BUCKINGHAMSHIRE COUNTY LADIES GOLF ASSOCIATION

Transcription

1 BUCKINGHAMSHIRE COUNTY LADIES GOLF ASSOCIATION DELEGATES MEETING MINUTES GERRARDS CROSS GOLF CLUB Wednesday 24 September pm - 1 -

2 PRESENT Marian Purdy County President Karen Platt County Captain Phillipa Cook Vie Captain & England Golf Representative Helen Mines Hon. Secretary Pia Davis Hon. Treasurer Cathy Armstrong County Training Officer Gilly Brewer County Junior Organiser Denise Goodacre 2 nd Team Captain Teddy Bevan Seniors Captain Di Bovey Joint Competitions Secretary Christine Bishop Handicap Advisor Affiliated Club Delegate Additional Attendee Abbey Hill Aylesbury Park Beaconsfield Evelyn Gutteridge Buckingham The Buckinghamshire Debbie Harridge Neda Abrams Burnham Beeches Chartridge Park Amanda Griggs Chesham & Ley Hill Chiltern Forest Datchet Margaret Gilbert Denham Kathryn Connolly Ellesborough Farnham Park Flackwell Heath Gerrards Cross Margaret McGee Harewood Downs Maren Saville Harleyford Gill McMurdo Hazlemere Xandra Morley Hedsor Huntswood Iver Ivinghoe Lambourne Gay Clough Magnolia Park Teddy Bevan (inc Exec) Mentmore Carolyn McKewan Oakland Park Linda Liston Princes Risborough Richings Park South Buckinghamshire Stoke Park Stowe Tattenhoe Thorney Park Caroline Bond Three Locks Wavendon Ann Pullan Weston Turville Rosie Rayfield Wexham Park Ann Breedon Whiteleaf Jenny Masterton-Smith Windmill Hill Woburn Wycombe Heights Carol Morgan - 2 -

3 1. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE Sally Harborne Joint Competitions Secretary Patricia Ellis - Buckingham & Stowe Joan Somerville - Burnham Beeches Jennifer Caddel - Woburn Lin Hubbard - Flackwell Heath Valerie Dexter - Princes Risborough Robyn Finch - Iver Anne Worby - Stoke Park Deirdre Cashin - Ellesborough 2. MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING Agreed and signed as a true record. 3. MATTERS ARISING Pg 14 Item 9. The Inter Club Foursomes entry forms were sent out to Delegates as well as Ladies Captains as requested. Pg 14 Item 10. A reminder that there are still spaces available on the My Golf tour to Spain from October. See our website for details. 4. CAPTAIN S REPORT Karen Platt ACTION First, a huge thank to all the Delegates for all your help and support in making my Captaincy such an enjoyable experience. It has certainly been challenging, but definitely rewarding. I believe that the County continues to grow in strength and numbers, from young beginners to the more mature team players, and I have very much enjoyed all my visits to your clubs and meeting up with your members. County Week 2014 for the Midlands South Region was held at Northampton Golf Club, Harlestone from 23rd to 27th June. The six counties in the Region played each of the other five counties from the Monday to Friday - three foursomes matches in the morning, followed by six singles matches in the afternoon. The first match on Monday was against the hosts, Northants. The Bucks team were disappointed to lose the match 2½ - 6½ but they quickly found their form to beat last year's winners, Warwickshire on Tuesday, 6-3. A win on Wednesday against Oxfordshire put the Bucks team in second place in the table, with the team now growing in confidence. Thursday's match was a head-to-head against table leaders Worcestershire & Herefordshire. A 5-4 victory gave the team a real chance of winning the event going into the final day's play. Friday's match against Berkshire was a tight affair, with the added drama of a continual threat of disruption through bad weather. After a thunder storm and torrential rain, a dramatic final hour of play gave Bucks the victory they needed to become the Midlands South Regional representatives in the County Week Finals. Thanks go to: - All the team for the great effort they put into preparing for the week and the tremendous play from such a young team - All the parents for their support - The two House Mothers, Cathy Armstrong and Helen Mines who also acted as caddie master - All the caddies special thanks to Woburn members who supplied two caddies each day - Past President Carol Ritchie and Past Captain Sue Lee for their multiple appearances - All the supporters who gave up their time to attend the sea of red could be seen from afar Additional thanks go to our sponsors, Your Golf Travel, whose support assisted with clothing and accommodation costs

4 England Golf National County Finals Belton Park, Lincs, September 15 th 19 th The Team for the Finals selected itself pretty much. All the girls bar one, who played at the Regional County Week were asked if they would like to be selected for the Finals, and there was a definite yes please! In addition therefore to the 10 of the original team, ie Victoria Bryan and Denise Goodacre (Lambourne), Megan Dennis, Shamiso Hatchard, Chloe Li (Woburn), Charlotte West (Harewood Downs) Alice Kozlowski and Clara Leathers (Ellesborough), Charlotte Nutt (Beaconsfield), we were able to invite Luan Skeates (The Buckinghamshire hcp 1) and Lizi Sweetnam (Woburn and County champion). Both players fitted in to the team extremely well, and spirits were certainly high in the lead up to the Finals. The cry for fundraising by the 1 st team did not go unheeded. Woburn, Ellesborough and Lambourne all rose to support their girls, and Pia will confirm at the AGM the final amount donated through cake sales, and a beat the team at Woburn. People showed how supportive they are to the success of the 1 st team, and the girls are already talking about what they can do next year. It is so rewarding to see them keen to say thank you to their Clubs and County for helping them to be the best, and providing them with such great opportunities. All the players managed either of the 2 practice dates Phillipa and I ran no mean feat when a course is up to 3 hrs each way. On the Wednesday 27 th August, I held a BBQ at my house which all the team came to, along with Phillipa, Sally, and Helen. Thanks to Sally and Helen for setting up various games in the garden which the girls found very entertaining. We had a great game of rounders, which proved there is life in the old girls yet, and everyone joined in which was good to see We just had one issue before the start however, Charlotte Nutt had been offered a position at Richings Park as Assistant Pro, and applied to do her 3 year PGA course at The Belfry. There was no indication when she would receive her Professional status, it is such a grey area, so we decided that we would still include her in the team and get clarification if and when her acceptance letter came through before County Week started. Unfortunately, timing was against us, her acceptance letter giving her immediate Pro status arrived a few days before the off. At first England Golf approved her participation in the team, but on the Sunday at the practice round, they reread the PGA acceptance letter and reversed their decision. She therefore became Top Caddie, and our Touring Pro, helping out enormously with ferrying players to and from the house. James Crampton was extremely apologetic, and agreed that this situation should never arise again. Charlotte does not start her training until October 1 st, and has not played in any PGA tournaments yet, and if she did, under PGA rules would not be allowed to keep any winnings until October1st! What a terrific week we had. Special thanks to Cathy and Phillipa for running a tight ship at the house, supervising the girls, team kit, catering, medical ailments, travel logistics, caddies, spectators etc. Special thanks also to Marian, who the team got to know much better, who gave each team member a personal gift of a county rucksack and took some good humoured teasing from the girls very well. Thanks also to those clubs who sent good luck cards Lambourne, Ellesborough, Woburn, and many individuals the table was full of them, and they are a great boost to the girls at lunchtimes. Thanks also to our spectators, it was such a long way, but Sally and Peter Harborne stood out across the fairways in their red, as did Jo Wells (Ellesborough), who has supported Bucks at County Week and Finals for many years. Several parents made the journey, Gill and Gary Kozlowski travelled up and stayed the whole week, as did Victoria s parents; her mother Lucinda had made several cakes, and cooked our meal on the Tuesday night. Lizi s father Dave, was also supporting all week with visits also from Beth Scott s parents James and Janine Scott. Other spectators included Sue Lee, Margaret Maisey, Anne Marie Gilbert (Lambourne), Sue McKeon and Sue Ashworth, and they were soon roped in to caddie, our caddie bibs being much admired by our opposition. They all did a fantastic job helping the team stand up to the challenges. A further thanks must go to Paul Schunter who travelled up on the Sunday to see the team and walk round with them at the practice. He gave them some invaluable advice, much of which they used during the week. The decision to use him for County Training moving forwards, is a decision I fully support

5 The week itself brought new awareness to the team about the level of golf they need to play if they are going to do well at National events. The hammering they received on the Monday from current holders Yorkshire (winners for 11 out of the previous 16 years), shocked them in to digging deep and the next day they produced more confident and accurate golf. Their win against Gloucestershire (another young team) was the first point Bucks have ever won at the Nationals. Now they started to believe in themselves. Day 3 brought a disappointing match, the girls seemed to once more be in awe of their opposition. Lincolnshire had a small squad, but very experienced, and despite the best efforts of the team, it was a tough day. That evening we had booked a local pub to have a break from the self-catering, this restored spirits and prepared them for the next day. Day 4 Thursday against Hertfordshire. I think this was the match that I found the most frustrating. Our performance in the morning foursomes was solid, course management excellent, and for the first time in a finals, we went ahead to be 2 ½ matches to ½ at lunchtime. We knew that the Herts team was strong, and we had raised our game once again. The afternoon however began to slip away. Shamiso and Megan had an excellent week, and both won their matches that afternoon, but unfortunately we just couldn t get that final ½ point to win the match. It was an honourable half overall, but gave Hertfordshire a real fright, and we look forward to meeting our old adversaries again in the future. The final day we were lying fourth, and our final match was against Hampshire, who had already won the week. We were playing to retain our 4 th position. Hampshire had a small squad 7 players, who had played 36 holes per day for 5 days. We thought they would be tired, and our young team would have a great chance. However, Hampshire proved that their strength is in strong foursomes pairings who have played together for many years, and they won all 3 matches in the morning. At lunchtime, the heavens opened, and the course started to fill up with water. In a matter of ½ hour, bunkers and greens had flooded, and greenkeeping staff were fighting a losing battle trying to squeegee the greens. End of play for all. Results from the morning matches counted, and we were pushed in to 5 th place. Hampshire had won, Hertfordshire were 2 nd this made the team realise that they had nearly beaten the team that came 2 nd. This is a result that bodes well for the fit young team we have. England Golf David Joy (CEO), Ray Smith (Chairman of Championships Committee), James Crampton (Tournament organiser), and several others, spoke personally to Phillipa and me, to compliment us on our young team. Their team spirit and fellow support was obvious and remarked upon. They asked several questions about our Junior Programme, and commented about the work we all do as volunteers. Bucks are definitely on the England Golf radar, and it is all credit to all of you that the team did so well. I am totally confident that within the next 5 years, Bucks have an excellent chance of winning the National Finals! Junior County Championships Weds 6 th August Thanks to The Buckinghamshire for hosting this, and Gilly and Janet for their organisation. I started the girls, which gave me a chance to put a few more faces to names, and see them in action on the course. It was good to see their enthusiasm, and smiling faces, and long may it continue. I was concerned about it being on the same day as the Ladies Open, but there didn t seem to be any upsets on or off the course, and Paul Schunter and his team organised the event very well. Whilst it is a tough course for some of the younger girls, there always comes a time when you need to be challenged, and asked to step up. As long as we continue to be there to encourage and believe in them, they will rise to whatever mountains they have to climb in the future. Well done to Gilly and your Junior Committee to provide such guidance. This will be Gilly s last Delegates meeting, and I have no doubt that the Junior Girls programme has grown far beyond what we could have hoped for, and Gilly has encouraged each and every girl to believe that they can achieve whatever targets they set for themselves. Gilly has dealt diplomatically with so many parents, in many trying circumstances. Bucks is not only attracting new younger players, but also girls from other counties who have seen what a happy and successful programme we have. The girls are kind, supportive and courteous to each other and respectful to the adults in attendance. They are a delight to watch, and the BCLGA is lucky that Gilly has devoted so much of her time to her role

6 Bucks Shield Finals Friday 29 th August Well done to Di for getting all 4 clubs to Buckingham on the right day at the right time! I thought the day went extremely well. It is always going to be a long day with semis and finals, but the alternate tee times works really well, and there were great matches right from the start. Thanks to Buckingham for hosting this, they offered their course 3 years ago as it is their centenary this year, and as they are have been in the semi-finals quite a few times, I think they were rather hoping they would have home advantage! Congratulations to Stoke Park for once more winning the Shield with their strong young team. Their academy has produced some fantastic players, 2 of which have featured in our County Teams this year. I will note here however, that the great spirit shown by Harewood Downs, Chartridge Park (semi-finalists) and Woburn (finalists) shows what a fantastic competition this is, with great golf from all the players - long may it continue. Bucks Ladies Golf Inaugural Overseas Tournament 17 th 20 th October We now have 17 ladies travelling to the Hotel Almenara for the above tournament. 6 Ladies are flying from Luton to Malaga on EZY2403, departing 08.40, arriving 12.30, the remainder are making their own way there. Transport is arranged to pick the 6 to the hotel from the airport. Tee times are from which is a little tight, but can be adjusted to suit our arrival if we are delayed. Those coming from the Exec include Helen, Marian, Denise, Gilly, Christine, Teddy, and Pia. Thank you to them for supporting this, I think it will be a lot of fun. There are still a few places available, so it is not too late to join us in Spain And finally, thank you for allowing me to be your County Captain; I couldn t have done this job without such a great support team. I am extremely proud to have served the County in my various roles, but to have been Captain has been an extraordinary experience which I wouldn t change for the world. Buckinghamshire golf is in a strong position, but only because so many volunteers give their time willingly and enthusiastically. There will be many people I shall be thanking at the Annual General Meeting at Harleyford on Wednesday 29 th October, which I hope you will be attending. I apologise in advance if I do take some considerable time in my speech, but we are a busy, thriving county, with many events to be reported, and I would not want to miss out on thanking anyone. We could not do our work without the good nature and support of all the Buckinghamshire Clubs, Ladies Captains, Delegates and members, all trying to offer girls and ladies equal opportunities to play good enjoyable golf. I know Phillipa will be an amazing Captain, she has been a terrific Vice Captain for me, and I thank all the County Executive for their hard work and support. I wish you all happy and successful golf in the future. 5. COUNTY PRESIDENT Marian Purdy On August 6 th I attended The Buckinghamshire for the Junior County Championship and the standard of play was excellent. Shamiso Hatchard was the winner and I was pleased to present all the prizes. On August 22 nd I was invited to Woburn for lunch during the playing of the Prince of Wales 36 hole competition. It was a first class lunch. I thought we might have seen more of our players at this event as it is an opportunity to play a great golf course. On August 29 th I attended the Bucks Shield finals; Karen has given a report on this, a very well organised day with Stoke Park retaining the Shield. On September 1 st I again went to The Buckinghamshire for the Midlands South Championship to spectate and present the prizes. Shamiso became Champion. We are very fortune to have this championship course and management so willing to let us play it

7 September 15 th -19 th saw the National Finals; Karen has given a full report but I must add that it was a great week so well organised by Karen and Phillipa and Cathy. What a lot of work Karen you put in to make it run so smoothly for Bucks. Thank you. What a joy to be with such a great team which I am told the average age is around 23. They are all a credit to our county and more and more their golf is doing the talking. While it may seem that we came 5 th overall you would feel different had you been there. Bear in mind that effectively 5 th out of 48 counties. With our first ever win in the Nationals and a half match too. September 21 st was the Junior Autumn Meeting at Harewood Downs. I watched some good golf again and was encouraged by the range of young golfers we have from pre-handicap to our members of the county squad. I was pleased to be there and present the prizes. Gilly I must just congratulate you on your hard work for the juniors which is now showing in the performance of the junior section. I have written a report of the Finals Week for the Ellesborough website and would be happy to forward to anyone interested in putting it on their own club website. 6. EXECUTIVE REPORTS ENGLAND GOLF REPRESENTATIVE Phillipa Cook The timing of the England Golf Meetings does not fit very well with our own meetings and so there some of this report refers back to a couple of months ago. A summary of the July meetings at Woodhall Spa: (i). The Midland South Regional Meeting, 2nd July at 1.00pm: All six Midlands South Representatives were present. An update was given on the events still to be held in 2014: - Australian Spoons, 24th July at Reading. A good entry the details were being sent out to the players. (The winners were a pair from Warwickshire who were then the runnersup at the national Final held last Friday at Belton Park, Lincolnshire). - Ladies Champs, 24th July at Redditch. 4 entries only they are all juniors. Decision was taken to cancel the event. - Junior Girls Champs, 1st September at The Buckinghamshire. (33 entries were received. Results etc are included in Gilly s CJO report.) - 4 Ball better Ball, 2nd October at Copt Heath. (This event was cancelled last year due to low numbers but it will be held next week). Events to be held next year: - County Week, Warwickshire (Harborne G.C, 22/6-26/6) - 4 Ball Better Ball, Berkshire. - Australian Spoons, Worcs & Herefordshire. - Junior Girls Champs, Oxon will definitely be held and will incorporate the Ladies Champs. - Regional Medal Final, Northants (organised by EG) It was decided that there will not be a competition to replace the Ladies Champs and so there will not be a Midlands South event held in Bucks in The Australian Spoons will be held in Bucks in (ii). Voting Members Forum, 1st July at 3.00pm: This is the meeting on the afternoon before the Voting Members Meeting whereby topics are discussed ahead of any formal vote being taken. The first subject to be debated was the Affiliation Process Review. A working group had met on 9th April, with another meeting planned for 11th August. A comprehensive review is taking place and proposals will be put forward later this year or early next year. Changes being discussed include use of CDH number for collection, or real time payment with a number of collection dates throughout the year to coincide with the date of collection of club fees. A proposal was being put to the meeting the next day to increase affiliation fees by 1 to 8.25, to fund core costs and provide circa 400k per annum to development projects from This rise should meet projected costs until 2019/20. The second topic was Special Projects Funding. Charles Harrison, Chairman of the Golf Foundation gave a presentation explaining how the current funding is used - the Golf Foundation works very closely with schools. This was in advance of a proposal being put to the meeting the next day for special funding of 40K per annum for three years

8 The third topic was the question of England Golf Meeting costs. As the year end has changed to 31st December, the Annual Meeting and accompanying Voting Members Meeting can no longer be held in February. It was proposed that this would be held in April and combined with the Secretaries Conference and the Development Conference, with just one more Voting Members Meeting held in October. This would also reduce the number of required Committee Meetings down from 4 per year to 3. Whilst cost was not the driving force behind the change, it would have a total saving of 30k. A change to the Constitution would be required to effect the change a resolution requiring a 75% majority vote, to hold up to three General Meetings each calendar year. A suggestion was made that Regional Meetings could be held and EG personnel would travel to those to continue the information spreading. (iii). General Meeting of the Company, 2nd July at 9.30am: The main items were: a). The Finance Director presented the Management Accounts for 6 months to 30th April. Circa 85% of Affiliation Fees had been received by 30th June. Club like for like numbers were down on average, men by 4.4% and women by 5.1%. The dual membership impact was apparent in some counties in particular, but may impact further in The budget had been drawn up predicting 5% fall and it is likely this will be close to reality. Affiliation Fee Proposal the FD stated that the 2014 budget had been critically reviewed and it is projected that the 14 month period will reflect a break even position in core activity. A further review of 2015 core budgets will be undertaken as part of the budget planning process, with any savings being allocated to 2015 priority programmes. Since the merger and the introduction of the 1 increases, EG affiliation numbers have fallen from circa 762,000 to an expected figure of 675,000 in This 87,000 fall has reduced income in the region of 600,000 per annum and over the 3 year period has reduced cumulative income by over 1 million. Although numbers were expected to decline, this has been greater than expected. It is apparent that without an increase in affiliation fees in 2016 it is unlikely that there will be sufficient funds to meet the costs of core activities and to further invest in the strategic aims. It was proposed to increase Affiliation Fees by 1 to 8.25, to fund core costs and provide circa 400k per annum to development projects from This rise should meet projected costs until 2019/20. The proposal was approved by 100 votes in favour 60 against. b). England Golf Strategic Plan The CEO presented the Strategic Plan for endorsement. This had been approved by the board at the meeting on 28th May He emphasised the sports strengths but also the concerning recent trends in participation and membership. He also confirmed the vision, ambitions and key themes within the plan which had emerged consistently throughout the stages of consultation. David Joy confirmed the plan was intended as a framework to drive the work of clubs and county organisations as well as national staff and committees and was designed to ensure that all parts of the organisation were drawing from the same starting point. He emphasised that detailed planning was still required in several areas such as how to engage the independent golfer and the affiliations review. Work was to begin shortly to better understand the needs and wants of independent golfers. The Chairman proposed that the Strategic Plan for England Golf be endorsed and this was approved with a majority vote. c). Special Projects Approval of Funding The CEO outlined broad proposals for the allocation of SPF and introduced two specific proposals for decision. i) Golf Foundation: To approve an investment of 40k per annum for 3 years, subject to annual review, in the work of the Golf Foundation. The CEO confirmed that the majority of counties had identified junior/schools development as a priority for SPF and that this investment should seek to increase the number of young people playing golf at golf clubs and becoming junior members. These would be key indicators within the agreement with GF - 8 -

9 ii) County Pilot Programme: To approve an investment of 150k per annum for two years, subject to annual review, within a pilot programme to explore the impact of additional capacity on participation and membership. The CEO outlined the proposal which will be designed to demonstrate that additional capacity focussed in key areas, can lead to increasing participation and membership and this will support the next whole sport plan submission by England Golf Partnership to Sport England. Both recommendations were approved. d). Meetings 2015 AMENDMENT TO ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION The Finance Director presented proposals to reduce the number of General Meetings from three to two each year. This was as a result of the AGM moving to April following the shift in the year end to December. It was also proposed to combine the AGM and General Meeting event with the EGP conference and county secretaries conference. The proposal to move to two meetings a year would require an amendment to the articles and a special resolution requiring a 75% majority vote. Concern was expressed that this proposal appeared to be contrary to stated desire for greater communication and connection with counties and felt that three meetings all at Woodhall Spa was preferable. It was suggested that officers and board members attend regional meetings and that this should be formalised but this wold not be in place of a General Meeting. The Chair proposed the recommendation that there should be up to three General Meetings each year. This was rejected by a majority. e). Reports of The Committees: As part of the Strategic Plan, National Golf Week was being developed to commence in The idea was supported but some members felt it ought to be held at Woodhall Spa. The matter to be reconsidered by Championships Committee and reviewed after the first event in 2015, which will be at Frilford Heath. The Chairman of the Development Committee noted the declining participation figures as reported by Active People Survey. He confirmed that the CGP Impact Report would be distributed to all counties the following week and in the main CGP s have exceeded their collective targets for the period April 2013 to March The refocus of CGP s means that they will target structured and regular sessions at golf clubs, as opposed to one-off activities and attendance at public events. The Play More Golf Fund received 298 applications and 144 awards have been made. A total of 371, was requested and 152,905 had been allocated by EG. The Chair of the Handicapping and Course Rating Committee noted that there was a meeting scheduled in August between CONGU and Home Country CEOs to consider future improvements to handicapping. An update was given on developments regarding regional handicapping advisers and course rating. There was discussion about the need for regional advisers and it was agreed that the county advisers were the first point of contact for enquirers and that regional advisers were to be regarded as a support system for counties and also national officers. It has been quiet on the England Golf front over the summer months. There have not been any meetings since the July meetings at Woodhall Spa. At that meeting it was decided to hold occasional regional voting members meetings - the first of these will be held in October at eight venues. The meeting for Northants, Bedfordshire, Oxfordshire, Berkshire, Hertfordshire and Bucks is being held on Thursday 23rd October at, just for once, a very convenient location, Woburn Golf Club. There will be two parts to the meeting: - To consider the next steps in activating the EG Strategy Plan Raising our Game - Voting Members forum The discussions will focus on: - The review of governance arrangements within England Golf - Improvements to the affiliation processes - Engaging with the independent golfer - Building the right support systems for golf clubs - Organisations working together effectively at county level. The date of the next national meeting is Wednesday 19th November 2014, at The National Golf Centre, Woodhall Spa at 9.30am

10 The dates for the 2015 meetings have still to be confirmed. The Annual Meeting including a General Voting Members Meeting will be a combined event with the County Conference this will take place at Hinckley Island Hotel, Leicester on 16th & 17th April. There will be two further General Meetings in 2015, one in August and one in December at Woodhall Spa the dates to be confirmed after the September EG Board Meeting. BB&O CGP Meetings: Meeting on 25th May: There have been several meetings since my last report on this. Richard Flint, the EG Development Director attended a meeting in May. The main points were: - EG are happy for Ashley Rump, the Regional Development Officer to chair the Steering Group as an interim measure until October. - In order to define the role and responsibilities of the future Chairman of the Steering Group, a Draft Structure had been produced, dividing the various activities into separate sub-divisions which would each have their own committee. The members of the Steering Group would sit on one or more of these sub divisions. - The County Academy Programme (CAP) was discussed at length. I had done some research into how this currently works in BB&O Union and Associations, and also consulted the Herts CAP Chairman as that is one of the best performing CAPs in the country. Meeting on 8th July: A regular meeting of the Steering Group was held on 8th July at Maidenhead. Jason Sorrell, the new Golf Foundation Officer was in attendance. (The Golf Foundation team has expanded from 7 to 8 Regional Officers. Their areas will now be consistent with the Regional Development Officers. Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire will now no longer fall into the South East Region, but will now form part of the new South Region). Jason, for the past 3 years, has been working in the West Midlands Region. The budget was discussed in detail - the BB&O Union will need to see a significant saving in costs before they will agree to continue funding the Partnership after the end of the current year. The budgets show a big loss and most of this is due to the cost of the CAP programme. The Union and the PGA Representative question why funding goes to the current set of boys on the programme they feel the money is targeted on the wrong people. The new thinking from EG is on the Talent Pathway and money should only be spent on those who show real talent. The Union also feel that there is duplication in what is offered by the Partnership and the Union. I agreed to do a full review of the CAP and met with Rajiv Patel, the County Development Officer at the conclusion of this meeting. Other sections of the CGP: - Rajiv Patel gave an update of the Get into Golf Programmes. Good links have now been established with Network Rail in Milton Keynes and John Lewis. - It was only the second day that Jason was in post but he said that he would be attending all meetings and submitting a report on a regular basis. - Ashley Rump gave his report as the Regional Development Officer. The EG Strategic Plan will be launched on 24th July at Moor Park. The revised Golf Mark is now up and running, as is the new Clubhouse section on the EG website, a tool for use by all clubs. The Academy/ CAP: Immediately after the above meeting I met with Rajiv Patel to discuss the way forward with the CAP. The new directive from EG is that the focus should be on the 26+ age group, plus the Talent Pathway. Where the girls are concerned there is a very clear pathway for all three Associations, a structured pathway from pre handicap going up to National squads. This fits with the EG policy and there is no thought of changing the way that the Academy is run. As the BB&O Union have nothing in place for the boys they do not have anything like the pre handicap section that the Associations have. Added to that the apathy of the Union and the feeling that the CAP gets in the way of their squads, the recommendation was that the CAP is suspended for boys in Rajiv re-worked the budget which shows a huge saving in the cost of the Partnership. As the CAP competitions will not take place for the boys it is therefore unlikely they would be held for the girls - there are currently two competitions per year in each of the three counties

11 I circulated this proposal to all the Steering Group members but I have had no feedback. However Gareth Jenkins, the newly appointed England Golf Talent Development Manager has circulated documents to all Counties regarding the future direction of the CAP programme this involves the County Partnership, Union and Association working together to ensure there is a clear pathway for juniors to follow. This is very much in line with the way the B, B and O Associations work but not the Union. A meeting has just been arranged for Gareth to meet with all those involved in the CAP/Academy program in BB&O. This will be held on the afternoon of the next BB&O Steering Group Meeting, at Maidenhead on 10th October. This is a complex issue which needs to be resolved as soon as possible both the future of the CAP and the Partnership as a whole. USGA COURSE RATING: We have successfully completed the rating for three courses Whiteleaf, Chesham & Ley Hill and Datchet under the new system for Men and Ladies from the Whites, Yellows and Reds. It has been quite a task! The on-course rating takes the best part of day and then Rod Crisp from the BB&O Union and I then take almost another whole day to complete the paperwork... and they are only nine hole courses! We will (make that must ) get quicker with practice! Ivinghoe will be rated on 10th October. WEBSITE: The website is not quite up to date. As the last couple of weeks have been somewhat hectic there are a few outstanding reports etc to upload. I put a link onto our website from the England Golf website so that live scoring could be seen for the results of the matches at last week s County Finals. The results were tweeted as soon as play came to an end in the morning and afternoon matches. INTERMEDIATES: There will be next summer an Intermediates League. Following correspondence with some of the Intermediates who were a few years ago the core of our junior section, it seems that there is a desire to keep the interest going among this group of young people. There are two Intermediate Trophies, one played for at the County Championships and one that has in the past been played at the Junior Championships, but this latter trophy has not been awarded in recent years due to lack of entries. Arranging a suitable date for the Intermediates to play at an event such as the Junior Champs is almost impossible. It has therefore been agreed to hold an Intermediates Individual League to be played during the summer months. The precise detail will depend on the number of players participating: - If small number, everyone plays everyone could be Home and Away matches - If a lot of interest, could be round robin matches in two Divisions, the winners of each play a final to find the overall winner - To be of interest to more players, it will be played off handicap The great benefit is that the matches can be arranged at times to suit just the two players. The age limit will be over 18 on 1st January but under 30 years (rather than the usual 25 for Intermediates). Sally Harborne has agreed to run the League. I have canvassed the thoughts of some of the girls who would be involved, and there is definite interest in following this up. When you receive the details of this new competition please forward the information to any of your members to whom the age bracket applies

12 COUNTY TREASURER Pia Davis Balances and Transfers as at 21 September 2014 Sep 2014 Account Balances HSBC Current Close Bros Deposit 17, Close Bros Junior 5, Significant Income England Golf National Finals Payment 2, National Finals Donations 1, Significant Payments National Finals Accommodation ~2, Other National Finals Expenses (estimated) ~3, This looks like a healthy pot but with a general decline in membership, our continuing to provide all the events and there no longer being EWGA funding, we have to ensure we balance the books each year. We have reached the National Finals twice in the past 3 years and see no reason to think it won t happen fairly regularly which would be costly and we need to have the funds in reserve. Kathryn Connolly (Denham) suggested that to get all clubs involved, and not just those with County Team members, perhaps ladies sections could be encouraged to add a voluntary donation onto the cost of a competition to raise funds in the event of our winning through again. Capitation Fees Currently there are 1, in fees that ladies have paid to three clubs in good faith and that have not been sent onto BB+O. This means the clubs involved have their Course Standard Scratch at risk, their ladies potentially being unable to enter county competitions and the BCLGA short of funds. The Exec are working on proposals to address this. National Finals We have received a payment of 2, from England Golf to go towards National Finals expenses. In addition, 1, was raised by the clubs of the ladies in the teams to go towards the event. This is a fantastic help for the accounts and huge thanks to all the ladies who baked, sold and generally donated their time and effort for the team. Draft Accounts We have an early draft set of accounts for These have just been produced and require further analysis. Just to remind you we have made two significant changes this year moving to new accountants and including the Juniors finances with the Main accounts. We will have a surplus this year but further analysis is required to provide the detail to show the differences between 2013 and 2014 figures. JOINT COMPETITIONS SECRETARY Sally Harborne (County Championships, Meetings and Leagues) Summer Scratch Just one or two matches left to be played. All results can be found on the web site

13 Summer Meeting at Ellesborough We were blessed with a beautiful day. Members of Ellesborough Ladies Section were on hand with a welcome cup of coffee and cookie which gave us a good start to the day. The ladies also baked a variety of cakes for the half way house which together with fruit and cheese were enjoyed by all. The winners were:- Nearest Pin Silver Division 5th Hole Carol Ritchie Denham Nearest the Pin Bronze Division 16th Hole Karen Bromley Magnolia Park Back 9 - Linda Edmonds, Joyce Brown, Jo Wells Ellesborough 35 points Front 9 - Helen Mines, Cathy Armstrong Ellesborough, Regitta Jensen Individual member 34 Points 4th - Pauline Olliver, Diane Davies, Deana Hurt Burnham Beeches 65 Points 3rd - Alice Kozlowski, Gill Kozlowski Ellesborough. Charlotte West - Harewood Downs. 66 Points 2nd - Karen Platt, Carol Isaac, Di Bovey Beaconsfield 69 points 1st - Clare Frost, Carol Ritchie, Kathryn Connolly Denham 69 points. Winter League All the clubs from last year s league have entered again this year. (18 Clubs) The draw and all relevant paper work has gone out and matches will be starting in October. Entries for the Cygnet Trophy are starting to arrive but the closing date is not until 5th October. 2 ND TEAM CAPTAIN Denise Goodacre The 2nd team competed in the new format tri- match competition at Frilford Heath GC on the 24 th May. Bucks, Berkshire and Oxfordshire played foursomes and singles matches throughout the day. Our Girls & Ladies played great golf in very testing conditions. We came second losing to Berkshire. Our next match was a friendly away against Warwickshire. A good opportunity to play a fantastic course, well worth the long journey, great golfing from all our team, we won the match Players from Richings Park, Thorney Park, Harleyford, Buckingham, Burnham Beeches, Ellesborough, Mentmore, Gerrards Cross and Lambourne have been members of the team in I have a list of the names of players and match results if anyone would like more information. I will be attending the 2 nd team AGM in Birmingham on 6 th November. It will be interesting to discuss views on the new format league and hear feedback from the other Counties on how the split has affected their teams. Please keep me informed of any improving and interested players who would like to be considered for the team. Finally as a member of the 1 st Team I would like to thank Karen for all her hard work and sacrifice. County and Finals Weeks were incredible and I feel privileged to have been a part of the team. JUNIOR CO-ORDINATOR Gilly Brewer Bucks has a wonderful range of talent in its junior section. The girls have had a great year bringing back many trophies to the county. Our elite squad has produced 6 juniors who played in the National finals. We have 4 girls who have been chosen for the England training squads and although we lose 3 of our best players in 2015 when they leave the junior section we are lucky to have other girls who are good enough to take their places. This sort of success starts at the pre handicap level which is a thriving section run by Lucy Morris. The girls have 8 competitions in the year and the strange thing is that we are looking to get rid of them, because we encourage them to practise and play and to join clubs and gain handicaps. This is the feeder school for the county teams. They are also given training in the BB&O Academy training programme which not only helps to improve their golf but allows them to make friends and encourages them to enter the county competitions together. There have been some notable successes

14 The junior county champion is Shamiso Hatchard of Woburn who won with a 1 over par round at Buckinghamshire GC. Megan Dennis, also from Woburn, came second and won the U15 scratch trophy, Thalia Kirby of Stoke Park won the U13 scratch trophy. Shamiso also triumphed in the Midlands South Championships which had 33 entries from 6 counties in the MS region and was again played at The Buckinghamshire. She won the scratch trophy with a gross 147 (1 under par for 36 holes). Charlotte West came second and third was Luan Skeates who broke her home course record with an afternoon round of 2 under par. The Bucks team of Chloe Skeates from the Buckinghamshire, Shamiso Hatchard and Georgina Bowers from Beaconsfield won the team trophy for Bucks. At the autumn meeting the orders of merit prizes are awarded. These are for the highest number of points from the 6 junior competitions in the year. Megan Dennis won the scratch OM and Thalia Kirby the net OM. Our Bucks team was also successful in retaining the Midlands South Team matchplay trophy beating Worcestershire & Herefordshire by 4-2. This year we had several entries for the Karchargis Trophy which is a lady/junior pairing playing foursomes. Held at the Lambourne club on a not very nice day, the winners were Molly Kelleher and her partner Katherine Baker from Ellesborough. This is a really good competition for the girls and also fun for ladies who have the opportunity to play with some of the best golfers in the county and those who will be. Taking over from Alice Kozlowski as County Captain are joint captains for 2015, Shamiso Hatchard of Woburn and Charlotte West of Harewood Downs. As you have heard the girls have excelled and we have seen some dramatic reductions in handicap and serious improvement in abilities, helped by a comprehensive county programme of training, competitions and matches. However we do need help from your clubs. We have girls who need to find a club to join and there are clubs wanting juniors so we have to find a way of getting them together. So, as always I end my report with a plea for you to let us know about any girls you have at your clubs, whether they be members or just receiving coaching from your pros. There is so much on offer in the county competition and match diary and we want you to encourage these girls to join in as much as they can. We shall send the 2015 junior dates to your clubs and they will also be on the BCLGA website. For the past three years as CJO I have had the good fortune to be part of an excellent and hardworking Junior Committee and to have had the inspirational and encouraging support of our county captain Karen Platt. I shall miss being involved with the junior girls. SENIORS CAPTAIN Teddy Bevan We have now completed all the league and friendly matches this year our last two league matches played against Oxfordshire at Harleyford and against Hertfordshire at Sandy Lodge were played with a certain amount of rivalry, especially as we knew Berkshire were leading the field with three wins under their belt. The Oxfordshire match was a tie not a result we particularly wanted, but it was still a lot better than losing. Harleyford were very helpful in looking after us, our team was a little dispirited with the result (Oxfordshire is a team we always want to beat!), but we still did well. We played Hertfordshire away at Sandy Lodge. They put out a very strong team as did we! However, I played myself and perhaps should have found a stronger player with the result that we lost and my last match was a crucial one! As a consequence Berkshire won the league this year, and Buckinghamshire came a proud second tied with Hertfordshire (but I think we came second on count back). I would like to take this opportunity of thanking all players who have been so supportive and encouraging the Seniors are a very strong backbone of the BCLGA, and I would like to have more names put forward who are keen to play in the league and friendly matches next year. The Autumn Cup was well subscribed with twenty teams Oakland Park always look after everybody very well the course was in good condition and the meal was marvellous. Excellent players again, but the winning team from Ellesborough were very strong beating ladies from Mentmore second and Beaconsfield third. Winners were Judi Hannaford, Marilyn Plummer and Joyce Brown. The individual winner of the Autumn Cup was Gill Bostel from Ellesborough with a close runner up of Marilyn Plummer again Ellesborough

15 Obviously Ellesborough have got a very strong senior ladies section! Well done. We had our last friendly match against Bedfordshire ladies at Leighton Buzzard Golf Club this is not played off scratch, but a 4BBB and played in great spirit. Buckinghamshire ladies won 3 and 1 a great day again. Well done all the seniors who supported the teams this year, and thank you. The Inter County Seniors Team Championship takes place on Monday 29 th September at Littlestone in Kent we have a strong team comprising of Christine Watson, Beaconsfield, Carole Weir, Beaconsfield, Karen Platt Beaconsfield and Denise Goodacre, Lambourne. Lastly, I am in the process of arranging venues for 2015 I am looking for a club who would be prepared to host the friendly match against Bedfordshire on or around the 19 th September perhaps I can ask you if you think your club may be interested. Thank you to all the ladies who played in the league and friendly matches this year, I very much hope that we have more ladies who would be interested in supporting the seniors put their names forward in DEL S COUNTY TRAINING OFFICER Cathy Armstrong After having had Noel Rousseau as our County coach for a number of years it has been decided to try out some new ideas with a new coach. I have written to Noel and thanked him for his services and to wish him well for the future. This coming winter we are going to employ Paul Schunter, from the Buckinghamshire as the County coach. He appears really enthusiastic and keen to work with the teams. We really appreciated him coming to the practice round at Belton Park, the venue of the National Finals. He made a real effort to get to know the players. He walked the course with them offering help and advice, which proved invaluable. The program for the winter will consist of about 5 sessions, both weekdays and weekend and the squad will be made up of both ladies and juniors. If you have anyone in your clubs who we are not aware of, who plays off a single figure handicap or a junior who has a handicap of 15 or less, then please do let me have their details. Thank you Karen for all your hard work on the County s behalf. You have been a truly inspiring captain. And I should like to wish you a well-deserved rest! HANDICAP ADVISOR Christine Bishop I regularly answer queries from our members on both rules and CONGU issues and at the moment have nothing outstanding. A recent rules enquiry was escalated to the R&A for absolute clarification. The issue was whether ribbons could be tied to a golf bag or cart for the sole purpose of gauging wind direction. This is a bit of a grey area as holding a handkerchief up or throwing a bit of grass is permitted as this is an accepted custom but the R&A have advised that tying ribbons is not allowed under the rules. I continue to run Rules Seminars and will be visiting Wexham Park tomorrow night. If any clubs wishes to book one for this or next year, please see me. With regard to Open competitions that your club may organise for next year, please can I ask that you include an area for the CDH number on the entry form so as to alleviate the need for player s to bring a paper copy of their handicap certificate? I have been appointed Regional Advisor for England Golf and now look after Berks, Beds, Bucks, Herts, Northants and Oxon for men and women. I have regional meeting planned for 27 th November and will know more about what the role involves then. As always, I am available to assist clubs on any Rules or CONGU issues and my details can be found on the county website