Minutes of Senior Section Committee meeting Aug 22 2024
Present: Richard Westergreen-Thorne (RWT), Tony Lloyd (TL),
Algy Grimes (AG), Jonathan Lean (JL), Barry Donovan (BD), Nigel Underwood (NU),
Dave Wood (DW)
1 Minutes of the last meeting: accepted
2 Matters arising not elsewhere on the agenda: none
3 Captain’s Report (RWT)
A lot has
happened since our last meeting and a number of the topics such as the
Staggered Start are covered elsewhere in the agenda.
Seven days
at the end of July and beginning of August saw two of our keynote events of the
year take place. Firstly, the Member and Guest Day was on 30th July.
The weather was good and both members and guests had a great day’s golf and
hospitality. Whilst we will be reviewing the day for lessons learned and
tweaking for next year it was a really good occasion, and thanks in particular
are due to Nigel and Sabrina Underwood for organising … along with thanks to
all those who swelled the coffers of my charity with their generosity at the
raffle.
A week later
saw the Senior Captain’s Day and again the weather was kind and I must
really thank Tony Lloyd for all his hard
work setting it up and making it a special day. What can I say about the golf?
I am usually very inconsistent even from one shot to the next but on that day I
managed to get no blobs and only one hole with one point (the first if you want
to know) – unheard of. I did need to
pinch myself and it was suggested by more than one person that I double check
that the Captain is allowed to win his day. I even managed a reasonable drive
at the end.
Again, a lot
of money was raised for charity from the generosity of members and the two
events together really swelled the pot. Thank you to all those who contributed.
The main
thought that I will bring to the review of the day is that it is a lot for the
Vice Captain to take on and this felt particularly to be the case around the
time we started off and when we all came back in. We need some additional non
playing capacity I think to deal with the inevitable last minute challenges.
It was good
that we had everyone together at the end of the two competitions as we do not
have the opportunity to do so very often. Whilst it is right that we focus on
providing opportunities for as many members as possible to participate it is
also good to be all in one place together a few times each year.
There has
not been a Captains Committee meeting since our last seniors meeting but there
is one in early September when Tony and I can take any seniors matters to the
meeting. I can report that I was invited to play in both the Captain’s Day and
Lady Captain’s Day competitions and join them at their respective breakfasts
prior to playing. A nice gesture and we will be able to invite them, as we
usually do, to our Presentation Dinner in December.
There
appears to be quite a bit of interest in the new seniors trophy boards and the
grand unveiling of them and I am looking forward to it taking place soon. It
should be a ‘good thing’.
Our results
in matches have taken a bit of an upturn as the season has progressed and we
even beat CCC away although sadly not by enough to wrest the scroll from them.
I have also had a lot of close games recently paired alongside the various
organisers and indeed I had a spell of 7 matches where 6 of them were decided
on the last hole. Let’s hope we can continue the upward trend over the
remainder of the season.
Tony and I
are playing the Captain and Vice Captain
of the Newmarket seniors on 9th September to get to know them prior
to the Swap Day in 2025. Thanks to Tony for setting this up and they have also
invited us to their course at a date to be determined.
The busy
season continues into September with a combination of matches and competitions,
at least one each week, until the end of October. I make it 14 seniors events
in 9 weeks so a busy time.
Note: Further to the Captain’s written
report, a discussion was held on the club’s decision next year for all sections
to unite around one main charity
Action
point: RWT and TL to
raise with the club’s Captains Committee the subject of the £1 charity fee
levied on Senior Section competitions
Agenda item
for next meeting
4 Vice
Captain’s Report (TL)
TL reported
that he had sent a card to a member who had been taken ill, wishing him a full
recovery. He would also send the section’s best wishes to another member who
had been in hospital.
5 Immediate
Past Captain’s Report (JL)
None
6
Treasurer's Report (BD)
1)
Current Financial situation as of 11/8/24. As of
today, we have funds of £4,112.18. Outstanding invoices from the Main club are
£6,328 and I expect costs £3,874 from the main club for food etc.
2)
I remain concerned that the IG process for
Matches is not happening in a timely manner. I will discuss further with Paula
Madden.
3)
The M&G and Captains Day were a great
success on the course and well managed from a financial point of view. Thanks
to Nigel and Tony for their efforts here.
4)
I took an action to consider a Overnight Away
day next year and have made some preliminary investigations. Ideally, we would
poll the members to get their views and gauge their interest. Considerations
are cost, distance and time of the week. The Classic Society ‘Sunday Driver’ –
2 rounds and overnight stay with dinner can also be run mid-week to suit
Seniors. I will look to bring more details to the meeting
5)
Christmas Fayre. Last year we spent £334 and
£650 on Drinks and Meat for prizes. This year we have a budget of £825. This
equates to £11 per prize given 75 players. £11 is also what was agreed for the
Entrance fee. Are we still happy with this position? We have agreed to look at
getting 2 quotes for prizes (meat) and hopefully we still have Algy’s source
for drinks.
Action point: it was decided to use the Captain’s
Honorarium to pay for halfway house costs at the Member and Guest Day and
Senior Captain’s Day.
7 Honorary
Secretary’s Report (TL)
I have signed up three new members this month: one did not
have a proper handicap when he volunteered himself as a reserve for Senior
Captain’s Day but I am pleased to say that as a result of him playing in that
he now has a handicap of 25 and is looking forward to playing more golf with
the senior section.
Unfortunately we have also lost one member who got in touch
to say that he could not see himself coming back to the game after a period of
ill health and requested that I remove his name from the data base which I have
done.
I have been in touch with Luffenham Heath to tell them that
we could not entertain a swap day in 2026 if it was restricted to 24 players
and held on a Wednesday. They were naturally disappointed and have come back to
me asking for time to speak with their club before we make a final decision. I
have suggested that they let us know by the time we play the match against them
on August 29.
Members reacted positively to my request in the newsletter
for suitable venues. Suggestions so far are: Stoke Rochford, Essenden,
Brickenden Grange, Belton Park, Ashridge, Rutland Water, Harpenden Hammonds End,
Berkhamsted, Crews Hill, Knebworth, Mid Herts, Verulam, Welwyn Garden City,
West Herts, East Herts. Plenty to be going on with!
Action point: TL to liaise with Gordon McLeod on ways
of communication the benefits of the section to members reaching senior age.
8 Competition Secretary’s Report (JL)
Since the last meeting there have been three competitions.
Senior Section Member and Guest day. A full house of 84 entrants won by Tony
Whittaker and Gary Fleming. Enormous
thanks to Nigel and Sabrina Underwood for the excellent organisation for this
event.
Senior Captain’s Day.
A total of 101 paying entrants won by Richard himself. This must be a first.
Bailiff Shield. A
total of 99 entrants won by Graham Lewis.
Another two Stableford Qualifying Roll-ups have also been
held. 16 players entered the first one
and 23 players the second one.
The next one takes place on 17th September.
The next competition is the Gordon Percival on 1st
October. This is closely followed by the
3 clubs and a putter on 8th October.
The rearranged 4BBB Trophy will take place on 15th
October.
Training is continuing for Nigel Underwood. A willing and able pupil!
Action point: TL to publicise the rearranged 4BBB
competition in the newsletter
9 Match Secretary’s report (AG)
Since the Committee last
met we have played two home and four away matches, we Won three, Drew one and
Lost 2. We at least managed to win at Saffron
Walden and Cambridge Country Club, with a home win against Gog Magog. A common
issue still seems to be that the opponents get more shots than JOG, in the case
of Letchworth this week it was a net 61 in their favour.
The more worrying fact is
that withdrawals have seen quite large numbers with 17 pulling out of the
matches mentioned above, but I think it is still worth running the separate
Tranches for selections.
Selections have been made
for Tranche 5 matches and I would like to thank Dave Wood for meeting with me
to help select the teams. We have managed to ensure there is an overall
fairness. With the exception of one or two anomalies, everyone exceeded the 50%
selection rate home and away. The average selections to availability is 64.16%.
We have a healthy sign up for
the remaining seven matches with the exception of South Beds away where we have
a team plus two reserves.
Action point: AG to write a few words for the newsletter after the
last match of the season covering general numbers and fairness of selection.
Action point: After the AGM in February, Hon Sec to contact all the
clubs we play asking them to confirm
reciprocal financing of home and away matches.
10 Staggered start trial
A brief discussion was
held on the progress of our staggered start trial at three home matches. NU
suggested we could use the new white boards on the 1st tees to flag
up the tee box closures for senior section matches
Action point: BD to attend the last of our three staggered start
trials, against Bedford and County, as an observer. Provided the third trial is
a success, RWT to write to the Executive Board to ask if they will sanction the
staggered start for all of next year’s matches.
11 Review of recent events
Member and Guest Day: NU reported that the event had gone extremely well
with just a few players failing to hand in their score cards. He described the
duties of himself and his wife on the day as “swan-like” – calm on top while
paddling furiously underneath. RWT thanked Nigel and Sabrina for their hard
work in making it such a success. Happily they have offered to organise the
event next year.
Senior Captain’s Day: TL explained that despite the usual last-minute chaos
the event had passed off successfully. Some players were disappointed not to be
able to pay for raffle tickets with cash so next year this will be allowed. The
major difficulty was in reading the small print of the starting hole numbers on
the score cards. Next year the numbers need to be hand-written on the cards
beforehand. RWT thanked TL for his hard work in organising the competition but
flagged up that next year we should seek a non-playing volunteer to take charge
in the half hour or so before the shotgun start.
12 Upcoming events
Swap Day, Oct 11. The committee accepted AG’s suggestion that we
charge a fee of £28. RWT to ask Justin Thomas and Peter Wade if they would meet
and greet players form Peterborough Milton. TL to put a reminder of the event
in the newsletter
Bring and Win: The minimum value of the prizes to remain at £7.50.
The competition to be a qualifier unless events on the day dictate otherwise.
Christmas Fayre: BD presented a comprehensive budget for the event. It
was decided that the fee this year would be increased from £10 to £11 to help
cover the increasing cost of prizes. The competition to be a qualifier unless
events on the day dictate otherwise. RWT thanked BD for the work he had put
into planning the event
13 Presentation Evening
DW presented a
comprehensive plan and budget. The cost for the evening was set at £28 per
person. RWT thanked DW for the work he had put into planning the event
Action point: TL to produce a Newsletter Special nearer to the time
14 Possible golf trip in
2025
BD presented a number of
ideas and possible venues. It was decided to survey members on whether
they would support such an event and to
discuss the ideas further at the next committee meeting.
15 Honours Board Update
AG reported that the
boards were now ready to be installed in the clubhouse. He was asked to find a
suitable date for an unveiling ceremony. TL to invite all members, particularly
those whose names feature on the boards.
16 Next Year
A discussion was held on
the make-up of the committee for next year. TL to inform members of the AGM and
invite nominations for office.
17 Any other business
A: Bill Walker had
provided final accounts for the Jock Allan Prostate Challenge Day. Bill was
thanked for his efforts in organising the event.
B: Captain’s Charity Day:
RWT to address the Captains Committee on the cost of the day - £50 per member.
C: MacMillan Coffee
Morning, Sept 27
TL to publicise this
proposed club event in the newsletter if it goes ahead
D: Qualifying Roll Up
Trophy
Peter Imray had offered to
provide a trophy to be presented to the overall winner of the stableford roll
ups at the end of the year which was gratefully accepted. It was decided to
start the competition next year over six qualifying rounds and allocate points
to the top five in each qualifier with 5 points for the winner down to 1 for 5th
place and a point for each player taking part. JL offered to administer the
competitions on IG. TL to discuss with
Bill Walker and ask him to suggest a list of dates for the 2025 calendar.
Action point: DW to contact Peter Imray and inform him of the
decision.
