and Laranjal is a monster Ameri-

can style course with wide fair-

ways but with huge, undulating

greens. If I had a complaint it

would be that the tees on the

North and South have too great a

difference between yellow and

white. An intermediate tee would

be perfect for this event. Yellows

are a little bit easy and whites

much too tough, especially as

they so often put the Red & Blue

tees together meaning that if we

move the men back the ladies will

get too much advantage. I am

hoping that next year we can per-

suade them to toughen up the

North and South, just a tad may-

be, but just enough to ensure that

the Greencard Champion really is

the best player.

The week started as usual with

the entire group mixed together

playing the Am Am on the South

Course. Everyone was in shorts

and the sun reflected off the early

morning dew heralding a perfect

day for golf. The Am Am often

At the Grand Finals last year,

although the weather was pret-

ty good, it was absolutely awful

the following week. Those that

stayed on hoping for some

extra golf were left staring at

hotel walls and flooded greens.

So it was with more than a little

trepidation that we moved the

dates of the Finals to be one

week later. This was really

forced on us by the ever shift-

ing sands of Half Term. Now a

3 week feast it allows the air-

lines to charge exorbitant pric-

es throughout October.

This year however prices were

much more reasonable and we

all flew out to Faro on half emp-

ty planes and in addition the

long range forecast was about

as good as one could hope for

– unremitting sunshine and

temperatures in the mid 20’s.

A perfect week beckoned on

the glorious Algarve at Quinta

do Lago.

The Monte da Quinta Suites

provide us with just about the

best accommodation one could

wish for. A hotel made up en-

tirely of one bedroom and two

bedroom suites, and in addition a

pricing structure that means

single room supplements are

very reasonable. In a tourna-

ment where people have quali-

fied for an expenses paid trip the

last thing we want to do is pile on

the extras. This was our 3rd year

there and the staff was just as

welcoming as before. We do

hope this continues under the

new management who take over

in May but we see no reason why

not and as we have signed a

further 3 year agreement we look

forward to a long future there for

this End of Term event.

It’s not only the hotel that makes

this such a wonderful venue of

course. By playing at Quinta do

Lago we also get three top cham-

pionship courses; Quinta North

and South and Laranjal. The

North course is perhaps the

weakest and will shortly be un-

dergoing a refurbishment pro-

gramme, but this is really nit-

picking as it is every bit as good

as most of the Vilamoura cours-

es. The South is of course the

former Portuguese Open venue

Gerry Gentle, Ann Bridges and Paul Speakman at The Grand Finals

GERRY GENTLE TOUR CHAMPION

C o n t e n t s

Grand Finals

Quinta do Lago

2

Final Tour Points 2

Greencard Masters 3

Naples 4

Rumour Has It 5

Property Disaster 6 &

7

R&A Approval 8

Looking Forward to

2014

8

G r e e n c a r d G o l f H o l i d a y s

3 P a g e s Y a r d , C h u r c h

S t r e e t , L o n d o n W 4 2 P A

T e l : 0 1 2 4 9 8 2 1 5 0 7

F a x : 0 1 2 4 9 8 2 1 4 5 8

W e b : w w w . g r e e n c a r d g o l f .

c o . u k

Golfer N o v e m b e r 2 0 1 3 V o l u m e 5 , I s s u e 4

I n T h i s I s -

s u e

Quinta do Lago

Grand Finals

Naples

Final Tour Points

Rumour Has It

Property Disaster

Looking Forward

to 2014

R&A Approval

The

1 Gerry Gentle 26 39 40 36 141

2 Anne Bridges 34 35 36 31 136

3 Paul Speakman 32 33 40 27 132

4 Tim Elliott 32 30 36 30 128

5 Anne Fern 32 33 33 29 127

6 Neil McGarva 28 29 38 30 125

7 Julie Harris 24 36 36 28 124

8 John Meagher 32 27 33 27 119

9 Neil Gillam 25 30 38 25 118

10 John Tate 28 24 37 27 116

11 Ian Harris 23 31 33 28 115

12 Ian Robinson 25 30 33 27 115

13 Anthony Trafford 27 31 33 24 115

14 Peter Roe 27 27 31 22 107

15 Pauline Crosthwaite 27 29 24 24 104

16 Phil Crossland 22 24 32 23 101

17 Melvyn Fern 18 25 30 27 100

18 Ian McWhirter 21 24 26 26 97

19 Lod’k Schlingemann 21 30 25 18 94

20 Val Harrison 23 22 28 20 93

Tour Finals Scores—Stableford

P a g e 2

gives an indication of what is to follow

but in this case the runes were hard to

read. We allowed the Shearans, fa-

ther and son and the Robinsons, Ian

and Jackie to play as a team as their

handicaps pretty much match the

requirements but on the day they ex-

celled, spread-eagling the field with a

winning 5 point margin. Runners-up

was another family affair with Reuben

and James Fielding ably partnered by

Anthony Waterhouse and Fiona

McWhirter who just beat the newly

handicapped Brian Haynes with Anne

Fern, Lodewijk Schlingemann and new

girl Christine Fisher on count back.

That night the hotel provided an excel-

lent wine and cheese party and once

again the new boys and girls remarked

how it seemed that everyone except

them knew everyone else. The Finals

really does bring people together in

the true Greencard spirit of friendli-

ness.

But let’s move on to the main event.

Who was going to be the Greencard

Champion for 2013? Sadly quite a

few of the qualifiers were unable to

attend. A combination of New Zea-

land, New Year in Dona Filipa and

previous engagements kept 8 of the

finalists away but the 20 that re-

mained were some of Greencard’s

finest. Round One on Laranjal was a

tough test. Boys of Whites and Girls off

Blue guaranteed that scoring would not

be too high. Ann Bridges was the early

leader with an excellent 34 with Tim

Elliott, John Meagher, Paul Speakman

and Anne Fern all tied on 32 being the

only players to break 30.

Round Two was on the North Course.

Tighter than the other two it requires a

player to be able to shape it both ways

off the tee or at the very least hit the

ball straight. Players like me, equipped

with a repeating Gay Fade, are unlikely

to prosper. Of course the Tour finalists

don’t struggle like that and Gerry Gentle

made up for a poor start with a superb

39 which was 3 better than Julie Harris.

Ann Bridges (35) and Paul Speakman

(32) and Anne Fern (32) remained firm-

ly in contention at the halfway stage.

On the Free Day in glorious weather a

dozen or so went down the road to play

at San Lorenzo for a bit of a warm up for

New Year. Even those who didn’t play

drifted over to the clubhouse to watch

them come in and have a bit of lunch on

the sun drenched terrace. Entertain-

ment was provided by James and Antho-

ny demonstrating their driving skills on

the range.

Round Three was back on the South

Course, in my opinion the best of the

three but as previously mentioned

somewhat spoiled by the lack of choice

of tees. This was not helped by having

the Yellow Tees moved well forward on

some holes. The scoring reflected that

with Gerry Gentle and Paul Speakman

both scoring 40 and the two Neils,

Gillam and McGarva following with 38s.

Ann, Julie and Tim were by no means

out of it with 36 and John Tate poked

his head out of the pack with 37.

So for the final round back on Laranjal

Gerry, Paul and Ann were all tied on

105 with Tim Elliott and Ann Fern next

on 98, seven shots back. It was going

to be a nervy few hours. It all really

depended on who was going to get the

ball on to the right part of the greens to

avoid the inevitable 3 putts. In then

end Gerry romped home with a superb

36, five points ahead of Ann who took

the Ladies Prize and Neil McGarva and

Tim Elliott were the only others to

break 30. This put Paul in 3rd, Tim in

4th and Anne Fern in 5th. Although Ger-

ry was a clear 5 point winner it was a

close event right up to the final 9 holes.

Even the dark clouds that threatened

the final round dispersed without spoil-

ing a perfect week. Gerry will of course

start next year with the customary hair-

cut reserved for all winners. In 2013

he played 4, won 3 and came 3rd in the

South Africa. A very impressive perfor-

mance which he will have to try a little

bit harder to repeat next year!

Gerald Gentle 13 28 John O'Gaunt

Sally Ward 18 25 Royal Lytham

Neil Gillam 9 24 Wentworth

Neil McGarva 5 24 Kilmacolm

Anthony Trafford 14 23 Eaton

Martin Fell 4 20 Copt Heath

Peter Roe 14 20 Workington

Paul C Speakman 10 19 Workington

Melvyn Fern 14 18 Willesley Park

John M Tate 9 18 Berkhamsted

Anne Bridges 4 17 Mentmore

Patrick R Vaulkhard 16 17 Beeston Fields

Lodewijk Sch’gemann 17 16 Moscow CC

Pauline Crosthwaite 7 15 Hankley Common

Tim Elliott 12 15 Hankley Common

Ian Robinson 8 15 Rufford Park

Mike Singleton 16 15 Penwortham

Philip Crossland 14 14 Southp’t Old Links

John Ward 14 12 Anglesey

Ian Harris 8 11 Domaine Imperial

Julie Harris 10 11 Domaine Imperial

Val Harrison 23 11 Shirley

Malcolm Barker 12 10 Harewood Downs

Elizabeth Fern 11 10 Willesley Park

Robert Girvan 11 10

Sandie Klimcke 11 10 Clandon Regis

Ian McWhirter 17 10 Drumpelier

John Meagher 6 10 Forest Pines

Barry Birdsall 15 9 Woburn

Jackie Carter 14 9 Rufford Park

Karen Hartley 15 9

John Shearan 5 9 Co Louth

Channipha Sims 14 9 St George's Hill

Russell Smit 5 9 Woburn

Alan J Baxter 5 8 Mere

Rod Churchill 12 8

Bill Davidson 12 8 New St Andrews

Sharon Fell 25 8 Redditch

Reuben Fielding 12 8 Davenport

Barry Limb 13 8 Prestbury

Christine Richardson 22 8

Phil Bermingham 9 7 Fulwell

Dennis Coe 14 7 Don Cayo

Inge Kent 17 7 Windlesham

Tony Marshall 12 7 Wildwood

Ann Saunders 13 7 Little Aston

Alistair Walker 7 7 Copt Heath

Robert A Young 7 7 Moray

Melanie Barton 10 6 Sandiway

Simon Fisher 17 6 Chart Hills

Stella Goldstein 13 6 Torksey

Janette Roe 14 6 Workington

Tony Wells 8 6 Triangle

Malcolm Baker 11 5 East Devon

Richard Bleakley 14 5 North Wales

Pat Bute 14 5 Camberley

George Chambers 24 5 Castletown

Angela Churchill 20 5 Fulwell

Linda Coe 22 5 Don Cayo

Neil Dalton 12 5 Meon Valley

Oliver Newman 4 5 Delamere

David Rothwell 7 5 Shaw Hill

Melanie Staff 17 5

Caroline Walker 10 5 Copt Heath

Derek Blackburn 18 4 Aspley Guise

Alan Bute 16 4 Camberley

Adrian Carran 9 4 Ladbrook Park

Diana Hudson 8 4 Royal Guernsey

Glyn Pepper 6 4 Wellingborough

Philip Raybone 9 4 Hankley Common

Elspeth Baxter 22 3 Mere

Joan M Bichard 8 3 Royal Guernsey

Kathleen Birdsall 21 3 Woburn

Anne Day 18 3 Dulwich Sydenham

David Johnstone 10 3 Bramhall Park

William McGinnes 15 3 Troon Welbeck

Alan Orritt 9 3 Penwortham

Paul Traynor 16 3 Ashbourne

Dorothy Blackburn 16 2 Aspley Guise

Jackie Bleakley 16 2 North Wales

Neil Dangerfield 22 2 La Moye

Peter Miles 16 2 Lee-on-the-Solent

Jonnie Oldham 20 2

Marian Raybone 15 2 Hankley Common

Mike Reynolds 9 2 Fulwell

Margaret Ryan 29 2 Balbriggan

Peter Abbott 12 1 Ladbrook Park

June Gauke 20 1 Lincoln

Dave Simpson 14 1 Sundridge Park

Name H’cap Tour Pts Golf Club Name H’cap Tour Pts Golf Club Name H’cap Tour Pts Golf Club

FINAL POINTS TABLE IN THE RACE TO THE ALGARVE

The Monte da Quinta team laid on a

scrumptious buffet washed down with

buckets of wine before our favourite band

The Bottles played a succession of fabu-

lous Beatles hits long into the night. This

is of course is where Paulette demon-

strates why she got the job training the

girls at Stringfellows and gifted amateurs

like Lynne, Christine, Julie and Anne

made up in spades for the slight female

deficit by inviting all the boys to dance. A

great finish to a great week.

It’s fantastic news that we have been able

to sign up for Monte da Quinta and the

Quinta do Lago courses for another 3

years. I can’t think of anywhere in South-

ern Europe that offers such quality all on

the same resort. At La Manga there was a

huge gulf between the 2 Bedroom Las

Lomas apartments and the Hotel. At Quin-

ta everyone is under the same roof with

the same marvellous facilities. Make sure

you’re there in 2014.

there were 8 players just one or two

further back.

After the rest day we moved back to the

South course and here Tony Wells, a

veteran campaigner of the Finals week

moved into the spotlight with 40 points.

Bill Coupe was not to be out done with

39 and Jackie Carter, Chris Hegarty

and John Shearan all shot 37. So with

just one round to go Bill had regained

his customary position on top of the

pack in spite of having not competed

for two years. Jackie Carter was one

back with Reuben Fielding and Chris-

tine Fisher one further behind. Tony

Wells, Richard Munroe and John Shear-

an were all within 5 shots. The final

round was going to be a nervous affair.

It was always going to be a good putter

who won over the enormous undula-

tions of Laranjal and Christine Fisher, a

Belfast girl on debut, scorched the

greens with 39 points to overturn a two

point deficit and win by four from Reu-

ben with John Shearan in 3rd both hav-

ing shot 35. New girl Lynne Daniel had

a round to remember with 33 and cele-

brated with a powerful display on the

dance floor later that night. John

Gilkes will also remember his 32 in that

final round where every putt seemed to

drop. Tony Wells hung onto 4th for his

best ever finish and Jackie Carter was

5th with Bill Coupe 6th have had a disap-

pointing final round.

But the week wasn’t over as we laid on

a superb party for the final night. We

started with a little drinks party before

moving into the ballroom for dinner.

One of the things that makes the

Grand Finals week such fun as that

alongside the serious Tour Finals we

also run an event called The Green-

card Masters for all those who were

unlucky enough not to qualify or for

the guests of the Finalists. Make no

mistake the competition in this event

is just as fierce and usually there is a

bigger field. The format is identical

to the Tour Finals with four rounds of

stableford played on the same cours-

es from the same tees.

So leading out the dew sweepers on

Round One were the Masters on

Laranjal. The average handicaps are

roughly the same in both groups but

perhaps The Masters players are a

little less consistent. But neverthe-

less Janette Roe’s performance in

that opening round was nothing less

than nuclear. 35 points on those

greens from a self-confessed awful

putter was exceptional from this Po-

lice Officer from Sellafield whose day

job is guarding the nation’s nuclear

waste. Dave Simpson was next with

34, tied with that veteran campaign-

er Billy Coupe who always manages

to squeeze a score out of the tough-

est conditions.

Round Two was on the North and

proved a lot less testing. Reuben

Fielding charged to the top of the

leaderboard with 39, just one ahead

of Chris Hegarty and Jackie Carter.

Richard Munroe, Brian Haynes, Brian

Wilson, John Shearan and Christine

Fisher were all mid 30’s. At the half-

way Reuben held a 4 point lead but

CHRISTINE FISHER WINS HER FIRST EVENT

John Shearan, Christine Fisher and Reuben Fielding at the Finals

1 Christine Fisher 17 33 34 36 39 142

2 Reuben Fielding 12 32 39 32 35 138

3 John Shearan 6 29 34 37 35 135

4 Tony Wells 11 29 33 40 31 133

5 Jackie Carter 15 29 38 37 28 132

6 Coupe Bill 11 34 32 39 26 131

7 Chris Hegarty 8 22 38 37 30 127

8 Richard Munroe 11 31 35 35 26 127

9 Brian Wilson 13 27 35 36 28 126

10 John Gilkes 21 25 32 35 31 123

11 Janette Roe 14 35 25 35 28 123

12 Sean Duxbury 9 30 32 34 25 121

12 Brian Haynes 7 30 34 32 25 121

13 Richard Vine 14 31 27 34 26 118

14 Dave Simpson 15 34 32 31 21 118

15 Lynne Daniel 17 20 31 31 33 115

16 Shirley Halhead 11 30 25 32 28 115

17 Chris Barber 14 28 29 31 26 114

18 Lewis Mosse 17 31 26 32 25 114

19 Michelle Duxbury 12 32 25 34 23 114

20 Anthony Water-

house

18 27 27 32 27 113

21 Roger Lascelles 14 21 33 32 25 111

22 Jan Gilkes 9 22 30 32 26 110

23 Mike Ingham 7 23 31 30 25 109

24 Kevin Shearan 19 25 28 29 26 108

25 Gail Hegarty 12 25 31 29 21 106

Greencard Masters—Stableford

P a g e 4

“There was

also the

added

complication

of watching

out for the

odd stray

alligator

lurking in

the lakes.”

A winning kiss

for Alan Baxter

from Sandie

and Sally in

Naples

SALLY WARD DOES IT AGAIN

The final long haul event of the year

is always a last chance to enjoy the

sunshine and heat before heading

into the UK winter months. This par-

ticular slot in the 2013 calendar was

given to Naples in Florida, a lovely

area in the sunshine state with a

number of top courses. We were

based at the five star Waldorf Astoria

Hotel, ideally located for both the

courses and the great selection of

restaurants the area has to offer. The

weather from the start to the end was

simply superb with sunshine every

day and temperatures at times reach-

ing into the early 30’s.

As we had six rounds of golf orga-

nized, I thought that we would mix

the formats up a little to include the

four individual stableford rounds, a

pairs event and a Texas Scramble.

The opening Pairs round was played

at the nearby Naples Grand course

and was won by Alan and Ellie Baxter

with a better ball score of 44

points. Simon and Sandie Klimcke

were hot on their heals with 41.

On the second morning we made our

way over to TPC Treviso Bay. The

course definitely gave the group plen-

ty of challenges with water coming

into contention on many of the

holes. There was also the added

complication of watching out for the

odd stray alligator lurking in the

lakes. Indeed on one of the par 3’s

Simon Klimcke’s tee shot landed

perilously close to the drink and his

second shot was going to be a chip

from the water’s edge. Just as he

was about to take his backswing

there was an almighty splash behind

him and needless to say I have not

seen anybody move so fast on a golf

course since Ian Robinson had to

run to rescue Jackie Carter when

she was locked in an on course toilet

in Portugal! It was no surprise that

on this occasion a blob followed!

Whether this was actually an alliga-

tor will never be known but if only we

could rewind and record…!

At the end of the round it was Mike

Singleton who had taken an early

lead with an impressive 38

points. Reuben Fielding and Sally

Ward were just two behind with Alan

Baxter and the resurgent John Ward

a further three back.

The first free day followed enabling

people to experience one of the ar-

ea’s shopping malls, play some

more golf, sunbathe by the pool or

on the beach or explore further

afield.

The next day we headed over to

Wyndermere Golf & Country Club for

the second round. This was by far

the hottest day of the event and we

were grateful for the buggies and

cold water! Wyndermere is a 27

hole complex and was one of the

surprises from my visit last year. It

really is a little gem and the staff

could not be friendlier. We played

the White and Gold combina-

tion. The course was in immaculate

condition and the greens on the

front nine proved to be the quickest

of all the courses.

The top score of the day belonged to

Sandie Klimcke who came in with 35

points. Patrick Vaulkhard rediscov-

ered his form from earlier in the year

with a solid 33, a score shared by

Traff, whilst Reuben finished with

31. This meant that at the half way

stage Reuben was still top of the

pack with 67, just one point ahead

of Sandie and three points ahead

Alan, John and Sally. Traff and

Mike were also still in the hunt

with 63 points.

Another rest day followed and sev-

eral of us took to the water in hired

motor launches to see first hand

the tremendous waterfront proper-

ties located around the area. We

then ventured further afield into

the sea and were rewarded by

schools of dolphins playing around

the boat. It was tremendous to

see them in the wild and they of-

fered a great photo opportuni-

ty. Of course with their speed it

did result in many photos of water

being taken with the odd one

showing a dolphin!

The next round was played on the

Jack Nicklaus designed Old Cork-

screw, a course perfectly setup for

a Texas Scramble with several risk

and reward holes over water. The

winning team included Reuben

Fielding, John Ward and Lindsay

Trafford, their 7 birdies proved to

be enough to take the victory.

The final free day allowed many of

the group to take advantage of the

amazing sales that were being

held at the nearby malls with up to

70% or more off the leading

brands. Others preferred to avoid

the shopping and relax enjoying

the continued sunshine.

Needless to say when business

was resumed for round three at

TPC Treviso there were several

new outfits being modelled! It was

Mike Singleton who again top

scored as he finished the day with

35 points. Sandie carded a solid

32 which included a birdie on the

par 5, 18th hole. Reuben and Alan

were just one point further back

with 31.

This resulted in an unbelievably

close leader board heading into

the final round with Mike, Sandie

and Reuben all on 98 points. Alan

Baxter was three back on 95 and

Sally was further three behind.

The last round was played at the

home of the Shark Shootout at the

Greg Norman designed Tiburon

course. The layout was tremen-

dous but the greens were on the

slow side in comparison to the

other courses played during our

stay.

Once we were underway Reuben

had an uncharacteristic nine holes

and had his work cut out to come

back into contention. Sandie had

scored a solid 17 at the turn, Alan

had closed the gap slightly with 18

and Mike had lost a bit of ground

with 15 points. All was still to play

for as the final group started the

back nine.

Meanwhile Sally was playing some

great golf in the group ahead. Her

17 points after nine holes had

given her renewed confidence that

led to a superb back nine of 23

points and an overall total of 40 for

the day. However, we honestly did

not think that even this great score

would be enough to make up for

two rounds of 28 points earlier in

the event and overcome the lead-

ing group.

The back nine had some tough

holes but also gave players a

chance to balance these with some

strange stroke indexing, particular-

ly on the par 3’s. It was difficult to

guess who would prevail in these

conditions, however, we knew that

it would be tight and this is exactly

what happened. Unfortunately

Reuben’s back nine, although bet-

ter than the front, wasn’t enough to

mount a challenge and he dropped

down the leader board. Mike also

struggled and he too fell away.

Alan finished with a very respecta-

ble 34 points and gave him third

place overall. This meant that

Sandie had to score 35 points or

more to take the title. Unfortunate-

ly a blob on the par 5, 16th hole

resulted in a final score of 33,

enough to secure the runners up

place. Our congratulations to Sally

on a wonderful final of golf which

gave her victory by just one point.

Naples is a really lovely part of the

world, with some great golf courses

and we would love to return in the

future.

One thing that Greencard has never

been short of is rumour. Adele’s hit

from 2011 in fact pretty much sums up

what makes Greencard tick. We’re a

travelling golf club and everyone wants

to know what’s going on. Rumours

spread like wildfire. One that I heard in

Portugal was that we had only booked

30 places for the New Year’s Eve din-

ner dance at the Dona Filipa and that

the 30 late bookers would have to

stand at the door and watch. It’s a

great rumour but completely unfound-

ed. Everyone will of course be seated

in front of the band and we expect

Greencarders to lead from the front on

the dance floor as usual.

Of course there are other rumours

about our clients and ourselves that

are mere titillation and gossip which is

the foundation of almost any social

group. But there are some rumours

that spring up around the running of

the company that do need to be firmly

quashed. As you all know Richard

Munroe will be taking over leadership

of Greencard at the end of March next

year and of course speculation is rife

as to whether he will be able to run it

successfully given that he will have to

borrow £200,000 or was it £500,000

or maybe it was only £150,000 in order

to buy the company.

Some things of course need to remain

secret but when I stood up in front of

the crowd at my birthday last year I

made it quite clear that I wouldn’t be

handing over the business unless I was

sure that it was in good, safe hands.

Whilst I was not prepared to just give

the company away my main aim

throughout this period has been to try

and ensure that this wonderful group of

clients could continue to enjoy their

holidays long after my retirement. It’s

obvious that Richard can’t start with an

enormous debt round his neck, and so

we have structured the hand over in

such a way that this won’t happen.

His first year will be tough as he’ll have

to do it on his own as I did from 1991

to 1997, but after that he will surely be

able to build on the strength of the

clientele and going forward the only

difference you’ll notice is that the man

in charge listens occasionally to the

clients, he probably won’t be so much

of a maverick and he’s much more

Naples—Final Results

likely to play by the rules, which has to be

good all round.

It’s clear that this never ending recession

is finally coming to an end and we are

noticing this in a distinct uptick in book-

ings. So quite apart from the structure of

the takeover I am also persuaded that the

timing is right too.

Richard Munroe has a lot of new ideas

and he’ll always be able to call on me for

advice. My email address will remain

unchanged and so clients can always con-

tact me directly to tap my considerable

knowledge of golf around the world, and

of course I hope people will want to stay in

touch. I like to think I have made a lot of

friends in Greencard and I will always be

interested in your news. It really is in eve-

ryone’s interest that Richard makes a

success of the job and I shall be doing

everything I can to ensure that he does. If

he needs my help I’ll be there.

But, and I make this quite clear, from 31st

March 2014 Greencard will be Richard’s

baby. I’ll stand right back from the busi-

ness and in no way do I want to interfere

with his decisions unless he asks for my

advice. Apart from the Morfontaine trip in

June which I’ll be running Pro Bono, I will

only run a trip to help him out if asked.

Anyone can get sick or he may feel that

having a Far East expert might be useful,

but that will be entirely up to him.

One of the things I’ve noticed over the

years is that when Greencarder’s get to-

gether it really is one big family. To new-

comers it’s quite frightening at the Wel-

come Cocktail to see everyone chatting

away like long lost friends. It’s only after

they’ve been there a few days that they

begin to understand, and by the end of

the week at the Prize Giving they are just

as much a part of the family as the old

timers.

So let’s not allow this extraordinary cama-

raderie to wither on the Vine. Richard M

will have a tough year in 2014 if he

doesn’t get your full support. Make an

extra effort to do one more trip and espe-

cially to convince a friend to come. The

future of Greencard and the continuation

of these wonderful mixed competition

weeks depend on your support. You’re

the guys and gals that make this unique

atmosphere, let’s make sure it continues.

Rumour Has It!

1 Sally Ward 36 28 28 40 132

2 Sandie Klimcke 31 35 32 33 131

3 Alan Baxter 33 31 31 34 129

4 Richard Munroe 36 30 29 31 126

5 Mike Singleton 38 25 35 25 123

6 Reuben Fielding 36 31 31 23 121

7 John Ward 33 31 27 28 119

8 Anthony Trafford 30 33 25 28 116

9 Baxter Ellie 31 27 30 26 114

10 Patrick Vaulkhard 21 33 27 31 112

11 Stella Goldstein 19 24 27 32 102

12 Gwyneth Fielding 24 28 23 25 100

13 Gordon Pairman 23 19 22 28 92

14 Simon Klimcke 19 29 24 14 86

15 Lindsay Trafford 16 15 15 22 68

RISING PROPERTY PRICES ARE A DISASTER

From what we read in the papers the

UK economy is surging ahead with

the latest 3rd quarter figures showing

annualised 3% growth. This is fan-

tastic news, by the end of next year if

it continues Britain will have finally

regained all the ground lost in the

Great Recession. If it carries on into

2015 even the unthinkable could

happen – Cameron could find him-

self returned for a second term. It is

highly unlikely with UKIP splitting the

Tory vote, but historically parties that

can deliver the economic feel good

factor are usually returned. The

problem with this fact of life is that it

is therefore incumbent on all Chan-

cellors to engineer a pre-election

boom which so often ends in tears

soon after.

Sadly I think that this time it will be

no different. The underlying weak-

ness of the Western economic mod-

el, especially so in the UK, is that it

depends almost entirely on property

values. If you can inflate the value of

people’s houses they feel richer, they

spend more and the economy pros-

pers. But in order for property prices

to inflate one or both of two things

must happen. Demand must outstrip

supply and people must buy this

overpriced property on credit or for-

eign buyers must bring in money

from abroad. Whilst the latter can

drive up the price of property it is the

former that is really driving this

boom. Help to Buy could just as easi-

ly be renamed Help Us to Get Re-

Elected.

The problem with this economic model is

that it has all sorts of repercussions in

other areas of the economy. If people’s

houses cost more, then it follows they

have to borrow more to buy them, and

consequently earn more to pay the rent or

mortgage. So the workforce demands

higher wages, but the bosses decide that

rather than pay the higher wages they’d

prefer to outsource to lower wage econo-

mies. To offset that we have Housing

Benefit so that people on low wages can

afford the rent, but this is self-defeating

because taxes then have to rise to pay for

it. But rather than admit this to the elec-

torate the government would prefer to

borrow the money than raise taxes, other-

wise they wouldn’t get re-elected.

But there comes a point when no one

wants to lend money to the government

any more. Greece, Ireland and Portugal

are already seeing the effects of that, hav-

ing been bailed out under onerous terms.

Governments in those countries have to

cut back spending by sacking all those

people they employed as outreach work-

ers and the like to hide the real unemploy-

ment figures.

Other countries such as US, Japan and UK

have taken an alternative route and simp-

ly printed billions of $, Yen and £s to cover

the shortfall. They think they have been

rather clever to avoid a deep recession

and high unemployment, which in many

respects is true, but again there are con-

sequences.

This printed money is what is ultimately

fuelling the rise in property and other as-

set prices such as stock markets. Remov-

ing the need to borrow money sup-

presses interest rates, which

makes borrowing cheap hence the

surge in uptake in mortgages, but

it also reduces interest charges for

companies and therefore flatters

profit margins and so dividends

consequently rise. Stock markets

inevitably follow them up from the

wall of savings looking for a decent

return that otherwise would have

been invested in safer Bank De-

posits and Bonds.

But there will come a time when

this party has to stop. Even the

hint of reducing the $85bn a

month that the Federal Reserve is

currently printing caused a plunge

in world stock markets, to such an

extent that Bernanke quickly clari-

fied the comment. Tapering was

not imminent after all. But sooner

or later the punch bowl will be re-

moved and the US economy must

stand on its own two feet without

the monthly adrenaline charge.

When that time comes, interest

rates will rise and pensioners will

breathe a huge sigh of relief that at

last they can see some return on

their cash, but borrowers will then

face the day of reckoning. The

monthly instalments rise pretty

quickly with only incremental inter-

est rate rises and even a return to

the 5% that is considered normal

could see monthly repayment

charges rise by 25% or more. If

mortgage rates increase 2% from

now then the monthly repayment

on £150,000 mortgage rises £200

pm. What price a 3 bedroom semi

then?

The big weakness that led to the

Great Financial Crisis has not been

addressed. We can’t live on ever

increasing credit. Pretending that

it is all backed up by rising house

prices is what led us to this point in

the first place. World trade is out

of balance. Since we now have a

global economy we find cheap

labour countries running huge

trade surpluses and developed

countries running deficits. The

surplus countries are content to

lend to the deficit countries in or-

der to keep their currencies down

Housing Completions Go Down and Down

and their labour competitive but in the

end they will simply find that lending

people the money to buy their products

doesn’t work. One day they’ll tell you

they can’t pay it back, or they’ll give you

toffee wrappers instead of dollars.

Globalisation means that the entire

world now competes for the same work

and resources and ultimately that can

only mean one thing. Third world coun-

tries’ wages will have to rise (through

rising currencies) and developed na-

tions’ wages will have to fall in relation.

We have been relying heavily on

knowledge based industries to power

our economies but the problem is that

they don’t employ many people and

certainly only people with knowledge.

The under educated will not find work in

these economies unless they are pre-

pared to work for 3rd world wages and

governments will not be able to raise

enough money from all these high tech

companies because they can easily relo-

cate to where the taxes are lowest.

The pampered Western worker with his

socialised healthcare and cradle to grave

welfare is unaffordable. The sooner we

face up to that fact the better. We can

possibly limp along for a few more years

printing money now and again but sooner

or later we’ll realise that ever rising prop-

erty prices are the root of the problem

and definitely not the solution. Cutting

housing costs will enable wages to fall

and manufacturing to return to these

shores. It is only with a substantial manu-

facturing sector that a country can hope to

generate sufficient employment for the

under-educated. When manufacturing

returns tax receipts rise, government bor-

rowing falls and a virtuous circle begins.

Property prices, like everything else are

simply a result of supply and demand. But

with antiquated planning laws, uncon-

trolled immigration and a broken pension

system forcing people to invest in property

instead of stocks and bonds, demand

hugely exceeds supply. What are the solu-

tions? We could start with a massive

house building programme similar to that

of the 1930’s and 1950’s but it needs to

be financed with borrowed money and not

by printing. (Rising interest rates will fol-

low). We must allow people to save for

pensions without placing ludicrous re-

strictions on how and when you can take

your money and by removing the huge

costs and fees that accrue by forcing peo-

ple to save in schemes dreamt up by the

disreputable financial services sector.

Rising interest rates would make Buy to

Let much less attractive. The country

needs people to invest in business not

property. Only then will the economy start

to rebalance and give some hope of mean-

ingful work to those joining the workforce.

Although house prices may well carry on

rising for some time yet, if nothing is done

to correct them we may find ourselves in

the unenviable position where ever more

people are on welfare and those that have

the means to leave will do so. Will the

politicians ever be honest enough to tell us

the truth? I’m not optimistic that they

even understand the enormity of the prob-

lem. This younger generation is destined

to be the first in history to be worse off

than their parents.

Why does all this matter? Quite simply

because we are losing the brightest of our

youngsters who see no chance of ever

achieving a similar standard of living as

that enjoyed by their parents in this coun-

try. Left behind are the people we are

relying on to pay their taxes to fund the

retirement and healthcare of the current

over 40’s. They can’t afford it.

What does this have to do with golf? Not

much but we have some spare column

inches and as a UK business it is in our

interest that we work in an environment of

stable prices and exchange rates or better

still a rising pound. Neither of which can

happen until we can create an economy

that employs people productively and one

that encourages the young to be entrepre-

neurs and not little Rachman’s.

The population just goes up & up

Historically houses were around 2.5 x Average annual earnings. At 5x it is crippling

and as we are heading to 6x it is simply unaffordable for most people

After 33 years at the helm it is time for

me to put my passport in the drawer, my

clubs in the garage and my suitcase in

the top of the cupboard. In April Rich-

ard Munroe will need to apply for the 48

page passport, a larger, more robust

case and another couple of dozen balls.

The 2014 programme is largely of his

design but before I go I still have a cou-

ple of events to run before Aphrodite.

After our New Year event at Dona Filipa

which is sadly completely full with no

chance of any extra place we have our

traditional Far Eastern event.

Phuket & Hua Hin, Thailand—14 Jan

This is already a very popular trip and

we have just 3 rooms left. Indigo Pearl

in Phuket is a beautiful resort right on

the beach and we are playing courses

that all allow carts. In Hua Hin we have

moved to our new hotel the Sofitel Cen-

tara which is on the beach and in town.

No more need of an evening shuttle.

Time is running out on this one so let us

know if you are thinking of coming.

New Zealand

Our first ever trip to NZ is sadly sold out.

Cape Town & Garden Route—2 March

One of my favourite trips is our annual

pilgrimage to the Western Cape. This

stunningly beautiful part of the world

really does have it all. Beautiful scen-

ery, challenging golf courses, delicious

food and excellent wines. The hotels on

this tour are 3 of the best in Southern

Africa and we will of course only be play-

ing the top courses.

If you don’t fancy driving over there we

are offering a chauffeured mini bus.

Aphrodite Hills, Cyprus– 23 Feb

A new venue for us is the Intercontinental

Aphrodite Hills. Tremendous value on an

All Inclusive Lite package (free food and

drink after 5pm). Excellent value Easyjet

flights to Paphos. Give it a try.

Abu Dhabi & Dubai– 22 March

We did this trip in 2013 and it was very

popular. This year we will stay on Yas

Island close to the famous links before

moving down to the Sofitel Jumeira. This

will save a lot of travelling and enable you

to fly in and out of Abu Dhabi as well as

Dubai. Great courses, luxury hotels and

beautiful weather.

Cornelia—Turkey—11 May

We’re back at the Cornelia in May be-

cause it’s so good. The Faldo was found

to be a bit tough so we play 2 at Carya and

2 on Faldo as well as our favourite Kaya

Eagles. A fabulous All Inclusive week.

Morfontaine, Chantilly, France—8 June

Although I officially retire on 31st March I

will be making a final guest appearance at

Morfontaine as we are only there thanks

to my friendship with Dr Jean Natali who

will celebrate his 92nd Birthday shortly

afterwards. We are restricted to 36 play-

ers and we still have 12 places left. A

beautiful hotel and some of France’s top

courses. What’s not to like.

GB & Ireland

Richard has decided to run a series of UK

events this year with a hope of encourag-

ing newcomers and especially friends of

yours from the club. See if you can per-

suade some of your mates to come.

Robin Hood Shoot Out, Notts—24 June

Four great courses on the edge of Sher-

wood Forest with 3 nights for £599.

Portmarnock Links, Dublin—13 July

Mention Ireland and you immediately think

Portmarnock, home to more Irish Opens

than all the others combined. Add in Bal-

tray, The Island and Langer’s Portmarnock-

Links and you have 4 superb courses. Fly

into Dublin from just about anywhere.

The Vale in Wales—1 Aug

The Wales national has staged many PGA

events and this superb resort offers two

championship courses and an excellent

hotel. A top weekend of golf.

Lancashire Coast—18 Aug

No stretch of coast in the UK comes close to

matching Fylde. Our trip includes Royal Birk-

dale, Hillside, S&A and Formby. Don’t wor-

ries ladies can still play! It doesn’t get much

better than this.

Bournemouth, Dorset—9 Sept

So many good courses down in Dorset but

we have selected 3 of the best—Remedy

oak, Broadstone and Parkstone capped off

by one of the South Coast resort’s landmark

hotels—The Highcliff.

One Dayers at The Belfry and Beau Desert

Even more reason to bring your friends are

two one day team events. Run at cost price

these Am Am’s will be huge fun and the best

way yet of convincing your friends to come

and join us.

Cancun, Mexico—2 October

The Moon Palace in Cancun, Mexico is a

stunning all inclusive hotel on the azure

waters of the Gulf of Mexico. It has its own

course and it’s just a short distance from

Riviera, not to mention the capital of the

Mayan civilization.

GRAND FINALS GAIN R&A APPROVAL For some years now

some of our clients

have queried whether

or not the Expenses

Paid Holiday to the

Grand Finals at the

end of the year con-

formed to the R & A

Guidelines for Amateur

Status.

You will all be delighted

to know that our tour-

naments have been ap-

proved by the R & A un-

der the Sponsored

Events section and all

our clients are thus al-

lowed to accept expens-

es to the Finals without

jeopardising their Ama-

teur Status.

Excellent news all round.

2014—THE YEAR OF SUCCESSION