Fixture List - Summer 2008
29 February

I am pleased to announce the Club's 2008 fixture programme. Please use the link to the left or click here. The programme runs us through to the end of the year. For us 'summer' starts in earnest in April which leaves just March to fine tune the golf swing and get the putting in order.

For the newcomers to the club I will mention that all the titled events have what we term perpetual trophies. These are awarded at the Club's annual dinner dance (Feb 2009!) and besides holding the trophy for one year both the competition winners and the runner-ups receive keepsakes. We are very keen that our competition winners attend the dinner dance where the presentation of the year's trophies is an integral part of the evening's proceedings.

The publication of the 2008 programme is slightly later than intended because we have encountered some untypical congestion points in this year's calendar. One congestion point occurs in the weeks surrounding Sunday 14th September when the courses will be closed for a fun run in the Park. During the year the Committee will be looking at alternative golf course options for this day and we will keep everyone advised in due course.

I have to warn that in common with previous years the fixture list is not set in tablets of stone - it is a moveable feast. We typically find that the weather, flooding, fire, foot and mouth, bird flu or perhaps even the odd earthquake can cause a variation to the intended programme of events. It is not difficult to see that we do not have much room for manoeuvre, however we will endeavour to keep everyone up to date with the latest state of play. For those that are regular visitors to the Club's website you will find that Tim Meyer has a log of the fixture list changes, and the details on the website are updated at very regular intervals therefore the fixture information is invariably our up to date state of play.

As mentioned in yesterday's message, it is advisable to keep your eye on progress in the Club's accumulator events; that is, the Grand Medal trophy for the monthly medal events, the Top Dog Trophy where points are gained for successful results in the Club's 'majors', and the Anniversary Trophy for the four jubilee events. The Club's website contains all our results data so please drop in from time to time and check on the state of progress of these and our other events.

It is impossible to talk about 2008 without referring to the new development and the possible course changes. We have no new information on this subject, however when (or indeed if !) the development work commences we are aware that there will be some significant disruption to the Princes course around the 8th/10th teeing area. Those that have played recently will recognise this area as a 'lake' which in my book is not the best place to build a clubhouse, but my judgement is based on common-sense which does not appear to feature in the new development proposals. Anyway, we will be keeping an eye on Glendale's actions through 2008 and it may be necessary to switch some events between the courses if the Princes course is seriously affected by new development activity.

Finally, I have to say that the omens for 2008 are that it will be a cracking good year for golf. I hope that we will see a boost in members and a boost in Sunday attendances. If anyone should have any points, problems, queries or whatever please just shout!

Regards

Peter Harrington
29 Feb 2008