New Mills Golf Club

Report from General Committee Meeting in November 2011

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Secretary’s Report:

• PGA, City Golf and Police Federation are to be approached for information on special deals with the club
• Requests for life membership were discussed. These will be presented at the AGM.
• The club have offered to match the £10 paid by the Darts and Dominoes group as their contribution did not cover the cost of food.
• John Read is in contact with NPower following a hefty bill for electricity relating to the flat. We dispute the amount quoted and have stressed there should be a division between the different rates charged to the Steward’s premises and the club which is entitled to a business rate and to more favourable VAT charges. Measures to reduce electricity consumption were discussed.
• Frank Bullough has retired after many years as the Derbyshire Union of Golf Clubs representative. Mr Captain has agreed to take over this role.
• New affiliation fees have been provided. These are £15 for gentlemen, £4.75 for Juniors and £17.15 for Ladies.
• Mr Captain, Lady Secretary and D. Hibbert attended a meeting of the Derbyshire Golf Partnership to discuss ways of improving membership. Mr. Captain suggested that the four different golfing bodies should amalgamate and that there should be just one affiliation fee for all.
• Prices for non members attending the Annual Dinner Dance and New Year’s Eve event were discussed. Whilst it was agreed that we should encourage non members to attend these events it was felt the rate charged to such people was too low.

Treasurer’s Report:

• Cardnet has been chosen as the provider for the credit card service. At this stage this can only be used for bar/food transactions. There would be a £10 minimum spend to use this facility.
• Future Financials will produce flyers for members re the Direct Debit scheme. Application forms will be available from December for those members wishing to make use of this payment option. The first payment under this scheme will be taken on 1st February 2012. The scheme will be explained to members at the EGM. The scheme will not cost the club anything, the costs being born by those members who choose to pay by this method. The other option of payment by members is a single one off payment at the beginning of February.
• The problem of no one being available to answer the phone at certain times was discussed. The Secretary agreed to contact the provider to see if it is possible for callers to leave a message to, for example, book a tee time. Other measures discussed including removing the pay phone and looking at the use of internet access for bookings. Further investigation on this matter will take place.
• The subscriptions for 2012 were discussed at length. It was agreed by all that the key issues were ensuring the club remained solvent and that members should fully understand that any kind of discrimination for gender or age was not permissible under the Equalities Act.  At present no form of loyalty discount can be given to any group but this will be reviewed after April 2012 when the government have made their decision on this issue. The committee agreed to support the proposal for a three tier subscription option as presented to the membership in the new constitution and at the Forum earlier in the year.

Greens Committee Report:

• The machinery is very old and needs constant repair and a contingency sum is to be set aside to deal with this.
• The rough will be cut more regularly but there will be areas where the grass will be left to grow longer.
• Mats are not yet in use but this is subject to regular review. Members are reminded that, when required, mats must be used on all mown areas and on tees.
• The committee agreed unanimously to thank the two green’s staff for all their hard work in ensuring the course is in such excellent condition.

Handicaps Committee Report:

• There is vacancy for a Handicap Chair as the current post holder will become Captain next year. This will be advertised on the TV in the foyer.
• There is also a vacancy for someone to take responsibility for the Junior section of the club.
• A request had been made by junior members for more Junior competitions at the weekend. However, when these have been arranged in the past support has been minimal. It was suggested that credit vouchers for use in the clubhouse, might be offered as prizes rather than trophies since Junior members seemed to prefer a financial prize.

House and Social Committee Report:

• The provision for Armistice Day was discussed and the correct protocol discussed with the Royal British Legion. The flag will be raised and flown at full mast on 13/11 and a two minutes silence observed on the course at 11am.
• The menu for the Annual dinner Dance is available and will be displayed in the foyer for people to make their choices.

Marketing and Advertising Committee Report:

• Advertising in the Golf Society Directory is to be discussed at the next meeting.
• The Winter Warmer deal has been advertised in the ‘Buxton Advertiser’ and ‘Courier’ newspapers and there has been a good response to this initiative to try to encourage more use of the course in off peak times in winter.
• An advert for a special Christmas Gift Offer of 5 rounds for £50 has been promoted and will appear in the press alongside special offers from the Professional.
• A free leaflet advertising the club house for meals and for hire for special events has been produced and will be displayed on tables for visitors to take away from the end of November. In the Spring a similar leaflet advertising golf offers and clubhouse hire will be produced.
• An article and photo of Presentation Evening will be sent to the ‘Buxton Advertiser’.

Other Business:

• In an attempt to prevent people playing the course without being members or having not paid a visitor’s fee, signs will placed around the clubhouse and near the tee on both the front and back nine reminding visitors that they must have a valid bag tag before they can play the course and that they may be asked to provide either proof of membership or proof of having paid a fee.  Along with these notices visitors taking advantage of special offers will be issued with dated stickers and cards authorised by the professional and others which must be produced on demand.
• Comments from members in the Suggestions Book were read.
• The notice board near the 10th tee has been painted and is being used to promote special events.
• The course marshal has asked for an up to date membership list
• A request to introduce ‘mulligans’ randomly in competitions was rejected.
• Three amendments are to be included at the EGM. These are:

1. A proposal for a single membership category for players aged over 30 from Dr. Hugh Jones
2. In the absence of a loyalty bonus, a special rate for over 65’s proposed by Bernard Pickering.
3. The appointment of a club captain in accordance with the Equalities act proposed by Dr. Hugh Jones.

Date of next meeting: Tuesday 13th December at 19.30