CARLISLE GOLF CLUB
107th ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING - THURSDAY 28th JANUARY
AT 7.30 P.M.
AGENDA
1. To adopt the Minutes of the 106th Annual General Meeting held on Thursday 5TH February 2015. (Any member requiring full minutes should please apply to the Secretary).
2. To approve the Accounts for the year ended 30th September 2015 and receive the Annual Report from the Committee of Management. (Any member requiring a copy of the accounts should please apply to the Secretary or see the members section of the club website).
3. Revision of Club Rules: 14, 15 & 16 en-bloc
3, 21, 24, 25 & 31.
The Committee has placed on the Club Notice Board and on the website details of the proposed amendments to the rules.
4. To elect: -
a. The Vice Presidents en bloc
b. The Men’s Captain
c. The Men’s Vice Captain
d. The Ladies’ Captain
e. The Ladies’ Vice Captain
f. The Treasurer
g. The Accountants
5. To appoint 4 members of Committee 3 for 3 years, 1 for 2 years:- nominations have been received from:-
Paul Ashley and Mark Nield
6. Presentation of The Slater Trophy.
7. Any Other Urgent Business.
J Kyle Secretary/Clubhouse Manager 31ST December 2015
CARLISLE GOLF CLUB
RECORD OF DECISIONS TAKEN AT 106th ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
5TH FEBRUARY 2015
Full minutes are available from the Secretary upon request.
1. MINUTES OF 105th A.G.M. ON 30TH JANUARY 2014
ADOPTED.
2. ACCOUNTS AND THE ANNUAL REPORT FROM THE COMMITTEE OF MANAGEMENT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30th SEPTEMBER 2014
APPROVED.
3. REVISION OF CLUB RULES 14(a)i – Full members (over 65) defeated by Majority, Rule 15 – Subscriptions carried with no votes against, Rule 15 - Entrance fees, carried with no votes against.
4. ELECTION OF OFFICERS AND AUDITORS OF THE CLUB
a. THE VICE PRESIDENTS – Re-elected en-bloc
b. THE CAPTAIN – Mr N Murray
c. THE VICE CAPTAIN – Mr T Doig
d. THE LADY CAPTAIN – Miss S Wilkinson
e. THE LADY VICE CAPTAIN – Miss L Wilkinson
f. THE PRESIDENT – Mr D Gray
g. THE TREASURER – Mr T Ogden
h. THE ACCOUNTANTS – Armstrong Watson & Co.
6. ELECTION OF COMMITTEE
2 nominations had been received
Mrs Anne Nichol and Mr Ian Wilson were duly appointed to the general committee for 3 years.
7. PRESENTATION OF TROPHIES
The Slater Trophy was awarded to Mr John Willis for his golfing performance throughout the year which included winning 3 knock out trophies as well as the Watson Cups.
8. Another Other Urgent Business
It was stated that a rules School was being held if anyone was interested.
It was suggested that the website be updated. Chair of House explained this was in hand.
It was agreed an open forum would be scheduled.
It was explained the Watson Cups had been moved to a Thursday because of low entries.
It was agreed the dining room murals not be covered except for external functions.
MEN’S CAPTAIN’S REPORT
It has been an honour and a privilege to have served as Captain this year of what I believe is the best club in the North.
I am indebted to all my fellow committee colleagues, particularly the chairs of sub committees for their help and support.
As a committee we are indebted to the services of Jo and her team for running the administration and clubhouse bar and catering facilities to members as well as expanding social and corporate functions that are becoming more and more important to the club finances.
Our professional Graeme and his team provide tremendous additional support in terms of the administration of all competitions, be they medals, knockouts or open meetings. In addition he maintains the handicap system as well as overseeing the academy membership scheme and junior coaching courses.
Our number one asset is the course and this year Anthony and his team have worked tirelessly to present it at its best. With a cold wet spring and growth some six to eight weeks behind the previous year some members levelled unjust criticism on the course early in the season. So much so that we commissioned an audit by the Sports Turf Research Institute (STRI) on the condition of the course and the report, published on the website, endorsed the management of the course by our team.
The club remains committed to investing in improvements both on and off the course and this year we have seen a further kitchen upgrade, a revamp of the gents toilets and shower facilities and new tables and chairs in the clubhouse. Drainage work on the 9th was undertaken and a new tractor purchased. Our green staff have installed a new wash down area for machinery to comply with legislation and opened up the ditch across the 12th fairway.
On a personal note driving into office was the highlight of my year despite the rain. Hitting a decent one was a great relief!
Congratulations to Nicky Tibbets on winning the club championship after a close fought final against Andrew Wolstencroft. Congratulations also to Kieran Waters who produced a stunning final round of 65 in the County Stroke play Championship to finish runner up. Kieran, Andrew and Chris Thursby all scored 65’s during the season and shared the Harry Watt Trophy for low score of the year.
Thank you for your support this year and I wish you all good golfing fortune in 2016.
Neil Murray
Captain
LADY CAPTAIN’S REPORT
My year as Lady Captain did not start as usual in January. The AGM was postponed for one week because of the bad weather, and my 51 week term of office began at the beginning of February. I am very pleased to say that overall the weather has been good again this year with only a few wet days during the season, and only a few of our social competitions during the winter months have had to be postponed or cancelled, especially after the storms in December.
Again, the Ladies’ Section has had another very successful year and the entries to the competitions continue to be very well supported, as well as the social and charity events held during the year.
Congratulations to Rebecca McIntyre who retained the Ladies Club Championship, to our Scratch Team who have retained the Silver Scratch Trophy for the 5th consecutive year, and also congratulations to our new Cecil Leitch B Team who have won their League and now gain promotion to Division 4.
This year the County Summer Meeting was held at Carlisle Golf Club in July. Unfortunately there were many cancellations due to the inclement weather, but this did not affect the standard of golf and I am pleased to say there were several Carlisle ladies in the prizes.
The most nerve-wracking time was my Drive into Office in March, and I breathed I sigh of relief that the ball was airborne and straight!
This year we have held many social and charity events, including Spring Coffee Morning (raising over £1260) and the Captains’ Charity Cut & Colour (raising over £530), these proceeds going to the Eden Valley Hospice and the Air Ambulance. The proceeds of the Local Charity and Christmas Fayre amounting to over £540 have been sent to MacMillan Cancer Support (Cumbria). Many thanks to all members who have supported these events, your donations and contributions are very much appreciated.
I would like to thank the Ladies Committee for all their hard work and for the support they have given me, also thank you to Jo, Graeme and Anthony and their amazing teams, and to all the members for all the help and support you have given me this year. A very big thank you goes to my Vice Captain Lesley Wilkinson for all her support both at the Golf Club and at home.
Finally I would like to say that I have thoroughly enjoyed my year as Lady Captain, it has been an honour, privilege and a pleasure, and I wish Lesley and Tom all the very best for their Captaincies in 2016.
Susan Wilkinson
Lady Captain
MANAGEMENT REPORTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30TH SEPTEMBER 2014
SECRETARY’S REPORT
From the date of the last AGM the General Committee have met on 13 occasions and the Sub Committees have met as recorded below, the names of the Chair in Brackets:
Competitions (Mr B Davidson) - 4
Greens (Dr J Britton) - 7
Finance & Future Policies (Mr T Ogden) - 5
Membership (Mr I Hoodless) - 2
House (Mr P Ashley MBE) - 8
Juniors (Miss J Bland) - 3
Marketing (Mr P Ashley MBE) - 7
The list of individual members attendances at both general and sub committee meetings has been displayed on the notice boards prior to the AGM.
Jo Kyle
Secretary/Clubhouse Manager
MEMBERSHIP REPORT
The waiting list position is virtually the same as last year with only 10 names on the list, all of whom have deferred. A total of 32 new members have joined this year - 19 in April and 13 in October. Overall there were 60 resignations during the year. The Club has 878 members in all categories (including Full, Junior, Country and Social) which includes a total of 692 Full Members a decrease on last year of 28. This is the first time in the Club’s history that we have not run at maximum membership capacity.
Mary Bellingham, Membership Secretary
FINANCE REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDING 30 SEPTEMBER 2015
As you will read elsewhere within the annual reports, 2015 has proven to be the last year with a full membership, overall this has resulted in a small increase in income when adjusting for last years Fixed Asset Restructure and has allowed us to complete the drainage programme and the Clubhouse refurbishments and improvements to the Gents Locker room and the kitchen.
On the course, in addition to the drainage, a new sweep and fill brush machine for the greens was purchase as well as a replacement tractor. This latter piece of kit was bought on a three-year finance agreement.
The practice area benefited from the new hitting mats which were laid down in the spring.
Clubhouse costs include approximately £10k within repairs for new tables and chairs recently purchased. Clubhouse wages were higher than budgeted due to having to cover a long term sickness absence.
A profit for the year of £7k has been reported.
The club continues to operate without the need for overdraft facilities; in addition to the two finance leases mention in the accounts, there are two further hire purchase agreements, all these agreements expire by May 2018.
In 2016, there are two major challenges to overcome, the first is the falling membership and the second are the changes to the CASC (Community Amateur Sporting Club) scheme. These affect both our income and costs and the committee’s proposals to address these issues have been notified to members. I hope that you will support these proposals as a failure to address these issues will have a serious detrimental effect to the club’s future finances.
A copy of the accounts can be found on the membership section of the website or a paper copy is available from the Secretary’s office.
Any queries on the accounts should be directed to me to me prior to the AGM at
Tom Ogden
Treasurer.
GREENS REPORT
Cold temperatures in spring and early summer delayed recovery of the course from heavy winter usage. A detailed survey of the course by an agronomist from the STRI (Sports Turf Research Institute) was carried out in July and implementing their recommendations should continue to improve the condition of the course over the next few years.
The course was in excellent condition during the mid-summer and thanks to a mild autumn, plus hard work by our greens staff, stayed that way until well into November. The extreme wet weather in late November and December showed the benefit of the new drainage work but also that we need to continue to invest in the drainage programme.
Plans and estimates for the work needed on the 17th (to stop the ongoing erosion of the bank next to the green by the Powmaughan Beck) are ongoing.
Dr John Britton
Greens Chairman
HOUSE REPORT
The past year has been a further year of progress as far as the club house is concerned, we have completed a 3 year upgrade of the Men’s locker room with the addition of a new insulated ceiling, low energy lighting and pressurised hot water showers all in line with an energy efficiency report provided by the Cumbria Rural Enterprise Agency.
The upgraded toilets and shower area was built by McKnight & Sons contractors and provides a prestigious facility for members and visitors in the years ahead.
We have also completed a 3 year project to source new tables and chairs for the dance floor area of the club house which were installed in December 2015.
Our food sales have grown by a satisfactory 8.7% with a similar margin to 2014 and whilst bar sales were down a little (4.2%) compared to the previous year probably due to the impact of poorer summer weather with more rainy days, it is interesting to note that visitor bar sales increased by 20% to £40,800 mainly due to an increase in functions. The healthy growth in Commercial income over the last three years up by £36,000 has made a worthwhile contribution to paying for these additional club assets.
We have recently launched our new club website as a portal to communicate with Members and Visitors alike, together with other social media outlets, we encourage you to use these and welcome comments and feedback, as we intend to keep our website as upto date as possible.