4BBB Trophy Oct 15 2024

 

Seniors Captain Richard Westergreen-Thorne presents winners Peter Jarman and Keith Howlett with the 4BBB Trophy

It was the longest Seniors competition of the year.

I'm not talking about slow play, but the length of time since this competition was due to be played in March, abandoned because of the weather and replayed today on a pleasantly mild, dry day in October.

And it was worth the wait, for some at least, with some good scores posted.

The top three pairs all came in with 41 points, separated only on countback.

This left Peter Jarman and Keith Howlett winners, Colin Norman and Ian Riches runners-up and Algy Grimes and Richard Young in third place. 

Thanks go to Dave Wrench whose partner had to withdraw at the last minute but who volunteered to go round with eventual winners Peter and Keith as marker.

£10 raffle prizes were won by Peter Sweeney, David Price, Paul Life and Jed Isbell. The money will be added to their pro shop accounts.

Second place: Ian Riches who was partnered by Colin Norman

Third place: Algy Grimes and Richard Young

Stableford Roll Up Oct 10 2024

Thursday 10th October saw the latest of the Stableford Roll Ups providing an opportunity for those who want it to submit a qualifying card.

With a weather forecast that was variable at best the participants were in fact treated to a good day's weather on the full JOG course which had been reopened that day. Gone were the days of long runs on the fairway and we were back to autumn golf with wet grass and plenty of it in the rough. It was important to keep on the straight and narrow and the scores reflected the challenges of the course. Despite this the first two scored well and the overall result was:

1st Peter Imray 34 points

2nd Warren Churms also on 34 points on countback

3rd Richard Westergreen - Thorne on 31 points

Thanks to Pete Salmon, below, for sorting out the results and the money at the end whilst supping the all important reviving cup of tea.

David Price celebrates his service with the Canadian Police

 

This is Senior Section stalwart David Price as you have never seen him before - celebrating 50 years of the Peel Regional Police in Ontario, Canada.

Here David gives a brief resume of his time with the force.

"I joined the Metropolitan Police in 1967 and served until 1974. I emigrated to Canada in 1974 and joined the Peel Regional Police Force, which was newly formed in 1974 as an amalgamation of several Town Police Forces situated south-west of Toronto on the Niagara Peninsular (Brampton, Mississauga, Chinguagousy, Port Credit, Streetsville. All of which were established in the 1800's). I was one of the first 400 Police Officers of the newly formed Police Force named The Peel Regional Police.

This year they commemorated 50 years policing with a parade in Mississauga, which I attended with 13 others from 1974. The photo is of my wife Kate and me with the Chief of Police at the ceremonial march held in honour of the 50 years. 

The Peel Regional Police now has over 3000 officers and is the third largest police force in Ontario and the fourth largest in Canada."

Dave Price

Three Clubs and a Putter October 8 2024

Seniors Captain Richard Westergreen-Thorne presents winner Paul Hammond with the trophy

Once again entrants in this fun competition proved that you don't need 14 clubs to post a good score.

Paul Hammond produced the winning score of 39 by using driver, 6 iron and wedge.

In second place with 37 points was Stephen Foster and in third place, also with 37 points was Len Greaves.

Commiserations to Ian Murray who also scored 37 points but failed to make a podium place.

The competition was played in glorious sunshine on the Carthagena course, a far cry from the conditions a week ago for the Gordon Percival Team Trophy.

£10 raffle prizes were won by Anthony Bell, David McNair, David Tamsitt and Derek Weller. The money will be added to their pro shop accounts.

Second place: Stephen Foster

Third place: Len Greaves

Senior Swap Day with Peterborough Milton Oct 7 2024

 

Winners Bill Walker and Trevor Darrington with Captain Richard Westergreen-Thorne

Forty seniors headed North to Peterborough Milton Golf Club for our third annual Swap Day.

The sun shone and a great day of golf was had by all, followed by a delicious carvery including the chef's famous roasties.

We played fourball better ball using our IG Handicap Indexes.

Winners were Bill Walker and Trevor Darrington who "meshed" perfectly to score 44 points.

In second place with 42 points were Steve Collins and Peter Imray and in third, also on 42 points, were Tony Whittaker and Justin Thomas.

Nearest the pin was Paul Hammond.

Captain Richard Westergreen-Thorne thanked organiser Algy Grimes for his hard work in making the day such a success.

Other scores were:

Ian Simpson and Barry Donovan: 41

Paul Jones and Rafe Bateson: 41

Warren Churms and Chris Sullivan: 39

Gerry Degaute and Peter Wade 39

Paul Hammond and Tony McLean: 39

Algy Grimes and Tony Lloyd: 38

Dave Wood and Oz Osman: 37

Len Greaves and Terry Sweeney: 37

Michael Newstead and Nigel Underwood: 37

Anthony Bell and Richard Young: 37

Jed Isbell and Ian Maddison: 37

Fred Williams and Paul Jeeves: 36

Terry Domagala and Richard Westergreen-Thorne: 34

Andy Brown and Michael Etwaroo: 34

Richard Cobb and Malcolm Roberts 33

Ian Riches and Clive Bassindale: 31

Richard Cooper and Paul Dobson: 28

We hope that the members from Peterborough Milton who made the opposite journey south had an equally enjoyable day at John O'Gaunt.

Runners-up: Steve Collins and Peter Imray

Third place: Justin Thomas and Tony Whittaker

Nearest the pin: Paul Hammond

Richard thanks organiser Algy Grimes for making it such a great day

Milton House: the largest privately-owned house in Cambridgeshire

On the tee: the first team of Terry Domagala, Richard Westergreen-Thorne, Michael Newstead and Nigel Underwood

Fergus Moynihan RIP

 Fergus Moynihan passed peacefully in his sleep in the early hours of Saturday morning, surrounded by his family who point out ‘the only sunny day for ages’.  Fergus, Doc Moynihan, had been a member of the Club for 40 years; a General Committee member for many years, as Course Chairman he was instrumental in bringing the JOG 4th pond to fruition and a huge advocate for all of the wildlife conservation work at the Club; and he also served proudly as the Senior Section Captain in 2010. 

Fergus maintained his playing membership until only very recently with the onset of deteriorating health, but he still enjoyed the occasional ‘few holes’ with his son, and fellow member, Tim.

However, it was perhaps his ‘day job’ that Fergus was known and will be remembered so fondly by many members from the Ashwell area where he was the GP for many years, looking after them and their loved ones with great devotion.

Fergus’s family, to whom the sincere condolences of all members and staff at his Club are offered, will be holding a private funeral; the family are planning a memorial service to be held on 2 November - further details will be issued when known.

Fergus in happier times after scoring a hole in one

 Fergus recorded a hole-in-one - his first ever - at the Aesopians Society meeting on Monday February 21 2022. He achieved the feat on the Carthagena 2nd hole with a 140 yard shot with a five wood.

Gordon Percival Team Trophy Oct 1 2024

 

Seniors Captain Richard Westergreen-Thorne presents Warren Churms with the Martin Ives Trophy for best individual stableford score

The weather was the clear winner when 78 Seniors joined battle for the first of our "Autumn Swing" competitions = the Gordon Percival Team Trophy.

The competition - in which secret teams are revealed once play has begun - had already been switched from the John O'Gaunt Course after prolonged rainfall in the preceding few days.

And the dire forecast didn't take long to materialise, with most entrants battling heavy rainfall.

Not all completed the course as the greens began to flood towards mid-afternoon.

But, as ever, some recorded impressive scores despite the challenging conditions.

Warren Churms recorded the highest individual stableford score of 39 points to take the Martin Ives Trophy. 

In second place, on 38 points, was Chris Saunders and third, also on 38 points, was Jeevie Jeeves.

The Gordon Percival Team Trophy was won by Graham Gadsden, Bill Conway and John Hazelwood with a total score of 101.

The result leaves Cavan Kendall leading the Golfer of the Year Leaderboard on 54 points, Graham Gadsden on 53, Jed Isbell on 48, Geoff Scott on 47 and Paul Jones on 44. But with two more GOTY qualifiers to come, the race is by no means over.

Raffle prizes were won by Graham Berry, Anthony McLean, Richard Coventry and Michael Bonwick. £10 will be added to each of their pro shop accounts.

Graham Gadsden who won the Gordon Percival Team Trophy with John Hazelwood and Bill Conway with a total score of 101

Greens succumb to the torrential rain: the Carthagena 18th above and 16th below

The secret teams revealed at the end of play

Honours Boards Unveiling - Thursday 26th September 2024

Despite the rain around 50 past and present seniors and partners turned out for the unveiling of our four new honours boards recognising the achievements of the winners of the Reg Batson, Rex Cleaver, Annual Stableford and Golfer of the Year Trophies. With the new boards already populated with the winners of each for the past 20 years it was great to see around 20 former winners amongst the crowd to unveil the new boards. Lots of photographs were taken and we are sure that many more will follow over the next few weeks and months as the boards are proudly shown off to fellow golfers, families and friends.

A special thanks go to Paul Marshall for prompting the committee to ask for additional boards for the seniors, to the club for agreeing to our request, to Richard Hyett from the club who completed and erected the boards and to Algy Grimes for all his hard work to get the boards made and to make it all happen.

A good evening and great news for those who win the competitions in the future that their names will be added to the boards and proudly displayed in the clubhouse.

Richard Westergreen-Thorne

Senior's Captain

  

Senior Section Past Captains Lunch - Thursday 26th September 2024

 

 

The first of two Senior Section events on the day was the Past Captains Lunch in the Burgoyne Suite. A very welcome new tradition for the seniors (this was the third year) the lunch saw 12 past captains assemble for the meal along with the current captain and Justin Thomas the Club Captain who took the opportunity to thank everyone for their service and commitment to the seniors and to the club.

Over a two course meal the captains took the opportunity to reminisce, share golfing tales and exploits and, for some, look at our new developments such as the terrace and practice area for the first time.

It was a very pleasant occasion, enjoyed by all. Who was there? Look at the photographs to see if you can work out who is who. 

Richard Westergreen-Thorne

Senior's Captain

Seniors Home Match v Bedford & County - 20th September 2024

Captain Richard Westergreen-Thorne with 
Organiser Terry Domagala and their opponents

Friday saw the last of this years seniors matches, with a visit from Beds and county.

The twelve aside match was played on the Carthagena course which been subject to

course maintenance, meaning pick and place on the fairway was in place and the

greens were running much slower than normal. On what started as a fairly dull

overcast day, the trial of the two tee start system was used supervised by Barry

Donovan and as the morning progressed the weather turned into a pleasant warm

autumn morning.

The first group out was Captain Richard Westergreen Thorne partnered by myself

Terry Domagala, with a very tight match with many holes halved, Richard played

very well, with us winning the match on the 17 th hole. The following three groups out

of Algy Grimes and Jed Isbell, Jonathon Lean and Trevor Darrington and Paul Life

and Micheal Newstead all narrowly losing their matches it was left to the last two

pairs to try and salvage the match. The fifth group of Peter Imray and David Lincoln

won 1-0 followed in by a resounding win with the final pair of Paul Hammond and

Tony Walters winning 5-4, with Tony putting in a superb display thus earning JOG

seniors a 3-3 draw ending the season with Four draws in the last 4 matches.

The nearest the pin competition on the eighth hole was won by Algy Grimes, and the

morning was rounded off with a delightful meal of gammon and bubble and squeak

followed by a berry crumble.

I would like to end this with a big thank you to Match Secretary Algy Grimes, for the

effort he has put into organising this years senior matches, and all of the rest of the 

committee.

Terry Domagala

Organiser

Seniors Away Match v Harpenden Common - 19th September 2024

Captain Richard Westergreen-Thorne and 

Organiser Phil Armstrong with their opponents

 

A cool morning greeted those gathering for our most southerly match location.

After the coffee and teas the usual introductions were made.  Captain Richard revealed that the wound to Chris Sullivan’s face was caused by being attacked by a parrot.  This resulted in a number of piratical comments of the “Ah, Jim lad!” variety.

There was a 3 tee start so no one was waiting around for long before setting out. Captain Richard and I struggled over the early holes taking some time to get used to the fast-running course and speedy greens.

The day grew warmer as did the competition in our match.  Most holes were won or halved in par and in one case halved with birdies.  The Harpenden Common Seniors Captain was a wizard with the putter, barely touching the ball but finding the hole regularly. 

The match remained close and was all square after 14.  Then the wheels came off and we lost 3 holes in a row to end Richard’s winning streak.

We then retired to the club house with the hope that others had done better.

Things were looking good and with 6 matches in John O’Gaunt were 4-2 up.  The last two matches came in against us and so it was a 4-4 draw, the third in row in two weeks.

Special mention goes to Tony Waters who chipped in twice during his round.

Match results were.

Richard Westergreen-Thorne & Phil Armstrong            Lost 3&1

Paul Life & Tony Waters                                              Won 3&2

Rob Ebsworth & Stephen Mathers                               Won 2&1

Nigel Underwood & Graham Gadsden                          Lost 5&4

Len Greaves & Chris Sullivan                                      Won 5&3

Chris Dennis & Andy Lawrence                                   Won 2&1

Trevor Darrington & Paul Hammond                             Lost 2&1

Terry Sweeney & Ian Riches                                       Lost 2&1

 

Phil Armstrong

Match Organiser

Seniors Away match at Gog Magog on 12th September 2024

It was only 6 degrees when I set off on a sunny but cool Autumnal morning.  I headed  due east towards Gog Magog and the sun was dazzling, causing the idiot in front to drive too slow. By the way in case you didn't know the difference, an idiot is one who drives too slow and a maniac is one who drives too fast. The traffic was heavy around the Caxton Gibbet road works (A new 10 mile dual carriageway that will connect the Black Cat roundabout and Caxton Gibbet) but not to worry the roadworks will be complete in 2027!

I pulled into the car park directly behind Captain Richard who was struggling to gain access past the barrier so by my rules I wasn't late, unlike a few unfortunate guys who hit traffic and were able to utter the old adage "the traffic was awful"

The golf course was in tremendous condition and the leading match started off well with John O Gaunt winning a closely fought game on the 17th after I tried to enter Gog Magog's nearest the pin, which at that stage was "miles" away.

John O Gaunt won  the second match to finish, and things looked good. Soon we found ourselves 3-2 down then 4-3 down so we waited for the last match's result with baited breath.  Due to the two tee start our hopes were pinned on Richard Young and Alban MacDonald who were the last group to start from the 1st tee and they didn't let us down.

Our nearest the pin was won by Rob Ebsworth displacing Jack Shepherd who had displaced yours truly. That was two days on the trot for Rob because he won at nearest the pin at South Beds yesterday!! Well done! 

The individual  results that made up a very creditable 4-4 drawn match were:

Richard Westergreen-Thorne and Paul Jones won 2&1

Jack Shepherd and Paul Hammond won 4&3

Graham Gadsden and Chris Roy lost 4&3

David McNair and Rob Ebsworth won 2&1

Gavin Little and Michael Newstead lost 3&1

Richard Young and Alban McDonald won 5&4

Stephen Mathers and David Trotter lost 1 down

Gerry Degaute and Rob Isaacson lost 5&4

If you have never played Gog Magog you are missing a treat and it might be worth considering using your Joker next season to ensure you play here at least once.

We had a lovely meal and thanked our hosts and set off to navigate Cambridgeshire's traffic.

Paul Jones

Organiser

Seniors Away to South Beds on 11th September 2024

Captain Richard Westergreen-Torne and Organiser Chris Dennis 
with their South Beds Opponents captain Bryan Murnane and Martyn Graham

On a sunny day but with a chilly wind blowing the stage was set for a challenge on the

chalky grasslands around the Galley hill rising from the edge of Luton. Captain Richard
and I had a great start 1 up after 1 and steadily built on our lead to be 4 up at the turn.
We dovetailed well throughout the match and battled with a strengthening wind and a
couple of heavy rain showers on the back 9 but we ended the match with a 5&4 win so
1 up to JOG.
Now we were comfortably sitting in the clubhouse waiting in anticipation for the
remaining match results, but we lost matches 2, 3 and 4, so 3 - 1 to South Beds. Things were
looking bleak, much like the weather as the heavens opened with a heavy
hailstone storm. At least we could use that as our excuse for losing but wins in matches
5 and 6 meant we were level so, 3 each. It now relied on the last two matches which both
ended in halves so after all that the match was drawn – South Beds 4 and JOG 4.

Rob Ebsworth won nearest the pin for JOG on a tricky uphill hole.

Match results:

#1 Richard Westergreen-Thorne & Chris Dennis – WON 5&4

#2 Dave Trotter & Tony Lloyd – LOST 3&2

#3 Paul Jeeves & Steve Mathers – LOST 5&4

#4 Jonathan Lean & Graham Gadson – LOST 4&3

#5 Nigel Underwood &Paul Hammond – WON 3&2

#6 Warren Churms & Rob Ebsworth – WON 4&3

#7 Michael Newstead & Derek Page – HALVED

#8 Tony Walters & Peter (Algy) Grimes – HALVED

Chris Dennis

Organiser

Seniors Away Day, Whipsnade Golf Club September 5 2024

 

Captain Richard is presented with the Jim Peacock Shield by organiser Richard Coventry

Forty seniors made the trip to Whipsnade for the annual Away Day - a highlight of the Senior calendar.

The traffic was bad, the weather forecast was "iffy" but it turned out to be a very enjoyable day -  especially if you scored a hole in one! But more of that later.

The day started with a wonderful full English in Whipsnade's impressive Hacienda-style restaurant.

Working off the calories was a challenge, but well worth the experience.

The course was in great condition although the greens were incredibly fast and it was almost impossible to land the ball on them without it running off the back - even though the resident golf pro said they "were quite slow today".

Scoring reflected the conditions: fourth place went to Anthony Bell with 31 points, third to Graham Gadsden with 31, second to Fred Williams with 32 and first to Richard Westergreen-Thorne with 35. Richard, hard on the heels of his Senior Captain's Day victory, also picked up the coveted Jim Peacock Shield.

Nearest the pin prizes were won by Bill Walker, Michael Newstead, Richard Coventry and Tony Lloyd who achieved a hole in one on the 13th.

Captain Richard presented organiser Richard Coventry, who has run the away day for the past 10 years, with a bottle of port.

Second place: Fred Williams

Third place: Graham Gadsden

Fourth place: Anthony Bell

Nearest the pin on the 3rd: Bill Walker

Nearest the pin on the 7th: Michael Newstead

Nearest the pin on the 13th - and a hole in one -  Tony Lloyd

Nearest the pin on the 17th: Richard Coventry

Captain Richard presents organiser Richard with a bottle of port 

Tony retrieves his ball from the 13th after a hole in one

The Prostate Project Man Van Launch – 3 September 2024

 

Bill Walker, organiser of the Jock Allan Prostate Cancer Charity Day, attended the launch of the Prostate Project's Man Van - and also presented the charity with a cheque from John O'Gaunt. Here is his account of the day:

On Tuesday 3^rd September I attended the launch of the Prostate Project Charity’s latest achievement, the Man Van. A £200,000 mobile PSA testing facility. While I was there, I presented a cheque for £5,300, the final balance of our Jock Allan Prostate Project charity day last April. I also took the opportunity to meet the relatively new Chairman of the Charity Martin Davies who was unavailable for this year’s charity day but promised to be with us next year. I also met many other key players within the charity including our good friend Colin Stokes.

Presenting the cheque to Chairman Martin Davies (Right) with Colin Stokes (Left) in attendance in front of the Man Van

I also took the opportunity to advise them of the date that we plan to hold the 2025 Jock Allan Charity Day (April 14^th) and express our hope of having the Man Van on site for that day offering “Free” PSA tests for all Club members (male of course) over the age of 40 years. The response was most positive.

In addition, I obtained an advance copy of the charity’s 25-year anniversary newsletter. An 8-page account of what the charity has already achieved as well as its plans for the future. It’s a real eye opener and we get a mention on the final page.

Bill W

 

 

 

 

 

Seniors away to Millbrook September 3 2024

Captain Richard Westergreen-Thorne and organiser Jonathan Lean with Millbrook's
 Martin Howell and Peter Whistler on the first tee

Captain Richard in the deepest bunker on the course

Organiser Jonathan Lean reports

 It was with some degree of trepidation with the windscreen wipers on double speed that the JOG team drove to Millbrook for this annual match.  The team were under strict instructions to have a good night’s sleep in order to be able to tackle the relatively mountainous terrain of this lovely course which is situated right next door to the Millbrook off-road vehicle testing track.

Fortunately the course is very well drained and so no slippery mud to deal with.

After the usual welcome with tea, coffee and biscuits we split into 2 groups of 4 teams with some off the first tee and the other having a bit of a walk to the 17th.

For those of you who have played Millbrook you will remember the first hole.  A long and accurate drive is needed in order to be able to get your second shot to the bottom of the cardiac hill leaving a blind third onto the green on this par 5.  Our captain set the tone for the day by putting his opening drive onto the testing track and therefore had to take 3 off the tee.  Yours truly hit a good drive only to put my second onto the testing track!  I managed to get onto the green in 5 just 5 feet from the pin.  Unfortunately it was the pin for the 16th hole on this enormous shared green leaving me with a good 50ft putt.  So, one down after one hole.

The second is also a par 5 where we scrambled a half only to go 2 down on the third which was a par 4 with stroke index 1.

Any course with 2 par 5 holes to start followed by the hardest hole on the course is a challenge indeed.  And so it proved as we lost the 5th also to go 3 down.

The tide turned on the 9th where our captain managed to chip from the bottom of a valley to within 6 inches of the hole for a magnificent birdie reducing the deficit to 2.

The 10th was the JOG nearest the pin.  Richard went first and put it on the green but his euphoria was short lived as my tee shot took a lucky bounce when landing on the green finishing 4ft from the hole.  Good enough to win the hole and a bottle of wine!  Back to one down.

Our charge was short lived though as our opponents won the next 4 holes to win the match 5 & 4.

The next match to finish was ‘Mr. 3 wood’ Paul Hammond and David Tamsitt who managed a 3 & 1 win.  Apparently Paul now needs to be called ‘Mr. Driver’.

Paul Life and Trevor Darrington came in next with a 3 & 1 win also and briefly things were looking good for JOG but this was also short lived as the next 4 matches all went the way of Millbrook.  A semblance of respectability was given by Barry Donovan and Alban Macdonald who won the last match 1 up with Alban holing a 15ft putt on the last green to secure the win.  The length of this putt gets longer with each telling of the story!

So, overall the result was a win for Millbrook 5 – 3.  The blow was softened somewhat when the Millbrook captain, Martin Howell confirmed that he could not remember the last time that they lost at home.  The value of local knowledge on this excellent golf course.  It is a tough course but with a lot of memorable holes with interesting challenges.  One or two steep climbs with footpaths looking like mountain passes with hairpin bends and some of the deepest bunkers outside of St. Andrews but well worth the effort.

I look forward to returning there next year.

Luffenham Heath Away August 29 2024

 

Organiser Ian Riches reports

 This was our first match at Luffenham Heath and, depending on traffic, involves a 50-minute drive North on the A1. The club is widely regarded as one of the best heathland courses in the Midlands, so there was a huge desire amongst the Seniors to be selected for the restricted twelve-man team when the fixture date was announced. Luffenham Heath enjoys panoramic views over a wide area of Rutland. For those unfamiliar with this part of the Country, it’s like a pocket Cotswolds but thankfully without all the tourists. In fact, the Club’s motto is “Multum in Parvo” – a great deal in a small space.

The history of the club dates back to 1909, when Lord Willoughby de Eresby first proposed the construction of a golf course on 250 acres of land known as South Luffenham Heath. Local dignitaries supported the idea and, more importantly, so did his father Lord Ancaster on whose land the golf course was intended. At the time, Harry Colt was helping with the design of Woodall Spa in adjoining Lincolnshire. As Lord Willoughby was President of that Club also, Colt was doubtless persuaded to have a look at the new venture. Funded by the Ancaster estate, Harry Colt was subsequently commissioned to design and supervise the construction of the course. It's now regarded as one of his finest creations.

The question that many people ask is whether Luffenham Heath has stood the test of time? The answer very much depends on how you like to play the game. The golf course does not afford any advantage to longer hitters as there are many holes requiring blind shots and it is very restricted by penal levels of rough. These grasses are of national botanical importance and the entire course was declared a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in 1973. It is currently managed in agreement with Natural England to ensure the propagation of rare flora and fauna, but many would say it has made the course far too tight for the modern game. Consequently, the only way to play the course well is with patience and a lot of knowledge about each hole. I understand at a recent pro-am many of the pros found the course practically unplayable because they could not adapt their playing style to a golf course that hasn’t changed very much since it was built.

Despite the significant advantage of the home side in terms of local knowledge, JOG did put up a good fight and the overall result of 3½/2½ in favour of Luffenham Heath was a lot closer than many might have expected.

Richard Westergreen-Thorne/ Ian Riches:    Lost 5&4

Chris Dennis/ Robert Isaacson:                      Won 4&3

Paul Dobson/ Fred Williams:                          Lost 6&3

Chris Roy/ Warren Churms:                           Won 1 up

Alban MacDonald/ Algy Grimes:                     Lost 2&1

Mehmet Osman/ Graham Gadsden:                Halved            

 

Matches against Luffenham Heath have been booked into the diary for the next two years and will be our regular 16-man affair, so if you want to play a course that can be both extremely testing and incredibly frustrating at the same time then you will be well advised to put your name forward for selection.

Minutes of Senior Section Committee meeting Aug 22 2024

 

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 30^th 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 9^th 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 17^th September.

The next competition is the Gordon Percival on 1^st October.  This is closely followed by the 3 clubs and a putter on 8^th October.

The rearranged 4BBB Trophy will take place on 15^th 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 1^st 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 5^th 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.