I am writing to question the recent decision to ban single seat buggies on a regular basis.

Surely it is unfair to compare them with the club buggies available for hire?

How many members own and use these buggies? I would imagine very few, to the extent that any effect on the course would be insignificant and no worse than electric trollies carrying large heavy bags.

I know of one senior member who now finds he is regularly precluded from playing. He is registered disabled and has been a member for over 25years. He did try using an electric trolley but unfortunately had to retire after 7 holes and was fortunate to get assistance from a passing groundman.

I am not a single seat buggy owner myself but would ask the board to reconsider their decision to ban these buggies and put them in the same category as electric trollies.

Jeff Gibbons

Dear Members,

It is with regret that I must again postpone next week’s proposed AGM.

The auditors have raised several questions which need resolving before finally publishing our annual accounts for y/e May 21. I do not think these will make a material difference to the management accounts we submitted in what turned out to be a record year in the most unusual of times.

Rather than set a new date, let’s wait for the figures and I will advise you from there.

In the meantime, if you have any questions regarding the numbers or indeed the general finances of the club, please feel free to call me on 07766 364186 or alternatively drop me an email at neal.davies@barclays.com.

Regards.

Neal Davies

Finance Director

The Seniors first Stableford Competition of the year will be on Monday 14th February.

Sign up in the Pro Shop ( £4 ) and play off Yellow Tees, Winter rules so pick clean and place on Fairways only. Score cards must be signed and scores entered via the Computer in Pro Shop,Stag Bar or your phone app. Prize money will be entered into your account in the Pro Shop.

Play well.

Geoff Dunkley
Seniors Secretary

A big thank you to all the members for my wonderful leaving gift. It was very generous of you

It has been a pleasure to work at Shirley Park Golf Club and I wish you all happy golfing in the future.

Hopefully I will see you all at the club soon

Take Care.

Jan

Hi all, whilst playing the course recently I noticed that in front of the 10th tee there are at least sixty oak saplings that have seeded. These are free trees that could be moved easily around the course to further improve it in the years to come. I realise of course that I probably wouldn’t benefit but future players/ members might. If they are left to their own devices they will eventually block the tee and have to be removed so it’s a win win situation we get free trees to re plant and don’t have to worry about future removal. These trees are dormant at the moment so easily moved this year or next winter.

Just a thought,

Dan Pearson

Finally it’s good to go! The warren league gets underway with a full normal itinerary ahead.

All past players that were on the past sign up sheet will be considered for selection for up and coming games. All new members not familiar with the league, it is a league for members with a h/c of 9-26. All matches are generally played on Saturday Mornings, And you can only represent the club twice in a season.

Please read the notice board for further information, and if it is of interest to you please sign up giving your phone number and h/c index.

If you want a chat about the format or any further information don’t hesitate to contact me. Alternatively catch me at the club I’m often around the bar!
It has been decided by the board we are going to have a generic team shirt for all club matches. You will be expected to wear one if you are selected for a warren league match.

It will be difficult to guarantee everyone will play a warren league match however we do play 40 plus players a season.

Good luck in the new golfing season. Looking forward to meeting some new players.

Watch this space in the coming weeks for updates.

Bye for now

Cheers Micky Dowling
Warren league captain

To all Warren league and Hilliard league players for 2022 .....

Please let Mick Taylor in the pro shop know your shirt size ASAP, so that he can order you a team shirt, when playing for your club team in 2022.
If you are happy to do this, the cost will probably be £25 each.

Thank you for your cooperation.

best
Keith Povah

Brendan Foley our Match Secretary has now posted the 2022 list of Matches against some of our local clubs on our Seniors Notice Board adjacent to the Men's Locker Room Door which start with an Away Match against Addington Palace on Match 14th.
All Seniors (over 55 ) are welcome to put their names forward to play in the Home and Away Fixtures. These matches give everyone a chance to play on 9 different courses over the year and although friendly there is also a Competitive Edge! We also like someone to volunteer to be the Captain of the day for each match so just let Brendan know if you fancy leading the team from Shirley Park.

The Seniors also run Seniors Stableford Competitions most months starting on Monday February 14th.
Let’s hope for a better year for all the Shirley Park golfers.

Geoff Dunkley
Seniors Secretary

Hello again dear members,

On behalf of the board, I feel compelled to write to you again about the recent changes taking place at our club. I want to assure you all that the board have always had the best interests of the club at heart and you can see that in the constant communication and transparency that we have with all members, as well as the many projects we are now undertaking to improve our club and golf course.

Obviously, we are very thankful to the members of staff who have served us well over the past 20 years, with their dedication, loyalty and hard work. They now feel the time is right to move on to pastures new and those new challenges and we respect that.

We all wish them the very best for the future, but now we should embrace the changes and let us please give a warm welcome to our new members of staff, for hopefully many years to come.

Thank you all for your support and understanding.

Best Regards,

Keith Povah

Chairman

Why are the guts and all the components that as far as I'm concerned, allowed OUR CLUB to run smoothly being ripped out?

As someone who is just happy to pay his dues and play I've never been one of those members who is as they say 'in the know' but I'm always willing to be educated so if someone would like to enlighten me and all the other members like me I'd be grateful.

Steve Sargant

Should we be concerned about the loss of experienced staff? It seems that under the new board we have quickly lost our GM, Course Manager, Bar Manager and all of the admin staff. I understand the “new broom” approach but I wonder how we are losing so much know how so quickly?

Regards
Bob & Nichola Bradley

‘ I have heard with considerable regret, but not surprise, that our Course Manager Richard Evans has tendered his resignation from the Club to be effective from end of March this year.

Having been actively involved in Richard’s recruitment and appointment around 19 years ago, I would like to place on record my personal appreciation of his diligent and effective service to our Club.

At the time of his appointment, our golf course was in very poor condition and receiving considerable justified criticism from the membership. In subsequent years Richard and his staff has transformed the playing condition and appearance of our course to the extent where it is now the envy of most courses in the south east, particularly the condition of our greens! This has been achieved by Richard and his team, at times when significant financial support has been limited.

I am sure that I speak on behalf of the vast majority of long serving Members in thanking Richard for his service to our Club and wish him well for the future.

On a general note, it is disappointing to see, in recent months, what seems to be a ‘mass exodus’ of many of our long serving staff who have chosen to resign for various reasons.

I have no doubt the membership will join me in wishing them every success wherever their future careers take them, where I am sure they will make a valued contribution.

John Scott

Past President, Chairman and Captain ‘

Can all players, who play in the Shirley Park Hilliard and Warren League teams please contact their Captains, if they would like to buy a Shirley Park team shirt (light/sky blue polo shirt with club logo and 'team player' printed on them). Estimated cost of £25.

There is no obligation to do this, but we think most players would be happy to buy a team shirt. Please contact your Captain with your name and shirt size.

Hilliard League - Mark Linsdall
Warren league - Micky Dowling

Due to unforeseen circumstances tonight’s Poker is unfortunately cancelled.

It will return on Monday 3rd January.

Thank You

For the second time in a few weeks it seems it’s not working as it should.
Spent the last 90 minutes trying to book a time for tomorrow week but just wasting my time.

‘No tee times available for this date’.

Time to ditch the booking system especially for midweek golf as I can see no reason to keep it, there’s always spare times available.

Steve Sargant.

The last Seniors Stableford Competition of 2021 will take on Monday 6th December. It will be the usual all day event played off the Yellow Tees with Winter Rules in force (Lift, clean and Place only on the fairways). Please remember to fill in your individual score card and sign it correctly (failure to do so will result in disqualification). Sign in at the Pro Shop and return your score via the Computer in the Pro Shop, Stag Bar or your Phone App.

Seniors Christmas Lunch Sunday 12th December.

The Committee Discussed whether to hold our Seniors Christmas Lunch this year but felt that due to the uncertainty about COVID we would err on the side of safety and cancel this years lunch.

Play well and look after our course.

Geoff Dunkley
Seniors Secretary

I’d just like to ask the groups who play in the morning on a Wednesday, to try not to stop at the hut during the winter months and grab a takeaway instead, as groups that start a bit later, i.e. 11:00am can struggle to get around before it’s dark.

This may apply to other days of course, maybe Friday as well, but Wednesday looks to be the most busy on a regular basis and later groups tend to suffer when there is a holdup at the hut.

Thanks

Steve I

The Club is sorry to report the loss of one of our long-term members, Michael. He loved Shirley Park Club and it was a big part of his life.

Funeral details:

Date: Wednesday 1st December 2021

Time: 11:15am

Venue: Bluebell Cemetery, Old London Road, Halstead, KENT, TN14 7AE.

Wake: Shirley Park from 1pm

The Hearse will be leaving Michael’s house at 30 Hayes Lane, Bromley, BR2 9EB @ 1035. You are welcome to join if you would like to see him off from there.

It would be very helpful if you could let either Veronica or Elaine know if you will be able to attend both the funeral and the wake (for catering purposes).

Veronica Baynard: 01732 847270 - 07770 728920

Elaine Tait: 020 8656 6633 - 07841 204050

Monday 8th November saw a field of 18 players enter the Seniors Stableford Competition with the results as follows First with 38 points was Howard Giles, Second was Kiff Paddon with 36 points and Third with 33 points was Neville D’Arango.

Well done to Howard and thanks to all who played. Prize monies will be entered into your accounts in the Pros Shop.

The next Seniors Stableford will be on Monday 6th December and will be an all day Competition. Please remember to enter a correctly signed (Markers Name and Signature and Players Signature) Individual Score Card. No shared cards please! Winter Rules apply ie Lift Clean and Place only on Fairways not in rough.

Play well and look after our course by repairing yours and any other pitch marks.

Geoff Dunkley
Seniors Secretary

Hi

With regards to the introduction of a “local rule” change to our Winter rules, allowing us to lift and place the ball when in the rough as well as the fairway, will the submission of cards for handicap purposes be affected?

Many thanks
Kiff

The Seniors October Stableford Competition was played on Monday 25th October with a field of 21 players returning some good scores. The Winner was John S Danielles with a score of 39 points, Second was Vic Cork with 35 points winning on countback from Reg Symonds also with 35 points. Well done to John and thanks to all who played and their prize money will be entered into their accounts in the Pro shop.

The next Seniors Stableford Competition will be on Monday 8th November, sign in at Pro Shop (£4).

Please note that from now on Entrants for all Seniors Competitions will be required to enter a Properly Signed Score Card with the Players Signature and the Markers name and Signature. The Scores must be entered on the day of Competition via the Computer in the Pro Shop, your phone App and the Computer in the Stag Bar (should the Pro Shop be closed use the Stag Bar Computer) and then placed in the Competition Box. Failure to enter a Properly Signed Card will result in DISQUALIFICATION.

Finally the Seniors AGM will be held on Monday 8th November in the Restaurant at 14.00.

Thanks to all who play in our Competitions.

Geoff Dunkley
Seniors Committee Member

On Monday 4th October the Seniors Vin Howard Competition was played with the result as follows 1st was Monty Powell with a score of 40 points, 2nd was Stuart Madden with 37 points on count back from Jayant Patel also 37 points. Well done to Monty and thanks to all who took part.

There will be another Seniors Stableford Competition on Monday 25th October. It will be the usual all day Competition with entry via Pro Shop (£4).

We are still looking for someone to take on the role of Match Secretary as Brendan Foley has indicated he wishes to relinquish the role after 3 years of valiant work. Anyone interested please contact Brendan whose email address can be found on the Seniors notice board adjacent to the Men's Locker room door.

Enjoy your golf.

Geoff Dunkley
Seniors Committee Member

Recently it was realised that a trolley had been removed from the Car Park Trolley Shed without the permission of the owner - myself.

It was later found abandoned in the other Trolley Shed by the 18th Green.

Whoever did this; would they not do it again. It is stealing. It’s a poor day when a trolley has to be padlocked within a Trolley Shed to stop it being removed unlawfully.

Mick McGowan

As per the recent Chairman's Blog (Sept'21) a working party has been set up to review how the online tee booking system is working and to provide feedback to the Board regarding any suggested changes or enhancements that could be made to improve its use for all members.

The working party is made up of a cross section of members, as follows: Jaimie Cox, Mark Newell, Vic Fook, Steve Illingworth, Mick Dowling, Bernie Baggott, Victoria McFeat, Steve Harney, and Jim Fraser. Present at the meetings will be Monty Powell (representing the Board) and Mick Taylor (representing the Pro Shop). Rory O’Keefe will be involved later in the process.

The current 24/7 online system (ClubV1Members Hub) is consistent with the desire of the majority of members to have a formal booking system that provides fair and unbiased access equally to all members. It enables forward booking of tee times and certainty of time of play, enables members to see all bookings (including society/other groups) and to take up any unused spaces. It also allows the Club to better manage green fees and other golf related social bookings.

The working group will limit its review to examining those issues which affect all members when using an online tee booking system. The working group will take into consideration member's views as well as examining how other local clubs manage their online system if used.

We would like to invite members to share your views on how the current tee booking system could potentially be amended for the benefit of both the members and the Club.

We look forward to speaking with you.

Well that’s it, another season bites the dust, having missed it last season. we managed to get all the games played and some new friends made with fantastic camaraderie.

We finished runners up in our division which is a great achievement with the amount of different members used.

I look forward to the return of a normal next season, welcoming and introducing more members to the Warren league.

Finally it leaves me to say very good luck to Jason Derham and Gary Simmons who qualified for the Parker plate on finals day at Kingswood, also well done to Mark Linsdall who has just finished his first year steering the Hilliard league matches. The Hilliard representatives on finals day are Mark James and Mitch Dowling we also wish them well.

Maybe a bit early but happy Xmas watch this space and the notice boards in the new year for next season.

Cheers,

Mick

The board will be making a donation from the club and if any member wishes to also contribute, they can do so through the office, and it will be sent to Sutton Hospital.

At the start of play the weather forecasters got it right as the rain and wind came pouring down but by 1000 it had stopped and then sun came out and over the next few hours 15 players entered the Les Robert’s Competition. Three players ended up with 36 points and on count back Kiff Paddon won from Terry Chard (36) and Third was Austin Manley (36). Well done to Kiff and thanks to all who played. Prize monies will be entered on your accounts in the Pro Shop.

The next Seniors Competition will be for the Vin Howard Trophy on Monday 4th October. As usual this will be an all day Stableford Competition off the Yellow Tees entrance fee £4 via Pro Shop.

Our Match Secretary Brendan Foley has indicated that he wishes to retire from the post at the end of the year, so we are looking for somebody to take on the position of Match Secretary for next year. Brendan has already agreed the dates for our Inter Cub matches for 2022 so in the first place it will be just the gathering 16 players for each match Home and Away and then agreeing dates for the 2023 season. Anyone who maybe interested can contact Brendan via his phone number/Email which are on the Seniors Notice Board adjacent to the Locker Room.

Enjoy your golf and look after our course.

Thanks,

Geoff Dunkley
Seniors Committee Member

On Monday 13th September a small field of 16 played in the September Seniors Stableford Competition. The winner was Eddie Mills with a total of 41 points, Second was George Gould with 40 points and Third was Howard Giles with 36 points. Well done to Eddie and thanks to all who played. Prize monies are credited to winners accounts in the Pro Shop.

Our next Competition will be the Les Robert’s Trophy on Monday 27th September. This will be an all day Stableford Competition played off the Yellow Tees.

Play well and enjoy your golf

Geoff Dunkley
Seniors Committee Member

The last game of the season has finally been played! Sadly not the result we wanted but a very enjoyable day was had by all, however a 4-0 loss is never good.

Another very good season with 43 members taking part, including several new ones. Well done everyone and my thanks to the captains of the day Steve, Monty and Gordon.

It’s not all over yet as everyone who has played this season will have the opportunity to play in the qualifier on the18th of this month for the Warren league finals day in October. I will be in touch shortly personally, with details.

Cheers
Mick

Well a good day was had by all with a great match against Wimbledon Park, with the last game being the decider giving us a 2 & a half to 1 & a half win.

It was little sad for Wimbledon Park as it was there final game ever away in the Warren league after 60 plus years in the league.

The result leaves us in second place with one game to go, and a very slim chance of winning the division with our last match against Betchworth Park this coming Saturday. Good luck team!

Cheers
Mick

The Ladies & Seniors Texas Scramble was played on the 12th of August with 7 mixed teams of 4. The winners on count back with a total of 43 points were Jim McAllister, Les Allen, Eva Palmer & Madhu Shah, Second were Neville D’Aranjo, Stuart Madden, Anne Ratman & Bernie Baggot, also with 43 points and Third were Ted Smith, Austin Manley, Kim Lawlor & Nana Bush with 41 points. Hopefully next year there will be the two matches we normally have. Thanks to all who took part.

On Monday 16th August the August Seniors Stableford Competition took place with 26 returned scores. The winner was Terry Burtenshaw with 42points, Second was Ted Smith with 38points, Third was Austin Manley 37 points on count back from Alan Alder also with 37points. All results adjusted under WHS Competitions Allowances. Prize monies are enter into their accounts in the Pro Shop. Well done Terry and thanks to all who took part.

Our next Seniors Stableford will be on MONDAY 13th SEPTEMBER followed by The Les Robert’s Trophy (Stableford Competition) on Monday 27th SEPTEMBER.

A gentle reminder the Seniors must be over 55 and entrance fees must be payed in the Pro Shop otherwise players will be disqualified.

Stay safe and enjoy your golf.
Geoff Dunkley
Seniors Committee Member

The start sheet for the Ladies & Seniors Match with Names of Partners and Tee Times is now posted on the Seniors Notice Board adjacent to the Locker Room Door.

Also a reminder to all Senior Golfers that there is a Seniors Stableford Competition on Monday 16th August. It will be an all day Competition so sign up in the Pro Shop (£4) and enter your score via the App or Computer in the Stag Bar.

Thanks
Geoff Dunkley
Seniors Committee Member

With regards to Bob Bradley's comments about the bunkers, I feel that some members may not want to touch the rake in these Covid times.

Saying that they could use a club or their foot to smooth out the sand to some degree.

Come on guys, think of your fellow golfers.

Regards Steve Ryan

If starting before 8am is not in the lease why, during the 13 years I sat on the board, were we repeatedly told, “we can’t start earlier than 8am, that restriction is in the lease”. Was this just another myth?

Chas Ardley


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Thanks Chas

The agreement has never been in the Lease itself, as mentioned by the Board in at least 3 AGM Minutes when the Open Forum questions from the floor asked why the club couldn't start earlier than 8am.

There was a Q&A document that formed part of the Lease agreement that the Board at the time agreed with Croydon Council in 2004, and was one of a large number of Covenants were agreed, including Noise pollution and start times. These have been monitored by the Noise Abatement Officer, Andrew Gordon, who has made several visits to the club following complaints. This was also detailed in the Board responses to Members on a few occasions.

The Club is hopeful that the earlier start time of 7:30am is now acceptable to the Croydon Council as detailed in the Chairman's response last week.

Thanks

This year's Shirley Vase was played over the weekend of 10th & 11th July. The winner was Mick Dowling with an excellent score of net 66. Mike Woods was runner-up with a net 67.

The competition will revert to the normal format next year, where the top 16 will advance to a knockout.

Well done Mick and to all the competitors.

To all those who have raised concerns over our new 07.30 start.

The board debated this issue in depth, as has been done many times in the past and we decided to check the details.....

1. There is no mention of start times in our lease.
2. We have now written to the council a month ago, re noise abatement and have not yet received a reply.
3. We have confirmed to the council that there is no change whatsoever in our use of the course machinery in the early morning.

Based on all of this the board decided to run a trial of the earlier start time and so far there have been no problems at all.

Thank you for your understanding.

Best rgds
Keith Povah
Chairman

The Druce

Our SPGC ladies took part in the prestigious Druce competition held in Effingham GC this year on 8th July. Sixty clubs took part in the morning and afternoon rounds. Each club was represented by two teams consisting of a higher and a lower handicapper.

SPGC team was represented by Barbara Clearey, Jill Rowlinson, Sandra McKay and Polly Spaul. Janet Keen was supporting our ladies’ team during the competition.

After two rounds SPGC team came in 14th with a combined NETT result of 68.50

A huge well done to all the ladies who represented our club in the Druce.

Victoria MCFEAT
Ladies Captain
Shirley Park GC

We are now in the height of summer and the kitchen closes at 4pm, earlier on some days. The long bright days mean that members are able to play until late.

Surely the club should be providing food, albeit a cut down evening menu, so that we can eat something more substantial than crisps and nuts after a game.

The provision of food means members/green fees more likely to stay and have a few more drinks.

I fully appreciate longer hours would mean additional catering staff costs. Therefore maybe as an alternative, a selection of filled rolls or sandwiches wrapped in cling film could be left behind the bar. Just a thought.

Halfway hut
Although this facility is currently run as an independent franchise. Members deserve to know when and if the hut is open for business. Perhaps a board indicating opening hours could be on display near the first tee? If, due to unforeseen circumstances, the hut isn’t open the first tee board would inform members.

Finally, again just a suggestion. On big club event days could we perhaps have a drinks/snacks buggy circulating around the course? This would smooth the pace of play and ease log James around the 11th. I’d be happy to operate the service and suspect others would too. This would mean more income for the bar.

Best regards
Bill Rookes

Both Bob Bradley and John Scott posed a question regarding the early tee off times as in is it ok for us to do so ?

Along with them it was my understanding it was tied into our lease agreements that we couldn’t open before 8am

Could we have a definitive answer please

Steve Healy.

This week's menus for Friday's Happy Hour 6pm - 8pm:

Fish, Chips & Peas - £12.50

Beef & Onion Pie with Chips - £8.50

Please order by 7:45pm

On Thursday 12th August there will be a Ladies & Seniors Texas Scramble over 18 Holes with teams of 4 (2 Ladies & 2 Men) followed by a Two Course Meal. This is a light hearted bit of fun with a competitive edge so we need some volunteers please. The cost is £20 and there is a sign up sheet on the Seniors Notice Board adjacent to the Locker Room Door.

REMINDER
There is the seniors Nicol Trophy Competition on Monday 19th July. This is an all day Stableford Competition and you sign up in the Pro Shop (£4) on the day.

Geoff Dunkley
Seniors Committee Member

Further to the Governments' agreement to relax the current Covid Restrictions, please find below the adjustments to the Course and Clubhouse that will take effect from Monday 19th July:

1. Flagsticks can be handled and removed from holes as required.
2. Rakes will be back in the bunkers and therefore no more free drop in the bunkers.
3. Small hand sanitizers will be on sale in the pro shop (courtesy of Bharat).
4. Face masks are no longer mandatory in public areas. Members are free to wear them if they wish.
5. The showers will be back in operation. Members should bring their own towels for the time being.
6. Standing in and at the bar will be permitted.
7. Cash will be accepted.
8. Benches and rubbish bins will be gradually re-appear on the course.
9. The front entrance will be back in use.

Thank you for your understanding.

Best
Keith Povah
Chairman

Following on from Bob Bradleys post on the Forum.
I was actively involved in the negotiations with Croydon Council regarding the extension of the Club’s Lease in 2004.
We succeeded in achieving a 150 year increase on our Lease with no Rent reviews!

The question of early morning Start Times was discussed during these negotiations and the Council were clearly not in support of players starting earlier than the existing 8.00am. They were obviously aware of the likely ‘reaction’ from local Residents along the course boundaries at the possibility of course machinery being used before 8.00am each day and particularly at weekends. This was mentioned in correspondence relating to the Lease negotiations and must still be available on the Club files.

I believe that the Board should satisfy themselves that the current proposal to allow start times from 7.30am does not infringe the conditions of our Lease extension Agreement before proceeding with this proposal.

John Scott

Due to a very small number of bookings off the 11th tee, there have been extra tee times off the 1st tee on both Saturday and Sunday for this weekend.

Have a look at the booking system to view and book these.

Thanks

Warren league update, well the boys did good! A fine 3 & half to half win against Croham Hurst under the eye of Steve Healy.
With another new member making his debut welcome James and well done.
The next game up is Tyrrells Wood at home on the 24th of July which will be led by Gordon Irvine. Let’s hope we can continue the winning run. It’s coming home!

(It had to be said).

Don’t forget to add your name to the sign up sheet in the entrance foyer if you wish to take part.

Mick Dowling

I am pleased to inform you that we now have a confirmed date for the Captain's Drive In.

The Drive In will take place on Saturday 21st August.

Please let the me know if you were down to play and are unable to play in the rescheduled date as we have a full reserve list.

Full details will be sent out nearer the time.

As this is the day before the Gents Tigbits was due to be played, the Tigbits has now been rescheduled for Sunday 26th September.

If you have any questions regarding the above, please contact me.

Kind regards

Jayne

I am aware of the new road map for maintenance and improvement to our great course. The fruits of this initiative are already self evident and much appreciated.
I would like the relevant committee to consider trimming back the significant lateral growth of the trees aligning the right hand side of the 7th hole. The extensive lateral growth currently obscures a considerable amount of the small “playable” area of this hole especially from the competition tee. This potentially causes slow play by necessitating the use of a provisional ball.
In my opinion such maintenance would in no way diminish this great golf hole but enhance its look and enjoyability.

Thank you
Bill Rookes

The Seniors Stableford on Monday 5th July has been cancelled and will now take place on Monday 12th July replacing the advertised Seniors Texas Scramble. Sign up sheet will be in Pro Shop with £4 entrance fee.
Further Competitions will be The Presidents Prize Competition for 5 Day Members on Friday 16th July (entry via the app with £5 entrance fee) and the Nicol Trophy Competition on Monday 19th July sign up sheet in Pro Shop with £4 entrance fee.
Enjoy your golf and stay safe.

Geoff Dunkley
Seniors Committee Member

I have been a member of Shirley Park Golf Club for 22 years now. I have lost count of the number of times the above has been discussed during this period and each time it has, the Board have said that our agreement with the Council prevents us teeing off before 8am.

From next week the first group are teeing off before 7.30 am. I assume we have the council’s agreement to this? If not, what are the possible repercussions? We should not forget that we have a new neighbour up the first who will look to complain to the Council at any opportunity.

I have to say also that I am surprised to see a number of 4balls teeing off in front of the Millenary ( a Shirley Park major) when all of the competitors are in 3balls.

Bob Bradley

The following Competitions are now open for entry:

Tigbits Foursomes - Sunday 22nd August - Enter individually and a draw will take place to form pairings. One from Handicap range up to 16, and one from range 17 to 36. Draw will be published in week commencing 9th August

Club Championship - 36 Hole Scratch competition. Max handicap allowed is 12. Draw will be made week commencing 2nd August. Only enter if you are going to complete both rounds.

Golden Jubilee - 18 Hole handicap competition held in between the first and second rounds of the Club Championship. Max handicap is 36. The first round of the Club Championship counts towards to Golden Jubilee, so no need to enter both if you are playing in the Championship.

Click below to view Notices. Entry is open via Member's Hub App, HDID App and Touch Screen in Pro Shop.

After further discussion I am pleased to advise I have been able to add a men's Presidents Prize competition solely for 5 Day members.

This will be a closed tee event, stableford scores, to be played on Friday 16th July, starting at 9:30.

You can book on the V1 app - make up your own 4 ball or just book in to play with other entrants.

Entry is £5 towards my charity, and you will be provided with a complementary meal at the Prize Presentation & BBQ on Sunday 18th.

Cheers


Monty

I'm not part of the swindles but clearly they are very vocal in their protest but I couldn't work out what all the fuss was about. Seemed very sensible to be and freed up some early tee times for non swindle members.

I support the proposed change but sounds like it's too late.

Kevin Henderson
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Sorry to hear you are hitting some obstacles!
Is the plan to still start the tee times as early as possible regardless of not being able to run a trial etc? Is there any reason why the start times can be first light?

Thanks,
Will Staddon

The Presidents Prize competitions will go ahead despite the delay in removing Government COVID restrictions.

The Men's Presidents Putter competition is now fully subscribed for Sunday 18th. Additional entries are not possible due to technical issues with the competition software which we cannot amend. However please do let Steve Murphy know if you would like to be listed as a reserve - there will always be some no-shows. The draw has been completed and is on the app.

The ladies competition will be over two days - a closed tee start both days - Thursday 15th and Saturday17th.

These are stableford competitions. Entries of £5 each will go towards the Presidents Charity

I shall be providing a lunch on Sunday 18th for all competitors in both men's and ladies competitions as well as prizes.

It is intended to be a BBQ but we will put a plan B in place in case of bad weather. A list of competitors names will be provided to the caterers.

There will also be some live music in the afternoon.

I do appreciate all your support for this event and am very much looking forward to it. Please do attend the presentation later in the afternoon if you can. Much appreciated.


Monty

Dear Member,

Further to my last email regarding the proposed trial of letting one of the Saturday swindles play off the 11th, to free up more tee times for others off the 1st, this has received a large wave of complaints pointing to favouritism. So the board has decided to do a U-turn and this trial will now not take place. Going forward, we will consider our options and keep you all posted.

Thank you for your feedback.

best rgds
Keith Povah

I feel the board is trying to ease the problems on the 1st tee on a Saturday morning and taking 24 times and starting at 0730 will allow other swindles to be able to book those slots. Yes it is allowing one swindle to have preferential treatment but for the benefit of many other members in the club. I am sure you will come up with a solution for all those guys who like to play on a Sunday morning.

In my view it is a good thing and would like to see this as a trial for 4 weeks and was shocked by some of the language used against the board for trying to solve this issue. I feel this is mainly down to a lot of members being very set in their ways and are not open to new ideas.

Kind Regards

Andy Scott

I would like to say what a fabulous job the three girls did last night serving us all with drinks.

Great job and great service. Well done to the bar staff.

Jeff

Having read the Chairman’s email, the responses from the members and your response Neal, I’d like to add my view.

The members reaction speaks for itself, such a vehement response, so quickly, suggests to me that there is certainly something wrong with the proposition and it needs to be addressed.

We are trialling an earlier start time, which will please a lot of members who can’t sleep or have other reasons for being home at noon. It is, quite rightly in my view being seen as a smokescreen for the introduction of a guaranteed start time for the members of Keith Povah’s Saturday swindle.

Unfortunately, your response to the members would seem to suggest that the Board are going ahead with the trial no matter what they say.

The trial works for the earlier start time, even though the first three holes in the Winter will be played in the dark but why not just use the extra times created by the early start time to ease the Saturday congestion.

All that would be accomplished by the proposed plan would be to gain four times on the 1st at the expense of six times on the 11th. What about the times on the 11th from 07.30 am till 08.54 am. Are they being used?, if not how is this making more times available?
What happens after the four weeks trial? What criteria are being used to declare the system a success or failure? Are we in danger of the trial being arbitrarily declared a success thus leaving the KP swindle with a guaranteed starting time in perpetuity?

To say that the Board discussed this at length doesn’t say much for the effort they put in. Maybe it’s because there is only one of you who normally plays on a Saturday morning.

Eddie McLaughlin

Is this the first in a long line of personal agendas by this group/board?

Having the Chairman’s swindle allowed to play on reserved times will totally make playing on a Saturday a joke given that they are the slowest swindle at the club and there are numerous previous complaints about their slow play that have attempted to be dealt with before.

With them coming around off 18 you might as well close the Course for the day because any member booking a time after they turn will probably need a first aid kit for the injuries to their wrists on each hole.

Danny Pearson

We have best practices for Covid, leave the flagstick in the hole. Without the liner, used after 1st lockdown, raising the ball so it could be removed without touching the flag now the policy means far more risk of Covid transmition as everyone touches the same part of the bottom of the flagstick.
Because of this I would rather remove the flagstick as I feel much safer that I will be touching part of the stick someone else might not have had contact with rather than the bottom which I know for a fact has been touched by everybody.
As this best practice is not part of the R&A golf rules can I do this?

Regards
Rob d’Eca
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Thanks Rob.

The flagstick has to remain in the hole for the time being. The next review will take place as soon as the final restrictions, that were planned to lifted on 21st June, finally takes place.

In the meantime, please do leave the flagstick in the hole, and if you wear a golf glove, use that hand to remove the ball safely.

Thanks, and we all eagerly waiting the return to normality very soon.

Steve Murphy
General Manager

Now half way through the season, we have just had a very good result at Purley Downs on a scorching hot day with a 3-1 win, well done team!
We now have a run of 3 home matches where hopefully we can improve our position in the table after a difficult start.

It’s great to see new members playing in the league and enjoying meeting other members and the camaraderie it brings. For those members I have not met and are interested in playing please put your name on the sign up sheet in foyer where you can also see the fixture list and the result sheets. If you require any further information don’t hesitate contact myself.

Cheers for now

Mick Dowling

I regret to inform Members that due to the continuation of Government Restrictions, the Captain's Drive-in planned for the 26th June has been postponed. Unlikely that it will be before August, but the re-arranged date will be advised in due course.

Regards

Keith Povah
Chairman

Regrettably the Liberation Night event planned for Friday 25th June has been postponed to a later date due to the Government delaying the listing of restrictions. Members will be kept advised.

Bharat Patel
Social Director

The Draw for the Foursomes Knockout has been made and is available on the Members Hub App and the HowDidIDo App, under the Knockout Tab

Please make sure all matches are play by the end date of each round as no extensions are permitted.

All results are to be entered into the Members Hub App, and the draw will then automatically notify members of their next opponents.

Good luck.

Steve Murphy
General Manager

Thank you to everyone who let us clean their golf clubs at the weekend, we hope that they are nice and shiny!

We really appreciate how generous everyone was.

Hopefully we will be able to come back and do it again soon.

Happy golfing!

Amelia & Amelie

It is sad to report that Pat Sullivan sadly passed away on 1st June. He was a long-standing member of 45 years and known to many members.

No details of any funeral arrangements yet, but if we hear, then I will post details.

Steve Murphy
General Manager

The next two Seniors Stableford Competitions are Monday 28th June and Monday 5th July. They are all day competitions so just book your tee times and enter your results via the Pro Shop or the How did I do App.

Also there are 3 home matches against local clubs on the 7th, 14th and 21st June which require a few more players please, sign up sheets are on Seniors notice board adjacent to the locker room door.

Enjoy your golf and stay safe.

Geoff Dunkley
Seniors Committee Member

Can anyone help to professionally design various adverts for Shirley Park Golf Club.

Contact Bharat – tel 07598 568 902
or email : bharatkumar@payallc.com

Welcome back Inside!

With the first stage of lifting of restrictions here, members are welcome back inside to escape the rain and cold, compared to last year's balmy weather.

Tables have been set up in 6’s where possible in the Lounge and 4’s in the Players Bar, where it is too tight to get 6 around a table safely. The Dining Room has 6 table of 6. Members should refrain from moving any furniture.

Sky Sports etc is now back on the TV, so pop in for a pint and the Footie this week. We have opened the Snooker room, as it is allowed under the new guidelines.

Face coverings are still required in the clubhouse including Locker Rooms. They can be removed whilst sitting down.

Bar opening will be reviewed after we have opened for a week or so. We will stay open until 10pm Monday until Thursday, 11pm on Friday, and ordinary 10pm on Sat and Sunday. Once the 21st June comes along, we can review again.

Members will be kept up to date with any changes to these protocols.

Steve Murphy
General Manager

The Board are very grateful for your continued support over the last year and we are all looking forward to a return, probably to a new normal.
We very much appreciate your support and loyalty and this email is simply to announce some additional benefits to the members for the next year -
- Free monthly “lottery “ draw with prizes of £75, £50, £30 , £25 & £20, topped up on your member’s card

- Many Free live entertainment events – such as tribute bands and singers ( more details to follow )

- In the pipeline : “Fawlty Towers” dining experience , wine tasting evening , quiz nights , Indian summer BBQ, Regular comedy nights , regular poker nights , Sunday lunch with live entertainment. ( further announcements and details to follow )
- Happy Hour on Fridays (6-8pm) will continue for the foreseeable future and Alex and his catering team will do regular special food offer
- We are offering all golf members a further 3 FREE guest green fees. So if you have not yet used the 3 offered to you last year, you could now have 6 FREE guest vouchers to use by 31 May 2022.

For your information, the board are now working on the following projects to improve our golf course and the clubhouse :
- To finish painting the exterior of the clubhouse and outbuildings
- New male urinals, also used by visitors (off the lounge bar)
- Refurbish the toilet by the 1st tee
- Improve the lighting around the putting green
- Many, many projects on the course, which you will be able to read on the roadmap shortly, including .....
- New winter tee plinth on the 6th
- Renew the drainage on the 3rd
- Re-do the paths on the 7th and 15th
- Fill in and re-model the big bunker on the 16th
- Re-design 7th tee
- New green drainage on 1st, 15th and 17th (and 3 more to follow)
- Change bunker sand on 5th and 8th
- Finish the re-design of the 13th tee
- Lots of re-turfing to be done, mostly in November/December

As you can see, lots happening and it’s all positive !

Best regards
Bharat Patel - Social Director

The Board has decided to change the time that the Booking System will be opened to reserve tee times.

Currently Members can book at 7am - Seven Days in advance. From Wednesday 19th May the Booking System will open at 7pm - Eight Days in advance.

Board of Directors

Our first Competition since the return was played on Monday with a over twenty people entering. Those playing in the morning had to contend with squally showers and wind whilst the afternoon weather was slightly better.

The winner was Kevin Dredge with a score of 37 points, 2nd was Peter Manley 35 points winning on count back from Ted Smith also 35 points and 4th was Alan Alder with 33 points. Well done to Kevin and all the prize winners and thanks to all who entered the Competition. Prize money has been entered into their accounts in the Pro Shop.

The next two Stableford Competitions are MONDAY 18th JUNE and MONDAY 5th JULY and don’t forget if you want to play in any of our Seniors matches the sign up sheets are posted adjacent to the locker room door in the front hall.

Enjoy your golf and stay safe.

Geoff Dunkley
Seniors Committee Member

With immediate effect, the Board has decided to introduce a Waiting List for 7 day membership to protect existing members if we can from the course being overcrowded at peak weekend times.

We have temporarily introduced an option to join as a 5 and a half day member while waiting for a 7 day vacancy to arise.

This allows for play on Monday-Friday + Sunday afternoons after 2 in Summer and after midday in winter. This is not a new category of membership but a "waiting room" for prospective 7 day members to avoid turning them away completely.

This situation will be reviewed regularly and we will keep you informed of the results of this decision.

Last week, the ladies played in Spring Meeting, one of their major competitions this year. Ladies playing on Thursday had a good turn out.
The conditions were very tough on Saturday as ladies had incessant rain and wind to combat in their morning round!

The winners of the Spring competition are:

Division A
1st place Madhu Shah (81)
2nd place Emma Clarke (84)

Division B
1st place Shirley Smith (72)
2nd place Jill Rowlinson (73)

NTP on the 13th hole
Victoria McFeat

Texas scramble winners
Naina Shah, Nana Bush, Emma Clarke and Sharon Crowther.

Well done to everyone who took part and persevered.

Victoria McFeat
Ladies Captain

Well finally we are under way, sadly not the start we wanted however losing the opening game to Chipstead away from home 3-1 is not the end of the world.

It was an enjoyable game and although cold it stayed dry. It didn’t have the usual feel of warren league warmth and fun as the club house was closed. It certainly didn’t stop first timer James enjoying his match. We look forward to better times ahead.

The next match was Sunday against Coombe Wood away where Steve Healy captained the lads. Unfortunately we lost 3-1.

Good luck and enjoy the golf.
Cheers
Mick Dowling

We have been advised that Brian Gibbs has sadly passed away this week. Brian was the Head Greenkeeper from 1976 to 1988.
His son David also worked here on the Green Staff during that time. He is happy if any members who remember Brian, would like to contact him at david.gibbs96@yahoo.co.uk

There’s been a lot of debate (within various groups) around the ‘hazard’ area that has been implemented down the right of the first, presumably to try and address the issue of balls going into gardens, and in particular a new tenant who has raised concerns.
My feeling is that if the intention is to restrict the potential number of drives that might result in a ball going into these gardens, then the area needs to be ‘hazard’ only, so that there will never be a need to hit 3, 5, 7 and so on…off the tee.

As long as it remains with a combination of hazard ‘and’ out of bounds, any doubt is going to result in players continuing to hit 3 (5, 7) off the tee, which is obviously undesirable. Also it opens the situation up to interpretation, where certain groups and players will say a ball is out of bounds, and others may be happy to deem a ball merely lost in the hazard.

While the boundary of the course is clearly ‘out of bounds’, it is never a guarantee that a ball that appears to have cleared the trees actually is out of bounds, as they are often found ‘in bounds’, and even if it was, it’d be impossible to identify it as being so. But as I say, if there is still an out of bounds, a player will take 3 off the tee if in any doubt, so if the objective is to reduce the possibility of hitting balls into gardens, then we need to reduce the number of opportunities to do so, and that means eliminating hitting 3 off the tee.

On another related point, I notice that the owner of one of the houses in question has elected to put up a couple of ‘swings’, inside the boundary of the course. Surely an irresponsible act for someone concerned about being hit by a golf ball in their own garden?

Regards
Steve Illingworth

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Thanks Steve.

I will send your question to the Golf Committee, but just to clarify the Penalty Area boundaries: The first Red Stake has an "infinity" stake beside it now, which indicates that the Penalty Area goes on for infinity from that point, thereby effectively nullifying the Out of Bounds requirement for "re-loading".

Members should in future treat every ball that goes into the Penalty Area the same as any other Red Marked areas and drop a ball under the relevant Relief Rule. There is no longer a need to adhere to the Out of Bounds Course Boundaries. This is to help minimise the risk to all our neighbours.

We have asked the neighbour with the swing, to move it within their garden for safety reasons.

Thanks

Steve Murphy
General Manager

We have been informed that sadly Peter Philipsz, a member for approx 35 years, has passed away peacefully this week. He had been suffering from Dementia and contracted a Chest Infection recently.

He will be sadly missed by many of the Seniors, and he was a well loved and respected Member.

Steve Murphy
General Manager

I would like to also praise the work on the 13th tee making it more impressive. When I joined the club this being a small hole it was enhanced with a riot of colour at the back of the green with flowering bushes ( rhododendron ) I believe but other fast growing bushes say lavtaria would be just as good to give a pleasant look to the hole. Not if to expensive a small scrapped out flat bunker just as a ball stop to avoid anyone going in to mutilate the plants. The hole was once described as one of the prettiest holes at the club in the golf directory just a thought.

Jim Fraser.

Since we have started playing again, it has been a pleasure to see the improvements in the course. In particular, I would like to thank Steve Denman and his team for the new tee box on the 13th, which allows the ladies to tee off from a position which matches the design of the hole. Also, the tidying up of the gorse on the 8th is most welcome.

Shirley Smith

Dear Member

I am delighted to have received the honour of being appointed the President of Shirley Park Golf Club.

For those that do not know me, I have been a member for nearly twenty years, was elected Captain in 2010 and served as Chairman of the Board for several years after that. I believe my previous club experience will help me to work with the current Board of Directors to continue to make Shirley Park a great place to be a member.

As some of you may know from the recent AGM and Q&A sessions online, there are a number of issues that face the club as we emerge from the lockdown caused by covid. However, we have had a significant number of members joining in the past 12 months and the club is well placed to move forward.

The traditional role of the President is to listen to members and take questions and issues to the Board for discussion and response. The recent restrictions of course have hindered the face to face communication process and so I have not yet been able to speak to many members directly. However in the next few months I hope to meet as many of you as possible on the course, or in the bar. Feel free to introduce yourself if you see me around or contact me by phone or email if you prefer.

The current Board is keen to make a difference and we welcome your ideas.

I look forward to speaking with you in the near future.

Kind regards

Monty Powell


email: martin.r.powell@btinternet.com

phone: 07834 623614

It seems to me that there should be a way to show the intention to enter scores for a casual round BEFORE playing. At the moment, one can make the decision after having played.

Those who wish to have a handicap which reflects their true ability will submit all scores.

However, those who wish to have as high a handicap as possible (and there will always be some!) will submit only their poor rounds and not the good ones.

Malcolm Graveling.

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Golf is thankfully a sport that is largely self-governed, so hopefully all golfers will use the Casual Golf scores to reflect their current ability, and not cherry pick scores to enter. That would not be in the spirit of the game.

I know England Golf are working on a time-frame for sign in and score entry, but no word of that yet.

Thanks
Steve Murphy
General Manager

Following the return of golf, the Board have agreed to reinstate Guests and Visitors to play the Course in the afternoons when it is quiet.

Tee Times will be reserved for Members to book as normal 7 days in advance, and Guests and Visitors will be welcome to book 48 hours before play.

This solution will ensure the Course does not lay empty, but is also mindful of the need for Members to have priority for tee times.

Steve Murphy
General Manager

If the current tee time booking system is problematic, is there no possibility of trialling other systems, of which there appear to be many?

Personally, once we are in a position to, I would hope not to have to book to play during the week or even for a Saturday, but I do firmly believe that we need an online system when it comes to booking Sunday morning tee times.

Steve Illingworth

I have just spent a very frustrating stress inducing 25 mins trying to book a tee time for Good Friday.

To say our booking system seems inadequate is a understatement, the system appeared to crash/freeze several times during the process. From the group messages I am receiving this frustration has been experienced by many.

Is this booking system a add on for the club systems/howdidido website and software we currently use. How much does the booking system cost us, it would appear at busy times to be unfit for purpose.

A simple task of booking a tee time should not be so difficult. Speaking for myself I really don't appreciate the hassle and stress first thing in the morning before I even start my working day.

How many members share my point of view ?

Martin Hughes.

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Personally, I too would like to see the back of this booking system, but obviously we have to wait until restrictions are lifted (hopefully in June). As you know we are sending out a survey monkey shortly, to gauge the feelings of the membership about the system and then in May the board will decide what to do. Whatever decision we reach, it will be on a trial basis, to be reviewed again later in the year.

It was mentioned that we should expect some problems this week, as many, many golf clubs using this software will have had hundreds of golfers all trying to book their tee times, after the last lockdown. This certainly would have put some strain on the servers.

With the big picture concerning the pandemic overall, issues like this are really not so important and will be overcome. However, I totally understand your frustration and fingers crossed, it won't be for much longer.

Best regards

Keith Povah
Chairman

I am a fan of the new World Handicap System.
It gives all golfers the opportunity to aspire to a handicap that is a true reflection of their golfing ability and should allow fair competitive play at any golf course due to it’s portability.
However, any handicap system is only as good as the data you feed into it and the club, quite rightly, is encouraging Members to regularly submit completed cards for entry into the system.
Under the old system we had the notion of a “Competition” handicap....if you didn’t submit 3 cards a year you were unable to enter any competitions. In my view 3 cards a year was insufficient to ensure accurate handicapping, but that’s another story....
So the question is, with the new WHS, will the club employ a similar system of requiring a minimum number of score entries a year in order to ensure that handicaps can be used in competitions and adequately reflect a players ability?

Thanks
Kiff Paddon

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Thanks Kiff.

I gave an answer to your question on Zoom Q&A last week, and a copy of the video of the meeting is being edited etc now and will appear on the Forum soon.
In a nutshell, the 3 card rule has been replaced a few years back, when Active and Inactive Handicaps were replaced with C handicaps. Looking forward, the WHS needs an initial 3 cards to allocate a new Handicap, and for existing members the best 8 of the last 20 cards are averaged to produce a Handicap Index.

Therefore anyone with a WHS handicap will hopefully have submitted enough cards to have such a status. There is no longer a need to wait for competitions or Supplementary to enter cards, as Social Golf scores can be entered via the App or Members Hub on a PC and therefore it is much easier to make sure the handicap reflects current form.

Thanks

Steve Murphy
General Manager

We have just been advised that George Aldersley sadly passed away on Sunday 7th March.
George was a member for 35 years. Although he left the club some years ago, many Members will remember him, especially for the fantastic Company events that he held here for his staff.
Our thoughts are with his family and friends

Now that golf is once again on the horizon we can look forward with fingers crossed to the season ahead.

After being cancelled last year, the plan is for the Leagues to go ahead this year starting from June. More details will follow soon.

For those of you who don't already know, these are matches against other local-ish clubs usually played on Saturdays and are a very enjoyable mixture of competitive 4ball matchplay golf followed by a snack and a beer or 3 with our opponents.

Mick Dowling is continuing as Warren League Captain and I have passed the Hilliard League Captain's armband to Mark Linsdall who has always been a keen supporter of the matches and is looking forward to the year ahead.

In the short term I'll be happy to field any queries as I haven't actually seen Mark for ages and will do my best to make sure that the changeover is a smooth one.

Watch this space for more information as and when the details are finalised.

Barry Pearce
Outgoing Hilliard League Captain

Projects update

In my annual report for the AGM, I mentioned some projects that we are looking to undertake and thought I would give you an update on progress:-

• Replacing the other side of the front fence Now fully completed – have a look if you are passing! (£10,200)
• Installing a Bike Rack Completed and in place outside the gents’ changing rooms (£500)
• Smokers’ Brolly Parasol ordered and we are to start electrical installation imminently (£5000)
• Lighting in 19th Parts ordered and work to be completed before re-opening. (£4000)
• Ladies’ entrance Arranging meeting with Ladies’ Captain and House Director to start plans/requirements (Cost – to be established)
• 13th Tee Awaiting 3rd quote met with Green Keeper and now reviewing plans (Cost – lots of variables – to be established)
• Outside of Club House Need better weather! We will start as soon as possible. (Cost est.£5000)
If anyone has any further suggestions, please email me neal.davies@barclays.com and I will raise at the next Board Meeting.

Regards

Neal Davies
Treasurer

I should like to congratulate our new Captain Steve Denman, his son Jack, our new handyman and green keeping staff for working so hard through the dark winter months.

The many improvements that have been made, especially the main car park fencing, car parking bays, flower boxes and the façade of our Club house, make me proud to be a member.

I have only walked the course a few times but the hard work and dedication of our green keeping staff is self evident. The course has been greatly improved through this most difficult of times. I’m sure all our members can’t wait to walk the hallowed turf once more. It will be a joy and I hope our members will actively thank all concerned for their sterling endeavours.

Hopefully, very soon our course and Clubhouse will resound to the sound of laughter, lively banter and the chink of glasses brimming with beer.

Well done to everyone.

Sincere regards

Bill Rookes

Following the AGM last week (video of meeting below) the following Members have been voted into the Officer and Director positions:
Captain - Steve Denman
President - Monty Powell
Vice-Captain - Jim McAllister
Treasurer - Neal Davies

Directors - Barry Pearce, Steve Denman, Bharat Patel & Larry Coyne.

Congratulations to those that were voted in, and a big thanks to those that stood as Candidates

<

It is with deep regret to inform Members that Alma White passed away on Saturday 23rd January from complications due to the Coronavirus.

Alma was a much loved member (for 57 Years) of the club, and was afforded an Honorary membership in 2006. She will be missed by the Ladies Section in particular.

If we receive any details of Funeral etc, I will update this post on the Forum.

Steve Murphy
General Manager

Unfortunately we have just heard that John died on 14th January of Covid-19 and associated health issues.
John was a member for over 30 years and moved to Social membership in 2015.
Our thoughts are with his family.

Barry Pearce and Gary Simmons have both contacted the club and advise us that they been tested positive for Covid-19, although not displaying symptoms.

These join other cases of peolple close to members, so it is a stark reminder to us all to be extra vigilant, and wear face coverings when ever you come into the locker rooms etc, plus the Pro Shop of course.

This new variant has really affected London and the South East, so please be extra careful.

The Surrey Seniors Team played their 4th Round match, home to Foxhills Golf Club, and unfortunately lost a very close match, 3 – 2.

The team comprised:

Chris Wroe (captain on the day)
Mark Brailly
Mick Dowling
Fidelis D’Melo
Jay Patel
Bob Bradley
Brian Parnell
Terry Chard
Mel Burrows
Monty Powell

Over the course of the season, 17 x different players have represented the club, and there have been some last minute ‘replacements needed’, which has never presented a problem due to the great team spirit shown by the ‘squad’.
So congratulations to everyone for a great effort this season…….and let’s hope we can go even further next year.

Cheers, and Merry Christmas everyone.

Steve Illingworth

Members will have realised that the Gent's Weekend Stableford has not yet been closed. This is due to a Software issue at Club Systems.
None of the scores have been transferred from the Member's Hub, or Howdidido App into the Competition software.
Therefore we are unable to close the Stableford. The Support Team at Club Systems are working on a solution but this may take another day or two.
Please bear with with us while we await the outcome, and hopefully they will be able to resurrect the scores and apply them.
Thanks

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It may not be possible to resurrect the scores, but the software support team having been working hard on a solution. We are not the only Club affected, but it is not a Nationwide issue.
Therefore if any member wishes to submit their score from the last weekend, I will collate them and as soon as possible enter them into the Stableford Competition once the issue has been resolved.
Club Systems have apologised for this issue, but it was linked to the switch over from CONGU to WHS handicaps, and is out of the control of the actual Clubs themselves.
Thanks

I understand that, for obvious reasons, the Club will not be providing the usual ‘service’ that enables Members to post Christmas Cards in the ‘Pidgeon holes’ in the Clubhouse Hall this year due to the necessary restrictions associated with Corona Virus.
So for my many friends at the Club for whom I do not have a home address, please accept my sincere good wishes for a Happy Christmas and a healthy and more ‘normal’ New Year.

John Scott’.

I would like to say on my return to the golf club, how well it looked with all the lines in the car park, the pro shop with its new coat of paint. the trees trimmed up the 1st and 13th and I most probably missed some more bits but I would like to thank all of those involved, on making SPGC looking so good, same my golf did not live up to the surroundings
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Thank you Peter.
A lot of planning and hard work was carried out during Lockdown, and we are delighted at the response to the Course and Club House appearance from Members so far. There is more to come on the horizon.
I will pass on your thanks.

Steve Murphy
General Manager

Happy to see golf course and club re-opening but same old problem with getting a booking this morning 29/11/20 app crashed for 6 minutes and the moment it opened all slots were in the process of being booked wish I was as quick on the draw (lots of budding gunslingers here). What I do find irritating is slots being held for up to 20 minutes and one slot for almost 40 minutes, I think the 10 minute hold and repeat is a joke and in my opinion people are just hogging bookings as they arrange four balls not really in the right spirit of the club ethos. I do really think that once held a booking should begin with named members not guests or tba and the clock time should be shortened to no more than 5 minutes and no repeat if you click on book just BOOK. To make matters worse I phoned the golf shop at 8 o clock and a further forty times before it answered Jack says first call he received was 8.30 so not much good I managed to get one of only two slots left so once again I believe this system can be worked to various advantages

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Thanks Jim

Your email was discussed at length at the Golf Committee Meeting and can report as follows:
The Servers for the two main software companies were "hit" with approx 770k members across England trying to access the start times, and whilst this is extremely annoying for those members whose phones/tablets crashed, it was was a short period and was quickly restored.
With regard to the booking hold times: These will show Booking in Process when Members sign onto the Hub and are reserving a tee time. The software will "hold" a time for up to 10 mins only. If you refresh your page then it will show a booking name. Often a Cache will just show the Booking in Progress notice. We have no control over the wait times as it part of the Country-Wide system and is the same for each club.
We will appeal again to Members to arrange for just one party of each Four-Ball to try to arrange bookings, and that way, not more than one slot is reserved at one time, and it allows other members to book those times.
Thanks
Golf Committee

We're almost back! Only a day to go before the first golf for a month.
Paul Byfield our Captain will be raising a new flag at approx. 11:30am to kick start the reopening.
Members are asked to respect the tee sheets, as we try to accommodate the large demand for games.
Members that book "Guests" are reminded to include the names, and advise the Pro Shop in advance if they are unable to attend. There have been instances where guest have been booked in repeatedly, but never show for a game. With the decreased daylight, it is important that we utilise tee times to the maximum.
Full details on the reopening of the Bar and Clubhouse will be published today and emailed to all Members.
Thank you

Steve Murphy
General Manager

Just a reminder that the Seniors Christmas Stableford will be held on Monday 7th December. It will be an all day Competition bearing in mind the limited daylight hours.
All Seniors welcome, and pay the entry fee in the Pro Shop before your round.

Geoff Dunkley
Seniors Committee Member

In anticipation of the Course opening next Wednesday, we have made arrangements for the tee times for Saturday and Sunday 5th & 6th December off the 11th Tee.
Before Lockdown, these tee times were available by calling in at the pro shop or phoning.
Obviously the pro shop cant open until next Wednesday, so Mick and Jack will be in the Pro Shop this Saturday & Sunday from 8am to 9am to take phone calls to book for the 11th tee for the following weekend.
Times can of course be booked for the 11th during the week if there are spaces left.
Thanks

Can I just say the team (bar staff, catering, office team, pro’s) have done a great job to keep things running during these hard times, so thanks! As we know golf is great for the wellbeing, apart from the bad rounds that get us down, so looking forward to seeing everyone back when we allowed.

Stay safe and see you soon I hope

Roy

Can someone please explain why we cannot revert back to the 8 minute between tee times rather than the 10 minutes introduced due to Covid.
As times are now at a premium especially weekends this would release at least another 2 slots on both tees the race for spaces on a Saturday and Sunday is extremely difficult and the extra slots would certainly help .
We understand that these are exceptional times at present but other golf clubs seem to be working fine with some doing 6 and 7 minute slots .
Surely we’re not saying all these other clubs some of which are run by the council are all wrong are we?
Steve Healy

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The Golf Committee are convening a meeting this week to discuss tee times etc, and we will post an answer asap.
Thanks

Thursday 22nd October 2020

The Surrey Seniors team played their 3rd Round match.... away to Banstead Downs Golf Club,
and against strong opponents, came away with a 3 - 2 win once again.

Excellent result.

The team consisted of:

Chris Wroe (captain on the day)
Neville D'Aranjo
Mark Brailly
Mick Dowling
Phil Trevett
Nick Phipps
Jay Patel
Bob Bradley
Kevin Dredge
Terry Burtenshaw

Next up is Foxhills GC, at home. Date to be arranged.

Steve Illingworth

Dulwich Woodhouse Exiles Golf Society

Regarding our Golf Day on Friday 16th October -

We would like to thank you all for the efforts put in to make our day a very, very good one.

• Considering the 'unusual' situation, the staff were very friendly and you all made us feel welcome and comfortable.
• The whole day was very well organised.
• The food was excellent.
• The pro shop was helpful and efficient.

Consequently we had a thoroughly enjoyable day.
It was very much appreciated by all.

Thank You

Thank you for your support in my drive-in day, your cards, kind wishes and presents. It’s very much appreciated. I am happy that we could go ahead with the competition, have a good time and golf together and at the same time observe the new rules. It was a very good turn out with 15 teams taking part. The day started with breakfast, followed by our outgoing LC Madhu Shah putting out and then my drive-in. The weather was dry and not windy so there was no excuse for bad shots in golf!


I am happy to announce the winners of the Lady Captain’s Drive-in competition.
Texas scramble
Winning team Desna Allen, Mark Dilley and Jim McAllister

Runners up Sandra McKay, David Burke, Terry Burtenshaw and Eugene Lawlor

Longest drive on the 4th hole
Ladies Shannan Keen
Men Iain McFeat

Closest to the pin on the 17th hole
Ladies Sandra McKay
Men Eugene Lawlor
Congratulations to all the winners. The voucher prizes can be used in Mick Taylor’s pro-shop.
Thank you for your generous contributions to the LC charity, MindInCroydon, that has so far received £452 (!) in donations. If you would like to donate, you can transfer the monies electronically using the details of the SHIRLEY PARK GOLF CLUB LADY CAPTAIN CHARITY account, Sort code 20-24-61, A/c 40935581. Barclays Bank.

I would like to thank Shirley Park GC, Steve Murphy and Tonia Porter, for facilitating with the preparations for day.

My special thanks go to Barbara Coyne and Barbara Clearey for their help with organising the event and the donations to the charity, Ken McFeat for being the official observer for the competitions, Barry Pearce for marshalling the day and helping with all the score-cards, Mick Taylor and Jack Denman for their help with the prizes and the competition, Jordan Holdway for his help with creating the vouchers.

Looking forward to my captaincy this year.

Victoria McFeat
Lady Captain
SPGC

It was announced yesterday that all 32 London Boroughs, including Croydon, will be in local COVID alert level ‘high’ from Saturday (17th October). This means that any Member or guest must not socialise with anybody outside of their own household or recognised support bubble inside the Clubhouse. It will still be in order though for any Member or guest in this category to socialise in a group of 6 or less (Rule of 6) on the patio. Inside the clubhouse, tables will be arranged to accommodate this change in legislation.

Please do not move chairs or tables without authority, as this is extremely important to abide by these law changes.

Further Bulletins will be issued as and when the situation changes. In the meantime please follow government guidelines and…

PLAY SAFE, STAY SAFE!

Regards

Nick Phipps
Chairman

Hi everyone,
As you are aware London is now in tier 2 from Saturday. I spoke to Steve Murphy today about my drive-in. The good news it can still go ahead. It is important more so than ever that we do not congregate in big groups. Six is the maximum number, only if it is outside. Breakfast will be served at tables of four as originally planned in your teams. Wrap yourselves warm as it will be outside. The club has emphasised to me that when we finish playing, we must follow the new rules, which will be published concerning the clubhouse. Many of you may opt to go after the competition to avoid being in big numbers in the club. I understand that. I will let all players know about the prizes and the results of the drive-in.
Wishing everyone a good day this Saturday

Vicky McFeat

If you have taken out the insurance policy, please can you ensure to take photographs of all your golf equipment insured on this policy (as this will help in the unfortunate event when/if you have to make a claim). Thanks.

On a grey and cloudy Monday 34 players entered scores for the October Seniors Competition and again scores were very good with 17 players getting 30 or more points, the winning score was 39 points with Thomas Martin beating Mark Dilley on count back who also had 39 points, Neville D’Aranjo was 3rd with 36 Points and Peter Manley 4th with 35 points. Well done to all the winners and thanks to everyone for supporting the Seniors Section.

The next Seniors Stableford Competition will be on Monday 2nd November so please make a note in your diary or phone.
NOTE that this will be the first competition played under the NEW WORLD HANDICAP SYSTEM so please check your handicap before playing using the chart outside to Pro Shop.
In normal times this Competition is usually followed by the Seniors AGM but this year due to the COVID Restrictions it has been cancelled. There are 5 members on the Committee (Geoff Dunkley, Kiff Paddon, Ted Smith Secretary, Ian Crees Finance and Brendan Foley our Match Secretary). Brendan has indicated that he wishes to retire from his position as the Match Secretary so we are looking for a volunteer to replace him please. Anyone interested in taking on the role of Match Secretary please let me know (the-bear@talktalk.net or text 07818494066). The other 4 members are prepared to carry on for 2021. Brendan has already agreed dates for the 2021 season of our friendly inter club matches which I sincerely hope will happen? On behalf of the Committee I would like to thank Brendan for all his hard work organising the teams and matches prior to the COVID troubles.
Should anyone have any ideas (One idea has already been raised by Bill Rookes) they wish the Committee to take forward please let me know.
In the meantime stay safe, obey the rules and hopefully enjoy your golf.
Thanks
Geoff Dunkley
Seniors Committee Member

Victoria McFeat will be hosting her Drive-In competition on Saturday 17th October. She is delighted at the response and sign up for the competition.
Full details appear below with tee times, format etc.
Please keep strictly to the times of arrival as detailed, to avoid any congregation issues with Social Distancing.

Stuart Crayford won the Medal and Vase on Saturday with a net score of 69. Congratulations to Stuart on a good score.
The medal field was smaller than usual due to Sunday's course closure, but the result still stands as there was 20 entrants on the Saturday.

Golf Committee

Due to Covid no matches were played this year but a much reduced Finals Day is taking place this Saturday 10th at Kingswood.
Our players are Warren League Captain Mick Dowling and Millenary Bowl winner Mitch Dowling.

Good luck guys!!

Thanks.
Barry Pearce

The Seniors' September Stableford took place on Monday 14th September with another good field of 39 Players.

The weather was dry and very hot which reflected in some very good scores.

Two players had 40 points and winning on count back was Neville D’Arango with Thomas Martin 2nd also 40 points, 3rd was Jayant Patel with 39 points also winning on count back from Alan Alder 39 points.

Well done to Neville and all the other winners. All prizes will be added to their accounts in the Pro Shop.

Many thanks to all who played on Monday and the next Seniors' Stableford Competition will be Monday 5th October so please put this date in your diary or phone.

Enjoy your golf and stay safe.

Geoff Dunkley
Seniors Committee Member

The Surrey Seniors played their first match of the 'Summer'.... away to Guildford Golf Club, against a strong team, and came away with a 3 - 2 win.
The team consisted of:

Brian Parnell (captain on the day)
Mel Burrows
Eddie McLaughlin
Mick Dowling
Phil Trevett
Nick Phipps
Jay Patel
Ken McFeat
Fidelis D'Mello
Neville D'Aranjo

I know everyone will be wondering 'how did 'that' team...and especially one led by Brian Parnell on the day, manage to beat a good team, away from home?'

Well....it's a mystery to me as well.....must be down to motivational management... ha ha ha....well done to them all though....a good win.

Home to Banstead Downs in the next round.

Steve I

The next Seniors Stableford is being held on Monday 17th August.
Entry is through the Pro Shop and costs £4. Please give cash to Mick or Jordan on the day.
Normal booked tee times are fine to play in the competition. Once you have finished, please use the Members Hub or Howdidido App to enter scores. They can also be entered via the touch screen in the pro shop or the Players Bar
Geoff Dunkley

Another great Championship day at Shirley Park. The sun was shining, the temperature was hot and the golf was excellent in both rounds of the Club Championship and the Golden Jubilee on Sunday.
Steve Coyne led by 3 shots after a morning gross score of 72, from Steve Denman and Mark Linsdall, both on 75.
A superb afternoon round of 71 gave Steve the Trophy and honour of being the Club Champion for 2020. His total of 143 was a great score in the rising temperatures. Mark Brailey was Runner-up with a score of 152.
Steve Denman won the Golden Jubilee with his morning net score of 68 on countback from Mark Linsdall.

Well done to all the competitors in quite extreme conditions, and well done to Steve Coyne for his 4th Title.

The Club is sorry to report the loss of one of our long-standing members, George Watts. He died from an ongoing illness, on Monday 27th July 2020.

Funeral details to follow when known.

Calling all Seniors - We plan to run a Stableford competition on Monday 17th August, as per the diary.
Due to the current restrictions it will operate slightly differently to usual.
If you want to play just book yourself a tee-time, with whomever you choose - in the normal way.
Anytime on the day will do.
Before you play go into the pro shop, pay your entry fee (£3), and put your name down on the entry list.
After your round enter your score into our “Howdidido” system - you can access this via the club hub. You can also input your scorecard in the Pro Shop on the screen above the coffee machine.
We will publish the results here and winnings can be picked up from the pro shop.

Kiff

The funeral for Ron who sadly passed away on 22nd June, will take place on Monday 31st July and will be a Private Burial.

Any donations can be made to St Christopher's Hospice. Lawrie Park Road Sydenham SE26 6DZ

With immediate effect Tee Times will become available at 7am instead of the existing 1am.

This will allow more members to book at a reasonable time. The 7 day restriction is still in place as normal.

Thanks

Golf Committee

Over the last few weeks it has become the norm to be having to set alarms for 1am to book Tee slots for the following weekend morning slots. Would the club consider as other clubs appear to have done to allow the booking time to open at a more socially acceptable time?

Kind regards,
David


Thanks David

Yes, the software that was developed and installed in a very short time-scale did have some anomalies that have been slowly ironed out. The Golf Committee are currently considering the change and members will be advised of the revised "opening" time for booking shortly.
Thanks

Steve Murphy
General Manager

My opinion, for what it’s worth, is that whenever the time comes that ‘things are deemed to be back to normal’, and the club decides that a booking system is no longer required for any Covid-19 related reasons, that the online booking system should not be used for ‘general playing‘ times, i.e. Monday – Saturday and Sunday afternoon.

However, I think that it would be good to keep it in place for the only time that we already have a timesheet/booking system for members, and that is Sunday morning. I believe that by keeping an online system in place for this period it will be a much fairer and more efficient system, and will continue the club’s progression into the 21st century, (in line more or less every club, be that tennis, squash or golf, that has a period of times that can be booked). Surely, we can’t return to the Saturday 4:00pm ‘scrum’ to try and get a time for the following Sunday, can we?

The online system can be made available on the PC in the club presumably so that members who are there are not disadvantaged either?

The only adjustment to the system that I would suggest, should be that ‘opening’ of the bookings should be in line with what it was prior to the Covid-19 measures, i.e. opening on a Saturday afternoon at 4:00pm, just as the old paper sheet did, for one set of times, and the other set of times from 7:00am the following morning, once again in line with the way it would have been prior to Covid-19.

Regards
Steve Illingworth

It is with sadness that we advise Members of the death of two longstanding Members.

Dennis Imms died in February after a lengthy stay in a Hospice. The news only got to us in the last day or two. He would be fondly remembered as a Past Captain and Past President.

Ronnie Dennis died yesterday following an illness. We do not have any details as yet, but will publish any we do get.

Both will be remembered for their contribution and characters.

There seems to be some slight damage to the greens, caused, presumably, by birds such as crows.
Some clubs have installed bird scarers,These are quite attractive, so is it worth considering on our course?

Shirley Smith

I have a few observations on John Scott’s forum entry, see below. I have gathered comments from other Saturday morning swindles, other than the one in which I play, and the WAFATS, all of whom are in general agreement with my comments.

General comments
I’d like to begin by agreeing with John Scott by saying that you, Steve, and your team have worked very hard and effectively to make sure the booking system introduced to cope with these abnormal times works. Mick Taylor has also been justifiably praised.
John clearly moves in different circles to those that I do. I have canvassed a large number of people, many of whom play mostly in swindles, as mentioned above, and I have yet to find one single person who wants the emergency booking system to be retained once it is no longer needed under COVID 19 guidelines.

I have also canvassed local members’ clubs as to whether they normally operate a booking system. So far, 4 have said they do not and 3 have said they do. None has any plans to introduce a booking system; one club pro said he thought they would lose too many members if a booking system were to be introduced. I recognise that this is not a scientifically accurate survey, and it may not be reflected country-wide, but this is certainly not a vast majority, as John suggests.

The existing system, particularly on Saturday mornings, works very well because all the players understand and respond to the requirements of other people – newcomers, other club commitments and so on. I see no reason to change it; the current system has worked well for over 100 years.
The booking system.
It has been said that having a booking system has the advantage that players can arrive knowing that they have a booked, confirmed tee time. However, it is not difficult to avoid swindles (if, indeed you are averse to joining one), as Mick Taylor is clued up and will tell you when to turn up with the best chance of getting away promptly. You only have to ask.
Setting an alarm for 01:00 to book, usually on a day when you are getting up to play golf early the next morning, is tiresome. It means people do not sleep properly, other household members are infuriated and (certainly in my case) the next day’s game is ruined because players are too tired to concentrate.
Introduction of a booking system permanently would probably mean the end for swindles.


Swindles
Swindles need to be catered for, for all the obvious reasons – they are a great way to introduce new members, engender better social integration, players tend to stay longer than smaller groups in order to socialise, spending money, while waiting for the other players in the group to finish their rounds, if only to see who has won.
For players it is much more flexible, because, in normal times, people will be travelling with work, visiting families taking days out, etc. All this means that it is more difficult to commit to playing 7 days in advance, which means letting down your playing partners when something crops up. Swindles avoid this problem.
Block booking for swindles will not work. By their very nature, the number of people turning up is quite variable. If not enough tee times are reserved, either some people will not get a game at all, or else later tee times will have to be put back, which will no doubt anger the players affected. If too many tee times are reserved, slots are wasted. Furthermore, if block bookings were set aside for swindles on Saturday mornings and the ladies, nobody else would be able to play at all between 08:00 and 11:00. At least at the moment, other players can fit in between swindles.
Swindles promote mixing within the club. I know, too, that a number of players left Broke Hill GC, before it closed, and joined SPGC precisely because they were forced into using a booking system.
A booking system requires that fixed times are allocated. If that time is too short, players will begin to queue and become frustrated. Players will feel that at being pushed to keep ahead of players behind. If the time is too long, tee times are wasted. A turn up and play system means that more people can play in any given time period.
I joined the club because (well, to some extent, at least) swindles are operated on Saturday mornings. I now join others on Tuesdays and Thursdays as well, and I have a very good social life within and outside the club with the players involved. A larger group such as that enjoyed by members of a swindle tend to be more likely than those who play in smaller groups to attend club social functions with their other halves. Such gatherings may help to recruit lady members, too.

The swindle players mentioned are committed to the club and have the club's prosperity at heart. This was shown by most of them responding to the call for interim advance payment of their club subscription.
A booking system has been tried before and was withdrawn after a trial period. We don't need to introduce something else now in such austere times and risk alienating a proportion of the membership, which may have financial implications. Maintaining the status quo is definitely something that the members of various swindles would advocate.

Malcolm Graveling

I should like to thank Our Vice Captain Steve Denman, his son Jack and Peter Grimwood for the work they have done recently to improve the fabric of our Club house and our halfway hut. Peter also did a great job of installing the air vents and Delay timer switch in the trolley shed.

Finally, many thanks to all the members who kindly gave up their time to seed divots and work on some of our bunkers especially those on the 13th during the lockdown.

These positive actions by our members epitomise the true spirit of Shirley Park and make it such a great club. Well done.

Bill Rookes

It is becoming increasingly apparent that members or guests who book a tee time on the Club’s temporary Covid 19 booking system and then decide not to show up or even have the common courtesy to cancel are leaving these times empty rather than opening them up for other members to use.
Remember we are all paying members of a private golf club that had a system of turn up and play that worked for over a 100 years. In my opinion it is not under any circumstances acceptable to pay large membership fees and then operate as most public golf clubs do, that’s why we join private clubs in the first place.
I appeal to all those members, which are the large majority that agree with this view to have their voices heard.
The sooner Shirley Park gets back to normal as a private members club the better for all concerned and scrap this ludicrous booking system when we safely can.

Regards Jim
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Thanks Jim

I will address the question of start times in my Chairman's Blog which will be published within a day or so.

In a nutshell, we are following the instructions of the Governing Bodies and all Members Clubs, no matter how prestigious or traditional they are are following these directives. Once they are lifted, then the Club will be able to assess the position with consultation to members included of course, so
please therefore bear with us during these extraordinary times, and we all waiting patiently for normality in some form or other to return!

Nick Phipps
Chairman

In response to the debate about the tee time booking system, how on earth is it acceptable to have to book a time for Sunday morning at 1.00 in the morning, the sooner it goes back to the old system the better or a might as well belong to a public course
As Barry Adamson rightly points out ,the appearance when coming in to the club is disgraceful, especially as it's the best time of the year to attract new members . 1st impressions are important ,the fence has been down for months and the paintwork to the clubhouse looks old and tired .Both jobs wouldn't cost a lot to address
Kind regards Mick Cusworth

Firstly I would like to thank Steve Murphy, Mick Taylor, the Board and ground staff for all the work they have done during these unfortunate events.

I totally agree with John Scott, as one of my criticisms of the club is that it does not have an online booking system. It can be quite frustrating turning up to find you are in a queue of people waiting to tee off, and going up to the 11th doesn't always work out well. So in my opinion online booking would be a vast improvement. Most of the people I speak to seem to be in agreement with this.

Tony Linke

Myself and other members do not understand why we can’t go back to the original system of booking, as this has worked well for the last hundred years.
We also feel that the length of time it has taken to repair the toilet doors on the halfway hut is not acceptable and the front fence, we do not understand why this has not been repaired as it looks disgraceful, also the general untidiness around the club house and pro shop.

Barry Adamson

With reference to John Scott's message on the forum I can't see why tee times should change to a booking scheme as it worked fine before Covid19. I for one would like to play when I want to play,perhaps sometimes at a couple of hours notice,obviously this is not possible with the booking system, therefore myself and quite a few other members would perhaps review there membership with the club

Regards

Peter Stanhope

May I begin by saying that Steve Murphy and several other Members deserve enormous credit and our thanks for the speed with which they implemented the online Tee Booking System that enabled us to quickly resume playing golf once the Government eased the ‘lock down’ provisions. Apart from some early criticisms by the ‘usual suspects’ I feel that the system has worked very well and is now enabling Members to secure defined tee times and also conform to the prescribed ‘social distancing’ criteria. Mick Taylor has also worked tirelessly to ensure that the system has worked successfully.
The extension to allow playing in four balls has added to the enjoyment of our golf and increased the numbers who will be able to play.
Having spoken to numerous Members since the commencement of the Tee Booking System, the vast majority are very enthusiastic and would welcome its continuation, subject to a few minor revisions, as soon as our golfing lives hopefully resume to ‘normal’ circumstances. The suggested revisions would include that a fixed number of tee times being ‘reserved’ for the well-established Group ‘swindles’ on various mornings and afternoons, together with ‘block’ tee times reserved for Club Competitions and Matches on designated dates. Such changes would reduce the need for members to go online or telephone to seek tee times for their regular weekly ‘swindle groups’ knowing that a block of tee times were reserved. Unreserved tee times could still be used by Members making unscheduled visits to the Club for a game.
I am hopeful that, in due course, the Board will consider making the current Tee Reservation system a permanent feature at our Club, subject to a few minor ‘tweaks’, as this will enable Members and visitors to secure predictable start times for their visits to play at the Club. These arrangements have been successfully in use in the vast majority of Golf Clubs for a number of years.
May I suggest that, once the current temporary scheme has been fully evaluated for a couple of months, it would be helpful if the Club conduct an online ‘survey’ of the membership to obtain a broad consensus of views which would inform the Board before any final decisions are made on this issue.

John Scott

Many thanks to all the members who have paid their Subscriptions so far. Please do note however, that your Membership Account on the website/members hub will not be updated for a number of weeks.

We have been operating on reduced numbers and this is one aspect that Claire will have to catch up when she returns from Furlough, along with the many other crucial returns etc.

Therefore please bear with us and your subscription account will be updated online.

Thanks

The Club have now opened the Practice Ground to Members. We ask that this be treated with caution and due consideration to others.
A two Metre spacing is still required, and it is important that only your own easily identifiable golf balls are used and retrieved.
If others are waiting, then please limit your practice to approx 20 minutes.
The Professional Team have priority, as this is one of their only source of income at present.
Please let the Professional Shop know if you are intending to use the Practice Facilities as Mick will be able to let members know if it is already in use.

The Practice Nets have also been opened and the same Social Distancing should be followed and use of own Golf Balls.

Thank you

Following the England Golf Directive received today, the Club is pleased to bring back 3 & 4 ball groups to the tee sheet.

All existing 2-ball bookings through to Friday 5th June will remain as they are. With effect from Saturday 6th June the tee sheet will reflect up to 4-ball play.

As is the case now, you can book up to 7 days in advance, and the tee sheet should be live at a minute past midnight on that day.

The tee times are being retained as 10 minutes and this will be under constant review. The most important issue remains the safety of Members and Guests, and strict Social Distancing will be paramount to the future of the club. Local Council Trading Officers and Health & Safety Officers are paying unannounced visits to many Golf Clubs to check on timings and distance control. Please make sure you know the requirements.

Many Members have been asking if the Tee Time system will remain in place. This subject has not been discussed as yet, and we need to get through this unprecedented time, and the situation will be under regular review in line with advice from England Golf

Thanks for all the encouraging words regarding the re-opening, and The Board and Management will continue to strive to make the best of the situation for the Club and the Members.

Steve Murphy
General Manager

I'd like to thank the Membership for their understanding as we get back to golf after a 7 week lay-off. This first week of tee-times, and Social Distancing has been so well observed by the majority of members. As you will no doubt be aware, we have already reacted, by relaxing the 48 hour gap to 24, and the Board and Management will keep everything under constant review.

I would point out that all members have a responsibility to adhere to the new Rules as published, and anyone not following the simple instructions will be asked to leave the course. Let's just be sensible and it will never have to come to that.

Thanks, and enjoy your first games for what seems likes years!

Nick Phipps
Chairman

Warren and Hilliard Leagues cancelled this year.

You won’t be surprised to hear that after a vote from Captains of all clubs involved, both leagues have been cancelled this year but will be back in 2021.

Mick Dowling and Barry Pearce

THANK YOU TO VOLUNTEERS -
A big Thank You from us all is due to the volunteers who over the Bank Holiday Weekend donated their "exercise time" and effort to do some of the work the Club's skeleton staff has been unable or not allowed to perform on the course and surrounds.

It is gratifying to all of us on the Board to see so many members willing to give up their free time for the good of the Club in these troubled times.

We will all be able to benefit from the fruits of their labour which was co-ordinated by Steve Denman and Larry Coyne.

The imminent opening of the course on Wednesday 13th May will give every one a boost as golf is such a factor in all our lives.
Regular updates have been posted by email this week about arrangements for the big day once we have digested the details of how we should proceed.

In closing, thank you again to all of you volunteers and let's hope we all get the chance to enjoy the course soon.

With best wishes
Nick

We are pleased to announce that the Golf Course will re-open on Wednesday morning at 8am.
Play will be restricted to two balls and will be bookable on-line.
Full details of the necessary protocols will be published tomorrow morning, together with details of how to access the booking system.
Members will be able to book up to 7 days in advance, but only be able to reserve one tee time at a time and will be able to access the booking system again 48 hours later.

Steve Murphy
General Manager

I have read the update and the Q&A I am very impressed with the Boards response and would like to convey my thanks for all their hard work at this time.
I also like to thank Mark Somers for asking some very hard questions, equally Neal Davis very positive answers and plans for club going forward it is now up to the membership to stand strong and support the club in these incredible times you all have my full support tough times ahead
Cheers David Corper

I would like to express my sincere thanks and gratitude to the board and our GM Steve Murphy for all their hard work behind the scenes during these awful difficult times.
They are going above and beyond in giving up their time in order to get us through this difficult period.
Steve Healy

In the first instance, I would like to say I understand the predicament that the club is in and ultimately it is down to the members to do whatever we can to support the club and protect its future in what is very difficult and challenging times. I am happy to support this initiative however I like many other members have a number of questions and clarifications that I think need to be answered. It is clear that we cannot at this stage predict when the current restrictions will be lifted to enable the club to open and start to generate revenue again, but we do need to understand in the broader sense more details on the measures the club has taken and what the risks are for members who are prepared to support this initiative.

MS It would have been helpful for the financial position to be explained in more detail with respect to its current commitments, ongoing costs and whether we have expedited the Furlough arrangements to the full extent for the clubs employees;
ND We have prepared a cashflow forecast to the end of June which suggests we can survive without any 20/21 subscriptions but this does fully utilise our overdraft facility. All staff have been furloughed bar 3 green staff (we really need to keep on top of the course) and the GM who has taken a 30% pay cut. The vast majority of expenditure has been stopped barring a few utility bills (which will obviously drop given the closure of the clubhouse), some course materials and some small sundry payments. I have done the cashflow on a “worst case” scenario and hopefully the reality will actually be a slight improvement.

MS With respect to the request for advance payment of subscriptions, how many members are you looking for to support this for it to be viable and on that basis what is the forecast in terms of cash flow to support the ongoing maintenance of the course and facility to support this, essentially how long can the club last on the basis of a level of contribution; e.g. Advance payment of say 100 members generating £80k would enable the club to survive for xx weeks?
ND Each year we send out renewal invoices in mid-April for payment by end of June. We are mindful of the fact that many members will not be working during this period and of course, Shirley Park is actually closed so we did not want to follow this practice. Rather, our intention was to ask if you can then great but by no means is this obligatory. The timing of this request was obviously a sensitive issue but the main reasons for doing it this week were 1) to keep well ahead of our cash requirements, 2) to keep roughly to the timing of previous years and 3) to allow Tonia to prep the work before being furloughed.

MS How viable is it for the club to manage the annual costs to run the course given the shortfall of over 2 months in lost revenue running into the 2020/2021 financial year?
ND We have a mix of fixed and variable costs as with most businesses and of course, we can turn some off i.e. the bar expenses but there is no denying that closure of SP severely restricts our income. Clearly we are missing out on bar income, societies, green fee and functions. With regard to subscription revenue, it is difficult to say at the moment how this will pan out. We have already had a flood of people paying but understandably, some will want to wait for obvious reasons. I am doing a weekly cashflow but the real crunch time will be when we return and can see what the costs of closure were and how our membership numbers are standing up.

MS What are the clubs plans to achieve savings to recoup losses made in this period of lockdown?
ND As above, depending on what the accounts look like will enable us to then prepare a forecast for the rest of the year (20/21). I would then propose updating this forecast each month as our initiatives either work or don’t. I often tell the board that this is a simple calculation and if we don’t increase the top line then we will have to attack costs but without seeing what exactly is required, it is difficult to pinpoint actions at this precise moment.

MS In asking the members to take some risk, without any real understanding of the risk exposure I am surprised that the request for support has not been incentivised in any way, e.g. by offer of green fee vouchers or other measures which do not result in actual cost being incurred;
ND I guess my stance was to “shake the tree” at first and see what the results were. If this did not work then perhaps offer an incentive. I have slightly mixed thoughts on that as if members are genuinely unable to pay now, how would an incentive help and also of course, there could be cost implications down the road although I do take your final point. At present, the response has been phenomenal considering the email only went out at 16.40 yesterday.

MS Has the club taken up the offer of mortgage holidays and or the loan arrangements on offer from government?
We have two mortgage accounts both of which have had the maximum Capital Repayment Holidays applied. Similarly, our lease commitments have been put on hold. We are investigating the possibility of a Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan (CBIL). We currently have mixed messages on this with one bank turning us down flat and Barclays (who I work for in another area) sending us an application form.

MS Has the club requested to defer land rental and business rates from the Council which I believe are available?
ND Yes this has been done in addition to a VAT deferral

MS What is the clubs view on risk to the current membership levels given that some people may have lost their jobs/income, this could be expressed in % terms and what is the bare minimum viable level of membership for the club to continue to operate?
ND My previous comments give a view on this but it really is difficult to tell how our membership will stand up. Depending on how many (and who) leaves and for how long will determine the reduction in revenue and unless this is replaced, will have to be stripped out of our costs. This analysis will have to be ongoing and will move around I am sure. I am not trying to be elusive but the reality is that we should only incur expense that we can afford and must work within our income levels.

MS Looking ahead, the club will undoubtedly have to consider ways of increasing revenue by increased membership, fund raising, increased golf societies, golf academies and supporting younger membership and achieving greater use of the clubs facilities for functions. It would be helpful to provide some context into how the club is going to achieve this over and above simply relying on subscriptions and usual monthly income through the bar and green fees etc;
ND You are quite right and I have advocated a more commercial approach (without losing the private members’ feel) since I joined the Board. I am very keen to tap into the membership for ideas and we will definitely be holding meetings in this respect when we are back. If just 10% of our members brought a new function or golf society to Shirley Park then that would completely transform us. You will always have golf members that just want the facilities in return for just their fees and of course that is fair enough but I always feel that if we could all do a little bit more then we could really make some progress. If we make more money, we will spend it on the course and clubhouse and hopefully that will keep the existing membership happy and also attract new members and so on.

Any member that does have any concerns or queries can send an mail to Neal Davies (neal.davies@barclays.com) or Barry Pearce (bazisbest@gmail.com) who will be happy to respond.

I am writing to inform you that under these uncertain times we currently find ourselves in, the kitchen will now, (with affect from Saturday 21st March), be working the revised hours 11am to 4pm, seven days a week.

I do hope you will still come and support both the Club and Kitchen at this difficult time. Thank you and take care.

Tonia Porter
Assistant Secretary

"Dear Steve & Tonia
Many thanks for yesterday to you both and all of your staff for a very and most enjoyable day. After all of the trials and tribulations that have been going on over the last few months it was great that we manged to hold our spring away day that was enjoyed by all. After all the hard work by everyone a great day was had, golf, weather, food and good friendship at a difficult time. We hope we might repeat it in the future, one again on behalf of Reigate Hill GC - Pilgrims - thank you very much,"
Kind regards
Ken

Unfortunately due to the current uncertainty regarding the Coronavirus (covid-19) it was deemed appropriate to postpone this event until we can safely host such an interactive show. This will ensure the audience can fully appreciate the whole experience.
We will advise members of the rearranged date in due course.
Thank you
Steve Murphy
General Manager

Due to heavy rain falls recently, it has been necessary to ban trollies and single seater buggies.

We hope to have these reinstated asap. I would however point out that there is evidence that some members are taking these too near the greens and roped off areas.

Please use your common sense and keep well away from sodden areas and the greens.

Nick Phipps
Chairman

Just so that you are aware, we will be putting up the Boxing Day Scramble sign up sheet, on Friday morning.

Including 5 cards unsigned and 5 that may have been signed, but were not submitted, so we'll never know.

Please note that your score may not trouble the scorers, but your marker can't have his score checked if you don't submit your card.

Also your card must have your handicap noted. Thanks.

Eddie McLaughlin

Remembrance Sunday and yesterday were well observed/respected by the members recently. Thank you.

Great day for all yesterday & well organised.
Due to the heavy rain previous night & water logged fairways & paddy field in the rough, I & few others were amazed that Buggies were allowed. On one had we try & improve by seeding & treating the course & on the other we ruin the effort put in by greenkeepers. This especially after the AGM, where members felt the course needs to improved & maintained.
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Thanks Hitesh
Richard and his team were on the course at 4am to rake bunkers, clear the greens and checking that the tee’s and hole positions were all ok. Richard made the call to allow the buggies. This is a very difficult decision to make when nearly a quarter of the field were due to use buggies, and potentially not be able to play. The whole day was such a great success, and Ricahrd made the correct call in allowing buggies for this prestigious occasion. If it was simply an ordinary golf day, then I imagine his assessment may have been different.

The Overseeding has been a great success, and after inspection this morning very little has been disturbed or damaged. He should be congratulated on instigating this Program which has enhanced the course at
a time when many courses are still suffering the effects of two consecutive dry summers.

There are a few areas that will be able to be repaired, and the conditions are conducive to this at the moment

Unfortunately we are often faced with "damned if you do, and damned if you don't" situations, and these are not taken lightly, so rest assured that the health of the course remains the foremost in Richard's and his team's assessments.

Thanks for your concern Hitesh and appreciate you asking for the reasons.

Nick Phipps
Chairman

Hilliard League Qualifier result

1st Mitch Dowling 37 points
2nd Andy Coyne 36 points on countback from Larry Cuddon

Well played guys. Mitch and Andy will represent the Club
on Finals Day at Kingswood on October 12.

In the meantime we wish Micky and his Warren League team good luck at Leatherhead in their Semi-Final.......... and in the Final we hope.

BP

Well another enjoyable afternoon for the warren league qualifier, with Terry Chard winning the afternoon scoring a fantastic 40 points. He will be joined by Tom Walsh who finished second on countback.
However should we win the semi-final against Leatherhead Bippen Patel will join Terry as Tom will be in the final. I will report back after the semi-final with match report, hopefully a winning one!
The team is as follows

Mick Dowling
Tom Walsh

Barry Adamson
Steve Healy

Hitesh Patel
Wasim Yousef

Gordon Irvine
Chris Wroe

Nathan Lacey
Richard Whitehead

A big thankyou to everybody who has taken part this year and I hope you enjoyed the season. Good luck to everyone including Mitch Dowling and Andy Coyne who qualified for the Hilliard plate.
Cheers
Mick Dowling

After another very good season we missed out on a Semi Final place on countback by the smallest margin, 1 point over 8 games. So near and yet.......

As always, we also continue to try to give a game to everyone who wants to play (whose handicap is Scratch to 12) and that is the intention going forward.

As Micky says this Saturday September 7th from 1 o'clock sees the Qualifier for Hilliard League and Warren League Finals Day (October 12th at Kingswood).

All those who have played this season and wish to play on BOTH dates if successful, please contact me directly or put your name on the sheet outside the Lounge.

Barry Pearce
Captain

A customer of Neal Davies, MO Holdings Ltd moved their annual golf day from Leatherhead GC to Shirley Park and played last week.

Tonia has been liaising with the company since and was on the phone to one of the organisers Mr Lipski who said ‘having done this for so many years, this was definitely one of the best experiences, due to you all, absolutely marvellous. All our guests loved the day so thank you once again’.

We should all be proud of our golf club and of course, if you know any societies you can certainly feel safe sending them our way.

Further to the problems at the 6th and 7th holes caused by the irrigation burst, the Board would like to thank the green staff for their extraordinary efforts to investigate, and repair the fault. Extremely early mornings, followed by full working days, were essential to keep the greens and tees alive, and we thank them for going the extra mile.

The area will be Ground Under Repair for a while and therefore a ball lying in an area marked with white lines, (if in the General Area of the Course), affected by the irrigation work, including tractor marks, may be lifted and cleaned and dropped under Rule 16.1b. This Temporary Rule will be reviewed as the conditions allow.

All Members that play in the various Captain's Prize events over the next week or so, are invited to join me either before or after the Prize Giving on Sunday 23rd June for a Buffet served in the dining room. Just smart casual dress required, although I would appreciate all Captain's wearing their Green Jackets.

I look forward to seeing you all there

Barry Pearce
Club Captain

Well, unfortunately this will be the last Surrey Seniors post for this season, as the team lost on Wednesday 12th June, at home to Surbiton.
It was an unpleasant day with the rain starting to fall the minute that we stepped onto the 1st tee, getting steadily heavier as the afternoon went on. It subsequently appears that we are 'fair weather golfers' as we lost 4 - 1..... ha ha.
The result was slightly contrived as two pairs had to abandon their matches with the score at the time standing as the result.....me and Nick Phipps were 1 down walking onto the 17th, but the hole and surrounding 4 feet was under water, and therefore unplayable, so we shook hands at 1 down......and a similar thing happened with Eddie McLaughlin and Phil Trevett, who were 3 down on the 13th when the course became unplayable for them.
There had to be a result with no time available for a rematch, and that seemed to be the best way of facilitating that, on the day.

Results therefore:
Steve I & Nick Phipps lost 1 down on 17th
Mark Brailey and Mick Dowling won 2 & 1
Brian Parnell & Chris Wroe lost 3 & 1
Mel Burrows & Monty Powell lost 3 & 2
Eddie McLaughlin & Phil Trevett lost 3 down on 13th

Well done and thanks to the team for their efforts this year, and look forward to next year.

Steve Illingworth

The Captain's Away Day at East Sussex National has been very well supported, and we are all looking forward to it.

Unfortunately we have had one member that has had to pull out due to health reasons.

If any member would like to join us, then please contact me on 07913 067920.

Thank you.

Barry Pearce
Captain

I am delighted to say that the Summer Ball went outstandingly well.
The quality and quantity of food was excellent as was the service so I'm very grateful to our new caterers. Since they've taken over the improvement has been dramatic and it's refreshing to hear so many positive remarks from members and guests.
As always, our bar staff looked after us superbly and the band lived up to expectations and more (good choice Steve Healy!!).
All this was made possible by Tonia's efforts in advertising the event, handling the replies and constantly updating the table plan as numbers, names and choices from the menu changed frequently!
All in all it was a super evening which I hope will encourage even more members to come in future and to host their own functions at the Club.

Barry Pearce
Captain

It was interesting to see our club from an outsiders view, yesterday as a society member.
The meal was fantastic as was service from bar staff. The supply of towels went down well, and the group were very complimentary about the course.
One thing that was mentioned was the absence of Verti cutting on the fairways to help repair last years damage. The rain yesterday was not getting into the ground at all.

Thanks to all the staff for a great job
Bob Bradley

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Thanks Bob

We try to give all members, guests, visitor green fees and of course Societies, an exceptional service and the packages available are great value. Thank you for bringing the group here, and all members are reminded that we offer many different options for golf days. We will pass on your kind comments about the food and bar staff etc.

With regard to the comments about Verti-cutting of fairways, we assume they mean Verti-draining, as this is a different process that does indeed aid drainage etc. We carried this out in winter on all aprons, approaches and selective thin fairways, and the recovery rates have been better than many clubs in similar situations, but still has some way to go before full recovery.

The continued dry spell in May has led to further compaction, but it would not be good practice to Verti drain in these conditions, the holes left by the machinery could easily break apart, leaving messy fairways with more erratic lies. We have continued to scarify, seed and fertilise the weaker areas, and the growth on fairways will flourish once we have a period of sustained rain.

Glad everyone enjoyed their day and look forward to hosting them again next time.

Steve Murphy
General Manager

The greens are hard due to the dry conditions. A watering agent has been applied to them which will help retain moisture.

Watering the greens to make them soft is not recommended for the greens' long term condition. Once we have some rain they will soften naturally.

The 10th tee was only cut once a week as it was new turf, but from this week the green staff will be cutting twice a week.

Regards

Nick Phipps

I'd just like to make a couple of observations, and ask a couple of associated questions......

The first being that the greens are excellent....for putting on right now, however it's impossible to stop a ball on them, so flying a ball into the green is almost out of the question.

As an example, on Wednesday 22nd May, I had a 144 yards to a front pin on the 10th....I hit a 9 iron which came down with snow on it, and landed as good as I can get it (doesn't happen often!) on the front of the green. It ended up six feet short of being in the trees at the back?!

Is there anything that can be done to make the greens more receptive in the summer months, as it's a complete lottery for those of us who 'try' and hit the greens with our approach shots.

Since I used the 10th as an example, my second point relates to the 10th itself. Once again, on Wednesday, the tee blocks were set back for the medal, on an area of the tee that hasn't been cut? So a few feet in front of the tee blocks, there was a nicely cut teeing area, but for the medal we were effectively teeing up 'in the rough'......and this is not the first time it's been like this on this particular tee this year.

Is there any particular reason that this area hasn't been cut? i.e. because it's recently laid turf? If so, then perhaps the back end of the cut area could be used for future competition?

Regards

Steve I

In response to MC's recent question:

Mick, the divot trees will be coming back this year. Due to the dry conditions they would be a waste of time at the moment.

They were not used very much the last time we put them out.

Please every one use them as they will improve the course.

Regards

Nick Phipps

Steve, to help the green staff out, could the club re-introduce the seed buckets which were used a number of years ago to improve the condition of the fairways and around the greens?

Mick

Another good win for the Surrey Seniors team in the 1st Round of the Ling Trophy, 3-2 home to Coulsdon Court Vets, on Friday the 10th of May.

Steve I & Bob Bradley lost '1 down'
Kevin Dredge & Terry Burtenshaw lost on '1 down'
Eddie McLaughlin & Phil Trevett won 6 & 4
Paul Byfield & Chris Wroe won 2 & 1
Monty Powell & Mel Burrows won 3 & 2

An especially good win given the number of shots being given, which ranged from 8 as the lowest, up to 16 at the highest! The team now hosts Surbiton at home in the next round.

Steve Illingworth

Good win for the Surrey Seniors team in the qualifying round of the Ling Trophy, 3-2 away to West Surrey on Wednesday 3rd of April.

Steve Illingworth & Bob Bradley won 4 & 3
Nick Phipps and Mick Dowling lost on 2nd extra hole
Eddie McLaughlin & Phil Trevett win 5 & 4
Brian Parnell & Chris Wroe won 1 up
Monty Powell & Mel Burrows lost on 1st extra hole

Great performance by the whole team, with even the losing pairs going to extra holes.The team hosts Coulsdon Court next, in the 1st round proper.

Steve Illingworth
Captain of Surrey Seniors

A brief note of thanks to our staff. Our Golf Society recently was treated like royalty, from Tonia's contact and organisation skills, to Mike in the Pro Shop, the bar staff and the caterers. If this represented Shirley Park as 'the norm', then I am proud to call myself a member. Thanks to all.

Neville D'Aranjo

Dear all,
A big thank you to all of you who came along to the club to help me celebrate my 60th Birthday.
I hope that you had a great time.
It was great to see so many of you there to help me enjoy a night which has left me with so many happy memories.
Thanks also for the many cards and very generous gifts, all of which are greatly appreciated.
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Tina and the girls behind the bar for their hard work and also the catering staff for the buffet which, from comments I have heard, was very enjoyable.
A memorable time for me, a great night for Shirley Park, happy days.
Thank you all once again,
Terry Burtenshaw

The Chris Eldridge Trophy was played for on Monday 11th March with a good field of 26 players. Although windy it remained dry for the whole event and our ground staff did their best to get rid of most of the tree debris caused by the weekend windy weather.
The winner was Eddie Mills with 32 points, second was Geoff Dunkley also on 32 but losing on count back (sloppy back nine) and Ron Neville was 3rd with 30 points. Brendan Foley won nearest the pin on the 13th hole.
Thanks to all those who played and stayed for the presentation. Well done Eddie.
Personal thanks to Alan,Brian and Monty for an enjoyable 4ball.

Our Seniors matches start on the 18th March with an away match at Addington Palace and then on through the year until September. Sign up sheet on our notice board adjacent to Men’s locker room door.

There is also a sign up sheet for the Ladies & Seniors Texas Scramble to be played on Thursday April 25th followed by a Fish & Chip meal.

Thanks once again to all who played on Monday
Geoff Dunkley Seniors Committee Member

The Visitor Toilets on the ground floor will have some much needed renovation and replacements next week. They will be out of use from Monday 4th March to Wednesday 6th March. After the replacement work has been finished, then a new floor will be laid.
There will also be a renewal program in the Men's Locker Room later in the week.

Following the Rules Modernisation Presentations last week, I have attached the updated Local Rules and Winter Rules that members should refer to for useful information about some additional relief situations.
These include a new relief for areas in bunkers where sand has been removed by movement of water, and for aeration holes in greens.
The fixed sprinkler head local rule has been slightly amended to two club lengths instead of one.
Please take a moment to familiarise yourself with the updated rules by clicking on the links below.

Can I please ask why when I’m following members of our club they do not replace divots or repair pitch marks?
I get really frustrated that this simple repair is not being carried out by members.
Could all members please remember to repair not only your own pitch mark, but one other at the same time.
Peter

Hello fellow members. Just a thank you to Steve Denman for taking his time & skills to get the compressor working . Thank you to Keith as well, and great to see everything working well again.

Mark Axford

Steve just a quick note to say how good condition the course is at the moment please pass on these comments to the Course Manager and his staff
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Hi Mick

Thanks for the very kind comments on the course, and I will post on the Forum later. I have also copied in Richard and Bill.

The greenstaff have been working very hard to maintain the course, and in spite of the heavy rainfall in December, the recent dry spell have enabled them to present the course in the best possible shape. We have had many such complimentary remarks from members and visitors alike.

Thanks again

Steve

On Wednesday 19th December despite heavy overnight rain the WAFAT's held their Christmas match followed by a luncheon in the dining room. 23 players braved the wet conditions and 28 made it to the lunch.
A big thank you to Barry Pearce who presented the prizes for nearest the pin, to the overall winners and to Mick Taylor for taking part. It was great to see some ex-members of the WAFATs return for the day including Robert Hollidge who carded an impressive 39 points for joint second place with Fred Beckett; first place went to Jaimie Cox with 42 points - the WAFATs handicap committee is already planning to convene!.
Thanks should also go to Hitesh Patel for helping to organise the day and to the catering staff for the excellent carvery which received high praise from all present

In anticipation of the new Rules of Golf Modernisation, the Golf Committee are working on a new set of Local Rules, and also defining Penalty Areas.
To this end, please be aware that there are a number of additional red stakes on the golf course, and further news of these areas will be published shortly ahead of the 1st January 2019 when the new Rules come into play. For the the time being, please play the 7th and 8th "red stake" areas as normal.

When a club competition opens and entries are accepted either by the members hub at the club or on the mobile app, I would like to suggest that eligibility criteria is included so we can see who is qualified to enter.Myself and a fellow member entered the winter knockout(we are both new members)as we couldn't see any restrictions, however after winning two matches we were informed my partner wasn't eligible as he is a 5 day member. I would like to think that in future as a rule of thumb,
A.Eligibility status will be stipulated and B. Before the draw takes place a check will be made ensuring everyone is eligible, thus stopping this situation arising again.
Nigel England
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Thanks Nigel

The Golf Committee will certainly take on board your suggestion to avoid any repeat of this rare situation. Just ahead of the new Competition season in the Spring, a complete list of Competitions and eligibility will be published on the Forum and will remain a constant reference point going forward. At a glance members can see what competitions are open to 7 and 5 day members.

Steve Murphy
General Manager

Another great Sunday for our Lunch and Cabaret dates.
Everybody had a great time. Great Singer Ian Sparks and good reports on food.
Our Kitchen and Bar staff were there usual efficient selves and did a great job.
Next Sunday date for our Lunch and Cabaret will be in February.
Thank you all for your support.
Terry O'Brien

On line diary - more complete information please.

It would be helpful to members for all calendar events which include golf e.g. society bookings to show the actual tee off time reservations rather than just indicate the total time the groups will be at the Club. E.g Friday Nov 30th only shows Chestnut GS (12) 8:00 - 18:00.

This would allow members to plan matches etc and know precisely when they can play and not clash with visitors. In the winter this causes particular issues on Fridays when “quasi official” swindles like the WAFATS also compete for available tee off times.

Bill Rookes

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Thanks Bill

A good idea, and the tee times are in fact in the system already. For example, if you click on the entry that you mentioned, the Chestnut Golf Society, then more details appear about this event. It includes useful information to the kitchen and bar, as well as the Pro Shop. It gives details of catering times,numbers attending and tee times, so members can utilise this information to arrange their games as well as anticipate usage of the dining facilities.

This works on the Members Hub on both Smartphones and the Website, so hope you find this extra information useful.

Regards

Steve

To all fellow golfers

I wanted to let you know that the Shirley Park Ladies are holding their annual Christmas Bazaar in the Dining Room next Tuesday November 27th from 9 30 till 2pm.

There will be a bottle and chocolate tombola, homemade cakes and preserves, golfing gear, books, children's toys and clothes, jewellery, bric a brac, Christmas cards and decorations and an opportunity to buy tickets for the Christmas Raffle!

First prize a hamper full of delicious goodies!

Thanks in anticipation.

Polly Spaul
Ladies' Captain

I would indeed like to thank the lads for a great job on the nets, and I’d be one of the first looking forward to using them.

However, I’d rather that they weren’t ‘opened’ really, until the area between the car park and the nets is dealt with, or we will end up with the mats getting into the same state as the previous ones, which would be a shame, after all the good work.

Regards

Steve I

As a golfing member of SPGC for some considerable time and with my ‘members’ hat on, I would like to pass on, not only from myself, but from all golfing members, a big vote of thanks to the guys who made the new nets a reality.

These guys are Larry & Andy Coyne, Steve Denman and Ricky Scarlett.

They gave up there time and expertise recently at no expense to the golf club and have done a great job.

I think all golfing members should feel free to thank them personally if you see them around the club at any time. A fantastic pro active club spirit

Keith Smith

Finally the new nets are now in place. Thank you for being patient as all the work was carried out free of charge by some of our members.

I would like to thank Larry Coyne, Steve Denman, Keith Smith and Ricky Scarlet for giving up their Saturday morning to complete the work started the week before by Larry.

We had an independent quote of £2,300.0 plus vat, just to fix the cage so you can see why we have to wait for members to give up their time.

Enjoy!!

Nick Phipps.

2.00pm - 2.30pm

West End Star: IAN SPARKS will be appearing.

£20.00 Per Person

Poster and Sign-Up sheet in Hallway.

Alternatively ring TERRY O'BRIEN 07712 222 333 to reserve booking.

I wonder if I am the only player becoming concerned over the condition of some of our fairways?
The exceptionally hot and dry weather this year has burned-off significant areas of fairway grass and, to my eye, it doesn’t look as though it is going to recover.
Do our excellent ground-staff team expect it to recover over time, or is some work required such as scarifying and over-seeding?

The condition of our course has always been a major attraction and, for me anyway, I would sooner money be spent on keeping the the course in tip-top condition in preference to cosmetic changes to the clubhouse.
A difficult balance, I appreciate.....

As an aside, the improvement work on the bunkers is starting to pay dividends - there are some of them I don’t mind going in to now!

Kiff Paddon
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Thanks Kiff, great question.
Having endured the hottest summer on record, followed by a very dry autumn so far, the fairways of almost all surrey golf clubs have taken a beating by the sun and lack of rain.
The fairways are particularly affected, but there will be a natural recovery process, both over the coming month or so, and then into spring. We have already begun to see shoots in evidence on the more affected fairways.
We will continue to Verti-Drain, focusing on problem areas i.e. 4th approach, 5th & 6th fairways etc. This combined with temperature controlled fertiliser will strengthen the grass sward. The addition of nutrients also help the recovery.
Some courses have over-seeded, but this does bring mixed results. Those that have fairway watering can keep the newly distributed seed moist and this helps germination. As we do not have such irrigation, then this really expensive process can be a white elephant, and can cost upwards of £15k/£20k without any guarantee of results. Many clubs that spread seed in September, often the optimum month for sowing, were caught out by the continual lack of water and have suffered financially as well as not improving the playing surface.
The fairways and approaches will be re-assessed in spring, and any areas that are still under duress will be treated and that will include some over seeding as normal, but might be on a larger scale.
It was telling, watching the British Masters from Walton Heath on TV last month. Their fairways resembled most Surrey clubs, and did not have the lush pristine fairways, but the course still attracted very positive comments from players and pundits alike.
Rest assured that the course budgets will be prudently spent on the areas that need most attention. I'm glad that the hard work on the bunkers is being appreciated. That is 10 bunkers completed, and the program will continue over the winter.
Thanks

Richard Evans
Course Manager

The long awaited refurbishment of the Golf Practice Nets will commence this week, with the initial concrete and scaffolding poles being installed hopefully by Friday. There will be a short period where the nets will be out of use, so look out for the notices.
The new structure will be a solid addition to the practice facilities, and will have an all over Artificial turf covering, plus very high quality strike mats.

Great Sunday afternoon at Shirley Park Golf Club.
Members enjoyed a great afternoon at club with Singer Danny Fisher and exceptional Lunch for the princely sum of £20. GREAT VALUE.
Nothing but praise from people who attended regarding Food,Entertainment and Service.
Once again our efficient bar staff excelled and kitchen staff also.
Thanks to all the members that supported this event.
Terry O'Brien

Barry has arranged for a complimentary lunch for all competitors. It will be a delicious Pie and Mash lunch to reflect the entertainment provide by "Baz & Dave"

Breakfast will be available to purchase for £4 from 7am. It will be a Breakfast Roll with "2 from 3" ingredients, ie. Bacon, Sausage & Egg.

Pick up your Lunch Voucher when you buy your Drive In Stakes before you tee off.

The Ladies’ Open took place last Thursday. It was a great day and 57 ladies took part.
Chris Carrington organised the event, with her team of helpers, she put so much energy and effort into the event almost from the beginning of the year to make it the success it was.

The course was complimented by all the players. Thank you Richard for presenting it in such a great condition. The food was enjoyed by all. Thank you Norm.

The winning team was Aguarius. Sorry there are no pictures.
Thank you Chris and long may you continue to host this event.

Mira Lobo
Lady Captain

I would just like to say thank you to Len Frank's for hosting a very enjoyable day at The Drift last week. Despite the fact the fairways let the course down a little which was obviously beyond Lens control, I’m sure a good day was had by all.

Well done to Bill Rookes who won the day after accumulating 38pts.

Thanks for serving as President Len.

Steve Sargant

Results of the Qualifiers played on Saturday 8th September:
Best 2 scores will represent the Club on Finals Day at Kingswood on October 13th

Warren League

Kevin Shore 40 pts
Keith Dawes 38 pts
in 3rd place Steve Healy

Hilliard League

Bob Bradley 41 pts
Andy Coyne 40 pts
in 3rd place Mark Linsdall

Lately I’ve noticed that there are more and more foot prints being left un raked in the bunkers we all know they are not the best in the world but a bit of help from fellow golfers would help us all.
Also the amount of pitch marks being left on greens, These are great greens so please protect them on several occasions I’ve done more than I should be doing

Kevin Dredge

That's good to hear David.
From the Club's point of view it was great to see so many playing in the competition and to watch them having a good time afterwards too.

A big thank you is due to Steve Murphy and Mick Taylor for running such a successful event, and to Tonia for all the organising of attendees.

For the record the winning score was 30 points over 14 holes by Neil Armstrong. Well done Neil, great score.

Barry Pearce
Membership & Rules Director

Could I just say a big thank you to the club for organising the New Member Masters on Saturday. It was a great chance to meet with other new members and enjoy a round of golf followed by a few drinks and buffet. The quiz showed just how much we all need to learn about the rules of golf. I can’t wait to see my opponents faces next time I play with them when I declare that my first putt is unplayable.

Kind regards,

David Clisby

Friday 17th August was the day of the Whitbread Trophy and the winner was Terry Chard with a total of 42 points. Well done Terry.
On the following Monday 20th August we had the Seniors Stableford and the winner was Andrew Baird with a total of 41 points. Congratulations Andrew. There are 3 Seniors Competitions left, a Stableford on Monday 17th September, the Les Roberts Trophy on Monday 1st October and the Vin Howard Trophy on Monday 8th October. Sign up sheets posted on Notice Board adjacent to the Locker Room Door.
Will Andrew try for 3 over 40 points wins? Watch this space. Thanks to all who play and who organise our competitions.
Geoff Dunkley
Seniors Committe Member

Just wanted to say what a great night the Quiz Night was last Friday, well organised by our very own quiz master Terry B! Great mix of quiz rounds and Terry is a brilliant quiz host

All the best,
Roy De Souza

Keith Dawes and Steve Ryan won the Tigbits Trophy on Sunday with a score of 72. Runners up were Jason Derham and Imo Etuk with 72.5

This is a Foursomes Competition with pairs drawn from a higher and lower handicap category.

Well done to all competitors,

Dear Members

Unfortunately I find myself in a position of having to offer my resignation as Captain of Shirley Park Golf Club.

This is due to personal reasons, and wish my successor and the Club every success in the future.

Martin Hughes

The Board is looking for golfing members to stand as Directors to help with Club Policy and to help the Management structure run the club efficiently. We are looking to recruit two new Directors, and one Finance Director. This are important but rewarding roles and you can find out more by asking any of the existing Directors, the Chairman, or the General Manager for more details. Nominations can be made by obtaining a Nomination form from the office which just needs 7 signatures. If there are any members willing to stand, the Board would be very interested in speaking with them.

Thank you

So near and yet so far!
We had a really good season but failed to qualify for the Play-offs by just 1 point.
We won all our home matches very comfortably but lost 3 of our away games 2-1.

Thanks to everyone who played especially those who stepped in at short notice.
We do have a good squad of 0-12 handicappers and I always try to offer a game to everyone who wants to play. If you didn’t get a game this year you’ll stay on the list for next year I assure you.

On September 8th we will play the Stableford qualifiers for Finals Day at Kingswood and more news will follow on that from Micky Dowling and myself.
Barry

The re-arranged Golden Jubilee was won won by a fantastic score of net 66 by Andy Coyne playing off a 5 handicap.
Andy of course came second to his brother Steve in the Club Championship last week, so his run of good form has produced a couple of great results. Well Done Andy.
Congratulations also go to Garry Ingram who was Runner-Up with a net 67, on Countback from Paul Armstrong.



Steve Murphy
General Manager

Following discussions regarding the future of the Half Way Hut, Norm, our new caterer has offered to give up the Half Way Hut, and this has now been offered to, and accepted by Sandra. Further details will be released to Members in the next Chairman's Blog, shortly after the next Board Meeting.

The men’s guest toilet is now in an unacceptable state. It would appear the urinals either leak or overflow on a regular basis. The floor is now heavily stained and would definitely put off visitors for Club function weddings, wakes etc and could therefore affect future Club income.

I fully appreciate Club funds are stretched etc but having spent considerable sums on both the dining hall and kitchen surely a relatively small further investment to replace the existing sanitary ware and to lay a new smart floor covering as installed in the new kitchen is justified.

Thanks Bill

The floor was recently stained badly, due to an overflow from the bowls that were being cleaned with a powerful chemical. The floor was already in a poor state, and Keith Smith has been asked to obtain a quote for a new flooring for the area, so that should be received soon. We have a Board Meeting on 28th August, and your observations can be included in the meeting.

Steve Murphy
General Manager

Revised Start Sheet also in the hallway

The bunkers on our lovely course are its most disappointing feature.
Can some of the bunkers which are particularly difficult to maintain be grassed over? This would save money on maintenance without diminishing the challenge as a grass bunker can present a significant obstacle.
Thanks

Shirley
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks Shirley

I wholeheartedly agree. No arguments from this end. There is however a lot of planning and cost involved to alter a sand bunker into either a grass bunker or mounding.
We also have to factor into the equation the alteration to the original course layout and design, which would need at least Board approval and maybe even member approval
Richard Evans
Course Manager

Bill & Steve

Thanks for the Forum Questions and I will update you as below:

The path has caused a great deal of disruption, but we are nearing a solution now. The Contractor is returning this Friday, to clear the rubber path, and will then tarmac a new base, and apply a resin bound aggregate, similar to the "patches" that were temporarily laid earlier this year. The positioning of the path does not lend itself well to the rubber surface now, so a harder, but more stable surface will provide a long-lasting solution.

The bunkers continue to receive as much attention as they can. A new drainage system has been install in 11 bunkers now, and before this dry spell, we saw the benefit of these. They will not however solve the stone issue. Only a complete rebuild of each bunker using the new base layer technology would stop the inevitable ingress of stones from our sub-soil. There have been a few recent installations at nearby clubs, Effingham, & Richmond for example, both of whom had all the bunkers renovated over a two-year period. This was however at a cost of over £260/£300k. The club does not have this budget for bunkers, and therefore the small gradual replacements, like the 5th & 8th will continue for the foreseeable future for the worst bunkers. We have experimented with a different sand in those ones, as the base and lack of contamination, demands a slightly different grain size etc.

The Golf Nets have been delivered, but we haven't been able to install these due to existing commitments for the directors that are giving their time and therefore savings for the club. Once they are free to install the concrete base etc, then the new nets will follow shortly afterwards. We did not want to put the existing nets out of commission in the run-up to the Pro Am, Club Championship etc.
Nick Phipps
Golf and Greens Director

Over the last 3 weeks the Seniors have held Competitions where the winners have won with more than 40 points. First was Andrew Baird with 43 in the July Stableford, next came the winning team in the Seniors Texas Scramble who came in with 43 points and on Monday 23rd July Graham Smith won with a magnificent 45 in the Nicol Trophy.
Also played recently was the Presidents 5-day Prize which was won by Eddie Mills with 43 points.
With the ball running well on the hard fairways and our excellent greens ( Well done Richard and his men) who will be next to join the over 40 club.
Sign up sheets for all Seniors matches and competitions will be posted on our notice board adjacent to the Locker Room door.

Congratulations to all the winners and thanks to the competition organisers.

Geoff Dunkley
Seniors Committee Member

Please see the Draw Section of the website for details of the Start Sheets for the Morning and Afternoon rounds.
We have a record number of entrants, and this means a two tee start for both morning and afternoon.
The draw is Seeded, with the top seeds going off the 11th in the morning in reverse order as usual, and off the 1st Tee in the afternoon.
It will be a busy day, so please try to keep up with the game in front to enable the two rounds to be completed without undue delays.
Barry Pearce will be the Marshall for the day, and please respect him if your group falls behind the pace of play, and let faster groups play through. Stops at the Halfway Hut should be kept as brief as possible, and do let any groups not wishing to stop, to play through.
We are sure this will be a great day for the club, and everyone's patience and cooperation, will hopefully mean enjoyable rounds for all competitors.

Please below for the Morning and Afternoon Start Sheets for the Pro-Am on Friday 27th July.
Details are as follows:
Morning - Registration and Coffee & Bacon Rolls from 7:30am
Shotgun Start at 8:30am
2 Course Meal at approx 14:00pm

Afternoon - Registration and Coffee & Bacon Rolls from 12:30pm
Shotgun Start at 13:45pm
2 Course Meal at approx 19:15pm
Prize Presentation approx 20:15pm

Dress code for the meal element is shirt and tie, although if the temperatures are still at current levels, then this will no doubt be relaxed. A jacket will not be necessary for the meal, however it may be advisable to bring one in the car if you are lucky enough to be a prize winner,

Jon Short and Neville D'Aranjo beat Rusper away from home, 4&2, on Saturday to progress to the next round of the Kelso Hamilton.
Rusper is a notoriously difficult course to get a result on, so congratulations to both Jon and Neville for a fine performance.

Dear Members
I think it is now time to put an end to this debate as the support for our GM has been overwhelming both privately and publicly which I know has somewhat embarrassed Steve.
The forum isn't the place for this and we need to close this out as it is becoming more of a focus that Steve is a member of the GCMA rather than the honour of him being their Captain for the year.
It's time we all got back to work and use the Forum for what it is there for.
Steve Healy
Chairman

I would just like to register my support for Steve Murphy becoming Captain of GCMA.
Steve became Secretary/Manager of our club in 2005 in my Captaincy Year. I was serving on the board as a Director also.
In my opinion Steve fully deserves this honour. He is in my experience, being in his company many times both work related and socially is a Shirley Park man through and through. He has been a great asset to our club and has achieved many benefits that we members have benefited by.
The respect and regard of other Club Secretary's are obvious by the honour they have bestowed upon him.
Terry O'Brien

I would like to comment on the articles that have appeared on the Forum regarding Steve Murphy. Having served some years with Steve as a board member 1 year as Club Captain also Golf & Greens, I find it very disappointing that members who have not experienced any committee work of any kind can find a objection to his well deserved Captaincy of the GCMA.
The work that Steve’s done for this club allows him more respect than members are showing him.
Dave Luff
Past Captain

When I left my last formal role as President of the Club in 2015, I decided not to involve myself or publicly comment adversely in any decisions made by the current Board of Directors, in the knowledge that they were in possessions of the facts and any such decision would be made in the interests of the Club as a whole.
However, having been a Member of Shirley Park for over 50 years, I feel the need to respond to some of the recent comments posted on the Forum implying criticism of our General Manager Steve Murphy about his role in the Golf Club Managers Association. Having Chaired the Club Selection Panel that appointed Steve some 13 years ago, I have had the opportunity first hand to witness his commitment and dedication to this Club over many years in my various roles as Board Member, Captain and Board Chairman. I fully support Chairman Steve Healy’s comments on the many benefits that the Club has enjoyed, both financially through interpretation of Legislation changes impacting on Golf Clubs that have arisen through Steve’s active involvement in the GCMA. The Association rightly hold him in high regard and have awarded him the honour of being their Captain for the current year.
Rather than acknowledge the contribution Steve has made to this Club over many years, it is both disappointing and small minded that a minority of our members, with short service and no experience in the management of this Club, chose to post critical views on the Forum with regard to Steve’s role in the GCMA and imply, wrongly, that this reflects the opinions of the majority of the membership!
The Club Board of Directors have rightly awarded Steve the opportunity to host his Association Captains Day at our Club and, as Steve Healy explained, this event will attract some income opportunities for the Club and provide the opportunity for us to ‘showcase’ our excellent golf course to some very influential Members of the wider golfing community.
Finally, when I was Board Chairman, I had some influence in the introduction of the online Forum as an effective vehicle of communication between Members and Club Management. This has largely proved successful and has ensured that the Members are well informed on matters that interest them. If it is the view of the recent Forum contributors that our Club is not being well managed, they all have the opportunity to put themselves forward at an AGM for Election to the Board. This will provide them with the opportunity to experience the required commitment in giving up considerable amounts of leisure time to undertake what is sometimes the thankless task of serving the Membership, particularly in the light of these recent ‘exchanges’ on the Forum.
John Scott
Honorary Member

Is this what the forum is for?
Thinly veiled accusations of self-serving by the board?
Thinly veiled accusations against officers or employees of the club (as a result of conversations held or overheard in the bar)?
Thinly veiled postings made on behalf of an officer of the club who feels unable to put his own name to them?
I don’t think the forum should be used for debates of this kind. There are other well tried methods of airing ones’ feelings.
Anyone who has a problem of the sort expressed in this posting should write to the board of directors (preferably in their own name). The matter can then be discussed by the officers that the membership elected to run the club.
The club that I believe is in as good a shape as it has been in 30 years.
Eddie McLaughlin

The recent question and answers on the forum regarding the GMCA Larry Cuddon would like it known that although quoted twice in the debate he had absolutely no involvement with the debate in any way.
Regards,

Steve Healy

I have seen on the events list on the notice board by the front door we have a GCMA day in July. Is this part Steve Murphy's Captaincy, and following on from a previous post from Larry Cuddon does this have a financial implication to the club or are they paying standard society rates.
After hearing opinions in the club house on Sunday thought the best solution was to ask the question directly.
Dan Andrews.
_______________________________
Thanks Dan.

The club have encouraged Steve to take up this prestigious position within the Golf Industry, as it is very important for the Club. With it comes certain duties and obligations including hosting a Guest Day, where other Managers, Pros, etc. are welcomed to Shirley Park, which increases our profile. Whilst ordinarily there would not be a charge for this type of event, other than the food costs, due to the positions of the guests, Steve has negotiated a facility fee that will ensure that the Club is well remunerated for the day. Another great example of his commitment to the club.

Regards
Steve Healy
Chairman


Thanks for the response Steve, the reply is certainly informative, I still have a couple of queries, if you could elaborate a little further.

When the term " the club " is used does this mean the club as a whole or the board of Directors.

Secondly could you elaborate on the remuneration for the day, how many visitors will we have on the day, and how much of a return are we receiving compared to a society. With regards to numbers how will this impact on the members wishing to play that day.

Thirdly Jason's financial report states we stand currently with a £26,000 loss in red in his second paragraph it would appear the club can not afford to give away our products.

Fourthly when we talk of raising our profile, how much advertising and future income are we expecting to gain from the GCMA day as surely most of the visitors are already associated to clubs and would place there own clubs above ours. Or is it purely that they have experienced Shirley park and we are hoping to pick up the odd green fee in recommendations.

And finally tongue firmly in cheek, I see you put my enquiry second in new entries on the forum, have you considered becoming press relations for a major political party some excellent spin.
Many thanks
Dan

Dan
I will answer paragraph by paragraph
We are elected by the members to represent the club so when I refer to the club I mean the club as a whole and a decision by the board is done with the best interest of the club and the members as a whole otherwise there would be little need for a board and we may as well have meetings with the whole of the members and try to get things through like that so I don’t really get the relevance of your comment.

Steve has negotiated £40.00 per head which is for the golf and the food he has to sit down with Norm the caterer to finalise the cost for the food and his hoping to get it for around £20.00 per head leaving us £20.00 per head profit but I will reiterate that normally an event like this just like a Pro-am where the pros get it free the GMCA members also get it free.
We are expecting between 40 to 60 but we will not know the exact number until a few days before the event but our profit could be around £1000 plus whatever bar takings we have but obviously we couldn’t quote that as an exact figure at this stage.
We are hosting this event because Steve is Captain so it’s very unlikely to happen again so I do not really see the point you are trying to make are you saying you would prefer us not to host it?
As for the impact to the members with numbers on the course it will be no different to having a large society for the day
As I have stated before with the Larry Cuddon question that Steve being involved in the GCMA it secured us a 150K VAT refund but that clearly has been forgotten is it because that is good news and good work on behalf of the GM which this has been aimed at?

We are not giving anything away we are raising money by hosting it

It raises our profile with other clubs seeing our course and our bar and catering services I take your point that they are all members of their own clubs but it doesn’t hurt us to show ourselves off and get talked about at other clubs

Your final point I find quite offensive we are just over 3 weeks away from hosting a Pro-Am and we have a worrying dearth of support for this which is why this is left at the top so we can fill the card Mick Taylor has been working hard on this as well as our marketing director are you therefore implying we are trying to bury your question? Or we are trying to hide something?

Regards,

Steve Healy

On a beautiful day yesterday. I had the honour of being Captain for the day representing our Club in the friendly annual match against Purley Downs held at their club. It was a most enjoyable afternoon with excellent golf being played by both teams. As usual our team gave their best, resulting in an overall win for Shirley Park - 2.5 matches to 1.5

The afternoon was rounded off by convivial dinner and drinks with our magnanimous hosts. My sincere thanks to all those who participated.

Regards

Bill

I am delighted to announce that Polly Spaul has agreed to take over Captaincy of the Ladies Section in October 2018.
I would like to take this opportunity to wish Polly every success in her Captaincy.
I will put a notice up to this effect in the Ladies’ Locker Room this weekend.
Regards
Mira Lobo
Lady Captain

Jon Short and Neville D’Arango won against a Bletchley team which included their club Captain after being two down after three holes.
Now in quarter finals

Eddie

The "Call My Bluff" wine tasting evening that was scheduled for this Friday, 15th June, has been postponed due the small number of members signing up for the evening. We had to advise the Supplier Company running the event in good time, but unfortunately we did not have enough support to make it worthwhile at this stage.

With a lot of social events going on in the summer, it may be better to run this in the autumn/winter, so watch out for the rearranged date.

Well done to everyone involved in the fitting tribute to Ron Pizzey at the pond on the 18th Hole.
A lasting memorial to a true gentleman
Mick

I am very sorry to see that Bill Rookes has stood-down from his position as Vice Captain.
I find Bill to be a very genial man, and he would have made a great Captain.
I wish him well and look forward to playing golf with him, in some Seniors’ competition, sometime soon!

Kiff Paddon

Coombe Wood have unfortunately advised us that they are unable to raise a team to play this weekend's Warren League Match.
I'll keep the team posted on any developments concerning re-arrangement.

Mick Dowing
Captain of Warren League

Pleased to report that Jon Short and Neville D'Aranjo beat Tony & Chris from Horton Park 1up on the 18th.
A close tight match with Neville sinking the wining 30 foot putt on 17.The two guys from Horton Park were very complementary about our golf club & course especially the greens.Bring on the next match away

Due to significant personal issues and pressure it is with deep regret and great sadness I have decided to resign my position as Vice Captain of our great club. As I am sure you appreciate, this has not been an easy decision.

It has been an honour to serve the Board and members of our esteemed club for the past 7 months. Now is not the time to dwell on the past but get behind and support our Club Captain Martin in what promises to be a fantastic summer of golf and fun.

I look forward to playing golf with my many friends and supporting the Club in every way I can for many years to come.

In closing, I should like to thank the Board and members for the trust and support you have shown to me.

Sincere regards


Bill Rookes