Originally there was to be a Texas scramble prior to the AGM but the competition was changed to
2 separate comps, the first was for 6 teams of 4 over holes 5 to 13, The 2nd was for 5 teams over holes 1, 3, 4, and then 14 to 18 (8 holes in total). The scores were made up of the best 2 scores on all holes played except the last 2 played by each team (holes 12, 13 and holes 17 and 18) when the best 3 scores counted.
9 hole results as follows
- Andrew Mitchell, Malcolm Williams, Bill Hughes and John Kelty 53 point
- Roy Jordan, Irwin Elkin, John Davies and Tony Harcombe 52 points
8 Hole results as follows
- Phil Hughes, Barry Dare, Dilly Jones and Tom McGrady 42 points
- Peter Fey, Peter Lynch, Stewart Poole and Nigel Davies 41 points
The Seniors AGM commenced at 12 noon. Agenda below:
Clays Seniors Annual General Meeting
Tuesday December 6th 2016
Time 12.00 noon after 9 hole competition.
Agenda
Apologies;
Members present;
Minutes of last AGM December 8th 2015;
Matter arising from minutes;
Confirm appointment Dave Palferman as Treasurer for the senior section
Reports;
Captain;
Hon Sec.
Treasurer;
Competition Organiser;
Seniors event Organiser;
Interclub Match Organiser;
Reports:
Senior Captain’s Twelve months ago, at the 2015 AGM, I was honoured to be selected as your captain. I knew that it was a position of great responsibility and perhaps a daunting prospect and, in fact, the AGM itself was, to some degree, a baptism of fire! However, I believe that the fact that we could have such a robust debate but then come together as a unified group demonstrated one of the many strengths that make our section so special. During that AGM, a number of new committee members were chosen and I must take this opportunity to thank, on your behalf, all of the members of our committee for their enthusiasm, wisdom and hard work throughout the year and particularly the support that they have given me in my first year as captain. I would also like to thank Derek Lyon, who left the committee at last year’s AGM but who has continued to update the Seniors Blog, which I know is highly valued by all of us in our section – although I have found that you have to make sure that you’re on your best behaviour on the course as Derek will be lurking with his camera! As an aside, I have found it interesting to monitor the improvement in Colin Brown’s scores since he relinquished his captaincy!
During the club AGM, in light of information regarding club membership, it became evident that approximately 1/3 of the club membership are in the Seniors section and perhaps almost ½ according to more recent membership figures. To me, this indicates the importance of our section in helping to make the club progress. It has been pleasing to welcome a number of new members to our section this year and I know that you will have made them all feel welcome.
The AGM was soon followed by our Christmas lunch, a great afternoon but I think it took me until February to recover! The lunch demonstrates the essence of what the Seniors section is all about - including booing when certain people win!
Tragically, Christmas then brought sad news with one of our past members passing away. This was followed later in the year with the loss of other highly regarded and popular friends. It perhaps serves as a reminder that a poor shot or a missed putt don’t really matter; being able to play & enjoy the game we love is a precious gift. A number of our members have also had a difficult year with various medical problems and I know that we wish them all a full and speedy recovery and improved health in 2017.
2016 began with me being invited to participate in the Club Captains’ Drive In. For me this was more than a personal honour; it was recognition of our section as a whole.
At time of writing the course is in good condition, particularly the greens, and it is interesting to note that in the first few months of the year a number of our medals were either postponed or made non-qualifiers due to course conditions. We only make such decisions after a great deal of consideration and I hope that you continue to support us when we may have to make similar decisions in good faith in future. The improvement in the course is testament to the work carried out by the green keeping staff, in sometimes difficult circumstances, and I would like to acknowledge their efforts.
Our Honours Board competitions, medals and special events during the year have been very well supported and I thank members of our section for their participation. I would particularly like to mention the £315 that we raised for the Royal British Legion during our Ken Lawrence Memorial competition; this was a great amount and a demonstration of the generosity of the members of our section. For kitty competitions, we have introduced a number of new formats; some more popular than others, and we will continue to think of ways in which we can make our golf as interesting and enjoyable as possible. A great deal of thanks is due to Don Wraight and Steve Monk for all of their hard work in organising our competitions and I would also like to thank Cliff Evans for his original idea to introduce a 2s element into our kitty competitions and for his continuing administration of the ball sweep. This is an innovation that has proved popular and well supported.
At times this year it has proved difficult to form a team for our inter-club matches and in fact one match had to be called off because we couldn’t raise a team, which was a great disappointment. Paul White has done an enormous amount of work in arranging and administering the matches and I thank him very much for his efforts.
Cliff Lloyd, who has been our Seniors Treasurer for a number of years, decided not to renew his club membership, and we felt it important to acknowledge Cliff’s great contribution to our section and the club in general. A very successful “Seniors v Rest of the Club” match was held in Cliff’s honour and I know that you will join me in thanking Cliff for everything that he has done for us over the years and wish him well for the future. The appointment of the new Seniors Treasurer will be decided upon during this AGM.
The Clays Seniors Open took place on 9th August. We had a very successful day, with very positive feedback from visitors from other clubs. Approximately £180 was raised for Seniors section funds in addition to £490 which was paid over to Clays Management.
We have received notification from The Golf Union of Wales regarding a new event that they will be launching in 2017, the Welsh Seniors' Greensomes Championship. The GUW will invite all clubs across Wales to run a qualifying competition for their senior members in 2017 from which the winners will qualify for the national final which will be run and administered by the GUW. We are looking to support this initiative and we look forward to a successful event, particularly considering the practice that we’re getting in Greensomes thanks to Steve!
Some of our most enjoyable days are spent when we play seniors opens at other clubs and, as ever, we are indebted to Tony Harcombe for his organisation of these excellent trips away.
The committee recently made the decision to do away with the 2 shot penalty for winners of kitty competitions, as it was proving very difficult to administer the process fairly. We will, of course, continue to monitor this, particularly if “serial winners” become apparent!
I would like to congratulate all of our players who have had success this year. Although we had a reasonable spread of names winning competitions and medals etc., it was also obvious that the “usual suspects” were very much in evidence! Two achievements that I feel deserve particular mention are Frank Rodenhurst easily winning the Winter League with one round to go and having missed playing in one round and Bill Kelleher’s winning of the Mike Copperwheat Seniors Eclectic for the 5th year in a row!!!
Finally, I must pass on many thanks for all of the work that Fred Court has done as Seniors Secretary this year. Fred is a constant source of wisdom, experience and knowledge and I greatly appreciate his support for me personally.
Best wishes to all members of our section for good health and enjoyable golf in 2017. Nigel Davies.
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Honorary Secretary’s report: It does not seem like a year has passed since our Last AGM but here we are again, I shall keep this brief as much of what I could say will be covered by other committee members during the AGM
As with Derek before me I have to mention the sad loss of several of our members this year also the serious issues which have been experienced by others, and wish them a speedy recovery.
I would thank the Committee who, this last year consist of a considerable influx of new blood including myself who you might describe as new blood recycled. The committee have worked extremely well together, having held regular meeting to discuss one or two issues raised by members and others, some of them quite tenuous. I thank each and all, especially our Captain Nigel, for the effort they contribute in order to make your time at clays interesting enough and inspire you to come back for more.
We could not talk about our committee without expressing our thanks to Cliff Lloyd for his term in office of over 20 years as the senior Treasure and also his support to the section and the club in general. Thanks to Dave for stepping in to take over the Treasurers responsibility. Then there is Derek our immortal press officer, thanks for all your reports and Blogs especially for my occasional Blog on the rules. With regard to the rules of Golf I ask you all to remember the rules are there to make a fair and level playing field, and not designed for punishment, indeed use of the rules may even give an advantage. Unfortunately, there are many basic issues were players misuse the rules and avoid penalties. The most common of which I see is Players lifting their ball without first marking its position, that said I shall leave the rules behind at this point.
I have a few other thanks I wish to make in particular our own members for their generous contribution to show the sections gratitude to Cliff Lloyd, the result of your contribution will be revealed during our Christmas Party, and then it’s a question of finance, if it’s not me chasing money, then it has to be “can I have a cheque Charlie” our own Tony Harcombe. Tony thanks for your time and diligence in the organisation of Open events.
One of my tasks is the maintenance of our membership list which currently stands at 123 registered members and also the information Tally list for phone contact, I have also adapted this list to show Membership payment on the current year as a memory jogger for those not yet paid. Respectfully I would remind you that dues are required in December for the year starting January our year being out of sync with Clays golf year which is June. I mention this because a significant number assume all dues are required at the same time. Recently several members have not renewed there membership leaving and left the club renewing their senior membership and paid dues 6 months earlier. Therefore, remember the Draw for some amber liquid at the Christmas party for those having paid by that date for 2017. If you wish you may pay dues after the close of this meeting.
I have noted the volume of Tally list copies on our tally board, many of which having out of date information and tried to minimise this. I have been copying this Tally sheet to each member for whom I have email contact, occasionally people do change contact detail but omit to advise everyone, if you know of any change for which I have not been advised please let me know.
Finally, as we are getting toward that time of the year, I remind you of the Senior Christmas Party on Dec. 13th and if you have not already entered for the 9-hole competition followed by our meal, if the list is no longer on the board down stairs, contact Don ASAP. I wish you all the seasons greeting and good health. Fred Court
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Treasurer’s Report: Many members will know that our long time treasurer Cliff Lloyd did not renew his club membership for the 2016/17 season. I (David Palferman) took over the role of treasurer on a temporary basis subject to confirmation at the AGM. I would personally like to thank Cliff for all the help he has given to ensure a smooth transfer of responsibilities.
There is no immediate need to increase the members’ subs of £5 per annum.
Any member paying their 2017 subs prior to the Xmas meal on 13 December will automatically be entered into a free raffle for a bottle of whiskey to be drawn at the Xmas meal. Please note, for logistical reasons, members will not be able to pay their subs on the day of the Xmas meal. If any member wishes to pay via Internet banking, our account details with Nat West Bank are Sort code: 55-81-42, Account No.32236328. Please ensure you enter your name in the reference box.
The current balance of the section stands at £825.47 (Nov 2016). This figure will increase as members pay their £5 subs for 2017 over the coming weeks.
A summary of the account activities for 2016 are given below. A full copy of the account spreadsheet is available on request.
Balance January 2016: £262.72
Total Income £ 2512.02
Total Expenditure £ 1949.27
Finally, I would like to thank members for their continued support.
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Competition Organiser: Dear Seniors; A big thank you for supporting all the Boarded competitions and Medals, congratulations go to the winners of all the events and although they go away with trophies you can all applaud yourselves by being a competitor in those comps.
It will soon be time for the 2017 entry form to be available to complete. These will be ready as soon as the Clays diary is completed, can I please have those back as soon as possible together with a cheque for the comps.
Closing date will be 31st March 2017 and the relevant draws will be made soon after.
Just like to wish you all a Merry Christmas and all the best in the New Year.
Make yourself a winner and enter the comps please.
HB 2013 2014 2015 2016 2016
Competitions. Medals
Seniors Championship 35 36 44 40 January c
Pairs Betterball 41 44 50 52 February 32
Eclectic 27 25 26 33 March 40
2 Day 15* 32 46 46 April 50
Seniors/Vets 36 39 45 52 May 51
Gemini 39 50 54 June 48
D.J.Bogey 29 34 July 52
August 48
September 44
October 51
November 36
May I remind those wishing to play; To qualify for Honour-Board competitions you require to be a paid up member of the senior section; have a valid Competitive handicap and your “Registered Entry and Payment” before the end of March for Knock-out competitions. Late completion disrupts the flow of competition; players are requested to complete their round ASAP and no later than the date set by the organiser. Committee reserve the right to disqualify members for late completion of any round.
We request early entry and payment for nominated Honour Board competitions also by the end of March but the closing date for non knockout competitions remains the day of the event.
Note, late entries after March for stroke play H-B competitions may miss out on the playing order draw and will need to speak to the organiser for a tee time and marker.
Senior event’s Organiser; I have enjoyed organising our calendar of kitty competitions through the year and hope you have all enjoyed playing in them. I have tried to introduce a few new competitions into the programme and I think they have mostly been popular. Of course, all golf games are variations on a theme – the theme being to take as few shots as possible to complete each hole!!
One comp I introduced went against this theme – the LAHLAH’s. A few members pointed out that on certain holes (the ‘L’ holes, where the lowest Stableford score counts – i.e. the worst score) a player could score a gross eagle for a net albatross and it would count for nothing if the rest of the team only managed meagre pars. I thought this a valid criticism so I have dropped it from our programme.
Most of the new comps have been suggested by people other than myself and for these I would like to thank Fred, our Captain Nigel, my son-in-law, and an opponent in a match at Hawarden GC. I must also thank Stewart Poole for his many years doing this job and for the range of competition formats he made regulars for us all to enjoy - more or less all of which I have continued with. Any member who wants to suggest other new formats is welcome to try them out on me. I already have another one or two ‘up my sleeve’ for trying out next year.
I would also like to thank everyone who has helped to run the comps in my absence, or when I am still out on the course, such as Nigel, Don Wraight, and others on the committee and also some not on the committee. However, I would especially like to thank Cliff Evans for assisting me with the draw for tees and partners each morning and also for spicing up the kitty comps by suggesting and running the popular ‘2’s ball sweep.
Finally, thank you to all of you for supporting the competitions so well. Just to give a few stats, on January 5th, 48 turned up for the first round of the winter league. In February the average attendance per game was 42, ranging from 34 to 48. In March it was 41, with a highest of 55 for the St. David’s Day event. Things have continued more or less the same throughout the year, which is what makes being on the committee so rewarding. Of course, you are all such keen golfers you’d probably turn up even if Mickey Mouse was organising things, but thank you all for you support in any case. I hope 2017 is just as successful a golfing year for us all. Steve Monk
Items/issues raised by various members.
Guest Eligibility for Competition entry The following amendment to our constitution is proposed within our committee meeting. Seconded by Fred Court.
A guest over 55yrs of age with a “Competitive Congu Handicap” will be allowed to win monetary prizes or equivalent but not win a trophy. Any guest under the age of 55will not be charged a completion fee, will play as a marker and will therefore not be eligible to win any prize.
Partnerships For honour board competitions. The following amendment to our constitution is proposed within committee meeting and seconded by Fred Court.
Partnership; if after entering a “Pairs Competition”, a change the partnership is required due to a long term illness, recuperation from illness or withdrawal of membership. Such a change is permitted provided neither of the original partnership nor the incoming partner has played in any rounds within the event.
FC:- I suggest that to avoid messing up the table written last year by Steve, the amendment above be added to the footnotes (page 8) in order to establish item 7and 8 into the Constitution. (Copy of Table attached, listed on Page 6 of this agenda).
Proposal is for the Section to introduce 9-Hole qualifying competitions.
Proposed by Irwin Elkin and seconded by Cliff Evans. The proposal is to hold 9-Hole competition qualifiers, limited to Stableford scoring as per Congu Rules 22.1 “22.2, for those members wishing to avail themselves the facility to maintain a recognised Handicap, played on the same day as the normal 18-Hole qualifiers
Proposal for the Section to introduce mixed tee position with their Qualifying competitions. Proposed by Irwin Elkin and seconded by Cliff Evans. The proposal is for players having the choice of which measured course (colour of tees) they will use throughout the competition. (Appendix “O” from the Congu rules covers this issue)
Additional information supplied by your Hon. Sec.
Extracts from Congu rules:- At the discretion of the affiliated club, Qualifying Competition over 9 holes may be conducted for members at their nominated home club. The scores shall be recorded as qualifying scores in the players Handicap Records, subject to the following provisions.
22.1 The designated 9-Hole course shall have a Standard Scratch Score issued by the Union and expressed as an 18-hole value.
22.2 9-Hole qualifying Competitions shall be in Stableford format.
22.3 A 9-Hole Competition Handicap shall be calculated as follows:
[Exact Handicap+9-Hole SSS – (9-Hole Par x 2)]/ 2
22.4 Handicap Strokes shall be taken according to the Stoke index for the 9-Hole course
22.5 18 Stableford points must be added to the result over 9-Holes to obtain a Qualifying score for Handicap purposes.
22.6 Only players in Handicap Categories 2, 3 and 4may return 9-Holes scores for handicap purposes.
Appendix O. In addition to mixed Gender Competitions in which Men and Ladies play in the same competition from different tees for the same prizes, there are also other events in which to account for age/playing ability differences, it may also be deemed desirable for participants to use different sets of tees. For example;- Junior/Adult competitions; Member and Senior Member Competitions.
In order to maintain equity in all such competitions the rules go on to explain Handicap adjustments that may be required for various formats of scoring which players should be aware of, but are actually calculated within the handicap records system used by our club, when competitions are closed down by the Handicap Secretary.
Ladies will always play from the ladies (red) tees, and will score points and receive handicap shots in accordance with the pars and stroke indices of the ladies card (except as defined in footnote 4 below). Additionally, when men and ladies compete against each other, handicap adjustments will be made to one gender or the other in accordance with the table below, which complies with guidance contained in the CONGU UHS manual Appendix O, to account for differences in the par and SSS between the ladies card and the men’s card.
Competition Type
Ladies Tee Men’s Tee Handicap Adjustment
Stableford/Par/Bogey Red White Men receive 1 extra shot
Red Yellow No adjustments
Strokeplay Red White Ladies receive 1 extra shot
Red Yellow Ladies receive 2 extra shots
Matchplay Singles Red White Ladies receive 1 extra shot before calculating the handicap differentials
Matchplay Pairs Red White As for matchplay singles above
- signifies that in order to win prizes in the relevant events, players must hold a current official Competition CONGU handicap (‘c’ status) before the event commences. Players without a current official handicap may enter and play but cannot win prizes.
- signifies that players must hold a current official Competition CONGU handicap (‘c’ status) before they enter the relevant events.
In mixed gender matchplay competitions, (as in paras 4.2.2 and 4.2.3), both men and ladies will play to the stroke indices of the men’s card irrespective of who is the lowest handicapper.
The procedure to follow in such matches is therefore:
For singles: Man – white tees. Lady – red tees. Add 1 shot to the lady’s handicap; then determine who has the lower resultant handicap; then deduct the lower handicap from the higher handicap to determine the number of shots the higher handicapper will receive for the game. The shots to be received by the higher handicapper will be at holes with a stroke index on the men’s card from 1 up to the calculated handicap difference.
For pairs: Men – white tees. Ladies – red tees. Add 1 shot to the ladies’ handicaps; then determine who has the lowest resultant handicap. The 3 other players deduct this lowest handicap from their own respective (adjusted) handicaps, then multiply the resultant differential handicaps by 90% and round up or down, as usual, to the nearest whole number to arrive at the number of shots to be received by each. Each player receiving shots will take them at holes with a stroke index on the men’s card from 1 up to the calculated received number of shots.
Guest Players:- A guest over 55yrs of age with a “Competitive Congu Handicap” will be allowed to win monetary prizes or equivalent but not win a trophy. Any guest under the age of 55will not be charged a competition fee, will play as a marker and will therefore not be eligible to win any prize.
Partnership for Honour Board Competitions; if after entering a “Pairs Competition”, a change the partnership is required due to a long term illness, recuperation from illness or withdrawal of membership. Such a change is permitted provided neither of the original partnership nor the incoming partner has played in any rounds within the event.
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Minutes of Clays Seniors AGM held on December 8th 2015
Apologies: Cliff Lloyd, Colin Williams, Jack Brown, Keith Jones, Tom Mara, Colin Evans, Pauline Peacock, Bill Parry and Stewart Poole.
Members present: Some 63 members attended and signed the attendance sheet.
Minutes of the last AGM held December 2014: Taken as a true and proper record – proposed by Roy Jones and seconded by Barry Evans.
Matters arising from the minutes: Colin Brown mentioned about a proposed library for members which had been discussed with management and no further action to ensue.
Reports:
(a)Captain: It is with a tinge of regret that I write this, my fourth and last report as your Senior captain. My first year started with very mixed emotions, the pleasure of being accepted as your captain followed within a few weeks by the doctor giving me a choice, more stents with possible limited success, do nothing and await the consequences, he never actually told me what the consequences were or a heart bypass operation. Where do I sign, a piece of paper with various information including one line that caught my eye, nothing wrong with my eyesight. 2% don't make it! OK so 98% do! I sign and agree to the op. I made the conscious decision to remain active, walks etc but not to play golf. To much stress in that short putt for a par..!Again I must thank Bob Brown, my predecessor for stepping in and guiding everyone through this period. At this time you realise the strength and warmth of members of the senior section. All the good wishes, offers of support, visits after the op, phone calls both requesting news and offering encouragement were very welcome. Thankfully I fully recovered and was able to return to the golf course 3 months after the op. Enoughof past history, let's move forward to this year. We started the year with the usual Christmas festivities, possibly the highlight of the year, certainly the highlight off the golf course.
January and February followed with a small but hardy group out each Tuesday and Thursday whatever the weather. I can still see a line someone had cleared on the first green to allow them to putt, anyone can putt along a drain pipe. The start to the season for many came in late March with our first “summer” competition, St David's Day, my thanks once again to Roy for sponsoring the event.
March also sees the start of inter club matches and this year we added Upton Heath to our rota having lost Chirk. As always we just get enough to make up the team. Whilst I thank all who played last year let’s see a few more names prepared to play next year. It's been an enjoyable year with several matches producing close finishes including a couple of tied matches. Overall we won the majority of our home matches and lost the majority away although we did manage one away victory. My thanks to John for all the work he has done to organise all the matches.
Thankfully the weather warmed up in April, the blossom was fantastic, fast forward to October and the start of Autumn saw some incredible colours, every shade of green imaginable together with reds, yellows and browns. The course has certainly matured over the years and the work done in the past couple of years has greatly improved the 1st, 16th and 17th. We should all recognise the hard work of the ground staff.
As April moved on members started to play in the various honours board competitions , particularly the single and pairs knockouts. My thanks to Don for all the work he does in organising the various competitions, it's not easy and requires time and effort, please help him by sticking to playing dates etc.
The latter half of the year had much improved temperatures and thankfully some warm and sunny weather. This also seemed to encourage some interesting colourful shorts. Legs that had not seen the light for many months suddenly appeared, I'm not sure if some are a good advert for Clays Golf Club but nevertheless they provide the butt of jokes for all of us.
August brought us a number of competitions including the D. J. Bogie. Sadly David Jones who for many years sponsored the event passed away earlier this year., he will be greatly missed as will Dave Roberts who passed away last month. Dave joined us from Chirk and enjoyed the short time he had at Clays and despite considerable discomfort continued to play the game he loved.
I could not let August pass without expressing regret that what appeared two” ringers” won our senior open and were subsequently disqualified. It left a somewhat sour taste in my mouth. My congratulations to the true winners
September always hosts finals day and I would like to congratulate everyone who competed in each and every competition, without entrants there would be no competition. It goes without saying that my warmest congratulations go to all the winners but I must make special mention of Bill Kelleher who has now won the eclectic for the past four years.
Can I also commend the work Tom McGrady did in bringing Fatima Sayed to the club one day in October. Everyone had the opportunity to speak with her and organise a screening for aneurysms. If you have not yet taken advantage of the opportunity and are over 65 please do so, many amongst us will testify to the importance of the screening. I believe from Fatima that those under 65 will automatically get a call once they reach 65.
As we move forward and I together with all of you look forward to working with our new senior captain can I ask that everyone gives him your full support. As I have found out during the past four years you cannot please all of the people all of the time. So if a something is done or a decision made please accept that it was made in good faith and help, don't hinder the outcome.
Finally I must on your behalf recognise the work done by those leaving the committee this year, John I have previously mentioned, Bob Brown, immediate past captain who continues to guide us with his balanced knowledge, Stewert Poole who for many years has organised the “kitty comps” with a firm hand and frequent numerous comments. That just leaves Derek Lyon, your secretary and my guiding light during the past four years. I have spent many hours talking to Derek, either in person, by phone or Email to discuss certain situations, incidents etc and will always value his contribution. He will continue as press secretary for the club as well as producing his well read blog.
I would urge you to retain the other members of the committee for next year. As usual Cliff looks after the finances in a highly competent way. Nigel will, with your agreement become senior captain, Steve has offered to take over Stewert’s role and I will step into Bob’s place as immediate past senior captain.
And very finally my thanks to every single member of the senior section, it's wonderful to be a member of such an enjoyable group, I am proud to have been your captain for the past four years, I wish each and everyone good health for the years ahead and for the very immediate future a very happy Christmas. Colin Brown Senior Captain
(b) Hon. Secretary: Derek’s report was circulated. My report is really my letter of resignation from the Committee as well as standing down as your Hon. Secretary. It is time for fresh blood and I’m sure that the New Captain and all the new members of the Committee elected today will do a sterling job and work very hard on your behalf.
I have enjoyed my time on the Committee working under several Seniors Captains. Much hard work is done on behalf of the Seniors, perhaps more than many realise.
When I joined Clays about 15 years ago with a 16 handicap from Eaton Golf Club little did I realise how much I would get involved in the Club. Originally I became President and then a member of the Clays Council doing the job of secretary and setting up an email discussion group for the Council. Later I joined the Seniors Committee and soon became Hon. Secretary and moderator of the email list for the Committee. The club asked me to become the Club Press Officer which I did and as you know I send email reports each Monday to various magazines, Newspapers and websites. More recently I set up a Seniors Blog which I think you will all agree is a great format for archiving Seniors news. As I step down though I would like to remain as Press Secretary and the Seniors Blogger so I will still be involved in some little way with the Club and Seniors Section.
I wish to sincerely thank all present and past Committee members for all your support and hard work and input. It was much appreciated. Derek Lyon. As the report was circulated Derek indicated a few extra items as follows (1) The Seniors blog as of the meeting had had 42789 page views (2) Tally list /membership list stood at 121 (3) Any unpaid annual subs could be paid to Derek after the meeting – in fact some 18 members did so and monies paid to Cliff (4) Members email addresses requested if we had not already got them (5) Some £100 had been collected for the Green staff as a gratuity.
© Treasurer: May I firstly apologise for not being able to attend this year’s AGM. The current balance of the section stands at £656.90, which is about normal for this time of year. This will be much higher in the coming weeks as there are still 65 members to pay their £5 subs for 2016. There are 3 excellent prizes, namely 2 x American Golf £40 vouchers and a litre bottle of Bells whiskey for those members who pay their subs prior to our annual Xmas meal on 15th December 2015. There will be a tally draw on that day to decide lucky winners.
Seniors’ section funds are currently very good shape so there is no immediate requirement to raise the levy on members’ subs.
New membership cards will be issued on receipt of members’ subs.
Outstanding members’ subs can be paid to myself or any committee member. If any member wishes to pay via Internet banking, our account details with Nat West Bank are – Sort Code – 55-81-42, Account No. – 32236328. Please enter your name and membership number in the reference box.
It has been agreed that this year the cost of the Xmas lunch will be £12 per member and £18 per guest. Coffee will be available during registration and of course there will be the odd glass of wine available during the meal. May I ask that all members register upstairs prior to playing.
I would like to thank our retiring captain and retiring committee members for their invaluable efforts during their respective terms of office, but in particular a special mention and big thank you to Derek Lyon for his outstanding work over many years. He will be sorely missed.
A detailed spreadsheet is available for any member to peruse.
It now remains for me to thank you all for your support, and may we always continue to be members of a very successful section of Clays Golf Club. Cliff Lloyd (Treasurer).
(d) Competitions organiser: Fellow Seniors Competitions ran pretty much to time this year with the odd hiccup along the way.
I would appreciate if anyone gets a problem with their future comps that they let me know so we can get things back on track as delays can have major complications.
We had a great support and comps were up a little on the previous year.
Seniors Championship …44
Pairs Championship ……..52
Seniors/Vets ………………..41
Seniors 2 day…………………42
Gemini ………………………….51
Eclectic………………………….26 disappointing, need to support more as lots play in Medal normally 40
D.J. Bogey ……………………..30 again disappointing for such a great comp
Medals are averaging high 40’s and thanks for supporting.
Can all players in Medals and Comps please ensure that they arrive in plenty of time for their allotted tee time.
Not only does this make easier for admin purposes but also on your playing partners.
Consideration for your partners and fellow players are your responsibility.
Please think about the time you spend, not in playing your shots, but your actions before and after. There are often case were time can be saved and stops the players behind you having to wait.
Can I thank you all for your support in the past year and hope we can continue next year in the same vain and maybe better the entries.
Don’t forget the Seniors Christmas 9 hole Texas Scramble and Party. If you haven’t entered then see me after please
(e) Kitty events organiser. Absent and no report
(f) Match organiser: John Kelty presented his report as well as circulating the 2016 Match fixtures. Joh reported as follows: First of all I would like to thank everyone who has supported the Seniors matches over the time I have been in the chair and especially those who stood in for me when I was unavailable. A BIG THANKYOU. As you are aware I am standing down with effect from this AGM but I am sure who ever takes the task on will take it on to new heights. Now on to the 2015 results: We played 18 matches, won 10, halved 2 and lost 5 and one was a no result. As such it is one of our best years in the matches but I am sure we can do better. The 2016 Match fixtures are published on the notice board so you can enter them in your diaries for next year. Finally I would ask you all to continue supporting the Seniors Matches and the Organiser in the future. A BIG THANK YOU.
Election of new Committee members. Nigel Davies proposed by the Committee as Captain. All in favour. Cliff Lloyd to remain as Treasurer, Colin Brown to remain on Committee as Immediate past Captain, Don Wraight proposed as Competition organiser and Steve Monk as Kitty Competition organiser. Nigel Davies having been duly elected chaired the rest of the meeting. He indicated firstly what a great privilege it was to Captain what he felt was the best Seniors section in the area. He emphasised how important it was to contact him should any member have a problem. Colin Brown then presented Nigel with his Captain’s badge.
5 Members had put their names forward to fill the 4 places on the Committee but before a vote was taken Reg Peacock proposed that ALL 5 be elected onto committee and that the Constitution be amended that the Committee be comprised of 10 members. All in favour and should need arise then the Captain have the casting vote. Hence the following new members of the committee are as follows: Fred Court, Cliff Evans, Dave Palferman, John Davis and Paul White.
The following proposals had been received
(a) Seniors/Vets Trophy. Presently both trophies can be won by the same person. Members’ opinion suggests that they should be separate competitions albeit played for at the same event. Seniors Committee proposes this change. After much discussion from the floor a vote was taken by a show of hands after Nigel Davies had precised all the comments heard. Steve Monk will be amending the Constitution in line with the decision as follows. All entrants irrespective of age will pay a single entry fee for the Seniors Trophy which is the Honours Board Competition. Accordingly it will carry all the prize money i.e.for winner and runner up. If the winner is a senior under age of 70 then the leading player in the Vets category will receive the Vets Trophy but no monetary prize for it. If the winner of the Seniors Trophy is in the Vets category then the 2nd best player in that category will receive the Vets trophy. A veteran therefore could be placed 2nd in the Seniors Trophy and win the Vets Trophy but no one could win both the Seniors and Vets trophy on the day.
(b) The current 2 day competition is changed as follows: Proposed by Neil Sanger and seconded by Bob Jarvis that the 2 day competition has an overall winner in addition to the current 2 divisional winners and that the person who finished runner up in the Division that provides the overall winner will then claim the divisional prize. Various members discussed indicating the this Competition replaced the Round Robin. Colin Brown happy with the way the competition is presently run. The competition was set up to encourage high handicappers to enter. Noted that handicap system works well anyway. The competition has 2 Trophies for winners of each Division. Vote taken to change and vote was against change hence status quo remains.
(c) The proposal by Bill Kelleher and seconded by Reg Taylor that the Seniors Honours Board Competitions be renamed the Senior Men’s Honours board competitions and be open to men only. Much discussion ensued from the floor with salient points expressed eloquently and concisely. A vote followed resulting in 25 for and 37 against. The proposal was therefore rejected.
(d) Bill Kelleher had proposed and Reg Taylor seconded that we have an additional monthly medal for men only was withdrawn after a ruling by the Club Management and Club Council, details of which have been emailed to all.
(e) The minor amendments to the Seniors Constitution which had previously been posted on the notice board was discussed by Steve Monk. A show of hands indicated all in favour.
Fred Court had suggested putting back start time for interclub Seniors matches. Fred addressed the meeting out lining his thoughts. All views will go to Seniors committee but need to go to management for approval or otherwise.
Date of next AGM – December 6th 2016
Derek Lyon December 11th 2015
Clays Seniors Annual General Meeting
Tuesday December 6th 2016
Time 12.00 noon after 9 hole competition.
Agenda
Apologies;
Members present;
Minutes of last AGM December 8th 2015;
Matter arising from minutes;
Confirm appointment Dave Palferman as Treasurer for the senior section
Reports;
Captain;
Hon Sec.
Treasurer;
Competition Organiser;
Seniors event Organiser;
Interclub Match Organiser;
Reports:
Senior Captain’s Twelve months ago, at the 2015 AGM, I was honoured to be selected as your captain. I knew that it was a position of great responsibility and perhaps a daunting prospect and, in fact, the AGM itself was, to some degree, a baptism of fire! However, I believe that the fact that we could have such a robust debate but then come together as a unified group demonstrated one of the many strengths that make our section so special. During that AGM, a number of new committee members were chosen and I must take this opportunity to thank, on your behalf, all of the members of our committee for their enthusiasm, wisdom and hard work throughout the year and particularly the support that they have given me in my first year as captain. I would also like to thank Derek Lyon, who left the committee at last year’s AGM but who has continued to update the Seniors Blog, which I know is highly valued by all of us in our section – although I have found that you have to make sure that you’re on your best behaviour on the course as Derek will be lurking with his camera! As an aside, I have found it interesting to monitor the improvement in Colin Brown’s scores since he relinquished his captaincy!
During the club AGM, in light of information regarding club membership, it became evident that approximately 1/3 of the club membership are in the Seniors section and perhaps almost ½ according to more recent membership figures. To me, this indicates the importance of our section in helping to make the club progress. It has been pleasing to welcome a number of new members to our section this year and I know that you will have made them all feel welcome.
The AGM was soon followed by our Christmas lunch, a great afternoon but I think it took me until February to recover! The lunch demonstrates the essence of what the Seniors section is all about - including booing when certain people win!
Tragically, Christmas then brought sad news with one of our past members passing away. This was followed later in the year with the loss of other highly regarded and popular friends. It perhaps serves as a reminder that a poor shot or a missed putt don’t really matter; being able to play & enjoy the game we love is a precious gift. A number of our members have also had a difficult year with various medical problems and I know that we wish them all a full and speedy recovery and improved health in 2017.
2016 began with me being invited to participate in the Club Captains’ Drive In. For me this was more than a personal honour; it was recognition of our section as a whole.
At time of writing the course is in good condition, particularly the greens, and it is interesting to note that in the first few months of the year a number of our medals were either postponed or made non-qualifiers due to course conditions. We only make such decisions after a great deal of consideration and I hope that you continue to support us when we may have to make similar decisions in good faith in future. The improvement in the course is testament to the work carried out by the green keeping staff, in sometimes difficult circumstances, and I would like to acknowledge their efforts.
Our Honours Board competitions, medals and special events during the year have been very well supported and I thank members of our section for their participation. I would particularly like to mention the £315 that we raised for the Royal British Legion during our Ken Lawrence Memorial competition; this was a great amount and a demonstration of the generosity of the members of our section. For kitty competitions, we have introduced a number of new formats; some more popular than others, and we will continue to think of ways in which we can make our golf as interesting and enjoyable as possible. A great deal of thanks is due to Don Wraight and Steve Monk for all of their hard work in organising our competitions and I would also like to thank Cliff Evans for his original idea to introduce a 2s element into our kitty competitions and for his continuing administration of the ball sweep. This is an innovation that has proved popular and well supported.
At times this year it has proved difficult to form a team for our inter-club matches and in fact one match had to be called off because we couldn’t raise a team, which was a great disappointment. Paul White has done an enormous amount of work in arranging and administering the matches and I thank him very much for his efforts.
Cliff Lloyd, who has been our Seniors Treasurer for a number of years, decided not to renew his club membership, and we felt it important to acknowledge Cliff’s great contribution to our section and the club in general. A very successful “Seniors v Rest of the Club” match was held in Cliff’s honour and I know that you will join me in thanking Cliff for everything that he has done for us over the years and wish him well for the future. The appointment of the new Seniors Treasurer will be decided upon during this AGM.
The Clays Seniors Open took place on 9th August. We had a very successful day, with very positive feedback from visitors from other clubs. Approximately £180 was raised for Seniors section funds in addition to £490 which was paid over to Clays Management.
We have received notification from The Golf Union of Wales regarding a new event that they will be launching in 2017, the Welsh Seniors' Greensomes Championship. The GUW will invite all clubs across Wales to run a qualifying competition for their senior members in 2017 from which the winners will qualify for the national final which will be run and administered by the GUW. We are looking to support this initiative and we look forward to a successful event, particularly considering the practice that we’re getting in Greensomes thanks to Steve!
Some of our most enjoyable days are spent when we play seniors opens at other clubs and, as ever, we are indebted to Tony Harcombe for his organisation of these excellent trips away.
The committee recently made the decision to do away with the 2 shot penalty for winners of kitty competitions, as it was proving very difficult to administer the process fairly. We will, of course, continue to monitor this, particularly if “serial winners” become apparent!
I would like to congratulate all of our players who have had success this year. Although we had a reasonable spread of names winning competitions and medals etc., it was also obvious that the “usual suspects” were very much in evidence! Two achievements that I feel deserve particular mention are Frank Rodenhurst easily winning the Winter League with one round to go and having missed playing in one round and Bill Kelleher’s winning of the Mike Copperwheat Seniors Eclectic for the 5th year in a row!!!
Finally, I must pass on many thanks for all of the work that Fred Court has done as Seniors Secretary this year. Fred is a constant source of wisdom, experience and knowledge and I greatly appreciate his support for me personally.
Best wishes to all members of our section for good health and enjoyable golf in 2017. Nigel Davies.
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Honorary Secretary’s report: It does not seem like a year has passed since our Last AGM but here we are again, I shall keep this brief as much of what I could say will be covered by other committee members during the AGM
As with Derek before me I have to mention the sad loss of several of our members this year also the serious issues which have been experienced by others, and wish them a speedy recovery.
I would thank the Committee who, this last year consist of a considerable influx of new blood including myself who you might describe as new blood recycled. The committee have worked extremely well together, having held regular meeting to discuss one or two issues raised by members and others, some of them quite tenuous. I thank each and all, especially our Captain Nigel, for the effort they contribute in order to make your time at clays interesting enough and inspire you to come back for more.
We could not talk about our committee without expressing our thanks to Cliff Lloyd for his term in office of over 20 years as the senior Treasure and also his support to the section and the club in general. Thanks to Dave for stepping in to take over the Treasurers responsibility. Then there is Derek our immortal press officer, thanks for all your reports and Blogs especially for my occasional Blog on the rules. With regard to the rules of Golf I ask you all to remember the rules are there to make a fair and level playing field, and not designed for punishment, indeed use of the rules may even give an advantage. Unfortunately, there are many basic issues were players misuse the rules and avoid penalties. The most common of which I see is Players lifting their ball without first marking its position, that said I shall leave the rules behind at this point.
I have a few other thanks I wish to make in particular our own members for their generous contribution to show the sections gratitude to Cliff Lloyd, the result of your contribution will be revealed during our Christmas Party, and then it’s a question of finance, if it’s not me chasing money, then it has to be “can I have a cheque Charlie” our own Tony Harcombe. Tony thanks for your time and diligence in the organisation of Open events.
One of my tasks is the maintenance of our membership list which currently stands at 123 registered members and also the information Tally list for phone contact, I have also adapted this list to show Membership payment on the current year as a memory jogger for those not yet paid. Respectfully I would remind you that dues are required in December for the year starting January our year being out of sync with Clays golf year which is June. I mention this because a significant number assume all dues are required at the same time. Recently several members have not renewed there membership leaving and left the club renewing their senior membership and paid dues 6 months earlier. Therefore, remember the Draw for some amber liquid at the Christmas party for those having paid by that date for 2017. If you wish you may pay dues after the close of this meeting.
I have noted the volume of Tally list copies on our tally board, many of which having out of date information and tried to minimise this. I have been copying this Tally sheet to each member for whom I have email contact, occasionally people do change contact detail but omit to advise everyone, if you know of any change for which I have not been advised please let me know.
Finally, as we are getting toward that time of the year, I remind you of the Senior Christmas Party on Dec. 13th and if you have not already entered for the 9-hole competition followed by our meal, if the list is no longer on the board down stairs, contact Don ASAP. I wish you all the seasons greeting and good health. Fred Court
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Treasurer’s Report: Many members will know that our long time treasurer Cliff Lloyd did not renew his club membership for the 2016/17 season. I (David Palferman) took over the role of treasurer on a temporary basis subject to confirmation at the AGM. I would personally like to thank Cliff for all the help he has given to ensure a smooth transfer of responsibilities.
There is no immediate need to increase the members’ subs of £5 per annum.
Any member paying their 2017 subs prior to the Xmas meal on 13 December will automatically be entered into a free raffle for a bottle of whiskey to be drawn at the Xmas meal. Please note, for logistical reasons, members will not be able to pay their subs on the day of the Xmas meal. If any member wishes to pay via Internet banking, our account details with Nat West Bank are Sort code: 55-81-42, Account No.32236328. Please ensure you enter your name in the reference box.
The current balance of the section stands at £825.47 (Nov 2016). This figure will increase as members pay their £5 subs for 2017 over the coming weeks.
A summary of the account activities for 2016 are given below. A full copy of the account spreadsheet is available on request.
Balance January 2016: £262.72
Total Income £ 2512.02
Total Expenditure £ 1949.27
Finally, I would like to thank members for their continued support.
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Competition Organiser: Dear Seniors; A big thank you for supporting all the Boarded competitions and Medals, congratulations go to the winners of all the events and although they go away with trophies you can all applaud yourselves by being a competitor in those comps.
It will soon be time for the 2017 entry form to be available to complete. These will be ready as soon as the Clays diary is completed, can I please have those back as soon as possible together with a cheque for the comps.
Closing date will be 31st March 2017 and the relevant draws will be made soon after.
Just like to wish you all a Merry Christmas and all the best in the New Year.
Make yourself a winner and enter the comps please.
HB 2013 2014 2015 2016 2016
Competitions. Medals
Seniors Championship 35 36 44 40 January c
Pairs Betterball 41 44 50 52 February 32
Eclectic 27 25 26 33 March 40
2 Day 15* 32 46 46 April 50
Seniors/Vets 36 39 45 52 May 51
Gemini 39 50 54 June 48
D.J.Bogey 29 34 July 52
August 48
September 44
October 51
November 36
May I remind those wishing to play; To qualify for Honour-Board competitions you require to be a paid up member of the senior section; have a valid Competitive handicap and your “Registered Entry and Payment” before the end of March for Knock-out competitions. Late completion disrupts the flow of competition; players are requested to complete their round ASAP and no later than the date set by the organiser. Committee reserve the right to disqualify members for late completion of any round.
We request early entry and payment for nominated Honour Board competitions also by the end of March but the closing date for non knockout competitions remains the day of the event.
Note, late entries after March for stroke play H-B competitions may miss out on the playing order draw and will need to speak to the organiser for a tee time and marker.
Senior event’s Organiser; I have enjoyed organising our calendar of kitty competitions through the year and hope you have all enjoyed playing in them. I have tried to introduce a few new competitions into the programme and I think they have mostly been popular. Of course, all golf games are variations on a theme – the theme being to take as few shots as possible to complete each hole!!
One comp I introduced went against this theme – the LAHLAH’s. A few members pointed out that on certain holes (the ‘L’ holes, where the lowest Stableford score counts – i.e. the worst score) a player could score a gross eagle for a net albatross and it would count for nothing if the rest of the team only managed meagre pars. I thought this a valid criticism so I have dropped it from our programme.
Most of the new comps have been suggested by people other than myself and for these I would like to thank Fred, our Captain Nigel, my son-in-law, and an opponent in a match at Hawarden GC. I must also thank Stewart Poole for his many years doing this job and for the range of competition formats he made regulars for us all to enjoy - more or less all of which I have continued with. Any member who wants to suggest other new formats is welcome to try them out on me. I already have another one or two ‘up my sleeve’ for trying out next year.
I would also like to thank everyone who has helped to run the comps in my absence, or when I am still out on the course, such as Nigel, Don Wraight, and others on the committee and also some not on the committee. However, I would especially like to thank Cliff Evans for assisting me with the draw for tees and partners each morning and also for spicing up the kitty comps by suggesting and running the popular ‘2’s ball sweep.
Finally, thank you to all of you for supporting the competitions so well. Just to give a few stats, on January 5th, 48 turned up for the first round of the winter league. In February the average attendance per game was 42, ranging from 34 to 48. In March it was 41, with a highest of 55 for the St. David’s Day event. Things have continued more or less the same throughout the year, which is what makes being on the committee so rewarding. Of course, you are all such keen golfers you’d probably turn up even if Mickey Mouse was organising things, but thank you all for you support in any case. I hope 2017 is just as successful a golfing year for us all. Steve Monk
Items/issues raised by various members.
Guest Eligibility for Competition entry The following amendment to our constitution is proposed within our committee meeting. Seconded by Fred Court.
A guest over 55yrs of age with a “Competitive Congu Handicap” will be allowed to win monetary prizes or equivalent but not win a trophy. Any guest under the age of 55will not be charged a completion fee, will play as a marker and will therefore not be eligible to win any prize.
Partnerships For honour board competitions. The following amendment to our constitution is proposed within committee meeting and seconded by Fred Court.
Partnership; if after entering a “Pairs Competition”, a change the partnership is required due to a long term illness, recuperation from illness or withdrawal of membership. Such a change is permitted provided neither of the original partnership nor the incoming partner has played in any rounds within the event.
FC:- I suggest that to avoid messing up the table written last year by Steve, the amendment above be added to the footnotes (page 8) in order to establish item 7and 8 into the Constitution. (Copy of Table attached, listed on Page 6 of this agenda).
Proposal is for the Section to introduce 9-Hole qualifying competitions.
Proposed by Irwin Elkin and seconded by Cliff Evans. The proposal is to hold 9-Hole competition qualifiers, limited to Stableford scoring as per Congu Rules 22.1 “22.2, for those members wishing to avail themselves the facility to maintain a recognised Handicap, played on the same day as the normal 18-Hole qualifiers
Proposal for the Section to introduce mixed tee position with their Qualifying competitions. Proposed by Irwin Elkin and seconded by Cliff Evans. The proposal is for players having the choice of which measured course (colour of tees) they will use throughout the competition. (Appendix “O” from the Congu rules covers this issue)
Additional information supplied by your Hon. Sec.
Extracts from Congu rules:- At the discretion of the affiliated club, Qualifying Competition over 9 holes may be conducted for members at their nominated home club. The scores shall be recorded as qualifying scores in the players Handicap Records, subject to the following provisions.
22.1 The designated 9-Hole course shall have a Standard Scratch Score issued by the Union and expressed as an 18-hole value.
22.2 9-Hole qualifying Competitions shall be in Stableford format.
22.3 A 9-Hole Competition Handicap shall be calculated as follows:
[Exact Handicap+9-Hole SSS – (9-Hole Par x 2)]/ 2
22.4 Handicap Strokes shall be taken according to the Stoke index for the 9-Hole course
22.5 18 Stableford points must be added to the result over 9-Holes to obtain a Qualifying score for Handicap purposes.
22.6 Only players in Handicap Categories 2, 3 and 4may return 9-Holes scores for handicap purposes.
Appendix O. In addition to mixed Gender Competitions in which Men and Ladies play in the same competition from different tees for the same prizes, there are also other events in which to account for age/playing ability differences, it may also be deemed desirable for participants to use different sets of tees. For example;- Junior/Adult competitions; Member and Senior Member Competitions.
In order to maintain equity in all such competitions the rules go on to explain Handicap adjustments that may be required for various formats of scoring which players should be aware of, but are actually calculated within the handicap records system used by our club, when competitions are closed down by the Handicap Secretary.
Ladies will always play from the ladies (red) tees, and will score points and receive handicap shots in accordance with the pars and stroke indices of the ladies card (except as defined in footnote 4 below). Additionally, when men and ladies compete against each other, handicap adjustments will be made to one gender or the other in accordance with the table below, which complies with guidance contained in the CONGU UHS manual Appendix O, to account for differences in the par and SSS between the ladies card and the men’s card.
Competition Type
Ladies Tee Men’s Tee Handicap Adjustment
Stableford/Par/Bogey Red White Men receive 1 extra shot
Red Yellow No adjustments
Strokeplay Red White Ladies receive 1 extra shot
Red Yellow Ladies receive 2 extra shots
Matchplay Singles Red White Ladies receive 1 extra shot before calculating the handicap differentials
Matchplay Pairs Red White As for matchplay singles above
- signifies that in order to win prizes in the relevant events, players must hold a current official Competition CONGU handicap (‘c’ status) before the event commences. Players without a current official handicap may enter and play but cannot win prizes.
- signifies that players must hold a current official Competition CONGU handicap (‘c’ status) before they enter the relevant events.
In mixed gender matchplay competitions, (as in paras 4.2.2 and 4.2.3), both men and ladies will play to the stroke indices of the men’s card irrespective of who is the lowest handicapper.
The procedure to follow in such matches is therefore:
For singles: Man – white tees. Lady – red tees. Add 1 shot to the lady’s handicap; then determine who has the lower resultant handicap; then deduct the lower handicap from the higher handicap to determine the number of shots the higher handicapper will receive for the game. The shots to be received by the higher handicapper will be at holes with a stroke index on the men’s card from 1 up to the calculated handicap difference.
For pairs: Men – white tees. Ladies – red tees. Add 1 shot to the ladies’ handicaps; then determine who has the lowest resultant handicap. The 3 other players deduct this lowest handicap from their own respective (adjusted) handicaps, then multiply the resultant differential handicaps by 90% and round up or down, as usual, to the nearest whole number to arrive at the number of shots to be received by each. Each player receiving shots will take them at holes with a stroke index on the men’s card from 1 up to the calculated received number of shots.
Guest Players:- A guest over 55yrs of age with a “Competitive Congu Handicap” will be allowed to win monetary prizes or equivalent but not win a trophy. Any guest under the age of 55will not be charged a competition fee, will play as a marker and will therefore not be eligible to win any prize.
Partnership for Honour Board Competitions; if after entering a “Pairs Competition”, a change the partnership is required due to a long term illness, recuperation from illness or withdrawal of membership. Such a change is permitted provided neither of the original partnership nor the incoming partner has played in any rounds within the event.
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Apologies: Cliff Lloyd, Colin Williams, Jack Brown, Keith Jones, Tom Mara, Colin Evans, Pauline Peacock, Bill Parry and Stewart Poole.
Members present: Some 63 members attended and signed the attendance sheet.
Minutes of the last AGM held December 2014: Taken as a true and proper record – proposed by Roy Jones and seconded by Barry Evans.
Matters arising from the minutes: Colin Brown mentioned about a proposed library for members which had been discussed with management and no further action to ensue.
Reports:
(a)Captain: It is with a tinge of regret that I write this, my fourth and last report as your Senior captain. My first year started with very mixed emotions, the pleasure of being accepted as your captain followed within a few weeks by the doctor giving me a choice, more stents with possible limited success, do nothing and await the consequences, he never actually told me what the consequences were or a heart bypass operation. Where do I sign, a piece of paper with various information including one line that caught my eye, nothing wrong with my eyesight. 2% don't make it! OK so 98% do! I sign and agree to the op. I made the conscious decision to remain active, walks etc but not to play golf. To much stress in that short putt for a par..!Again I must thank Bob Brown, my predecessor for stepping in and guiding everyone through this period. At this time you realise the strength and warmth of members of the senior section. All the good wishes, offers of support, visits after the op, phone calls both requesting news and offering encouragement were very welcome. Thankfully I fully recovered and was able to return to the golf course 3 months after the op. Enoughof past history, let's move forward to this year. We started the year with the usual Christmas festivities, possibly the highlight of the year, certainly the highlight off the golf course.
January and February followed with a small but hardy group out each Tuesday and Thursday whatever the weather. I can still see a line someone had cleared on the first green to allow them to putt, anyone can putt along a drain pipe. The start to the season for many came in late March with our first “summer” competition, St David's Day, my thanks once again to Roy for sponsoring the event.
March also sees the start of inter club matches and this year we added Upton Heath to our rota having lost Chirk. As always we just get enough to make up the team. Whilst I thank all who played last year let’s see a few more names prepared to play next year. It's been an enjoyable year with several matches producing close finishes including a couple of tied matches. Overall we won the majority of our home matches and lost the majority away although we did manage one away victory. My thanks to John for all the work he has done to organise all the matches.
Thankfully the weather warmed up in April, the blossom was fantastic, fast forward to October and the start of Autumn saw some incredible colours, every shade of green imaginable together with reds, yellows and browns. The course has certainly matured over the years and the work done in the past couple of years has greatly improved the 1st, 16th and 17th. We should all recognise the hard work of the ground staff.
As April moved on members started to play in the various honours board competitions , particularly the single and pairs knockouts. My thanks to Don for all the work he does in organising the various competitions, it's not easy and requires time and effort, please help him by sticking to playing dates etc.
The latter half of the year had much improved temperatures and thankfully some warm and sunny weather. This also seemed to encourage some interesting colourful shorts. Legs that had not seen the light for many months suddenly appeared, I'm not sure if some are a good advert for Clays Golf Club but nevertheless they provide the butt of jokes for all of us.
August brought us a number of competitions including the D. J. Bogie. Sadly David Jones who for many years sponsored the event passed away earlier this year., he will be greatly missed as will Dave Roberts who passed away last month. Dave joined us from Chirk and enjoyed the short time he had at Clays and despite considerable discomfort continued to play the game he loved.
I could not let August pass without expressing regret that what appeared two” ringers” won our senior open and were subsequently disqualified. It left a somewhat sour taste in my mouth. My congratulations to the true winners
September always hosts finals day and I would like to congratulate everyone who competed in each and every competition, without entrants there would be no competition. It goes without saying that my warmest congratulations go to all the winners but I must make special mention of Bill Kelleher who has now won the eclectic for the past four years.
Can I also commend the work Tom McGrady did in bringing Fatima Sayed to the club one day in October. Everyone had the opportunity to speak with her and organise a screening for aneurysms. If you have not yet taken advantage of the opportunity and are over 65 please do so, many amongst us will testify to the importance of the screening. I believe from Fatima that those under 65 will automatically get a call once they reach 65.
As we move forward and I together with all of you look forward to working with our new senior captain can I ask that everyone gives him your full support. As I have found out during the past four years you cannot please all of the people all of the time. So if a something is done or a decision made please accept that it was made in good faith and help, don't hinder the outcome.
Finally I must on your behalf recognise the work done by those leaving the committee this year, John I have previously mentioned, Bob Brown, immediate past captain who continues to guide us with his balanced knowledge, Stewert Poole who for many years has organised the “kitty comps” with a firm hand and frequent numerous comments. That just leaves Derek Lyon, your secretary and my guiding light during the past four years. I have spent many hours talking to Derek, either in person, by phone or Email to discuss certain situations, incidents etc and will always value his contribution. He will continue as press secretary for the club as well as producing his well read blog.
I would urge you to retain the other members of the committee for next year. As usual Cliff looks after the finances in a highly competent way. Nigel will, with your agreement become senior captain, Steve has offered to take over Stewert’s role and I will step into Bob’s place as immediate past senior captain.
And very finally my thanks to every single member of the senior section, it's wonderful to be a member of such an enjoyable group, I am proud to have been your captain for the past four years, I wish each and everyone good health for the years ahead and for the very immediate future a very happy Christmas. Colin Brown Senior Captain
(b) Hon. Secretary: Derek’s report was circulated. My report is really my letter of resignation from the Committee as well as standing down as your Hon. Secretary. It is time for fresh blood and I’m sure that the New Captain and all the new members of the Committee elected today will do a sterling job and work very hard on your behalf.
I have enjoyed my time on the Committee working under several Seniors Captains. Much hard work is done on behalf of the Seniors, perhaps more than many realise.
When I joined Clays about 15 years ago with a 16 handicap from Eaton Golf Club little did I realise how much I would get involved in the Club. Originally I became President and then a member of the Clays Council doing the job of secretary and setting up an email discussion group for the Council. Later I joined the Seniors Committee and soon became Hon. Secretary and moderator of the email list for the Committee. The club asked me to become the Club Press Officer which I did and as you know I send email reports each Monday to various magazines, Newspapers and websites. More recently I set up a Seniors Blog which I think you will all agree is a great format for archiving Seniors news. As I step down though I would like to remain as Press Secretary and the Seniors Blogger so I will still be involved in some little way with the Club and Seniors Section.
I wish to sincerely thank all present and past Committee members for all your support and hard work and input. It was much appreciated. Derek Lyon. As the report was circulated Derek indicated a few extra items as follows (1) The Seniors blog as of the meeting had had 42789 page views (2) Tally list /membership list stood at 121 (3) Any unpaid annual subs could be paid to Derek after the meeting – in fact some 18 members did so and monies paid to Cliff (4) Members email addresses requested if we had not already got them (5) Some £100 had been collected for the Green staff as a gratuity.
© Treasurer: May I firstly apologise for not being able to attend this year’s AGM. The current balance of the section stands at £656.90, which is about normal for this time of year. This will be much higher in the coming weeks as there are still 65 members to pay their £5 subs for 2016. There are 3 excellent prizes, namely 2 x American Golf £40 vouchers and a litre bottle of Bells whiskey for those members who pay their subs prior to our annual Xmas meal on 15th December 2015. There will be a tally draw on that day to decide lucky winners.
Seniors’ section funds are currently very good shape so there is no immediate requirement to raise the levy on members’ subs.
New membership cards will be issued on receipt of members’ subs.
Outstanding members’ subs can be paid to myself or any committee member. If any member wishes to pay via Internet banking, our account details with Nat West Bank are – Sort Code – 55-81-42, Account No. – 32236328. Please enter your name and membership number in the reference box.
It has been agreed that this year the cost of the Xmas lunch will be £12 per member and £18 per guest. Coffee will be available during registration and of course there will be the odd glass of wine available during the meal. May I ask that all members register upstairs prior to playing.
I would like to thank our retiring captain and retiring committee members for their invaluable efforts during their respective terms of office, but in particular a special mention and big thank you to Derek Lyon for his outstanding work over many years. He will be sorely missed.
A detailed spreadsheet is available for any member to peruse.
It now remains for me to thank you all for your support, and may we always continue to be members of a very successful section of Clays Golf Club. Cliff Lloyd (Treasurer).
(d) Competitions organiser: Fellow Seniors Competitions ran pretty much to time this year with the odd hiccup along the way.
I would appreciate if anyone gets a problem with their future comps that they let me know so we can get things back on track as delays can have major complications.
We had a great support and comps were up a little on the previous year.
Seniors Championship …44
Pairs Championship ……..52
Seniors/Vets ………………..41
Seniors 2 day…………………42
Gemini ………………………….51
Eclectic………………………….26 disappointing, need to support more as lots play in Medal normally 40
D.J. Bogey ……………………..30 again disappointing for such a great comp
Medals are averaging high 40’s and thanks for supporting.
Can all players in Medals and Comps please ensure that they arrive in plenty of time for their allotted tee time.
Not only does this make easier for admin purposes but also on your playing partners.
Consideration for your partners and fellow players are your responsibility.
Please think about the time you spend, not in playing your shots, but your actions before and after. There are often case were time can be saved and stops the players behind you having to wait.
Can I thank you all for your support in the past year and hope we can continue next year in the same vain and maybe better the entries.
Don’t forget the Seniors Christmas 9 hole Texas Scramble and Party. If you haven’t entered then see me after please
(e) Kitty events organiser. Absent and no report
(f) Match organiser: John Kelty presented his report as well as circulating the 2016 Match fixtures. Joh reported as follows: First of all I would like to thank everyone who has supported the Seniors matches over the time I have been in the chair and especially those who stood in for me when I was unavailable. A BIG THANKYOU. As you are aware I am standing down with effect from this AGM but I am sure who ever takes the task on will take it on to new heights. Now on to the 2015 results: We played 18 matches, won 10, halved 2 and lost 5 and one was a no result. As such it is one of our best years in the matches but I am sure we can do better. The 2016 Match fixtures are published on the notice board so you can enter them in your diaries for next year. Finally I would ask you all to continue supporting the Seniors Matches and the Organiser in the future. A BIG THANK YOU.
Election of new Committee members. Nigel Davies proposed by the Committee as Captain. All in favour. Cliff Lloyd to remain as Treasurer, Colin Brown to remain on Committee as Immediate past Captain, Don Wraight proposed as Competition organiser and Steve Monk as Kitty Competition organiser. Nigel Davies having been duly elected chaired the rest of the meeting. He indicated firstly what a great privilege it was to Captain what he felt was the best Seniors section in the area. He emphasised how important it was to contact him should any member have a problem. Colin Brown then presented Nigel with his Captain’s badge.
5 Members had put their names forward to fill the 4 places on the Committee but before a vote was taken Reg Peacock proposed that ALL 5 be elected onto committee and that the Constitution be amended that the Committee be comprised of 10 members. All in favour and should need arise then the Captain have the casting vote. Hence the following new members of the committee are as follows: Fred Court, Cliff Evans, Dave Palferman, John Davis and Paul White.
The following proposals had been received
(a) Seniors/Vets Trophy. Presently both trophies can be won by the same person. Members’ opinion suggests that they should be separate competitions albeit played for at the same event. Seniors Committee proposes this change. After much discussion from the floor a vote was taken by a show of hands after Nigel Davies had precised all the comments heard. Steve Monk will be amending the Constitution in line with the decision as follows. All entrants irrespective of age will pay a single entry fee for the Seniors Trophy which is the Honours Board Competition. Accordingly it will carry all the prize money i.e.for winner and runner up. If the winner is a senior under age of 70 then the leading player in the Vets category will receive the Vets Trophy but no monetary prize for it. If the winner of the Seniors Trophy is in the Vets category then the 2nd best player in that category will receive the Vets trophy. A veteran therefore could be placed 2nd in the Seniors Trophy and win the Vets Trophy but no one could win both the Seniors and Vets trophy on the day.
(b) The current 2 day competition is changed as follows: Proposed by Neil Sanger and seconded by Bob Jarvis that the 2 day competition has an overall winner in addition to the current 2 divisional winners and that the person who finished runner up in the Division that provides the overall winner will then claim the divisional prize. Various members discussed indicating the this Competition replaced the Round Robin. Colin Brown happy with the way the competition is presently run. The competition was set up to encourage high handicappers to enter. Noted that handicap system works well anyway. The competition has 2 Trophies for winners of each Division. Vote taken to change and vote was against change hence status quo remains.
(c) The proposal by Bill Kelleher and seconded by Reg Taylor that the Seniors Honours Board Competitions be renamed the Senior Men’s Honours board competitions and be open to men only. Much discussion ensued from the floor with salient points expressed eloquently and concisely. A vote followed resulting in 25 for and 37 against. The proposal was therefore rejected.
(d) Bill Kelleher had proposed and Reg Taylor seconded that we have an additional monthly medal for men only was withdrawn after a ruling by the Club Management and Club Council, details of which have been emailed to all.
(e) The minor amendments to the Seniors Constitution which had previously been posted on the notice board was discussed by Steve Monk. A show of hands indicated all in favour.
Fred Court had suggested putting back start time for interclub Seniors matches. Fred addressed the meeting out lining his thoughts. All views will go to Seniors committee but need to go to management for approval or otherwise.
Date of next AGM – December 6th 2016
Derek Lyon December 11th 2015
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