Hi everyone, the season is nearly under way now and I’m really looking forward to getting started!
As I mentioned in my last blog, I was heading to ‘sunny’ Spain with my family for some warm weather practice and to play a few mini events on the Gecko Pro Tour as a warm up to the season.
So I thought it would be good to blog about the trip and how my preparations went.
Our base was perfect, one mile from Puerto Banŭs, just down the road from Marbella, and round the corner from Aloha Golf Club, along with plenty of other decent courses!
Here’s the link if you ever fancy renting in the area: two double/twin bedrooms and through me it’s a steal at £300 for the week!
http://www.marbellaholiday.co.uk
Finding a decent base to practise was tricky though; Aloha were having none of it … But luckily I managed to come to an arrangement at Los Naranjos (2 miles away) where I could practise for a small fee, but not play the course.
It was a great set up, and much better than having to go to a driving range and pay for balls all the time. The grass range was ideal, and there was also a covered section and a decent short game area!
So out of the first two weeks I must have spent seven days at Los Naranjos, and to fill in the other days I played at Aloha, Guadalmina, Alhaurin, and spent some great time with the girls sightseeing the Spanish coast and mountains!
It was also great to keep up with my gym programme set by Rachael from Dynamic Golf, as I was able to join the famous Manolo Santana gym and tennis club across the road for the month.
The final two weeks were pretty much taken care of by two tournaments on the Gecko Tour – and here’s how they went…
Round up from Alcaidesa on The Gecko Pro Tour:
Wind, wind and then MORE wind! There are two courses here and we played the ‘heathland’ course … It’s never seen heathland as it’s nothing like the heathland which I grew up on at Crosland Heath!
But the layout was pretty interesting and very hilly. I played solid and took the first round lead on -1, the only person to break par … And that was with a bogey bogey finish …
Day 2 we had a two-hour delay for extreme winds but once we got out there I knuckled down and after a poor start I stuck in and finished -2 for the day and a -3 total to win my first Gecko event by two shots!
The best feeling from this win was that the work I’ve done over the winter and the trip to Spain have been totally justified, I’m doing the right things – and taking the financial risk to come has been well worth it!
Round up from La Canada on The Gecko Pro Tour:
The whole reason for this trip was to play some competitive golf and hopefully highlight some areas of weakness before the season starts … it did!
With it being very windy again, and a more demanding course, numerous times the same shot cropped up and I struggled to pull it off … So after getting to -3 after ten in my first round, I slipped away to +2 for round one.
Round two I played very poorly; I struggled with everything and that just shows how crazy this game is. I birdied the last three to make it feel respectable and added a 73 to my 74 to finish T12th.
But overall the preparation has gone really well, the game feels good and I’ve identified the few weak areas that need some attention for the pro-am back in Northern Spain this coming week.
I can’t wait to tee it up again, two months’ of practice felt like a long time and I just love competing so it’s nice to tee it up week in week out now!
Here’s my little guide to southern Spain
Golf…
From the golf courses I’ve played this month, Guadalmina South is a must; very flat, through the trees, old school Spanish, and a great setting, I really enjoyed it!
I also played Alhaurin Golf Club which really was not my cup of tea … Maybe next time if I played it I would know where to try and hit it, but it was quite an unfair golf course … I suppose the terrain did not help … But check out the amazing back drops!!
But a huge thanks to Jorgen for the invite and his hospitality!
Aloha GC I played on a bad day, it was very windy so I didn’t quite enjoy it like I heard I was supposed to! Again, old school through the trees but very hilly; sounds like it’s well worth a visit on a good day!!
Alcaidesa Heathland – not quite Crosland Heath style heathland but definitely not traditional Spanish! It’s in some tough company being surrounded by La Reserva, San Roque, Sotagrande and Valderrama, but not bad for a day out as again some amazing views!! (Buggy is a must).
La Canada – again we played it in the wind; it was a very tough test! A course you would enjoy, very tree lined, slopey fast greens and more of a traditional Spanish course.
Sightseeing …
You have to get up to Mijas old town! We got there on a glorious day and the view back over Marbella is outstanding!! Roasted sweet almonds in the street, donkey rides round the town, cobbled streets and the chocolate factory just topped off a nice day out! Yummy!!
Another old town you must visit is the Orange Square in Marbella; after getting lost through the narrow streets you stumble across a fabulous square filled with cafes and restaurants! It’s a must!! Anyone for cafe con leche…?
If you like your fast cars and big boats then head down to Puerto Banus and sit round the marina … Ferrari after Bentley slowly drive around the marina revving their engines!
Gibraltar – we really did not know what to expect! But the weather was poor, and I know things never look their best in miserable weather!
But it did feel a bit run down, lots of naff shops, plenty of over-priced fish and chip shops, and not a lot of parking!
We did go up the ‘rock’ though and with the cable cars out of action, we drove up ourselves (that was a blessing in disguise with a pram). We had a look round the historical sites, and then got ambushed by the apes, which was highly amusing.
I won’t be going back though! Sorry Gibraltar!
Trip round up…
It’s been awesome! There is no better job than going out to practise/play in a morning when the weather is great and then coming home to Laura and the girls!
It’s also been the most constructive February I have ever had for practice, the months grinding in the UK through the winter make me wonder why I’ve never tried to do this before … So a massive thank you must go to David Pitts (DPPublicity) for giving me and my family the opportunity!!
We’ve had a small taste of the Spanish lifestyle down here too, and that’s always been something that has interested us… So you never know, if I get that ticket to the main Tour we could be re-locating!
Thanks to all of you again for reading my latest blog, hope you’ve enjoyed it!
Please do keep in touch
Chris