Thanks to Jakki M for highlighting these articles from yesterday on Facebook.....

Those who play golf at Alborán on a regular basis will know that the course is getting a lot busier. While the golf school located nearby does not seem to do much business.

The golf course is owner by the local council for the city of Almería. While the golf school was built and is managed by the regional government, the Junta de Andalucia.

The great news in this article from the La Voz de Almería website is that the two are going to merge. Similar news can be seen here on the noticiasdealmeria site.

This is something I have thought about ever since the golf school started being built. I came up with my own idea of how the course could be changed a little to take advantages of the facilities of the golf school (driving range, clubhouse, car parking etc.).

Read More for my ideas about how the course could change plus a Google translation of the article.

The new bermuda greens on the Classic are playing great. However the grass goes dormant in the winter. So they have just had their second coat of green spray paint to make them look nicer.

I took this photo while I was out on the course setting up the tees for the Woodsly tomorrow. It is Blue 2 (Classic 1).

It should be fantastic in a years time. When we have all 27 greens the same.

Last year the opening round of the Andalucia Seniors Circuit amateur golf competition was held in January at Almerimar. There were so many people wanting to take part the organisers had to close the entry list early.

This year the organisers have adopted a different approach. They have organised the competition to be played simultaneously at two courses, Almerimar and Playa Serena.

There are 6 categories of players taking part. Low, medium and higher handicap men, low and higher handicap ladies plus super seniors. These different categories of players will be split between the two courses. With the split being announced later this week (scheduled date is 16 January).

The closing date for entry into the competition is 21 January 2019. So far over 130 people have entered the competition. This is more than can play at the same time with a shotgun start on a single 18 hole course. So the decision to split the competition over two courses seems like a good one.

We still have a week left until the entry list closes so I guess we will see even more people taking part.

If you want to know more about the competition you can see information here on the Nextcaddy website.

One significant change in the 2019 golf rules is that clubs have the option of adopting the local rule described above to speed up play. Both Playa Serena and Almerimar have adopted this local rule for use from now on.

Juan posted the information above on the noticeboard in the Almerimar pro-shop earlier this week.

In the case of Almerimar it states in the heading that the local rule applies when not playing in competitions. I assume this means in all circumstances other than when playing in official Spanish Federation golf competitions.

Juan from Golf Almerimar emailed this list of golf rule changes for 2019 out to people. Thanks Juan.

As you can see, the green keepers are working on the new greens on the Classic (Master 3) course. There is some ingress of the wrong type of grass on the greens. Mainly around the edges. The wrong grass is being dug out by hand.

At the moment the bermuda grass on the greens is dormant. The greens have been coloured so they look better.

After having played the greens for around 3 months now I like them a lot. They were very firm at first. However they are now taking wedge approach shots a bit better. They are really tricky to read and pretty fast. Particularly when putting downhill.

I am looking forward to next autumn when we will have 27 new greens.

I understand that Golf Almerimar has details of 2019 pricing available in the pro-shop now. As is normal here, the information is not published on the internet.

I personally will know more details after I have visited the pro-shop in the coming days.

However, as usual, I will not be able to publish details here or elsewhere.

Jacqui and I have been busy playing a lot of golf recently so I have not had as chance to publish much here.

The other day we received the list of 2019 official golf competitions at Almerimar.

Given the published closing and opening dates for the Master course in 2019 it looks like a lot of the summer competitions will be played twice round the Classic course. Probably the ones from 26 May through to 28 July 2019.

My guess is that the Master course will reopen with new greens one day earlier than previously published. So the competition on 15 September 2019 will probably take place on the Master course with 18 new greens.

I have just received confirmation that all 18 greens on the Master (1 & 2) course will be replaced with Bermuda greens in 2019. The Master course will be closed from 11 May to 15 September 2019.

During this 4 month period there will be some special deals at other courses in the area for people who are members (buy tickets for 2019?) at Almerimar. As there will only be a single 9 hole course available at Almerimar.

As yet, there is no more detail. My guess is that people will receive more information closer to the end of the year. When the prices for green fees for 2019 are likely to be announced.

Something for the golfers....

You may know that there is a major change to the golf handicapping system due to be implemented in 2020. The aim is to have a single worldwide system (probably with a number of specific possible variants that different regions of the world can adopt).

As yet, the full technical details associated with the new system are not available. Also, there is no published launch date for it. However I have recently seen a suggestion that it might not go live until autumn 2020.

I guess we will just have to wait and see.

As you can see from the story here the greens on the Master 3 (Classic) course at Almerimar were renewed around the end of June 2018. As mentioned here the holes re-opened for play towards the end of September 2018.

They have now been in play for almost 2 months so I thought it might be worth writing something about them.

Read More for details.

Just a quick update about what is happening on the golf course in the upcoming very busy period.

From early November 2018, for at least a couple of weeks, the management of the course is putting in place measures to manage the speed of play.

During this period, if you are playing on the course please ensure that you turn up in good time for your tee time. Also, please ensure that you play at the pace specified by the marshals. Plus, please obey the marshals if they ask you to play more quickly or catch up with the group ahead of you.

If we all do this it will help all players to get around the course in daylight.

Earlier today I popped down to the course to pick up the entry list for Friday golf tomorrow. On the way in to the pro-shop I spotted this new map of the winter course layout on the wall.

Yesterday there was a competition at Almerimar to celebrate the re-opening of the Master 3 (Classic) course with new greens. Congratulations to the overall winner Benjamin and all of the other winners.

Jacqui and I did not play in the competition as we had already entered another competition taking place on the same day at Playa Serena. So we cannot say what the new greens were like yesterday. However, previously Juan had given me permission to putt on green 4 on the course which is just under the bridge from the Master (1 & 2) 14th green.

When I tried it the green was faster than the ones on the Master (1 & 2) course. With the biggest difference being that the ball did not stop quickly as it was slowing down. However the greens were still a bit bouncy at that time. Speaking to Juan a while ago he said that the greens are still a little new and should continue to improve over the coming months.

I also understand that full details about what is going to happen with the Master (1 & 2) greens in 2019 should be officially released to people towards the end of this year.

Thanks to Chalky for pointing out that the updated rules of golf for 2019 have now been published.

You can see more details here on the R&A site.

Key changes from 2019 onwards include:

- you can now putt from on the green leaving the flag in the hole

- drops will be from knee height rather than shoulder height

- you can now repair spike marks on the green and other damage as well as pitch marks

Yesterday I was playing 9 holes on the back 9 of the Master course. While playing I took the opportunity pop under the bridge and take a couple of pictures of the new green on Classic hole 4. You can see them above.

It is now only 2 1/2 weeks until the 9 holes on the Classic course will re-open. As mentioned here the course will switch to the winter layout (Red, Blue, White 9 holes) on 22 September 2018. On this day there will be a competition open to all people who buy green fees in bulk at Almerimar to celebrate the reopening of the 9 holes on the Classic. You do not have to be a member of the Spanish Golf Federation to take part in this competition.

Today I was offered the opportunity to try out putting on the new green on Classic hole 4. The green is much faster than the greens on the Master (1&2) course. However it is still somewhat bumpy. My guess is that the new greens will be flattened with a golf green ironing machine sometime in the next couple of weeks to make sure they are great to putt on.

Sadly, the competition on the 22 September 2018 clashes with an Andalucian Seniors Open competition at Playa Serena. So I guess not all of the locals will be able to play at Almerimar on 22 September. However I am sure we will all love the new greens when they are open for use.

Nacho from Valle del Este has been in touch asking if I would advertise these golf coaching events for him.

Earlier today we received two announcements from Golf Almerimar. One was about the Master course greens being tined next week (Monday 27 and Tuesday 28 August 2018). The second notice was explaining that there will be a competition to celebrate the reopening of the Classic course (with the new greens) on Saturday 22 September 2018. You can see copies of the two notices above.

Earlier today Jacqui and I played in an official golf competition at Almerimar. After the competition it was announced to people at the prize giving that further details about the re-opening of the Classic course will become public soon.

Golf Almerimar will be contacting people who have purchased annual packs of green fees for 2018 in the near future. Two of the main forms of contact will be via email (if you have registered your email address with them) and the Golf Almerimar Whatsapp phone number (if you have contacted them via Whatsapp via this phone number).

If you are a regular player at Almerimar and you want to know the latest news I suggest that you make sure they have your contact details. So you can keep abreast of the latest news.

This happened a while ago and I forgot to mention it. You can now contact Golf Almerimar via WhatsApp. The phone number is 0034620821455 if you want to add them as a contact on WhatsApp.