Greencard Golf Holidays Turkey 2017 Tour Report

Regnum Carya Continues to Impress

This is our third visit to the all-inclusive Regnum Carya Golf & Spa Resort and once again this wonderful venue continues to impress. It is without doubt one of the finest hotels we have visited. The first thing that strikes you is the attention to detail. From the glass of champagne offered to you on arrival, and indeed every time you enter the hotel, to the fabulous, friendly staff to the quality of the food and drink in all the outlets. The surrounding gardens, pools, private beach and pier are just stunning.

The rooms are equal to any hotel we have visited around the globe. All rooms have a balcony offering views of either the golf course or the swimming pool and sea beyond. There is a walk in wardrobe and impressive en-suite bathroom.

The golf programme for the week included one round on each of the Sultan, and Pasha courses at Antalya Golf Club together with three rounds on the adjacent Carya, which hosted the Ladies European Tour event in 2015, and a men’s European Tour event in November 2016. Since our visit last year, there have been some remarkably seamless changes to the course, which have only enhanced the experience of playing this tremendous course.

The weather was set fair for the week with sunshine, perfect temperatures and blue skies. The opening round was the usual AM AM, played on the Carya course. The format was two scores to count on each hole and the teams of Jez & Debbie Morgan and Chris & Ros Clempner shared the victory with Ian & Caryn James Bailey and Keith & Sam Judson.

Round 1: Maggie Lowe Takes an Early Lead

The following day we traveled the short distance to the nearby Antalya Golf Club, which is home to both the Sultan and Pasha courses. Both tracks were in near perfect condition and a pleasure to play. The first round of the individual tournament was played on the longer and some would say more difficult Sultan.

Maggie Lowe, playing off a handicap of 3 had a wonderful round of 37 points. Colin Osborne finished the day one shot back on 36 and Tony Wells carded a solid 35 points. Brian Haynes, a past champion here in Turkey began his week with 33 points.

Round 2: High Scoring on New & Improved Carya

The second round was played on the Carya course. As already mentioned there have been significant changes to the layout since our previous visit in 2016. There is now a superb new par 3 over water on the front nine and a large lake placed between the 17^th and 18^th fairways. There is not one weak hole on this course, it is a fair and true test of golfing ability, a joy to play.

John Meagher enjoyed one of the best rounds of his Greencard career shooting a wonderful 42 points. Neil Marr had a fantastic 40 points and Brenda Gentle made a significant move up the leaderboard with 39 points.

Phil Raybone ended the day one back on 38 and this was followed by Chris Clempner and Brian Haynes who both finished the day with 37.

Single Point Margin at Halfway

At the half way stage Brian Haynes and Maggie Lowe were at the top of the leaderboard with 70 points. Phil Raybone was on 69 and both Neil Marr and Alan Orritt were on 67.

The free day gave everyone the opportunity to utilise the wonderful facilities at the hotel. Many chilled out on the beach or beside one of the many swimming pools enjoying the glorious sunshine. Others made use of the excellent spa or chose to play another round of golf. The resort really caters for all.

The following day it was back to business with the third round of the event being held on the Pasha. Although shorter in length than the Sultan, the course still requires accuracy from the tee and the tricky greens ensure scoring is not easy.

Round 3: Jez Morgan hits a one over gross

This time it was the turn of Jez Morgan, playing of a handicap of 5 to turn on the fireworks. His one over gross round gave him a total of 40 points and put him firmly in contention going into the final round. Brian Haynes continued his form and another excellent round of 38 points ensured that he would have the lead with one round to go. Meanwhile Phil Raybone was keeping the pressure on after carding 35 points, a score matched by Ros Clempner, who like John Meagher in the previous enjoyed one of her best rounds on Greencard.

Top Two Break Free With 18 to Play

With one round to go Brian on 108, had a lead of four points from Phil Raybone. Jez Morgan and Maggie Lowe were seven back on 101. It would require a tremendous round from a player outside the top two to take the victory, but we have seen it before and as we know, until the round is completed, anything is possible.

The 2017 “Trolley In Water Award” Goes to……

Last year, we were discussing the incident which saw Jim Barton’s trolley fall into the lake at the Sultan course. We thought this was a one off but on the final day it was deja vue when Caryn James Bailey took the award from Jim Barton!

Flashback Moment: 2016 Trolley in the Lake incident

 

It was on the 11^th hole of the Carya (was the 10^th hole last year), which is a tight par 4 running alongside the lake. All was peaceful with the birds singing and perfect weather conditions. Then all of a sudden there was a huge splash as Caryn’s trolley decided to take a dip! It took quite an effort to pull the soaking bag and trolley from the water, but needless to say at least the ladders from last year’s incident were not required! Fortunately, Caryn had already eaten her lunch and her phone was still working which was a plus as Jim was not quite as fortunate last year! If you are planning to join us in Turkey next year, we highly recommend bringing a waterproof golf bag, face-mask and snorkel!

Final Round: Brian Snatches Victory on Final Hole at the Carya

Back on dry land, Alan Orritt had the best score of the day with 37 points which moved him into fourth position overall. Maggie Lowe made a superb effort to catch the leader with 36 points, enough to secure third position. Jez Morgan couldn’t quite hit the heights of the previous round and his 27 gave him fifth position. So it was down to Brian Haynes and Phil Raybone to see who could claim the title.

It was a hard fought affair, and by the turn the Brian’s lead had been cut to just three points. It was at this point that Pauline Crosthwaite could have sold her last few holes to the leaders. Her finish earlier in the day gave her 11 points in three holes, including an eagle on the par 4, 17^th hole!

Drama on the Closing Two Holes

Meanwhile, Phil continued to exert the pressure and by the time they reached the 17^th hole, he now had a lead of two over Brian. Phil hit a solid drive down this par 4 and was in prime position to play his approach onto the green. Meanwhile, Brian hit a high but short drive, leaving a long second shot. By this point, he had to take a chance and took his three wood. He hit a pure shot, which ended up running through the back off the green. Phil then hit his second shot which came off to the right and bounced out of bounds. After dropping another he reached the green before putting out for a single point. Brian had a tricky putt for par, which he missed but took the bogey and two points.

Pressure Increasing on 18^th Tee

So standing on the final tee, Phil had a one shot lead. Brian hit a good drive and found the fairway but Phil’s tee shot found the trees on the right. If you get out of position on this course, it can be tough to score and unfortunately, it took a further three shots to find the putting surface.

Meanwhile, Brian’s approach was again long and ran through the green. He chose to putt in front of the clubhouse and the watching Greencard gallery. His putt initially looked good, but the slope took the ball quite a distance past the hole. Phil then putted up to a couple of feet and had a short one to secure his point. Brian took his time before hitting a superb winning putt which found the back of the hole. His par and three points confirmed his victory over Phil by a single shot.

Winner & Qualifiers

Congratulations to Brian on his victory and a huge thank you to all of you who travelled to Turkey and made the week such a success. Congratulations must also go to both Chris Hegarty and Sam Judson who gained sufficient Tour Points to qualify for the finals week at the end of October in La Manga.

We are already booked to return to this wonderful venue in May 2018. If you’d like to join us full details will be available on the Tournament Calendar page of this website shortly.

You can see how the results from this event change our Tour Points and Order of Merit Tables by clicking below:

 

 

 

 

Greencard Golf Holidays Turkey 2017 Event:

 

FINAL LEADERBOARD

	Name	Total Pts	H/C	Rnd 1	Rnd 2	Rnd 3	Rnd 4
1	Brian Haynes	139	11	33	37	38	31
2	Phil Raybone	138	9	31	38	35	34
3	Maggie Lowe	137	3	37	33	31	36
4	Alan Orritt	130	10	31	36	26	37
5	Jeremy Morgan	128	5	27	34	40	27
6	Chris Hegarty	125	8	31	31	33	30
7	Sam Judson	124	16	29	34	30	31
8	Chris Clempner	124	11	29	37	30	28
9	Neil Marr	123	15	27	40	28	28
10	Debbie Morgan	122	20	30	33	24	35
11	Colin Osborne	122	16	36	29	28	29
12	Robert Kerr	121	9	29	33	27	32
13	Tony Wells	121	11	35	30	33	23
14	Brenda Gentle	120	21	23	39	27	31
15	Ian James Bailey	116	14	22	32	29	33
16	Rosalind Clempner	116	30	24	36	35	21
17	Gail Hegarty	115	13	26	27	32	30
18	Gerry Gentle	115	12	31	25	30	29
19	John Meagher	115	9	24	42	23	26
20	Anthony Trafford	114	12	29	29	27	29
21	Keith Judson	112	17	25	34	22	31
22	Caryn James Bailey	111	21	25	29	32	25
23	Pauline Crosthwaite	110	6	25	29	26	30
24	Bill Leo	110	12	30	26	27	27
25	Marian Raybone	109	15	27	35	27	20
26	Yvonne Moir	108	14	29	29	22	28
27	Phil Crossland	102	15	29	27	19	27