#sexygolf

[sidduamin]

October 2015 - Algarve, Portugal

Friday

Serious all day golfing began today. After a decent lie in, having stayed up watching the course Fly-bys, we hit up breakfast with Biggsy and Benjie raiding the pastry counter before heading down to the Range with great panning views and plenty of targets. A bit of chipping competition and a few fluffed and knifed shots book-ended a fair few sweet strikes....no chance of replication on the O’Connor Jnr that afternoon.

We followed up with the chipping and putting green, starting a bit of a trend in practicing our short game before stocking up on 100 lake balls!

On to the par three Academy course for a bit of messing around before the day’s main event. Locals giving us strange hand signals which we returned confused, thinking we were being directed one way and then another before realising we had been driving like retards through the resort with the car boot open!

Today it was the first of two rounds on the O’Connor Jnr (you b*****) course. Dog legs, lots of water and difficult greens were the order of play. Being one of the last to head out, it was a very relaxed pace of play with some not too embarrassing scores posted. We were battling with fading light until we had to give up around the 16th.

What ensued was madness and hilarity in equal measure as Benjie and Jambo’s Buggy battery died on us. The constant clashing of buggies whilst creeping up on the player in front and then taking an almost disastrous shortcut whilst the buggy had to be reversed towed through dirt paths as we tried to get to the clubhouse in the little light that remained made the end of the day a little adventure!

A day full of jokes and drinks and more.

We had a couple of hours rest, keeping up with the Euro Qualifiers before heading into Albufeira for the evening. A tasty seafood dinner and a few drinks on the strip which had been turned Scottish, with a qualifier against Gibraltar being played down the road in a couple of days, was a fitting way to end what was probably the best day of a really enjoyable holiday.

[sidduamin]

October 2015 - Algarve, Portugal

Call me mad, but less than a year after first picking up a golf club I was on my first (of many, I’m sure) Sexy Golf trip with the boys.

The enticing Mediterranean air of the Algarve and the relaxed vibes which we’d heard about had made our decision for us.

The Amendoeira Golf Resort near Albufeira was to be our home for our stay, Jambo having sorted out all the fine details. Our not so modest apartment was the perfect refuge from the punishing and undulating Faldo course and the impossibly angled, at times, O’Connor Junior course.

So, four rounds in four days on courses that make the likes of Richmond Park and Shitewebbs look like a stroll in the park (ha!).

Wow, was this place stunning. Acres upon acres of lush greenery, luxurious apartments for four that could sleep 8 and buggies with Ice boxes supplied and staff that would probably wipe your a*** if you requested.

Having settled in (having calmed down after an hour of over-excitement) we hit the hay, dreaming of hitting that sweet, sweet fairway.

Thursday

This was it, the earliest we’ve ever awoken to play a round, we were breakfasted (and G&T’d) by 8 am, ready to take the first Tee shot of the tour. This was a well-slicked operation with staff sorting everything out for you that we simple City boys took some time to understand!

The first...Jesus Christ, really? MULLIGAN! Benjie made it look easy, James just managed to stay on the cusp of fairway, Biggsy and I bobbling onto the gravel (Free drop!)...FML.

What ensued, though, was a very respectable round of golf between the 4-ball. To compliment our decent tekkers and never-waning banter was how spectacular the views across the Faldo course are during the morning hours, sheer bliss. This is how I had imagined the perfect round, minus scores (obviously!), to be. Beers and basking in the sunshine, once found, we were never going to let go of this!

We finished the round, capped off with a couple of beers and the clubhouse and made the drive to Albufeira to hit the beach. It was a lovely afternoon, no-one frustrated with playing too badly although Biggs forgetting it was real life and not GTA started smashing up the car! 

A late lunch on the beach-side cliff with a waiter / owner who insisted on sniffing everything coming out of the kitchen (PERI-PERI?!) made the wait entertaining enough.

We had a walk through town ; ) , stocked up on booze and headed back for the evening.

The birthday boy, shattered, as was to become a theme, passed out and Biggzy treated us to un-seasoned pasta.

What a day!