President’s Day at Atalaya is traditionally a members’ event and ranks at the top of the list of the club’s most important functions. Each year a full day of activities is planned that always starts with an 18-hole qualifying Individual Stableford competition on the Old Course. Members strive to accumulate the highest number of Stableford points possible. The goal of every participant is to do the necessary to win the coveted President’s Cup trophy. The entire field, regardless of handicap or division in which a person competes, is eligible to win this sought after trophy. The only criterion is to score more Stableford points than anyone else.

This year Doris Müller took the challenge very seriously and played a nearly flawless round. Playing off of an exact handicap of 10.1, Doris had little room for error. Bogeys were out of the question, and on eight holes a par only yielded two points. The maths says it all. Doris played an outstanding round, assuring her the tournament win.

A great deal of personal planning on the part of both President Michael and his wife Evelyn went in to making the day perfect for all, setting the bar high for the next president. The couple chose golf caps inscribed “President’s Day” to give to all participants as a special souvenir. This gift was only the beginning. Evelyn served her own home-made goulash, with cheese, bread and drinks to all at the turn, and then before the round was over, all players were offered one more treat – a glass of cava.

Golf was only the beginning of a very festive day. After a short break and time for a nap, golfers and their significant others returned to the club for an evening of reflection on the highlights of the day, as well as dinner and dancing and, of course, the awarding of prizes to all of the tournament’s top scorers.

Musical interludes were provided by popular area sax player and Guadalmina member Gary Michael (https://soundcloud.com/gary-michael-sax/tracks) and Costa del Sol favourite Zoë Louise (www.zoelouise.com).

This year competitors were categorised into three divisions, with two for the men and one for the ladies. In Men’s Division I (handicap 0 – 16.1), Jorge Vanni captured First Place with 39 points, and Andoni Basterrechea took Second Place with 36 points. Cachy Siconolfi was Third with 35 points. In Men’s Division II (handicap 16.2 +), Raul Rodriguez was First with 35 points and Paul Wiget was Second with 33 points. Also with 33 points Karl-Johan Raaegaard placed Third, as a result of his higher handicap. For the ladies, Martine Arnold scored 37 points to place Second and Eileen Audas was close behind in Third with 36 points.

But in the end no one’s performance came close to that of Doris Müller. She very deservingly will have her name inscribed on the President’s Cup as the 2019 tournament champion, becoming a tangible part of Atalaya’s history.

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La entrada Doris Müller captures the President’s Cup se publicó primero en Atalaya Golf & Country Club.

Atalaya’s Captains Kajsa Schmidt and Franz Arnold, the tournament’s organisers, skilfully divided participants into seven highly competitive teams: Alpine (with players from Austria, Italy, France and Switzerland), Fjords & Lakes (representing Norway and Finland), Germany, Spain, Sweden, UK/Ireland, and United Nations.

Members of each team represented their country of birth or country of citizenship. The mighty UN team served as a melting pot for all who did not qualify as members of the other six teams. UN team members represented Atalaya’s smaller nationality groups – Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Japan, Russia, Serbia, USA, and the like.

With each of the seven teams hoping to capture the tournament’s coveted trophy, named after Pat and Jack Odell who originally sponsored the event, Saturday’s format was “Four-Ball-Better Ball” and Sunday’s was “Greensomes Stableford”.

This year’s tournament stars were the pair of committee member Peter Hood and Louise Spruce, who carded scores of 46 and 45, respectively. Their amazing two-day run, mounting a total score of 91 points, assured their UK/Ireland team the tournament victory (314 points). This year’s Second Place honours went to team UN, with a highly respectable 302 points. The Fjords & Lakes gang snuck in dangerously close behind with 301 points to capture Third Place.

Honourable mention is extended to the Swedish pair of Gunilla Parmlid and Gunnar Ottosson who tied with Spruce and Hood at the top of the Day Two Leaderboard, scoring 45 points.

The International Tournament is just one of several tournaments set aside throughout the year exclusively for Atalaya members. For more information about the many benefits Atalaya Golf & Country Club membership affords contact: info@atalaya-golf.com.

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La entrada Team UK/Ireland 2019 International Tournament Winners se publicó primero en Atalaya Golf & Country Club.

Earlier this month on the 3rd of October, Bridgeclub Biznaga celebrated the launch of its eleventh year with a special tournament followed by a tapas buffet. Biznaga meets at Atalaya every Thursday afternoon at four o’clock for a challenging duplicate game. After each session players gather for pizza and tapas and good conversation. According the the club’s director Phia van Lohuizen, “Friendship and Warmth are the only trump cards at Bridgeclub Biznaga.” Although seating is always limited, registration for each session is open until 20h00 on Tuesday evenings. For more information and to contact Phia go to www.bridgewebs.com/biznagabridgeclub.

Every Tuesday, also, at four o’clock the Benahavis Bridge-Club meets at Atalaya. Benahavis is an international club with members from all over the world. According to the club’s directors Evelyn Fernando and Eric Bottalla, conversations in Dutch, English, French, German and Spanish are regularly heard. The club welcomes players of all levels, except absolute beginners. The club also meets on some Sundays, and each month’s agenda is posted on the club’s website (www.bridgewebs.com/benahavis) under the heading “Sunday Schedule”. The fee for non-members on Tuesday is 6€, and on Sundays both members and non-members pay 7€.

Both Biznaga and Benahavis use the online Bridgemate system, which allows for results to be available immediately after play. Both clubs email these results to all players at the end of each session. The clubs, additionally, use a computerised shuffling system that allows players to review every hand at the end of each session.

Monday bridge at Atalaya is a long time tradition, and it is the day each week that Atalaya members and their guests come together for a spirited game. Atalaya’s Diamonds Bridge Club will next year be celebrating its 13th Anniversary, and during these years the club’s founders Regina and Frank Beckmann have very capably remained at its helm. Recently, the club has added an “Atalaya Members Only” game on one Friday afternoon of each month. The Friday members competition is proving to be very successful and is attracting some of Atalaya’s own who do not participate in the regular, weekly Monday tournament.

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La entrada Atalaya Welcomes Bridge Players Throughout the Week se publicó primero en Atalaya Golf & Country Club.

This year Atalaya’s players took advantage of their fine-tuned golfing skills to finish the six-match contest tied for Second Place.

Atalaya, Chaparral, El Paraíso, La Cala, Marbella Club, and Santa Maria made up the roster of the clubs participating in the 2019 summer tournament, with each club hosting one event.

The summer’s first match was held on Course America, at La Cala Golf, on Friday, the 14th of June, and the season’s final leg took place at El Paraíso, on Friday, the 16th of August.

At each match six pairs represent each club, although only the accumulated points of the four top scoring pairs from each club are used to calculate each club’s “score-of-the-day”.

With an 18-hole Individual Stableford format, the better score of each pair is recorded hole-by-hole.

For all six matches the program of the day is the same. First, the day’s 72 players gather for coffee. Next, they are escorted to their designated starting holes to prepare for the day’s “shotgun start”. After play and a quick change of clothes, everyone comes together for lunch, enriched by a tsunami of impressive golf stories. Finally, the day’s winners and tournament rankings are announced.

Top scorers for Atalaya at the season’s final match at El Paraíso on Friday were the team of Sirpa Kallela and Joseph Duerrmeyer, who scored an impressive 43 points. Nina and Richard Phillimore skirted in close behind with a noteworthy 42 points.

Other pairs that contributed greatly to Atalaya’s Second Place tournament finish were: Jeanette Baldemark and Andoni Basterrechea, Julia Flada and George Slawinski, Evelyne Wayd and Peter Oliver, Debbie and Phillip Fisher, and Martine and Franz Arnold.

Team Atalaya’s top score of the season, an extraordinary 49 points, was carded by Baldemark and Basterrechea, at Marbella Club, on the 2nd of August.

Different pairs competed in each match for Atalaya this summer. Mixed pairs captain Richard Phillimore was keen to insure that all who signed up to participate were given the opportunity to play.

Congratulations are in order to Richard for his role in making the tournament such a success and to all of Atalaya’s competitors for a well played season resulting in a Second Place overall finish against very strong Interclub opponents.

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La entrada Atalaya’s Mixed Pairs tie for Second Place se publicó primero en Atalaya Golf & Country Club.

Although many of Atalaya’s members spend their summers in their homelands, the challenge of robust competition remains strong for those members who summer on the Costa del Sol, and the Summer Mixed Interclub series of one-day tournaments promotes healthy competition amongst Atalaya’s socios and the members of neighbouring clubs.

The six clubs participating in this year’s travelling, six-match tournament are: Atalaya, Chaparral, El Paraíso, La Cala, Marbella Club and Santa Maria. Each club will host an 18-hole competition followed by a luncheon, lots of interesting golf talk and a prize giving ceremony.

Hosting this year’s first Summer Mixed Interclub match was La Cala Golf Resort. The event took place on Friday, the 14th of June on La Cala’s Course America.

The tournament’s format is Individual Stableford, with the better score of each pair recorded on each hole, more formally called “Fourball Stableford”. At every match each club is represented by six mixed teams, and the scores of each club’s top four scoring pairs are added together to calculate each team’s “score-of-the-day”.

Top scorers for Atalaya at La Cala were Nina and Richard Phillimore with 42 points and Jeanette Baldemark and Andoni Basterrechea with 36 points.

Atalaya ended the day in Third Place with 144 points, only one point behind Santa Maria. Club totals were close for all clubs except Chaparral. In spite of extremely challenging conditions created by high winds with gusts topping 40 kilometres, the Chaparral troupe ended the day with an unbelievable 166 points, more than twenty points ahead of all of the other five teams.

The second match of the the series is scheduled for the 28th of June at Santa Maria, and Atalaya is poised to climb higher on the ladder towards being crowned the 2019 Summer Mixed Interclub champion.

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La entrada Atalaya participates in Summer Mixed Interclub series se publicó primero en Atalaya Golf & Country Club.

As an example last Thursday, the 30th of May, a special Day Out attracted some 41 Atalaya members, family and friends. The venue was a walk on El Caminito del Rey.

Participants headed by bus from Atalaya’s parking lot a little after 09h00 primed for an exciting day. Most were feeling both anticipation and a bit of a thrill about what they would experience.

The opportunity to traverse the “Path of the King” which hangs some 100 metres above the Guadalhorce reservoir in the El Chorro Gorge is not an everyday event. The Caminito is located about 25 kilometres inland from the city of Malaga.

Unfortunately, only a few minutes into the bus ride to the King’s path, tour guide Manu announced that due to very windy conditions the Caminito was “closed” for the day. What a disappointment for everyone!

It all seemed a little surreal – like going to a concert and learning that the main act had cancelled at the last minute.

However, none of this slowed down the optimistic Atalaya delegation. The group made “lemonade out of lemons”, and the day went forward as planned.

First stop was for coffee at the Restaurante Hostal El Cruce in Ardales (www.ardaleselcruce.com). Next stop was the El Kiosko restaurant and bar (www.restauranteelkiosko.com) from where everyone walked through the tunnel that leads to the walkway that provides access to the North entrance of El Caminito del Rey. The picturesque and pleasant walk is about 2.7 kilometres in length along a winding and gently sloping path about two metres in width. The return journey back to El Kiosko provided time to imagine what the day might have offered had the walk on the Caminito itself been a reality.

A traditional Spanish lunch followed at La Garganta, known as the “Balcony at El Caminito del Rey”, (www.lagarganta.com). The restaurant/hotel is only a short drive from El Kiosko.

Throughout the day one of Atalaya’s festive members added a special treat for all to enjoy by entertaining the group with various harmonica tunes. He even provided a last goodbye melody as the bus arrived back at Atalaya.

All were tired and content. Even though the day was not the one anticipated, the experience will long be remembered with fond memories by everyone.

La entrada Caminito del Rey Day Out se publicó primero en Atalaya Golf & Country Club.

On Monday, the 11th of March, Atalaya’s bridge club, now known as the Diamonds Bridge Club, celebrated 12 years of success. As is the tradition the agenda of the day included bridge followed by a special dinner party. This year’s venue was El Campanario Golf & Country House. The event proved to be a huge success, with 28 bridge players who were later joined by their spouses, partners, and friends for the evening’s special dinner.

Atalaya’s bridge club evolved organically more than 12 years ago when long-time Atalaya members Regina and Frank Beckmann invited a few friends for an afternoon of fun. Week one turned into week two and then week three and so on. More and more players regularly turned up for a hearty game, and all of a sudden what had started as a simple idea became a real-life entity.

The Diamonds Bridge Club meets every Monday at 15:30 in the clubhouse bridge room. Each week a sign-up sheet is posted on the bulletin board in the walkway across from the club’s administrative offices. Many Atalaya members, as well as guests, attend. English and German are the most common languages spoken. All are welcome. For additional information please send an email to: info.atalaya-golf.com.

For those who are looking for more than one bridge game each week, Atalaya, additionally, offers bridge on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. Starting time is 16.00.

On Tuesdays the Benahavis-Bridge Club, with an international flavour, welcomes players from all over the world. English, Dutch, and French are the most common languages spoken. Scoring is recorded through the “Bridgemate” wireless system, and each session’s results are immediately available after play. For more information contact either Eric or Evelyn at: benahavisbridgeclub@gmail.com.

Bridge Club Biznaga plays at Atalaya on Thursdays. The club’s organiser Phia van Lohuizen says that the club is first and foremost a social and friendly venue. After play each week tapas are served at the clubhouse restaurant, Ventanas de Atalaya. Bridge Club Biznaga also uses the “Bridgemate” system. For additional information please contact Phia at: biznagabridgeclub@gmail.com.

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La entrada Atalaya’s Diamonds Bridge Club Celebrates 12th Anniversary se publicó primero en Atalaya Golf & Country Club.

With 36 holes of golf and having members who represent 36 nationalities, membership at Atalaya offers a much more diverse and in-depth opportunity than the normal golf club experience of merely playing a round and socialising in the “19th hole” with a drink or meal.

In addition to the many ancillary and intangible benefits of club membership – like providing a home away from home and a true sense of community – Atalaya members enjoy many privileges:

• Preferential Daily Tee Times

• Discounted Prices on Guests’ Green Fees

• Members’ Only Locker/Dressing Rooms

• Complimentary Bag and Club Storage

• Fitness Centre

• Members’ Only Dining Room

• Discounts at the Golfriend’s Pro Shop

• Discounts at the Ventanas de Atalaya Restaurant

• Discounts at the Kiosk

• Annual Buggy Rental

• Various Weekly Members’ Competitions

• Special Members’ Competitions

• Interclub Competitions with Members from Other Area Clubs

• Various Social Events

• Reserved Parking Area in Atalaya’s New Parking Facility

• Discounts on Green Fees at Numerous Area Golf Courses

• A Bridge Club

Take advantage of the current, limited opportunity to join Atalaya today and enjoy the Atalaya experience to the fullest. For more information about becoming a part of the Atalaya family, contact info@atalaya-golf.com or drop by Atalaya’s management offices conveniently located across from the bulletin board on the pathway that goes down to the Caddy Master.

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La entrada Barceló Montecastillo offer for members se publicó primero en Atalaya Golf & Country Club.

For this reason a special offer is available to Atalaya members at the Real Golf Club Guadalmina. From September 6th – 30th, 2018, Atalaya members can play either Guadalmina’s North or South course for a very special Greenfee price of only €18.00.

A special price is, also, available to the guests of Atalaya members. Guests will pay the special Greenfee price of €55.00 on the North Course and €65.00 on the South Course.

To take advantage of these offers, it is necessary to book at least 48 hours in advance by calling Atalaya at (+34) 952 882 812 or by sending an email to info@atalaya-golf.com.

La entrada Special offer for Atalaya members! se publicó primero en Atalaya Golf & Country Club.