Our November 2023 Update
We hope you’re enjoying autumn so far! Here’s our update for November 2023 from the whole team at St Mellons Golf Club.
Update From The Board
Governance & Structure Update
Going forward into our 60th Anniversary year we have published a new Governance document to clearly define the roles of Directors and officials of the club as well as the election process for each.
SO, WHATS CHANGED?
- As you may all be aware, in March’24 the existing Club Captain role ends. From March’24 we will then have a Ladies Captain and a Men’s Captain both of equal standing.
Captains must have completed / served a year on the Captains’ Committee as a respective Vice Captain before being ratified as a Captain by members at the AGM. - The selection process for the Vice Captains (Annually) and President (Bi-annually) will be transparently open for all to aspire to.
- The Captains’ Committee will organise a selection panel to choose their “preferred nominated candidate” for the Ladies Vice Captain and Men’s Vice Captain respectively.
After that process has been completed. Members will then be at liberty to put themselves up against their respective “preferred nominated candidate”.
If there is more than one candidate, an election process will then take place and the result announced at the club’s AGM. - Bi-annually a selection panel, organised by the Captains’ Committee, which will also include the current President, will choose their “preferred nominated candidate” for President.
After that process has been completed Members, again, will be at liberty able to be put themselves up for election against the preferred nominated candidate.
Again, if there is more than one candidate, an election process will then take place and the result announced at the clubs AGM. - The candidates nominated by the selection panel shall be displayed on the Club’s Notice Board(s) and notified by email to the members by 31st December, after which, nominations from the general membership shall be in writing and signed by the proposer and seconder and delivered to the Company office no later than 31st January together with a letter of acceptance from the candidate.
WHAT ABOUT THE BOARD?
As per the club’s Articles of Association there will be elections next year for 3 no Board
members, including a Finance Director role (currently co-opted). Nominations shall be in
writing and signed by the proposer and seconder and delivered to the Company office no
later than 31 st December together with a letter of acceptance from the candidate.
Please click here to view our governance and structure document.
Some Changes to The Board
Ron Boyce, our course director, has advised the board that he does not intend to stand for re-election at the the AGM in March. He also suggested that it might be a good idea to take on board a replacement as soon as possible, this being an important work time, rather than wait until March.
Ron, a stalwart of the club, will be sadly missed but hopefully always available for his valuable advice.
Consequently Marc Anderton, our former Head Greenkeeper, has been invited to join the board with immediate effect,
filling the vacancy until next March.
New Board Member
Firstly I would like to thank the board members for offering me this exciting opportunity, I am very excited to join the management board as golf course director. I am looking forward to the challenges ahead and once again serving the club and members in a new capacity.
With a total of 10 years spent on the green staff at St Mellons and 5 of which as head greenkeeper, I feel my knowledge and experience will prove invaluable within my new role.
On behalf of the management board I will be working closely with our club manager and head greenkeeper to help further improve the golf course for the benefit of our members and the business as a whole.
Kind regards
Marc Anderton
Quiz Time! – You should know the rules of golf – Do you?
Test your golf knowledge with these questions below!
1) You can declare a ball unplayable anywhere – correct?
2) A ball is out of bounds when any part lies out of bounds. True or false?
3) A player is asked to lift their ball which lies just off the putting green as it is on the
opponents line of play. Ok to clean the ball without penalty?
4) Your ball lands on a ‘wrong’ green. What is the ruling?
5) When taking a ‘drop’. How should it be done?
Find the answers at the end of this newsletter.
What’s On At The Clubhouse?
See our latest menus below.
Our Sunday roast is available on Sundays, served from 12pm to 4pm. Come and join us.
Group bookings available, please contact the chef for more details.
For bookings and enquiries, please contact the chef or enquire at the bar or:
Call us at: 01633 680408 (ext 3 or 5)
Email: kitchen@stmellonsgolfclub.co.uk
Kids Christmas Menu
All parents are requested to be on time to avoid disappointments. Bookings open now.
Winter is Coming
Please pay at the bar.
From The Proshop
ACCOUNT CREDIT
We still have 153 members with money on their account in the pro shop.
A reminder, THIS MUST BE USED BY 24/12/23.
Any outstanding credit passed this date, cannot be claimed with either myself or the incoming professional.
It’s time to use it or lose it!
EX DEMO EQUIPMENT
As the date for ordering equipment has now passed, we can now sell our ex-demo clubs and rental trolleys.
Drivers available from £300:
Ping G430 SFT
Titleist TSR2 & TSR3
Callaway Paradym 3D, Standard & X
Fairways available from £200:
Ping G430 MAX & SFT
Taylormade Stealth 2 HD
Callaway Paradym X
Hybrids available from £200:
Ping G430
We have a variety of shafts available and the Professional Team will be happy to advise which is best for you.
We have 2x Powakaddy FX5 GPS ex rental trolleys for sale @ £300 each.
Both have been recently serviced, are hired out regularly, come with a lithium XL battery, three prong charger and GPS with thousands of golf courses preloaded.
If you’re interested in a brand-new trolley with a long warranty, we have Powakaddy and Motocaddy trolleys now available from £599
Course Update
This month the greens received a huge amount of work for renovation which consisted of hollow coring, spiking, overseeding and heavy top dressing. This work was then followed with an application of an organic granular fertilizer to boost the recovery process. After a very wet summer this volume of work was required due to a raise in organic matter levels and lateral tension. Additional aeration has also been carried out with the gp air injection machine which fires compressed air deep into the sub soil to fracture the heavy clay and allow the water to drain through. The greens have now recovered from this extensive work. The greens have now started with a turf hardener program which consists of monthly applications of ammoniacal nitrogen, iron, calcium, magnesium and potassium. These elements work by thickening the cell walls of the plant and acidifying the turf surface to help the plant resist disease attacks. Monthly applications of a product called rocastem are also being applied. Rocastem is a liquid aerator and root stimulant which works at microscopic level to de compact the rootzone by draining excess water and freeing silts, clays and fine sands. The greens are now being cut at a height of 5mm and will remain there for as long as conditions allow.
Growth rates remain exceptionally high for this time of year with mowing of tees, approaches, fairways and rough being carried out weekly. The amount of growth still present and the large volumes of rainfall we are suffering is making presenting the course very difficult for the greenstaff. Mowing is being carried out as often as we can, but this is not always possible due to the wet ground conditions. The tees and approaches are now being cut at a height of 14mm and will remain there all winter. Fairways are also being cut at an increased height of 18mm. Winter mats are now in play from November onwards and all mats have been thoroughly cleaned prior to use. The tees will be spiked with 16mm tines to a depth of 3 inches, overseeded and heavy top-dressed this month along with both the tees and approaches receiving an application of slow-release granular fertilizer to boost plant health as we move into the winter months.
Quiz Answers:
Did you know the rules?
1) Anywhere but NOT in a penalty area – Rule 19.1
2) False, all of the ball must be at rest, out of bounds – Rule 18.2a
3) No, a ball lifted on any part of the course, other than the putting green, because it
interferes with play, must not be cleaned.- Rule 14.1c
4) Free relief must be taken. – Rule 13.1f
5) From knee height, with the arm fully extended from the body
How did you do?
Thank you
That’s all for this month’s update. Thank you to everyone who has contributed and thank you to all who have left feedback. If you wish to leave feedback, then you can do so using the form below.
