Match Secretary’s Notes

It’s all change for the Association in 2018. We have a new captain, Gerry Cotter, and we wish him well for the summer. We have a new vice-captain, Peter Short, who will be familiar to all members for the sterling work he has carried out as Hon. Secretary over many years. And we have a new Match Secretary – me – who will try to maintain the high standards set by Peter.

I think the process of running the matches, generally, worked well last year with the Match Managers and Match Secretary liaising closely with Doug Ebdon in his first year as the Association’s Treasurer. However, there is always room for improvement and if you have any ideas, please let me know. Also, we are always looking for new Match Managers, so if you would like to be considered, again, let me know.

Looking ahead to the summer, I am excited by this year’s fixtures and I would like to mention a few highlights:

• The Spring Meeting is at Sandy Lodge, always a favourite, so be sure to sign up for this one.
• There are 11 County matches - excluding the 4 Counties duo – and a first match against Essex in October, which replaces the South Wales Captains. Six of the matches are away and five at home club courses.
• The 4 Counties South match sees us defending our title at Forest Hills Golf Club in Gloucestershire, whilst we are hosting the 4 Counties North match at Flackwell Heath.
• The Past Captains and Mixed Invitation fixtures are being held for their second year and, hopefully, we will see an even better response than last year,
• The Captain’s Tour to Barnham Broome in Norfolk is one that I am looking forward to and we hope for good weather for Gerry’s Captain’s Day at Beaconsfield in July.

We need as many people as possible to sign up for these matches and we look to our Club Ambassadors to help generate new members for the Association.

Please sign up for these fixtures by the end of January. Everyone who signs up will get at least one game but the more that do will make it easier for the administration of these fixtures.

Also, please let us know if you are available for all (or some) of these matches at short notice. There are always late withdrawals for a number of reasons – it can’t be helped – but if we have a strong pool of members who are available at late notice, it relieves some of the pressure on the Match Managers.

So, remember, look at the fixture list and indicate which matches you might be available for. Send this back by the end of January and you will be notified of selection in late March.

Finally, please pay your renewal fees for the season and use the standing order form which is available on the homepage of this site.

Happy Golfing in 2018.

David Liston