LOVE PLAYING A ROUND? COME AND JOIN US ON AND OFF THE GOLF COURSE
In 2010 4 brave souls journeyed across the frontier into Spain and down to the Mas Pages golf course just North of Girona. They played the par 3 pitch and putt course and were so satisfied with their day’s efforts they decided to form the first golf group in the Pyrenees Orientales as part of the U3A (University of the Third Age).
Since then, the group has grown and prospered. It has increased from the 4 musketeers to 38+ players.
The majority live locally but a good proportion are seasonal visitors from Ireland, England, Scotland, Switzerland, and other faraway places.
This year it has 2 Captains sharing the workload and organising the weekly excursions to what has now grown to 5 different par 3 pitch and putt courses in Spain (this part of France does not have much to offer with respect to par 3 courses).
• Peralada
• Castello Empuriabrava
• Gualta
• Mas Pages
• Franciac
plus two long courses in France and one in Spain.
• Falgos
• Montescot
• Peralada
The informal start in 2010 has developed into regular weekly matches (on a Wednesday) for the par 3 courses. Depending on the time of year they will start c.9.30 followed by diner c.13.00 departing for home c.15.00.
Whilst golf (and its multiplicity of rules and regs) is taken seriously the focus is on enjoying the sport and, more importantly, the social aspects of the day.
The long course matches (18 full length holes for Peralada and Falgos and 9 holes for Montescot) are scheduled for a Monday.
As you can see this is now a well organised, and “well oiled”, group with the 2 Captains sharing the organisational load with support from other members in booking the post-match restaurant, the handicap calculations, the booking of the courses in advance and many other aspects not least the creation and emailing of the weekly newsletter and the online scoresheets, website, and tracking of the competitions (there is a trophy for most points scored in the year (for ladies and gentlemen) and another trophy for the most birdies scored). In addition, each match ends with gifts being handed over to the top three on the day and whoever gets “nearest the pin” on a nominated hole.
And that is not all. The group also organises an annual “Stableford” match at Gualta in honour of one of the founding members, namely Bill Tyler (now sadly no longer with us).
If that was not enough the group organises golfing away breaks in Spain from 3 to 6 days. These involve stayovers in hotels and a few matches on different 18-hole courses.
As you can see, in 14 years U3APOGOLF has morphed into a very welcoming and affable group of various nationalities intent on enjoying the game but more importantly enjoying each other’s company. It’s amazing how some people’s Spanish, French, and Catalan has developed over the years (“2 bières et un verre de vin s’il vous plait” or “2 cervezas y una copa de vino por favor” or even “2 cerveses i una copa de vi si us plau”.
The group is always open to new comers so if you have played the game and want to get back on the 1st tee then just drop a line to U3APOGOLF@GMAIL.COM and the Captains will be happy to chat and explain a lot more about this merry band of ladies and gentlemen.
