News - Silves Internacional

Captains Day 2024

Despite all the myths surrounding Friday the 13th, last Friday turned out to be a very lucky day for Captain Stu Piper's Captains Day Trophy.

The weather was warm with a cool breeze and 50 plus members of SICG played the course at Silves in ideal conditions for the honour of winning the Captain's Trophy.

Yvonne Nevin braved the early start to offer all players swigs of Irish Jameson whiskey, sips of Baileys Cream or Port and passed out water and bananas on the 1st tee.

Each four ball stood on the 1st tee box at the allotted time to get their photograph taken behind the SICG Captain’s Day banner and then each player in turn stood at the white tee to drive their ball down the first fairway to the delight of those who managed to keep their ball in play.

During the course of the day Captain Stu and his wife Christine drove around the course meeting with the various groupings chatting, encouraging and plying them with bottles of beer, water and soft drinks. There was great competition amongst the players and it was all done in true golfing spirit.

The Captain did manage to miss out several members on the back nine with refreshments of beer and soft drinks for which he offered his apologies. He had already consumed several beers at that point and hopes he is forgiven.

The halfway house at hole nine was very popular and in particular the egg and onion sandwiches which ran out quickly. The Captain would like to thank and acknowledge the support of Yvonne, Margot and Christine for providing the refreshments which were so well received.

Prizes were awarded for the overall winner of the day to Barbara Briggs with a score of 37 points. Second place with a score of 36 points was Katriina Iho who also received the Captain's Trophy Cup.

There were also prizes for Men’s nearest the pin which went to Julian Lyons and the Ladies nearest the pin was won by Janice Langham.

Best front nine was won by Jukka Iho and best back nine was won by Markku Hakala.

The following evening we had the Captain's Day Dinner at the Garden restaurant Carvoeiro with 51 people in attendance. From the positive feedback from the vast majority in attendance, the evening was a resounding success. The beer and wine flowed freely and the live music from the fabulous group The BUZZ was great entertainment and enjoyed by everyone.

Thank you to everyone who made both days so pleasant and memorable for me.

Stu Piper - Captain SICG

St Patrick's Day 2024

This year, on a beautiful Algarvian Spring day, the St Patrick's Day Trophy competition was held on the 18th March. This meant that there was a double celebration for the Irish as the actual St Patrick's Day was the previous day (17th March) and the birthday of one of our members, Rikki Huddleston.

Fifty six members dressed in the spirit of St Patrick and in varying shades of green turned out for the Greensomes competition.

Yvonne Nevin was at the first tee to pour shots of whiskey or Irish cream liquer and hand out goody bags along with a little girly shamrock brooch to players. Despite protests from some of the alpha males they were ordered to wear the brooch. The good news for everyone is that they can keep it for next year and wear it again

A photo of each four ball was taken by Yvonne at the fantastic new St Patrick's Day banner (as seen in the photographs), designed by Bob Clarke, with a little help from Rikki.

Following the competiton 45 members headed to the Central Café in Carvoeiro to carry on with the festivities. Members were welcomed at the door by Captain Stuart. The ambience in the restaurant was fantastic. A play list of Irish music, compiled by Rikki, blared out across Carvoeiro and the colourful Irish decorations and balloons added to the ambience.

After a few drinks, lunch commenced with couvert and platters of smoked ham and cheese. This was followed by Bela the Chef's amazing "Irish Stew" and a selection of desserts.

After the meal the prizes were announced by Captain Stuart with help from Vice-Captain Geoff and Events Coordinator Margot .

Members were congratulated and prizes were awarded as follows:

1st prize - Bob Clarke and Stuart Piper

2nd prize - Tommy and Karin Sundin

3rd prize - Gerry Murphy and Tony Seal

Commiserations were afforded to Martin and Margaret Jones, despite a sterling performance, lost to 3rd place on count back.

Nearest the Line (Men) - Ilkka Katko

Nearest the Line (Ladies) - Antje Lankenau

Nearest the Pin (Men) - Max Nyman

Nearest the Pin (Ladies) - Margot Huddleston

Best Fancy Dress - Margot Huddleston but given to a member of the Central Café staff.

Captain Stuart concluded the celebrations and extended his thanks and gratitude to those who had organised the event, to the wonderful staff at Central Café and to everyone who participated in the competiton and joined in the lunch celebrations.

A great day was had by all!!

Christmas Cracker

The day commenced at 7.57 am with a maximum temperature of 4 degrees. Members were greeted by Vice Captain Stuart and his lovely wife Christine on the first tee. A shot of port, whisky or Bailey's was offered to members along with a homemade mince pie baked by Christine.

On arrival at the Clubhouse of the last four ball, prizes of Espumante, wine and chocolates were presented by Captain Margot and Vice-Captain Stuart. Sue Mills, dressed as a female Santa, was the worthy winner of the best fancy dress.

Festive music organised by Rikki added to the atmosphere as members enjoyed a drink in the sunshine. Captain Margot also distributed the Christmas bonus to the bar, reception staff, marshals and greenkeepers. A good day was had by all!

Nordic Day 2024

Dear friends - something old and something new

This year we Finns were responsible for organising the Nordic Day. During the summer holidays in Finland we gathered prizes and tried to invent something new, something different to delight our international friends.

We wanted to stick to tradition by choosing the Restaurant Recanto dos Mouros in Silves, because we trusted their capacity to prepare the good old menu, provide a friendly service and a nice space for 60 guests.

Traditionally we served some Finnish drinks on the first tee. Also the halfway service was quite traditional. Karelian pies and “Tiger cake or Marbel cake” with drinks. As usual, nearest to the line -competition was held at the 9th hole. The winners were Max and Jules.

The real surprise was waiting on the 10th fairway where we had the “Closest to the Bottle and Flag -competition”. The lucky winner of five litres of red wine, was Markku Hakala.

Unfortunately the weather was a bit rainy and cold, but all that was forgotten as we entered the restaurant, which was beautifully decorated with white and blue balloons and of course with Finnish flags. The prizes were handed out with big laughter and in a cheerful spirit.
The winners of the main competition were Jukka and Katriina, the second ones were Philip and Sue and the third place went to Åsa and Thomas.

With these words I would like to extend my gratitude to all members whose friendly help helped us to organise a memorable day for our club members and for our guests. Also I would like to say a big thank you to our Finnish team whose seamless co-operation made this Nordic Day possible.

A big KIITOS to everybody

Katriina and the Finnish team

End of Year Celebrations 2023

A capacity attendance of SICG members and guests packed the Brasserie Rosale restaurant in Carvoreiro for the Club's annual presentation dinner. President Tom Callan conveyed a warm welcome to all, and later assisted Captain Margot Huddleston, and Competitions secretary, Alan Winstanley, with the presentation of prizes.

Championship Winner Jules Heath and Lars Person

Order of Merit Winner Antje Lankenau and Lars Person

Arie van der Brink Trophy Winner Frank Wilson

Knock Out Pairs Winner Tuula and Villematti Nurmi

Knock Out Winners Ladies Tuula Nurmi Mens Thomas Hormfeld

The delightful ambience was unmistakable, as delicious food, and plentiful refreshments, were served by friendly restaurant staff, while music from renowned musician, Jackson Rivers, further enhanced the pleasant atmosphere. The lengthy list of award winners is fully detailed in the appropriate section of the website, but special, congratulatory, mention must be made of Lars Persson, and Julia Heath, respective Club Champions in the Men's, and Ladies' categories.

The celebratory, party atmosphere continued until late, as Jackson Rivers delivered a full range of fantastic music. Against the background of tunes from ballads to opera, the dance floor was graced by enthusiastic, energetic revellers, as vividly reflected in the various photos here, kindly provided by Sharon Lyons, and Volker Lankenau. Overall, the evening was indeed a memorable SICG experience, courtesy of, in particular, the Events' Group, coordinated by Captain Margot. Congratulations are extended to all prize-winners, but gratitude is also conveyed to not only the organisers, but to everyone who attended, and therefore contributed to the occasion's undoubted success.