Present: David Barlow (DB), Terry Domagala (TD), Algy
Grimes (AG), Jonathan Lean (JL), Tony Lloyd (TL), Nigel Underwood (NU), Warren
Churms (WC) Dave Wood (DW) Steve Mathers (SM) Barry Donovan
1 Minutes of last meeting accepted with no matters arising
2 Captain’s Report (DB)
A short report, blending in elements of what I know as a
Director.
We appear to be progressing in a positive direction.
The matches have all gone well, in spite of some very
average golf from yours truly. We have just been on the wrong side of a couple
of very close matches against Cambridge Country Club (home) and Aspley Guise
(away).
Participation levels in competitions and matches should be
picked up in the respective reports of Nigel and Algy. From my perspective, it
all seems to be going well, but I know that all the administrative hard work is
done for me by the committee and match organisers.
Round Up.
·
A number of small cash donations from the PACF
(Pauline Aubigne Community Fund) have been made. Typically £50. We have £2,100
available for good causes this year.
· The Captains’ 54 Hole Longest Day Golf Challenge
is set for Sunday 21st June. The fundraising push will start very
soon.
·
Refurb of the Visitors Changing Room is
underway. New carpet coming. New ceiling tiles. Refurb of the benches. A
graphic ‘wrap’ / wallpaper is going to be instated too (Kevin Diss).
·
House and Social Committee are working on:
New coffee machines.
Social evenings e.g. a Race Night. Stacy the singer, the Soul Man.
Entrance lobby
·
Car park signage might be coming soon! Finger
signs at least. I’m working on this in my capacity as Estates Director.
·
Repurposing of photographs and pictures from the
Archive & Memorabilia Project to decorate the clubhouse.
·
A complete review of all the security provision
and response arrangements is underway in
light of the Pro Shop break in.
·
There has been no meeting of the Golf Committee
There has been a discussion on marshalling so far and the need, perhaps, to
establish more clearly the 1st tee queueing / waiting protocols.
Perhaps Jonathan can update on this?
·
A working party led by Graham Leith is working
on a Water Conservation & Provision Project to try to come to a
recommendation that will sustain the long-term watering of the course.
·
Did you know?
To water both courses takes around 25,000 cubic metres of water a year. We are
allowed to draw approximately 9,000 cubic meters from the brook and the rest
comes from the mains supply at £1.15 per cubic metre.
The test irrigation of the 4th hole on Carthagena will provide
important data about the possible amount of water we will need to water the
fairways of Carthagena. A lot.
·
Top dressing for the putting green on Carthagena
delivered. The green itself will not be ready for putting on until next year
·
There is going to be a review of ball collection
arrangements, particularly at the weekends when it becomes the responsibility
of the Pro Shop, not the Greens Team. The Greens team do a 6.30am collection of
balls, the pro shop don’t, which is why we sometimes run out of balls at the
weekend, especially on busy competition days. The purchase of a caged vehicle
to collect, so we can collect without closing the range, might be on the cards.
This will mean the pro shop can collect balls during ‘trading hours’.
·
Bag Tag project progressing well. A site survey
has taken place to determine the practicalities and locations for the course
monitoring stations. There will be 6 on each side. The ones on Carthagena will
be all battery packs as there is no power over there. On JOG, the stations will
be ‘wired’ to existing power supplies e.g. at the 4th / fountain.
3 Vice Captain’s report (TD)
TD had sent a sympathy card on behalf of the Senior Section
to Helen Schumann following the sudden death of Nick as well as a get well soon
card to Bill Walker who is recovering from a back injury.
Following a qualifying roll up when a card was not attested
on IG, organisers to be requested to keep all cards for a couple of weeks in
case they are needed.
TD had started the ball rolling on Senior Captain’s Day
4 Treasurer’s report (BD)
Cash position at end of April is £6726.81 up slightly from
£6440.52 in March Competition and Match income and expenses are now beginning
to flow. So far things are looking fine . I will review in more specific detail
next month once more transactions have taken place during April Tour Prize
costs were incurred - but covered fully by the Tour budget. Book keeping is
transferred to Spreadsheets from Manual ledgers . This provides more
flexibility in providing ongoing analysis of Income and expenditure- particularly
when Matches and Competitions start. The learning process will hopefully help
the ultimate transition to an online accounting package - probably in 2027. No
action yet on New Bank account other than a cursory glance at the Market
options. Not enticing me yet ! Competition summaries - number of players and
prizes - would be useful to get these going again. Our Card machines have yet
to be used . We could do with a set up & training session.
Barry gave a brief update on the Seniors Tour to the Nottinghamshire
which is progressing well.
Action point: Agenda item for the next meeting and a tutorial
for committee member on how to use the Sum Up machines.
5 Secretary’s Report (TL)
Two more clubs have agreed match dates with us so I am now
waiting for just six clubs to confirm. I will chase them up, but they all work
to different timetables so I am not concerned.
As requested at the April meeting, I have contacted Richard
Westergreen-Thorne about how to reach out to potential new seniors. As a result
of our conversation I have penned a brief description of senior section
activities and Richard is to include this in the next Club Round-Up giving my
details as point of contact. This, plus the occasional new member induction
meeting, should keep us on top of things.
I have contacted Nigel Tarn thanking him for sorting out the
match tee times on IG and offering to do this ourselves moving forward if he
shows me how to do it!
I have also contacted Nigel with a view to myself and David
B meeting with him to discuss potential dates for our 50th
anniversary event. We are due to meet the day before this meeting so will
update you on the day.
I have signed up one new member – Ian Smillie – who came to
the roll-up last Thursday.
I sent out an invitation for those no longer wishing to
receive the newsletter to contact me. So far two members have asked to be
removed from the mailing list as they no longer play. I also had a couple of
replies telling me how much they enjoy the newsletter. Nice.
6 Competition Secretary’s Report (NU)
Three competitions have taken place since our last meeting ;
·
Prostate Cancer Day on April 13th,
won by Paul Fletcher and Nicola Hunter with 44points from Jed Isbell and
Stephen Richardson (42) and Ian Riches/Andy Brown (41). Almost £7000 was raised
for the charity and the club featured prominently in the Prostate Project
national newsletter. Former Luton Town player, Mick Harford, is involved with
prostate cancer charities and plays golf.
Possible guest invite for next year?
·
Ken Robinson Scramble on April 28th,
won by Phil Bateman, Algy Grimes, George Burnham and Peter Sweeney with a nett
score of 50. Six teams then tied on 53, fortunately IG was able to sort
countbacks.
·
The Annual Medal and Jubilee Cup on May 5th.
The Annual Medal was won by Keith Garden, playing in his first Seniors
competition, with a net 63, from Eric Macintyre,66, and Paul Dobson, 67. The
Jubilee Cup, stableford, for players receiving 20 or more shots on playing
handicap, was won by Gerry Degaute with 36 points from George Simmons, 35 and
Peter Harvey, also 35 on countback.
Early starters in this competition were
unable to enter the Away Day without doing so from the course (entry opened at
08.00 and was full before noon). I have checked all remaining competitions this
year and have changed two entry opening dates to avoid this. I propose that,
from next year, ALL competitions will open for entries on Mondays (one day
earlier than the norm at present) so that cannot happen.
Next up are;
Rex Cleaver Championship Trophy, on June 23rd
which opens for entries on May 26th,
The Annual Stableford on July 7th,
which opens for entries on June 2nd and
The Reg Batson Medal Trophy on July 14th
(invitations will be issued after qualifying events.)
I have added a rule to the knockouts paper
presented to the last meeting (see below) clarifying that replacement players
are not allowed once the draw has been published. I have had 3 such queries
this year.
Two major events are just beyond the horizon;
Member and Guest Day on July 28th and Senior Captains Day on August
4th. The former needs planning but can be managed by one person, the
latter most definitely cannot!! Next agenda please.
GREEN
TILLEY (SINGLES) AND FOURSOMES KNOCKOUT RULES.
1.
Seniors
knockout competitions are played over 18 holes on the 2/3 ball course of
the day, with sudden death if the match is tied after 18 holes. The handicap
calculator facility within IG can be used to work out strokes given or
received. The winning player/pair must record the result within 24 hours of
completion of the match.
2.
Once the draw has been published, changing or
replacing a team member is not permitted.
3.
Both players/pairs are equally responsible for
deciding dates to play matches. In the case of difficulty agreeing a date,
please contact the Competition Secretary well ahead of the round deadline.
Recognising that unpredictable situations will arise, extensions may be granted
(usually up to one week). Every effort will be made to find a mutually
agreeable date.
4.
Should this prove impossible, one player/pair
may feel it appropriate to stand down. If not, the Competition Secretary, plus
at least one more member of the Senior’s Committee, will adjudicate.
Action point: Senior Captain;s Day and Member and
Guest Day arrangements to be discussed at the next meeting
7 Match Secretary’s Report (AG)
Now having played 5 matches it is middle of the table
form, W2 D1 L2, plenty of matches to change our fortunes though.
We now have 61 entrants signed up, so that gives a good
pool to call on.
Thanks to all who are stepping up to play following
withdrawals, some are late replacements.
Most matches have healthy numbers for Tranche 3. Brocket
Hall away has 3 Jokers signed up in a total of 20, this will mean 8 will be
disappointed. Other matches are CCC away 22 a change from the home match,
Leighton Buzzard away only 17, Letchworth home 21, Northampton away 21 we will
be having a meal after the match this year, St Neots home 19. Tranche 3 sign up
closes on 22nd May.
Links being lost is still a bit of an issue, a few
continue to ask for it.
8 Cost of matches
A discussion was held on a suggestion put forward to the
committee that we charge entrants more for away matches than home matches.
Action point: Barry to investigate the options and report
back to the next meeting. Agenda item in June
9 Marshals and starters
JL gave an update on marshals
and starters taking place mostly on Saturday and Sunday mornings as well as
random weekday evenings. All seems to be working well.
10 Trophy Custodian’s report (DW)
Insurance
Audit Process
Insurance audit
now completed and all trophies apart from the Ken Robinson Scramble are stored
in the Trophy Store. The winners of the scramble have been allowed to take the
trophies home on a 3 month about basis. I believe that the trophies have less
chance of being stolen if we continue to allow winners to take them home.
Bailiff
(Spring Stableford Trophy)
Gordon
Goodchild has paid for the Trophy, which is now engraved ‘Gordon Goodchild
Stableford’
It is now ready
for presentation following the competition on 20th October 2026.
I have offered
Gordon the possibility of presenting the trophy following the competition. He
informed me that he would be ‘chuffed and honoured to do so’
Gordon has
offered to purchase 6 keepsake trophies to present to the winners of the trophy
over the next 6 years. I did not give him the go ahead as I did not want to
create a precedent for other competitions. I would appreciate the committee
thoughts on this.
lt was decided that we should decline Gordon’s
kind and generous offer as it would not be fair to winners of our other
competitions, and we do not wish to create a precedent.
Baz
Backhouse trophy
Trevor
Darrington returned the trophy to the club on his return from holiday. Mrs
Darrington has kindly repaired it, making it safe for presentation for at least
another year. Jim Kerr will be taking the trophy away to assess the possibility
of a more permanent repair.
Unfortunately,
the black box which has been used to securely hold the trophy has been lost.
This may have happened after it was presented to Trevor at the Xmas Fayre. I
will attempt to source a replacement.
Swap Days
Swap day
2026 – Stoke Rochford Golf Club 5th October 2026
Confirmed at
both clubs and in respective diaries.
I have arranged
a meeting with Darrell Knight (Organiser) for 26th May 2026 to kick
off the arrangements between the two clubs. Darrell has booked a tee time at
0900 for myself and A N Other to join him and A N Other for a round of golf
prior to the meeting.
Darrell informs
me that the Stoke Rochford contingent will be travelling by coach to John
O’Gaunt on the day. I spoke with Gordon prior to his departure and he has
advised that this is something for me to arrange with Richard, our handyman,
closer to the date. I have made a note in my diary to this effect.
Swap day
2027 – Essendon Golf Club 11th October 2027
I have
established contact with Simon Harden their organiser, confirming the date and
inviting meetings at both clubs to kick off the arrangements. I have not yet
received his reply so will send him a reminder.
Pending clubs for Swap Day
The Bedfordshire
This club would welcome a swap day in 2028. They are suggesting a split
swap with them visiting JOG on a Monday whilst we visit their club on a
Wednesday. I will welcome the committee’s views on this as it presents a move
away from previous swap days.
Brickenden Grange
Awaiting reply from this club with regards to 2028 and beyond
Spalding
Interested in a swap day 2028 and beyond
Wellingborough
Interested in a
swap day 2028 and beyond
I will maintain
contact with the organisers in order to keep their interest fuelled.
Full
Historical record of Seniors Competition and Honours Board winners.
I am now in
possession of three spreadsheet lists of winners dating back to the start of
the recognised Seniors’ Section in 1977. My thanks go to Wendy, and Algy for
sending me their lists. I now have commenced with the task of marrying the
lists into one spreadsheet.
Some of the
lists are incomplete, and listed in differing order which means that I will
have to take care to ensure accuracy. The task is therefore “work in progress”.
11 Away Days (SM)
Past Captains Away Day at Rutland Water GC all arranged with
12 players paying £50 each
Arrangements also in place for the Senior Section Away Day
at Rutland Water on September 3 with 40 entrants paying £45 each.
Action point: TL to include newsletter item on how to
pay via bank transfer,
A further discussion was held on venue options for the 2027
Away Day.
12 Committee Away Day
A discussion was held on a possible committee away day (max
24 players) at Royston GC to include breakfast and golf. Invitations to be
extended to roll up organisers and match organisers. TD to investigate further.
13 50th
anniversary celebrations
DB and TL had met Nigel Tarn to discuss arrangements for a
special day to celebrate the Senior Section’s 50th anniversary in
2027. The plans so far involve a nine hole golf competition on Aug 13 2027 with
tee times between 11am and 2.30pm to accommodate around 100 entrants. This to
be followed in the early evening with a barbecue and entertainment. DB to
investigate possible 70s cover band and/or disco.
14 AOB
None
Dates of future meetings
Thurs June 11
Thurs July 2
Thurs Aug 6
Thurs Sep 10
Thurs Oct 8
Thurs Nov 5
Thurs Dec 3
Tues Jan 5
Tues Feb 2 AGM tbc
