Greg Rogula

Hello Golfers,

Welcome to another exciting edition to Leek Golf Club's weekly newsletter. We hope that you're having a good week both on and off the golf course.

Enjoy the read.

Club news

AGM 2018

This year’s meeting is to be held on Thursday 6th December. If you are unable to attend, make sure you complete your proxy form and return it to the office by Tuesday 4th December.

If you don’t name a proxy on the form, the Chairman will be selected. This will guarantee your votes are counted and maintain confidentiality, as all such votes are processed by the office staff in confidence.

The AGM proposals this year aim to address the most important challenges currently facing the club, namely a declining membership level and a dramatic reduction in visitors’ green fees. The proposals have been considered in great detail by Committee and have the support of “England Golf” as the way forward for our club.

Voters by proxy do not have the benefit of any discussions prior to voting at the AGM and therefore if you require clarification or further information on any point please feel free to get back to me. Of course, success cannot be guaranteed but to do nothing would have been irresponsible of Committee.

Nevertheless, you can be assured that if any approved proposal turns out to operate against the club’s best interests appropriate action will be taken, even if an EGM has to be called to reverse a decision.

In “BREXIT” terms we have backstop arrangements in place.

Keeping you posted.

Hon. Secretary
secretary@leekgolfclub.co.uk
01538 384779
07816 519125 mob.

New Year's Eve

Tickets are still available for our New Year's Eve party.

Why not join us for the celebrations, out with the old (President D. Allen – Captain J. Pennington) and in with the new (President B. Cockersole – Captain K. Hollins).

It promises to be a great night, buffet and disco eight till late.

Tickets £20 available behind the bar.

Course news

Greens report

We would like to bring you up-to-date on the recent work being done on the course and also what is going to be done over the next few weeks.

We now have full winter tees on all the par-3 holes as the green staff have now done the 7th, 9th and 13th tees, I hope you all agree that these are excellent and make playing these holes in winter much better. The conifer hedge has been cut at the bottom of the car park and this will continue up to the clubhouse and behind the 15th green.

Wednesday, Thursday and Friday this week we have contractors working, cutting back the hedge and the overhanging trees and bushes running the full length of the 5th fairway on the left by the out of bounds, we will then plant more hawthorn to try and make the hedge more substantial but this will obviously take time.
The work for the remainder of this week and next week is to continue the path from the 1st green across the 18th to join up with the path by the 2nd tee.

Work will also commence on a new 2nd winter tee and the 18th winter tee with full permanent winter tee mats. These mats will be from the AstroTurf which we already have at the bottom of the car park. While this is being done, one of the silver birch trees to the front left of the ladies 2nd tee will be removed and the old men’s winter tee will have the hard core removed and then be turfed to restore this area back to grass.

On Wednesday 5th December, we will have a visit from the forestry commission who will be walking the course and advising us on what trees need to be removed and what sort of planting programme needs to be considered. This will then be an ongoing project which could take place over a number of years.

The first members work party took place to clear all the area around the 3rd men’s yellow tee. This included removing all the self-setter trees and shrubs which made the tee very untidy. This is not yet finished and we will be arranging further work party days for members to finish this tee and the start work on clearing all the side of the 8th tee.

Any members wishing to sign up for the work parties please let Greg know.

Lastly, we would like to thank Martin Wooton who was called into work for 3 hours on Sunday morning, the 19th November to carry out extensive repairs to the 2nd green after cows had got onto the course and caused damage. Martin got the green back in play for everyone who played late morning or in the afternoon.

Regards,

Greens Committee

Junior news

Junior Organisers Report 2018

At the start of this season I took over the role of Junior Organiser from Peter Cordon who had been in post for over 13 years. Initially, I chose to observe and evaluate the development of the juniors within the section and maybe recommend any changes that could further improve LGC’S stature as a premier golf club for the development of junior golf.

I have been extremely fortunate to have the support of the Club Captain, the President and the Lady Captain as well as Bo Robinson, Ade Holland and Pete Nixon, because without their efforts and enthusiasm Leek Golf Club Juniors would not have participated in the Staffs County League, the Annual Captain’s match, the Jubilee Trophy and the inaugural competition that the Ladies Section have kindly sponsored.

The first task was to ensure that each member of the Junior committee had the necessary DBS checks, had attended a “Safeguarding and Protecting Children Course” and appointed a new Welfare Officer. We were very fortunate that David Brookhouse was prepared to take on the additional duties on top of is present role as Club Secretary.

At the time of taking over as Junior Organiser, our finances were down to £13 but due to the generosity of some members and accessing a few sponsors we now have a total of £ 423.03 at our disposal for the development of our junior members and this is after providing the Juniors with their own Club polo shirts. The future is looking satisfactory for the junior section as some of the children in the Club’s Academy system are progressing in to Club membership but we are experiencing some difficulties in graduating into the weekly competitions.

The highlights of the year have to be Harry Fearn (Junior Captain) earning a golfing scholarship at Indian Hills and his many notable performances at national level. Harry equalled Trentham’s course record of 65 on route to achieving 2nd place in the Faldo series but more importantly it earned him a world ranking. Whilst playing for the County he won every singles game and with Zarak Curley won every fourballs match except for the very last one. He also went on to represent the County’s 1st Team (whilst still only 16 years old) and reduce his handicap to +0.3 handicap; Zarak Curley’s performances include winning the Staffs Schools knockout as well as the Staffordshire Boys Match Play.

His continued improvement at Lee Westwood’s Golf School allowed him to represent their excellent golf team to win the National Championships gross and nett events. A measure of his improvement is evident in his handicap reduction for the season which went from 4.4 down to 0.8. I am also immensely pleased that former Junior Captain, Leann Nixon has been able to pursue her own development in golf by starting a career at the exclusive JCB Golf and Country Club. Looking towards the future we have Millie and Alex Salmon making rapid progress under the guidance of Mum and Dad, Liz and Ross, and Grace Pennington, improving with the help of Club Captain John.

At Club level, the Captain’s Day for juniors and the President’s Day for juniors proved popular and Peter Malkin has continued to surpass all expectations by winning 5 of this season’s competitions. Hayden Dimmick has also had an extremely successful season, winning 4 competitions and reducing his handicap to 15.

Before we move on, I need to mention Jake Wilshaw who had 5 runner-up positions before finally winning the Club’s Matchplay Knockout Trophy. Some of the other competitions for juniors were not as well supported as previous years for one reason or another, however, Greg and Jacob continue to provide a positive learning experience for the younger people in our Junior Academy.

Harry Fearn will be standing down as Junior Captain at the end of this year and I am particularly pleased with how he as represented LGC during his year in office. I have the pleasure of informing our membership that Jake Wilshaw will be your Junior Captain for 2019. I have no doubt that he will wear the Club’s badge with pride and I wish him all the success in the forthcoming year.

Finally, I have to pass on my personal thanks to Mike Barker and the Management Committee for giving me this opportunity and for giving me their 100% support on every occasion.

Dave Gallimore

Competition news

Pro's Competition

1st Place - John Isaacs, Alan Bonehill and Dan Duffield - 125.66 Points

2nd Place - Greg Rogula, Dave Robinson and Rob Woolliscroft - 124.6 Points

Winter League Week 3

1st Place – Dave Robinson - 42 Points

2nd Place – Jacob Bagshaw - 41 Points

3rd Place – Mark Shea - 40 Points

Style for all occasions

In the past, golf clothing has had the reputation of being “for the golf course” with a call to the fashion police needed if you were to wear it anywhere else. Thankfully, times have changed, and we now have a vast selection of fashionable pieces in-store that you’ll be able to confidently wear both on and off the golf course.

We know some of you are still wearing your baggy golf jacket from years gone by, so here's our suggestion to replace it: Galvin Green's Lance jacket.

If you're shopping on the high street, you'll want an array of options to choose from. Well, this jacket is available in seven colours so there's something to suit all golfers.

Its stylish design means it can be worn both on and off the course, whilst INTERFACE-1 fabric is windproof, water repellent and highly breathable for maximum comfort.

view Galvin Green's range >

Divide and conquer

Sometimes in golf, it's the little things which really grind your gears. Take golf bags, for example - the game can be difficult enough when you're not playing your best, but it becomes downright frustrating when you go to take one club out of the bag and the whole set decides to come out with it. It goes both ways, with sometimes just trying to slot a single club back in proving difficult and time-consuming.

Luckily, there's a solution - the Pro cart bag from Mizuno. This bag has a spacious 14-way top cuff with full-length dividers for optimum club organisation, so you won't be struggling to take them out or slot them into your bag. Not only that, it comes with a whole array of handy pockets to keep any valuables or apparel safe whilst you're out on the course.

view Mizuno's range >

Video of the Week

Hands up if you've failed to get out of a bunker first time before. When the ball's plugged it becomes even harder, so this week's 'Tip from the Tour' is about how to conquer this tricky shot first time, every time.

I hope you enjoyed the newsletter have a great weekend.

Leek Golf Club
Cheddleton Road
Birchall
Leek
ST13 5RE

Phone: 01538 384767

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