Benamor Bem Jogado! The Power of Volunteering

Take what happened at Benamor Golf Course on the East of the Algarve. In Portugal, it is not that unusual for a golf course to have one or more golf clubs associated with it, and in the case of Benamor, Golf Club Tavira is one of two clubs that consider the Sir Henry Cotton-designed course to be their home.

A couple of years back at Benamor, one member of Golf Club Tavira introduced to a friend a golfer he knew (it has to be said, a remarkable golfer with one heck of a personal story), and a seed was sown.

The golfer in question, Fernando Vega de Seoane of Spain, grew up playing in high-standard golf competitions as a young man but a horrible ski accident aged 47 in the Pyrenees in January 2022 left him paralysed from the waist down, needing the use of a wheelchair. When he first came around in hospital, Fernando says he felt sorry for himself “for a few seconds”, explaining today: “Ever since I assumed this was going to be forever, I just got on with it, put on a smile… Golf has brought me the chance to compete again and discover my new personal best.”

Just around a year after the accident in early 2023 this charismatic gentleman from Madrid was once again playing in competitive golf, this time using a powered mobility device, drawing on his unique golf and life experience to offer constant encouragement to other golfers around him on the course.

Certainly, his visit that year to Benamor would later have a galvanising effect on the members. Fernando played that day with the club Captain John Scott, an ‘ex-pat’ from near Glasgow, who had sought out the sunshine of the East Algarve 15 years earlier. John knew a little about ‘G4D’ (golf for the disabled) tournaments as he had become friendly with Dr Tony Bennett, President of EDGA (European Disabled Golf Association), a PGA Master Professional and coach, who joined the club himself in 2022 – later saying that as well as the fascinating and unspoiled course, he chose Golf Club Tavira for the “incredibly friendly atmosphere”.

John agrees with that sentiment. “It's a hub for the village and I think it’s the envy of a lot of clubs because of the camaraderie, the welcome for others. I remember we had a fantastic match with Fernando, it really brought it home what G4D is all about chatting to Tony and Fernando; learning about the opportunities for players to start, play and compete in G4D, and learning from Fernando what he'd been through, and how golf had really inspired him to keep going at such a difficult time.”

Meanwhile, Tony had noticed some of the passionate volunteers in action at the club at events and John Scott himself was highly enthusiastic on this subject. It wasn’t long before – given that this course isn’t overly long but is demanding (a high skill level at a par 71) – that the talk turned to the possibility of the club being a good venue for a first EDGA Tour Senior Cup tournament.

EDGA runs or supports 130 international G4D tournaments for golfers across the disability spectrum, including physical, sensory and intellectual impairments – the not-for-profit body’s remit includes a fully trained medical assessment team welcoming many new players into the game. But among these tournaments, there wasn’t as yet a pure ‘Seniors’ event for the 50-plus player, and a number of players had requested to see this change in the schedule.

John spoke to another member, his friend Graeme Mowat, who had lived most of his life in London before following the sun himself, and they enlisted the support of the club’s owner Gonçalo Dias Martins and golf Director Joao Paulo Sousa, along with Steve Livermore, the 2024 Captain of Golf Club de Tavira. A few conversations later, and after a few chats with potential volunteers, the first EDGA Tour Senior Cup was scheduled for December 2024.

“But we could never have got this off the ground without Señor Gonçalo and Joao,” explains John. “One of the reasons this club has such a friendly vibe is because of Señor Gonçalo and the whole team. He's at the club a lot and his children play golf. He just blends in as a regular golfer, as a member of the club. It makes a huge difference.”

For successful events like this, the tournament team of EDGA, led by Manon Eggermont, suggests having one volunteer per group, or ‘flight’ of players, to spot balls etc, then three to six scorers to ensure accuracy and speed of information; and also an official starter can be a great feature too. EDGA suggested limiting the field to 48 for a first tournament.

Looking back, Tony Bennett said recently: “Bringing the very first EDGA Tour Senior Cup to the Algarve and to Benamor Golf has been an absolute pleasure. Benamor is a beautiful windowless course (not overlooked by houses) offering magnificent views of the mountains to the north and the sea to the south. Based on an original design by Sir Henry Cotton, it’s a deceptively straightforward par 71 by today’s standards – relatively short, yet full of character. With five challenging par threes, a couple of drivable par fours, and four particularly testing holes where even top players would gladly walk away with a par, it’s a course that rarely yields low scores. But as impressive as the layout is, it’s the warmth of the owners, staff, and members that truly sets Benamor apart – they are among the most welcoming people you could hope to meet.”

Graeme Mowat said the feedback from all the volunteers during and after the tournament was highly positive: the crucial aspect was the enjoyment, satisfaction and sense of achievement gained, rather than simply feeling they had ‘done their bit’.

Graeme added: “I had the easy job of looking after the scorers but they certainly enjoyed walking the entire round with a player. There was so much camaraderie as they'd got to know them, they learned their stories, they were impressed.

“When one of the players won a key prize, one of our volunteers – Irene – was also delighted, as she had supported the player, they had formed that bond.”

John added: “Most of our volunteers are golfers and they were seeing golfers who were far better than themselves, and playing with impairments as well. I think we were all really impressed how seriously the players were in their performance and their competitive edge, but how friendly the whole atmosphere was, particularly over a drink after the round. So it was inspiring, in terms of the skill level and friendliness part of it all as well.”

Graeme agreed: “The role of the starter became very important and summed up the positive and fun nature of the tournament. This was John's wife, June: it took someone who had a certain personality to be able to do it. We had the portable PA system on the tee, with lots of clapping as players were introduced, so it created a really good atmosphere.”

Forty-eight players from 15 countries took part in a tournament that had categories including Seniors Nett Stroke Play and Stableford, and the same for Super Seniors (aged 60-plus). To underline the challenge, the only player to beat Nett par for the event was Mike Jones of Pontypool, Wales, a left-leg amputee who is a multiple winner of EDGA tournaments, whose combined two Nett scores of 4-under 67 to become Senior Stroke Play Champion was much heralded.

Also creating much interest among new-found friends, Fernando Vega de Seoane was also in the field, ably assisted by John Scott as his caddie, with the Spaniard shooting Nett rounds of 78 and 82, guided by the wily Glaswegian’s knowledge of the course.

Fernando said: “There is something really special about Benamor and also EDGA. Regarding my two visits to the course, I have felt myself at home. Not only the ‘smile’ everybody delivers; there is a general welcome feeling, a ‘what else can I do for you’, and a ‘let’s enjoy the game together’ mode.

“When I played the Senior Open last year, I had John as a caddie… He was the partner I needed with his understanding: giving me my space, always with that prudent advice, a mild Scottish accent and an eternal smile on his face no matter the outcome of the performance!”

Fernando added: “This kind of positive experience makes us disabled players feel really good. I’d like to include huge thanks to Mr Tony Bennett and his crew… I am here because they encouraged me to become part of this family in March 2022 (60 days after my accident) and they have given me the hope of becoming the best paragolfer in the world!”

John said: “I’ve never met any golfer like Fernando, who is super positive and also highly competitive. You can tell he's worked so hard to be able to play his best golf. Fernando, and his gutsy performance, his focus, but then making his good jokes on the tees, summed up the players. We, the volunteers, all look back on the tournament with a great feeling of collaboration, of working together for something that was special and we are delighted to be holding the tournament again in 2025.”

John also believes that the community link – that of local volunteers helping to run a tournament and welcoming visitors – was not only good for the atmosphere at the club, but practically it will help with how regional and national authorities view this golf club – therefore the volunteering ethos is also an investment for the membership.

John would later also become something of a victim of his own success. The EDGA Tour Portugal Swing Pinta was being staged on the Algarve in January, 2025, and a severely visually impaired golfer needed a guide, after her own guide could not travel. John was flattered to be asked, he felt felt nervous of the responsibility, but after some training from EDGA, he once again did a great job, quickly adapting to guide a player who is blind.

Talking of these volunteer experiences with players, John says: “It's an important one for me because one of my friends, Stevie, had a really bad stroke. He was completely paralysed. This is quite a number of years ago, way, way back. He was only about 45, but after a year it left him with no power in his left arm at all. He had been a ‘plus two’ golfer [having a Handicap Index of +2, a very high standard], and he did get back to golf again in the end. But if I had known then what I know now through EDGA, he would definitely have been playing tournaments back home in Scotland, we could have helped him more back then. It just goes to show the power of the EDGA community.”

The second EDGA Tour Senior Cup is booked in the diary for November 26-27, 2025. The field will grow from the 48 players of last December; last year there were five female players taking part (a figure EDGA would like to see grow) and at the time of writing, 11 women have entered this time and the field closes in a few weeks’ time.

“We’re all ready to go again,” says John. “It’s just a great thing for everyone here to do.”

– The EDGA Tour Senior Cup runs from November 26-27, 2025 (practice day on 25^th), and people are welcome to attend to watch and volunteer.