Chairmans Blog October 2012

Comments from the Chair : Chairmans Blog October 2012

29/10/12

Disappointing vandalism found by greenkeepers on the course on Saturday morning!

You will notice that the 2nd green has had some turf dug up. This was part of some vandalism including the 4th hole filled with sand, messages written in sand on grees, flags removed and thrown away and beer bottles forced into the greens up to their necks! Please all be aware that although our course has not been vandalised for some time this may be somethging we need to watch out for!

23/10/12

Presentation Evening November 10th 2012

Just a reminder to all that the Annual Presentation Evening is fast approaching. We would like to open this evening up to all our members even if you did not happen to win a trophy this year.

The evening will incorporate a high quality 3 course meal at the cost of £12/pp.

It would be nice to have a full house this year so please make the effort.

20/10/12

What about doing a "Movember" at the club?

19/10/12

Dont forget 1st Dec 2012 "Pre Xmas Boogie Night" £10 Entrance and Buffet.

Already 66 tickets sold. Its gonna be a great event. C'mon!

15/10/12

Winter Greens

Further to an email from a member and discussions with the Greenkeeper players are permitted to putt only from the Winter Greens. This is due to the size/width of some winter tee areas.

14/10/12

Weekend Visiting Parties

Please Note that the following rules will be implemented with regards to Visitors on a Weekend.

From 1st Nov - 28th Feb there will be no visitors permitted on a weekend. At present we take approx £1000 per month for casual visitors excluding golf societies and large parties. We are listening to the members and hoping that the club can sustain it self through midweek visitors. This will obviously have to be monitored very carefully.

 Going forward into next Season.... the board were asked for clarification on 'visiting party' weekend bookings for next season.

It was agreed that the club cannot do without society and sizable visting parties at this moment in time. They have instructed that visiting parties continue to be encouraged but shared equally where possible throughout the day on a Sat and Sun from 8am-3pm inclusive. Generally societies want morning start times! Where possible advance warrning will be given to members to allow adjustments in playing times if required.

In an ideal world we would like to say no to VP at weekends but sadly we far from that point!!

09/10/12

A great deal of business was done at last nights board meeting. I urge you all to read the minutes to keep up to date with the decisions that are being made.

The meeting of course started on a very sombre note, reflecting on the sad passing away of our member and good friend Andrew Renshaw. Many of the board members knew him very well, went on holidays and played with him regularly. We all, of course, send Debbie Renshaw our thoughts and support at this sad time.

The meeting continued with an end of year accounts round up from the treasurer Dave Wilson. He explained that we have indeed finished the year with a profit, which is incredibly good news. Despite a poor summer weather wise, the club was able to increase green fees, bar takings, and competition fees. The accounts will be presented at the AGM however the poignant figures I will pass on as soon as they are confirmed by the auditors.

Due to this positive financial position we have decided as a board to start to make some changes to the facilities both on and off the course. I will not spoil the surprise for you in this blog but assure you that the changes will become evident very soon. We hope that our members and guests alike will enjoy and appreciate the effort that is being made by the board and see that perhaps the slight inconveniences that we have had to endure from time to time were all worth it. Presently we have our new Fairway Riders (x5), new scorecards, new coffee machine, and a new shoe/trolley cleaning system being pieced together as we speak. We have listened to our members and are trying to implement some of the many suggestions that have been forthcoming.

You will also see some minor changes to the website. We are experimenting with different colours and designs with the support of our web designer. We have gone with black as the base colour which we see as simple yet classy. Watch this space for further developments.

On a very personal note (not speaking on behalf of the board) I would like to offer all members the opportunity to come to speak with me directly, and formally (on  record) if necessary, if they have any issue with the direction of the club. Whilst I understand, it is tradition within our club to submit a letter to the Chair/Board if we have a complaint (and that will not change) I would like to have the opportunity to perhaps nip doubts/concerns in the bud if at all possible. Many situations arise from poor communication or misunderstanding and could be cleared up very quickly with a conversation. I am trying to keep everybody informed through the website and am only too pleased to add items if people so wish to clarify issues.

Please don't forget I am a simple paid up member too and only want the club to prosper. My ethos is, and will always be, one of "positivity" and I want to play my golf at the club with a smile on my face like we all do no doubt. The club is doing well at present and I thank you for your patience. Michael Rutter (Sec/Man) has done a fantastic job to raise the profile and market the club. He is spending a massive amount of time working on your behalf above and beyond his contract hours. I feel it is time for me to step up to the plate and as "Co-opted Chair" to shoulder any problems and allow him to continue to concentrate on the job he was employed to do, that of running the day to day matters at the club.

Now lets make the most of what we have left of the sun and lighter evenings. Enjoy the facilities at the club and your golf!

08/10/12


It is with very great sadness that the club reports the passing away of
Mr Andrew Renshaw
on Sunday 7th October 2012
Andrew was a fanatical golfer and a great supporter of Ryton Golf Club.
He will be missed and remembered, by all who knew him, every day we play!
We would like to send our thoughts to Debbie and his family at this time.
Funeral arrangements are as follows
Friday 12th October.
At 10.15 am @
Mount Sett Crematorium,
Stanley
DH9 9JP
There after the club will be open @ 11.30 for friends and relatives.

05/10/12

September has come and gone in a whir of business. I thank you all yet again for your support and effort to make Ryton GC as successful as it has been. Many changes are and have taken place and I am very pleased with the way these changes are being received. There are no doubt many more to come! Exciting times for RGC.

The financial books have closed for the year and will now need to be audited and will be presented to the members of the club at the next AGM. I am certainly hoping that with all the effort we have made, we will turn a decent profit for 2011/12. Our next board meeting is on Monday 8th October and we have asked our Treasurer Dave Wilson to attend specifically to report on the years figures and answer any questions that board members may have for him. I sincerely hope that he will be able to put a smile of satisfaction on everyones' face. We understand that turning a profit is not the main reason for members to remain with the club, but it certainly helps if our motivation is to improve the place for them.

It is obvious that with winter on the way the earnings potential of any golf club will go down. Shorter days and colder weather means that all clubs will have problems generating income not just RGC. We, however, are still optimistic that we will hit if not exceed our income projections through these most difficult (marketing) months. I will report in more depth on the feelings/thoughts of the board after Monday nights meeting and again, watch out for the minutes.

October is going to be another interesting month, I feel. We are committed to the Golf North Show at Middlesborough Football Stadium on 19th 20th and 21st October (very exciting oportunity), we have another Open Competition (with a large prize pot) on 26th October and many weekend comps still to play for. 

I wish you all a very happy October and will continue to update my blog on a regular basis. Please keep logging in and checking it out!

Don't forget and lets make this years "Presentation Evening" a huge celebration of success:-

Presentation Night - Saturday 10th November at 7pm. 

Note in advance the following winners with the ladies winners to follow as not yet confirmed.

Sam Henderson/David Laws/Paul Haswell/ Chris Bell/Gordon Young/Bob Stavers/Paul Stocks/Ron Platford/Stuart Askew/George Robson/Steve Bousfield/Lee Parker/Steve Bews/Kevin Hill/J Thompson jnr/Shaun Embleton/Dave Marshall/Matt Turton/Kevin Bullock/Paddy Young/Paul Henderson/Fred Tindle/Michael Rutter/Paul Minett/Richard Bainbridge/ S Kellegher/Terry Heneghan/Neil Howie

Hopefully everyone will be able to attend and pick up their awards. There will be a 3 course meal provided at  cost of £12/pp which is great value for the standard of food that will be prepared.

Look forward to seeing you there.


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