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SUMMER RAIN!
‘On the golf course, a man may be the dogged victim of inexorable fate,
be struck down by an appalling stroke of tragedy, become the hero of unbelievable melodrama,
or the clown in a side-splitting comedy - any of these in a few hours, and all without having
to bury a corpse or repair a tangled personality’
‘The more fatuously vacant the mind is, the better for play. It has been observed that absolute
idiots . …………… play steadiest. An uphill game does not make them press, nor victory within
their grasp render them careless. Alas! We cannot all be idiots. Next to the idiotic,
the dull unimaginative mind is the best for golf. In a professional competition I would prefer to
back the sallow, dull-eyed fellow, rather than any more eager looking champion.
The poetic temperament is the worst for golf. It dreams of brilliant drivers, iron shots laid dead,
and long putts held, whilst in real golf success waits for him who takes care of foozles and
leave the fine shots to take care of themselves’.
Welcome to the Autumn Newsletter.
Golf clubs, both locally and nationally are facing the change in economic circumstances that is
beginning to affect this country in particular as well as the world in general.
(Witness Northern Rock). The fact that subscriptions at KLGC remain among the lowest in the
North West (and beyond) for the privilege of playing on one of the area’s finest courses may come
as little comfort to members but that is the case. During one of the damp, as opposed to soaking,
days this Summer I managed one or two rounds with my brother at a course on the South Coast of
Cornwall. He produced a wry smile when I informed him of my annual subscription at Kirkby
Lonsdale and told me of his own club’s annual fee which was in excess of £600 for a course
decidedly inferior to our own and not subject to any rent, as indeed we are.
Even so we have managed to consider some much needed improvement to the car park and this should
be apparent in the next month or so. All being well and weather permitting the change to the 14th
green should take place this Autumn. The monies raised to this end by last year’s captain,
John Parsons, has remained ‘ring fenced’ and will be used exclusively for the designated purpose.
However, it is the last minute of the eleventh hour for some of our course machinery and despite
David Storey’s energy, hard work and mechanical skills, the need of a fairway mower is now paramount.
(See Richard Ford’s Green Report).
I think it necessary to point out that despite our present difficulties, we would be looking at a
rather uncertain future rather than a difficult one, except for Ian MacGregor’s intelligent
and prudent overseeing of the club’s financial circumstances.
The present Chairpersons of the respective sub-committees continue to work with admirable
application on behalf of the membership and are united in their determination to see that golf
at Kirkby Lonsdale remains an enjoyable, challenging and rewarding experience. Let’s hope we do
not spend too much time on temporary greens in the months ahead.
D Trembath - Vice CaptainAutumn 2007 Newsletter
Bobby Jones
Sir Walter Simpson
The Spring Newsletter, as I recollect, looked forward to the present
golfing year with hope and optimism. The weather of June, July and some of August provided the
wettest Summer this county has experienced since records have been kept. Ironically, at the time of
writing we are enjoying the beginning of Autumn under blue skies and hot sunshine. The main
talking point at present, and not unrelated to the preceding comments,
is undoubtedly the substantial increase regarding members annual subscriptions.
For relevant details I refer you to the Captain’s Report in this Newsletter.The Club Captain
Unbelievable, the season is almost over for yet another year. It has been a very busy season for Kirkby Lonsdale, hosting many prestigious events across all sections of the Club. To name but a few the County Championships for Gents, ladies and Juniors. During all the events the course has been presented in an exemplary manner, with gracious comments being received from many visitors. I think this is a good time to thank Richard Ford as Chairman of Greens and Dave Storey and his team for all the hard work this year, which has not been the easiest of seasons with the weather being so wet.
During the year there have been many initiatives to help raise funds for the club. A big thank you to Bill Scott for all his work in particular the generation of 3 new corporate memberships. Thanks also go to Colin Rhodes for leading the house committee, we have had some fantastic nights with live music and dancing along with good food from Darren and his team. Coming up are Race Night, Christmas Social and the Annual Dinner and I look forward to seeing all of you at these events.
I enjoyed a sunny away day at Barnard Castle Golf Club, my thanks to all who supported this and Barnard Castle for their hospitality.
If you have not seen the notice regarding the car park, there is good news, during the coming months work will commence to vastly improve the road and surrounding areas. Full details can be found on the notice board. We are covering the cost of this from funds raised during this year, along with donation received from members, many thanks to all. A big thank you to Mick Reid for his efforts in bringing the project to fruition.
I have already mentioned the weather earlier, unfortunately we have seen a drop in visitor income this season and we are down by over 10% on last year. This coupled with the need to replace course machinery, which is now long overdue. We have been fortunate enough to have a head green keeper who is able to repair machines thereby extending their life without the club having to pay third party bills. However, the time has come and we must purchase new machinery for the 2008 season. A full machinery schedule has been sent with your subscription renewal for 2008.
With the above in mind and after long and careful consideration the General Committee has decided that the membership must go up to £480 for the coming year. We know that this is a 15% increase (normally 4/5%) and we hope that you can understand our reason for this. Should anybody wish to discuss the matter please feel free to contact any member of the General Committee. The increase is considered the minimum necessary in order to retain the number of Green Staff, which is necessary to maintain and improve the course to the current high standard that we as members have come to expect as well as visitors. This decision has not been taken lightly, I would like to point out that the cost of daily golf is still less than £1.35 and for this you play one of the best courses in the area.
As you will no doubt remember last year funds were raised to alter and improve the 14th Green and approach. Unfortunately due to the inclement weather this did not happen, it is planned that work will commence shortly.
I would like to take this opportunity to remind all members that the decisions made by the General Committee are made for the good of the Club. If anybody has any ideas that they feel may help the club please contact any General Committee member of myself.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your support during my year as captain and wish you all the best for the remainder of the year.
Paul Rees - Club Captain
The Lady Captain
As the time for the Autumn newsletter is here my captaincy is more than halfway through. The past few months have been very hectic and time has passed quickly, I hope you have all been enjoying your season as much as I have playing on our lovely course which I am sure you will all agree has been in great condition - a big thanks to Dave and the Greens Staff for all their hard work in keeping the course open as much as possible through such a wet summer. There seem to have been a lot of ducks about this year - some two legged! I feel as if I have already played my winter golf.
We have had a very exciting and mixed programme this season but I think one of the highlights was hosting the Ladies County Championship in May. Even more exciting was the fact that the new Cumbria County Ladies Champion is our own Hester Wallace - congratulations Hester and very well played. In June Kirkby Lonsdale Ladies won the County One-Day Team Trophy at Brampton with Sandy Stoker taking the honours and the trophy for best individual net score in the County - well done Sandy.
The Past Captains Trophy in June was won by Pauline Mather. Presidents Day at the beginning of July had to be cancelled because of the weather but was then re-arranged for the end of the month and a good day was had by all. Our Club President is Euri Thompson to whom I would like to give my personal thanks for all her help and support. Congratulations, Euri, you are a great asset to the Club. Lady Captain’s Day this year was held in July and we had a very good turn out and for once the weather was very kind. Thanks to all who played and well done Sue Rees who was the overall winner.
The Barbara Metcalf Charity Day was held on the 11th August when £460 was raised for my Charity - Breakthrough Breast Cancer. The winners were Hester Wallace (Kirkby Lonsdale) and Cheryl Dickinson (Kendal).
Our Club Champion once again this year is Jo Blaydes - there’s no stopping her, congratulations Jo and very well played. A new format was played for the first time this year and any comments would be gratefully received.
The Lonsdale Trophy (36 holes) will be played on 14th October. Come on girls show your mettle and let’s have a good field for the final trophy of the season. This year’s winner of the Metcalf Cup, the Ladies Singles title, is Pat Ramsden while the Thompson Challenge, Ladies Doubles title, was won by Olivia Ley and Vicky Yates. Our congratulations to them all on their success.
Of the six Ladies teams fielded by this Club, three made the semi-finals and one the finals but sadly no victories - better luck next year. Thanks to everyone who played for the Club this year. I am sure you feel as I do, that it is a great honour to play for Kirkby Lonsdale. A special mention must be made of our Scratch Ladies Team who, in their first year in the competition, reached the County semi-finals. Well done ladies, it is quite an achievement.
The two Ladies Opens were well attended and ran smoothly thanks to Cathy Lancaster’s excellent organisational skills. Our Opens are a very good showcase for the Club and thanks go to everyone who helped to make the events run so well.
A special mention must go to Geoff, Chris and Darren for all their support and understanding and to our Ladies Committee without whom the above would not take place. I hope you enjoy your winter golf and I look forward to seeing you all on the course - maybe we will have a dry winter.
Carole Mounsey - Lady Captain
Treasurer Report
As you will appreciate, the appalling weather we have suffered this summer has impacted adversely on the club’s finances through a loss of anticipated visitor income. As a consequence it has been necessary to increase next year’s subscriptions at an above inflationary rate to ensure that we can operate within our overdraft and also have sufficient funds available to replace essential course machinery that has reached the end of its useful life. I hope that members will agree that at a full rate of £480 a year this still represents a very good value for money for an excellent course.
Despite the difficulties the gross revenue from visitors was still £91,911 to the end of September, compared to £102,564 the previous year. I have no doubt that future visitor income will increase to previous levels with improved weather conditions so long as we maintain the quality of our course. The full weekday green fee for next year has been kept at £30 mid-week and £35 at weekends as it is crucial for our finances that we remain competitive against local clubs.
I am pleased to report our adult membership numbers for the current year are 486, including 22 associate and 18 life members. This is compared to 488 the previous year. However, we have only 30 student and junior members compared to 34 previously.
Clearly the club required additional income to comfortable cover its costs and I am appreciative of the initiatives from the marketing sub-committee that should assist in achieving this. We are also looking into the financial implications of introducing buggies onto the course to encourage both more visitors and also benefit members. I look forward to reporting more fully on the Club’s finances at the forthcoming AGM.
I MacGregor - Treasurer
Clubhouse Report
Events in the clubhouse have generally been well supported. Darren has put on some excellent theme nights serving up delicious themed meals. Anyone who has not tried one of these should come along to enjoy beautifully prepared food.
We all enjoyed the live music on Captain’s Day and for the Summer Barbecue with Leather and Lace. These events were particularly well supported and raised valuable additional funds for the club.
The Social Golf afternoons have generally been well supported; however there is always space for more players. These events are not just for ‘Couples’ but are open to everyone who wants to come along for a relaxing game of golf followed by a pleasant meal. Partners are also welcome to join golfers for the meal after the event.
Please watch the new notice board in the entrance to the clubhouse and the table flyers for forthcoming events.
A French Night has been arranged for 29th September with Darren providing another of his Gourmet meals, please sign up for this as soon as possible, you will not be disappointed.
A Race Night on the 27th October is to be held in conjunction with the Autumn Fourball event. Should anyone wish to buy a horse or jockey for the event please see the bar staff or contact Colin or Kate Rhodes (01539 722500)
We are currently looking for Sponsors for this event. If anyone would wish to sponsor the event or a race on the night please contact Colin Rhodes for further details.
The Christmas Dinner has been arranged for 8th December with dancing to Leather and Lace. Please watch the notice boards for tickets.
The Car Park work to improve the surface is hopefully to start at the end of September. Our thanks go to Mick Reid for his efforts in coming up with an affordable scheme.
Colin Rhodes - Chairman of House