Club Newsletter: September 2023

Update From The Board

Newsletter update September 23

We are pleased to confirm that work on the strategic plan is nearly complete and that a copy will be
emailed to every member by the end of September. As previously communicated, the Board have
identified 6 key long term strategic objectives that we believe will consolidate and drive the Golf
Club forward. These are:

• Legal compliance with the Companies Act and relevant legislation
• Ensure the club’s long term financial viability – strong balance sheet and making a profit year
• on year to fund improvements
• Increase full paying membership to 650 over 5 years
• Improve and maintain the course to the highest standard for members and guests
• Provide first class clubhouse facilities
• Communicate effectively and efficiently to all members

We will also be in a position to share with you the course autumn and winter development plan
along with the 5 year course development plan early October. The plan will detail the work to be
undertaken along with proposed timescales. Some of this essential work such as the irrigation
system and cutting back of trees is already underway.

How To Rake A Bunker

A Message From Our Captains

From Our Mens’ Captain

Dear Members, 

Finals Day

Firstly, I would like to thank Ann Booth as without her, and the tireless work she has done behind the scenes, the day would not have been the great success it was. I would also like to thank the referees for giving up their time and officiating each match. As always, I wish to thank James and the greenkeeping team for setting up the course so magnificently. I would also like to thank Kevin Eley for his photograph and I also thank all those who turned out to support the players, which I know is very much appreciated by all concerned.

Well done to all who took part in this year’s competitions, whether you went out in one of the previous rounds of each competition or were successful in reaching the finals. Participation in all these events is part of the lifeblood of a successful and thriving Club like St Mellons, as new bonds, rivalries and friendships are made. I would encourage you all to try again next year and I wish you well in the matches that you play.

As you all know, Finals Day is the highlight of the golfing year. It is the culmination of much hard work and practice, and a tremendous achievement to win through the various rounds over the course of the season to reach a final. It is something many members endeavour to achieve over many years but without success, so those of you who reached the finals should be rightly proud to get there, regardless of the outcome of your match, and so I would like to congratulate every finalist and confirm my admiration of each of you. Unfortunately, there can only be one winner in each competition, so congratulations to each of you and commiserations, and better luck next year, to the runners up. 

It was my privilege to referee the Club championship this year and I was treated to some great golf. As always the game was played in right spirit by two great players but as I said above unfortunately there can only be one winner. So to Adam I say well played in getting to final and better luck next year, and to Marc I say well done on retaining the championship.

It was also a very special day for me to see so many juniors there playing their own finals – the first time this event has taken place in 11 years. A big thank you needs to go to Tom & James whose drive and enthusiasm are a credit to them both. 

Please attached list of finals results.

Captains’ Day 

I have received so many positive comments about what an enjoyable day my Captain’s Day turned out to be, so thank you to everyone who did so. I would also like to thank members for all their generous donations, which made this a special day and a great success. I would like to thank everyone who gave up their time to help with the running of the day, which was very much appreciated.

My personal target this year was to raise £2,000 for my chosen charity, LATCH,  They do such fantastic work and I know they will appreciate every penny donated, and will put it to very good use. I’m pleased to be able to confirm that, thanks to all your support, my target was surpassed and £2,275 has been raised to date. I cannot thank you enough for this, both personally and on behalf of LATCH. 

I have now set myself a new target of £3,000. As some of you will be aware, not all of the drink provided in the halfway house was used. The Board have allowed me to sell what remained at £2 each, with that money being added to the amount already raised. In addition, I will also be holding a Christmas raffle, which I hope you will support. More on this later in the year. 

A reminder

Regrettably, the season is approaching its end but, hopefully, some good weather still lies ahead and we will run a full schedule of competitions for as long as we can. Beyond that, we hope to continue with the Winter League this year, which has proved to be very popular since it was reintroduced. I hope as many of you as possible will want to join and, perhaps, get to a final as your fellow members did this week. It is open to all 6 and 7-day members and you are assured of a warm welcome, an opportunity to make new friends and acquaintances and play competitive golf when it is otherwise not available. If you are interested, please contact either me, Colin Dawes or Steve Borja.

That’s it for this month. I look forward to seeing you all on and off the course in the next few weeks.

Your captain, 

Rob Cook

From Our Ladies’ Captain

Dear Member

August has been a very busy month for ladies’ golf.  Wet weather tried hard to dampen our golfing spirits but with away days, team matches, Senior Open, Wales Golf qualifiers and our Wednesday competitions all forming a major part of our golfing diary, ladies support for our events continued to be strong, making it evident that our section is one to be proud of.

My Lady Captain’s Day was reduced to 9 holes due to the heavy rain but my ladies braved the elements and enjoyed refreshments in the wet!  Annie, Lizzie and Jo were winners with Christina winning nearest the pin and Anna winning the longest drive, Lorraine won the sealed holes and Mandi and Lubna won the N2G. My Away Day to Chipping Sodbury G.C. was a great success with much laughter, fun and… lost balls! The winning team was Bev D, Sandra and Gill, Ann won nearest the pin and Bev won the longest drive. Thank you ladies for your support throughout the sunshine and the rain!

Congratulations to Ann who won the final of the Wales Golf Challenge Bowl at Llandrindod Wells G.C. Ann had a brilliant game, the only lady to return a nett under par score, in extremely wet conditions. An excellent achievement.  We are all very proud of you Ann. The Australian Spoons Foursomes, another qualifier for Wales Golf, was won by Rachel and Kaye. Good luck to the ladies who are representing St Mellons at Carmarthen G.C. during Wales Golf finals week.

Overnight heavy rain finally ceased as our Senior Ladies Open teed off. The open day was a great success with many ladies being complimentary about the course and our Halfway House cream teas. Shirley and Ann were our St Mellons winners with the longest drive and nearest the pin and Shirley continued her success in the Senior Ladies Out of Hand 9 hole competition.

The ladies first team has had mixed fortunes with their team matches and with only one match to go we cannot relax!  Congratulations go to our weekly winners: Gill with a great score of 38 points, Jo who won the ‘Make Your Mark Golf Foundation’ and Ann who won the C.G.Davies Bogey Plate competition.

Finally, I am pleased to announce that I have achieved my 1million steps challenge, ‘Step Up For Dementia’, for my Ladies Captain Charity, Alzheimer’s Dementia. Many thanks to those that have supported me and have donated to my charity.

Looking forward, good luck to all the finalists who are playing on Finals Day, we are looking forward to our annual Ladies v Senior Men friendly competition and at the end of the month, on Wednesday 27^th, our ‘Star Cake Bakers’ will be raising money in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support with a golf and coffee morning.

Thank you

S.E.Madsen 

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