Captain’s Chat: The 4th Instalment
- Sam Tobin
- Jul 6
- 10 min read
Updated: Jul 7
Hello everyone, and welcome to the fourth edition of the Captain’s Chat!
I honestly cannot believe I am saying this, but I am officially six months into my captaincy. If I thought the first few months flew by in the blink of an eye, the last few have completely vanished.
Thank you all so much for your continued feedback, messages, and banter on the terrace. It makes this role an absolute joy, even when the pressure is on!
Speaking of pressure… the weather here in Portugal is officially hotting up by the day. As I sit down to write this, the thermometer is sitting at a scorching 35 degrees. Ouch!
It is madness to think that just a few short months ago, we were all wading through what felt like the wettest winter on record. Now we are playing on fairways so beautifully parched and baked that a well-struck drive does not just roll, it hits the ground and shoots off at pace. I suppose the silver lining to the summer heat is that we are all getting an extra 50 yards of purely accidental distance on our drives!
Recent Events
Past Captains Day – 22nd May
What a great time we had at our annual Past Captains Day. It is always a wonderful occasion to see so many familiar faces back out on the course.
A huge thank you must go to our incredible catering team, who provided an absolutely superb lunch for everyone afterwards. The food and hospitality truly made the day special. There were some good scores to boot…
Results:
I. Galloway, J. Galloway, R. Konches, D. Cocketerton – 94 pts
S. Tobin, C. Newland, M. Thomas, S. Thomas – 92 pts
B. Hart, D. Clutterbuck, R. Wilson, A. De Jongh – 89 pts
Club Championships – 6th & 7th June
Next up was the big one: the annual Club Championships.
Two consecutive days of what can only be described as beautifully torturous medal play in the summer heat. Everyone who pushed through the 36 holes deserves a massive round of applause.
Alongside the gruelling golf, we had our rolling BBQ on the Sunday, and wow, what a hit! I have received so much fantastic feedback and praise from everyone about how much they enjoyed it. It was another absolutely stellar effort by our staff, and these occasional BBQs are fast becoming a favourite club tradition.
The competition on the course was incredibly fierce, but a huge congratulations goes to our 2026 Club Champions.
Men’s Best Gross
Winner: M. Abbott – 166
Runner-Up: P. Cotterell – 170, on countback
Third Place: D. Wessells – 170
Ladies’ Best Gross
Winner: A. De Jongh – 169
Runner-Up: S. Tobin – 173
Seniors’ Best Gross
Winner: S. Walker – 177
Overall Best Net
Men’s Champion: B. Davies
Ladies’ Champion: Rebecca Smith
Superb playing from all of you. Getting your names etched into Floresta Parque history is incredibly well-deserved.
Members Day – 20th June
Just a few weeks later, we celebrated Members Day.
We kicked things off with a fantastic atmosphere for the shotgun start, and the fun format certainly delivered plenty of laughs out on the course. We will keep those pesky dice for another year!
Congratulations to Dave Atherton for his hole-in-one on the 7th. Such a shame it did not count. Sorry Dave, I could not help mentioning that again!
Thanks also to Jonny Disco, who did his best to get people up dancing in the evening. A thankless task when his audience had already had an early start that morning.
I know I certainly cannot burn the candle at both ends like I once did.
A massive thank you to Paul Cotterell and Casas Do Barlavento for sponsoring the day. They not only provided us with a great selection of trophies, but also four two-night stays for two people at Belmar in Lagos for the winning team.
I was lucky enough to be in that winning team, so I am very much looking forward to a luxury stay at this wonderful resort.
Girls on the Parque
On the 25th June, the Floresta Parque ladies enjoyed a friendly match with the Boavista ladies.
It was a superb day, with each four-ball made up of two Floresta Parque ladies and two Boavista ladies, all entering an AMAM card. It was a great format and made the day so relaxed and so much fun.
The Boavista catering team then served us up a delightful lunch and a cheeky glass of wine. I think from the pictures you can see we all looked rather smart in our new pink shirts.
Once again, Casas Do Barlavento and Paul Cotterell stepped up to support our “Girls on the Parque” shirts. It was a really kind gesture and very much appreciated.
A massive thank you to Jayne Milliner from Boavista, Jan Galloway and Rebecca Smith for organising such a perfect and fun day.
League Update
Since my last chat, our league team has hit the road for a tough run of away fixtures. As we all know, winning away in the Algarve is a completely different beast compared with defending our home turf.
10th June vs Vale do Lobo, away: We fought hard but ultimately slipped to a 3.5 to 1.5 defeat.
23rd June vs Boavista, away: A classic local derby that went right down to the wire, just missing out on a draw with a narrow 3 to 2 loss.
24th June vs Amendoeira, away: Another gruelling battle on a tough course, ending in a 3.5 to 1.5 loss.
While the scorelines away from home did not quite go our way, I want to say a massive thank you to everyone who travelled and represented the club so proudly.
Our next big test is away to Vila Sol on Tuesday, 14th July. Let’s see if we can break the away-day trend and bring home a result.
After that, we can look forward to a couple of home matches where we will be back on familiar ground and looking to turn Floresta Parque into a fortress once again.
A Bitter-Sweet Farewell and a Warm Welcome
Our Senior Food and Beverage Manager, Mario, officially retired on the 3rd of June.
Mario was with us, and looked after us, with absolute dedication for an incredible 19 years. As a token of our immense gratitude, the membership came together and raised a spectacular €1,295 as a leaving gift.
I think that number alone speaks volumes about just how deeply he was appreciated and how much he will be missed by us all.
We wish him a long, happy and very well-deserved retirement.
Muito obrigado, Mario!
The great legacy Mario leaves behind is a fantastic team still in place, now led by our new Food and Beverage Manager, Liliana.
Many of us already know Liliana very well from her other roles around the Parque, so we know the clubhouse remains in incredibly safe, capable and familiar hands.
Please join me in giving Liliana a huge welcome to her new role the next time you are in the clubhouse.
Junior Golf Update – The Tigers Are Roaring!
Away from the main league and board competitions, I want to share a brilliant update about the future of our sport at the Parque.
As many of you know, Rui Gloria, who does a fantastic job running the golf operation here, also runs coaching sessions for our junior golfers. His time is supported by the members of the club, and he invests it back into our juniors with such immense passion.
Rui’s “Tigers”, as he fondly calls them, are having some incredible success under his tutelage.
Take a look at young Alfonso, pictured below. He entered his very first major competition at Pine Cliffs on the 23rd of May and came a fantastic 3rd place. Not content with just one silverware haul, he then followed that up by proudly taking 1st place in the Under 10s at Vila Sol.
We had better keep a very close eye on this lad!
Rui tells me that Alfonso works incredibly hard on his game, so we wish him all the continued success in the world. Well done, Alfonso.
A massive thank you must also go to Rui Gloria for the endless hard work, commitment and enthusiasm he gives to these budding golfers. The future of Floresta Parque golf is looking very bright indeed.
Another Fond Farewell
Nick and Penny Naish have made the tough decision to move back to Blighty.
They first bought a house in Figueira in 2001 and then subsequently moved to the Parque to spend much more time here in 2007. That is quite some service to the club. Thank you, you will both be very much missed by your friends at the Parque.
I hope we do still see you both for the occasional round and a wee drink on the terrace.
Proper Club Spirit
Many of you noticed that David Haddon’s memorial bench on the ladies’ 5th tee had mysteriously disappeared. Well, it is now back in its rightful place and looking remarkably well.
I want to say a massive thank you to Rod Smith and Mick Berry for giving up their time to take this task upon themselves and do their very best to breathe new life into the bench.
I know Margaret Haddon does not make it up to the 5th tee anymore, but I am sure she would be utterly delighted that someone took the time to show that bench a little kindness and respect.
Thank you so much, Rod and Mick. That is proper club spirit.
The Need for Speed – Let’s Talk Pace of Play
Now for a little bit of club maintenance, but I promise this is not a telling off.
We have noticed that some of our rounds lately have been creeping into the five-hour territory. While we all love spending time on our beautiful course, and arguably get more value for our membership money the longer we stay out there, five hours in any conditions, never mind in 30-degree heat, is a bit much for anyone.
In club competitions, the maximum expected time for an 18-hole round is 4 hours and 40 minutes.
To help us keep track of this, members must write their accurate finish time on their scorecard when they complete their round. Moving forward, any groups whose rounds exceed 4 hours and 40 minutes will unfortunately have points deducted from their score.
We want everyone to have an enjoyable, relaxed day, so here are a few quick and painless tips to keep us moving and keep those scorecards safe from deductions.
Play ready golf If you are ready to hit and it is safe to do so, go ahead and play, even if you are not technically the furthest away from the hole.
Prepare while others play Use the time while your playing partners are preparing for their shots to choose your own club, check your yardage and pull your glove on.
Watch the ball flight Keep a sharp eye on your group’s tee shots. If a ball looks like it is heading for the rough or a red penalty area, get a good visual marker on where it entered so you do not spend unnecessary time searching.
Park with the next tee in mind When you arrive at the green, leave your golf bag or buggy on the side of the green closest to the next tee box. This prevents you from having to walk back across the green after you have holed out.
Mark cards on the next tee Do not stand on the green checking and marking scorecards. Walk to the next tee, let the player with the honour tee off, and mark the cards while others are hitting.
Let’s keep things moving, enjoy the banter on the terrace a bit sooner, and keep those points on our cards.
Rules Corner: Penalty Drops vs Free Drops
Golf is a game of rules, geometry, and occasionally standing in a bush questioning your life choices.
When your ball inevitably finds a spot it should not be in, the Rules of Golf give you two ways to get out of jail: the free drop, where the golfing gods are smiling upon you, and the penalty drop, where the golfing gods are sending you an invoice.
Let’s break down the difference so you can drop with confidence on the fairways and discuss it with authority on the terrace afterwards.
1. The Free Drop: “It’s Not My Fault”
A free drop is golf’s version of a get-out-of-jail-free card. You get one of these when something artificial, accidental or abnormal completely ruins your stance or swing.
The triggers: Cart paths, sprinkler heads, rabbit holes, or those lovely freshly filled drainage tracks from the greenkeepers.
The catch: You do not get relief just because your ball is sitting behind a massive cork tree or buried in a bush. That is just golf. You only get relief if an artificial object or abnormal course condition is interfering with your physical swing or stance.
The cost: Zero strokes. Total bargain.
How to do it: Find your nearest point of complete relief, where the interference completely disappears and you are no closer to the hole, then drop within one club-length of that spot using any club in your bag. Though, let’s be honest, most people wisely pull out the driver for maximum real estate.
2. The Penalty Drop: “Mistakes Were Made”
A penalty drop is what happens when nature wins, or when you have aimed just a little too far left into the scenery. This is your ticket out of a disaster zone, but it comes with a tax.
The triggers: Hitting your ball into a red penalty area, formerly known as a water hazard, losing your ball entirely, hitting it out of bounds, or declaring your ball unplayable because it is wedged somewhere no golf ball should ever be.
The cost: One penalty stroke. Or, as your scorecard likes to think of it, a €1 administration fee.
How to do it: Depending on the situation, you generally get two club-lengths of relief from where the ball crossed into a red penalty area, or you can go back on a line from the flag through the entry point.
The Golden Rule of Threes
To keep it dead simple on the course:
Free drops usually give you one club-length of relief.
Penalty drops from a red penalty area usually give you two club-lengths.
So remember: if the course built it and it is in your way, it is probably free. If nature built it and you hit it there, pay the man his stroke, take your two club-lengths, and let’s keep that pace of play moving.
Happy golfing everyone, stay cool out there, and I’ll see you on the terrace.
Sam Your Proud Captain
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