2012 Tours :- There are two tours proposed for 2012 - see details below. 2011 Reports :- The reports for the Tours from 2011 are further down the page. GSGB SPRING TOUR - 2012 - KENYA Next year’s Spring Tour is planned from around 4th February (tbc) for two weeks in KENYA. The Tour will consist of 6 nights at the 4* Windsor Hotel & Country Club in Nairobi on Half Board, with 4 games of golf (2 at The Windsor, 1 at Karen GC and 1 at The Muthaiga Club, home of the Kenyan Open), followed by 8 nights with 5 games of golf at the 4* Great Rift Valley Lodge & Golf Resort overlooking Lake Naivasha in the Great Rift Valley, on Full Board. This is a paradise for bird watchers. There are a number of optional tours in both venues, including a day trip to Lake Nakuru National Park to see the myriads of pink flamingos and a ‘Big 5’ game safari in the park. Optional pre or post tour packages can also be booked by contacting Distant Landings direct, e.g. 2/3 days safari in the Maasai Mara or a few days at a beach resort in Mombasa, with optional golf, etc. Flights to Nairobi in East Africa are around just 8 hrs from London making this a medium haul destination. Due to its proximity to the equator and its altitude the days are warm all year round and the nights perceptibly cooler. There is usually no rain at this time of year. The cost will be approximately £2,625 pp, inclusive of almost all meals with welcome drinks & group dinner & farewell drinks party prior to special farewell prize-giving bush dinner, 14 nights accommodation, 9 rounds of golf, caddies, all transportation & Economy Class flights from London Heathrow with Virgin (golf bags carried free!). As there will be a limit of 36 in the party, please contact Rob Downes if you would like to receive a Booking Form and fully detailed itinerary as soon as it is ready. Tel: 01928 788748, email Rob – Robert@rdownes.orangehome.co.uk email Brenda at Distant Landings – info@distantlandings.co.ukGSGB SCOTLAND TOUR 2nd – 8th SEPTEMBER 2012 Our accommodation will be the Macdonald Marine Hotel and Spa at North Berwick, Lothian (www.macdonaldhotels.co.uk/our-hotels/marine). The price includes seven nights b&b with a welcome dinner on Sunday 2nd September and finishing with a prize-giving dinner on Saturday 8th September (departure Sunday). We will play North Berwick (West Links) on Monday, Longniddry on Tuesday, Kilspindie on Wednesday, Craigielaw on Friday and Gullane No 2 on Saturday. Two of the rounds will be played as a Mens and Ladies individual Stableford competition – the other three rounds as mixed team events. Thursday is a “free” day. Edinburgh is about 40 minutes away or there are many other golfing opportunities in the area. We are able to take 36 members on the tour and need to confirm the booking as early in November as possible. As usual a “first come – first served” policy will apply. The cost per person is £899 (single supplement £350). A deposit of £450 per person is required, with the balance payable on 2nd July. A 30% non-refundable deposit is required by The Marine Hotel because it is in great demand as the premier accommodation for the area. The balance of the deposit secures the tee times at the various courses. There are some room upgrades available. (The supplement is per room per night). Classic Four Poster £50, Executive Sea View £50, Sea View Four Poster £80 and finally Executive Junior Suite £105. Please contact me with any queries. Tel 01245 473536 or by email alan@golbourn.com Alan Golbourn { YOU CAN DOWNLOAD THE APPLICATION FORM AT THE END OF THIS PAGE }. Report on 2011 Austria Tour ..... The Hills Were Alive With the Sound of ........................................ the GSGB! (Tour to Austria 3-10 September 2011)
The tour was fully booked almost from when it was first announced, but with a flurry of last-minute injuries and swaps 30 members eventually descended on Salzburg from all directions and by all modes of transport. They were Gerald Akerman and Beryl Newnham, Peter and Dorothy Batty, Alan and Sally Burnay, George and Liz Clark, Keith and Margaret Davey, Ed and Sue Devine, Alan and Carole Golbourn, Derek and Jocelyne Haigh, Robin and Pat Hart, Ian and Judith Macleod, Robert and Linda Hill, Jeff and Irene Smith, Mark and Tricia Summers, Tony and Janie Watson and Michael and Trish Wymer. Full marks for courage and commitment went to the Burnays, with Sally only coming out of hospital the day before travelling to Austria. Sadly missed were the Stocks, with Pauline's knee still keeping her out of action. As ever, one of the greatest pleasures of being GSGB tourists was having just about everything organised for us. Hearty thanks before, during and afterwards went to Margaret and Keith. They in turn regularly complimented Golf Par Excellence for their groundwork and also for the proliferation of gifts and prizes they had contributed. Thanks also went to the Hills and the Golbourns for their meticulous administrative support. Our base for the week was the Sheraton Hotel at Fuschlee, 20 miles east of Salzburg. There were a few shuffles of rooms on arrival and an occasional murmur about bar prices but we really couldn't have wished for anything better located or appointed. A particular highlight was the welcome dinner, out on the terrace on a balmy, late-summer evening. In addition to the usual ribald jousting engendered by the renewal of longstanding friendships and the pleasures of new acquaintances, there was a definite whiff of romance in the air, particularly for the Wymers who were to celebrate their wedding anniversary on the Monday and for the Macleods who would celebrate theirs on the Friday as well as Judith’s birthday. Austria's 140 golf courses are almost all of international calibre, with high standards of course management and very warm hospitality. We began and ended at Golf Club Mondsee which is situated on the shores of one of the most beautiful lakes in Austria. Unfortunately, during our first outing there, a monsoon developed and we were driven from the course after 9 holes. On our return on the final day, though, we were entranced all the way round and then presented with an incredible challenge on the last four holes. Our second booking was at Salzkammergut which is Austria's oldest course. It was founded in 1933 and famously entertained Edward, Prince of Wales as a playing guest in 1937. Breathtaking views of the Salzkammergut mountains awaited us at every turn and on every climb and we really thought Julie Andrews might come over the hill to greet us on the 18th. Our other venue was Gut Altentann, the home of the Austrian Open from 1990 - 1992. It was designed by Jack Nicklaus so it was not surprising to hear GSGB comments ranging from clever through tricky all the way to fiendish. Individual day prizes were won by Beryl, Jocelyne, Gerald and Jeff and individual aggregate prizes went to Liz and Ian. In a surprising turnaround from other recent tours the Gentlemen, led by George and the Chairman, crushed the Ladies 5-1 in the traditional last-day competition but the honours really went to Trish and Tricia for reminding everyone how the Ladies normally perform. Away from the course we were spoilt for choice on things to do. Homage to Mozart was a must for many and several groups made their way on different evenings to the oldest restaurant in Europe (Stiftskeller St Peter in Salzburg) for a candlelit dinner during which the Amadeus Concert, in period costume, performed arias, duets and overtures from ‘Don Giovanni’, ‘The Marriage of Figaro’ and ‘The Magic Flute’. Homage to the von Trapp family was another popular choice with a host of landmarks on offer, the most memorable perhaps being St Michael's Church at Mondsee where the wedding scenes from ‘The Sound of Music’ were filmed. Reports of Salzburg city tours, cable car rides, lake cruises, a visit to a salt mine and a festival of classic sports cars were also related enthusiastically during our evenings out at local restaurants. As separate groups we discovered nearly 20 of these, all with surprisingly similar menus but all with the same excellent levels of service and friendliness. With Kenya and Scotland coming up next year, and others to follow thereafter, it will be some time before we go to Austria again but make a note to sign up if and when it happens. You'll love it! GSGB IN VIETNAM Oi troi oi (pronounced oi choi oi – Oh my God! in Vietnamese). This was a phrase we learned very quickly because the sights and sounds of Vietnam were amazing. As we all travelled from various parts of the UK and Portugal, we arrived in Saigon at different times, although most of us met up in Kuala Lumpur where we were recognisable by our Distant Landings luggage labels. On arrival at Saigon we were met by Khai, our guide. We could not have had a better person to show us the sights of Vietnam. His English was excellent and he was full of interesting information. The journey from Saigon Airport to the InterContinental Asiana Hotel gave us a wonderful taste of what was to come. It is a vibrant city, old and modern mixed together, bustling and colourful. The most memorable first impression, however, is the three million or so motor scooters, carrying everything from families to livestock, riding tyre to tyre and elbow to elbow all tooting their horns. Our Welcome meal on the first night was an excellent buffet which we ended with a toast to Robert and Ruth Downes and Alan and Sally Burnay who had to pull out at the last minute due to health problems which have now been resolved. During the first week we played golf at Song Be Golf Club which featured lakes and tree lined fairways and The Vietnam Golf and Country Club where we played the east course designed by Lee Trevino which featured bunkers, water hazards and undulating greens. Then we played twice at Long Thanh Golf Club on the Hill course and the Lake course. All of them were a very tough test of our golf. On each occasion we were met by lots of chattering caddies, mainly young girls, who were all eager to take our bags, choose our clubs and read our greens – not necessarily all as competent as each other! It was very hot on all four occasions, but the caddies were dressed in several layers of clothing, face masks, peaked caps and towels attached, which were also pulled across their faces. This was all to keep cool, keep a pale skin and to prevent pollution getting to their lungs! Their English was limited to golf phrases such as “left of hole, one grip, Madam/Sir” or “hazard, right” etc. However, some went a little further and were not afraid to ask the ladies how old they were before fluttering about and saying how young we all looked! Our sightseeing in Saigon took in Buddhist temples, the Reunification Palace, the War Remnants Museum which was very harrowing, the Post Office and the Cathedral. The shops and markets had to be seen to be believed, with everything from sweets and shoes, hats, fruit, vegetables, fish and meat, most of which were still alive! We also went to the Mekong Delta where we took a boat trip to an island and watched the locals making sweets from coconut milk. After sampling fruits grown on the island we were taken for a short ride in a donkey cart (you had to hang on tight) to a little landing stage where we got into sampans and explored inland waterways. At the end of the week we went by air with our guide, Khai, to Da Nang. On our way to the Airport we visited the Cu Chi Tunnels, a network of underground passages and rooms stretching for about 200 kms built by the Viet Cong and never fully discovered by the American troops. We saw how the entrances were disguised and how mantraps were made. These were simple, but frequently fatal. Some of the emergency exits were only the size of a sheet of A4 paper! The 5 star Furama Resort Hotel in Da Nang is on a beautiful beach by the South China Sea. Fortunately we had not gone there for a beach holiday because we never saw the sun at all in 9 days. As we had five rounds of golf planned we didn’t mind too much and the temperature was perfect for golf. We played the Montgomerie Links three times and the Danang course, designed by Greg Norman, twice. Both courses are said to be Links but the first is more manicured and the second more natural with sandy waste areas. Both are a real challenge at around 6,700 yards for the men. The Montgomerie is only 3 years old and the Norman only opened last year. We all enjoyed the golf so much that some of us returned on our last free day. Our trips from the Furama included a visit to Hoi An, which is a world Heritage site. Here we saw shops, markets, temples and old homes. We walked along the waterfront to see the Japanese covered bridge which was built in 1593 to link the Japanese and Chinese communities. Most of us enjoyed visits to the local tailors where we had clothes made to measure in double quick time. I think between us we ordered 6 ladies jackets, 2 pairs of trousers, 2 shirts, 3 blouses and a dress! We also visited My Son, a beautiful valley south-west of Hoi An to see the Cham monuments - the ruins of an important religious centre built between the 4th and 13th centuries, which was further seriously damaged by American bombs during the Vietnam War. Our last little tour took us by boat to two islands where we watched local people making pottery, boat building and wood carving. Anthony Briggs very kindly organised the golf with the benefit of plans put in place by Rob Downes. We played a series of team stableford competitions and three individual single stableford rounds. Carol Briggs was the winner of the aggregate of the three singles with Bill Collins and Pippa Duncan in second place. Our final round was the traditional ladies -v- Gents which the Ladies won by a significant margin, thanks to excellent rounds from the higher handicap members of the team. Our last night and farewell dinner came all too quickly. We met in the bar for Happy Hour and the Prize Giving. As is the custom at GSGB, nobody won more than one prize for golf, although there were some spot prizes for outstanding moments such as for one member failing to keep her cool on the first golf day when there was a bit of a mix up over bags, buggies and clubs etc. Another was for the oldest member getting 5 stableford points on a hole. Another was for outstanding services to the Vietnamese clothing industry and so on. All agreed that the trip was a huge success! We must thank Robert Downes for all he did to set the whole trip up with Distant Landings. We were very sorry that he and Ruth were not able to enjoy it with us. Our thanks go to David Richardson who took over group leadership and to Anthony Briggs who ran the golf. Lastly, our grateful thanks go to Brenda at Distant Landings who was easily available on email when we had a query. We look forward to seeing her at the AGM. Jill Richardson |
Tours 2011/12 |