At last, we are starting the slow route to the new normal, for life and golf. I am really encouraged by the way members have adapted to the restrictions imposed on golfers. Well done to the 60 members who are participating in the weekend stableford series. This competition has allowed management and the club council to try out new ways of administrating competitions. So far, so good, everything seems to be working well. Thanks to Josh, Russ and Irwin Elkin & Peter Bowen our handicap secretaries, for their respective contributions. Building on this success, I have updated the club calendar to re-schedule board competitions. The first of these competitions will be a modified Captains Drive In, on Saturday 18 July. This competition would normally be a shotgun start. To state the blindingly obvious, this is not a normal year. Therefore, the competition will not be a shotgun start, instead tees will be available throughout the day. Photos of the Captains, ladies and mens, drives will be included in my next newsletter. Could I ask all members, if you possibly can, to support these weekend competitions?
You may recall from my first newsletter, a discussion about the World Handicap System (WHS) to be introduced in November. In preparation, Wales Golf are encouraging golfers to record as many qualifying scores as possible, ideally 20. The impact of Covid-19 has truncated the current season, that makes the target of 20 qualifying scores is a bit of a challenge. There are a couple of options available to members to submit qualifying scores. The first, and one I would encourage all members to consider, is to enter a qualifying competition. There are various competitions at the weekend, mid-week and if you are of a certain age (55+), senior competitions. The second option, is to submit supplementary scores. Guidance on how to do this is provided in the members section of our club website. For those members who do not have an active handicap currently, once again, guidance is provided on how to gain or reactivate a lapsed handicap in the members section of our club website. See links below.
https://claysgolf.co.uk/handicap-application/
https://claysgolf.co.uk/supplementary-scores/
A big thanks to two of our past captains, Chris ‘Trigger’ Jones and Howard ‘Howie’ Lloyd, for their sterling work on the installation of boxes around the base of the tee markers. This work was partly funded by donations from members. Thanks to all who contributed. These two, very active past captains, have now turned their attention to the replacement of rubbish bins around the course.
Finally, the Welsh Government have signalled the end of the five miles local travel limit and the relaxation of other Covid-19 restrictions. Also, I/we hope, Wales Golf will be issuing updated guidance to enable more golfers to play together in the not too distant future. In the meantime, please continue to follow the current Covid-19 guidance and stay safe.
Dave Palferman
Captain 2020/1