It seemed unbelievable that we gathered for our last outing of the year at Tadmarton Heath. We have become accustomed to fair weather and it did not disappoint. Recent rain had returned green grass to the fairways and some grip to the greens. It was a new challenge for many of us, not having played there, and so some were playing a little unsighted to some greens and the gorse certainly came into play where the trees did not. That said, people enjoyed the day out in the Cotswolds. The welcome was warm and the food was good. Sadly it seems that we would have to be willing to play on another week day if we were to return. More on that later, but first the honours!
There were two nearest the pin prizes - @ the 7thGavin won and NTP in 2 @ 15thwas won by someone called fancy pants aka David Laurence. The outright winner with 33 points on the day was Ian Whitely who managed six pars but blobbed four! Dave Gibson was Runner Up with 31 points. We also took the opportunity to present the Greensomes trophy to winning pair Mani Peralta and Gavin Hamilton whose strategy and good play combined to meet all in their path! Well done guys for putting new names on the trophy which was always going to be the prospect in this year’s final. Commiserations to Calum and Dan but thank you for making it a great competition. Many thanks to Brian for cajoling us through another year and to all who played their matches on time which makes life much easier for all concerned.
We are due to meet at The Plough, Simpson, MK on 10 December for our AGM with an earlier than usual start time of 5pm and a need to vacate to allow them to set up for a party! We should manage to get the business done in that time quite easily. I don't envisage any Constitution Changes, we have one trophy to present (Eynon), the accounts, my report (short I promise) and the item that usually takes most time, deciding on next year's venues. We can shortcut this with a little prework please. One further item, if there are any nominations, is for any further admissions to our Hall of Fame.
Our priority is to secure our Championships in July which as you recall has a couple of criteria to consider. 1. The length of course and time to walk from green to tee should not make two rounds on the same day excessive 2. Number of available buggies. A third consideration is cost and possibly drive time given that we have a long day. I will be in touch with suggestions about venues in due course but in the meantime if anyone has any other suggestions please email me or Jill directly so we can put a poll out. You don't have to do any negotiations but we might just check on availability before we include it in the list of possibles. If you can get back to me asap I would be grateful as advance bookings really help us to plan our budget.
We have one offer on the table from Buckingham GC on 23rd July, where many of us have played before; we could return to Aylesbury Vale or Whittlebury where we played a couple of years ago although we have not checked out availability and we have also played at Abbeyhill in recent memory. I'm afraid Whipsnade is out of the picture - anywhere else?
Finally thank you so much for making 50 years of OUGS one to remember. We played some great courses, had great fun and some of us even played good golf! We have put in place a few markers for the next fifty and I know that this would not have been possible without your support and of course the energy, enthusiasm and organisation of your Committee to whom I am indebted. Many thanks to Jill, Jim, Tony, Brian. Debbie and Dave on your behalf.
Liz
OUGS Chair.