Blacklion Golf Club
Newsletter 4 August 2018
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K E E P I N G O U R M E M B E R S U P TO DAT E C A P TA I N S ’ WO R D S - C O U R S E C O R N E R - L A D I E S C O R N E R - R E S U LT S INTERCLUB COMPETITIONS - COMPETITIONS - HANDICAPS
Est. 1962
Blacklion Golf Club Newsletter #4 Miguel Angel Jimenez is called ‘the most interesting man in golf’ as he combines his love for cigars, Rioja wines and his beautiful wife with an uncanny ability to play golf at the highest level. On tour, he’s known as ’the Mechanic’ for his love of his high-performance red Ferrari. Born in 1964 in Malaga, he worked as a ball picker-upper on the range and then as a caddy. He turned pro 4 years later despite never having picked up a club before. He made a rare albatross or double eagle during the 1994 Volvo Masters holing his 2nd shot on a par 5 in Valderrama. He really started playing when he was in his 40s notching up wins and Ryder Cup selections. Jimenez won the Senior British Open last week at the Old Course, his first Major title. Given he’s 54 years old, there is hope for many of us. Better get that stretching routine going !
Captains’ Words - July Review It already seems a long time since Captain’s Day, even though its only five weeks, but our course has really come to itself during this time. I really appreciate the work carried out by our Greens Staff and the many volunteers who helped prepare the course and Club House and surrounds for Captains Day. The exceptionally dry weather during July did not adversely affect us like some other golf clubs and this is very much down to Francis and Gaby’s work on the course, watering greens in the early hours every day. The good weather actually benefited the course as it burnt off the mosses which were invading many of our fairways. The fairways now are in the best condition I have ever seen them. It would appear that there is more dry hot weather to come in August so we have to keep vigilant. We will continue to manage the rough in a way that lets us see our wayward shots but is still punishing enough to penalise us. We may want another volunteer day before President’s Day in September to tidy up and we will keep you posted on this. I would also like to thank Vera and her Committee for the invitation to play on her Captain’s day recently and for the great craic we had in the Club House that day. On the competition front we are still competing in the All Ireland Fourball competition having reached the Ulster Semi-final against Nuremore, Co Monaghan. Good victories over Ballycastle and Mourne Club at Royal Co Down have brought us this far. Our Cavan Monaghan Alliance team have secured a semi-final place
and under Michael McHugh are confident of going forward in the competition. I would remind those who have entered the Kinawley Cup that the preliminary round should be played as soon as possible as Open Week starts on Saturday 11th. As an important income source I would ask all members to participate in Open Week and try to bring in as many visitors as possible. As a club we need to keep our financial situation in check to as during 2018 we have seen a reduction in our membership as some of our more senior players have hung up their clubs. There is a decline in the number of players participating in competitions. While green fee income remains positive we know we will have a significant shortfall in annual income so we have identified a number of fund raising ventures which will be required before the end of the year. We intend to organise an open fund raising competition early September running over five days and are seeking sponsors to support this venture. We also intend to run a Draw leading into 2019 and more details will follow. Noel Melanaphy - Club Captain 2018
Club News and information Club Structure Going Forward … Golf Clubs in Ireland have faced a number of challenges in recent years as a result of the economic environment in which they have been operating. Golf in Ireland, although traditionally governed by the GUI/ILGU has seen the emergence of a new body representing all structures involved in golf and focussed on instilling good business practice in golf clubs around the country. The ‘Confederation of Golf in Ireland’, www.cgigolf.org have developed a key document to support the future direction of golf clubs in Ireland. Our club, like many across the country, is managed by volunteers who have and are dedicating their time, knowledge and goodwill to the benefit of the club. Volunteers are elementary for our club. However, given the greater pressures; financial as well as legal, we have a duty to the members, guest, our officers and the wider society to manage our golf club professionally. As a committee we have now started developing a ‘strategic plan’ to safeguard the future of our club. We also have a duty to install a level of ‘Corporate Governance’ into our club and as a result, we are looking into changing the structure of the club to reflect the changes in the wider society. One of the CGI/GUI/ILGU initiatives is the ‘One Governing Body’ whereby both men’s and ladies’ golf will be governed by one organisation. Something we definitely need to consider. ’Governance’ is the system by which a club is directed and managed and is focused on three key issues: 1) How an organisation develops strategic goals and direction.
2) How the management committee monitors the performance to ensure it achieves its goals and targets and does so while adhering to its regulatory and legal obligations. 3) How to ensure that the organisation acts in the best interest of its members. To achieve the above, we are taking a closer look at our organisational structure and seek to define roles, responsibilities and reporting lines within that structure. In our golf club, we have shortlisted areas that need ‘governance’ in addition to the officers like Captain, Lady Captain, Hon. Sec and President. Finance, Marketing, Sport (competitions, teams, handicap), House/Social and Course are part and parcel of our club. One of the key principles in golf club management is ‘Sustainability’ which is to ensure that the club maintains a viable and sustainable business for the future. Whether we like it or not, a golf club is a business and has to be managed as such. Managing finances in a small rural club like ours remains extremely challenging. Members form the biggest part of our income but other revenue, competition play and green fees are very much dependant on factors we can’t foresee and difficult to budget for. Outgoings are now very well monitored and managed and we are confident that we can keep those under control bar the odd surprise here and there. So, over the next couple of years, we need to embark on an ambitious membership drive to bring the club back to a position which will allow us to continue to improve the facilities and the course. That in turn will allow us to attract more visitors to play. All this can only be beneficial to our members and by doing so, we can safeguard the future of our club. More to follow, the Committee …
Course Corner … By Francis O’Reilly, Course Convenor. Fifty shades of gold … Whether we believe it or not, climate change will effect the way we will be playing golf in the future. Society will also demand golf courses to be managed in an ecologically responsible way with limits on fertilising and irrigation. But on the other hand, the golfer also has expectations from their golf club. Marrying the two creates a big challenge for the course convenors and green keeping staff and also requires golfers to be cognisant of the challenges facing us. Golf clubs are specialised in maintaining grass but to keep grass green, water is a major factor. Now, in Ireland we aren’t short of water (at the moment) but as you can all see over the past few weeks when the sun is out and we’re experiencing high temperatures and with no rain forecast, this provides extreme challenges for our club as we don’t have an irrigation system. Golfers like the fifty shades of green but more and more likely in the future, golfers will have to get used to fifty shades of gold. Hard, dry and golden fairways will occur more and more frequent and this will challenge members as this requires a
different style of play. The debate about driving distance can flare up again. At our course however, distance is not always a benefit as the fairways get more bouncy. It won’t be long now before the powers that be will be imposing stricter rules on golf course maintenance to keep these in line with the requirements for the general public. A lot of chemical products are starting to be replaced by biological products which will change the nature of the golf course and will impose additional stress on our maintenance. Will this make golf courses worse? Likely not but it will make them different. The main challenge and priority is, as discussed in the previous newsletter, to make the grass more disease resistant and able to cope with more extreme climatic circumstances. Better drainage and more ‘light and air’ by reducing the number of trees to allow for more light. Did you know that the morning sun combined with dew is one of the most important factors to create a healthy green! As a responsible golf club, we are already working hard behind the scenes to make sure that when rules and regulations get imposed on us, we are ready. Hit them long, straight and not too often …
Blacklion GC Club house Summer Opening Hours Mon/Tue: Closed Wed: From 1 pm Thu: From 4 pm Fri: From 6 pm Sat/Sun: From 1 pm Bank Holiday Mondays: From 3 pm Can we urge you all to support our club house which is a crucial part of our social golf experience. What would we be without it?
Upcoming Men’s Fixtures August Ladies Fixtures NBCRI Charity - best two cards 4th/5th - Single Stroke Play 11th/19th - Open Week 18th Ladies Open Day 23rd/25th/26th - Stableford Fri 24th Blacklion Shoot-Out 30th/1st/2nd - Medal 7 Wed 29 - Sun 2nd - Classic
Wed Aug 1st - Stableford Sweep Sat Aug 4th - Swanlinbar GAA Classic Aug 5,6, 8 - 3 person rumble Aug 11 to 19 - Open Week Sat 18 - Ladies Open Day Fri 24th - Blacklion Shoot Out 22, 25, 26, 27 - Aug Monthly Medal Wed 29 - Sun 2nd - Fundraising Classic
Some Basic Golf Rules … 1. Clubs in your bag You’re allowed to carry up to 14 clubs in your bag during a competitive round. You may carry less. Check because it can cost you penalty strokes for every hole you play. (Rule 4-4). 2. Avoid playing the wrong ball Playing the wrong ball in matchplay could mean loss of hole in singles and will be a two stroke penalty in strokeplay. To avoid such a penalty, mark your golf ball with distinctive personalised symbols. But if you’re unsure the ball - in the rough, for example - is yours, notify your playing partners, mark it carefully with a tee peg, lift but do not clean it (only to identify it) and replace in the identical spot you’re within your rights. (Rule 15-1). 3. Green rulings Once the ball comes to rest on the putting surface you may mark it with a coin, or disk, lift and clean it but remember to replace in the exact spot. You may repair any pitchmark - not just yours - other damage such as spike marks attached to the green but not on your line of putt, a playing partner’s putt, or an extension of it, before the completion of the hole. You can have the flagstick either attended at all times but the ball must not strike it. (Rule 17)
4. Play your ball as it lies Always play your ball as it lies, wherever it comes to rest, unless the Rules allow you to do otherwise. Most common exemptions include the affect of ‘loose impediments’ you can remove leaves, loose twigs, litter - or ‘obstructions’, such as man-made paths, drainage, sprinklers, from which you will receive free relief and be able to drop your ball within one club length at the nearest point of relief, no nearer the hole. (Rule 13-1) 5. Unplayable lies If your ball has come to rest in a position that you believe to be unplayable, you have 3 options. Either hit another ball from the point of your previous shot, drop a ball behind the unplayable lie (as far back as you wish keeping the original lie between you and the hole) or drop the ball within two club lengths either side of the unplayable lie. Each option incurs a one stroke penalty. (Rule 28) 6. Seeking advice You cannot ask advice on club selection for example from anyone other than your team mate (if you are playing fourball or foursomes for example) or a caddie. Neither should you offer advice to opponents in competition. However, you may ask for information on the Rules, distances or positions of hazards or the flagstick. (Rule 8-1)
Competition Corner ‌
Handicapping Corner ‌
By Peter Cumisky, Hon. Competition Secretary
By Kevin McPartland, Handicap Secretary
We are seeing a general reduction in competition participation. We are identifying the underlying reasons and have started working on a revamped and more exciting competition calendar for next year. Participation in competitions is vital for the survival of our golf club.
With the good playing conditions, we are seeing regular handicap reductions. Our teams are doing very well in regional competitions and we are monitoring closely that handicaps reflect the true playing ability of our members. We recognise that the CSS might sometimes prevent people from lowering their handicap so this is getting looked at.