We have posted a lot about golf recently, with the new prices, the course opening and of course the Tarleton Travel Golf Event, so we thought that we would write a ’special’ to pull it all together in one place. In this article you will find a video on the Tarleton Travel Awards Evening, a podcast with interviews with the golfers, links to photographs of the Tarleton Travel event and lots more information on golf here in Almerimar.

Tarleton Golf Competition

40 competitors (from UK, Spain, & rest of Europe) were split into 2 teams each with an experienced golf professional as captain. (Mickey Walker - ex Solheim Cup & George Will - ex Ryder Cup). The event began on the Thursday evening with welcome drinks and a briefing, and continued on the Friday with a practice team game to get everyone into the competition and used to the course.

Saturday the serious stuff began, with 2 hours of driving range practice with the captains (a daily fixture!) followed by 11.30 starts with each team having 5 groups of 4 players, playing Better Ball with the 2 best Stableford scores counted. Sunday switched to pairs Stableford with the best 7/8 scores counted. Sunday evening also featured team dinners in local restaurants with the captains, followed by a well earned day off on Monday.

The competition then continued with more Stableford 4-balls on Tuesdaty, singles on Wednesday (the final day´s play), and the big results and prize-giving dinner on Wednesday night.

Overall, for golfing enthusiasts, a great event! For more detail on the individual days please read John Woodhead’s diary of the competition below.

Golf Awards Video

Apologies, but the quality isn’t great. The audio is fine though, so if nothing else you can listen in on some of the after dinner speeches and presentations. Thanks to John for taking time to capture this on what sounds like a fun night!

Click To Play

Podcast

John was also kind enough to record some interviews from the last day:

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Photos

Here are a selection of the photos from the Tareleton Event. If you want to see them all (316 in total) then please see our Flickr Account AND if you have a story to tell about a specific picture please feel free to leave a comment!!!

San Miguel

The Bahia San Miguel Golf Society is based at Almerimar golf Course, costs individuals 100€ per annum and offers a number of benefits, however these have changed slightly for 2008:

In 2007 members of the society could buy 50,100,150 or 200 tickets at a reduced fee. Also, if they didn´t buy tickets they were allowed to pay and play 25 times at a reduced rate (around 36 euros). For 2008 the committee thought it had agreed with the owners that ALL members could buy between 30 and 200 tickets for the Master Course at the prices shown in the previous post. In addition there would be a separate set of higher prices for books of tickets for people who were not members of the society.

However, the owners have implemented something slightly different. The prices quoted for the Master Course are only available to members of the society who purchased tickets in 2007, NOT to all members, and these tickets must be ordered and paid for by Jan 29th 2008 (6 monthly installment option also available). Other Members will have to buy their tickets at the higher prices available to the general public.

In addition the reduced fee, pay and play option for members has been changed for 2008. It is now not restricted to 25 times a years, but the discount is not going to be as great. The High Season green fee for the Master Course is 48€, discounted from 65€.

On a more positive note, an additional benefit of membership of Bahia San Miguel, (as well as reduced green fees at other courses) is the option to enter the society golf competitions, (including the 2 major competitions in August and December that are followed by dinner, prizes and a free raffle), which is a great way for anyone new to the area to integrate into the golf here in Almerimar.

So check out the society web site for prices and more information, as new members are always welcome as places become available:

Bahia San Miguel

Local Groups

While the course doesn’t have a membership system, a number of residents and visitors have got together tp create regular games, competitions and events and it is fair to say that you are bound to find something that suits your abilities and schedule and you will be made to feel very welcome.

Golf Course

Located a stone’s throw from the marina and a few steps from Hotel Almerimar, this 27 hole golf course has just been remodeled to make it more challenging. Designed by Rob Kirby and Gary Player in 1976, this course offers players great views of the Sierra Nevada and the sea. It’s fairways and water hazards, amid the palm trees, in this arid region offer a great blend of contrasts. Information and reservations Tel: 950 49 70 07.

The price for general public is 45 euros from June to September and 65 euros for the rest of the year for a round on the 18 hole Master Course.

Joining the Spanish Golf Federation in Almerimar

One of the best ways of playing golf at a reasonable price in Spain is to join the Spanish Golf Federation and take part in the many sponsored golf competitions that take place at the Almerimar Golf Course and other courses in the area.

In Almerimar the competitions tend to take place in the summer (mainly July and August) but there are a few at other times. Other courses have competitions at different times of the year. Most of the competitions are on Saturday or Sunday.

To take part in these competitions you pay an entry fee (normally between 40 and 65 euros). For this you get a round of golf, a chance to win prizes and trophies, food and drink (normally some tapas and free drinks but sometimes a sit down meal, particularly at Playa Serena) and most of the time a raffle (sorteo). The winners of some of the competitions also get to play in regional/national finals of competitions.

To take part in these competitions you have to be a member of the Spanish Golf Federation. This costs 60 euros a year and covers membership of the national federation, the federation of Andalucia and some basic golf insurance.

You can join the Federation in Almerimar by filling in a form provided by Javier, one of the caddie masters. You fill in details of your name, address, bank account etc. and return the form to Javier. He takes the main part of the form and passes it on to the federation. You take a tear off strip at the bottom of the form to your bank as authorisation of a direct debit. If you need help filling in the form Shanon, in the pro shop at Almerimar, is very friendly and helpful. You will also, need to attach a copy of your current handicap certificate when you return the form to Javier.

After a couple of months you will receive a membership card in the post which has on it your federation number. You need this number to enter the competitions. You can also use the number to look up your Spanish handicap on the internet. The Spanish Federation and Andalucian Federation both have sites that show this information. Plus for a 12 euros per year online fee the Spanish Federation allows you to view your own playing statistics and those of other people.

Diary of Tarleton Golf Competition - John Woodhead

January 25th:

The week started last night (Thursday evening) at 7.30pm with drinks at a welcome meeting in the AR Hotel in Almerimar.

Here we met the other 38 competitors: a large number from England, a number from elsewhere in Spain, 6 locals and at least 1 person from Norway. The 40 people have been split into two teams each with an experienced and well thought of golf professional as captain. The two captain are: Mickey Walker, a former Solheim Cup captain, winner of 6 European titles and Sky TV presenter, and George Will, a former Ryder Cup and World Cup player.

We were briefed about the format of play and there was a bit of banter between the two captains. This was because George has won more times than Mickey and he said he was already practicing his acceptance speech for collecting the annual trophy. Jacqui (my wife) is in George’s team and I am in Mickey’s. We are playing a practice team game today to give those people who don’t know the course an opportunity to play it. The main competition starts tomorrow (Saturday) with further rounds on Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday. The week ends with a prize giving dinner on Wednesday evening. The people here on holiday have a busy time. The team captains give golf tuition to their team from 9.00am onwards before each round of golf. The golf itself starts at between 11.30am and 1.00pm. Luckily we can have a lazy morning and just stroll down for our alloted tee time.

January 26th:

First day over. Pretty difficult for golf as it got a bit windy in the afternoon and our tee times were from 11.30 to 12.40. This was a friendly competition with 2 players from each team in a group of 4. SO 10 groups of four. On the first hole, the best Stableford score from the group counted. On the second hole, best two scores. On the third hole three scores. Then back to one score on the fourth hole then repeat the 1, 2, 3 pattern of scores on the rest of the holes. That meant it was 3 scores to count on the par 3 18th hole over the water with a strong wind against. There were also nearest the pin prizes on hole 5 for the ladies and hole 9 for the mens. All followed by drinks in the hotel bar afterwards.

I know my group scored more that Jacqui´s but we won´t know the final results until the prize giving dinner on Wednesday evening.

Today, the team competition starts for real. The hotel guests start their practice on the driving range from 9.00am and finish at 11.15am, under tuition from the captains George Will and Mickey Walker. The competition starts at 11.30 with each team having 5 groups of 4 players playing together. It is a team Better-ball competition with the best 2 Stableford scores from the team to count on each hole. The scores from the best four groups from each side count towards the final result.

January 27th:

11 points down overall and just getting ready to play the competition today. It is pairs Better-ball Stableford. 10 pairs from each side with the best 7 or 8 scores scores to count (Brian, the organiser, said 3/4 to count so that would be 7.5 scores - not sure whether he will round up or down).

George´s team are going out for a group meal this evening. Jacqui said they are going to the Nautilus restaurant on Darsena 2. Not sure what Mickey´s team is doing. Just been told change of plan for George´s team. Apparently, Nautilus is closed this evening so they are going to Teds instead. Mickey´s team are eating in the hotel. Day off tomorrow!

8 pairs scores counted out of 10 on each side. Final result for the day was another win for George´s team but only by 2 points. So the gap is 13 points with 2 more days to go.

Special mention for my partner today Eva who had a par on the par 3 18th hole into the teeth of a gale force wind to get us 37 points overall. 2 better than the people we were playing with.

January 28th:

Both teams enjoyed their meals together last night. A great mix of people in Mickey´s group including 5 Norwegians, 3 locals and others from around the UK. We had the standard buffet in the AR Hotel restaurant but we had a table for 20 of us in an annex to the main restaurant so we had a little privacy. A quiet evening meal followed by a few short informal speeches and some jokes. Including lots about Skodas as Pat (a local on our team) and here husband Frank (on George´s team) are the proud owners of a new Skoda.

(From Jacqui: We (George´s team) actually ended up in Rincon Ted´s as the Nautilus was closed on Sunday night. Like Mickey´s team we too had one large table, the vino tinto was flowing and I tried the Roast Lamb for the first time which was absolutely fab, and I impressed myself for asking for mint sauce (salsa de menta) in spanish. Our neighbours Sune & Marianne invited some of us back for drinks at their place after the meal

January 29th:

Day 3 completed. Weather was fantastic. No wind and quite a lot of sun. Great for golf. Back to a team competition today. Best 2 Stableford scores from a group of 4 to count on each hole. 5 groups for each side and the lowest group score from each side dropped. Mickey´s team won by one point (302 to 301) so we are still 12 points behind.

Everything to play for in the final day singles tomorrow. Each side has 20 players and the top 15 individual Stableford scores to count for each side (worst 5 scores dropped. So it is still possible that Mickey could get a win. We´ll just have to wait and see.

January 30th:

Final day and the weather has been kind again, sunshine and a light breeze today (Wednesday 30 January 2008). Another great day for golf here in Almerimar. As with the other days, separate prizes for nearest the pin available for ladies and gentlemen. Well done to Jean for getting the ball to within 47 centimetres on the 5th.

A great comeback from Mickey´s team makes it only the second time that Mickey has lifted the team championship trophy.

Previous Articles

Golf Course Improvements
Bahia San Miguel Prices 2008
Course Improvements Press Release
Bahia San Miguel Prices Clarification
Friendly Golf Matches
Tarleton Team Golf Competion

AND finally don’t forget to check out our Events page for golf competitions scheduled for the rest of the year.

About Almerimar

Almerimar is located in the region of Andalucia, Spain. The nearest airport is 30km away in Almeria. Other airports that are within 3 hours include Malaga, Murcia, Granada, and Alicanti. Other holiday resorts in the region include Mojacar , Aguadulce and Roquetas de Mar

Almerimar is a great place to live as an expat amongst the expats, or to work amongst the Spanish. There are all kinds of properties including villas, apartments and town houses for rent or sale. It is a very traditional part of Spain, with traditional Spanish foods so if you plan to travel to Spain either to look for jobs, for your company to trade with companies in Spain, or to learn Spanish and enjoy the Spanish weather then come and take a look.

If you are interested in purchasing a property in Almerimar please visit our sponsor Mirror of the Sun

Almerimar is also one of the largest marinas in Spain with over 2,000 births and excellent boatyard facilities.