Scotscraig Golf Club Newsletter December 2014

Scotscraig Golf Club Newsletter December 2014 Scotscraig Golf Club Captain s Foreword Captains Message Christmas 2014 Well 2014 is nearly over as we head towards Christmas and think about past successes and future challenges! Thank you for your support over the year and welcome to our new colleagues on Council. It will soon be just 2 years until the Bi-Centenary and your support in working towards this significant milestone will be most welcome! With the amount of time Council and staff put into the development of Scotscraig Golf Club we expect to be among the more attractive clubs in the area to join. We continue to have success in attracting new members and increasing the number of guests we receive. We have developed an even more welcoming @ScotscraigGC approach in the Clubhouse for everyone who crosses the threshold. This, along with aiming to develop the highest standards on the Course has been an ongoing and significant effort by all concerned! I received great encouragement recently from a member reflecting the views of a large group of regular golfers. Despite heavy rain and even patches of flooding, their view was that the greens and the course in general, held up well and are in good condition. George Anderson has taken on the role of Greens Convenor and is working closely with the Course Manager to continue to develop and improve our historic Course. People come from far and near to play this great Course. We have members who regularly come up from England to play! The price we pay is that wear and tear is evident on walk-off areas which we are addressing in a number of ways including better traffic management. Please 1

continue to help by supporting us to develop the Club and the Course. The 3 Prize-giving events were very successful and, despite the low turnout, the Gent's Dinner was brilliant! This was thanks in the main to John Htet Khin, who is a native of Burma, our guest Speaker. Please come along next year guys as I have managed to secure Brian Whittle, Olympic athlete, European Champion and Commonwealth medalist! Brian is probably remembered best for losing a shoe whilst part of the European Gold Medal winning relay team with Derek Redmond, Kris Akabusi and Roger Black. On behalf of Council and staff at Scotscraig Golf Club, may I wish you and yours a Happy Christmas and a successful 2015. Regards John Rankin Captain Personal Profile Name: Scott Smith (Assistant Professional) Handicap: His hair colour How did you first get into golf: After I was born my parents informed me that I would find life difficult with being a GINGER and that I should aim for a profession that would benefit from my muscular physique and hard of hearing that I would adapt being a GINGER. Best golfing memory: Watching Craig (My Hero) play a gravity defying shot on the second hole on the Championship course at Monifieth. Most forgettable golfing moment: Not getting past the Ladies Tees on the Nick Faldo course in Turkey this year after drinking the bar dry the night before. Plays with (Driver & irons): A shortened Peppa Pig driver, Postman Pat 3, 5 & Rescue clubs and a full set of Bob the Builder bladed irons (all with plastic heads). Best course played: The Nick Faldo course in Turkey. Thinks he plays like: Craig Mackie. (My hero). Actually plays like: Stan Cowe. Golfing aspirations: To be as good as my idol Craig Mackie or his dad (Ian) whichever comes first and to grow more than 4 hairs on my chin by the start of next season. What I like about golf: Meeting guys like Big Steve and being able to wear fancy hole in one socks and pointy suede loafers. If you weren t golf pro: A model with Mother Care. Favourite meal: McDonalds Happy Meal (love getting a toy). Marketing The Clubs main income streams flow from members and visitors fees. The success of any marketing campaign is dependent on the quality of the product(s) being promoted. In Scotscraig's case this is primarily the golf course supported by Clubhouse and Professional's services. As you know, criticism has been levelled at the general condition of the course resulting in a substantial programme of improvements planned and underway. Once completed, we expect members to have more positive opinions of this product which in turn will become a more attractive proposition for visitors. Craig and I plan to concentrate time to marketing the product(s) both internally to our existing members and externally, to attract new members and visitors. With the Open Championship returning to St Andrews in 2015, we have an opportunity to promote our product(s) to increase business in the Club via increasing visitor numbers. We are in the early stages of compiling a winning strategy in the above respects and any helpful suggestions will be very welcome. Dennis West Marketing Convenor Finance News Unexpected repairs are required to the clubhouse roof. These, along with increased winter expenditure on the course will almost certainly wipe out the surplus we were expecting at the year end. Meantime I wish members and staff a happy Christmas, a good New Year and for those who play through the winter, happy golfing. Chris Goode Finance Convenor 2

Membership Scotscraig, like so many other golf clubs in the UK have no Waiting List. On an annual basis the Club loses between 20 and 30 Full Members. It is therefore important that we market membership as much as we can. The Council has therefore decided to waive the Entry Fee between now and the end of February 2015. This initiative was very successful last year and hopefully this year also. Members are also reminded that the Incentive Scheme will continue meantime. Members who propose a Full Member will have 100 credited to their Loyalty Card once the Annual Subscription has been received. With continuing rising costs of materials and supplies on an annual basis it is important that the Club increases its income from membership, bar, catering and visitors in order that investment can be made in the clubhouse and golf course. Any assistance from the membership will be very much appreciated. Barrie D Liddle Managing Secretary Ladies News The Ladies enjoyed an excellent Business Meeting, Dinner and Prize giving on Friday 7 th November, the evening was well attended and brought to a close a successful golfing season. At the end of the season our results in the inter-club matches were Won 4, Lost 4 and Halved 3. Our Scratch 5 s team won 2 and lost 1. Despite the colder weather our regular Tuesday winter golf is proving very popular as always. We have played two 16 hole Stableford competitions and the next ones are on 20 th and 24 th January. Our winter Eclectic and Ringer Competitions are ongoing. In the Winter Coastal League, after two matches, we are lying third. Unfortunately the match at Edzell was cancelled as the course was closed due to bad weather.. Scotscraig will be hosting the Winter Coastal League on Sunday 11 th January and also hosting the Annual Dinner and Prizegiving on Friday 27 th March. Susan Baldwin and Anja Clark are taking part in the Fife County Winter Foursomes. They won their first match at home against Thornton on the 21 st hole! Well done to them! We finished the year with our Christmas fun 9 hole and fancy dress competition followed by lunch on 4 th December. Twenty two ladies enjoyed the day with Susan Baldwin scoring a hole in one on the 13 th using her 6 iron. Well done Susan! I would like to wish all the Scotscraig Ladies a Very Happy Christmas and a Good New Year of golf in 2015. Teresa McGill Lady Captain Junior News Confirmation that 20.00 will be credited to a junior s Loyalty Card if they encourage a new Junior Member to join. From the 1st December 2014 until 1st March 2015 there will be a competition running for the Kilgour Trophy (Winter Eclectic). Only one card per week can be entered and this must be placed in the junior box beside the computer in the main patio area. Stephen Schofield Junior Convenor House News Well that's the Golf Season over apart from the hardy winter golfers who are winter leaguing it. The clubhouse is looking great with all the festive decorations and I would like to thank the staff for decking it out as always. Christmas lunches, dinners and dances are now well established and if you haven't had the chance to book something I would recommend it to you and your family and friends. If you are in the main lounge you will see a table filled with Festive prizes, all part of our Grand Christmas raffle. Tickets are priced at 2 and the draw will take place on Saturday 20th December, all profits will go to both our Bicentenary and Clubhouse funds. We recently purchased new staff uniforms and hopefully they should be with us if not already arrived and being worn. Those of you who are observant may have noticed we have introduced a number of canvasses on the verandah wall, it is a work in progress and hopefully we will have additions to this in the very near future. I would like to thank Ronnie Beat for his help in completing the first part of this change. 3

It is our intention to redecorate the main lounge (soon to be renamed 1817 lounge) sometime in February, this will include both decoration and carpeting. You will appreciate this is a major outgoing for the club at a time of restraint, this would mean the closing of the main lounge towards the end of February. This was the plan, however nothing ever goes smoothly with a building as old as ours. Only very recently we discovered a problem with a flat roof abutting the flat. It has been established that this is a major problem with a major costing for the club. We are presently looking at various options to resolve the problem, a decision will be made in early New Year. Finally I would like to wish everyone a wonderful Christmas and a New Year full of health, wealth and low scores. Alan Kidd House Convenor Match News Another very good season had by everyone at Scotscraig Golf Club. Great to see so many members entering the competitions arranged for the season. Long may it continue. Congratulations to all members, Gents, Ladies and Juniors who were winners this season and to all those hundreds of runners up, there s always next season. The gents section enjoyed a good mixture of results in the Inter Club Friendly Matches coming runner-up more times than expected. But good golf and excellent company was afforded to the team at all matches. The East Fife Winter League (Handicap) has begun with the team recording a win and two defeats in the three league matches played so far and a loss to Leven in the Knock-out Trophy. The club Winter Stableford competitions is now in its 6 th week. This year 43 members have entered which is a fantastic achievement as entry to this competition is usually in the 20 s. Derek Gordon Match Convenor Greens News The weather has again been unseasonably mild for this time of year with little if any frost which means that the grass has continued to grow. This means that the winter maintenance plan as detailed on the web site has had to be revisited and prioritised. Since taking on the post of greens convenor, I have had various meetings and course walks to look at and discuss with others the condition of the course, ideas for improving, maintenance issues etc. These discussions have been very helpful in understanding why some members felt the need to voice their opinions at the AGM. The greens committee is responsible for delivering an answer to the various points raised and a programme of work is now in place to address some of the issues. Additional budget has been agreed and provided to carry out additional works on the course and a long term programme will be on display in the next week or so to indicate and detail the proposed works for the months December to April. It is also the responsibility of all members and visitors to repair divots and pitch marks etc. on the course which will go a long way in keeping the course in a good winter condition. If the course deteriorates then there is an option to move to mats. It has also been noted that trolleys and buggies have been taken across the greens, something that has been easy to notice with the dew conditions that we have had. Additional stakes/pins have been purchased to allow the areas to be roped off and these will be in position on much of the course for the next few months to protect the approaches and greens. Project work at the 1 st.green walk off area and the13 th.path are well underway. A few of the bunkers listed in the winter plan have also been started with the top turf still to be laid. I have been asked to look into providing a questionnaire and this will be done in 2015. However, in the meantime if any member wishes to comment on any issues, positive or negative, then I would welcome an email giving details and I will get an answer/comment back to the writer. Please use the email address george.anderson12@btopenworld.com. George L. Anderson Greens Convenor 4

Pro- Shop As winter is definitely now upon us why not pop in and try all the latest winter golfing gear, choose from lined sweaters, winter hats, under-armour compressions, winter mitts and much more. There are some fantastic offers in store and we are open 7 days a week from 8-4 until Christmas Eve. Also remind your partners that they are welcome to shop for you and please encourage them to visit your Pro Shop. Anyone wishing to set a plan for coaching this winter can take advantage of this great pre-christmas deal. Purchase 10 Lessons for ONLY 150.00 including video analysis throughout, there are only 15 places left on this deal as response within the shop has been very positive, call us on 01382 552855 to get on board. We are still offering a FREE wrapping service for any purchases up until Christmas so look forward to seeing you all soon. Craig, Paul, Scott Clubhouse Hours for the festive season 2014 Christmas Eve 7.30 am 5.00 pm Christmas Day closed Boxing Day closed Hogmanay 7.30 am 5.00 pm New Years Day closed 2nd January 2015 closed Members who require their clubs from their locker for the festive period should uplift them prior to 25th December and 1st January. For emergency phone 01382 552966 We welcome any contributions for future magazines so please feel free to share them with any of the following links as follows:- Secretary s office on 01382 552515, or via email at admin@scotscraiggolfclub.com Derek Gordon via email at derekgordon834@btinternet.com Other News Any new junior member who is enrolled in a two year membership, costing just over 100, will receive a new half set of golf clubs worth 109 absolutely free. Contact the Pro Shop for further details. Holed Out The following is a true story; Golfers, make sure you sign your score card before you undergo a fatal heart attack. Sir, referring the death of an angler in the excitement of hooking a salmon (letter August 2) golf can be equally hazardous. I was once called when an elderly golfer sank a last putt to score a net 65, by far the best score of his life, and promptly collapsed and died. It was a double tragedy. He hadn't signed his card and under the rules was disqualified. I put it to the committee that if it was possible to win the Victoria Cross posthumously, surely the same could apply to the monthly medal. They were unmoved. Erl Annesley (retired GP) Letter in the Times dated 4th August 2014 You have been warned 5