Seniors AGM Officers report November 2020

Senior Captains Report 2020 Ladies and Gentlemen a virtual welcome to this year’s AGM 2020, a year of vision! I would like start by taking a little time to remember the dear friends we have lost in the last 12 months CLIFF EVANS BILL HUGHES MIKE GORING DAVE LLOYD GEOF BRIDGES KEN HARRISON Sadly missed. The previous 12 months have been nothing if not interesting. For us it started with our Christmas Party, which thinking back, was probably one of the last signs of normality. Fed and watered in the usual way with great fun. Hayley and her team, together with Gaynor behind the bar (Phil was enjoying the party), all need to be thanked for a great day. What followed was probably one of the most unusual spells of wet weather we have had for a long time. In spite of that a hard core of Seniors still turned up on Tuesday’s and Thursday’s, but in this case for Hayley’s all day breakfast, followed by a series of indoor putting competitions. I still can’t believe the concentration from all contestants. We then experienced a short spell of unhindered Golf before we were hit by the dreaded Covid 19. Lockdowns followed in early spring for all of us, and the inevitable course closure. We were then allowed back, initially alone, or in a family. Then latterly in the autumn a Welsh firebreak and an English Lockdown in quick succession. That is where we find ourselves at present, together with the prospect of a vaccine on the horizon to provide a light at the end of the tunnel. Let’s hope that all follows through quickly and correctly. But until then please remain careful and remember the virus is still with us. Despite all these problems we have maintained good contact with most of you. We have succeeded in having the vast majority of board competitions, together with our Memorial Day, the Poppy Day event, and we have maintained our bi weekly kitty competitions, one way or another during the year. This was achieved largely because of the enthusiasm of our committee members, and to them I believe we owe a great thank you for their innovative approach to all issues. We are now faced with the latest challenge, the WHS and what to do with your handicap index! This is based on the average of the best 8 of your last twenty scores……. simple! Your Club and Seniors committee are on top of it. There are of course a number of changes to the way things are calculated, but it’s just an average. You use this average, the handicap index, supplied to you by the WHS, to work out your Course Handicap on whatever course you are playing. For Clays you will find a chart in the office window to see your Course Handicap. So just get out and play as much as you can. And most of all enjoy the rest of this year and the whole of 2021 Finally, we have been working hard as a team to produce a viable package of golf and golf related activities for you during the last 12 months. We couldn’t do it without your enthusiasm and your feedback. This year we have tried hard to listen, but with the way we are playing kitty competitions at present, and with quite a number of people not able to play with us due to the current situation, I would like to invite you to let us know how you feel we are doing, what you might like to change, or what you have enjoyed about this current year. In fact just let us know what’s on your mind regarding the Senior Section. You can reply to this e mail, to any of the committee members e mails, or just lets us know when you see us. We would be glad to hear from you. Take Care in the next few months But most of all Have a Very Happy Christmas Barry Barry Dare 24.11.20

Kitty Competition Organiser’s Report (2020) Coronavirus has certainly put paid to any golfing aspirations this year. Following early wet weather, the period between March and July was a total non-starter and very few enjoyed individual golf following lockdown. Pairs golf was slightly better as the summer progressed but the obvious step was to return to our Senior kitty comps. Talking to most of the seniors, who had all been very careful to avoid contact with Covid 19, kitty comps were desperately needed for the resumption of the associated social aspects’ How to re-instate the comps was debated by the committee at length. A three-page e-mail was the result, stating exactly how we could all move safely forward and almost seventy seniors responded immediately. We recognised that it would not be everybody’s choice (some seniors were shielding and others not ready for mixing in larger numbers – personal choice at the end of the day). Money was paid into a holding fund and individual competition entries have been deducted. A promise of rewards was/is still on the table but I last saw Steve Monk with a suitcase and luggage label heading out to St Tropez. Last year’s report was started with a number of “thank you’s” and they cannot be omitted this year, beginning with Steve Monk, who has remained a mentor throughout. I am also in his debt, since he took over the monetary side of the Kitty Comps (some relief from the incoming e-mails!) With the Wrexham, Welsh and English lockdowns this Autumn, personal access to Clays from Farndon has been denied, so my second thank you is to Mike Hollings, who has diligently collected all scorecards from the “Black Box,” checked scores and kept me up to date. Results have been relayed on to Derek Lyon and always appear on the Blog (another thank you). Again, in my absence, the daily starter sheets have been overseen by Russ, Andy and Josh from reception and thanks to them, the starts have kept flowing. My final thanks, as last year, go out to all of the Seniors, who turn out religiously on Tuesday and Thursday mornings – without you there would be nothing to organise. There was a promise of a reviewed annual list of comps but it has been difficult to implement. Weather and lockdowns have both taken over. The annual list has been tweeked, although perhaps not as thoroughly as it might have been given the circumstances. We have received positive feedback from a number of comps and praise for the “distanced” Kitty comp set-up but members need to know that the overall organisation has been a committee team effort throughout. I contemplated recording stats once again and decided….. yes! The list of podium winners was a source of amusement last year so the exercise has been repeated for your perusal. Please find this year’s winning stats attached below, which started on 1st January, 2020 but obviously, has been subject to breaks. Not all Seniors play in all comps but where you have played, results have been recorded. Spreadsheets have been divided into Strokeplay, Stableford and Team. Winners of kitty comp money and winners of Senior Medals and Board competitions (top 3 places) are all recorded from 48 different events (end of November). Full year stats table will appear 31st December. There are 110 paid up members of whom 97 have played at least once since 1st January. Of those 97 – 86 have found themselves amongst the winners on at least one occasion across the formats. Seniors who have won 5 times or more make the Podium. If you compare the Divisions, you will see that Division 2 has fared better this year compared with last, when it was very even. Perhaps the new World Handicap System will sort that one out! - we should not hold our breath!! No guessing this year – just a straightforward – here are your names and number of comps won. Despite the stop-start nature of the year, I have enjoyed (nearly) every minute of it. Thank you all for your patience and support throughout 2020. Mike Healey

Match Organisers' report for the AGM Sadly, because of the "Covid "situation all fixtures for 2020 had to be cancelled. This decision was reached jointly with the other 6 Clubs. However, we have optimistically confirmed dates for 2021 and hope the situation will have improved and allow us to return to some form of normality. Dates for next year are as follows:- Thursday, 26th March :- Mold - Home Wednesday, 31st March :- Henlle - Away Friday, 23rd April :- Old Padeswood - Away Thursday, 13th May :- Old Padeswood - Home Tuesday, 8th June :- Aldersey Green - Home Tuesday, 15th June :- Holywell - Home Tuesday, 22nd June :- Henlle - Home Monday, 5th July :- Aldersey Green - Away Tuesday, 27th July :- Hawarden - Away Tuesday, 31st August :- Holywell - Away Tuesday, 14th Sept. :- Hawarden - Home Thursday, 23rd Sept. :- Mold - Away All the best, Mal ( there is one change from the list I issued previously - Aldersey Green - Home - has changed from 25th May to 8th June)

“Handicaps” Report, Seniors AGM 2020 What a challenging year due to Covid 19! With no opportunity for a face-to-face formal induction and, more importantly, “hands-on” ClubV1 software training, this year has been a very steep learning curve for me, with accessing the system remotely from the office at home, and sometimes tortuous trial by error outcomes. The results of Seniors competitions have previously, more often than not, been calculated manually with cards in front of us. With the new restrictions, all competitions had to be set up through the software, with remote input of scores via the new HDID app. So, thank-you to everyone for putting up with some of the on-line competition set-up challenges we have faced, and the many occasions when results have had to be re-published because of things coming to light after the event. It is fair to say the app has had some developmental glitches, but without using it, many of our competitions would not have happened. I have sent so many emails to CLUBV1 support desk, they have now offered me a loyalty card! Having “attended” so many on-line webinars over the past 6 months, and revisited their content so many times, I am really pleased the World Handicap System has finally gone “live”. Still a few challenges, but I am confident all will be resolved by the start of the 2021 season. And look forward to a bright new future hand-in-hand with the WHS! Peter Bowen

Competition Report 2020 This has been a strange year for competitions due to the pandemic and having to miss a large proportion of the playing year. We did manage to complete all the boarded Trophies with the exception of the Pairs and Singles Matchplay events. Trying to get entries, draws and then different rounds completed would have been a struggle with 3 months to the finals. All trophy events were well represented with, on average 50 players competing. Congratulations to all those attending and to those Winners and Runner Ups. Senior 2 day Trophy Div 1 Winner Tony Jackson r/u Jon Falcus Div 2 Winner Ken Teiszen r/u Harold Hughes D.J.Bogey Winner Dave Talbot r/u Neville Bassett Senior Trophy Winner Peter Taylor r/u Graham Byrne Vets Trophy Winner Andrew Mitchell Gemini Trophy Ron Roberts/Tom McGrady r/u Chris Jacques/Bill Kelleher Some reflection on winners and 28 “my a***” Medals too were well represented with averages above the high 40’s Hopefully when it comes to the competition season 2021 the pandemic will have either gone or under some sort of control and that we can get back to some sort of normality Don

CLAYS GOLF SENIORS SECTION TREASURER’S REPORT TO AGM, NOVEMBER 24TH 2020 Our financial year runs in parallel with the calendar year, therefore the report I have produced covers only the first 11 months of this year. As far as I can anticipate, there will be no more transactions which result in a significant loss or gain to our balance, between now and the year end, so the final end-of-year account should look very similar to the interim version I present today. Turning to the interim account, this year has of course been completely dominated by Covid-19 and the consequences arising from this pandemic. Some of our annual fund-raising events have either not been able to occur, or have been run with reduced fields compared to normal. Chief victim was our Annual Open competition, which last year brought us a net income of approximately £260. This year the event was cancelled. In addition, our St. David’s Day event was not run until September, and with a reduced field compared to previous years. However, we had planned and purchased our prizes for the event in January and February in anticipation of a competition similar to last year. Before March 1st, however, Covid intervened and the net result was a reduced field resulting in reduced entry fees income but a normal prize expenditure. We achieved a net income of just over £100 compared to last year’s £220. Our membership has, however, remained almost constant and 109 players have paid their £5 subscriptions this year. Balanced against our reduced income, we have also had reduced expenditure. Our biggest item of expenditure is always our annual Christmas Party which is not happening this year. This normally costs us in the region of £500. Also this year, apart from a small donation to Poppy Day, we have not made any donations such as the £300 we donated to greenkeeper’s equipment or the subsidising of Polo Shirts, both of which we achieved last year. The consequence of all of this is that we are still in a very healthy financial position; our fund has increased from £812.99 to a current £1370.65 through the year; and we have enough in reserve to fund the drinks and prizes for a Christmas Party in 2021, should the pandemic be under control by then. Therefore, a decision has been made to not charge members who paid in 2020 a renewal subscription fee for 2021. Any new members who join us in 2021 will still be required to pay the £5 subscription. A free prize draw will be held in December for all those who did pay a 2020 sub, in recognition of our normal practice at Christmas Party time. Steve Monk – Seniors Treasurer. November 24th 2020 CLAYS GOLF SENIOR’S SECTION – INTERIM SUMMARY ACCOUNTS 2020 (Year to Date, January 1st 2020 - November 24th 2020) ITEM

162.36 22.40 450.00 31.58 25.00 812.99 545.00 11.00 102.64 22.40 22.00 31.58 25.00 Interim Totals (at 24 Nov 2020) ** Anticipated Carried forward to 2021 2061.99 691.34 ** 1370.65

Yellow ball competition November 26th 2020 . Results from Mike Healey and Mike Hollings

31 members took part today. The ride-ons were out and the weather held - what is more, Mike Hollings has returned another quick result. Please find below: The competition was split into two groups Four Ball winners (1 prize): First: Mike Drake, Alan Barnsdale, Colin Brown, Mike Hollings 123 points £4.00 each Three Ball winners (2 prizes): First: Ian Ketland, Dave Talbot, Mike Turner 94 points £4.00 each Second: Steve Monk, Malcolm Williams, Peter Taylor 91 points c/b £1.00 each

Seniors events December 2020

SENIORS COMPETITIONS DECEMBER 2020 DATE KITTY COMPS – BLUE COMMENTS OTHER COMPS – BLACK Tuesday 1st Dec MEXICAN SCRAMBLE Thursday 3rd Dec DECEMBER (Stableford) MEDAL (Men - Yellow Tees; Ladies - Red Tees) plus 9-HOLE COMPETITION (Yellow Tees) Book in advance on Seniors Notice Board. See Don or reception for late entries Tuesday 8th Dec 3 CLUBS AND A PUTTER (Max 4 clubs in the bag) Ind. Stableford followed by Members Xmas Draw Thursday 10th Dec PAIRS - BOTH TO COUNT Tuesday 15th Dec MULTIPLIER Thursday 17th Dec PINEHURST Tuesday 22nd Dec XMAS STABLEFORD BETTERBALL PAIRS with Winter Warmer If you don’t like wrapping presents or peeling spuds - Get Here! Wear a Santa Hat = 1 point start Thursday 24th Dec XMAS INDIVIDUAL STABLEFORD Ditto Tuesday 29th Dec NO KITTY COMP ARRANGED Please book your own tees Thursday 31st Dec NEW YEAR’S EVE - NO KITTY COMP ARRANGED Please book your own tees Tuesday 5th Jan WALTZ Thursday 7th Jan JANUARY (Stableford) MEDAL (Men - Yellow Tees; Ladies - Red Tees) plus 9-HOLE COMPETITION (Yellow Tees) Book in advance on Seniors Notice Board. See Don or reception for late entries

Winter League 2nd round result from Mike Healey November 24th 2020

Thank you again to Mike Hollings for producing a speedy result. The course was still damp but ride-ons allowed in the rough only. The same five holes were closed but we are expecting a dry spell - don't hold your breath. 39 players took part - seven cash prizes. Some familiar names are starting to recur at the top of the leader-board - well done to them and keep it going - the English players will be back for the next round😋. Round 2 - Winter League Result Stableford Points League Points Prize 1st : Alan Barnsdale 32 points 10 points £10.00 2nd : Don Wraight 29 points 9 points £8.00 3rd : Peter Thomas 28 points c/b 8 points £7.00 4th : Mick Carnell 28 points c/b 7 points £5.00 5th : Ernie Williams 27 points c/b 6 points £4.00 6th : Dave Talbot 27 points c/b 5 points £3.00 7th : Alan Bottomley 27 points c/b 4 points £2.00 8th : Bob Jarvis 26 points c/b 3 points 9th : Ian Ketland 26 points c/b 2 points 10th : Stewart Poole 25 points c/b 1 point The Committee are due to start our zoom AGM so I will send out the leader-board later this evening along with Sign up reminder for Thursday. Mike Healey

Photos from Stewart Poole at Pwll Glas golf club November 17th 2020 along with Tony Harcombe, Keith Jones and Mike Hollins

9x3 plus 9x2 competition report from Mike Healey November 19th 2020

(9x3) plus (9x2) Report and Result I’m afraid the ride-on buggies were once again denied an outing due to overnight rain. It left the playing conditions rather damp and there were even more light showers today to play through. Thanks go once again to Mike Hollings who has resolved the cards, with a few problems scoring on the first. One card was corrected from a par four to a par three. When Hole 1 is shortened, can we all remember to play it as a par three but with full handicap. All that said, a good competition ensued and we have some good results for you. Well, done all! First: Ralph Hardy, Bob Jarvis, Mike Turner, Ernie Williams - 78 points (all receive £5.00 each) Second: Tony Harcombe, Bill Kelleher, Tony Owens, Colin Evans - 75 points (all receive £2.00 each) Third: Damian Atkin, Steve Monk, Tom Blackshaw, Alan Bottomley - 74 points Fourth: Alan Barnsdale, Peter Bowen, Colin Brown, Les Williams - 72 points

Ken Lawrence Competition winners being presented with their prizes after Winter League competition November 16th 2020

Winter League Round one November 17th 2020 courtesy of Mike Healey

Winter League Round 1 Result and Report There were only 13 holes open today due to inclement weather over the weekend. Sadly, none of our buggy members were allowed to participate but there were still 38 senior players out on the course and some very good scores returned in this, our first round of the Winter League. Some very tight Stableford scores were difficult to separate for the league points (1 - 10). The competition was also played, as usual, as a kitty comp so find points and 7 prizes for the winners below. Finally, the whole occasion was concluded with a presentation of the Ken Lawrence Trophy and prizes from the previous week (find photos). Name Stableford Points League Points Prize First: Bob Jarvis 30 points (c/b) 10 points £10.00 Second: Don Wraight 30 points (c/b) 9 points £8.00 Third: George Hughes 29 points (c/b) 8 points £6.00 Fourth: David A Jones 29 points (c/b) 7 points £5.00 Fifth: Colin Brown 28 points (c/b) 6 points £4.00 Sixth: Steve Monk 28 points (c/b) 5 points £3.00 Seventh: Jim Fenn 27 points (c/b) 4 points £2.00: Eighth: Mick Carnell 27 points (c/b) 3 points Ninth: Alan Bottomley 27 points (c/b) 2 points Tenth: Damian Atkin 27 points (c/b) 1 point

Message from Barry Dare November 17th 2020

Good Morning Everyone, I wanted to drop you a note, whilst most of you were playing golf, and I, along with others across the border were in the middle of our latest lockdown. Thanks Everyone who joined in the Memorial/Poppy Day competition, Mike has organised the prizes for this morning, congratulations to all the recipients, but special congratulations to all the competitors, and those who made donations on the course during the week. The Grand Total raised for this was £428, which outstripped last years generous total. We will arrange to Present this to the Royal British Legion as soon as possible. Also, we would be approaching our AGM very shortly, but under the current conditions we all agreed the usual meeting would not be possible. We therefore decided that all committee members would automatically stay in position for a further year. Individual reports are in the process of being written, and will be available on the Seniors Blog for you to have a look at when you can. If any member has a burning issue that needs to be brought up, then feel free to respond to this email, and if appropriate I will endeavour to cover the issue either by committee, or if that is not possible through the membership by email. I hope you all find this acceptable for this current year. At last, with the early appearance of potential vaccines on the horizon, it is possible to see a way back towards normality during 2021. Hope to see you all soon Barry

Seniors Stableford Medal November 12th 2020

Division one First: Damian Atkin 41 points Second:Malcolm Williams 40 points Third: Ron Roberts 39 points Division two First: Dave A Jones 41 points Second: Rob Jarvis 37 points Third: George Hughes 35 points There were no 2's recorded in either division.

Ken Lawrence Trophy competition results from Mike Healey

Ken Lawrence Trophy Results First: Peter Thomas 41points KL Trophy / Bottle of Whisky Second: Alan Barnsdale 37points Golf Shop voucher Third: George Hughes 35points C/Back Cut and Blow Dry voucher Fourth: Ernie Williams 35points C/Back Sole shop voucher Fifth: David Jones 33points C/Back Scarf / Bottle of Wine Sixth: Steve Monk 33points C/Back Bottle of Wine Seventh: Damian Atkin 33points C/Back Bottle of Wine Nearest Pin on 2 Damian Atkin Bottle of Wine Nearest Pin on 5 Keith Jones Bottle of Wine Nearest Pin on 12 George Hughes Bottle of Wine Nearest Pin on 17 Nobody on green!! Nearest pin in 2 on 18 Alan Bottomley Bottle of Wine Longest Drive on 9 Russ Adamson Bottle of Wine What a superb day for the 45 Seniors who turned out for the Ken Lawrence Trophy Day. It was not the normal format this year but the principle of fund-raising for Poppy Day remained the same. The weather held for the majority but leaves were always going to be a problem! Don provided posters around the course to remind everybody about the Royal British Legion fund-raising. Derek Lyon and family, two club captains and the rest of the committee provided an array of vouchers and bottles for the prizes. Ken’s son was unable to be present on the day but provided the traditional bottle of whisky for the winner. The prizes were very evenly spread except for Nearest Pin on 17 – nobody hit the green! We are taking 7th position on points with yet another bottle of wine! All of the individual and pin cards were scrutinised by Mike Hollings and his efforts with the new handicaps also deserve a mention – well done Mike. There will be a short prizegiving ceremony next Tuesday at approximately 2.15pm after the first of the Winter League competitions. Could all winners try to be present on the day. Finally, Steve picked up your entry fees for the Royal British Legion collection and they were extremely generous. On the day £330.00 was the total from the fees and members unable to play, for whatever reason, also contributed a further £62.00. Seniors alone on Tuesday raised a total of £392.00 but Steve is leaving the envelope until Monday next week, as more money has been donated by the rest of the club members. A final total will be turned into a cheque and presented to RBL at some stage. Well done all – a splendid effort all round.

Captains Newsletter October 2020

Welcome to my newsletter for October. By the time you read this newsletter we will be nearing the end of the Welsh lockdown 2.0, also known as a fire break/circuit break. Like you, I am hoping the lockdown works and all members can return to playing golf in November. Looking ahead, it is difficult to know what Covid-19 restrictions will be in place for season 2021. In a rather negative move, the Denbighshire Golfing Union (DGU) have taken the decision to cancel all competitions for season 2021. While disappointing, it does mean no fees will be collected by the DGU for season 2021. Now, some positive news. As part of the autumn stableford series we held charity competitions in aid of the British Heart Foundation Wales. The first of the competitions was held on Saturday 10th October. As luck would have it, this was one of wettest days on record. Despite the rather damp conditions, the hardy golfers of Wales played on and made a sizablecontribution to the charity. A special mention for our long puttchampion Kev Wynn Jones. Kev, not for the first time, won the long putt competition. In a great gesture of generosity, Kev donated his £25 prize to the charity. At the request of members, a second charity element was incorporated into the stableford series competition held on Sunday 18th October. In better weather, if a little colder, members made another great contribution to the charity. Once again, at the request of members of the senior section, and with the agreement of the Senior Council, a charity element was incorporated into a senior kitty competition held on Tuesday 20th October. Although the numbers were limited, the money raised was not. Well done. What a fantastic effort by all members who participated in one or more, and in some cases all, of the charity events. Can I also thank the management team for their collective enthusiasm for, and organisation of, the competitions. The final total raised for the British Heart Foundation Wales was far in excess of expectations at an amazing £725. An opportunity has arisen for a member, male or female, to join the members club council in the role of Honorary Secretary. This role is important to the smooth functioning of the council. The primary function of the secretary is to facilitate communication with members and external bodies, such as Wales Golf. Interested? If so, please contact me via the email address below. Finally, the next time you play golf in Wales you will be using your new WHS handicap. Many members, including yourCaptain, have received a significant increase to their playing handicap. We can look forward to some truly remarkable competition scores. Until next time, enjoy your golf and stay safe. Dave Palferman Captain 2020/1 dpalferman@gmail.com