FIPPA Newsletter - August 2006.

Welcome to the first FIPPA Newsletter.

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BART BUITENHUIS, WORLD INTERCLUB LEAGUE player (NPPV, Netherlands)

The 2nd season of the World Interclub League tees off on the first weekend of August with 20 teams from 7 nations and 4 continents taking part in this 5 month global Pitch and Putt epic.
Teams that have signed up for the 2nd season are the current Champions, NPPV from the Netherlands, Sant Cebria and Sant Jaume from Catalonia, Country Club Ees from the Netherlands, La Rosaleda from the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean, Pitch and Putt Barbarians from Italy, Colegio de Medico from Chile, Tower Tee from the USA, Horsholm PPK from Denmark, Stanley Park from Vancouver in Canada and from Australia - Canberra International (2), Southern Cross (2),Balyang, Valley View, Glanville (3)and Corinda.

To celebrate the new season of the World Interclub League(WIL), the FIPPA Newsletter interviewed one of the leading players from last season, Bart Buitenhuis of the NPPV team.
When asked what made his team enter Bart said, "After a couple of e-mails and some discussions with Renze (our team captain), we decided to participate in this event. We hadn't the faintest idea about our chances or what the strength of the other teams would be but we recognized the uniqueness of this event."
Bart added that he believes the WIL is a great opportunity to play against other teams around the world. "The idea is in fact so great that I'm very certain that other sports will follow in its footsteps. The power of the net combined with initiatives like this make this incomparable to other events", he told FIPPA.

And as for his highlight of the first season, the answer was simple. Winning!
"Who could have thought that a simple Pitch & Putt Club from the Netherlands with only 30+ members could beat the St Cebria team for example. Players with a huge status and experience level way beyond ours. After winning it as a team my personal highlight is being able to play all games and end up high in the individual score-list."
Will they be defending their crown? "Of course we will compete again this year and try to defend our title. At this moment it is hard to say what our chances are. There are some new teams in the competition that are very strong and are holders of various world records. But we will do our best, we've grown in experience and our level is up again. And this first ever "world championship" is ours and no matter what we do and how we play in coming seasons, this is something we will alway cherish and nobody can take it away from us."
When asked what his favourite course was, Bart was, like most players, fond of that which is familiar, "My favourite course in Holland is the course in Heerde. Surrounded by trees and on the shore of a small lake it has a great ambiance. But I also have to mention my home course Oostwold. Perhaps the course itself is a little less in design but all in all this course is the best. Jelle & Diet, the owners of the course are in my opinion the best. From Jelle's greenkeeping all the way to Diet's catering....there is no better place to play and enjoy this sport."
We wish Bart and his team well as they embark on the struggle to retain their crown - but a simple word of advice from the author, "watch out for the Aussies, Bart."


(by Webmaster)