is rated amongst the best in the country and it is fair to say that the 18 holes were in-deed a test of golf. The greens were much quicker than the previous two rounds and accuracy was key on the ap-proach shots, if you found yourself on the wrong side of these Trent Jones designed greens you knew you were in for a battle to save par. The course was tough but again very enjoy-able to play. The scores, however, did not reach the heights of the previous round with the top score of 30 coming from Karen, two ahead of Anne Fern who fin-ished the day with 28. Melvyn, Tony and Patrick all carded 25 points. So at the half way stage Melvyn had hung onto his top spot by two shots from Patrick, Tony was five behind with Neil McGarva a fur-ther point back. Karen had moved up to 6th place after her solid second round and was the leading lady at this point. The weather on the free day was a little varied with sunshine and showers. Some of the group headed off to enjoy a river trip on the original steamer used by the paper mill. The destination was I think, the only hill in Denmark and although residents of Madeira may view it as a slight incline the locals are proud to describe it as a moun-tain! The following morning it was back to busi-ness with the third round, which was held at Lyngbygaard Golf Club. This was an extremely enjoyable course, the greens were excellent and it had a nice mix of risk and reward holes, generous fairways on some holes but position from the tee was crucial on others. The scores reflected this with Karen finishing with a tremen-dous 41 points. Melvyn had found his

MELVYN THE VICTOR OF JUTLAND

1 FERN MELVYN 37 25 39 31 132 2 HARTLEY KAREN 25 30 41 28 124 3 VAULKHARD PATRICK 35 25 37 26 123 4 MARSHALL TONY 32 25 32 33 122 5 MCGARVA NEIL 29 27 35 29 120 6 ROTHWELL DAVID 26 24 35 33 118 7 FERN ANNE 17 28 37 30 112 8 JOHNSTONE DAVID 16 26 35 28 105 9 DANGERFIELD NEIL 24 21 32 26 103

10 LODGE KATH 22 20 30 29 101 11 DANGERFIELD ANGELA 19 21 35 8 83

Denmark Results— Stableford

Melvyn Fern, Karen Hartley & Patrick Vaulkhard in Denmark

LET’S DO EL ROMPIDO

£499

FINALISTS FLIGHTS WILL NOT BE IN-CLUDED IN 2011

We have reluctantly decided that the flights to the Grand Finals in 2011 will not be included in the winners’ package. The reasons are quite simply cost. The price of tak-ing golf clubs alone is now over £50 on many airlines and when you throw in some hold luggage the flights are costing nearly £200.

We feel it would be better to im-prove the quality of the accommoda-tion and for this reason Finalists will receive a larger voucher that will enable them to stay in the hotel in future and if they choose the apart-ments they will receive the balance towards the cost of their flights. We believe this will enable us to offer everyone a better Finals Week.

TEEING IT UP IN 2014

world’s finest golf resort. We’ll spend 6 nights here because the golf is so good and it isn’t too far from the buzzy town of Knysna for the Free Days. South Africa is still a stable country and al-though life is getting tougher for the white residents it is still God’s country for the tourists.

Aphrodite Hills, Cyprus In late February the weather in the East-ern Med is usually much better than in Iberia. We’ve never been to Cyprus on a tour before but the Intercontinental at Aphrodite Hills has an excellent reputa-tion and a superb golf course. Their all inclusive lite package means cars are unnecessary and we should get a great group atmosphere. Also Easyjet are now doing so cheap flights to Paphos.

Abu Dhabi & Dubai This tour was a great success in 2013 and in 2014 we have tweaked it a little to improve it further. We will have the first 3 nights in Abu Dhabi at the Crowne Plaza overlooking the magnifi-cent Yas Links. And then we will move down to Dubai staying 5 Nights at the Sofitel Jumeirah, close to the Emirates courses. So a shorter transfer between hotels, a nice change from the Al Bustan and easier to fly in and out of Abu Dhabi with Etihad if you wish al-though Emirates is just as good from Dubai.

Cornelia Diamond in Turkey The 2013 trip was excellent in every respect except that people found the Faldo Cornelia course a bit tough. So we’ll only be playing two rounds there (one the Am Am) and two at Carya and 1 at Kaya Eagles. A five star all inclusive venue makes the trip a little more ex-pensive but of course the only spending money you will need is a beer after the games away from home.

Morfontaine and Chantilly My long friendship with France’s top Corsican surgeon Jean Natali has en-abled us one again to visit Morfontaine in France, a few minutes from Charles de Gaulle airport. We’ll be staying in the superb Hotel Mont Royal and also playing Chantilly Vineuil, Apremont and

Raray. But the highlight is Morfontaine, the most exclusive course in Europe. Unless you know a member you’ll never get to play it. So with my upcoming retirement and Jean celebrating his 92nd birthday this will surely be our last visit. Limited to just 32 places if you miss it you’ll miss it for ever.

The Great British Summer 2013 proved that if you’re patient there is a British summer and that is why we will hold our UK events in the second half. This year we have a su-perb schedule of 5 events. First off we have the Robin Hood Shoot out in Not-tingham with Hollinwell, Lindrick, Sher-wood Forest and Coxmoor. Then it’s over to Dublin for Portmarnock and the neighbouring Langer Links and includ-ing The Island, one of Ireland’s oldest links before finishing at Co Louth, Bal-tray one of the best. Back across the Irish Sea we have a fun weekend at The Vale in Glamorgan, a 36 hole venue with a superb hotel just minutes from the M4 in Wales. From there we return to our old favourite stomping ground, probably England’s finest stretch of Links Land on the Fylde Coast in Lancashire. Are there four better courses than Birkdale, Hillside, Formby and Southport & Aisndale so close together elsewhere in England?

Finally we’re off to Bournemouth for a short visit to one of England’s famous holiday resorts. The Marriott High Cliff hotel will put us in the mood for the superb golf at Remedy Oaks, Parkstone and Broadstone.

Cancun, Mexico Here’s a first for Greencard, the Moon Palace in Cancun, Mexico. Direct flights from Manchester and London make it very accessible to this all inclu-sive beach resort with it’s own Moon golf course and just a short drive from the fabulous Riviera Club. But to cap it all we will organise a day trip to the ancient Mayan capital of Chichen Itza one of the Seven Wonders. Sun, sea, golf and culture in one trip. This is a predominantly American resort so ex-pect a few loud voices especially if the Budweiser is flowing freely.

The 2014 programme is largely a Rich-ard Munroe design. There is a distinct move away from the more exotic Long-haul and European destinations and an increase in top quality UK venues.

Dona Filipa for New Year Since 1998 we have taken our New Year trip to the Middle or Far East with one memorable trip to Kenya, but we felt it was time to bring the event back to more affordable climes and so we will return to the Dona Filipa and San Lorenzo which was always one of our favourite destinations. Sadly this event has sold out and has a wait list al-though we are optimistic that we may be able to get more spaces nearer the time.

Phuket and Hua Hin Since our first visit to Thailand in 1992 we have covered the country and seen many changes. But there is no doubt that Phuket still wins hands down for the beaches and although the southern part of the island is a bit seedy the northern beaches are largely un-changed. The Indigo Pearl on Nai Yang Beach is a beautiful destination and from there we go to Hua Hin but in-stead of the Dusit we are moving to the Centara (formerly the Sofitel). A beauti-ful 5* hotel in large gardens and right on the beach but also right in town so easy to walk to all the restaurants, bars and shops. Only 3 rooms left on this trip now.

New Zealand Our fabulous tour of New Zealand, North & South Islands has been sold out for some time now. We only have two people on the wait list and so if you are keen to go let me know.

Cape Town & Garden Route This is probably our favourite destina-tion on earth for a golf holiday. Fabu-lous scenery, superb golf courses, won-derful hotels and delicious food and wine. In 2014 we will start as usual with 6 nights at The Vineyard in the shadow of Table Mt before moving to Arabella near Hermanus for 3 nights and then on to Fancourt at George which regularly wins awards for the

DOUBLE DECKER SANDWICH FOR PETER

I grew up a few miles from Deal and have always wanted to run an event on the marvellous stretch of coast between Deal and Sandwich that contains three Open Championship venues. But until very re-cently there hasn’t been any decent ac-commodation in the vicinity. But after years of wrangling the old clubhouse at Princes has been turned into a large very comfortable dormy house with a mix of rooms and apartments. Overlooking Peg-well Bay, The Lodge, is right up to Green-card standards. My first experience at Deal when I was 14 was also my first experience of golf. I cycled the 10 miles down to Royal Cinque Ports club and offered my services to the caddy master. He told me to wait in his hut and if anyone wanted a caddy I’d get a guaranteed 10 shillings plus tip. Eventu-ally a Rolls Royce turned up and the rather portly owner agreed to hire me. I knew enough to give him the driver and watched in awe as he went through his meticulous pre shot routine. Finally he settled over the ball and wound up for his drive that caught the bottom of the club and can-noned straight into the ladies tee box from where it ricocheted off and landed on the 18th green. Hardly suppressing a giggle and not knowing that it was the 18th green I handed him his putter and I was immedi-ately sent back to the clubhouse. Happily on my return this year we were rewarded with the most perfect day for golf on an English links. With our long socks and tailored shorts we could have easily got a game with Dennis Thatcher and Bill (of Private Eye fame). The course was dry and the ball ran for miles and although the rough was tough it was a very fair test. Janette Roe topped the leader board that day with 40 ahead of Dave Sullivan on 39. Peter Roe continued his Sligo form with 36 and Neil Gillam tucked himself comfortably into 4th place with 34. After the golf we repaired to the Lodge for drinks and dinner, and a very fine evening was had by all.

Our welcome at Royal St George’s was perhaps a tad cool in return for a green fee of £170 with the pro pleased to tell us that we were off the 10th, a five minute walk over the dunes that was more like 20 mins. He reluctantly allowed a couple of buggies on the course and when someone accidently missed the door to the changing rooms he was informed bluntly that jacket and tie was required once past the door. The steward seemed quite blunt as well and I was beginning to wish that we hadn’t included the dinner option. I know clubs have rules but when you charge £170 I do think that there should be a smile in the Pro Shop and a welcome in the clubhouse. “Good morning gents is there anything I can do to help you?” would have been nicer. But then RSG has always been like that and is unlikely to change any time soon. So we all trooped or drove to the 10th tee on another beautiful day with tempera-tures in the 80’s and endeavoured to take on the course that is reputed to be the toughest Open venue. It’s easy to see why. Unlike most links there are several severe dog legs where you need to hit a blind drive over the dunes, so the unwary can easily run out of fairway and even if he succeeds in hitting it he will surely find a pot bunker. A couple of marker posts would be really nice. RSG’s attitude to women is also well known and although the have begrudgingly allowed them to play they make little concession to them by growing the rough for at least 150 yards in front of the ladies tees. Only Angie Chur-chill managed to get round respectably with 32 points for second place behind Peter Roe’s sensational 39. Husband Rod Churchill was 3rd with 31 and Glyn Pepper and Tim Elliott were the only others to hit 30. We all reassembled on the terrace for pre dinner drinks as the sun bathed the course in that beautiful crepuscular light and we even managed to get a smile out of the barman, and George the deputy steward, seemed a lot more relaxed than his senior

partner. When we were called into din-ner I began to feel that this wouldn’t be such a bad evening after all. In fact the food was delicious, the servers extremely amusing and the setting perfect. No-body seemed in a hurry to get rid of us and by the end they were joining in the club gossip. Our group was pronounced one of the nicest they had had the privi-lege to serve and that included the up-coming visit of the Duke of York! After his performance in Sligo I cut Peter 1 shot but it clearly wasn’t enough as he was 14 shots clear after 2 rounds. An-gela and Janette were next on 61 and Neil was 4th on 60. It was always my intention to finish the tournament at George’s but the bookings sheet didn’t allow it so we played the championship at Princes on the final day. The day dawned beautifully sunny again and everyone was in shorts with short socks. Paradise-on-Sea. But as we ap-proached the 9th green we felt the first spots of rain and it quickly turned into a typical Skegness summer’s day. For 4 holes we trudged through the rain but it did eventually let up and we finished dry. The boiler for the clubhouse showers was unfortunately being repaired and so it was either cold showers or stay smelly. Most chose smelly and we sat in the clubhouse in our golf gear in great con-trast to the previous day. Peter duly finished the job with the day’s top score of 36 and Glynn Pepper showed signs of his former glory with 34. Kim Clark finally had a round to remem-ber with 33 as did Tim Elliott. In fact it was rather reassuring to play at Princes on that final round as it restored our faith in our swings. Bizarrely there were 5 players tied for 2nd place on 91, 20 points behind our leader, who had to be sorted on count-back. Luckily Tim’s 33 gave him 2nd place and his ticket to the finals and Rod Churchill was 3rd. Neil was 4th and Janette just pipped Angie for leading lady. So Peter will be off 12 at the Finals unless of course his club, Workington, decides that he should be lower. While most trooped off for a slow haul home in the rain on a Friday night an intrepid four stayed on for the Bruges trip. So I in-vited them over to the local pub in my Mum’s village of Wickhambreaux where we were joined by 3 sisters from Deal, who I’ve known since I was 15, and also Pat Stewart who was visiting from Ire-land. The Rose Inn is a traditional Kent-ish pub with real ales and hops hanging from the low beamed ceilings and it has to be said they put on a fine dinner on a busy evening. It was the perfect way to end our trip to my home county.

Patrick Vaulkhard, Pat Stewart, Lodewijk, John Meagher and Helen Bernard joined by Deborah & Vanessa under the Kentish Hops

In 2012 we ran an event to Carnoustie and whilst Monifeth and the champion-ship course at Carnoustie were extremely enjoyable, the feeling amongst the group was that there were elements that could be improved. This was the challenge set down for 2013 and I think we managed to achieve our goal in offering a quality golfing experience in Scotland. We stayed at the wonderful five star Lochgreen House Hotel which overlooks Royal Troon and the sea beyond. The rooms were some of the largest we have seen, the staff were very helpful and breakfast was always very enjoyable. The location was perfect for the golf courses with all of them being a short drive away. The opening round was played on Glas-gow Gailes, an Open qualifier course. Although a little windy there was no sign of rain as we set off. The course was in splendid condition and offered a good challenge with a mixture of long and short par 4’s, tough par 3’s and the odd par 5 thrown in. It was obviously a combination that suited Mike Singleton, who hadn’t been at his best in Yorkshire, as he came in with 37 points. This was a score matched by local boy Neil McGarva. Paul Speakman, having been cut a shot since his victory in Yorkshire, was still showing great form with 36. The second round at Royal Troon was the highlight of the event. The course was in tremendous condition and with good course management it was possible to score well. Playing the iconic holes on these historic courses is always a thrill and Tim Elliott mentioned prior to play that if he managed to par the postage stamp then the framed picture of the said hole being sold in the pro shop would have to be purchased. On completing his round it became apparent that Tim had indeed managed a par on the Postage Stamp and with a little persuasion he headed off to the pro-shop returning with

the rather large framed picture. At this point Tim remembered he was flying back to England rather than driving. It was subsequently off loaded to another mem-ber of the group to drive back South! Meanwhile the remaining scores were confirmed. Both Willie McGinnes and Paul Speakman had great rounds and with 37 points. Mike had another solid round with 36 and Neil was still in the hunt with 33. At the half way stage both Paul and Mike were on 73 whilst Neil was just three behind. However, with two more tough courses to come the winner could easily come from further down the field. The third round was at Western Gailes, another Open qualifier. The wind had picked up a little and the sky was a little darker but we were still enjoying dry con-ditions. Once again if you could keep your ball on the fairway then a good score was possible, however, if you ventured into the heather and beyond then it was time to move on and try the next hole! Neil Dalton had a wonderful day finishing with 37 points which moved him up to fourth position overall. Patrick Vaulkhard found some form also shooting 37 allow-ing him to jump up the leader board. Mike Singleton continued to impress with another good round of 35. Meanwhile Paul’s 33 left him just two points behind the leader Mike. However, Neil McGarva slumped to 28 which left him 10 points off the lead with one round to go. As we were sitting in the Clubhouse after the rain began to fall and we feared look-ing at the forecast and listening to the locals that the following day could be wet. We really hoped that this would not be the case as the final course, Dundonald Links, is a wonderful track and it would be a shame not to play it in the dry. It was therefore with some trepidation that I opened the curtains the following

morning. Instead of torrential rain all seemed remarkably calm outside. The news around breakfast was that we may well be lucky and miss the rain. Suddenly being first out on the last day did not seem so bad! Dundonald Links has ties with Loch Lo-mand and as you stand on the first tee you have the feeling that it will be a super course. It certainly was a treat to play and with the wind strengthening things became very interesting. After a couple of hours of play it became apparent that those used to playing in such conditions had a distinct chance of a decent score. News from the 18th green was that a big move had been made by Robbie Young who finished with a tremendous 38 points which would be the days’ best score and enough to propel him into fourth position. Kathy Birdsall had also enjoyed the day with 35 points, claim-ing the position of leading lady. On the final tee there was nothing between three of the players in the last group. Now the 18th hole is a long par 5 with a small stream running just in front of the green. We had seen players hitting driver and then just a seven iron to within a few yards of the water such was the strength of the following wind. It was therefore no surprise to see two balls travelling at some speed run into the hazard. As Mike had been forced to play out of the fairway bun-ker and lay up, it soon became apparent that the two balls belonged to Neil McGarva and Paul Speakman. Having looked at the options available Paul took the decision to take a penalty drop and try and get up and down. It was a feat that even he, in his present form, could not quite overcome. He finished with a bogey and 27 points. Mike unfortunately had further issues on the hole and ended up with no score leaving him with a disap-pointing 24 points, after his excellent run of results. All eyes were therefore on Neil, who chose to play his ball out of the haz-ard. We are not quite sure how he man-aged to get his ball up and onto the green but that is exactly what he did. Two putts later and par was secure, completing a great round of golf and 35 points. This brought his overall total to 133, a score matched by Paul but it was enough to claim the victory by virtue of the better last round and deny Paul back to back wins. Mike finished the event just one point further back and was left to rue that last hole. Congratulations must also go to Patrick Vaulkhard who qualified for the finals in November. This really was a great week of golf, all the courses were a pleasure to play and the hotel provided the perfect retreat. We will be giving Scotland a rest for 2014, but be assured we shall definitely return to enjoy more wonderful golf in the future.

NEIL MCGARVA WINS ON HOME TURF

Paul Speakman, Kathy Birdsall, Neil McGarva and Mike Singleton in the breeze at Dundonald

THE CHANGING OF THE GUARD

It’s now pretty common knowledge that the time for me to hand over the keys to Rich-ard Munroe is approaching. I’m 61 next month and nearing my 1000th flight for Greencard. I’ve played nearly 400 courses around the world and it’s easier to count the countries I haven’t visited than those that I have. When I lived in London and someone sug-gested a golf trip to Spain in February I would have leapt at the chance, now that I live in Thailand it isn’t nearly so appealing. And then of course I have my young family. Robert, Mimi and Max who don’t like it when Dad sets off on another trip, and I hate leaving them. Although Richard does at least half the trips I am still away for a good four months a year. Richard has been working with me since 2001 and has seen the ups and downs of running a Tour Operation – 9/11, Sars, Gulf War 2, Bird Flu, Financial Crisis, Falling Pound etc – to know that keeping a travel business afloat is by no means easy. He has worked quietly in my shadow and is longing to step out into the sun. I always promised that I wouldn’t leave Greencard in a precarious position as noth-ing would hurt me more than to see my

life’s work whither and die. I think that Rich-ard has learnt enough to take up the reins and stamp his own personality on the busi-ness. The 2014 programme is largely his apart from four events, Thailand, New Zealand, South Africa and Chantilly and the observant amongst you will see an immediate change of emphasis. There are a few more UK events and fewer European trips. Our clientele, like its boss, is aging and if Greencard is to sur-vive it needs to attract some younger blood and Richard has recognised this with the 2014 programme. I, for my part, have never worked for anyone else since 1979 and that didn’t work out too well, and in any case I think it would be unfair on Richard once I have handed over to be lurking in the background. So at the end of March, after South Africa, I will hand over the keys to the safe and slope quietly off stage. I will host the tours to Thailand, New Zealand, South Africa and later Chantilly in June as our visit to Morfontaine is entirely due to my friendship with the good doctor Jean Natali but at that time I will be purely making a guest appearance. I think people have little understanding of the enormous work that goes into running these tours – negotiating contracts, settling dates, pricing possibilities, setting it up on the web, organising the deposits to fit in with cash flow, buying currencies and producing bro-chures. And that is before we start to take bookings where nowadays every one wants to do something different. It involves hours in front of a computer with the occasional dash abroad to play golf with our Greencard friends. In between trips we don’t just sit around wondering what to do. It is a 10 hour a day job 7 days a week and we love it for its benefits which are considerable. But if you added up the hours you could add another 10 years to my working life. Several people have asked whether I will carry on and do a few trips: some of you have suggested that I run a Seniors Tour for those clients that started with me. But I’m afraid that will be down to Richard. I don’t want to

be involved in the day to day running of the business, but if he wants me to host a tour on a fee paying basis then of course I would consider it as long as it isn’t Da-mascus! I will not tread on his toes as it wouldn’t be fair to him. I will be leaving Greencard with mixed emotions. It is after all my baby and when I started in 1980 I had dozens of competi-tors who are no longer around. I’m quite proud that I survived 3 recessions. But I’m also disappointed that I’m not leaving behind a TUI as my massive self esteem has been dented by the fact that I could-n’t seem to get Greencard to really fly. But on the other hand what a life I’ve led. Since 1980 I’ve met more than 10,000 customers of whom the vast majority have been wonderful people. Many have be-come life long friends. There is a com-mon theme that runs through Greencard clients and that is that nearly all of you run your own businesses. There’s hardly a corporate man amongst you. And I think it is this above all else that makes our clientele so unique. Every one of you has a story which has made the evenings almost as entertaining as the golf. I started life privileged to be born into a family that valued education above all else and I am privileged to arrive at this juncture with such a wonderful circle of friends and so many fabulous memories. But I’m ready for a change and it’s time to stop turning my back on my family while I sit for hours at the computer. So if you want one last fling with the Old Richard then you’d better sign up for those 4 trips and of course the Finals. But you all know where I live and if any of you are passing through Thailand I’d be disappointed if you didn’t look me up for a game of golf or at least a glass of beer. But if you value what we have created with Greencard, the incredible camarade-rie and zest for life, then it is time to move on. Not to make comparisons but to ac-cept that we are all different and support Young Richard in his ambition to take Greencard onwards and upwards. I’ve always said that it isn’t me that makes Greencard unique, it’s you.

1 ROE PETER 32 35 36 39 142 2 SHEARAN JOHN 34 32 37 37 140 3 CROSTHWAITE PAULINE 35 35 30 33 133 4 BERMINGHAM PHIL 33 31 37 32 133 5 WARD SALLY 33 33 30 36 132 6 BAKER MALCOLM 33 26 35 36 130 7 HARRIS IAN 32 36 28 34 130 8 TRAYNOR PAUL 30 31 33 33 127 9 REYNOLDS MIKE 32 29 37 28 126 10 HARRIS JULIE 30 30 34 31 125 11 ELLIOTT TIM 31 27 31 33 122 12 TATE JOHN 36 29 31 26 122 13 WARD JOHN 25 28 27 40 120 14 CHAMBERS GEORGE 22 35 32 29 118 15 MCCONALOGUE S’MUS 30 26 30 29 115 16 CARTER JACKIE 32 22 33 28 115 17 SHELDON GODFREY 29 30 21 33 113 18 ROBINSON IAN 30 29 26 27 112 19 SAUNDERS ANN 26 29 29 27 111 20 MUIR IAN 26 30 33 22 111

1 ROE PETER 36 39 36 111 2 VINE RICHARD 29 29 34 92 3 ELLIOTT TIM 28 30 33 91 4 CHURCHILL ROD 28 31 32 91 5 GILLAM NEIL 34 26 31 91 6 ROE JANETTE 40 21 30 91 7 CHURCHILL ANGELA 29 32 30 91 8 PEPPER GLYN 25 30 34 89 9 FISHER SIMON 30 28 30 88 10 MEAGHER JOHN 33 22 32 87 11 VAULKHARD PATRICK 28 29 30 87 12 TILBROOK GEORGE 30 26 29 85 13 MARTIN DAVID 25 24 32 81 14 CLARK KIM 25 22 33 80 15 BACH KIKI 30 19 30 79 16 SCHLINGEMANN L’WIJK 18 26 32 76 17 PEIFER LEN 29 26 18 73 18 SIMS CHANNI 24 16 28 68 19 BERNARD HELEN 27 15 22 64 20 PATEL MAHESH 16 23 19 58

1 MCGARVA NEIL 37 33 28 35 133 2 SPEAKMAN PAUL 36 37 33 27 133 3 SINGLETON MIKE 37 36 35 24 132 4 YOUNG ROBBIE 28 27 30 38 123 5 TRAFFORD ANTHONY 28 31 32 32 123 6 DALTON NEIL 29 32 37 25 123 7 VAULKHARD PATRICK 23 30 37 30 120 8 MUNROE RICHARD 38 24 30 27 119 9 MCGINNES WILLIAM 32 37 24 25 118 10 BIRDSALL KATHY 28 28 24 35 115 11 HARRISON VAL 31 24 31 27 113 12 DALTON JEAN 31 26 28 25 110 13 KENNEDY ANGELES 26 30 22 31 109 14 BIRDSALL BARRY 27 29 26 27 109 15 ELLIOTT TIM 20 28 32 27 107 16 KENNEDY RAY 34 21 22 25 102 17 KENNEDY BRYAN 18 24 26 26 94 18 KENNEDY ALISON 20 29 25 20 94 19 DORSEY LARRY 21 24 11 14 70

CO SLIGO RESULTS—STABLEFORD KENT RESULTS—STABLEFORD AYRSHIRE RESULTS—STABLEFORD

“They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.“

Prize giving at The Belfry in 1985. Proof positive of Laurence Binyon’s words To The Fallen.

DEMOCRATIC ADVANTAGE Well if we’re to believe George Osborne the economic outlook has been trans-formed and normal service has been re-sumed. Spending is rising, house prices are rising, companies are investing and growth is approaching trend. Magnificent, fabulous, wonderful, hoorah! But is this the real thing or just the usual engineered feel good rush in time for the 2015 election. The truth is probably somewhere between the two. There has been a deliberate attempt since 2008 to ensure that first, property prices don’t collapse and take the banks with them, and second to engi-neer a rise to ensure that people feel richer and will start to spend again. In these attempts George has undoubtedly been successful and it is indeed doubtful if he really needed the Help to Buy scheme as house price revival was already well under way. But is the economy really growing if all we are doing is inflating property prices? This has the effect of transferring wealth away from the young, those not yet on the prop-erty ladder, to those who own property. But it is more insidious than that. If hous-ing is too expensive to buy on average wages then people are forced to rent

which increases rents. It used to be a rule of thumb that your housing costs should be approximately 30% of your earnings. Now that it is often above 50% it reduces the in-centive to work especially if there is Housing Benefit as a backstop. Employers can’t in-crease wages because they have to compete with the rest of the world now and so we are stuck in a cycle of debt fuelled spending funded by higher property prices. A more virtuous economy would increase spending through greater disposable income funded by rising real wages and falling costs. In other words the route to long term prosper-ity can only be achieved through affordable housing for all. The current trajectory is sim-ply misery postponement. Our brightest will emigrate to be replaced by those who find living on benefits a significant improvement on their previous lot. It is not a recipe for national salvation nor is it sustainable how-ever good it feels for now. But hey, growth is growth, it means higher tax receipts and so hopefully a reduced deficit and you never know that chimera of real debt reduction could follow. Over the Channel things are still pretty gloomy, the best that can be said is that the rate of decline is slowing. Whilst we fret about the imminent arrival of Romanians

every Dimitri, Juan and Luigi is headed for Germany to look for work. Of course this is how a unified Europe should work—freedom of movement of labour etc. But where we cling to the notion of a Europe of Nations it looks ominously as though there is only one winner. We in Britain chose the softer path of QE and zero interest rates (easy money) to tide us over the crisis as is our democratic right. Considering that the recession has been as severe as 1931 the effects have been rela-tively mild. Over in Euroland where they have no such democratic choice things have not been as easy and in most of Europe they will continue to worsen. Nowhere was our independent Parliament shown to be more accountable to the peo-ple than in the decision not to bomb Assad. The people were overwhelmingly against and MPs had to listen. Because we refused to endorse an attack, first Francois Hol-lande and then Obama were also obliged to consult their constituencies. Shia and Sunni are fighting their 30 years’ war. In place of the Holy Roman Empire, the Bour-bons and Habsburgs, we have the Middle East, the Iranians and Saudis. As in 1618—48 when Protestants and Catholics slaugh-tered each other across Europe we should remain spectators.

At last year’s Grand Finals we celebrated my 60th Birthday. We had a fabulous dinner and dancing until late to two marvellous bands. It was so much fun that people re-quested an “End of Term Party” every year. Why not? So on the final night we will have a prize giving dinner followed by dancing cour-tesy of The Bottles—a brilliant Beatles tribute band complete with mop-tops and sharp suits.

This event was a huge success in both 2011 & 2012 and we feel at last we have found a venue truly worthy of the Finals. In fact so good we’ve already signed up for 2 more years! The 5 * Monte da Quinta Suites with their 1 & 2 bedroom apartments and the 3 Q de L courses—North, South & Laranjal are real quality. The 2 Bedroom Suites are ideal for 2 single people to share with only a small single supplement.

If you are planning on coming the only way to guarantee your place is to send a deposit of £100 pp.

Included for Qualifiers 7 Nights b & b in a shared room 1 Bed-

room apartment at the 5 star Monte da Quinta Suites 7 days car hire between 2

5 rounds of golf on the Q de L North, South (2) and Laranjal (2)

Welcome & Prize Giving Cocktails

Gala Dinner & Party

All tournament fees

Upgrade Prices Single Supplement 1 Bed Apt £149

Single Supplement 2 Bed Apt £79 Extra Night 1 Bed Apt p Apt £80

Extra Night 2 Bed Apt p Apt £100

The Greencard Masters

As always we will be proposing a tourna-ment for the non-qualifiers as well. The Greencard Masters will be the usual for-mat of an Am Am followed by 4 rounds of stableford with some great prizes. Be there to crown the 2013 Champion and join in this great festival of golf.

Prices for the Greencard Masters

Golfer 1 Bed Apartment £899

Golfer 2 Bed Apartment £819

Non Golfer - £220

Single Room Supp 1 Bed Apt £149

Single Room Supp 2 Bed Apt £79

Golf Only £599

FLIGHT NOT INCLUDED

Grand Finals at Quinta do Lago—November 2nd—9th The Monte da Quinta Suites Laranjal Golf Course