Minutes of the Members’ Committee Meeting held at 15.00 on 29th September 2014
In attendance:
John McNamara, President (JM)
Tom Richardson, Captain (TR)
Stuart Patterson, Vice Captain (SP)
Greg Peck, Secretary (GP)
Steve Cullen (SC)
Yumiko Smith (YS)
Mike Munden, General Manager (MM)
1. Apologies
Apologies for absence were received from Norman Cameron.
2. Opening
The meeting was opened by JM, who thanked all for attending.
3. Minutes of Previous Meeting
The minutes of the previous meeting were unanimously approved.
4. Course/Clubhouse Update:
MM reported that a number of major projects have been completed over a productive summer:
• Hole 3 Tee Box rebuilt after landslip in late May.
• The banks by the cart path on Hole 2 from have been turfed following the removal of the rocks to support the rebuilt Hole 3 Tee Box
• The new back Tee Box on Hole 13 was completed
• Grass banks behind the greens at Holes 4 and 10 have been built
• Bunkers behind the green at Hole 1 have been removed and the whole bank re-turfed
• A mass of weeds were removed from the lake in front of the green at Hole 6. The remaining weeds could not be removed by the equipment and so the job will be completed by chemicals and by hand
MM also noted that:
• Some work has been done to tackle the weeds that have been creeping into a number of fairways. This is difficult and very labour intensive, especially as the most effective weed-killer has been banned in Europe due to the risk of seepage into and contamination of the water table that could end up in drinking water. Other effective weed-killers are unsuitable as they would also kill off the Bermuda grass and other vegetation
• Fairway conditions have improved recently through irrigation and raising the height on the cutting machine. When night temperatures drop to 15 degrees C, the machines will be taken off the fairways as Bermuda grass hibernates over the winter months. Fairways will be aerated in early spring
• Many of the bare and worn areas are caused by carts and it is unfortunately the price we have to pay for allowing carts on fairways. This is compounded by the behavior of some visitors who either seem to ignore the directions for carts or cannot see them and drive over them.
• The Greens have recently been a little slower than usual but they are expected to speed up again. They will be solid spiked in November
JM thanked MM for his report and for the good work that has been done to the course.
MM added that the course has been improved considerably in recent years and, in order to make further improvements to take the course to the next level, suggested that a Greens Committee be established.
This was unanimously agreed and SC was nominated to set up a Greens Committee comprising 3 -5 people including SC, Club Professional ‘Monty’ plus at least one other low-handicap member.
It is felt that such a group of experienced golfers who play the course regularly and have frequent interaction with other members could provide observations and recommendations on course condition and set up. Input from the Greens Committee will be channelled to this Committee for review and prioritisation of works and projects.
5. Club Competitions
A complaint from a member was received regarding the Independence Day competition when one team comprised of four 25-handicap players. It was noted that it was commonplace for team aggregate handicaps in tournaments to be limited to 80. The reality is that, for some competitions, it is common for players to register in teams and for such events it is not realistic to expect everyone to register individually to be then drawn to play with strangers. Many come along for a good day out with their friends.
This led on to another discussion about the fairness of handicaps applied to teams when playing a Texas Scramble. It was felt that a team of 3 or more low handicappers would invariably be amongst the prizes. MM and SC will research Stableford points systems and how they are applied in various types of team competitions and report back to the committee with recommendations on how we can find an equitable and balanced approach to pairings and team entries to both Club-sponsored and Members’ competitions.
After a lengthy discussion on the pros and cons of the two handicap system (Federation and Club), it was decided to stick with the current system for the time being.
MM will assume responsibility for set up of the course for all competitions, including the positioning of the ‘plates’ for the Federated Wednesday competitions.
There was a suggestion that for the Monday and Friday members’ competitions, members should register in pairs and the organizer simply puts different pairs together on the morning of the competition. The larger group of members playing from October onwards (expected to be 40+) will make arrangement of the groupings a much more difficult task, not made any easier by some members who either turn up later than 9.30 am or turn up without registering , or do not turn up after having registered.
Members have already received written notice about registration and about turning up at least 30 minutes before tee-off, but there are still frequent issues and, occasionally, traffic jams on the A7 have contributed to the problem. Some further thought is required to determine if there are other ways to minimize the disruption and keep the shot-gun tee offs as smooth as possible.
6. Any Other Business
MM briefed the meeting on a proposed all-year-round flat-rate green fee rate for members’ guests. There was some discussion and comparison of variable rates, rates for tour groups and reciprocal rates for neighbouring clubs and JM raised the question of so-called “ticket books.” MM agreed to look into the possibility of the Club issuing these ticket books and will confirm later.
In response to a query from YS, JM explained that according to the MGCC constitution, only Life Members are eligible to become Club President and only Life Members or Annual Members are eligible to hold other office (Captain, Committee Member) . Other Members (overseas, 6-month or other) have a right to vote in elections of those nominated for office but not a right to hold office themselves.
7. Nominations for 2014 AGM Elections
These have been finalised and published on the Club notice boards.
8. Close and Date of Next Meeting
JM thanked all for attending and reminded everyone that the AGM will be held on Friday, 17 October 2014. The next Committee Meeting will be held on Monday, 3 November 2014 at 15.00.
MGCC, 30th September 2014
