Father and son team Declan and Joe Hayes enjoyed the Volvo Match Play Championships at Vale Do Lobo, Portugal.

Feb 3 2011 by Andrew McGilvray, Hamilton Advertiser

A HAMILTON father-and-son duo are on a high after returning from the Volvo Match Play Championships in Portugal last month.

But Joe Hayes admits any future success might depend on keeping hold of son Declan.

Joe (51) and 19-year-old Declan qualified for the five-star tournament in the stunning Vale Do Lobo resort in the Algarve after winning the Leven Links in October.

They thoroughly enjoyed the experience, which included meeting former Newcastle and England striker Alan Shearer.

Joe, of Torhead Farm, said: “It was great to get away with my son and play in an official competition – that was probably the best part for me.

“The whole thing was amazing, from the organisation to the courses themselves, and the accommodation was spectacular – five-star plus.

“We were playing on top-class courses and that was the first time I had partnered my son in a competition.

“I’ve been golfing for about 25 years and we finished eighth in the doubles.

“We won the individual competition on the fourth day and got 100 Euros for that, so that was great.

“We also bumped into Alan Shearer over there too, as he was opening a bar, and he was great.

“He spent a lot of time with everybody and was a nice man. He was very down to earth, was chatting to Declan about golf, and seemed to be very personable.”

Joe intends to enter this year’s tournament, with the grand final again taking place at Vale Do Lobo in January 2012.

He said: “I play regularly at Hamilton Golf Club and I’ll be going for it again.

“I’m hoping to keep hold of Declan because he’s the real golfer between us and I’ve promised him we’ll try to get there this year.

“After that I suppose he’ll probably want to do things with his pals.

“I’ll try to keep golfing with him for as long as I can though, and see how we go.”