HAVERHILL GOLF CLUB. Captain's Report for AGM on 12th December 2018

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1 HAVERHILL GOLF CLUB Captain's Report for AGM on 12th December 2018 Introduction As the curtain prepares to fall on my captaincy I discover something else I didn't know: I have to write this report for the AGM. Through the year I have come to realise that the Captain's role in a golf club's affairs is not as vital as I had imagined. Which is a good thing. The day to day life of a golf club trundles on regardless of what the Captain might think or do. The course is maintained by the green keepers, the food and drink provided by the bar and kitchen staff, the supply of equipment and golf teaching by the professionals and the operational and management stuff by the office staff. Oh and the cleaner cleans. Overseeing all this is the Committee chaired by the President. As for the weather there's not much you can do about that. It all works tolerably well and I like to think the system ensures that the members get to play their golf throughout the year without being unduly bothered by the minutiae of management. Below I have recorded some fairly random reflections on my year as it draws to an end. By and large it's been a good year. No one has called for my defenestration. No one has sworn or shouted at me or abused me on social media. Not that I'm aware of anyway. I am happy to take that as a modest measure of success. Others, of course, may disagree. So here goes. County Competitions The Club has had an extraordinarily successful year in competitive team golf. On a sunny day in September at Ufford Park Eamonn Bareham led his troops to a stunning win against the favourites, the mighty Ipswich Golf Club, in the Tolly Cobbold Cup. It is sixteen years since Haverhill Golf Club lifted the Tolly and it was one of the most joyful and emotional occasions I have witnessed on a golf course. Tears rolled down the cheeks of normally hardnosed observers as Eamonn, arms aloft, brought in the final pair knowing his job was done. I am pleased to report that after a subsequent bout of serious ill health Eamonn will be back to captain the Tolly team next year. Further success followed at Stowmarket ten days later when Bob Hammett's seniors carried off the Beaumont Trophy ruthlessly denying Bury St Edmunds a second successive win in the final. For the first time in the Club's history it had won two of the main Suffolk Golf Union mens' team competitions. Furthermore there was an heroic effort by our scratch team who were only narrowly edged out of the Stenson Trophy by Hintlesham in the final match of a thrilling semi-final at Bury St Edmunds. The Stenson boys took down some big guns on their way to the semi and much credit and many thanks must go to David Spittle who stepped in at short notice to captain the team and to Ollie Rush for his invaluable assistance. It was noticeable that at all the matches our teams were invariably far better supported than their opponents.

2 Team captains have already been confirmed in post for the 2019 campaigns. Any one wishing to be considered for selection should keep an eye on the notice boards for availability sheets. The ladies have had a good year in their Suffolk competitions. The Weston team were promoted from Division 3 to Division 2 after finishing a point behind the winners and in the Cranworth Trophy our ladies reached the semi-final before going down to Felixstowe. The ladies seniors having beaten Seckford in the Jubilee Shield were wrongly disqualified by the Suffolk Ladies County Golf Association: a poor decision that was subsequently quashed by the R&A Rules Committee. The Juniors Our junior team of James Iron, Fiona Stokes and Jason Carpenter won the Suffolk County team match play title against Diss at Newton Green and later in the year went on to acquit themselves creditably in the national finals at Frilford Heath in Oxfordshire. Ellis Kerr has made further encouraging progress this year including playing in America. Niall Lenahan is another name for the future having performed well in the Wee Wonders at St Andrews. Ellis and Niall are both under 10 and represent the future of the Club. We need to continue our drive for more juniors. The Junior Committee are doing a great job and this year Ollie Rush has worked tirelessly and imaginatively on various initiatives to introduce increasing numbers of children to golf at Haverhill. Ollie's efforts are beginning to pay dividends but as a club we all need to be aware of the importance of encouraging junior golfers. It would be fantastic if we could get back to the days when a cohort of juniors was brought up through the ranks and into the adult world of golf. Social Under the Club Rules the Captain has the right to sit on all sub-committees.of course the Captain would be insane to take that too literally and I kept my head down until being unceremoniously plonked on the Social, Golf, Membership and Finance Committees. I don't propose to rehearse here the various social events of this year which have included musical interludes, race nights, quizzes and possibly others that may have escaped me. The main social event was the Three Captain's Dinner in August for which I can claim some credit or blame depending on your view. The Lady Captain, Siobhan and Seniors' Captain John Grainger (and Christine) kindly agreed to help me organise this event. Persuading the members to support it was another matter. In the event I think it was a success. Club competitions Members of both sides of the gender divide have competed vigorously throughout the year in both match play and stroke play events. The Golf Committee this year have in response to the members wishes introduced more roll up medal competitions that both the men and ladies can play in. This will help members hone their competitive skills and reduce their handicaps. We have also undertaken single issue surveys at some of the majors to make their format more user friendly. The Tuesday Hoot was again very

3 popular in the capable hands of Andrew and Lindsey Cornish and Howard Wood supervised the Friday Bits with a bewildering array of spreadsheets and rewards. Inter club matches As usual the Seniors were easily the most active playing over 40 matches against other clubs with varying degrees of success. The Ladies played 16 matches against other clubs. The men played matches against just three other clubs which included a new home and away fixture against my old childhood club, St.Ives. These matches proved so popular I had to persuade their captain to increase the team numbers..twice! The Course The exceptionally dry Summer left much of the course parched creating challenges for Glen Norris our Head Green Keeper and his team which they rose to wonderfully well. The fairways have recovered far more swiftly than many other courses. The Committee has sanctioned a rolling programme of course improvements including improved bunkers on the 8th, new tees on the 3rd and 10th and the Half Way House referred to above. A new medal tee on the 8th will be finished in The greens continue to attract praise from members and visitors alike. The Committee has commissioned a tree audit which will result in a significant thinning out of trees on the new part of the course. We are also undertaking a tree risk assessment to deal with any further removals for safety reasons following that of the large tree on the 1st last year. As I write this report new tee boards are being installed on all 18 holes generously and anonymously sponsored by a member. These look very smart and will bring in significant extra annual revenue from advertisers. Highlights There have been some wonderful days at the Club this year. Here are some of the highlights from my perspective. Dressing up as the Mad Hatter for starter duties at the Lady Captain's Day in July was great fun if a little warm. The Ladies looked fabulous in their Alice in Wonderland dresses. The opening of the Half Way House for my Captain's Day marked the culmination of a lot of hard work and determination by John and Chris Grainger as well as the green staff and volunteers who erected it. Happily it withstood the assault launched by Alan O'Donohue from the 10th fairway. This is a wonderful addition to the on course facilities. The Course Development(formerly Linton) Classic raised 3,291 which, although more than in the previous two years, was below par. My thanks to Nathan Young and his cadets for their generous and able help on the day. I have had the great pleasure of partnering Paul Wilby our PGA professional in a series of ten challenges by the members. My main contribution to these enjoyable matches has been to encourage Paul to "rest" his driver. His haul of

4 eleven birdies in the last two games was very impressive. Our final account read won 3, lost 4 and halved 3. Many thanks to Paul and all our opponents. Paul also kindly organised the mens' overnight trip to Pidley Golf Club which saw his team overpower my team in a Ryder Cup style match played over two days. It was a testament to Paul's popularity that this event was fully subscribed. In September I played in the PGA(East) Captain's Day Pro-Am at Bishops Stortford with Paul, vice captain Peter and Lady Captain Siobhan. Despite our pro rolling back the years by very nearly winning the pro title alas we finished amongst the also runs. The Family Fun Day in September saw over 500 members of the public coming through the gates to enjoy the various stalls and the golf exercises on the 1st fairway. This followed the children's Easter Egg Hunt in April which my children and grandsons loved. In October the Club staged a very successful Halloween Night for members with their families. All these events were organised by Ollie Rush and undertaken with the help of the staff and volunteers. Thanks go to Ollie for his hard work, invention and organisational skills. Ollie was again heavily involved in another initiative: the Ladies' Taster Day in May which saw 15 local ladies receiving an introduction to golf. Despite the heavy burden of committee work meetings have been fun, laced with laughter and barely a cross word. I would like to thank all my fellow committee members for their friendship and commitment throughout the year with a special mention to our President Simon Cousins who is the cog around which the Haverhill GC wheel currently revolves. Rules review Throughout the year Vice Captain Peter Young and I have been looking at the Club's Articles of Association and Rules. This review has highlighted a significant number of anomalies that we feel need addressing. Some arise from the piecemeal way that changes have been made in the past and others to simple drafting mistakes. There is evident confusion over the makeup of the Committee as laid down in the Articles and Rules. Next year the Committee will bring some proposed alterations before the membership at an EGM following consultation. The Committee has also approved a proposal for the Club to do away with the post of Club Captain and replace it with a Mens' Captain and a Mens' Committee. This will also be put before the members for consultation before next year's EGM. Finances The Club's financial position has been stabilised over the last two years as a result of careful planning and budgeting. Spending beyond our means in the past threatened the Club's existence but expenditure has been brought under control and membership decline has been arrested. We remain uncomfortably reliant on our bank overdraft

5 which is fully utilised in the winter months. A modest increase in subscriptions will still leave Haverhill GC as the most inexpensive club in the immediate locality and the best value for money. The new in-house catering arrangements are still at an early stage and it is too early to evaluate their success or otherwise. The Committee will monitor closely the members satisfaction levels and the profitability of the catering service as we go into next year and beyond. England Golf This year the Committee has engaged as never before with England Golf to explore additional ways of improving the Club's offer to members and visitors. This has resulted in a comprehensive members survey and a new website recently created by member, Conor Lenahan assisted by Peter Young. We have tried to ensure that as the Club moves forward and that the members are kept fully informed, consulted and engaged. Accordingly there will be further surveys on limited issues from time to time. England Golf have enabled us to look at different and hopefully better ways of doing things. We now know how the Club compares with other golf clubs on a variety of key performance levels. We have a better idea of our strengths and areas of weekness. Only by embracing change where appropriate will the Club continue to prosper. Trevor As most members will be aware the irrepressible Trevor Broomfield suffered serious leg injuries in an accident at work in September. He is now making as slow recovery and we all look forward to seeing his tousled mop bouncing along the fairways again in the new year. Conclusion I would like to record my grateful thanks to Club Manager Steve Ward and all our staff for their work throughout the past year. Also thanks to my Vice Captain, Peter Young for his robust and unstinting support and his lovely wife Karen for all those sausage rolls! I am sure you will all give Peter and the Committee your full support throughout Last but not least I have to mention the Lady Captain who, in addition to carrying out all her own duties, has kept me more or less on the straight and narrow. Frankly without Siobhan my captaincy could have been a bit of car crash. The success of any golf club is largely down to the members. Haverhill GC has a deserved reputation for being friendly and inclusive and my year as Captain has certainly brought this home to me afresh. Happy Christmas! Tom Harrison Captain 2018