Devon Golf Captains FOUNDED 1937

Transcription

1 Devon Golf Captains FOUNDED 1937 President: Bernard Young Hon Secretary: Roy Smith Captain: Mike Penlington Vice Captain: Peter Dunstan CHRISTMAS NEWSLETTER 2012 A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT Another year has flown by which as usual has been so well organised thanks mainly to our Secretary Roy and his helpers. I have enjoyed my year although it is sad for me that I can no longer play. I have met quite a few of you during the year at matches and also the dinners. The 75th Anniversary Dinner at Padbrook Park was a great success as was that at Saunton Golf Club. We now have the new season to look forward to, but before that Christmas & the New Year will be upon us. I would like to take this opportunity of wishing all of you and your families a very enjoyable Christmas and a Happy & Healthy NewYear Bernard Young

2 A MESSAGE FROM THE CAPTAIN Gentlemen, Time flies when you are having fun, so the last few months for me have flown by. I have thoroughly enjoyed my captaincy so far, in particular Captains Day where I was thrilled to see so many of you taking part and humbled by the messages of support from those who couldn t attend. In the short time that has passed since the 20 th September, although I don t feel any older, I have gained a new title of Grandad, which has brought with it new duties and delights. This year will be remembered for something else too. When I initially took over I was filled with optimism for a fun and sun filled year. I ve had the fun but not much sun... Although we always played, many games were not battled to a finish with rain still persisting down. I look forward to the spring and hope that a new season will bring with it an improvement in weather and an opportunity to shed some of the waterproofs which have been worn out this year. At this time it is appropriate to say a big thank you: thank you to everyone who has played; my vice-captain, Pete Dunstan, for all the support and getting a team for every match; our secretary, Roy Smith, for all the work he does, especially behind the scenes; those of you who have helped out at short notice and everybody who has helped contribute to making the 75 th year such a success. Roy Smith and I were pleased to attend the Hampshire Captains Dinner recently, where we were looked after in fine order at Waterlooville Golf Club. To round up it is only left for me to wish you all a wonderful and merry Christmas, best wishes for the New Year and I look forward to seeing you all next year. Mike

3 A MESSAGE FROM THE VICE CAPTAIN I was very honoured to have been elected by you to the position of Vice Captain of the Devon Golf Captains at our AGM held at Downes Crediton Golf Club on 17 th May I duly located my golfing shorts and was looking forward to those long hot balmy summers days ahead playing golf and enjoying the camaraderie of my fellow past Captains from across the County. Little did I know that the most used item in my golf bag in the forthcoming months would be my umbrella! Since the above date in May I have participated in 14 Devon Golf Captains matches.5 of those matches were not played to a conclusion because we were driven to take refuge in the clubhouse by a range of elements which included torrential rain, thunder, lightning, hail stones and flooding. However I did have the benefit of enjoying your company longer at the 19 t h hole! A further 4 of the matches were played to a conclusion but the heavy rain tested my waterproofs to their limits! It is hard now to remember the 5 matches that were played in relatively dry conditions! My record in the 9 matches that were completed is not impressive since 5 were lost and 4 halved. However they say it is the taking part that is important! 2012 has been a special year for the Devon Golf Captains. We have had many extra events to celebrate our 75 th Anniversary. It has been a pleasure working with your Captain Mike Penlington who, despite the weather, has kept our chins up and led us from the front in the right spirit. I am looking forward to meeting many more of you in the matches in In particular I keenly anticipate the Captain v Vice Captain s match on Thursday 25 th April which has become a very popular fixture in our golfing calendar. Now is the time of the year we receive our diaries for the

4 forthcoming year. When you receive yours perhaps you could reserve Thursday 19 th September 2013 which is due to be my Captain s Day on the East Course at Saunton. I hope to see many of you there on the day. Finally I would like to wish you and your families a Merry Christmas, a Happy and Healthy New Year and enjoyable golf in Peter Dunstan Vice Captain A MESSAGE FROM THE SECRETARY As 2012 comes to a close, we cannot help but reflect on the many highlights we have all enjoyed throughout the past 11 months. There was, of course, the Queens Jubilee, celebrated by the nation and, likewise, the Olympic Games, held in London for the third time and we will all remember, for a long time, the marvellous achievements by the home competitors, winning a staggering 29 gold medals. Who would have dreamt that before the games started. Actually, at the first London Olympics in 1908, Great Britain topped the medals table, winning 56 golds, when most of the 2,000+ competitors were British and the games lasted from April to October. Living in Middlesex during the 1948 Olympics, I did attend the athletics on one day, seeing the Dutch lady, Fanny Blankers-Koen win the 200 metres by a street, one of her 4 golds. The GB team won three golds that year, but I could not name one of them. Actually the sailing was held in Torbay. Anyway, I digress, I am supposed to be writing about golf, the Devon Golf Captains, in fact has been a great celebration year for us also, our 75 th year producing many memorable occasions including

5 the Padbrook Park dinner, the members individual tournament at Saunton, (who will forget the after dinner speech by Dr. Nayyar Naqvi from the Liverpool Golf Captains) the joint celebrations with the St.Pierre Club (their 50 th year) and last, but certainly not least, our Captain, Mike Angelos and his 24 strong team winning the inaugural West of England Captains Inter County Championship at Saunton Golf Club. This is now to be an annual event and I don t envy our 2012 Captains job of selecting the team to defend the title. I must make mention of our past 2011 President, dear old Stan Setter. He was so keen to hold the office for the two year term, and it was really great to listen to him recount his earlier days at Downes Crediton. Unfortunately,Stan had been struggling with a dodgy, very expensive, hearing aid all year, so much so he had to miss out on our big occasions, as he felt embarrassed at being unable to converse with the guests. He did attend his President s Day at Downes Crediton in May, insisting on spending all day, starting,up at the 1 st tee. Sadly, by the end of the start sheet, he was absolutely shattered and had to cry off for the dinner. Many thanks for all you have done for the Captains, Stan, we all hope you will enjoy many more years following our wonderful game and also, get that dodgy hearing aid sorted!!! A much fitter Bernard Young is now in office and is looking forward to seeing most of you at Teignmouth next May for his President s Day. Best wishes also to Alf Hunt, now in his 8?th year and still appearing at most of the big occasions. He did have us worried by his nonappearance at the Padbrook dinner, got held up in bad traffic, and had to turn round and head back to Stratford. We have a two day fixture up in Shropshire in June, so no doubt Alf will appear once again. Have a good Xmas, Alf,you are always in our thoughts. Earlier this month, your 2012 Captain, Mike (rain-man) Penlington and myself attended the usual invitation from the Hampshire Captains to their annual dinner, held this year at Waterlooville Golf Club. Some 116 diners sat down and, this year, I was separated from our Captain and seated with 9 other County Secretaries, mostly from the Home counties. This was a great source of useful information, although, as all these Counties have a small yearly income from their

6 members, by way of a standing order,their biggest problem is how to spend the money. (Hence the Hampshire annual dinner, inviting all the Counties they play against during the year) Surrey Captains, for instance, with some 900+ members, have 7 matches against other Counties and 7 tournaments annually, plus an overseas tour. They had just held their annual dinner, on the previous Wednesday evening,at the Wentworth Club, with the final bill amounting to 13,000 Kent Captains are subsidising an overseas golf trip to Turkey, early next year, for 63 Captains. How the other half live!!!!! My initial task, at the outset, was to wish all the Devon Captains, the compliments of the season, with special mention to all the Indians Namely, Malcolm Jordain, Henry Paget, Mike Penlington, Peter Dunstan,and our Saunton link, Colin Maw. They all do a great job, mainly behind scenes, and their efforts are very much appreciated by us all. So, Devon Captains, have a wonderful festive season, with many happy moments at family re-unions etc, and don t forget, get your entries in to us for the 2013 fixtures, we look forward to seeing everyone at some time during the 2013 season. Yours very truly, Roy Smith Hon. Secretary A MESSAGE FROM THE MATCH SECRETARY The past summer proved to be a very difficult time with the wet weather affecting several of our matches both at home and away. However I experienced no problems with confirming the home match some 2 or 3 weeks before the match. Every one of the host club Manager/Secretaries were very helpful as were their catering staff when I

7 came to negotiate the cost of the day s catering. Catering costs have been steadily rising year on year but I m pleased to report that with some degree of bartering we pay on average only a couple of pounds more than we did 2 or 3 years ago. Within the next few weeks I hope to finalise the venues for all our home matches in 2014, the 2013 venues are already in the respective clubs calendar. As soon as I receive the last two clubs confirmations a new 3 year fixture list will be published on the website. Some of our members will be interested to know that, with the exception of one club, all clubs continue to offer us courtesy of their course for our matches. The odd club is East Devon GC. And it is disappointing that they will not give us 1hour 15 minutes tee time every 3 or 4 years, it is one of the county s major courses and one we would like to show off to many of our visiting Captains. I would like to acknowledge the efforts of Past President Ron Blake who has tried tirelessly to persuade his club to change their mind. As many will know I am coming to the end of my first year as President of The Devon County Golf Union, it is a two year term of office which will end at the Council meeting in December It has been a very busy year as you can imagine, attending virtually all the tournaments, the inter county matches of the Mens, Senior s and the Junior Boy s Team s. I m pleased to report the success of the Men and Senior s in winning their respective Channel League s. The downside to it all is that I have not been able to play much golf particularly for Devon Captains. However I am very honoured and privileged to represent the County at events around the South West and South Wales and I did get to play two wonderful courses, Royal Porthcawl and Copt Heath. My very best wishes to you all for Christmas and Henry Paget

8 COLIN MAW SAUNTON 2013 For your diaries THURSDAY 7 TH MARCH 2013 sees the return of the opportunity to really kickstart the competitive season with Devon Golf Captains four man team event. With an ever expanding mailing list of past captains it is no surprise that this event sells out so quickly. Top comedian Bob Webb has been retained for the after dinner entertainment and, providing the weatheris kind, we can all look forward to another great day together and unique clubhouse camaraderie. Also please note, at about this time Mike rainman Penners will be deliberating about the line up for the West of England Captains twenty four man team event on Thursday 4 th April With Devon defending the title by the slimmest of margins from Somerset you can only imagine the midnight hours that will be spent by the popular weather guru poring over the computer based information of past captains form since records began just after the war! Seriously, with all six West of England counties extremely keen to participate, I am confident this event will enhance our fixture list and cement our relationships with the other counties captains. While plans are underway to update the Saunton clubhouse (possibly early 2014) this should allow for a better visual seating arrangement however, the current capacity of one hundred and sixty competitors is unlikely to be increased consequently, your continued fast response to your invitations is strongly recommended. I very much look forward to seeing you all in Very best wishes Colin Maw The winners Devon

9 An Ode to Golf In My Hand I Hold A Ball, White And Dimpled...Rather Small. Oh, How Bland It Does Appear, This Harmless Looking Little Sphere. By Its Size I Could Not Guess The Awesome Strength It Does Possess. But Since I Fell Beneath Its Spell, I've Wandered Through The Fires Of Hell. My Life Has Not Been Quite The Same Since I Chose To Play This Stupid Game It Rules My Mind For Hours On End; A Fortune It Has Made Me Spend. It Has Made Me Curse And Made Me Cry, And Hate Myself And Want To Die. It Promises Me A Thing Called Par, If I Hit It Straight And Far. To Master Such A Tiny Ball, Should Not Be Very Hard At All. But My Desires The Ball Refuses, And Does Exactly As It Chooses. It Hooks And Slices, Dribbles And Dies, And Disappears Before My Eyes. Often It Will Have A Whim, To Hit A Tree Or Take A Swim. With Miles Of Grass On Which To Land, It Finds A Tiny Patch Of Sand. Then Has Me Offering Up My Soul, If Only It Would Find The Hole. It's Made Me Whimper Like A Pup, And Swear That I Will Give It Up. And Take To Drink To Ease My Sorrow, But The Ball Knows... I'll Be Back Tomorrow. Stand proud, noble swingers of clubs and losers of balls!

10 Recent studies found average golfers walk 900 miles a year. Another study found golfers drink 22 gallons of alcohol a year. This means, on average, golfers get 41 miles to the gallon! Kind of makes you proud. Almost makes you feel like a hybrid... English Golf Captains For those of us who are members of EGCs the dates and venues for next year have not yet been finalised. They will be published in early January on the England Golf website for regional events and the Final. DGCs are to promote a County event in 2013 with the winner qualifying for the National Final, subject to us establishing a field of 55 to 60 players. The venue for the Devon event will be Stover GC kindly acting as hosts, the date will be announced in the New Year and will be available to enter via Roy. This national competition was one of the best kept secrets for a number of years, particularly as reigning Captains are honorary members for their year. The EGU provide golf and accommodation including a practice day for all qualifiers, entries will open online early January. For a second occasion English Golf Captains arranged a match against Liverpool Captains, this time at Ormskirk Golf Club. I was again fortunately selected for the EGC team and found myself paired with Paul Reiz the original CEO of English Golf Captains. Paul as many of you may remember is a real character, a retired American USAF Major prior to setting up EGCs. Paul and I had a most enjoyable match against the Captain of Liverpool Captains Ian Gregson and a Past Captain Derek Walkden, we managed to win our game and EGCs narrowly prevailed in the match For those who may be interested to play in future matches, to be arranged next year, look on the England Golf website for information. MJ.

11 James Rowland & The Rules of Golf Five interesting Rules 1. You and your Opponent in Match Play are both on the green. You putt first. Your ball cannons off his ball into the hole. You have holed out with no penalty (Rule 19-5a). 2. Your huge drive strikes your Opponent in Match Play, or his caddie, on the knee and comes to rest Out of Bounds. You are entitled to cancel and replay the stroke without penalty, even if your victim was himself standing Out of Bounds when he was hit! (Rule 19-3) 3. On a par three, your downhill birdie putt runs off the green into a bunker. Without moving your feet, and without saying a word, you can take a ball from your pocket, place it on the green, and replay the stroke. If this time you hole it your score for the hole is four. (Rule 27-1a) 4. You drop your ball in a Dropping Zone. It rolls forward six feet and comes to rest outside the DZ and closer to the hole. But the ball is in play. You must not lift and re-drop it or even touch it. (Appendix 1B-8f) 5. In Match Play, you play from the wrong teeing-ground by mistake, towards the jungle. Your Opponent elects not to recall the stroke (Rule 11-5). You decide to play a provisional. You must drop your provisional on the wrong teeing-ground and you are not allowed to tee it. (Rule 20-5b) Of course, everyone who has attended a DCGU Rules School would know all this already! JMR

12 Devon County Golf Union John Hirst and the DCGU office have moved to Unit 1Tavy Business Centre, Pitts Cleave Tavistock PL10 0NU Okehampton GC. Centenary Year & DGCs is a special year for Okehampton Golf Club for they are to celebrate their centenary with a range of events to mark this milestone. Amongst other plans they are to play Devon Golf Captains on Tuesday 4 th June, David Warren, Centenary Captain elect, is expected to lead the Okehampton team. Included in the team hopefully will be Peter Brown (Okehampton 1967) who is to enjoy the honour of Honorary Centenary Patron, bestowed upon him by the club. In the New year consideration to be included in this special occasion will be given by Peter Dunstan who will by that time be DGCs Captain. Eggheads? This popular evening quiz watched by many of us, especially at this time of year, is a possible fund raiser either for DGCs or for charity perhaps. Is there anyone out there that would like to join in a team and try to enter the programme? A team of five is necessary with a suitable team name, currently we have Ted Rockey, James Rowland and yours truly, if you are interested please contact me via info@devongolfcaptains.org.uk or The BBC apparently pay all expenses including accommodation, It could be good fun and who knows in the unlikely event that we should win profitable MJ

13 Editor s Footnote What a special year this has been for all those who have been actively involved with our celebratory events, in this our 75 th Anniversary Year. The opening of Devon Golf Captains year is now traditionally the Colin Maw Jamboree at Saunton G.C. which as usual was fully subscribed. The first celebratory event was the dinner at Padbrook Park on March 30th with over 100 members gathered to meet up with friends old and new. One week later many of us were back at Saunton to play in the inaugural Six Counties Tournament, conceived and organised by Mr Saunton Colin Maw. A huge success enjoyed by everyone present with a bonus for DGCs by way of a win in this our special year. The usual matches followed accompanied by a taste of weather which proved to be the standard for the rest of the season. President s Day saw Mike Angelos hand over to Mike Penlington and his reign commenced, so did the rain. We travelled to Warwickshire and Oxfordshire where both matches were abandoned as washouts, after a few holes. On the Sunday however play returned to Devon at Dainton Park where we entertained St Pierre with another extra fixture also celebrating their 50 th year. Dainton in excellent order was enjoyed by all and of course the food a very welcome addition. Next on the list of special events for this year the flagship event, the 75 th Anniversary Tournament, once again we returned to Saunton. This was truly a tremendous success in all departments, financially, competitively and socially. We were fortunate to have in our guest speaker a man who not only brought an informed quality to his oratory but an energy and ebullience quite unique. Nayyar Naqvi, Past Captain of Wigan Golf Club and The Liverpool Golf Captains Society was indeed a very welcome guest.

14 The final extra event was to be another match against South Wales Coastal Captains at St. Mellons played the day after the traditional match versus St Pierre at Chepstow, once again a washout! Mercifully the sun shone hot and long at St. Mellons allowing a splendid match to take place. So there you have it, in spite of the wicked wet weather a fine season of celebration enjoyed with humour and friendship by all. Arriving at Mike s excellent Captain s Day the season was over and some clubs were dispatched to the naughty club cupboard under the stairs, to emerge next year blinking in the light of fresh optimism and the next 25 years until our Centenary Year, good luck to all who may be there! I have a very special thank you from all of us to Roy Smith this year. Roy, as many of you already know is the real tour de force in our midst, this year however has been a much harder year than ever before with a much heavier workload than usual. There has to be a Roy in every organisation for a successful operation, we are hugely fortunate to have the original. Next I would like to convey yours and my thanks to Henry Paget for all his work in the backroom, arranging all the matches and home venues. Henry as you know is currently President of Devon Golf Union so his time spent on our behalf is very much appreciated. Lastly, but certainly not least, my very good friend Chris Morton who provides terrific support and help in my IT moments of despair. Chris is always prepared to spend a lot of time when we need to update the website or suggest improvements. To Chris once again my thanks and yours also. My very best wishes to everyone for a Merry Christmas and a very happy and healthy Ed. Malcolm Jordain