In attendance:<\/span><\/p>\n John McNamara, President (JM)<\/span><\/p>\n Stuart Patterson, Captain (SP)<\/span><\/p>\n Greg Peck, Vice Captain (GP)<\/span><\/p>\n Tom Richardson (TR)<\/span><\/p>\n Steve Cullen (SC)<\/span><\/p>\n Yumiko Smith (YS)<\/span><\/p>\n Mike Munden, <\/span>General Manager (MM)<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1. Opening<\/span><\/p>\n The meeting was opened by JM, who thanked all for attending. <\/p>\n 2.\tMinutes of Previous Meeting<\/span><\/p>\n The minutes of the previous meeting were unanimously approved. <\/p>\n 3.\tMatters Arising from AGM <\/span><\/p>\n JM referred to Mrs Susan Owen\u2019s question about an on-course toilet. MM responded that it was indeed the intention to build this facility earlier this year but the project was overtaken by events, especially the collapse of the Tee Box on Hole 3. It is now rescheduled and it is expected to be completed in the coming months. <\/p>\n The issue regarding prizes for the Members\u2019 Competitions was covered in a separate discussion (see 7. below.) <\/p>\n 4. Course\/Clubhouse Update: <\/span><\/p>\n MM reported that:<\/p>\n \u2022\tThe works on the lake on Hole 6 have now been completed. Fish will be introduced into the lake in the near future. It was decided that a fountain would not, after all, be a good idea due to the risk of it disturbing or damaging the seal. <\/p>\n \u2022\tThe pot bunker in the fairway short of the 18th green will be removed as it is virtually redundant being extremely rarely visited by players and, therefore, not worth the investment in maintenance.<\/p>\n \u2022\tGreens will be spiked and top-dressed on 18th and 20th November. <\/p>\n \u2022\tOther future plans: <\/p>\n o\tThe 4 bunkers on the right of the 4th fairway will be merged into one long bunker and shaped so that balls will not run through them into the bushed. Also, making them into one will make it possible to machinery to enter and thereby maintain the bunker in good condition.<\/p>\n o\tWork on the aforementioned toilet facility will commence within the next 3 months. <\/p>\n o\tNext spring there will be a programme to more clearly define the fairways by introducing \u2018first-cut\u2019 rough borders. On some of the holes the grass beyond the rough will be killed off and left as \u2018dead pan\u2019. <\/p>\n JM thanked MM for his report and for the good work that has been done to the course. All agreed, in particular, that the works to the lake on Hole 6 have significantly enhanced the look of the hole. <\/p>\n 5.\tGreen Committee Report <\/span><\/p>\n The Green Committee scheduled for 10th November was unfortunately cancelled and will now take place in late November. <\/p>\n However, a number of informal discussions have taken place in which some key items have been identified and a summary of these is as follows:<\/p>\n \u2022\tControl of Carts on the course is a constant problem with players frequently ignoring the buggy-signs and even the roped-off areas. Carts carrying Blue Flags are a particular concern as it has become a quite common occurrence for these to be driven right up to – and sometimes even onto – the aprons of the greens. Not only do they damage some of the more delicate, more closely mown parts of the course but, in some instances, it is a serious health & safety hazard, most notably when carts are driven to the greenside where there are steep slopes, such as Hole 4. Committee members resolved to communicate with Members about the use of Carts and the need for all of us to respect the course.<\/p>\n \u2022\tClearer definition of Hazards, Lateral Hazards and Out-Of-Bounds (OB) areas.<\/p>\n This led to a long discussion about Hole 15 where there is OB at the left boundary, the hazard of the lake to the right, as well as the inclination of some players to aim their tee-shots deliberately to the right of that lake into the 14th fairway. The conclusion was that balls either played into the vegetation to the left or into the lake would be played from a compulsory drop zone (the new drop zone created in front of the lake) \u2013 with a 1 stroke penalty. <\/p>\n The question of making the 14th fairway OB when playing the 15th was also raised and whilst it was concluded that an internal OB should not be created to stop this practice, the risk to the health & safety of players on the 14th fairway was recognized. It was also noted that the vast majority of players taking the route via the 14th fairway are Members of MGCC (as it would not occur to most visitors to consider it) and that we should instruct Members that if they are intending to play to the 14th fairway, then they should make sure that the fairway is clear before they play their shot. <\/p>\n It was further concluded that OB should remain to the left of the 14th fairway. <\/p>\n \u2022\tDespite information given to them prior to commencing play and information contained on the scorecard, many visitors remain blissfully unaware of the location of drop zones, especially on Hole 4, 5 and 8. Long ball searches and confusion about drop zones significantly slow down the rate of play on these holes and cause log jams. Notices on the tee boxes to make the drop zones clearer. <\/p>\n \u2022\tYS mentioned that the overhanging branches from trees to the left of the 4th and 14th tees are blocking shots to the fairway. MM said these would be trimmed back. <\/p>\n \u2022\tGP asked that the Yellow Logs (daily\/visitors tees) not be placed close to the yellow Members Plates to prevent excessive wear and tear around the area of the plates. MM agreed but noted that occasionally some teeing areas need to be \u2018rested\u2019 and allowed to recover and that, therefore, not always could the \u2018logs\u2019 be on a separate tee box from the \u2018plates\u2019.<\/p>\n \u2022\tSC presented a Hole-by-Hole summary of issues that will be taken up at the Green Committee and prioritization recommendations will be made to the main Committee at its next meeting.<\/p>\n 6.\tHandicap Systems <\/span><\/p>\n SP reported that changes were made to the Spanish Federation Handicap system at the end of last year. All Spanish Federated players must play at least 4 Federated competitions or hand in cards with results outside competitions in other words Extra day scores EDS. (EDS are only feasible for players with handicaps of 11,5 or above.)<\/p>\n It appears that a number of MGCC Members have not played the 4 necessary competitions this year. Mostly these are either Overseas Members or Life Members with a small number of Annual Members who do not regularly play in the members\u2019 competitions. The RFEG Handicaps of Members who have not completed the 4 qualifying rounds in 2014 will become \u201cnot active\u201d. To re-activate a handicap, 3 new results in 2015 need to be registered from participation in \u2018federated\u2019 competitions. <\/p>\n Consequently, MGCC needs to decide if: <\/p>\n 1. Players with active and non-active federated handicaps can participate in the competitions and win a prize, or <\/p>\n 2.\tPlayers with active and non- active federated handicaps can participate but only players with active handicaps can win a prize, or <\/span><\/p>\n 3. Restrict competitions only for players with active handicaps <\/p>\n Following a lengthy discussion and after acknowledging (a) current practice with a number of new members and (b) the \u201cCatch 22\u201d contained in Option 3 – in other words, players need to play in federated competitions to obtain an \u2018active\u2019 handicap and therefore disallowing them from competitions will prevent them from obtaining an \u2018active\u2019 handicap – it was decided that Option 2 would be the policy adopted and that this will be applied from January 2015 onwards. <\/p>\n 7.\tDistribution of Prizes in Members\u2019 Competitions <\/span><\/p>\n Following up on an item raised at the AGM, it was clarified that the number of prize winners would be dependent upon the number of participants on the competition day. Previously, there was a schedule that defined when prizes would be issued beyond 3rd place and it was decided to review this schedule, update it in view of the reduction in the participation fee (from 5 to 3 Euros) and re-issue for reference in competitions from January 2015, or earlier if possible. <\/p>\n 8.\tRoles of Committee Members <\/span><\/p>\n JM remarked that the committee members\u2019 roles and responsibilities were now clearly and mostly well distributed with JM President, MM General Manager, SP Captain, GP Vice-Captain, TR Competitions & Handicap Sec., SC Secretary & Green Committee Chair. As the only remaining member without portfolio, YS was asked to be Organiser for the Weekly Friday Members\u2019 Competitions. YS agreed and GP offered to provide advice and assistance, especially in \u2018showing the ropes\u2019 for first few weeks. Friday Member Competitions will generally be reserved for fun events of differing formats depending on the numbers playing.<\/p>\n 9.\tNew Weekly Tuesday Competition <\/span><\/p>\n Mr. Martin Ingham, Member, has proposed holding a new, weekly competition on Tuesdays to be played from the White Tees off Federation Handicaps with a 10 euro entry fee and winner-take-all prize. <\/p>\n The committee decided to accept this proposal on the following conditions: <\/p>\n 1.\tThe Competition will not be a recognised \u2018federated\u2019 competition. However, those players taking part who wish to submit their scorecard from this competition may do so, if they wish, instead of submitting their scorecard from the weekly Wednesday Federated Competition. <\/p>\n 2.\tThe Competition will not be organised or run by the Committee but by Mr. Ingham himself or any other Member nominated as its organiser and notified to the Club as such. <\/p>\n 3.\tTee times will need to be booked by the organiser and these can be in the usual daily slot of 10.00-10.40am. <\/p>\n 10.\tAny Other Business <\/span><\/p>\n The question of MGCC\u2019s membership of the Spanish Federation was raised. This is a significant expense to the Club and to its Members. Despite this expense, it was concluded that it was not in the Club\u2019s best interests to withdraw from the Federation, not least because of insurance\/liability issues and the eligibility for Inter-Club Competitions in the region.<\/p>\n 11.\tClose and Date of Next Meeting <\/span><\/p>\n JM thanked all for attending and reminded everyone that the next committee meeting will be held on 19 January 2015. <\/p>\n MGCC, 18th November 2014 <\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Minutes of the Members\u2019 Committee Meeting held at 15.00 on 17th November 2014<\/span>…<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[129],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4437","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-minutes-2"],"yoast_head":"\n
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