The Fairway Renovation programme was successfully implemented during the first weeks of November and the Club owes a huge debt of gratitude to a number of members who gave freely of their time to assist in the project; their efforts have been greatly appreciated not only by Mark Lawson and his team but also by the Board as this is a real cost saving. Thank you one and all!!!
The course has now been playing the nine hole layout for nearly six weeks and the format seems to have bedded in without too much difficulty but any feedback would be appreciated. I must say it is pleasant to be able to play nine holes without interrupting or disturbing anyone and end up back at the Club House!! A pre-cursor to the alternate course perchance??
At this stage it is anticipated that we will return to the full course in time for Men's Opening Day on Saturday 30 January. At this stage it is not clear if we will be required to play off tees - more information will follow in the fullness of time i.e. when someone tells me.
A pleasing aspect of the renovation programme is that the greens appear to have recovered more quickly than in the past. As yet it is unclear whether this was as a result of improved weather conditions or simply working out the wrinkles that have plagued us over the past two years. Assuming we proceed with the final 6 fairways later this year we will have another opportunity to ascertain the benefits of coring at an earlier date.
The definition of the proposed rough area has become clear and certainly there is now a premium on keeping the ball straight. At this stage the proposal is still a "work in progress" and is being carefully monitored to ascertain the true effects on the flow and pace of play. With some dry hot weather parts of the rough have burnt off as anticipated and become decidedly more playable so you thoughts would be appreciated.
You will also have noted that the fairways are "browning off" this is an intentional process designed to stress out the "poa" that has reseeded into the new fairways. Fairway watering has been limited on purpose and Mark will report to the next Board meeting on the success of this initiative. Realistically in the future the course will not be as "green" as it has been in the past as we will not need such an aggressive watering programme to maintain fairway coverage.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Club AGM ....................
The Club AGM took place on Tuesday 8 December 2010 at 7.30 pm in the Club House. Richard Peate was re-elected to the Board with Bryan Andrews being the other successful candidate. Along with Janet Christie-Anderson, Bryan is a new addition to the Board in the 2010 year.
Ken Fergus was elected unopposed as President taking over from Bruce Taylor who retired as at the end of the '09 year. Phillippa Idour assumes the role of Women's Captain and for a second year I fill the role of Men's Captain. The remainder of the Board consists of Dennis Doherty and Glenn Bongartz.
The new year brings continuing and new challenges and I look forward to outlining those to you over the next 12 months.
Ken Fergus was elected unopposed as President taking over from Bruce Taylor who retired as at the end of the '09 year. Phillippa Idour assumes the role of Women's Captain and for a second year I fill the role of Men's Captain. The remainder of the Board consists of Dennis Doherty and Glenn Bongartz.
The new year brings continuing and new challenges and I look forward to outlining those to you over the next 12 months.
Christchurch Casino Shootout Finals Night.......
From our guest reporter Charles "I'll have a little flutter - not" Whitwham.
On the evening of 26th November the team of Andrew Hopkins, David Morrison, David Robinson and Charles Whitwham attended the Casino to take part in the Christchurch Casino Shootout Finals night, having won the honour to represent Christchurch Golf Club by being the highest team stableford score during the playing of the Arthur Donnelly Salver. Other clubs that were present included Akaroa, Templeton, Weedons, Russley, Greendale, Everglades, Rangiora, Waimari Beach and Waimakariri Gorge.
The format for the evening had the teams of four split into pairs and going to separate tables to play Texas Hold'em poker (made popular by Casino Royale/James Bond film), with each half of the pair taking it in turn to sit at the table and play. After being given a brief rundown of the rules and the terminology used, such as big blind, little blind, check, fold, raise, call and all-in we got underway. The team that had the most points at the end of the night would be declared the winner and points were awarded for the value of the chips you had left. Once your chips had gone you were out of the game.
The first team to be eliminated was the all-female team from Everglades. High roller Hopkins noted that they had no idea how to play the game! Over on my table Dave Robinson and myself were not doing too badly until I lost when holding a pair of aces, beaten by 3 measly fours!! Soon we had too few chips left and were all-in, along with 3 other teams on our table. The poor dealer had his work cut out, having to form 5 separate pots for this round. I managed to win on the dealers turn of the last card by having a straight. The next round the player from Templeton was all-in and also got a straight on the last turn of the card to win another lifeline for his team. He then proceeded to do the same thing again in the next game to win the biggest pot on our table, at which point Dave and I were history. Over on the other table Andrew and Dave Morrison were also being eliminated.
The eventual winners were the team from Rangiora, with Greendale second and Russley third. A putting competition was also held and Dave Robinson made it all the way to the final where he lost in a sudden death putt-off against Jack Clark from Akaroa. It was nail-biting stuff!!!
Finger food and drinks were provided and at the end of the evening Grant Lewis, GM of Canterbury Golf presented a cheque for over $6,200 to Noel Chambers of the Golf Development Trust. We all enjoyed ourselves and vowed to form up next year to try and win through to this event again.
On the evening of 26th November the team of Andrew Hopkins, David Morrison, David Robinson and Charles Whitwham attended the Casino to take part in the Christchurch Casino Shootout Finals night, having won the honour to represent Christchurch Golf Club by being the highest team stableford score during the playing of the Arthur Donnelly Salver. Other clubs that were present included Akaroa, Templeton, Weedons, Russley, Greendale, Everglades, Rangiora, Waimari Beach and Waimakariri Gorge.
The format for the evening had the teams of four split into pairs and going to separate tables to play Texas Hold'em poker (made popular by Casino Royale/James Bond film), with each half of the pair taking it in turn to sit at the table and play. After being given a brief rundown of the rules and the terminology used, such as big blind, little blind, check, fold, raise, call and all-in we got underway. The team that had the most points at the end of the night would be declared the winner and points were awarded for the value of the chips you had left. Once your chips had gone you were out of the game.
The first team to be eliminated was the all-female team from Everglades. High roller Hopkins noted that they had no idea how to play the game! Over on my table Dave Robinson and myself were not doing too badly until I lost when holding a pair of aces, beaten by 3 measly fours!! Soon we had too few chips left and were all-in, along with 3 other teams on our table. The poor dealer had his work cut out, having to form 5 separate pots for this round. I managed to win on the dealers turn of the last card by having a straight. The next round the player from Templeton was all-in and also got a straight on the last turn of the card to win another lifeline for his team. He then proceeded to do the same thing again in the next game to win the biggest pot on our table, at which point Dave and I were history. Over on the other table Andrew and Dave Morrison were also being eliminated.
The eventual winners were the team from Rangiora, with Greendale second and Russley third. A putting competition was also held and Dave Robinson made it all the way to the final where he lost in a sudden death putt-off against Jack Clark from Akaroa. It was nail-biting stuff!!!
Finger food and drinks were provided and at the end of the evening Grant Lewis, GM of Canterbury Golf presented a cheque for over $6,200 to Noel Chambers of the Golf Development Trust. We all enjoyed ourselves and vowed to form up next year to try and win through to this event again.
Metro 2010..............
As I foreshadowed at the Metro breakup and confirmed in the Club Captains report it is not my intention to be the Team Advisor/ Manager for the Metro team in 2010. Despite some indications the competition my be changed to align it more closely with the revised Blank & Simon Cups it appears at least for the 2010 year Metro will remain the same.
The first round of matches is scheduled for the 31 January 2010 and in order to be in readiness a succession plan has been finalised. That well known eclectic golfer Steve "Scoreboard" Ellis has accepted the mantle of leadership and will be ably assisted by that doyen of the Christchurch Golf Club - Ben "I'm awake" Frampton. A ceremonial handing over of the notebook and the file will take place in the next few days and then await further contact from Steve.
Many thanks to all the members who have assisted me in the past four years to place a team out on the tee, unfortunately we have not been that successful but it was not from a wont of trying!! I hope to continue to make "the odd" appearance for Metro subject to selection criteria but at this date I do have a very healthy handicap!!
The other Metro legacy is that the genesis of this blog was from the Monday reports following the Sunday games; negotiations continue as to journalistic expectations!!!
The first round of matches is scheduled for the 31 January 2010 and in order to be in readiness a succession plan has been finalised. That well known eclectic golfer Steve "Scoreboard" Ellis has accepted the mantle of leadership and will be ably assisted by that doyen of the Christchurch Golf Club - Ben "I'm awake" Frampton. A ceremonial handing over of the notebook and the file will take place in the next few days and then await further contact from Steve.
Many thanks to all the members who have assisted me in the past four years to place a team out on the tee, unfortunately we have not been that successful but it was not from a wont of trying!! I hope to continue to make "the odd" appearance for Metro subject to selection criteria but at this date I do have a very healthy handicap!!
The other Metro legacy is that the genesis of this blog was from the Monday reports following the Sunday games; negotiations continue as to journalistic expectations!!!
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