Minutes of the GGU Annual General Meeting held at Greenmeadow GC Tuesday 21 st February 2017

Transcription

1 President Chairman Treasurer Hon. Secretary Nigel Collins Ray Hughes Robin Jones & Boys Secretary 21 Chestnut Drive, 29 Oakleigh Court 109 North St. Graham Harris Rogiet Henllys Abergavenny, 4 Rolls Walk, Caldicot Cwmbran NP7 7EB Mt. Pleasant, NP26 3TH NP44 6HE Rogerstone, Newport NP10 0AE gwentgolfunion.eu Minutes of the GGU Annual General Meeting held at Greenmeadow GC Tuesday 21 st February ) IN MEMORIAM: Before commencing the meeting the Chairman asked for the names of those Gwent Golf Club Captains who had passed away since the last AGM and requested those present to stand in a moments silence in their memory: Mr, Keith Bodmin Past Captain Tredegar & Rhymney Mr. Sid Stevens Past Captain Tredegar & Rhymney Mr. Iestyn Tucker Past Captain, Past President Monmouthshire Mr. Eric Gratrix Past Captain Monmouthshire 2) APOLOGIES Apologies were received from: Mr. Mike Buckley, Mr. Andrew Eveleigh, Mr. John Dinsdale, Mr. Brian Hinks, Mr. Norman Drewett, Mr. Gareth Isaac, Mr. Nathan Price, Mr. Peter Richardson, Mr. Robin Jones. There were 11 Gwent clubs represented at the meeting : Bryn Meadows, Caerleon, Greenmeadow, Llanwern, Monmouthshire Newport, Parc, Pontnewydd, Rolls of Monmouth, Tredegar & Rhymney, Woodlake Park. 3) MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS AGM The minutes of the previous AGM at Greenmeadow Golf Club on Tuesday 23 rd February 2016 were approved as a true record. Proposed: Mike Nightingale Seconded: Jonathan Davidson 4) MATTERS ARISING Under Election of Officers in the last paragraph: Mr. Steve Morgan should have read Mr. Simon Morgan. 5) REPORTS a) Honorary Secretary Membership Total membership recorded for 2016 was 6934 which was 14 down on that for 2015 Junior membership for 2016 was 338 which was 4.9% of the overall membership. County Cards Total County Card sales for 2016 was 323which was a reduction of 31 on that for Annual Dinner The total attending the Annual Dinner at the Parkway Hotel was 41 which included 6 top table guests. This low number was despite relaxing the dress code and offering a reduction if a club ordered a table for ten and only having to pay for 8. Page 1 of 7

2 b) Honorary Treasurer The Honorary Treasurer had prepared a report on the Unions accounts which was presented to the meeting by the Hon. Secretary in his absence. Mr President, Mr Chairman, Fellow Committee Members, Gentlemen It gives me pleasure to present my report on the Union s finances for the year ended 30 November Firstly I would like to turn to the Income and Expenditure Account:- Income Subscriptions This has dropped from 20,844 to 20,802. As Graham has reported, there has been a relatively small drop in members in comparison to previous years so it is good that there has been some stabilisation. County Card Income has fallen from 5,385 to 5,035 which is an indicator of the competition provided by the special deals clubs put on themselves to attract visitors. County Seniors income has increased from 900 to 1,030 and thanks to all that are involved in making this event so successful. Sponsorship and Donations. This has reduced by 500 from 750 to 250 as last year, there was some kit sponsorship received. Thanks to Cheshire and Co for their League sponsorship again. Expenditure Catering and Match Expenses. This is has increased from 9,862 to 12,402 and reflects an increase in away matches for the Gwent Teams during the year in comparison to the previous year. Prizes, Cups and Engraving has increased from 1,817 to 2,090 in comparison to the previous year whilst Ties, Badges and Clothing has decreased from 1,211 to 1,060. Junior Section expenditure is up from 3,310 to 3,632 and highlights the Union s commitment to encouraging junior golf development. Included in this figure is Paul Mayo s junior winter coaching programme which has proved to be a successful feeder system for junior squad players. Telephone, Printing, Stationery and Sundries has increased from 1,265 to 1,327. The Annual Dinner Subsidy has reduced from 1,907 to 1,327 and as its popularity has waned over the last few years, the decision has been taken to cancel it from now on. Officials Honoraria has dropped from 2,800 to 2,700 whilst Officials Expenses have increased from 892 to 1,259 which reflects the number of away matches Gwent Teams were supported at. Professional Fees which are the cost of the review of our accounts remains unchanged at 510. Coaching and Equipment has decreased from 3,900 to 2,940 but included in this figure is money paid to Joe Vickery to promote golf in schools and coach the junior teams reinforcing the Union s commitment to promoting the future of golf in this uncertain environment with the average age of club golfers now being in the region of 60. In summary, Total Income has reduced from 28,364 to 27,652 mainly due to a reduction in sponsorship and County Card sales whilst expenditure has increased from 28,040 to 29,632 mainly due to the increased cost of away matches with some other small variances. The net effect of the above is that the Union has incurred a deficit for the year of 1,979 as opposed to a surplus of 324 last year. Page 2 of 7

3 Turning to the balance sheet, under Current Assets, stock has increased from 494 to 1,601 whilst Cash at Bank has reduced from 25,487 to 22,306. The net effect of the deficit has been to reduce the Accumulated Fund from 26,356 to 24,377. The Chairman asked for a proposer and seconder to adopt the accounts, Proposed: Robert Martin Seconded: Gary Musto c) League Secretary Mr. Nigel Collins reported that we had a good summer last year but as usual we did have some teams drop out. Llanwern first team were Champions, which was well deserved and brought them back to the top following an absence of a few years. We will see a new team in Division I with Greenmeadow coming 2 nd in Division II and so earning Division I status for the first time in their history. There were also several other club teams starting to show some revival by gaining promotion after having had a bit of a lean time over the past few years, The overall League results were published at the close of last season so I will just confirm the League winners and promotional runners up. Llanwern County Champions 2016 St. Mellons I Div. 2 Winners 2016 Greenmeadow I Celtic Manor II Div. 3 Winners 2016 Pontnewydd I Tredegar Park I Div. 4 Winners 2016 Greenmeadow II Parc III Div. 5 Winners 2016 Llanwern III Pontypool II Div. 6 Winners 2016 Blackwood II Brynmeadows II Div. 7 Winners 2016 Greenmeadow III Our Champions Llanwern went on to play Glamorgan Champions Radyr at Morlais Castle Golf Club. The team played very well in tough conditions and managed to continue Gwents winning run. The League Secretary stated that he will now report on the coming season. As stated earlier several teams have dropped out during the winter, but Greenmeadow, Wernddu, and Newport have increased their team numbers, therefore we ended up with the same number of teams as last year. Unfortunately since the match sheets were issued Dewstow Golf Club has withdrawn from Division V and so there will only be 7 teams in that division. There have been significant changes to the rules. The Executive have taken the opportunity to undertake a thorough review of all the rules including the scoring system. You have all had copies of the revised rules and further copies will be issued prior to the season start. Please make sure your team Captains are fully up to speed and have copies. Finally gentlemen I would like to take the opportunity to advise you that I am stepping down from the position of League Secretary. I have been conducting this task for the last 17 years and on the whole enjoyed every minute of it. We have found a volunteer to take on the role and based on the age difference he should have about 30 years in the role. I am pleased to advise that Nathan Price will take over with immediate effect. Page 3 of 7

4 All contact and fixture details will be re-issued prior to the start of the season. The result cards addressed to Nathan are available for collection after the meeting. I will still be around so if team captains introduce an old result card into the system it should not present a problem. I thank you for your support during my tenure of office and I know you will give the same to Nathan. d) Match Secretary The Match Secretary Mr. Roger Floyd reported on the Gwent teams results for 2016 The Gwent 1 st Team finished in 3 rd place in the Channel League which was a god result as they had lost their two opening matches but went on to win 3 of their remaining 4 matches. Their final result was played 6 won 3 and lost 3. The Gwent II Team came second in the Wessex League losing out to Gloucestershire by half a point. Their final result was played 3 won 2 and lost 1. The most disappointing result was from the Gwent Seniors who finished bottom of the Seniors League having played 6 won 2 and losing 4. The 2017 season commences with a Seniors Channel League match on Tuesday 25 th April against Cornwall at St. Mellons. The 1 st Team have a Channel League match against Cornwall on Sunday 30 th April at Raglan Parc. The 2 nd Team commence their season with a match against Somerset on Sunday 7 th May at Pontypool. e) Championship Secretary The Championship Secretary Mr. Ray Hughes reported that all 2016 Gwent Championships have now been completed and he thanked all clubs who gave the county their courses to host these events. The Cock o North Final was played at Monmouth Golf Club on Sunday 1 st May and was won by the Pontypool pair of AM Perry & AJ Perry with a better ball medal score of 62. The County Strokeplay Championship was played at Raglan Parc Golf Club on Sunday 12 th June and was won by Leighton Pollard of Monmouthshire golf club with a two round score of 148. Also on 148 was Lewis Brown of Llanwern which resulted in a 3 hole playoff which Leighton won. The top 16 gross scores qualified for the County Matchplay Championship which was played at Raglan Parc. The first 2 rounds were left to the competitors to arrange, giving them three weeks to play each round. This flexibility worked well for the players and also for the host club meaning we were not taking the course for a whole day. The Final was a very close game between Theo Baker of the Celtic Manor and Richard Tayler of Llanwern with Richard being the eventual winner. The County Team Championship was played at Llanwern on Sunday 7 th August. A clean sweep by the host club Llanwern meant they won all the trophies. Team Best Net: Llanwern 290 Team Best Gross: Llanwern 289 Individual Best Net: David Barrell 68 (Llanwern) Individual Best Gross David Barrell 68 (Llanwern) The County Handicap Team Championship was played at Bryn Meadows Golf Club on Sunday 28 th August. The winning team were Pontypool with 135 stableford points narrowly beating the host Club Bryn Meadows who had 134 points and were the club house leaders for most of the day. The County Seniors Strokeplay Championship was played at St. Pierre Golf Club on Monday 15 th August. The winner of the C.F. Smale Cup for the over 55 s Best Gross was Tony Horton of Llanwern with a gross 72. The E.T. Palmer Cup for the over 55 s Best Net was won by Phil Lawrence of St. Pierre with a net 66. Page 4 of 7

5 The winner of John Huckin Cup for the over 70 s Best Gross was Alan Beard of Pontnewydd with a gross 76. The winner of the Tom Harris Cup for the over 70 s Best Net was Lyn Bateman of Llanwern with a net 66. The Championship Secretary thanked all the Officers who had helped him in running the County Championships. f) Boys Secretary Welsh International matches Gwent had 2 boys representing Wales in the European Team Championship and the Home Internationals. They were Matthew Harris of St. Mellons and Laurence Vargas of St. Pierre. In the European Team Championship Wales were in Flight B where they finished in 6 th place out of 8 teams. In the Home Internationals the Welsh Boys lost all their matches finishing in last place. Gwent Junior Leagues The Gwent Junior Leagues were very disappointing in With only 9 clubs competing we had 3 leagues of 3 teams each. Of the 3 leagues only one league managed to fulfil their fixtures during the season. At a recent Junior League meeting the majority of the League Organisers present stated that they had problems fielding a team of 5 juniors to compete in matches. At this same meeting it was proposed and approved to limit the teams to 3 players for the 2017 season. Junior Strokeplay Championship The Gwent Boys U14 Strokeplay Champion for 2016 was Luke Bearcroft of Llanwern with an 18 hole gross score of 85 The U16 Strokeplay Champion for 2016 was Dan Bearcroft of Llanwern with a 36 hole gross score of 158. The U18 Strokeplay Champion for 2016 was Lewis Jones of Monmouthshire with a 36 hole gross score of 144. Junior Matchplay Championship The Gwent Boys Matchplay Championship for 2016 was won by Ben Hicks of the Parc golf club who defeated Ioan Jones of St. Pierre golf club by 2 & 1 in the final. U16 Channel League The Gwent Boys U16 team finished in last place in the U16 Channel League having lost all their matches in what was always going to be a difficult season with the number of players we had available. U18 Channel League The Gwent Boys U18 team finished in 3 rd place having won 1 drawn 1 and lost 2 matches. Severnside Tournament Gwent finished in 3 rd place in the Severnside Tournament which was played at Morlais Castle. Page 5 of 7

6 Junior Coaching Gwent Golf Union are continuing with their junior coaching program with the assistance of PGA Professionals Paul Mayo and Joe Vickery. Paul is undertaking the junior club coaching and Joe is carrying out the U16 and U18 squad coaching in addition to introducing golf to schools in Newport and the surrounding area. Joe has recently established a partnership with Newport Live providing Tots Golf sessions in local leisure centres. 6) ELECTION OF OFFICERS The Chairman invited the outgoing President Mr. Nigel Collins to nominate his successor Mr. Roger Floyd. Mr. Nigel Collins stated what an eventful 3 years he had had as President. When the role came along I thought what does the President do? Where is it defined? it can t be that onerous a job as past presidents haven t complained too much about the workload. Well as far as I could figure out what you do is try your best to support everything that is going on. Like supporting the 1 st Team at Perranporth in April with two wet suits on to try to avoid exposure and hypothermia, in the buggy with the Team Captain who always makes sure he parked up so that he is on the dry side and I was acting as the weather shield. But then in November you go back down to Cornwall for their County Dinner which was a far better experience. You have had reports from the Officers of the Union which have outlined the achievements throughout the year, but those reports do not begin to quantify the amount of effort and time that these officers put in to make things happen, from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. some days. I would like to offer my thanks to the executive committee for all that effort. As you might recall I have been on the Executive Committee for more than 20 years and I think I can say that although there were a few sticky moments I have enjoyed it especially the company of my fellow committee members who do their very best to keep this thing alive. In conclusion I thank you all for your support and I wish the incoming President and you all the very best for the future. Mr. Collins handed the President s Badge to Mr. Roger Floyd the incoming President. Mr. Floyd thanked Nigel for all he has done for Gwent golf, in supporting the teams, and assisting in running the County Championships as well as running the Inter Club Leagues. The Chairman Mr. Ray Hughes opened his remarks by stating that it had been an honour and a privilege to have been the County Chairman for the last 12 months. During this time we have experienced some difficult situations but thankfully the Officers and Executive have worked their way through them. Unfortunately we have now lost two clubs from the county, Alice Springs and Dewstow. Hopefully most of these members will join other clubs in the county but I m afraid a few will now decide to just be pay and play golfers travelling to various clubs. I must thank our team captains for their valuable work and effort they have put into their roles in organising their teams. Thanks go to: Jonathan Davidson, Andrew Ritter, and Paul Stickler. The Chairman also thanked the Officers for their work in running the various sections of the counties affairs. The Chairman gave a special vote of thanks to the outgoing President Mr. Nigel Collins who has been a very keen and valuable servant to the county as past chairman and league secretary. The Chairman continued by saying that Gwent have been successful in retaining the Inter County Challenge Trophy between Gwent and Glamorgan with Llanwern defeating Radyr at Morlais Castle. Page 6 of 7

7 We are lucky with our current pool of young county players with Jack Davidson, Owen Edwards, and Josh Davies who have done their country, county and their clubs proud. The three mentioned are at the top of the mens Welsh order of merit with a further six players, Joe du Feu, Mitchell Reid, Oliver Mottram, Lewys Sanges, Theo Baker, and Callum Morris being placed in the top thirty. Last but not least the Chairman thanked the Council members for their time in attending the county meetings, stating that the Officers and Executive committee are acting on your behalf. The Chairman stated that there was a need to look at and review the Unions Constitution which will be put to the Council at a future date. The Chairman announced that the remaining officers were seeking re-election en-bloc. Proposed: Graham Rich Seconded: Will Price The Chairman recommended that HSJ be re-elected as the counties auditors for Proposed: Ivor Protheroe Seconded: Robert Martin 7) CHAMPIONSHIP VENUES & DATES 2017 Cock o North Finals Monmouthshire Sun 7 th May Stroke Play Championship Peterstone Lakes Sun 18 th June Match Play Championship Peterstone Lakes Matches to be played over 6 weeks Team Championship Woodlake Park Sun 13 th August H/Cap Team Championship Greenmeadow Sun 10 th September Seniors Stroke Play Champ Llanwern Mon 7 th August 8) DATE of NEXT MEETING GGU COUNCIL MEETING - TUESDAY 25 th APRIL 2017 GREENMEADOW GOLF CLUB 7:30 p.m. In closing the meeting the Chairman expressed his thanks to Greenmeadow Golf Club for hosting the meeting and requested that his thanks be passed on to Mr. Peter Richardson. Page 7 of 7