Levante Golf Society
President’s drive-in January 3 Oliva Nova
This week saw Levante Golf Society’s members return to competition, theoretically refreshed and raring to go, after their three week extended winter break. (A lesson here for the English Premier League?) In reality, several of the members were recovering from a combination of Christmas/ New Year overindulgences, foreign travel and the usual seasonal coughs and colds.
Of course, being the Costa Blanca in early January, the sun was shining, not a cloud in the sky and warming to temperatures in the high teens after a cool start. The Oliva Nova course was in very good condition, firm dry fairways and true, well-manicured greens - a massive contrast for those who had played golf in Northern Europe during the break.
The format of the competition, as a gentle introduction to the New Year, was a team accumulator, with two team members to score on par fives, three on par fours and all four on par threes. An expected winning score in this format would be around 104 stableford points.
The main event of the day was the first drive of the day by LGS’s Honorary Lifetime President Roger Miller, (the ‘Lifetime’ part of this title being unanimously approved at the December AGM in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the Society.)
A sweepstake was held amongst the members with a small prize going to the closest guess as to Roger’s actual drivein distance. Despite the pressure of the occasion and the slightly unsporting barracking from the gallery, he successfully avoided the trees on the left and the lake on the right (by 30cm) to record a distance of 112 metres. Kenny Kennard won the closest guess prize at 110 metres with Hans Benzler only just missing out with his guess of ‘in the lake’!
The competition was won by a clear margin of seven points by the team of Celia Cronin, Susie Snelling, Hans Benzler and Paul Hornby with an excellent score of 111 points. In second place came Les Vine, Jan Stevenson, Roy Jones and Dave Geeson with third prize being picked up by Peter Ketteringham, John Snelling, Robert Bedloe and Moe Farouky
Kenny Kennard was on excellent driving form, collecting the nearest the pin prizes on both the third and sixteenth holes.
The next three weeks will see Levante’s members play in individual events starting with a stroke play competition at Benidorm Levante for trophies sponsored very generously by Hans Benzler, followed by the Captain’s Drive-In at La Sella and then a return to Oliva Nova on January 24.