G.W.G.S. A.G.M. 2010

Minutes of the AGM of the Great Western Golf Society held at The Royal Oak on Wednesday 24^th November 2010 at 7.45 pm

 

 

Members Present:- Gary Purchase, Jamie Purchase, Rob Orrock, Dave Turner, Kevin Oldfield, Ian Smith, Bob Taylor, Martin Rainer, Glen Cooper, Keith Watson, Steve Knight,  Andy McLeod, Dave Williams

 

Apologies from Terry Janes, Andy Paddock, Gary Growcutt

 

 

The Minutes of the 2009 AGM were accepted as an accurate record. Following the clarification of an Action Point, Steve Knight mentioned regarding the Constitution and its agreement. Ian Smith mentioned that the only query was one that Bob Taylor had raised around the “Founder Members” – this line had now been amended correctly.

 

Review of Last Season

Martin Rainer went through all the Winners of The Winter League and the Summer Competitions.

Treasurers Report

Ian Smith presented the 2009/10 Balance Sheet of Society Expenditure. The account had again mainly been utilised for the payments of deposits to secure tee times. £125.87 has been spent upon trophies for the Presentation Evening. No monies had been lost on deposits for the four consecutive year.

 

Update of the Summer Fixtures

Martin went through potential deals and dates, there was clarification required regarding the Par 3 venue at Nailcote Hall. As Martin had found the cost had gone up and it was now a fee  for a 18 hole round, rather than a Day Ticket. It was discussed that it may be a long way to go just to play 18 holes of Par 3 golf. Martin had also been looking at a potential Charity Day during Week Commencing 17^th or 24^th October for the LUPUS Foundation possibly at Bloxwich GC. Ron Atkinson was mentioned as a being a guest player on the day. Martin asked if we could consider entering a team each, he was looking at approximately £100-£120 per fourball, to include food.

Winter League

Martin mentioned that he had booked the 1^st Leg of the Winter League at Hill Valley on 16^th January 2011. Deposits for the full green fee were required to be sent to Ian by the 31^st December 2010, to enable payment two weeks in advance.

Handicaps Martin covered the issue and it appeared that the current system is the more balanced and fairest way of arriving at accurate handicaps and there are no reasons to change it at this stage..

 

Membership

It was mentioned that Terry Janes would not be rejoining in 2011. Ian confirmed that the window for rejoining in 2011 was now open. Any member wishing to rejoin has up to and including the date of the Presentation Evening to do so. The cost remains at £15, cheques need to be made payable to I.W.Smith. Any monies received after the Presentation Evening will not be accepted.

 

AOB

Society Personalised Clothing

Rob Orrock mentioned to please have a look at the Website, with a potential to buy “On The Day” shirts for the Golffest.

 

Amazon through the Website 

Martin mentioned also to use the link on the Website for any Christmas gifts purchased from Amazon. The Society receives 7% of any income generated as a result.

 

Players Representative on the Committee

As Andy Paddock indicated that he no longer wanted the role – Glen Cooper was nominated as the Representative.

 

Potential Competition Organiser for the 2012 Calendar.

Martin mentioned that 2011 would be his last year as Competition Organiser and potentially as Captain. This was due to his domestic circumstances and for his own personal Career Development.

 

Martin also requested volunteers to work with him on his Golf Psychology venture as this would assist him towards his Practitioners Certificate.

 

Presentation Evening

Steve mentioned about the 2011 Presentation Evening, as he felt the Cat at Enville was too far to travel for some members. Due to links within the Society with Jamie Purchase and his role at the Horns at Boningale, this was regarded as an excellent alternative. Ian is to liaise with Jamie to get contact details with a view to booking a date in April 2011.

 

Meeting closed at 10.25pm.

G.W.G.S. A.G.M 2009

Members Present:- Jamie Purchase, Rob Orrock, Glen Cooper, Dave Turner, Kevin Oldfield, Ian Smith, Bob Taylor, Martin Rainer, Keith Watson, Andy Paddock, Andy McLeod, Dave Williams, Steve Knight, Terry Janes and Gary Purchase.

Apologies received from Gary Groucutt.


The Minutes of the February 2009 AGM were accepted as an accurate record.

Treasurers Report

Ian issued a copy of the Balance Sheet for the Society expenditure for 2009/2010 which was agreed. This illustrated the Society account had been utilised to pay deposits to secure tee times for both the Summer and Winter events in 2008/9. £140.35 was spent on the trophies for the competitions and £28 had been spent on renewing the website. Additional expenditure was made for the purchase of a Commemorative Pen to mark John Kelsall’s contribution to the Society of £24.

One point was raised concerning who actually audits the accounts and if they should be done by a professional body. Ian pointed out that no requirement to have the accounts professionally audited had been made in the last 16 years, and questioned the cost to the Society funds regarding the expense of carrying out an audit.

A question was also raised concerning whether the Society should have a separate bank account, as opposed to the existing arrangements that have been in place since 1993.

A discussion took place around this matter and to progress the meeting positively, Ian announced the following action point.

Action Point

Ian would look into the feasibility of the Society having a separate Bank Account.

Ian also confirmed that the window for rejoining in 2010 was now open. Any member wishing to rejoin has up to and including the date of the Presentation Evening to do so. The cost remains at £15, cheques need to be made payable to I.W.Smith. Any monies received after the Presentation Evening will not be accepted.


Review of Last Season

Martin gave a thorough account of the results that had occurred last year, and issued a stencil of the all of the Winners and Runners Up and the points achieved from each event.

Handicaps

Martin spoke about his handicapping proposals to take forward into the coming year, and issued a stencil outlining them.

Next Year’s Competitions

Martin presented a detailed package of the proposals for the competitions for the 2010 calendar. He advised that he would have to work around the World Cup 2010 fixtures, before booking venues. He also mentioned that the Golfest for 2010 may not be in June this year, but will have a look at costings with regards to the venues and locations.

Society Personal Clothing

Rob mentioned that details were now on the Society’s Website, regarding the range of clothing with GWGS logo’s on.

Player’s Representative on the Committee

Following a Committee meeting, it was decided to open up a post on the Committee for a Player’s Representative to join. This matter was discussed at the AGM, and it was agreed that the nominated player would raise any members concerns about the Society, directly to the Committee.

Andy Paddock indicated he would like to be put forward for the role, and this was carried unanimously. The Players Rep position would be reviewed at the end of the initial 12 month period.

The Updated Constitution

It was felt by the Committee and the Members that the existing Constitution required updating, as some of the points in it were no longer valid. The new Constitution was unveiled at the meeting and carried unanimously.

Martin also felt that it would be useful to tag onto the Constitution some Appendix around Society Competitions, scorecards, local society rules and handicaps.




AOB

Martin mentioned that he was looking at a potential Charity Day for 2010, however was aware of the busy calendar for next year and dates around Golffest/World Cup 2010.

He also came up with a proposal for a Par 3 League for 2010, based upon everyone’s scores from the Par 3 holes in all of the Summer Competitions. It was agreed this would be a good idea and Martin would look at the matter further.

Andy Paddock mentioned the possibility of Society Challenge Competitions. It was mentioned that we had participated in the past (Stafford Shield @ Izzac Walton GC in Stone) and it was something to consider and welcomed if other Societies where identified.

Meeting closed at 10.25pm.


Members Present:- John Kelsall, Rob Orrock, Dave Turner, Kevin Oldfield, Ian Smith, Bob Taylor, Martin Rainer, Keith Watson, Andy Paddock, Terry Janes, Andy McLeod, Dave Williams

Apologies from Richard Gorton, Gary Purchase, Steve Knight


The Minutes of the 2007 AGM were accepted as an accurate record.


Treasurers Report

Ian advised that the Society account had been used in the main, to pay deposits to secure tee times for the Summer and Winter events in 2007/2008. No monies had been lost on deposits for a third consecutive year, and we only had the Shropshire deposit outstanding which would be re-imbursed on the day.

Expenditure was expected for the annual website fee, and to retain the name of the site. £144.60 had been spent for the Presentation Evening awards last year but this included the purchase of the September Classic trophy.

Ian also confirmed that the window for rejoining in 2008/2009 was now open. Any member wishing to rejoin has up to and including the date of the Presentation Evening (11th April 2008) to do so. The cost remains at £15, cheques need to be made payable to I.W.Smith. Any monies received after the Presentation Evening will not be accepted.


Website

Martin mentioned that the hits on the website had now reached 4000. To revamp the Website, Martin is looking to delete the Guest book page and is open to suggestions for alternatives.Golf tips and fantasy golf items were mentioned. If anyone has further ideas – please speak to Martin for further information.


Membership

We currently have 15 members, and hopefully they will all be rejoining in 2008/09. Rob Orrock’s friend Alan is still interested in joining, however Rob mentioned that he has health concerns at the moment.

For the purpose of manageability with regards to tee times, the numbers in the Society were deemed adequate at the moment.


Winter League

Martin mentioned that he was still experiencing difficulties with the booking of courses due to the continuing unreasonable demands from host clubs.

He has built up a database of courses that meet our minimum requirements, i.e. no temporary greens, minimum numbers, deposits being accepted not full payment of green fees and unlikely closures in inclement weather, so he will be choosing from this list for next years Winter League. However, Martin would welcome any alternative courses that members are aware of.

This year’s Winter League has been won overall by Rob Orrock, following his two victories at Cleobury and The West Midlands Golf Club. However, there is still the third leg to play for at The Shropshire in March.

It was suggested that the Handicapping of the Winter League may need to be looked at, to see about the individual event winner being cut by 2 shots and the runner up by 1. This would only be for the duration of the Winter League ONLY. All members would revert back to the handicap they had prior to the Winter League to begin the Summer events.

Action Point:- Martin is going to look back over the Winter League scores over the past three years, before any decision is finalised.


Competitions for 2008

In line with the Winter League, there has been the need to raise the cost threshold of our events due to increasing charges from host Golf Clubs. Martin has always endeavoured to look at courses charging up to £30 with food for Society events. This is proving harder and harder to do over the past 18 months. Therefore, we recognise that we will need to increase that amount to £35.

With food, this is a more realistic expectation, it effectively unties Martin’s hands and maintains that we can still play our events on courses of a reasonable standard – rather than moving to cheaper alternatives.

Over the last 10 Society events, 9 different members have won the tournament. Last year, the Order of Merit was decided by the final putt of the Competition year by Dave Turner. 

It was accepted that moving the Premier Strokeplay to Ombersley in June was a great success.

In order to attract greater numbers out of the main holiday season, it was agreed to look to bring the Stableford Plate forward a week to the 6th July.
A suggestion was put forward by Ian and Martin around a revamp of the Par Three Competition in August. It was viewed that due to work commitments it was difficult for members to play on a week day evening.

If the Competition were to be moved to a Sunday, it was also mentioned that some members may not be willing to commit to play at the Ledene on a Sunday in August. There is also the issue of this date being in the main holiday period.

Nailcote Hall has been identified as an alternative venue for the Par Three. It costs £10 to play and it has hosted the National Par Three Championship that has been televised on Sky Sports.

Various suggestions were made to the day, such as playing 9/18 holes – then breaking for lunch and then playing the final 18 – effectively a 36 hole competition. So for this year only – we are going to try it to see what it is like, the response we get and if it is adverse then we can look to returning to the Ledene in 2009.

For the Open in October, Dave Turner mentioned that he had contacts at Walsall Golf Club and may get us in there, and will need to liaise with Martin nearer the date.

The 2008 Competition Dates:-

GWGS Premier Strokeplay:- Sunday 8th June 2008 – Ombersley*

GWGS Stableford Event – Sunday 6th July 2008 – Sapey*

Par 3:- Sunday 10th August 2008 – Nailcote Hall*

September Classic:- Prov date Sunday 14th September 2008 Kington*

GWGS Open 3-2-1 Event:- Thursday 2nd October 2008 – Walsall GC*

* All courses subject to availability on this day.


Invitation Day

Due to heavy work commitments, John was unable to organise an Invitation Day this year. So it was decided to offer a game in May 2008, pending the hopeful return of the Invitation Day in 2009.

The date identified was a weekday in May outside of the Bank Holiday weeks, namely week commencing 12th or 19th May. Please view the website or your e-mail addresses nearer the time for further information.

Golffest 2008

Due to the success of the weekend last year, it was mentioned whether another one could be arranged in 2008. The last two weeks in June were pencilled in as a possibility. It was agreed that the Society events do take precedent, the Golffest is classed as a “bolt-on” within the Calendar year and would be arranged when it could be accommodated.


Presentation Evening

Following three changes of owner at The Horns in the last twelve months, and the warm welcome received at The Boycott Arms, the Presentation evening has been booked for Friday 11th April 2008 at 7.45 for 8.00pm. Smart, casual dress please.

We have booked the larger room to the right of the bar, and a representative from the Boycott will be contacting Ian to discuss meals shortly. Again please keep a close check on your e-mails for further information of the evening. Members are actively encouraged to support the event, especially the ones who have an award to pick up on the night.

AOB

Scorecard Marking

Martin raised a point that in two recent events, namely the September Classic at Wharton Park and the 2nd leg of the Winter League at the West Mids Golf Club, incorrectly marked scorecards had been submitted.

Whilst neither instance had affected the overall result, the concern was that it could happen in the future. It was agreed that we didn’t want to see members being disqualified from tournaments or facing two shot penalties at this stage – but in the interests of fair play – guidelines need to be followed to ensure the competition is decided on the correct score achieved.

Therefore, it is the individual member’s responsibility to mark their own card, as well as their nominated marker.

At the end of the event a winner may be identified on the day, based on the cards submitted. But this will now be subject to official verification by Martin and posting on the website. In the event of an error occurring, the members concerned will be notified prior to the result being confirmed.  


Meeting closed at 10.10pm.