The following notes show the 2025 Club Officials and pertinent information from the latest  club Committee Meeting.

1       2025 Officials

The following officials were appointed as follows: 
General Secretary - Toni Caswell 
Treasurer -  Debbie Hinks 
Welfare/Safety Officer  - Toni Caswell 
Fixture Secretary  - Steve Harris 
Handicap Secretary -   Martin Blatchford 
Webmaster - Geoff Bannister 
General Committee Members -  Andy Cole, Reece Lambert,  Alan Smith, Terry Cotton, Nathan Lambourne, Simon Bellamy, Dan Leney
Club Captain - Martin Blatchford
Club Vice Captain - Nigel Bow
Senior Captain - John Howes
Senior Fixtures Officer - Gary Rogers
Hardy A Captain - Craig Pitcher
Hardy A Vice Capt.- Nathan Lambourne
Hardy B Captain - Nigel Bow
Hardy B Vice Captain - Kevin Down
3 Counties Captain - Grant Jones
3 Counties Vice Captain - Simon Bellamy
RTTV Captain - Andy Cole

2    Notes from the Committee meeting held on 10th September (Note: The August Meeting was cancelled)
Club Captains report
- Outstanding Actions
Club Flag: Club Captain Martin reported that the new club flag is now in use and was flown at the Club Championships.

Honours Boards: The information has been supplied to Yellow Box and the completed boards are scheduled for delivery by the end of October.

- Club Championships: Martin thanked everyone for their support to the Club and Senior Championships that were a great success. Particularly pleasing was the increase in senior members that took part. He congratulated the winners on the day although the weather conditions on the Sunday made for a tricky course. He thanked Green keeper Andy, Centre Manager Steve and Toni, Nigel and the Club House team for their exceptional hospitality. Feedback from the participants both privately and publicly had been very positive.

- Issues for the 2026 AGM: Martin raised several issues that he considered should be addressed at the next AGM in January 2026.
Club Champs Eligibility: Currently club members who have not competed in any club competition can take part in the Champs. Martin considered that champ players should have played a minimum number of club events in order to qualify for the champs. This was generally agreed in principle by the meeting and this will be raised at the AGM.
Champs Entry Fees: Martin believed some consideration should be given to entry fee for non-centre members who, in effect, do not pay any green fees to play in the competition, since the club hires the course for the day. This was agreed and further discussion was deferred to the AGM.

- Other Comments
- Martin wished Dan Tuffin, Pete Anyan, Derek Hinks, and Simon Hughes good luck in the county foursomes and Andy Brown and Tony Wynne as they play the Senior Knockout final. He congratulated Simon Hughes for his success in the club knockout and commiserations to finalist Mark Scard. Martin was impressed by the recent performances of all our teams and wished them good luck in the matches still to come.

- Martin confirmed that the Winter Knockout arrangements will be available shortly and proposed that the entry fees should remain as per last year. This was agreed by the meeting.

- He reported that £3200 has been raised for Julia’s House so far with several more events to come.

- Senior Captains Report
Senior Captain John Howes reported that the team had won the home match 4:2 against Cannington yesterday (9th Sept) and had won the Triangular Match against Cannington and Henstridge. Two matches are outstanding – away to Westbury and the Ryder Cup at home. John thanked Gary Rogers for his support to the organisation of the matches. The matches had been well supported by the senior players. The County Card Trophy is on 11th September at Orchardleigh. £225 had been raised for Julia’s House on the Senior Captains Day.

- Hardy A Captain
The team will probably finish at the bottom of the league. Captain Craig was preparing to discuss at the league AGM the possibility of the matches becoming pairs competitions due to the difficulty of fielding higher handicapped players against low handicappers which resulted in difficulties in getting support from the players. Craig expressed his appreciation for the Club House team and the excellent breakfasts that were well noted by all the visiting teams.

- Hardy B Captain
The team lost the last two matches but they will be top of division 4 if they win or draw the final match against Parkstone.

- Three Counties Captain
The team won 4:2 against Vivary Park and are in second place in the league and have won the shield. The Freeman Trophy Team selection will be announced shortly.

Handicap Secretary
The arrangements for the winter knockouts will be addressed shortly. He confirmed that the senior round scores for those that played the club knockout will be deleted.

Treasurers Report
Debbie confirmed that the balance remains healthy. The outstanding payments for the weekend away have been paid but the membership payments for the recent new members remain outstanding. (Details are available for members on request)

Secretarys Report
Toni stated that the club membership was continuing to increase and we now had 4 lady members.

AOB
- Tee Times: Secretary Toni emphasised that it was very important to adhere by the set tee times due to the difficulties caused to pay and play arrangements if early tee offs are taken, even if the office staff don’t object. Incorrect tee times could result in additional tee time payments being applied.

- Flag pins/positions: Andy Cole remarked that the flag sticks tend to lean over in the wind but it was believed that this issue was being looked at by the Green Keeper. There were several comments received from members that the pin positioning for the championships extremely challenging particularly on the 6th, 7th and 9th greens. Martin agreed to review this with the green keeper Andy.

- Captains Trophy: Club Captain Martin noted that there were a Captains Day and Senior Captains Day Trophies in the Trophy Cabinet that had not been presented this year. This was noted to ensure that they would be presented in the 2026 events.

- Comfort Breaks: Club Captain urged members to consider, when taking comfort breaks on the course, to take expedient measures to avoid embarrassment to other players.

Next Meeting
The next meeting will be held at Folke on Wednesday 15th October at 6:30 pm. All members are welcome to attend.