DELEGATES MEETING MINUTES
GERRARDS CROSS GOLF CLUB
25th May 2011, 2pm WEDNESDAY
PRESENT: / Actium
Margaret Maisey County President
Sue Lee County Captain
Lynda Hilton Honorary Secretary
Anne Bridges County Training Officer
Cathy Armstrong Second Team Captain & Acting Junior Co-Ordinator
Teddy Bevan Seniors’ Captain Acting
Sue McKeon EWGA Representative & Joint Comps Secretary
Christine Bishop Handicap Advisor Acting
Club / Delegate / Additional Attendee
Abbey Hill
Aylesbury Golf Centre
Aylesbury Park / Fran Coombs
Beaconsfield / Julie Cooper
Buckingham / Mo Dawson
The Buckinghamshire
Burnham Beeches / Sue Woodward
Chartridge Park
Chesham & Ley Hill / Linda Harvey
Chiltern Forest
Datchet / Margaret Gilbert / Enid Hope & Sylvia Parson - Captain
Denham / Margaret Lindsay / Kathy Connolly - Captain
Ellesborough / Sue Clutterbuck
Farnham Park / Maureen J Brooker
Flackwell Heath / Fran Sturrock
Gerrards Cross / Sheila Brodie
Harewood Downs / Maxine Kappler - Captain
Harleyford / Jane Burns – Past Captain
Hazlemere / Ann Cox
Hedsor
Huntswood / Cecilia Williams
Iver
Ivinghoe
Lambourne / Maura Spencer
Magnolia Park / Ann Dite
Mentmore / Barbara Brown / Carolyn McKewan - Captain
Oakland Park / Hilary Davies / Chris Marshall
Princes Risborough / Valerie Dexter
Richings Park
Stoke Park / Wendy Saunders
Stowe / Margot Lohman
Tattenhoe
Thorney Park
Three Locks
Wavendon / Ann Pullan
Weston Turville / Chris Reading
Wexham Park
Whiteleaf / June Marriott
Windmill Hill
Woburn / Susanna Mitterer
Wycombe Heights / Irene Finlayson
Action
1 / APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Janet Beal Joint Competitions Secretary
Pia Davis Treasurer
Sheila Cree Harewood Downs
Margaret Pitman Chiltern Forest
Janet Portergill Harleyford
Judy Fuller Chartridge Park
Sheila Cadge Weston Turville
2 / MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING
The minutes were signed as a true record.
3 / MATTERS ARISINGPage 4 – no practice match against Hertfordshire.
Page 8 – during the draw for the Bucks Shield knockout the numbers 6 and 9 were read incorrectly. The Executive consulted with the clubs concerned and it was agreed to go with the original draw.
4 / COUNTY CAPTAIN – Sue Lee
It is well over three months since the last Delegates meeting and they have been very busy months for the County.
§ / In March we held a very successful County lunch in the Sculptor Gallery at Woburn Abbey. We managed to raise over £1000 for our charity, Dreamflight so a huge thank you to all the clubs for donating prizes for the raffle and for the generosity of everyone that attended. My thanks also for all the messages of support and thanks that I received. My speakers Sam and Jo Head and Pat Pearce all sent complimentary thanks with comments on what lovely friendly County members we have.
§ / I have enjoyed attending many of the junior events that Cathy or Anne will be telling you about but it is so amazing watching our youngsters progressing with such enthusiasm and confidence. A huge thank you must go not only to Cathy and Anne but also to the great junior committee that we have.
The County first team have played two matches one against Middlesex at Beaconsfield and the other against Bedfordshire at The Bedfordshire Golf Club. We won both matches convincingly and it was good to see some promising pairing emerging. My thanks go to Beaconsfield Golf club for hosting the home fixture.
§ / Our County 2nd team and Seniors have also done well and Cathy and Teddy will be reporting on those matches.
§ / The County Exec hosted the Bucks Vice Captains meeting at Gerrards Cross on 27th April and it was lovely to meet all of them. Again thanks to Gerrards Cross for allowing the use of their club house.
§ / Gerrards Cross were also the host club for our County Championships held there on the 6th,7th and 8th of May. We had a great three days in mainly dry conditions on a superbly presented course. Our new County Champion is Jess Burrows who defeated Lydia Johnston in the final. We also have our first Seniors Champion and that is our very own Cathy Armstrong. Sue McKeon will be giving a full report later but I would like to thank everyone that helped out over the three days especially everyone at Gerrards Cross ably headed by Lady Captain Judith and our own admin team of Sue, Lynda and Janet. Margaret as always helped out as and when needed and also joined Past President Noreen as very competent starters.
§ / We named our County squad of 12 who will represent Bucks at County Match Week at The Worcestershire Golf Club from 20th to 24th June. They are Jess Burrows, Harriet Beasley, Julie Cooper, Zoe Fitz Costa, Annabel Dimmock, Gemma Dryburgh, Steph Gough, Evie Ing, Lydia Johnston, Clara Leathers, Susanna Mitterer and Charlotte West. We wish them all well. I think this is our youngest ever County Team.
§ / I know it is a long way to go but if any of you fancy a day out do please put on your red tops and come along and support your County team.
Thanks to you all for coming along today.
5 / EXECUTIVE OFFICERS’ REPORTS
Joint Competitions Secretary - Sue McKeon (League, County Championship & Annual Comps)
The weather, once again, played havoc with the Winter Scratch League but all matches were finished within the time frame.
Buckingham, Denham, Wavendon and Lambourne won their respective Divisions. Congratulations to them. As in previous years the number of divisions and their make-up/promotions and demotions will not be known until entries close at the end of August. The entry form will be circulated shortly to Lady Captains – and of course will be available in the Club section of the website.
§ / Summer Scratch League 2011. Results are coming in and the website is up to date.
The County Championship was played here at Gerrards Cross with the 36 hole qualifier on Friday 6th May and the 16 lowest gross scores going through to the matchplay stages over the weekend. 38 ladies played after 5 late withdrawals, from 18 clubs. 5 were juniors, 4 intermediates (between 18 and 25) and 16 seniors played for the Seniors Championship Trophy, of which 8 played just 18 holes. The course was in fantastic condition, the pin placements were very fair, the weather behaved – there were 5 eagles and 76 birdies scored on the Friday, not forgetting Julie Cooper’s hole in one on the 8th.
On Friday evening the Seniors Championship Trophy was presented to Cathy Armstrong, the Baxter Bowl (Intermediate Trophy) Jess Burrows, both from Ellesborough with Jess going on to become our 2011 Champion beating Lydia Johnston from Harleyford in the final. Those of us watching from the greenside of the Misbourne had a completely different view of those telling 2nd shots from Jess and Lydia, all square after 17 holes. Hearts were in mouths as Jess changed her mind about playing short and her ball bounced over the water to finish pin high in two. Lydia’s lie in the rough snagged the shot a little and although her chip onto the green was good Jess’ birdie putt was never in doubt. It was all very exciting. The semi-finalists were Annabel Dimmock, Wentworth, and Nicola Marshall, Denham. Some 36 spectators watched the final and we would like to thank Gerrards Cross for giving us courtesy of the course and looking after us so well. I would like to thank Judith and Noreen who acted as starters and all the other Gerrards Cross members who ball spotted, did the meeting and greeting and a special thank you to Anne Leech who was invaluable with the scoring procedures. Thanks also to Janet and Lynda for their hard work on the Friday and Sue and Margaret for stirling efforts on Saturday and Sunday As our Treasurer states it is the intention for the Championship to be self funding and we should achieve that this year. This is by no means a reflection that a loss was made in previous years. However last year’s entry fee was £49 and with inflation and the new rate of VAT the entry fee could have been in the region of £52/55 but was in fact just £40. We are aware of the costs involved for all participants and strive to keep the entry fees for all our competitions as low as possible. Executive will review the Championship at its next meeting and we will be well prepared for next year’s at Harewood Downs May 11th, 12th, 13th.
§ / The Summer Meeting. This new competition is at Mentmore on Thursday 21st July, an alliance stableford over the Rosebery Course. 18 teams of three have entered from 8 clubs and the closing date is June 21st. Course capacity is 30 teams so please continue to promote entries.
§ / No Cygnet Trophy Results in as yet.
Joint Competitions Secretary– Janet Beal (Knockouts)
The first round of the Bucks Shield is complete. The second round will be draw during this meeting.
§ / The first round of the Challenge Cup finishes on 29th May, with four matches still to be completed.
§ / The first round of the Rose Bowl finished on 22nd May, with all matches completed.
§ / The first round of the Champion of Champions finished on 15th May, with 1 out of 8 second round matches has been played.
§ / The Summer Greensomes is in the second round, with 5 of 16 matches complete.
§ / All the results are posted on the web site as soon as they are available.
§ / Hopefully everyone has been enjoying nice weather for all their matches.
Acting Seniors’ Captain – Teddy Bevan
Buckinghamshire Senior Ladies played their first league match on the 14th April at Buckingham GC against Hampshire Ladies - the day was thoroughly enjoyedby all, especially Buckinghamshire as we won 5 and a half to 1 and a half.
§ / The next senior's Fixture was at Stoke Park on Wednesday 18th May - Buckinghamshire played against the Berkshire Vets, in a greensomes competition which resulted in Buckinghamshire winning 6 to 1! The day was again enjoyed by all, except probably some of the Berkshire vets, as Stoke Park was in wonderful condition, and the tea was very good indeed.
§ / We have yet to play our next league match against Berkshire at The Berkshire on Monday 23rd May - will be able to give the results at the Delegates Meeting.
§ / Delegates could ask their senior ladies (over the age of 50) withhandicap of 14 or less, if they would be interested in representing their county in playing in League or friendly matches.
§ / We are very much interested in the delegates asking their Senior Ladies if they would like to participate in the Autumn Cup - players can apply on line through the BCLGA website or through their BCLGA handbook
§ / Dates and venues are being arranged for next year.
County Training Officer - Anne Bridges
It seems a long time ago that I mentioned that we had the first 3 sessions for the season somehow managing to avoid all the bad weather and now I can report that we have finished the main part of the training for the year.
§ / The February session continued with mental preparation, followed by how to control the ball by drawing and fading. We finished with a session on course management using the video of Jean Van de Velde playing the 18th at the Open and also looking at some of the holes at Mentmore where the England U13 and U15 will be held this summer.
§ / The March session worked really well as there was so much variety – we concluded our work on mental skills, a short session on the range on pre shot routine followed by a short competition. We then moved outside with time being split between short game on the course and chipping and putting skill challenges.
§ / Unfortunately I have had to cancel the April session and with so much other golf in the holidays for the girls it wasn’t possible to rearrange.
§ / In our last session in May we concentrated on various aspects of putting (reading breaks, distance control and pressure putting) and also a structured practice routine making practice more similar to game situations so “practising with a purpose”
§ / We have one further session in July for the squad that will be selected to repesent Bucks at the County Match Days in August. This will be held at Frilford Heath
§ / We held a practice round at Mentmore in April for those girls entering the England U13 and U15 and one further round will be next week.
§ /
BB&O Academy places for 2011
The girls in the BB&O Academy have had 3 sessions so far, there is now a break during the summer and it will resume again in September.Acting Handicap Advisor – Christine Bishop
I contacted all the Handicap Secretaries in the Bucks County region in April to let them have my details and to give them a copy of the FAQ on Active/Inactive Handicaps; which continues to cause a certain amount of confusion and requires clarification.
§ / I have made contact with Sue Rawles who is an R&A Qualified Referee with a view to her delivering a Rules Session for Buckinghamshire Ladies. Sue is particularly busy at the moment but is willing to organise something for later in the year, perhaps September/October time.
A new CONGU handbook will be in force from 1st January 2012 and I have been in touch with EWGA to try and find out how they plan to impart the changes. As yet, I have not been briefed but as soon as I am will work out the best way of informing our Handicap Secretaries.