This was the 2nd year for our one day Ryder cup style event and it was an even greater success than last year. This time we had everything organised from June when we picked the teams. I got Polo shirts done for each team and the banter between teams started pretty much straight after picking the teams!
  This year I was captaining the opposition to the presidents team who came a close second last year to Jo McKernons team. The outcome last year was 12½ to Jo's team and 11½ to Dereks Presidents team (of which I was part of!). A very close match it was. A slightly different story this year and you will see......
  A brief explanation for those who don't know the format we played. The real Ryder cup is played over 3 days with a different format of golf each day. What we do is to play all 3 formats but in one day spread over the 18 holes, 6 holes per format. The first 6 holes are played in a full handicap better ball format where the best Stableford score per team goes against the best score of the opposing team to find a winner or half per hole. After 6 holes the team with the most won holes gains 1 overall point for their team or it is halved. The second 6 holes are played as foursomes where team members play alternate shots until the hole is won or halved. One team member tees off on hole 7,9 & 11, the other team member tees off on 8,10 & 12. No handicaps apply, the team who gets down in the lowest amount of shots wins the hole. After 6 holes the team with the most won holes gains 1 overall point for their team or it is halved. The last 6 holes are played as individual matchplay against one of the opposing team therefore making 2 matches per 4ball each playing for 1 point for the overall score of their team. Inspiration for this format was devised by our past vice president and co-founder of the society Phil Richards, who made a special journey from the UK where he now lives to play in the event. This meant rather than the standard 12 players per team we pulled in some reserves to make an extra 4ball and 14 per team. Therefore with a total of 4 points to be won by each 4ball a total of 28 points were available.

  On the day Dennis May, one of Dereks team called in sick and after several phone calls and half an hour of panicking new member Ken Tull stepped in to save the day to make the teams even. My partner in our 4ball was Paul Benham who was pitched against Phil Richards and myself against the president Derek Mac. On the first 6 holes the Derek and Phil played like demons and with a little help from their higher handicaps almost white washed us with 4 holes won outright and 2 halved. Shaken but not stirred me and Paul had a little team talk and decided on our game plan for the next 6 holes. This time the tables were turned were we won 4 holes outright and 2 were halved! So with 1 point for each team it was down to the individuals. Individual match play is normally played on ¾ of the difference between handicaps but as we were playing only 6 holes (a third) of this format a ¼ difference was given. Paul had to give Phil 1 shot on the hardest of the 6 holes, which was hole 13, the 1st as such, and I had to give Derek shots on 3 of the 6 holes! Despite this both Paul & I were victors on our games making the overall score 3 to my team, the maroons and 1 to Derek's, the turquoisey bluey colour! The rest of my team all played blinders with several 4-0 victories. In fact only one team of Derek's beat our team in their 4ball.
  The final score was a whopping 21-7 victory to my team! Derek's team were gracious in defeat, but it'll take a long time to live it down, especially as the polo shirts were for keeps and anyone wearing the rather vibrant turquoise shirts from now on are liable to get a bit of stick from the maroons!!! Also as a reminder of the day, Cecil Bartley who supplies us with our golf balls with the society logo on, had managed to get hold of some official K Club 2006 Ryder Cup balls so everyone got one as a memento of the day. A big thank you to Cecil. I'm sure next years Trider cup will be an event to remember too, it is only open to members so come and join us and enjoy great company and occasionally great golf!

  Don’t forget our next events are Sunday 17th and Tuesday 26th September.

  If you want to join us as a member or guest for this or any future events, or if you would like any further information about the society, please contact:

President: Derek Mac on (0034) 646 672888
or myself on (0034) 620 161360
or drop me an email

Alternatively check out our website for details & dates.

Hope to see you soon,

Dave Brown (Society Secretary)