E-NEWS. Captains Notes

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1 E-NEWS 2018 Captains Notes After suggesting we were very close to the new golf season we have had the worst spell of weather this winter with the course being closed for almost 10 days in the early part of this month. Fife Council then added to our misery by closing Shore Road. In spite of these setbacks the new 13 th and 14 th holes are planned to be in play for the opening competition. One of the first visiting groups to play these holes will be the Scottish Professional Golfers Association who are visiting Aberdour for a fourball event on the 10 th April, an event that comes to Aberdour after being hosted by Nairn Troon and Kingsbarns this winter. We are in esteemed company! We have the Opening Competition on the 31 st March which signals the start of the regular midweek and weekend medals. April is always a very busy month with the early rounds of the match play competitions being played. The draws for these will be made very shortly. We also have the first of the open competitions the Ladies Open Greensomes on the 8 th April an early event in the Open calendar which has proved to be extremely popular. Allan Knox s weekly coaching sessions are underway for ladies and for juniors. The weekly junior sessions that were very successful last year were due to start again in early March but weather intervened so these have been delayed a week. The juniors now have an expanded section on the website and Allan is now also on Facebook, Allan Knox (Pro Shop Aberdour) where there will be regular updates. Last month I said that we would show an excellent presentation by Stewart Darling a Non Executive Director of Scottish Golf on `The Impact Of Doing Nothing`. This presentation is available to view on the Scottish Golf website and is worth watching. I was at the Scottish Golf AGM where Stewart presented a short follow up. The planned showings of this original DVD together with our club reaction to the issues raised by Stewart we will discuss with members at our Clubhouse meetings on Tuesday 27 th and Wednesday 28 th March. Ian Dickson

2 OPENING COMPETITION The entry sheets are now on the club noticeboards for the Opening Competition on Saturday 31 st March. This is a great opportunity to play with different members who you wouldn t normally meet during the playing season. The draw will be made on Saturday 24 th March. The course will revert to the normal 1-18 playing order and it will be the first time that the new 13 th and 14 th holes will have been officially in play. To mark the occasion Ian Dickson (Captain) will hit the first tee shot on the 13 th while Ruth Gillanders (Ladies Captain) will play first from the 14 th tee. WEST FIFE WINTER LEAGUE (HANDICAP) Our team still await the semi-final of this winter s competition to be played because of the recent snow which has rendered Auchterderran unplayable. It is hoped to play the match in the next few weeks. WEST FIFE WINTER LEAGUE (SCRATCH) The Scratch team have been in action since the last newsletter with mixed results against the three main title challengers. A 4-0 home defeat to leaders Dunnikier Park was followed by a hard fought 2-2 draw against Thornton at Aberdour. In their most recent contest, a trip to Pitfirrane resulted in another 4-0 reverse. Simon Oliphant s team are scheduled to end their campaign at Thornton on 11 th March, weather permitting. GENTS MARCH MEDAL The last gent s winter medal was unfortunately cancelled due to the recent bad weather. It has not been possible to reschedule this event before the end of the month. SUMMER MATCH PLAYS The Match Committee have started putting the draws together and they will be available via the club noticeboards from Thursday 22 nd March. MACROBERT THISTLE CUP Alan Rennie and Mike Toynton are the first pairing through to the final of the Gents Winter 4-Ball after a narrow semi-final victory against Dave Gourdie and Alex Hutt. The second semi-final sees Gary Cruickshank and John McGregor face Dick Campbell and Steven Morton later this month. OTHER NOTES Now that the course redevelopment work on holes 13 and 14 is nearing an end, we have contacted Skycaddie to visit and re-map those two holes. They will be at the club next month to make the necessary changes to their course map. Finally, the Match Committee are always looking for volunteers to help out on the day with our Open competitions. If you think you can spare a few hours, we will add your name to the list for the Match Secretary on sbrand@tariffcom.com Fixture Cards and 2018 Bag Stickers are still available from The Pro Shop if you have not picked yours up yet!

3 Oui Chef Catering Four months in and the feedback on the new catering franchise has been very good. Alan has made a lot of changes and has been working hard to improve the offering. He has also been instrumental in tidying up the Bar, Kitchen and Dining Room Areas. It is important to stress that such a business needs a lot of support from members and we are happy to see members beginning to use the facility more and bring in friends and family. The more members who use the Club the better it will become and the more investment we can make. Alan is very keen to build the weekend business and will extend the Sunday Lunch/Dinner menu to every Sunday not just the 1 st and 3 rd Sundays. He is also introducing a Saturday Fish High Tea every Saturday. Booking is recommended though as there is a limit to how many tables he can take. A new Coffee machine has been installed, at Allan s expense, and he can now provide a selection of good quality coffees from the Bar, in large Cups or Mugs. Every speciality coffee bought will come with a shortbread round! From 1 st April new menus will be available offering a wide choice of food, from golfer s traditional fare to fine dining options with a new breakfast menu. The early bird deal will cease but look out for new deals and offers from Allan. ROAD RESURFACING WORK As I write the tarmac is being laid so hopefully the job will be finished on schedule and we will back to normal on Thursday 22 nd March. With any luck the weather will be warming up too! Loss of revenue during this time is inevitable but we hope to see many of you back in the Club & on the course next week. Scottish Golf AGM This took place on Saturday 10 th March following a postponement from 4 th March due to the weather. The affiliation fee increase from to per annum which was proposed did not go through so will remain for the time being at per golfer. Staff Changes At the end of the month Susan Coupar leaves us (well she may be here into early April & at April month end to help!) after 12 years as our Accounts Assistant. Susan is taking early retirement. Interviewing has taken place and we hope to have a replacement within the next week or two. Also James Douglas, a green keeper, leaves at the end of the month to join the Police College at Tulliallan as a groundsman. A replacement will be sought and the greens team will be up to full strength as soon as possible.

4 Ladies Dinner 2018 The Annual Ladies Dinner on Friday 2 nd March had to be postponed (again the weather!) and is now rescheduled for Friday 20 th April. If you paid and cannot make it please let us know and we will refund you your monies If you couldn t make the March date but can now come along we would be pleased to see you. We can send you the menu options and RSVP slip and you can return this with your payment of The Ladies Novelty Competition which was scheduled for Wednesday 21 st March has now been moved to Wednesday 28 th March due to the Shore Road re-surfacing work. Open Competitions 2018 These are filling up quickly, especially the Ladies Greensomes on Sunday 8 th April ( 16 per couple) and the Gents Seniors on Tuesday 5 th June ( 15 entry fee) so if you want to play in either please contact the Office to book a place or even better book online through the website. Junior Coaching starts again Sat 17 th March (weather permitting!) 3.00 per session Contact Allan Knox Opt 1 allanknoxya@hotmail.com o Player of the Week Trophy o Themed Coaching Sessions o Flag Competition o Fun Run Days o Fitness Coaching

5 FROM TEE TO GREEN The opening competition is nearly upon us. A fortnight ago that would have appeared bizarre, as the Beast From the East had deposited a vast amount of snow on the course, which in places had drifted to depths in excess of 3 feet. Remarkably having walked the course this week with Mark and the agronomist the consensus was that the course had stood up remarkably to the severe weather and Mark and his team are now working hard to get the course in condition for the opening competition. The new astro-turf tee has now been laid at the 2nd and the access steps have been replaced. A small amount of finishing work is still required to complete the work. Any one who has ventured out on the course and played the 9 th hole will have noticed the white tyre in the tree behind the green to assist players getting their bearings for their shot to the green. The greens have been fertilised, hand cut and rolled and the tees have been hand cut. I always find it amazing how a few mowing lines on the greens and tees improve the aesthetics of a golf course. Congratulations to Chris Gilchrist who has attained his First Aid at Work Certificate. (Pictured above) Thanks are due to Franik Pajak, Malcolm Baxter and Stuart Meiklejohn for assisting Mark on various chores around the golf course. Thanks also to Jimmy Wilson for installing Marks new toy (a weather station) on the roof of the clubhouse. The weather station was recommended by the agronomist to provide data that will help Mark with his preparation of the course. Over the next few weeks Mark may be looking for some assistance from members to do some light work around the course, which he has informed me will be rewarded with a cup of coffee and a bacon roll. Anyone who can spare a few hours please contact Mark mob no Snow stops play!!!