Castle News -July 2009

CASTLE VIEWS - An official publication of Clevedon Golf Club keeping the membership informed

Summer 2009

CHAIRMAN'S PIECE

The end of July, doesn’t time fly when you are enjoying yourself. The Golf Club continues to achieve its financial targets for this fiscal year, but the weather has affected income in June and July. Let’s hope the forecast good summer materialises in August and September. We are pleased to advise that our landlord has confirmed a reduction in rent of £25,000 per annum for the next two years with the next review planned for 2011.In addition the cost cutting measures in all areas have contributed to the financial performance to date. A warm welcome to Richard Dix as our new assistant secretary (fuller details below) and we wish him every success in the role. A big thank you to Mal Morgan for his excellent work for the Club. We wish him a long and happy retirement. Following the success of the Forum held in April this year we intend to repeat the exercise in October. Watch this space for date and time. The agreement with The Mon Plaisir restaurant has been extended to the end of October, so why not take advantage of the discount being offered. Finally, with the course being in such excellent condition, I hope your golf has flourished, which sadly mine has not. Keep praying for good weather over the next two months.

Roy Quipp-Chairman

CAPTAINS CORNER

Obviously, the memory of the summer for me will be my hole-in-one at the Isle of Wedmore in the Seniors’ Somerset Bowl match against Farrington but we have also had some great golf and some fun social events. We all enjoyed May Madness. It is super to play the course as it was never intended and our deputy head green-keeper, Del Pople set some testing pin positions. The weather was very kind on Captain’s day and I hope you all enjoyed the golf and Fred Wedlock in the evening. We enjoyed two bank holiday mixed greensomes in May, which were both well supported. The final one will be in August so do come along. Thank you all for the support for the Am-Am to raise funds for ‘Wooden Spoon’. £3226 will be handed over and, with matching funds from The Rugby Football Union means £6452 will be spent locally on handicapped children. An excellent day’s fun. The buffet on the Am-Am day was one of Ali’s best. Social event’s planned for the autumn include an evening with the Lady’s choir MISCELLANY in September, a race night in October, the Talent Night in November (Captain and Captain Elect have entered) and the Christmas Party and Carols evening in December. The monthly quiz evenings restart on Friday 25th September when Keith Bailey, John Bowhay and their partners will be setting the questions. Rob Scanlan, our professional is organising a golf day on Saturday August 8th. This will be team competition with prizes to be won and comedian Lee Carroll entertaining us in the evening. There will be hospitality on the course, courtesy of St Austell Brewery, so come along and support your Pro’. Entry is £10.00. Membership is still climbing slowly and I think everyone has integrated into the Club well. In July, when there was no competition on a Saturday, I organised a roll-up for new members. Twenty golfers turned up, some of who had been members for a few years but did not have a regular game at the weekend. Afterwards, a number of people mentioned that they could not make that one, but would definitely make the next so I will organise another event when there is another spare Saturday (probably 22nd August subject to other events not being cancelled and moved). We also intend to organise some Golf Rules evenings, details of which are included below in the ‘Competitions and Handicaps’ section. The intention is to have some fun and also provide an opportunity to learn more about the rules of golf.

David Fife - Captain

CAPTAIN-ELECT NOMINATION

The Board are pleased to announce their nomination for the position of Captain Elect for 2010 is Paul Middleton. Paul was born and brought up in Wimborne, Dorset and spent his working career in the insurance industry. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Insurance Institute. Paul, who lives in Clevedon joined the Club in 1993. Two years ago he qualified as an EGU tournament referee and became a member of the Somerset Golf Union. Paul’s wife Jill is also an active member.

FINANCIAL NEWS

We are now three quarters of the way through our financial year and I am pleased that our finances have not deteriorated since my last report. The good news is that we are now only £6.5k down on projected subscription income against the £12k showing in our Spring accounts. We have had some new members join us and I hope they feel very welcome at our Golf Club. We have not had any major unforeseen expenditure and we are still forecasting a small surplus at our financial year end in September. Further good news as mentioned by the Chairman is that we have managed to negotiate with our Landlord a £25k per year reduction in rent for the next two years, after which there will be a rent review. This and the projected year-end surplus will enable us to fund the cost of the new greens machinery next year. The bad news is that we still have very little funds available for any unforeseen costs that may crop up or to carry out any improvements or upgrades we may want to make to the course or clubhouse. What can we do to ease our financial problems and keep any increase in subscription levels to a minimum? Subscriptions account for approximately 80% of our income and if we can find an extra 10, 20 or more members this would certainly improve our finances. We are still some way below our desired membership level (90 below our 2006 level) so if you can help recruit new members, please do so. The next major area of income (approximately 9%) is green fees whether from visitors, members’ guests or societies and we may well have to try to attract more societies and individual visitors to our course to help ease our lack of funds. All other areas of income are fairly small in the big scheme of things but we are keeping a tight control of costs and looking to increase our income/profit wherever possible.

Alan Wignall - Director (Finance)

AROUND THE COURSE

Many thanks to Barry, Del and their team for the condition of the course this season with many positive reports from visitors and the recent Jamega tour. The course is playing well and the greens are a good pace with a very smooth and consistent surface. The fairways certainly have improved with the use of the new mower and the lack of clumps of mown grass has certainly lifted the appearance of the golf course while making it less messy for the golfers. We continue to have some problems with dollar spot on the fairways which we are monitoring. This is a problem all over the South West without any easy or cheap solution. We will protect the greens and surrounds by spraying if we needed. One of the mowers we use to cut tees has been damaged by a nail left on the grass. The nail was being used, as could be seen by the piece of string attached to it, to restrain ‘castle’ type tees to prevent loss. This may have saved the user 2p but has cost the Club significant work delays and several hours work re-grinding the cutters. Could I please ask all members who adopt this practice to use a non metallic restraint to stop this happening in the future. The recent rains have softened the course and greened up the fairways but we would still prefer warm sunny weather. Let’s hope for a return to summer soon. We will be carrying out some course maintenance in August. Please watch the notice boards for details. We will, as always keep disruption to a minimum. I hope everyone enjoys the rest of the summer season and that the good weather returns while we will do our best to keep the course in its present excellent condition.

Martin Reid - Director (Course)

COMPETITIONS AND HANDICAPS TEAM NEWS

First team captain Steve Lawrence reports that his team has made a very good start to the season, winning three games from the first six. Lansdown have already been relegated so our place is assured and we can relax a little. The younger players have mixed well with the more experienced players while one pairing, with over 100 years experience between them (Rob Arthur and Steve Brown) have only lost one game! Four games left so, fingers crossed for a top 3 finish.

Craig Andrews tells us that his 2nd team opened with three straight wins and thoughts of promotion loomed high. However, as this was followed by four defeats the illusion was quickly shattered and now it is a case of making every effort to avoid relegation. The team is lying 3rd in the league at present behind two very good 1st teams in Thornbury and The Players so, at present the season has been a success. The spirit is fantastic with some ‘old heads’ showing the way and some younger members coming through which is great for the future. Oh, and the middle-aged aren’t doing too badly either!

SLOW PLAY A number of letters of complaint have been received regarding slow play so members are reminded that nowadays, in accordance with the Rules of Golf (Etiquette: Pace of Play) precedence is decided, not by the size of a group ( 2-balls over 3-balls over 4-balls etc) but by an individual group’s pace of play. It is a group’s responsibility to keep up with the group in front but where it is apparent that a group can play faster, it should be invited to play through.

NEW COMPETITION ARRANGEMENT For a trail period, when a Saturday is ‘vacant’ in the fixture list a facility will be set up for members to play in a qualifying stableford competition, much in the same way as the mid-week stableford arrangements i.e. there will be no tee reservations - just turn up and pay in the Pro’ shop.

RULE NIGHTS As mentioned by the Captain a series of two or three Rules Evenings are being planned for the autumn. The intention is for these to be light-hearted affairs but, at the same time they will all have an element of education as their themes. Please watch the notice boards for full details.

COURSE SIGNS There are a number of signs on the course which have your safety in mind. For example, when walking down the 4th hole and when passing from the 11th green to the 12th tee. These direct you to walk along the pathways rather than taking a short cut so please observe them at all times.

Willy Rowlinson - Director (Competitions & Handicaps)

HOUSE MATTERS

Having refurbished the Men’s changing rooms it only remains for the toilet area to be up-graded to complete the task. Although there is no money in the budget at present, this should not stand in the way of any section of the Club raising the finance. Plastering and painting will cost £500, new mirrors and lighting £200. How about it, somebody? A number of you have shown an interest in the Photography Competition, so much so that it has been decided to extend the closing date until the 2nd November. At that time the course will be at its most colourful so, please keep snapping for another couple of months.

Ron Conway - Director (House)

ASSISTANT SECRETARY Welcome Richard ‘Dixie’ Dix to the role of Assistant Secretary. Richard hails from Oxfordshire and previously was National Accounts Manager with a leading insurance company. Richard is married to Anne and they have three grown up children. As well as golf Richard is kept busy on his allotment, loves walking his dog and is a bookworm.

LADIES

In June we enjoyed an Away Day at The Bristol which was in excellent condition with superb views over the channel. The weather was excellent as was the buffet afterwards. Later in the month we held a Strawberry Tea in my garden to raise money for our speaker – professional Christine Langford – at our dinner in September. Again, the weather was lovely and the garden at its best thanks to the Club Captain! Our Championship completed our June events on a high note. We played at the weekend after the men and enjoyed a large turn-out of our working members. Personal success was achieved by many, the sunshine was magnificent and the Trophy Presentation after tea and cake was a fitting end to a great weekend’s golf. Visitor numbers were down slightly for our Open Bowmaker in June and our Invitation Day in July but both days provided opportunities for good golf with our course in superb condition and fine weather to support them. I received many compliments on the course from our guests and my thanks go to the Green Staff for all their hard work. Competitively the Ladies have two teams of seven in the Bristol and District Ladies Golf Alliance and we play a pair in each of the Scratch Foursomes and Handicap Foursomes. Under Somerset Ladies Golf we play the Rogers Cup which is a team Knock-out and also a pairs Handicap Knock-out called the Centenary Plate. I am delighted to say that at this moment in time we are in the semi-finals for three of these competitions. Lizzie Stephens and Vonnie Rendall are in the Scratch Foursomes and also in Regional rounds for the Peugeot Coronation Foursomes and the ‘Golf 4 Women’ Salver with the chance of a final in Spain. Ruth Steele and Elaine Morgan are in the semi-final of the Handicap Foursomes while Sue Tasker and myself are in the semi-final of the Centenary Plate. Our ‘A’ team is currently lying 2nd in Division 3 and the ‘B’ team is 4th in Division 5 so both teams are playing well and winning matches. This is a great start for all the team members but as we are only half way through the season, everything is still to play for. We are working on shortening the course for ladies and will soon be able to play qualifying competitions from three such holes. These are fairway tees at present but the Club will work to produce proper tees in the autumn which will be of great benefit to us. I am looking to do more to involve our working members and so look out for notices for a 10-hole roll-up starting on August 20th at 5.45pm, followed by supper. My Captain’s Day is next on our calendar (5th August) and will be an Eclectic over 10 holes with the second 10 played after lunch. This will be followed by a dinner with entertainment. I have encouraged the ladies to allow their creativity to soar and am looking forward to a variety of humorous poems, jokes, songs, etc. on that evening. A dinner with professional Christine Langford is on September 4th when she will give us an entertaining talk on her experiences. I look forward to seeing many of you there as this is sure to be a very special evening.

Rosemary Fife - Ladies Captain

SENIORS

The Seniors’ season is now well underway. The half-way point of our ‘friendly’ matches has now been reached and to date we have played 19, won 11, halved 2 and lost 6 and we are still unbeaten at home! The Seniors’ Open went very well with an excellent turnout and although played in tough windy conditions good scores were returned. The trip to Bidford Grange in September has been finalised with 24 seniors planning to make the journey to Evesham. Well done, Glyn Ager on his splendid round in the July medal, a nett 66 which has seen his handicap reduced to 14. His handicap has come this year nearly as fast as he gets round the course. We still need a lot more support for the Jazz Bar-B-Q on 22nd August and remember, it is open to all Club members and their friends, not only the Seniors who are merely organising it. Finally, the Seniors have reached the semi-final of the Somerset Bowl after a fantastic win over last year’s winners Farrington and for anyone on the planet who has not heard our Captain David Fife (aka Dolores Forbes-Hamilton) achieved a hole-in-one, his first in 45 years of playing golf.

Mike Parker - Seniors’ Captain

JUNIOR NEWS

A new season and a bid to retain their League title. The Junior team hope to sit on top of the table after their game against Bristol & Clifton, with only one other game to play. The team squad, consisting of 15 players have had some good wins this season, notably a 5 – 1 drubbing of The Kendleshire away as well as a win at home against Chipping Sodbury. The team is ably led by Adam Williams and includes Myles Angell, Stu Balcombe, Lizzie Stephens and Toby Chapman. All have had league experience in the full Club teams. Players to watch are Ali Balcombe, Ed Cawse, Joe Swift, Cara Swift, Tom Rowlinson and Jamie Tompkins as they have played their part in another successful season, so far. Myles Angell, the County U.16 Captain is still well placed to jet off to Abu Dhabi for the Daily Telegraph Junior Championship. He lies third at the moment in the whole country. His result in our Junior Open in June with a gross score of 67 [5 under par] has got him there. Well done, Myles. Juniors continue to meet on a Monday night for a friendly gathering and play some sociable golf with ages ranging from 8 to 18. Thanks must go to the parents who help. Junior membership is thriving and bodes well for the future of our Club.

Tony Brown – Junior Co-ordinator

PRO SHOP NEWS

A big ‘thank you’ to all members who supported the Cobra Demo’ Day in June.
BEAT THE CREDIT CRUNCH

• We have a great deal on Strata Golf balls; buy a dozen balls and get a free All-Weather Strata glove.
• There is also an offer on the Strata Gloves; buy two Strata Professional Gloves for £15 making a saving of £5 or buy two All-Weather Strata Gloves for £10 making a saving of £6
• We have an incredible offer on Titleist NXT Tour and NXT Extreme golf balls. When you buy a dozen you receive a voucher entitling you to two free sleeves on your next dozen-purchase of golf balls.
• Another great deal in the shop is on the Cutter & Buck t-shirts; buy one t-shirt and get the second half price. There are only a limited amount of sizes and colours left in stock as this is a one- time only offer. You are most welcome to come in at anytime to have a browse.
  Finally, I’m sure we will all wish to congratulation Ashley Mansell on winning the qualifier at the HSBC Champion of Champions at Saunton Golf Club. He will now travel to Royal Birkdale and compete in the National Finals. Rob & the Team.

  Newsletter Editor – Paul Middleton