Chairman's Blog January 2013

Comments from the Chair : Chairman's Blog January 2013

27/1/13

Not much to inform you of since the AGM! Snow, snow and more snow. It seems like forever that we have been able to get out there and hit a few balls. But now it would seem that the big thaw is on and we will find out just how good our drainage is. There is an horrendous amount of water to drain one would think. The 2nd is going to be interesting for a while i have no doubt.

As we get into February and the nights get lighter we will all be looking forward the start of proper competitive golf. It may seem a while away but the season begins on Sunday 31st March with the Acheson Gray Round 3. Gone are the winter H/Caps. The sun will shine and Royal Ryton will be back to its wonderful self. C'mon!

Please remember the Andy Renshaw Charity evening with State Express on 30th March. Its going to be a packed house so book your tickets early. Anyone who wants to sing a song with the band please let me know! (Rod will not be available on that day!)

17/01/13

Well what a quick AGM. 25 minutes to be precise. All went smoothly and I am very proud to say that i am now "Chair" as voted by the members and no longer Co-opted! Very proud.

I do apologise for the 1 or 2 mistakes i made during the meeting. I am sure you will forgive me as i was extremely nervous!

I would like to congratulate Lucy Harris and Richard Bainbridge for stepping up to the plate and accepting the responsibility of helping to manage the club. Their contribution will be warmly recieved.

The Open Forum proved to be a little more testing. Many interesting questions were posed by the members. I hope that the board fielded them in a manner which satisfied the majority. A few good ideas and suggestions were forthcoming! Lets see what the future brings.

15/01/13

Another interesting and productive 2 hour board meeting last night at the club with a full attendance of Board Members. Please take time to read the minutes which will be posted soon at the following address:-

http://www.rytongolfclub.co.uk/management-meeting-minutes

Looking forward to tomorrows AGM!

09/01/13

Well its only one week until the AGM. What can i say! The clubs in a better financial position than it has been for sometime, all seems to be smiles around the clubhouse and yet we are unable to recruit the personnel we need to run the club. I must admit to being a little disappointed that this is the case. What is it that is stopping people from giving some of their time to support RGC.

Perhaps people would email me and let me know @ pkwhittaker@gmail.com 

03/01/12

Can i firstly take this opportunity to welcome one and all a very Happy New Year and lets hope that you all have a marvellous years golf at Ryton Golf Club in 2013.

The festive season is drawing to a close and as we all get back to normal life our thoughts will no doubt be on lighter nights and warmer temperatures and if the gods be with us less rainfall. However first we have to get through a little matter of the AGM on January 16th where we will hopefully rejoice at the financial turnaround made by the club in 2012. Although we understand that there is a long way to go to financial stability the omens are good. We are hoping that maintaining the same subscription fees this year will go some way towards showing our members that we mean business and that we have their interests at the forefront of our thinking. Please come along and show some support/solidarity for RGC. I have decided to stand as Chair this year to lose the tag "Co-opted". If voted in I will certainly continue to work on the clubs behalf to improve all aspects of life at our wonderful club.

January has again started very well on the Green Fees front. We have had many new visitors through the club on some very interesting new offers including "balls" as a freebie! We realise that we need to be radical and inventive and think outside of the box if we are to stay ahead of the field who have had a habit over the last year of mimicking our marketing ideas to a certain degree. The figures for last year prove interesting reading and show that the effort has been very worthwhile. We must continue this effort in he coming season to get the balance between members and visitors correct and a pricing strategy/structure that is attractive yet realistic in the current climate. This is not an easy task as I am sure you understand.

We are still short of a Captain, which disappoints me very much. Our golf club will be a very different place without a figurehead to steer us through the year. Mal Robson has been terrific through 2012 and it needs someone of his stature and commitments for 2013 to be as successful. It would still seem that the time commitments is the stumbling block for any prospective candidate. I urge one and all to give it one last thought prior to the AGM. C'mon!


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