Seniors Open 4th July 2019
Thankfully the day started with the sun shining, which
is always a worry especially with One hundred players scheduled to play this
year.
Along with the golf club staff, Brian Reid and I
arrived on site at 07:00 with things to arrange before the players arrived.
At 08:00 our faithful putting competition controller
Ron Temple arrived, suitably attired in his usual garb of striped blazer, true
to form not one person was allowed past without first donating the statuary one
pound, whether they were taking part in the days competition or were just
passing his station.
Next to arrive were the ladies who volunteered to
control the registration, Jan Crawshaw and Beryl Vann, by the result of the
amount of raffle tickets sold no one escaped from their mesmerising control.
The Starter for the day Brian Stepney arrived in time
to have his breakfast minus the sausage, he gave strict instructions that the
missing sausage was to be served with a coffee at his place of work precisely
at 10:30.
It was around 08:00 that the first players started to
arrive, this was followed by a steady stream over the next four hours.
Breakfast was well received and the service that was
provided by the clubhouse staff was exceptional and worked with military
precision.
At 08:50 the first call came from
Brian Stepney through
the PA system, instructing the first group of players to report to the starters
position for instructions, this continued at 10 minute intervals until the
final group left the tee four hours later, at this point I was informed by
Brian that he had achieved in getting everyone away on time but could take no
responsibility on the timings of their return.
Around 10:00 Keith Arlott who is still recouping after
his knee operation arrived to man the drinks wagon, Keith did a few runs ( in
his buggy ) around the course early on, returning on two occasions to replenish
his stocks, as the final groups came around to the 10th Keith
decided to station himself by the tee, this was I believe to try and get some
tips on improving his game!
As the groups progressed around the course it was a
relief to see that by restricting the start times by ten minutes rather than
the usual eight seemed to work well, there was the odd occasion when groups
were held up however these seemed to be few and far between.
Hole 17
This was everyone’s opportunity to show off their
golfing skills to our resident Professional Derek Craik, there were One hundred
“golfers” playing and only Six managed to win the sleeve of balls, from what I
understand now is that Derek is expecting to be busy over the coming months
giving lessons, if everyone took part in the competition then it meant that
Derek had a 94% success rate, however, having worked in an industry where
targets were set by our customers at 99.9% , Derek, we need to see some improvement
by next year!
A full list of winners can be found on this website
It now just leaves me to thank all those who helped to
make the day a success.
Carole
Derek
Emily
Janos
Mark
Sam
Green keepers
Mark
Derek
Simon
Toby
Ron Temple
Brian Stepney
Jan Crawshaw
Beryl Vann
Keith Arlott
All members who sponsored holes and donated raffle
prizes, there are too many to mention ( truth is I don’t want to miss anyone
out )
And last but not least thanks to this year’s vice
captain Brian Reid who put everything together and achieved not only a record
attendance but also a memorable day for all who took part.
The amount raised for our charity will be announced
shortly when our financial secretary has finalised the income v the outgoings.
