Past Senior Captains’ lunch, September 28, 2023

 

Club Captain Mike Tipper with past Seniors Captains Bill Walker and Richard Coventry and current Seniors Captain Jonathan Lean

Past Captains, from left, Brian Bullen, John Morris, Dave Gauge, Alan Fowler, Colin Poole and Peter Morris 

Seniors away to Leighton Buzzard September 25 2023

 Captain Jonathan Lean reports

Following hot on the heels of the matches against Harpenden Common and Bedford and County on Thursday and Friday of the previous week, the intrepid Seniors made their way over to Leighton Buzzard on Monday 25th to play their penultimate match of the season.

Most of the team got the message that the first tee time was 9am and therefore arrival by 8.15 was OK rather than the usual 7.45am.  The Captain was one of those who enjoyed the unexpected extra half hour in bed!  

There are obviously several alternative routes to get to the golf club.  I made the mistake of having my car sat-nav and Google maps on at the same time which were giving me different instructions.  Some of our team came through Woburn Safari Park.  Apparently it cost them £75 and some missing windscreen wipers!

We were welcomed with coffee, tea and bacon rolls instead of the traditional biscuits.  After the usual introductions we set out to play on what turned out to be a beautiful late September day.  Bright sunshine all the way round.  Despite two of the holes being shortened due to drainage work being carried out, the course was in immaculate condition and, for those who have played there before, you will know it is a test of accuracy!   It is a beautiful course though and has some memorable holes.  I highly recommend taking any opportunity to play there, either in a match or by bidding for a 4-ball voucher in one of our raffles.

I was partnered with Nick Seeley and overall we were giving away 8 shots.  It was nip and tuck for 12 holes with never more than 1 hole in it but then the Leighton Buzzard high handicapper found his range and we lost 3 of the next 4 holes to lose by 4 & 2.

Other results from our team were as follows.

Len Greaves and Phil Armstrong won 3 & 2

Peter Imray and Terry Sweeney won 6 & 5

Paul Hammond and Paul Jones lost 2 & 1

Steve Luckman and Neil Pinnington won 3 & 2 

Nigel Underwood and Rafe Bateson lost 3 & 2

(Note:  Nigel was giving one of his opponents 23 shots!)

Jed Isbell and Terry Domagala lost 6 & 5

Andy Lawrence and Nick Schumann lost 6 & 5

 

Therefore, overall the result was a loss 5 – 3.  This balanced out our win against Leighton Buzzard by the same score at JOG.

A thoroughly enjoyable day and well worth consideration for a joker next year.

Seniors at home to Bedford and County September 22 2023

Organiser David Crosby reports

 At my age, getting up at 5:30am to travel to Harpenden Common GC on the Thursday was not the best preparation for getting to JOG at 7:30 am on the Friday, cards written, ready to take the register for our match vs Bedford (not Beds!) and County GC. I've been in recovery ever since, hence the late blog on Friday's match.

I think most of our team were stand-ins, even stand-ins for stand-ins in a few cases (why has it apparently been so bad this year?) - but I later learned that two of the B&C team were also recruited only the day before. 

However, those that participated performed well - in 4 instances for JOG and 3 instances for B&C. The last team waited an hour and 10 minutes to begin their match and finished as they began - all square. And so JOG prevailed 4 ½ to 3 ½ .

Jonathan Lean and David Crosby      WON   3 and 2

Keith Perry and Graham Lewis        WON   3 and 2

David Wood and Rob Ebsworth        WON   4 and 3

Paul Hammond and Algy Grimes        LOST  3 and 2

Nick Seeley and Nigel Underwood     LOST        4 and 2

Jed Isbell and Terry Domagala       WON   4 and 2

Barry Donovan and John Whitbread    LOST  2 and 1

Steve Luckman and Colin Newbury     HALVED

Jed Isbell won NTP for JOG on the 8^th (CAR).

An excellent meal comprising the biggest pork chops I have ever seen followed by a delicious apple crumble eased away the aches and pains of the day.

Seniors' Captain Jonathan  Lean was distraught with a double bogie on the last to shoot 1 OVER his age. I'll arrange for him to get some coaching from Peter Imray!!

A member of the B&C team reminded his members to wash their golf shoes before playing again as (apparently as heard by Paul Hammond) we have 'caesarean' on our greens! Ouch!

Captain’s Corner, September 2023

Captain’s Corner: In case you missed it in Richard’s newsletter, here are Captain Jonathan’s thoughts on how his year is going so far

The last few months have been a bit of a whirlwind so I thought that I would take a few minutes to let you all know how things are going.

I am now just over halfway through my term of office, and I can honestly say that I am enjoying it more than I expected to. Yes, it involves playing a lot of golf and I rarely play just because I want to. Mostly I play because it is expected but this does not make it any less enjoyable.

I was on the committee helping to organize the 75th Anniversary celebrations which culminated in the fun evening on 24th June. What a great evening it was which started off with a spectacular flying display and continued with dodgems, fairground games and a hog roast. Live music on the patio rounded things off beautifully.

I have also been serving on the Club Charity Committee. This committee was set up to coordinate the activities of the Club, Ladies, Juniors and Seniors fundraising efforts in order to maximise the amount raised and to ensure that various activities were not duplicated. Part of this effort was the 54-hole challenge which I have reported on before. Just to update you, my Just Giving page has so far raised £1496 in donations plus £347 in tax rebate. Enormous thanks to all who have so generously donated.

There are still exciting opportunities to participate in the overall fundraising campaign. In particular I would like to highlight the ongoing two raffles with a prize of 1 year’s membership fee in one raffle and a car parking space for 1 year in the other. £20 per ticket for the membership raffle and £10 per ticket for the car parking space. A small price to pay for valuable prizes.

I was also among the club members who helped out hosting the recent England Boys County Finals week. I tried not to get too depressed with the distance and accuracy that these young lads were able to achieve. What dedication they showed also with several of them, even after 2 rounds of golf in the day, still went down to the practice ground. Perhaps this is where I am going wrong!

A quick word about the Seniors Committee. As you know, there will be a shuffling of positions at our AGM. These positions will be made public when the nominations are announced. However, I think that it is always healthy to have new blood with new ideas and fresh enthusiasm on any committee. We are also constantly on the lookout for people who are willing to assist in organizing or running events without having to be on the committee itself. Jobs such as roll-up organisers, competitions trophies, Christmas Fayre and Annual Dinner arrangements, Member and Guest Day, etc. are all opportunities for more of you to get involved and lighten the load of the committee. If any of you would like to help out or indeed have aspirations to serve on the main committee, please just have a quiet word with any of the existing committee members.

September is a busy month for golf activities, October is a bit quieter and then we are into the ‘end of term’ fun events. I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible in these events.

Kind regards to you all.

Jonathan

Seniors away to Harpenden Common September 21, 2023

Organiser Jed Isbell reports

On what started out as a damp morning and with an early start for most of us, the JoG Seniors travelled to Harpenden Common for the return fixture of the annual inter-club match.

As to the Captain’s  game, I think it is fair to say that it was a game of missed opportunities. After going two down through six holes we managed to pull it back to one up by the tenth. We should have made it two on eleven, but for a missed birdie putt, which seemed to be the story of the day where the greens just seemed to get the better of us. Although 4 of the matches were decided on the 18th green, disappointingly the overall match was a win to Harpenden Common with a final match result of 5.5 to 2.5.

Pairings and results for the JoG team were as follows:

Jonathan Lean & Jed Isbell - Lost 2&1

Steve Luckman & Tony Whittaker - Lost 5&3

Paul Hammond & Terry Domagala - Lost 1 Down

Ken Brewer & Neil Pinnington - Halved

Andrew Lawrence & Chris Dennis - WON 4&2

Nick Schumann & Rafe Bateson - Lost 1 Down

Nigel Underwood & David Crosby - Lost 1 Down

Barry Donovan & Nick Seeley - WON 1 Up

Pleasingly our Captain won nearest the pin in two, however I’m sure he will not mind me saying that his tee shot had him (and me) worried as he attempted to take the tiger line via the trees in order to place himself in the ideal position to go for the green. 

After the game we were treated to a chicken pie lunch, which was enjoyed by all concerned, followed by our Captain providing us all with the match result plus an insight as to the new HSBC drive through rules, which the ladies in the audience felt were a little unfair!

Seniors Away Day September 14 2023

 Forty of the Senior Section’s finest decamped to Burghley Park Golf Club for an excellent away day which began with a hearty full English and ended with a presentation of prizes and champagne with some enjoyable golf in between. What more could you ask for?

Nearest the pin on the 3rd with 4ft 10ins was Steve Collins. Nearest on the 9th with 24ft 11ins was Paul Hammond, nearest on the 13th with 16ft and .5ins was Jim McIlwaine and nearest on the 16th with 11ft 11ins was Richard Herbert.

Golf of the Year contender Richard Knell had a rare off day, ending in 40th place. His score was not disclosed.

In 4th place with 38 points was Paul Jones, in 3rd with 39 points was Rob Anderson, in 2nd on countback with 41 points was Peter Salmon. But the winner, also on 41 points, was Dave Wood who spoke of his delight at winning the shield gifted by our late great friend Jim Peacock.

Seniors Captain Jonathan Lean thanked Richard Coventry for organising such a successful and enjoyable day.

Next year’s away day will be held at Whipsnade on September 5, 2024. In the meantime, enjoy these photos of the day.

Winner Dave Wood with organiser Richard Coventry

Second place: Pete Salmon

Third place: Rob Anderson

Fourth place: Paul Jones

Senior Section Captain Jonathan Lean receives a bottle of champagne from Richard Coventry

Nearest the pin on the 13th: Jim McIlwaine

Nearest the pin on the 9th: Paul Hammond

Seniors away to South Beds September 13 2023

Organiser Nigel Underwood reports

The path to our match at South Beds was not without its challenges: a tsunami of withdrawals, reserves called up, more withdrawals, appeals via the newsletter, our hosts’ kitchen out of action … anyway, we arrived to threatening clouds but the usual warm welcome. The Danish pastries ran out ( the early bird....etc!)  ! 

The course played very well, with the greens  fast yet soft and receptive. Results ebbed and flowed, JoG behind, in front, level, in front again. Fourteen of us enjoyed a wonderful barbecue/ buffet....but where were Richard Westergreen-Thorne and Tony Lloyd? Answer, fighting it out to the very last putt, which went in to bring South Beds the last point and enable our hosts to snatch a 4-4  draw from the jaws of defeat.

A very enjoyable event,  including a brilliant joke from our captain, special thanks to all who took part and especially to those who stood in at the eleventh hour. And to David Crosby for dedication above and beyond the call of duty....ask him how!!!

Jonathan Lean and Nigel Underwood  lost 3 & 1

Paul Hammond and Chris Roy halved

Jed Isbell and Paul Jones lost 4&3

Paul Beck and Trevor  Darrington  won 3&1

David McNair and David Crosby won 6&5

Steve Collins and Bob Isaacson halved

Colin Newbury  and Tony Goodson won 5&4

Richard Westergreen-Thorne and Tony Lloyd lost one down.

Result: 

South Beds GC Vets 4-4 John O’Gaunt Seniors

Stableford roll-up trial September 12 2023

Seniors Captain Jonathan Lean and Roll-Up organiser Bill Walker launch the trial scheme

The senior section’s first singles Stableford roll-up trial was a resounding success with 21 players turning up, most of whom put a card in for their handicap.

The format was similar to the regular roll-up with the exception that instead of playing four ball better ball, entrants played singles Stableford with the opportunity to enter a General Play card on IG or England Golf if they wished.

As usual with the roll up there were no gimmees and players were encouraged to pick up if they could not score on a hole to help pace of play.

First to drive off, with a lovely shot down the middle of the Carthagena first, was Richard Westergreen-Thorne.

Congratulations to David Tamsitt who came first with 42 points. Second was Derek Weller on 39 points, beating Bill Conway into third place on countback after a very impressive back 9.  Prize money was paid out to 9th place.

The event went without a hitch apart from a few concerns, perhaps inevitable because of the format, about pace of play. This will be taken into consideration when the trial is reviewed. 

The next trial will take place on October 26. Following that the seniors committee will take feedback from members and decide whether to build this into the roll-up programme for 2024 with six to eight such events during the year.

First off: Graham Gadsden, Dave Trotter, Tony McLean and Richard Westergreen-Thorne

David Crosby, Peter Salmon, Dave Sutton and David Barlow

Paul Jones, Rafe Bateson, David  Tamsitt and David McNair

 

Notes of the Senior Section Committee August 29, 2023

Attendance:

Barry Donovan (BD), Jonathan Lean (JL), Richard Westergreen – Thorne (RWT), Tony Lloyd (TL) Andy Shilton (AS)

 

Apologies:

Algy Grimes (AG), Justin Thomas (JT)

 

JT was unable to attend the meeting due to the England Boys County Championships taking place at the time of the meeting.

Minutes previous 

Accepted

Matters arising 

There were no actions not completed not found elsewhere on the agenda.

Captain (JL)

There have been no committee meetings since the last seniors committee meeting so there is very little to report.

The next Golf Committee meeting is on 20th September so if anyone has any suggestions about issues to be raised, please let me know.

I would like to record my thanks to Nigel and Sabrina Underwood for the extremely efficient organisation of the Seniors Member and Guest Day under what turned out to be slightly trying circumstances with clashing events in the clubhouse.

I would also like to record my thanks to Richard Westergreen-Thorne for the excellent organisation of my Seniors Captain’s Day. I just wish that he could have arranged for the rain to hold off for an additional hour or so!

Richard and I hosted the Senior Captain and Vice-Captain from Luffenham last Friday. They were very impressed with our course and facilities and look forward to our match next year and in future years.

Vice-Captain (RWT)

RWT discussed the conversations he has held with fellow seniors who are injured or unwell at the moment.

Immediate Past Captain (AG)

 

Prior to the meeting AG raised a couple of points that were discussed elsewhere on the agenda.

Treasurer's Report (BD)

	25/08/2023	£
Expenditure				Income					Cashflow
	Comp Prizes	1311.62			Comp Entry	2901			Bank B/Fwd		2183.36
	Raffle Prizes	216			Captain Charity	1099			Surplus too date		3212.76
					Member & Guest	1760
	Match Costs	10189.1			Matches	9350			Actual Bank Balance		5396.12
	Other	220.52	Wine/Cards		Other	40	Kit sales
	Total	11937.24			Total
	Surplus to date	3212.76
	Total	15150			Total	15150			Debtors		0

Invoices and payments updated until end of July.

Bank Reconciliation completed.

Improved process with Club 

- monthly Pro Shop invoices now in place

- Understanding of the IG process gained

- Further improvements to be reviewed

Full Actual to Forecast review underway

Captains Charity re-allocation to be made

All finances looking strong and broadly inline with plan

 

A discussion took place regarding the current position with the balance on the Honorarium and the Captains card.

Hon. Secretary (RWT)

There have not been any new requests for membership of the seniors over the past few weeks and so the numbers appear settled at the present time - 263 plus 7 who were part of the old courtesy list. 155 people have taken part in at least one GOTY competition so far this year and a few more have taken part in non GOTY events.

I am pleased that the Calendar is now completed for 2024 with the addition of Peterborough Milton for the Swap Day. As well as emails I have spoken with their Captain and Secretary and they seem very keen to take part. I am also pleased to report that Algy has kindly offered to continue as organiser of the Swap Day. Our original plan had been to organise the Swap Day earlier in the year to keep it apart from the Away Day but we could not find a Monday at this juncture that the club could free up for us to use and that Peterborough Milton could play. However, the dates that have been finalised are a month apart and I know that people will enjoy both opportunities.

I informed Beds and County that we will play 12 a side for 2024, as they requested, and then we would want to review it and I did not have any further feedback from them. We will need to make a decision on 2025 onwards early in 2024.

I had mentioned that Wellingborough had asked to look at alternative dates but that was resolved without any changes being made.

I publicised the request for volunteers for both the Roll Up Organiser role and also for people to join the rota itself. Terry Domogala came forward to offer to help with the roll ups and is on the new rota. Bill Walker stepped forward to take over the organisation of the rota and Bill has already got stuck into this, has taken over the rota and is engaged with us in our discussion about the Roll Up Proposal.

Talking of the roll up proposal this generated over 40 responses to both the original mailing of the proposal and subsequent references in the Newsletter. This is far and away our biggest ever response from members.

Other matters of interest are covered elsewhere on the agenda.

Competition Secretary (TL)

The Seniors Member and Guest Day was held on Tuesday August 1. The event was a resounding success despite the Burgoyne Suite being unavailable to us because of David Woodley’s wake.

Congratulations to Nigel Underwood and his wife, Sabrina, for organising and to Clubhouse Manager Paula for juggling the two events seamlessly. The winners were Paul Beasley and his guest John Maynard.

The Senior Captain’s Day was held on Tuesday August 8. A full field of 100 was achieved for the shotgun start. It was won by Paul Life with 39 points.

The Bailiff Shield was played on Tuesday August 22. In previous years this has been a two-tee start which restricts the number of entrants to 88. This year, because of the increased interest in Seniors Competitions, it was decided to change to a one-tee start. In the event 99 players took part. It was won by Stephen Foster with 44 points.

Next up is the Gordon Percival Team Trophy on October 3 followed by the 3 Clubs and a Putter on October 10 and Autumn Singles Stableford on October 17. I have set up a meeting with Celia Whitecross and Sus Zirnis to discuss the scramble with the ladies on October 31

I have now set up all next year’s competitions and knockouts on IG.

A discussion took place regarding the arrangements for the Scramble with the Ladies regarding cost of entry and arrangements on the day.

Match Secretary' Report (AS)

Since the last report we have played 6 matches with results as follows: 

Gog Magog                      (h) won 5-3

Cambridge Country        (a) lost 5-3

Northampton                  (h) draw 4-4

Wellingborough              (a) lost 6-2

St Neots                           (a) lost 5-3

Letchworth                      (a) won 5-3

Overall performance to date Played 20, Won 8, Drawn 5 Lost 7.  Our overall performance is still just in the positive but we are starting to slip from our very bright start. 

The player turnover has not been as acute this month, but we now look to be struggling for South Beds away on 13 September.  An appeal has been put into the weekend's Newsletter.

AG and I have met to discuss arrangements for next year and I have put together a short survey to test membership opinion.

Action Point:

AS and AG to circulate a draft survey to members regarding selection arrangements for matches in 2024 to the committee and then, once agreed, circulate the final version to members for responses.

Calendar 2024 

What is hoped is the final version of the calendar was circulated and a few minor points on tees and timings were discussed.

Several points for 2024 will need to be returned to such as future matches with Beds and County beyond 2024, Swap Day arrangements, match selection criteria for Brocket Hall and Luffenham Heath and the cost of playing in matches in 2024. This to include reference to the fact that Brocket Hall and Luffenham Heath as afternoon fixtures will have different costings.

Action Point:

Fixtures for 2025 and arrangements for matches in 2024 to be added to the agenda for the next meeting.

Impact of gender neutral tees for competitions in 2024

 

Given the recent club announcement about the introduction of gender neutral tees it was agreed, following discussion, that we should take guidance from the club regarding tees for Senior Section competitions before making any changes.

 

Action Point:

 

TL to seek advice from the club and report back at the next meeting.

Roll Up Proposal

 It was agreed that the revised proposal be adopted and circulated to members. This involves two trial individual single Stablefords before the end of 2023 to be reviewed with a view to introducing 6 – 8 such roll ups in 2024.

It was also agreed that Bill Walker would take over the role of organiser of the roll ups from the Senior Section Secretary.

 Action Points:

 

-          RWT to circulate the finalised proposal to members and publicise in the Newsletter.

-          To be an agenda item at the next meeting

 Officers for 2024 and organisers for events

 The committee had an outline discussion regarding the officers for 2024 and other opportunities for fellow seniors to support the seniors by helping to organise events and matches, etc. This included the arrangements for the organisation of competitions and support for the Competition Secretary on the day of competitions. It was agreed that this discussion needs to be linked to the discussion about the arrangements for the AGM and the arrangements for matches and competitions in 2024.

 Action Point:

 It was agreed to have this as an agenda item for the next meeting.

 Presentation event/annual dinner

 Dave Wood will attend the next meeting and any current thoughts or comments about the arrangements of the evening should be passed to RWT prior to that meeting.

 AOB

 None was received not covered elsewhere on the agenda.

Date and time of next meeting  

Thursday 5^th October

Tuesday 7^th November

Tuesday 16^th January 2024