Firstly, I would like to welcome back all the members who have returned to Marbella after their long summer breaks in their homelands. The clubhouse is suddenly a much livelier place and we are happy to have them back again.
The golf ‘high season’ on the Costa del Sol is now in full flow and it is good to see the course full once more. Of course, a very busy golf course can have its downsides – the most obvious being slow play. Yet, despite the very challenging first 9 holes at Marbella Golf Country Club, it is very rare that we experience a round of 5-hours (or more); something that is commonplace at some of the other courses in the area at this time of year.
It is also very pleasing to see the course in much improved condition. We are starting to see the results of the week-long course closures, in late May and August, for extensive maintenance programmes. In particular, since early September, the greens have been as good as they ever were – and, once again, a source of pride.
Many months of hard work have also resulted significant improvements to the tee boxes, the definition of the fairways, the appearance of the lakes on holes 12, 13 & 16 and the general tidiness of the whole course. The entire management & ground-staff team – together with professional consultant, John Wallace, for his expert advice and guidance – are to be congratulated.
The 2022 Club Championship was held in late September. This is a Trophy & Honours Board tournament played over 36-holes with the title of Club Champion going to the player with lowest gross score over the two days. I am delighted to say that Steve Cullen was this year’s winner. I must admit that the winning score would probably not have been good enough to win in any previous Club Championship but I forget about the actual score, boast about the 7-shot margin of victory and bask in the great honour in having my name on the Trophy alongside some of the golfing legends of the club.
Congratulations to John Anderson for his victory in the Best Nett category with Ray Norris and Roger Kemp finishing in 2nd and 3rd places respectively. During the back 9 of the second round, John was tied for the gross score lead but I am sure he feels that picking up the best nett prize was at least some consolation after his challenge for the title faded on the last few holes.
This year, we also introduced a prize for the most improved player in the second round and this was won by Jan Zad whose 2nd round was a remarkable 13 strokes better than his 1st round.
Hopefully you are all aware that Sunday Lunch has been re-launched at the club with an excellent and well-priced menu. If you haven’t already, I would encourage you to check it out as soon as you can. It’s definitely a “two-thumbs-up” from the Cullen family.
