FLORESTA PARQUE GOLF CLUB COMMITTEE MEETING

No 2021-01 HELD ON 2^nd March 2021

Present             Mary Berry – Captain

                         Geoffrey Harnett- Chairman

                         Peter Noone – Vice Captain

Linda Anthony – Secretary

Mike Abbott – Handicap and Membership Secretary

Giles Fox – Treasurer

Rod Smith

Brian Newsham

This meeting was held via Zoom to comply with the current Covid restrictions. Thanks were given to Rod Smith for hosting the meeting.

1.     Company Matters

1.1.    There were no company matters.

2.     Apologies

2.1.    None.

3.     Approval of Minutes

3.1.    The minutes were approved by the Captain.

4.     Matters Arising/to discuss

4.1.    There are 104 members of the club to date.  A list of the current members will be printed after the end of March.

4.2.    All matters pertaining to the AGM reports have been addressed.

5.     Treasurer’s report

5.1.    A reminder that membership and Federation fees are now due will be sent out to the members.

5.2.    GSA have been paid for outstanding vouchers.

5.3.    Simon Thomas, a qualified accountant and member of the club, has volunteered his services as an auditor. This offer has been gratefully accepted.

5.4.    The Charity money will be distributed between six charities, NECI (Rui Baptista), Bombeiros, RDA, Pink Ribbon (Kelvin Whittaker’s walk), Cancer Research, The Mustard Seed and APPDA (Rui Gloria’s charity for autistic children).

5.5.    Current net assets €19,052.59

6.     Handicap and Membership report

6.1.    The payment of the Federation fees has been extended until the 31^st May.

6.2.    In line with all other sporting associations in Portugal the Federation is required to ask all members to complete a medical questionnaire starting this year. This will be renewable annually.  A link to the form and further details will be placed on the Club website.

7.     Captain’s Update

7.1.    It is anticipated that, when we are allowed to play golf again, the initial restrictions will be much the same as last year i.e., no competitions, restricted numbers, leaving the course immediately after play etc.

7.2.    The first major competition will be held on the 19^th June, restrictions permitting.  This will be The Ralph Griffin Trophy and the possibility of combining this with the Changeover competition is being considered. The other board competitions will be rearranged for later in the year.

7.3.    Mike Evans has kindly volunteered to put up a list of members’ handicaps on the day of a competition. The list has to printed from the computer on the morning of the competition to be up to date and only those who have access to the computer can do this.  This list will be printed and displayed on competition days. Members can always check their handicaps on line and in the shop when checking in. Thank you to Mike for volunteering.

7.4.    A monthly draw will be established for all the members who have entered both the competitions and the 2’s and not won a voucher that month. The prize is a €20 voucher and will begin at the start of the first full calendar month after we resume competitions.  Mick Berry has volunteered to organise this draw.

8.     AOB

8.1.    It was suggested that it would be good for members to know what work has been carried out on the course during lockdown and any further work that is planned.  Mary Berry will cover this in her next Captain’s Blog.

Next meeting: 06/04/21 at 16.00 

Meeting closed at 17.15

Distribution: Geoff Harnett, Mike Abbott, Giles Fox, Linda Anthony, Brian Newsham, Rod Smith, Mary Berry. Peter Noone

Dear Members

A month has nearly gone by and although not much golf has been played I would like to keep you all posted on a few things I have planned for this year and wish you all well.

My first job is to thank Brian for all his work last year under very trying conditions.

I shall try to carry on in his famous farmers footsteps in what promises to be another challenging year. I am really pleased to have Peter Noone as my Vice Captain and he is already proving to be a valued support to me.

Brian and I plan to have a formal Captains Changeover event as soon as it is feasible.

My main charities this year will be Madrugada and NECI, two organisations that do tremendous work in the community.

I am planning to hold a series of social / games /quiz evenings to raise funds for these charities. The first charity golf competition day is scheduled for March 17th, St. Patrick’s Day.

Another highlight planned in March is the Ralph Griffin trophy. This will be held on Wednesday 24th March and will be a Dubai Stableford, Ralph’s favourite team format.

This is a change from the competition calendar on the website in order to coincide with Ralph’s Birthday.

This event had to be postponed last year due to COVID 19.

Let’s hope that these events can take place this time around.

The Club inter league fixtures are being tentatively arranged with a potential start now in May.

Looking ahead to my away trip, basic plans are to go to the Montecastillo golf resort, an excellent golf course and close to Jerez which has lots of places to visit, including several Bodegas and the famed Royal Andalusian Equestrian training Centre.

I hope to see you all out on the golf course again before too long and plan to play golf with as many members as possible during the year.

Until then, stay safe, stay well and stay cheerful.

Your Captain, Mary

 Members and Friends

As we were unable to hold our AGM and Captains Changeover as we normally would have done, I wanted to write a final Blog to record my gratitude to all the members for the help, encouragement and support I so generously received through the most extraordinary year.

 As there was no prior experience of what came to us all in 2020 it was not easy to know what the right decisions for our club were going to be. However, with the help of the committee, the staff and all the members I believe we all managed to come through this difficult period in good shape as we were able to play golf for most of the year on our fabulous course, we were able to hold a few small events whilst managing to stay safe and we even managed to maintain our good humour and friendly atmosphere.

 A huge thank you to everybody who stood behind me and supported me. Mary was exceptional as Vice Captain, we made a good team and I know she will be a great Captain.

 Of course, most of all I would like to thank Brigitte. She has done everything that was necessary to get me through this year. She has been my adviser, my listener and my friend as we have tried to plot our way through my Captaincy together as a team – I am forever grateful.

 You are all probably aware that Portugal is back in lockdown now and as of Wednesday we are not allowed to play Golf, Brigitte and I will be looking forward to playing again and hopefully we can have a celebration of the changeover and have as many of our members together as possible.

Finally, I would like to wish Mary all the best for this year. She took over the Captaincy on the 16th of January as advised in the AGM information we sent out. Obviously without any celebration because of the Lockdown. Let’s hope things will get better as the year goes on and Mary can guide our club back to more normal times.

Once again many thanks to everybody for all the help.

Stay safe and well

Your ‘Past’ Captain Brian

UNFORTUNATELY PORTUGAL IS BACK IN LOCKDOWN BUT THE GOOD NEWS IS GOLF IS PERMITTED. THE LOCKDOWN IS TO LAST A MONTH BUT WILL BE REVIEWED IN 2 WEEKS (30TH JANUARY). COMPETITIONS ARE NOT ALLOWED SO WEDNESDAYS AND SUNDAYS ARE CANCELLED FOR THE TIME BEING. ONLY ONE PERSON AT A TIME IS ALLOWED IN THE PRO SHOP AND MASKS MUST BE WORN AT ALL TIMES. AT THE MOMENT YOU MAY STILL PLAY IN 4 BALLS AND SHARE A BUGGY. THE RESTAURANT IS OPEN FOR TAKE AWAY, MARIO WILL HAVE THE SIDE WINDOW OPEN ON THE TERRACE BUT YOU CANNOT DRINK/EAT ON THE TERRACE. ONCE YOU FINISH YOUR ROUND YOU MUST LEAVE. WE WILL KEEP YOU UPDATED IF THERE ARE ANY CHANGES.

STAY SAFE EVERYONE,

THE COMMITTEE.

                FLORESTA PARQUE GOLF CLUB COMMITTEE MEETING

No 2021-09 HELD ON 5^th January 2021

Present             Brian Newsham – Captain

                          Mary Berry – Vice Captain

                         Geoffrey Harnett- Chairman

Linda Anthony – Secretary

Mike Abbott – Handicap and Membership Secretary

Giles Fox – Treasurer

Peter McDonagh

1.     Company Matters

1.1.    There were no company matters.

2.     Apologies

2.1.    Rod Smith and Peter Noone sent their apologies.

3.     Approval of Minutes

3.1.    The minutes were approved by the Captain.

4.     Matters Arising/to discuss

4.1.    All matters arising are covered under the AGM items on the agenda.

5.     Treasurer’s report

5.1.    The annual accounts are now finalised and will be sent to the members before the AGM.

6.     Discussion on points raised by members for the AGM

6.1.    Queries were raised by three members which have been satisfactorily answered by Giles Fox.

6.2.    In response to letters by two members concerning the new handicap system it was decided that, beginning with the Captain’s Changeover Competition, the maximum playing handicap for men will be 36 and for ladies 44, this will apply in all club competitions.

6.3.    In singles competitions men may now play from either the white or yellow tees and ladies the red or yellow tees. In all Club team competitions, the tee specified on the sheet will be used by the men, ladies will play from the red tees.

6.4.    Visitors must have a handicap certificate to play in Club competitions.

7.     Discussion on whether we can hold the AGM

7.1.    Mike Abbott has consulted with the GNR, they have stated that we can hold the AGM as long as all seats are 2 metres apart, the capacity of the room is not exceeded and masks are worn when standing and moving around. There must also be two separate entrances, on for entering and one for leaving the room.

8.     AGM running order.

8.1.    Geoffrey Harnett went through this, to keep the meeting as brief as possible the reports will not be read out at the meeting as all members have already had the opportunity to read and respond to them.

9.     AOB

9.1.    In response to a request for a printed handicap list to be available Mike Abbott explained that under the new system handicaps can change on a daily basis. Should any member be unable to check their own handicap on line it is always possible to ask the shop to check your current handicap when you check in.

9.2.    Members are reminded that under current Covid regulations all people are required to wear a mask when moving around or standing if they are unable to leave a space of 2 metres between themselves and the next person. This applies to inside and outside spaces. There are plenty of tables available in the restaurant if the terrace and spike bar tables are full.

9.3.    From the end of March, a list of members will be posted on the notice board. Sixty-five members have already paid, members are reminded they may not attend the AGM unless they have paid their membership.

9.4.    Peter McDonagh thanked everyone for all their support over the last three years and said how much he had enjoyed his time on the committee.

9.5.    Brian Newsham thanked the committee for their support during this difficult year.

Next meeting: 02/03/21 at 10.00 

Meeting closed at 12.30`?

Distribution: Geoff Harnett, Mike Abbott, Giles Fox, Linda Anthony, Peter McDonagh, Brian Newsham, Rod Smith, Mary Berry. Peter Noone