April 2011
Number 235
MELTHAM GOLF CLUB
BULLETIN
Ian M Saxton
Captain 2011
CAPTAINS NEWS
Thank you for the invitation to become Captain of this Prestigious
Golf club.
I would like to thank David for all his help and guidance over the last
twelve months, I think David has been an excellent Captain and has
upheld the standards and traditions associated with a golf club of this
stature. I would also like to thank him on behalf of the members for
all the hard work he has done in what became a challenging year for
all sections of Meltham Golf Club.
I would like to offer my congratulations on behalf of the members to
Doug Hill, who is to be our Junior Captain this year. Thank you also
to Rob Load who has stepped in to help organize the junior section
along with Paul Davis.
My chosen charity this year is the West Yorkshire Forget Me Not
Trust. This Charity provides care and support for children with life
limiting conditions. These children and their families come from the
Huddersfield, Halifax and Wakefield areas. Please donate in the
Whiskey bottle on the bar in the 19th when visiting the front bunker
on the second hole.
Congratulations to the members who have been elected or re-elected
to the Committee this year, I thank you in advance for all the interesting meetings you are to attend and the hours you are willing to give
up this coming year. We will keep you informed who is going to be
doing what on the Committees.
Over the coming year Meltham Golf Club will no doubt face some
challenges. With everyone’s support I am sure these will not be insurmountable and I hope we can keep the golf club moving forward
so as to benefit all our members equally.
If I can find the right starting sheet to put my name down on, please
don`t hesitate to put your name alongside and play a round with me.
I would consider it my pleasure to play a round with anyone of you.
There is a notice pinned up in the foyer explaining the way the starting sheets will operate from now on.
I hope all members have an enjoyable season on what are sure to be
some of the best greens in West Yorkshire. If I have one ambition for
the coming year, it is not to be the best ever Captain of Meltham golf
club, it is to ensure I am not the worst.
Ian M Saxton
Captain
President’s Twopenn’rth
Abraham Lincoln and John F Kennedy……………..
Lincoln was elected President in 1860 (having been elected to Congress in 1846) ; Kennedy was elected as President in 1960 (having
been elected to Congress in 1946).
Both Presidents were directly concerned with civil rights and black
people.
Lincoln had a secretary named Kennedy ; Kennedy had a secretary
named Lincoln.
Both Presidents were shot in the head (from behind) and both were
with their wives when they were assassinated.
Both assassinations took place on a Friday and both Presidents were
warned that they might be assassinated but refused to change their
schedules. Lincoln was shot in a theatre by a man who hid in a warehouse ; Kennedy was shot from a warehouse by a man who hid in a
theatre.
Lincoln’s assassin (John Wilkes Booth) was a southerner in his 20’s,
as was Kennedy's assassin (Lee Harvey Oswald). Both assassins
were known by their three names.
Booth and Oswald were both shot before they could be tried.
Lincoln was succeeded by his Vice President Andrew Johnson, who
was born in 1808 ; Kennedy was succeeded by his Vice President,
Lyndon Johnson, who was born in 1908.
……………………..and The Worse for Drink
A little chap was sitting at the bar in a pub staring at his drink, when
a large trouble-making biker steps up next to him, grabs his drink and
gulps it down in one swig.
―Well, watcha gonna do about it?‖ he says, menacingly as he little
man bursts into tears.
―Come on man‖ the biker says, ―I didn’t think you’d cry. I can’t
stand to see a man crying‖.
―This is the worst day of my life‖ says the man.
―I’m a complete failure. I was late for a meeting, and my boss fired
me. When I went to the car park I found my car had been stolen and
I don’t have any insurance. I left my wallet in the taxi I took home. I
found my wife in bed with the milkman and then my dog bit me.
So I came to this pub to end it all. I buy a drink, drop the capsules
into it and while I sit here watching the poison dissolve, you come in
and drink the whole damn thing!‖.
Committee Members 2011
President—John Ward
Email: [email protected]
Captain—Ian M Saxton
Email: [email protected]
Secretary—John Dixon
Email: [email protected]
Treaurer—Mike Bradshaw
Email: [email protected]
Vice Captain—Adrian Ashworth
Email: [email protected]
Past Captain—David Thorpe
Email: [email protected]
Lady Captain—Janet Stangroom
Email: [email protected]
Rabbit Captain—John Harper
Email: [email protected]
Elected members
Andrew Westacott (Chair of Course Committee)
Email: [email protected]
Christine Baxter (Chair of House Committee)
Email: [email protected]
Michael Carr
Email: [email protected]
Geoff Keighley
Email: [email protected]
Peter Peutherer
Email: [email protected]
Rob Load
Email: [email protected]
John Warham
Email: [email protected]
Maureen Buckley
Email: [email protected]
ABOUT THE HOUSE
Now that the clocks are changing we shall be resuming Summer
Clubhouse opening hours. The cleaners open the building at 7am
each day. Bar hours are from 12 noon to 10.30 ish provided that
customers remain, and catering is from lunchtime onwards most
days. Full details are on the web site and on notices beside the bar.
Food can be provided outside stated hours provided that prior notice
is given to Tony or Linda.
Our thanks go yet again to Tony Haigh and his rabbit side kicks who
have put a number pad on the door of the kitchen of the Halfway
House. The number is the same as the Men’s locker room. We can
expect that the hot sandwich service will resume on Saturdays and
Sundays except when Majors are being played. Sue
Hinchliffe (cleaner) and Tony Robb are doing a great job keeping
the toilets and kitchen area clean and tidy. We should all thank the
Rabbits for the very good facility. Newer members may not be
aware that it was they who funded the facility through years of
running a Rabbits Open competition whilst the Ladies paid some of
the cost of paving around the facility and also the table and seats
which are currently in use. We hope that we can soon replace the
window over the sink, broken in the winter by an errant snowball,
which will allow us to open the shutters again and let some light in.
Thanks also go to Neil Birks who has managed to upgrade the air
pressure cleaner for trolleys and shoes outside the Pro’s shop. It now
seems to work very effectively. He and Martin Latham and the
ground staff have provided another good and not inexpensive facility
at no cost to the Club.
The General Committee has reiterated its policy on dogs in the
Clubhouse. Dogs are not allowed in the Clubhouse, the only
exceptions being official assistance dogs. Having had a complaint
about dog muck on the course I have spoken to Kirklees Council who
have said they will provide anti fouling notices. Otherwise its up to
the Course Committee.
You will have noticed that an area within the trees at the top side of
the car park has been surfaced to serve as an overflow car park.
Thanks go to Jonathon and his team who have done all the hard work
over the winter.
Most significantly English Heritage (Department of the
Environment) has refused to de list Headyfields. The club had
submitted an application in the hope that removal of the Grade 2
status would make it possible to either demolish it or easier to sell.
If you have comments on this or other matters please either email
[email protected] or leave a note in my pigeon hole.
Christine Baxter
Chair of the House Committee
Ladies News
May I take this opportunity to thank everyone for their kind wishes,
cards and flowers after my stay in an NHS hotel. They were all very
much appreciated. Convalescing at home with good food and the
spring sunshine is a tonic in itself.
―Paul the Weatherman‖ has said that this has been the driest March
for some time, all the better for playing golf! As a consequence there
are several results to display;
Medal 1 Wednesday 2nd March
S.Charlesworth
C.Baxter
J.Jones
83 11 72 (best gross)
100 25 75
104 27 77
SS 75
38 ladies played which must be a record for the first medal.
9 Hole Competition
S.Couch
4 ladies played
March Stableford Wednesday 9th March
P.Smith
K.Roche
J.Jones
33points
32 points
29 points
SS 76
12 ladies played
Cancer Relief Stableford Wednesday 16th March
K.Helm
40 points
J.White
36 points
R.Anderson
35 points
I am reliably informed that this competition was played in rather
tricky conditions. Those who played well, and 3 ladies reduced their
handicaps, must know the course very well indeed.
Medal 2 Sunday 20th March
H.Walker
M.Ardley
111
NR
34
77
SS 73
2 ladies played
Winter 9 Hole Competition, played throughout the winter period.
1 C.Walker
2 C.Baxter
Congratulations to all our winners, and especially to those who have
already reduced their handicaps.
The Vice Captain`s competition on Wednesday 23rd March had
glorious weather, ladies legs were to be seen on the course for the
first time this year. The golf format was a Texas Scramble, and the
results followed in a similar vein. However, Julie must be thanked for
the great day that was had by all those who competed and those that
ate afterwards.
We are now looking forward to the coming season both at Meltham
and further a field with our ladies teams going to Flamborough and
Filey, Knaresbough and Sitwell Park. Many of you will also play as
many different clubs as possible, both near and far. Team selection
has been completed and a notice indicating this initial selection is
displayed on the ladies team notice board.
The traditional start to the Ladies golfing calendar is the Lady
Captain v Lady Secretary’s team golf match on Sunday 10th April.
Denise Mear has kindly offered to play for me as the Past Captain. I
look forward to seeing as many Lady Members as possible taking
part and socialising afterwards.
It just remains for me to say a big thank you to David Thorpe for all
his hard work during his time in office. To those members of the
General Committee whose term of office has ended a thank you and
to the new Committee members congratulations, may the road ahead
be smooth.
On behalf of the Ladies Section, I would like to congratulate Ian
Saxton on becoming the new Club Captain, and we will endeavour to
assist him where ever possible.
Janet Stangroom
Lady Captain
YORKSHIRE COUNTY CARD 2011
The 2011 County Card may be used nationwide with over 1,200
golf clubs throughout England participating in the scheme
A list of the registered clubs in Yorkshire can be found on the
YUGC website
The card price for members of affiliated clubs that are registered in
the scheme remains at £10 and will cover the period 1st April 2011
to 31st March 2012
Any member wishing to purchase a card please contact the office
Rabbits News
I started my first Bulletin by commenting on the weather – it was
snowing, so I’m not going to say anything this time in the hope that it
stays fine.
Isn’t it great to see the golfing year starting in earnest, first big
competition of the season on Saturday and back on the summer
course.
Most of you will have picked up your new club diary by now so I’ll
be the first to announce an amendment. The Rabbits Captains day is
the only club event to involve all members and held on a Saturday so
the new equality rules which has seen the majority of Lady members
moving to six day membership means that is no longer possible. We
have therefore decided to hold it over two days – Saturday and
Sunday and to make it tidy and to suit other club arrangement it has
been moved to the weekend of 20/21 August. The evening ―do‖ will
be on Saturday night, obviously more details nearer the time but I
hope to see many of you there.
Rabbits Friendlies get under way on April 28th when we entertain
Dewsbury Golf Club, I will have to find a good joke, perhaps I
should ask Mr President where he gets his from?
The evening meeting to greet new Rabbit members will be held on
5th April at 7.00pm in the 19th. This is to tell them about how to have
a great time with the Rabbit section so if you have joined over the
last 12 months and your handicap is more than 15.5 please come
along; I may even buy you a beer.
Finally I told you last month that my Charity for the year was the
Prostate Cancer Charity, what I neglected to tell you was that March
was the Prostate Cancer Awareness Month (http://www.prostatecancer.org.uk/) so not a great start there then, still the weather has
improved.
Enjoy your golf – I will.
John Harper
Rabbit Captain
We are four members of Meltham Golf club in Huddersfield and this
year we are raising money for a very worthwhile cause - Candlelighters.
Since 1976, this Leeds-based charity has provided essential services
and support for children with cancer and their families.
So, what are we doing? One evening last year in the 19th hole, an idea
sprung to mind, to play golf for 24 hours. This seemed like a good way
of raising money for charity and do something we all enjoy, despite our
limited golfing talent! What could be simpler?
But now as the nights are getting shorter and the planning has
commenced its beginning to look like quite a challenge. Our plan is to
play 5 rounds of golf starting 6.00pm on Thursday June 23rd and
continue through the night, with glowing golf balls, and finish at 6.00pm
on the Friday evening.
If we are successful, and play to our usual high standard, we will cover
a combined total of 80 miles, play 360 holes and probably hit
somewhere in the region of 1700 -1800 shots.
We are asking if you could kindly donate a prize for a raffle / auction or
sponsor the event to help us in raising funds for Candlelighters.
So come on, sponsor a worthwhile charity, help us raise some money
and we will share the pictures of some very tired golfers with you after
the event!
Thank you.
Carl, Paul, Richard & Wayne.
http://www.candlelighters.org.uk/
APRIL DIARY
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Medal
R Thomas Carvery (40/50)
Mothering Sunday Carvery
1.00pm
Mixed Bridge + Meal
7.00pm
Medal
V/P G Flint (20)
Tee res 1pm
Friday Night 4’s
V/P Criggers G/S (12/16)
Tee res 10am & 1pm
Billy Casper Strokeplay
Lady Captain V Lady Secretary
Mr Uttley (9)
Tee res 11am
Honley High Carvery (40)
12.30pm
4BBB/Ping
Wednesday Golfing Society
Ladies Scratch Team V Wakefield—Away
Friday Night 4’s
Senior League V Bradford Moor—Away
G Barker Party (30)
12.30pm
Ladies Medal
A Stott Christening
P Walton (10/12)
Tee res 1.30—2pm
Jean Howard Carvery (20)
7pm
Peace Salver Qualifier & Medal
Senior League V Dewsbury—Home Tee res 11.30am
V/P Wisewood G/S (16/18)
Tee res 10am
Rabbits Friendly V Dewsbury—Home Tee res 4.30pm
Coronation 4somes
Mothers Union
7pm
Friday Night 4’s
Seniors League V West End—Away
Medal