Belgian Tour Report

GSGB Belgium Tour 9th - 16th September 2017 On 9th September twenty seven GSGB golfers good and true descended on Genval in the Waterloo region south of Brussels for a week’s stay at the Hotel Chateau du Lac, a beautiful hotel which overlooks theLac de Genval and was formerly the Belgian headquarters of Schweppes. All arrived safely and on time for pre-dinner drinks – all that is except Barrie who had to rush back to Lille to retrieve his passport and wallet inadvertently left in a hotel safe. But he was back in time for the lovely welcome meal which followed, beautifully served to us in a private room overlooking the lake. And then on to golf. Unfortunately the weather forecast for the week wasn’t good. Heavy showers were expected, so umbrellas and waterproofs were at the ready. But we were so lucky! The showers did indeed come, but not when we were playing golf. So somehow we managed five rounds with virtually no need for waterproofs. The five courses we played were all challenging, in good condition and with fine clubhouses and facilities. Royal Waterloo was most people’s favourite. It was also closest to our hotel, but it must be very discreetly located, since Robin and Pat took forever to find it despite (or maybe because of) having three different sat navs to help them. But they got there eventually to join their teams, and even managed to get among the prizes on the day. Other than at Royal Waterloo the only temporary first-tee ‘no-show’ was at Sept Fontaines on the Tuesday. Ruth and Lyn drove to the course early, paid for their buggy and settled down with cups of coffee. Early smugness at being the first to arrive, turned to concern when no one else turned up. On checking they realized that they were at the wrong course – they were at Friday’s course La Tournette two days early! A quick dash to Sept Fontaines followed, where outwardly at least they showed tremendous sang-froid following their faux-pas. Apart from these two minor hiccoughs the week’s golf went very smoothly. Some good golf was played. And some not-so-good golf. But everyone enjoyed it. Mainly team competitions of course, so blame could easily be shared! On their free day many people took the opportunity to visit Brussels, while others visited the many historic sites nearby relating to the battle of Waterloo. On the final evening we enjoyed a gala dinner followed by the prize presentation. Not surprisingly everyone got a prize, but a special mention goes to Beverley and Barrie each of whom received a bottle of champagne, as winners of the individual Stableford competition. And another special mention to Robin and Sally, who managed to make it to the dinner despite having to abandon their broken-down Porsche convertible near to the Waterloo memorial. Yet more British sang-froid! Overall a very enjoyable tour with a great group of tourists, who mixed in well and made the job of the organizer an easy one.