Jenna Birch, left, the Scottish open Under-18 stroke-play champion, with Kelsey MacDonald, the Under-21 champion for the second year in a row. Both girls will be playing at the Hacienda del Alamo Winter Festival in February.

Jenna Birch is latest startlet

to enter HDA Festival

By Colin Farquharson

Jenna Birch, 18-year-old member of this year's Lancashire county title-winning team, is the latest outstanding young player to put her name down for the 3rd Hacienda del Alamo Winter Festival, from February 13 to 20, in the sunny south-east Spanish province of Murcia.

Jenna, pictured right, from Fleetwood and a member at Royal Lytham St Annes Golf Club, where she has an actual handicap of 1.9, will partner youngster Amelia Taylor in the better-ball pairs curtain-raising competition alongside the five-star resort's golf-playing villa owners, and then take part in the two-round Murcia Ladies Open on the Monday and Tuesday (February 15-16) and the Hacienda del Alamo Ladies Open from the Friday to the Saturday (February 18-19-10).

Last year, Jenna was runner-up to girls' champion Hannah Barwood in the Nick Faldo Grand Final in Brazil. Hannah, who also won the English women's championship last year, is also an entrant to the 2010 Hacienda del Alamo Festival.

This year, apart from her team triumph with Lancashire, Jenna won the Under-18 years title at the Scottish Under-21 stroke-play championship at Nairn Dunbar. And, guest what? Kelsey MacDonald, winner of the Under-21 title for the second year in a row, is also heading out to Spain for the Festival. So a few happy reunions in store.

Jenna took the game up only five years ago, so she has made rapid progress. She holds the Fleetwood women's course record of 67.

Entries for the Festival, which is sponsored by Glenmuir, don't close until mid-January but don't leave it to the last minute ... you can download an entry from by clicking on the relevant words at the top of the left hand column on the Home Page of this website.

The Hacienda del Alamo Golf Resort, with a Dave Thomas-designed course which recently hosted one of the European Tour Qualifying School's Stage 2 eliminators, has excellent practice facilities, including a six-hole Academy course, a two-tier driving range (where you can play off the grass if you wish to, a dedicated bunker practice facility and two large practice greens, one for putting and the other for chipping. There is also another practice putting green in front of the splendid clubhouse.

The nearest airport is Murcia, about 30min away. Alicante Airport is an option but it is well over an hour away from the resort.

E-mail John Green (johngreen@hdagolfproperties.com) if you want details about renting one of the Hacienda del Alamo villas during the Festival. The price per head obviously reduces if you are prepared to share.

It is not totally an all-female festival - boys/men can play in the better-ball pairs event on Saturday, February 13.

We would like more senior ladies to enter, especially from Ireland which provided us with so many entries over the first two Festivals. And competitors from Scotland too are lacking at the moment. Only Curtis Cup team contender Kelsey MacDonald from Nairn Dunbar and the University of Stirling has entered so far from north of the border.

Last, but certainly not least, we are quite prepared to accept entries from lady professionals who would compete for cash prizes in a separate category from the girls and lady amateurs. The more who enter, the bigger the prize fund.

Anyone playing at the forthcoming Ladies European Tour Qualifying School Stage 1 and 2 events at La Manga - which is not all that far away from Hacienda del Alamo - is invited to go along the road to see what HDA has to offer.

Just give director of golf Billy Sim a call on 0034 690295650 when you are out in Spain to fix up a round or use of the practice facilities. Maybe you will like Hacienda del Alamo so much, you'll want to come back for the February Festival!

FESTIVAL ENTRIES RECEIVED SO FAR

Mary MacLaren: Murcia Ladies Open & Hacienda del Alamo Ladies Open.

Meghan MacLaren: Murcia U-16 Girls Open & HDA U-16 Girls Open.
Hannah Turland: Pairs with Hayley Davis, Murcia Ladies Open & HDA Ladies Open.

Alice Hewson: Pairs with Dominic Hewson, Murcia U-16 Girls Open & HDA U-16 Girls Open.

Sally Watkins: Pairs with Jessica Bradley, Murcia Ladies Open & HDA Ladies Open

Charlie Douglass: Pairs with Holly Clyburn, Murcia Ladies Open & HDA Ladies Open.

Hayley Davis: Pairs with Hannah Turland, Murcia Ladies Open & HDA Ladies Open.

Georgia Gilling: HDA U-18 Girls Open.

Daisy Dyer: Pairs with Simon Brierley, Murcia Ladies Open & HDA Ladies Open.

Nicola Callander: Pairs with Ella Ofstedahl & Murcia U-16 Girls Open.

Ella Ofstedahl: Pairs with Nicola Callander.

Holly Clyburn: Pairs with Charlie Douglass & Murcia Ladies Open.

Lucie Walker: Murcia U-18 Girls Open & HDA U-18 Girls Open.

Hannah Barwood: Pairs with Amy Boulden, Murcia Ladies Open & HDA Ladies Open.

Jessica Bradley: Pairs with Sally Watkins, Murcia U-18 Girls Open & HDA U-18 Girls Open.

Emma Harris: Murcia U-16 Girls Open & HDA U-16 Girls Open.

Emily Taylor: Murcia U-16 Girls Open & HDA U-16 Girls Open.

Amy Boulden: Pairs with Hannah Barwood, Murcia Ladies Open & HDA U-18 Girls Open.

Dulcie Sverdloff: Pairs with Aaron Sverdloff, Murcia U-16 Girls Open & HDA U-16 Girls Open.

Aaron Sverdloff: Pairs with Dulcie Sverdloff.

Kelsey MacDonald: Murcia Ladies Open & HDA Ladies Open.

Linda Marr: Murcia Ladies Open (Seniors) & HDA Ladies Open (Seniors).

Linda Wilson: Murcia Ladies Open (Seniors) & HDA Ladies Open (Seniors).

Gillian Gardiner: Murcia Ladies Open (Seniors) & HDA Ladies Open (Seniors).

Audrey Lee: Murcia Ladies Open (Seniors) & HDA Ladies Open (Seniors).

Becky Gee: Murcia Ladies Open & HDA Ladies Open.

Hollie Vizard: HDA U-16 Girls Open.

Charlotte Humphries: HDA U-16 Girls Open.

Katherine Carragher: Murcia U-16 Girls Open & HDA U-16 Girls Open.

Danielle Anderson: HDA Ladies Open.

Amelia Taylor: Pairs with Jenna Birch, Murcia U-16 Girls Open & HDA U-16 Girls Open.

Jenna Birch: Pairs with Amelia Taylor, Murcia Ladies Open & HDA Ladies Open.