Dear members,
As we enjoy the winter golfing season there are a number of matters to which I would like to draw to your attention. They are arranged in chronological order
1. Membership
The Society has welcomed the following persons as new members since the beginning of 2023 -
- Jamie Knowlman
- John Cronin
- Jan Kildey
- Tony Dare
- Stewart Beutel
- Bill Andrews
- Barry Voltz
- Patricia McCormack
- Ric Waldock
- Rob McAfee
- Ian Poole
The following members have changed their status to non playing -
The following members have notified of intention to resign-
- Richard Marshall
- Tony Watt
I remind members that if participating in our golf events is no longer an option for you we would be delighted if you remain with the Society in the non playing category. That way you will remain on our email list and be able to participate in the social aspects of the Society. You will note that for each game attending the lunch only is included as an option. For our mixed games partners are welcome to participate when the member is unable to play, as are partners of late members.
2. National Data Base
As I mentioned at the Bribie game, the Australian Senior Golfers' Society is working towards preparing a national database of seniors throughout Australia and the committee is in favour of that being done. The only details to be included will be member's name and email address.
It will help with the generation of better communications between the various state societies and facilitate interstate visits, as well as organising the biennial McIntyre trophy event.
If you do not wish your details to be included in the national data base, please contact me or the secretary to advise of that concern.
3. Annual Renewals
Renewal notices are expected to be sent out at the end of August. Annual subscriptions will remain the same at $130 pa. Entry fees will increase slightly to $100 and new name tags and ties will attract an increase of $5 to a total of $45 to keep pace with costs. The newly created membership pin cost has been set at $30.
4. Annual Tour 2023
The annual tour, which has four games organised around the Northern Beaches area of Sydney, starts on Sunday 17 September 2023. We have 62 participants registered for the event. For those who have not been on annual tours before, I think it is worth mentioning some aspects of the event. It provides an opportunity to get to know other seniors who are members of other golf clubs and who you may not see regularly.
You may have noticed that for our monthly events, you are likely to be drawn to play with members from other golf clubs. This practice will be continued for the four games on the tour.
There are three formal functions included in the tour. For the Wednesday lunch and Friday farewell dinner, seating plans will be provided which will also adopt that approach.
There is free seating at the first event on Sunday evening.
That leaves Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday nights where you are free to arrange your evenings after golf as you may wish but again members are encouraged to catch up with friends or acquaintances from other clubs on those evenings. Next week, the final schedule, attendee list and restaurants in the Manly area will be on the web site. The tour booklet will be available prior to the trip with the details of the tour including recommended restaurants and estimated times for departure from the golf courses and arrival back at the accommodation. I would like to thank Rob Thatcher and Ken Prosser for taking on the organisation of the tour. It is a job that involves a deal of attention to detail so if you are going on the tour, but for any reason won't be able to participate in all the events, please let one of them know so they can alter the arrangements they have made as necessary.
Please allow some leeway for any bookings you make as estimating times for a tour group of 62 is not an exact science. Some unkind persons have observed that organising large numbers of independently minded individuals is a bit like herding cats, but I could not possibly comment about that.
5. The Toowoomba Game
This is a popular event on our calendar and is scheduled for Monday 22 October 2023.
As in previous years, a dinner has been planned for the Sunday evening for those heading up the day before.
This year the dinner will be held at the Burke and Wills Hotel in Ruthven St and if you mention you are participating in the dinner when booking accommodation at that Hotel a discounted rate is available. Members will be individually responsible for settling their accounts for accommodation and extras at the Hotel, but the cost of the dinner will be included as an option when booking for the game through the website. Drinks will be to individual account at the dinner. Participation in the dinner is open whether or not a member stays at the Hotel, This approach worked well for the Noosa Springs event and I would like to thank Bruce Nicol for his organisation of the dinner and accommodation for that event and for Toowoomba as well.
6. The McIntyre Trophy
This event is the only national competition event for the members of the various state Senior Golfers' Societies. It is run on a biennial basis, and next year will be held at Adelaide. The main event commences with a function on Sunday evening, 14 April 2024. It involves 4BBB stableford competitions at Royal Adelaide Golf Club and Glenelg Golf Club on alternate days for members and their partners and concludes with a function on Tuesday evening 17 April.
Teams from each state will compete for the trophy so you will be paired with a fellow Queenslander for each of the two days of golf (numbers permitting).
A link to the event with the facility to book accommodation is now live and appears below. Registration at the event will be available shortly.
WELCOME | McIntyre Trophy 2024
7. Annual Tour 2024
The 2024 tour will take place in Adelaide between Sunday 8 and Saturday 14 September 2024. The tour Hotel is the new Crown Plaza Hotel in the CBD and the golf is being organised at the Grange, Kooyonga, Mount Compass and Glenelg Golf courses.
The Wednesday lunch is at Star of Greece on the coast at Port Willunga with a wine tasting at a McLaren vale winery on the way.
Expressions of interest will be sought after the completion of the 2023 Annual Tour when cost estimates are available. Deposits will be necessary by 30 November 2023 to secure the venues as travel demands have increased significantly. Again I thank the tour organisers Rob Thatcher and Ken Prosser for their hard work on this tour.
I look forward to the next game in our calendar which is a home club event at IGC on Monday 14 August.
Don Fraser KC | President
