In attendance: Tony Lloyd (TL), Algy Grimes (AG) Richard Westergreen – Thorne (RWT)
Barry Donovan (BD) Dave Wood (DW) David Barlow (DB) Nigel
Underwood (NU) Jonathan Lean (JL),
Apologies: None
Minutes previous: Agreed
Matters arising not covered elsewhere on the agenda:
None
Captain's report (TL)
I feel as though I am on the home straight now with
all the matches in the rear view mirror and just two more competitions to go –
the rearranged scramble with the ladies and the Xmas Fayre.
I am thrilled at the level of participation in all
our events this year. The magnificent turnout for the Arthur Lucas (Bring and
Win) showed once again how the hard work by all members of the committee –
particularly Nigel on this occasion – produces a fantastic experience for our Seniors.
The atmosphere in the Burgoyne Suite after the golf was amazing and the extra prizes
in the form of hampers for the top five places suggested and sourced by Nigel
proved a very popular addition to the event.
I am conscious, though, that there is a feeling
abroad that we are not doing enough to satisfy the interests of our low
handicappers. The research carried out by Peter Imray into the spread of
winners across all competitions was enlightening. Although Peter cannot attend today’s
meeting I have invited him to attend a future meeting. It may have to be
January because of his work commitments. In the meantime I think we should
start thinking creatively about how to address this situation.
The introduction of Divisional Prizes to some of
our competitions this year has been welcomed but I’m sure there is more we can do.
Last Thursday, with a view to developing potential
closer links with the Bedfordshire Golf Club, David Barlow and I welcomed two
of their committee members to John O’Gaunt for breakfast and a round of golf.
We had a productive chat and a close round - though they beat us on the 18th .
Treasurer's report (BD)
1.
The financials position as at 14/11
is a bank balance of £14.6k up from £13.1k last month. This includes £3900
deposits for the 2026 Tour.
2.
New processes are working well
with the Main club. A full review will be undertaken before the year end. There
are a number of recent transactions to be processed from our end , but
hopefully we can close the year prior to Christmas and get our accounts to our
Auditor early in January 26.
3.
The 2026 Tour has been booked
at the Nottinghamshire on 20/22 May 2026. 26 are signed up and all but one has
paid their deposits. 1 reserve has now been added to the list.
4.
Bank Account. Further attempts
to resolve the Online App issues with the Bank Account – still unresolved.
Serious attempt to review new Bank options will follow.
5.
Christmas Fayre. Things look to
be in hand but final checks will be carried out shortly. I’m hoping for some
support on the Monday prior to the event to sort the prizes and label them with
Raffle Numbers. Hoping also that Nigel / Jonathan can do their normal magic
with the cards before and after play ? I will have all prizes on a spreadsheet
for projection on the large screen
.Vice Captain's report (DB)
Alan Fowler reached the age of 90 last week and the
committee sent him a present and a card on behalf of the seniors.
IPC report (RWT)
Nothing to report.
Secretary’s report (RWT)
Two new members since the last
meeting and a couple of others are likely to join once they become club members
following recent induction sessions for prospective new club members.
Some of the clubs we play hold
their AGM’s prior to Christmas and I have had notes so far from three clubs
indicating their new committee for 2026 and I am starting to compile a list. Tony will be
able to send a similar note to all of the clubs after our AGM alerting them to our new
committee and points of contact.
I sent out our 2026 calendar to
members on Sunday in the Newsletter and can let you know at the meeting of any
feedback or queries that I may receive as a result.
My priority now is to get the
AGM Notice of Meeting and AGM Agenda out to members at the right times and
then I will turn my attention to the various documents we need to compile for 2026 such
as Match Contacts and the lists to send to members such as Committee
Contact details. I can then look to I can hand them over for distribution after the
AGM in February.
Competition Secretary's report (NU)
One competition has been completed since our last
meeting, The Arthur Lucas “Bring and Win”. Graham Gadsden was first, Peter
Harvey second and George Simmons third, all scoring 38 points on the JoG. Play
seemed to move well, handing in of cards was prompt. The field was nearly twice
the size of last year. The introduction of hampers for the top 5 finishers was
well received. For next year I will add the word “UNWRAPPED” in the competition
details (one person brought a “mystery prize”, which turned out to be golf
balls) so people can make an informed choice. We also need to tighten control
of handing in prizes to avoid a repetition of one prize temporarily
disappearing. Prizes need to be collected close to where cards are being
distributed. There were just 3 late(ish) withdrawals.
The scramble with the Ladies had to be postponed
due to very bad weather, and has been rescheduled for next Tuesday, the 25th .
Entry is slightly lower than for the original date, and is significantly down
for the ladies. Kath Price and I will sort and publish teams imminently.
The bell and a whistle have been purchased for the
abandonment of play in a Seniors competition. Hopefully they will see very
little use ! I will produce a short, user friendly version of the procedure for
the newsletter and to distribute at the AGM.
The only other remaining fixture is the Baz
Backhouse/Christmas Fair. At time of writing we have 90 entries for the 75
places. Details will be discussed as an agenda item.
Nearly all of next year’s competitions have been
added to the club diary. I would welcome experienced eyes looking at the
knockouts and GOTY set ups to see if I have done these correctly.
Match Secretary's Report (AG)
AG outlined the current position regarding the
price of meals for 2026 matches and this was covered in another agenda item.
RWT reported that three clubs have so far sent us
their new committee details for 2026. TL will circulate our details to the
other clubs soon after the AGM in early February.
There was a discussion regarding match meal prices
for 2026. The original advice from the club has been changed and there is
uncertainty as to what the cost of meals will be for 2026. BD has drafted a
letter to the club which was circulated. It was agreed that the matter needed
to be resolved and BD and AG will keep the other members of the committee
informed of developments as they follow up the issues raised.
Trophy Custodian's Report (DW)
Myself and Wendy are searching the internet for a large shield to
prolong the life of the Bailiff Shield which is running out of space for new
winners’ shields. Current prices are around £100 for a new shield – we will
continue to search for a more acceptable price.
All trophies (including the Captains Gavel) were taken to our engravers
on Thursday 13th November. They will be available for the Presentation Dinner.
The Captains’ Gavel has suffered some damage during 2025. The brass
strike plate has fallen off and the circular wooden under plate has broken in
two places. I have asked the engraver to remove the wooden under plate and
affix the brass plate to the gavel base. This will, I hope, ensure that no further
damage is sustained.
Swap Day – Newmarket Links, 27th October 2025.
The swap day with Newmarket Links went down well with all those who
attended. I have passed on some very positive feedback from Newmarket to our F&B
team, and likewise to the Newmarket F&B Team for our players.
I have contacted Darrell Knight (Swap Day Organiser – Stoke Rochford)
for a confirmation of the date Monday 5 th October 2026. I have also invited
him and his 2026 Captain to John O’Gaunt for a round and chat.
Presentation Evening 2nd December 2025.
Invitations were sent out to Captain's Guests, Committee and Competition
winners and, where appropriate, runners -up. The invitation was extended to
General Membership, resulting in some additional take up of places. To date we
have 67 attendees, with a few days left for any late-comers.
Perhaps a further prompt in the next newsletter may prove productive?
Following the Arthur Lucas competition we now have a total of 15 bottles
of wine, 6 Gin Glasses, a radio-controlled wall clock, 3 Vice Golf balls with a
pair of “Clown” socks, and a small box of 3 x malt whiskey samples. I have a
Christmas cuddly Teddy Bear and will be purchasing some boxes of chocolates and
odd prizes to bolster the spectacular array of prizes.
I have put together a Presentation Dinner booklet which I ask you to
have a look at and will welcome any comments/feedback from you before I ask
Wendy to print it off in booklet form.
Competition Formats 2026
Following the paper received from Peter Imray a discussion took place
about the formats for competitions in 2026 and, in particular, the mix of medal
and stableford events. It was agreed that the trial of offering divisional
prizes in competitions for 2025 was well received and should continue.
After discussion it was agreed that the Rex Bullock Trophy and Bailiff Shield should become
a dual prize event with a stableford and a medal winner with the medal scores
counting towards GOTY. Final decisions to be made after meeting
Peter Imray and then announced to members.
Action Points
DW to check the inscriptions on the Bailiff Shield
and Rex Bullock trophies to see if they specify stableford or medal prior to
the next meeting.
Peter Imray to be contacted by RWT to confirm his
attendance at the January Meeting.
One (or two) new trophies would need to be
purchased if the changes take place.
Final decision at the January meeting prior to
announcement to members at the AGM.
AGM 2025
RWT shared the draft Notice of Meeting and draft
Agenda and a discussion took place about the arrangements both prior to the
meeting and on the day.
RWT will ensure that the Notice of Meeting is sent
out on time and prior to this will circulate a draft to the committee for
comment including the wording regarding possible additional committee members
being elected.
Photographs in the club foyer
It was noted at the end of the meeting that a
photograph of the Senior Captain now adorns the ‘4th plinth’ in the
foyer and takes its place alongside the other club captains.
Dates of Future Meetings
Thurs Jan 13 2026
Thurs Feb 3 2026 (AGM)
Dates for 2026 were confirmed as:
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Thursday
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03 February 2026
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Thursday
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05 March 2026
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Thursday
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09 April 2026
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Thursday
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07 May 2026
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Thursday
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11 June 2026
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Thursday
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02 July 2026
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Thursday
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06 August 2026
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Thursday
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10 September 2026
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Thursday
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08 October 2026
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Thursday
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05 November 2026
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Thursday
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03 December 2026
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