Historic WHLCGA Minutes

MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING HELD AT KIDDERMINSTER GOLF CLUB ON TUESDAY 22nd OCTOBER 2019 

The meeting was held at Kidderminster on Tuesday 22nd October 2019 with 71 members present.   

The Chairman, Ms. Dorothy McKie, welcomed everyone to the Annual General Meeting. She extended a warm welcome to Honorary Life Members and Life Vice Presidents, as well as Claire Painter, Lady Captain of Kidderminster. 

The Chairman requested that all present sign the attendance book. She also advised that, when giving reports and addressing the meeting, speakers should start with “Madam Chairman, Ladies” and state their name and club. 

The Chairman reported on Regional and National golfing successes of the year. 

• In the Junior Golf Tour event held at Edgbaston on 24th March, three of our County Junior Girls entered. Maisie Whittall (Gaudet Luce) was pipped into 2nd place by one shot in the   9-10 age group for girls; Zizi-Mai Wilkins (Churchill & Blakedown) was awarded the Gold medal for her win in the 11-12 age group for girls and Lili-Rose Hunt (Droitwich), playing in the main championship event, was runner-up for best gross and best nett, only losing out by one shot on best gross and on countback for best nett. 

• In the Regional final of the European Junior Open at Drayton Park on 26th July, Lauren Sharp (Droitwich) won best girls gross with 79 and qualified to play in finals week in Cadiz in November. She will play four rounds, hoping to make the top 20 with her best two scores, to play in the final round. We wish her well. 

• The Midlands South Girls Championship was held at Gaudet Luce on 27th August. There were successes for our County. Zizi-Mai Wilkins won the Individual 18 hole Stableford with 43 points; Sydney Blanchenot was runner up with 40 points. W&H won the 18 hole Stableford team event with Emily Natress, Sydney Blanchenot (both Gaudet Luce) and Katie Rolph (Redditch). In the 36 hole Championship, Grace Bowen (The Worcestershire) won the best gross and best gross Under 15 and was 3rd in the best nett; Olivia Williams (Churchill & Blakedown) was 3rd best gross. W&H won the 36 hole Team Event with Grace, Olivia and Amber Hadden (Worcester G&CC). 

• On the British Junior Golf Tour, in the 9-10 age category, Maisie Whittall has played 11 scratch events mostly over 9 holes, winning 6 and runner up in 4, finishing 4th in the Order of Merit out of 84 boys and girls. As a result she qualified for the Tour Championship finals over 18 holes in October at Foxhills, London. Here she shot a gross 87 and was the leading girl in the Finals and crowned girls age 9-10 British Junior Golf Tour Champion 2019. This has qualified her for the British Junior Golf Tour Champion of Champions World Invitational event at Powerscourt, Ireland in April 2020 in the girls age 10-12 category. Maisie’s handicap was 42 last year and is now 19. Maisie has not long had her 11th birthday! 

• Lili-Rose Hunt, having won the County Junior Championship, played in the England Golf Champion Of Champions at Woodhall Spa on 7th September finishing a creditable 4th. 

• 2017 Past Junior Captain, Emily Furniss, is doing a wonderful job as an Ambassador for England Golf, especially with blind and disabled golfers. Ella Baker (Warley Woods) also continues as an Ambassador for England Golf. 

• Four girls have been selected for England Golf Regional training next year. Grace Bowen, Rosanna Halls, Lili-Rose Hunt and Olivia Williams. 

• The inter County Scratch League Division 1 was again won by Kidderminster. They win the Brendan-Scanlon Trophy for the fifth year in a row. 

• In the PING Foursomes our County was represented in the finals held in September at Gainsborough. In the PING Plate, Phillipa Daniel and Trudi Humphries (Droitwich) finished a very creditable 9th with 37 points (44 points won the Plate). In the PING final, we were represented by Gwen Capper and Catherine Maund of Ombersley.  

• Finally Janice Kerr and Vivienne Cranton of Redditch reached the finals of the Daily Mail Foursomes national competition held at Slaley Hall in October 2019. Over two days, they played in the last 16, a quarter final, a semi-final and triumphed in the final on the 19th hole, bringing home the trophy. A fantastic achievement! 

Many congratulations to all the winners and our apologies if other successes have been omitted. 

The Chairman thanked Kidderminster for use of the course for the AGM Greensomes Competition and for allowing use of the clubhouse facilities for County meetings today and throughout the year. The Chairman said we were also grateful to Droitwich, where the junior committee meetings are held and to Worcester G&CC where meetings are also held. 

1. Presentation of Trophies 

The Chairman thanked Mr Brian Adams and Mr Phil Disspain for acting as starters. The Chairman then stated that traditionally, the Lady President of Kidderminster would be introduced, but since she currently held that position, Claire Painter, the Lady Captain of Kidderminster, was introduced to the meeting. Claire welcomed all officials and players to the meeting. 

Wendy Ray, Competition Secretary, announced the 9 hole Greensomes Competition results: 

The Chairman explained that in order not to prolong the meeting and to avoid the juniors having time off school, the Junior trophies would now be presented in January in conjunction with the County boys presentation at King Norton. 

The presentation of trophies for County competitions then took place.  

2. Apologies 

23 apologies were received and accepted en bloc. 

3. Minutes of the Last AGM 

The Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held on 23rd October 2018 had been circulated.  Adoption of the Minutes was proposed by Margaret Stiles (Kings Norton) and seconded by Iris Corfield (The Herefordshire). The Delegates voted unanimously in favour of the adoption of the Minutes. The Minutes were signed by the Chairman as a true record. 

4. Matters Arising 

The Chairman explained that at the 2018 AGM, Karen Greenfield and Sue Harris were re-elected as Hon. Treasurer and County Liaison Officer respectively, when actually they were continuing into their next year of office, having been re-elected in 2017.  

5. Captain’s Report 

The County Captain, Sarah Nicklin, gave her report. 

1st Team Preparation 

During the early part of the season, the 1st team squad had three friendly matches and for the second year running received coaching from Noel Woodman in preparation for County Match Week (CMW). 

Friendly Matches  

Coaching with Noel Woodman 

This was again a success and all the girls enjoyed their four Sunday sessions. On each occasion Noel set up several practice stations on the practice area at Kidderminster and after each session, the team went onto the golf course and played mini foursomes matches. In June, prior to CMW, Noel joined the 1st team at Frilford in Oxon for a practice round. His input was taken on board and was greatly received. Sarah thanked Kidderminster for supporting her throughout the past two years of her County Captaincy and for allowing the 1st team players courtesy of the practice facilities and golf course. She also thanked Noel Woodman for his time and expertise. 

County Championships 2019   

In early May, the County Championships were held at The Vale, which was a great venue. The course was in fantastic condition and produced some superb matches. The efforts of the green staff, club management and catering made the Championships a great success. The qualifying rounds on Friday produced 15 players for the match play knockout stages on Saturday and Sunday. On the Sunday morning, Olivia Williams beat Sarah Cranton and Lucy Walton beat Grace Bowen in the semi-finals. Lucy from The Worcestershire, the much older of the two at 19 years old, beat Olivia from Churchill & Blakedown in a great final. Well done to all the competitors and congratulations to Lucy Walton our new County Champion for 2019. Sarah thanked Ros Weston, ex County Vets President, for refereeing both the semis and the final. After the Championships, the CMW team was announced: Sarah Cranton, Anna Rock, Karen Greenfield, Lucy Walton, Constance Brooks, Kirsten Porte, Caitlin McNeil, Olivia Williams, Megan Langford and Sarah Nicklin. 

CMW 2019 at Frilford Golf Club 17th -19th June 

On the Monday morning, we beat Warwickshire 4-1. In the afternoon, we lost narrowly to Buckinghamshire 3-2. The next morning the match against Oxfordshire was halved and on Tuesday afternoon we lost narrowly 3-2 to Berkshire. On the Wednesday morning we lost 3½ - 1½ against Northamptonshire.       

For the second year running the 3-day format was played and will be here to stay. Frilford was a perfect venue and the tournament was run very professionally and hosted superbly by Oxfordshire. Buckinghamshire won our Midlands South Region and went through to the Finals at Delamere Forest in Cheshire. The overall winners of England were Gloucestershire. Sarah thanked the whole team for playing and giving it their very best. She said they were a pleasure to work with and a credit to our County. Sarah also thanked Chairman, Dorothy McKie, for stepping in and carrying out the Presidential duties at Frilford and her Vice-Captain Lyn Robinson for her support and total commitment to the team.   

During the week Constance Brooks was presented with her County colours. Sarah said that the future looks bright for W&H as five, out of the team of nine players, were juniors. She also credited Anne Solloway and the Junior Committee for bringing on such great talent. 

Finally, Sarah thanked all the supporters who made the journey to Frilford to cheer on the team and said it was very much appreciated by the whole squad. 

Sarah then paid tribute to Margaret Greenfield, mother of Karen, who sadly passed away in July. Sarah said she was an ever present supporter of the County over many years, often caddying for Karen and always with a smiling face on the fairways. She will be greatly missed. 

CMW 2020 will be held at Northampton GC next June. 

Mary Turner Bowl - 1st October  

The final match of the 2019 season was played at Whittington Heath in Staffordshire. 

Warwickshire, Staffordshire and W&H battle it out to lift the MTB with a mixture of 1st and 2nd Team players playing better ball. The winners were Warwickshire. 

Sarah concluded that she had thoroughly enjoyed being County Captain and had considered it a great honour. She said she had played County golf for over 40 years and that W&H had never disappointed. Sarah thanked the 1st Team players for their commitment and enthusiasm and the Executive Committee and Junior Committee for being extremely supportive and knowledgeable.  

She thanked her two Vice-Captains, Lyn Robinson and Sue Birch, and her President in 2018, Yvonne Foley, for guiding her in the right direction. Sarah also thanked Dorothy McKie for stepping in and taking over the presidential duties this year. She wished everyone all the best for the future. 

6. 2nd Team Captain’s Report 

Angela Taylor read Naomi Austin’s report as Naomi was unable to attend due to teaching commitments.  

League Success 

The 2nd Team won both league matches this year against Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to play in the final for a second year in a row. Once again, W&H faced Buckinghamshire in the final which took place at Wellingborough in July. The match was drawn but unfortunately W&H lost out on countback by three holes. The team has shown the improvement that it needed to make in its foursomes performances, winning nine and drawing one out of 15 matches this year. This was a real step up from the four wins and one draw out of 15 foursomes matches in 2018. 

Special Mentions 

The team had a record 9-0 victory against Warwickshire at Harborne in June. Cath Francis and Naomi Austin who together won every single one of their foursomes matches. Kirsten Porte won every one of her singles matches. Grace Bowen is unbeaten in singles with two wins and a half. Grace also received her 2nd Team colours. 

Captain/Vice-Captain Position 

The team now also has a proposed Vice-Captain. Karen Simpson from Kings Norton has agreed to stand as Vice-Captain for 2020. Naomi Austin will stand as Captain for a third year in 2020 to allow Karen to make a smooth transition to Captain in 2021.  

Plea for players 

The 2nd team looks forward to inviting more players of handicap 12 or below and of any age to the team. If you are interested in playing 2nd Team County golf or know anyone who would be interested, please do not hesitate to contact Naomi Austin. 

7. Junior Team Manager’s Report 

Anne Solloway, Junior Team Manager, gave her report. 

Pre-season day 

This is held annually in February half term at Ombersley. 26 girls attended between 8 and 17 years of age from 12 different clubs. 

Team Training Day 

This was held at Gaudet Luce in April with 20 girls from nine different clubs completing in 10 skill tests. This was the first time this training day had been held and it was a great success. 

Inter County Match Results 

• Vets match at The Worcestershire, six juniors plus six second team players winning 5-1 
• Gloucestershire, we played home at Redditch in April winning the match 5½ - 3½  
• Staffordshire, we played home at Stourbridge in June winning the match 7-5 
• Warwickshire, we played away at Stonebridge in July winning the match 8-1 
• Northamptonshire, we played home at Moseley in July winning the match 6-3 
• Shropshire, we played home at Halesowen in August winning the match 8-2, retaining the Jessica Smith Trophy 
• W&H had 25 girls playing in these matches, representing 14 different clubs and seven of these girls were playing for the County for the first time. 

Midland South League Final at Overstone Park 30th August   

We qualified for both the scratch and handicap finals but unfortunately lost the scratch final to Buckinghamshire and the handicap final to Oxfordshire. 

The Junior County Championships at Kings Norton 24th July 

The competition was reduced to 27 holes due to the excessive heat that day but it did not detract from the excellent scores. The Junior Champion for 2019 is Lili-Rose Hunt from Droitwich. 

Midlands South Girls Championship  

W&H were the proud hosts this year of this competition, which was held at Gaudet Luce. The results of this competition have already been mentioned by the Chairman under regional successes of the year.  

The Generation Gap  

This took place at Droitwich and is an end of season competition which has one junior girl plus an adult competing for the trophy. This year it was won by mother and daughter Theresa and Kirsten Porte. Anne explained that Kirsten had never lost a match in the four years she had been playing for the juniors!  

Anne expressed her thanks to the managers and professionals of the four County Development Centres; Bromsgrove, Burghill Valley, Churchill & Blakedown and Gaudet Luce and also to the Junior Committee for all their hard work during the year. 

The Chairman expanded on the great work done by the Junior Committee, under the Chairmanship of Jenny Hartley (Gaudet Luce) and how they look after the future of our County. She said that many of us are probably not aware of how much work goes into the organisation of the Juniors. The County Development Centre Managers are Jenny Hartley (Gaudet Luce), Sally Dare (Burghill Valley), Ros Jones (Bromsgrove) and Joyce Duncan and Jan Ward (Churchill & Blakedown). They are all qualified to PGA Level 1, they work with the coaches at the centres to deliver a skill based fun programme and are present at the seven winter sessions held at each centre. The rest of the Junior Committee support the Centre Managers and run County junior events, Midlands South competitions, when held in our County, and attend matches. The Team Manager, Anne Solloway, selects the teams for the Junior matches and attends all of the matches. The Junior Order of Merit, with sponsorship from Glenmuir, is run by the Committee, with over 30 girls entering Junior opens in our County. The Chairman thanked the Junior Committee for all their commitment and hard work. 

8. Secretary’s Report 

Angela Taylor, Hon. Secretary, gave her report. 

Angela reported that the year had involved the usual secretarial duties of advising the Executive Committee and County Delegates of meetings, circulating various reports, writing and distributing minutes and sending lots of emails. 

The County have nine Life Vice Presidents and four Honorary Life Members. We currently have 1,923 members which includes 8 associate members. The number of members is down on last year, due to two main reasons. Firstly, Brockington decided as from 1st April 2019 to come out of the England Golf Union and not to affiliate to the County. Secondly, Leominster Ladies have recently taken the decision to resign from W&HLCGA and have moved their affiliation to Shropshire and Herefordshire Union of Golf Clubs (SHUGC). We therefore now have 37 affiliated clubs in the County. 

The Annual Forms will be emailed to Delegates as usual towards the end of the year. The information provided is invaluable, especially when it comes to contacting clubs throughout the year. Thank you for your help in returning these forms as soon as possible.  

Angela thanked Lyn Robinson for her invaluable help as her predecessor and Sue Harris, the County Liaison Officer, for all her help ‘front of house’ at meetings. 

9. Competition Secretary’s Report 

Wendy Ray, Competition Secretary, gave her report, starting with the competition results. 

Winners of the non-qualifying competitions were as follows:- 

The Competition Secretary reported on the competitions which had been played since the July meeting.  

Mary Hampson & Bronze Coronation Medal played at Burghill Valley 3rd July 

Trophy already presented 

Other winners:  

2nd Nett 74 Glenda Sandford (Burghill Valley) 

3rd Nett 76 Wendy Jones (Burghill Valley) 

18 ladies played representing five clubs 

Centenary Cup played at Cleobury Mortimer 24th July 

Trophies already presented 

Other Winners:  

Best Gross 23 points Rebecca Lloyd (Burghill Valley) 

Div One Best Nett 36 points Abbie Johnson (Cleobury Mortimer) 

Div Two Best Nett 38 points Julie England (Churchill/Blakedown) 

Div Three Best Nett 31 points Claire James (Droitwich) 

54 ladies played representing18 clubs. Raffle raised £92.00 

Betty Pryce-Jones Texas Scramble played at Kidderminster 8th August 

Trophy already presented 

Other Winners:  

2nd 66.4 Sarah Cranton/Netty Kitson/Joan Delingpole (Stourbridge) 

3rd 68 Biddy Denton/Sue Harris/Annie Doolittle (Stourbridge) 

142 ladies played representing 22 clubs. Raffle raised £271.00 

Vida Kirk played at Stourbridge 23rd August 

Trophy already presented 

Other Winners:  

Best Gross 38 points Sarah Cranton (Stourbridge) 

2nd Nett 34 points Natalie Cook (Stourbridge) 

3rd Nett 34 points Jackie Marks (The Worcestershire) 

39 ladies played representing 10 clubs 

Team Championship played at Gaudet Luce 19th September 

Trophies already presented 

Other Winners:  

Best Gross 76 Lauren Sharp (Droitwich) 

1st Nett 69 Mandy Haines (Burghill Valley) 

2nd Nett 73 Lynn Wilson (Fulford Heath) 

92 ladies played representing 23 clubs. Raffle raised £158.50 

Wendy thanked the Clubs and their Delegates for all the help she had been given during the season. She especially thanked Lyn Robinson and Judy Taylor who took ownership, at short notice, of the Centenary Cup in her absence. She also thanked Jane Abraham for her help and support throughout the year and to the ladies for their generosity with the raffles in helping to raise funds for the Juniors.  

This year, for the first time, the ladies, in conjunction with the County men, had run the 4 ball better ball mixed at Kings Norton. It was a most enjoyable day with the winners being Janice Kerr and her partner Jonathan Cranton from Redditch. Next year this competition is to be held at Kidderminster on 10th September. The final competition of the year is the Winter Greensomes over 14 holes at Bromsgrove on Monday 4th November. Wendy thanked the ladies for their continued support of the competitions and said she looked forward to seeing them next year. 

10. Treasurer’s Report 

Karen Greenfield, Hon. Treasurer, gave her report. 

Copies of the accounts were distributed and Karen thanked Mr John Holt of Kidderminster GC for once again giving his time to audit the accounts free of charge. 

Karen said that we still maintain a healthy position even though a loss was incurred for the year. 

Membership subscriptions are once again down compared to the previous year, however the income from competitions has increased, which was mainly due to the good numbers entering the Betty Pryce-Jones memorial trophy. 

Expenditure has once again been tightly monitored and the committee ensure budgets are adhered to. County match week costs are down this year due to a smaller squad being taken as the event is now over three days instead of five. Engraving costs are higher due to the purchase of the new Betty Pryce-Jones trophy.  

The Junior accounts show a deficit for the year. Once again costs have been closely monitored. Karen thanked all Clubs and individuals who had made donations and to those who had supported the raffles, as all this money goes to funding the junior team activities and matches. 

Karen said that given the funds currently held, she could advise the meeting that County subscriptions for 2020 would remain at £6.00 per lady member. 

After discussions with Stuart Pritchard of the WGU, it has been decided that, as from 1st January 2020, the W&HLCGA subscriptions will be collected by the WGU. One form will be sent out by Worcestershire’s Men’s Union to each club and this will include the EGU, WGU and W&HLCGA fees. It is hoped that this will simplify matters for Club managers/secretaries and it is hoped that W&HLCGA will then receive the subscription monies on a more timely basis. Karen said she would be grateful if Delegates would advise their Clubs of this new procedure. 

Ros Daws (Redditch) asked that, given the increase in expenditure on administration, should the white booklets still be printed for the AGM and whether consideration instead could be given to sending the information via email. The Secretary replied that the minutes had, this year, been emailed to Delegates, thereby saving on postage costs. The Chairman said that the printing of the white booklets would be discussed at the next Executive meeting.  

Charlotte Quirk (Cox Moor Woods) suggested that another way to reduce costs would be to not print the green books and to just put all competitions and entry forms on line. The Chairman said this is something that is considered each year, but people do like to carry the book with them and write in them. Things do change, but for 2020 a green book would still be printed. The Chairman continued by saying that if anyone has any ideas, please forward them to the Secretary for consideration by the Executive. 

Anne Solloway remarked that a lot of older ladies do not have email, so they would not be able to enter on line. She felt that the green book was still invaluable, especially as we are trying to encourage as many ladies as possible to enter County competitions. 

11. England Golf Representative’s Report 

Lyn Robinson, England Golf Representative, gave her report.  

England Golf Business Plan 

England Golf (EG) carried out the proposed savings they announced early in 2018 and made savings of £456k from their original budget. Further savings were made in 2019 by: removing professional start fund to those players who are transitioning to the pro game; reducing the Get Into Golf budget by 50%; removing the grant to the Golf Foundation; reducing the grant to the Greenkeepers Training Committee by 50% and restructuring the Club Support Officer network. 

EG will continue to look for further savings to keep costs to a minimum. 

Club Support Officers 

The CSO network was reviewed and the following changes were made: the number of CSO’s was reduced from 35 to 20 and the four Regional Managers and four Senior Managers were replaced by five Partnership Managers. This gave a saving of £244k p.a. within the EG funds. 

The new network is more efficient and is now focused on providing tailored support to clubs who are best able to make use of that support. The funding for the network comes directly from Sport England. The hope is that the funds will be secured for the next few years with Sport England. 

However, if Sport England drop funding to EG, members will be asked if they wish to fund 

the network through affiliation fees. EG will keep clubs and members informed of any changes to this funding.  

Laura Yapp, Worcestershire CSO and Gavin Anderson our regional Manager, remain as the 

County CSO support, with Ciara Kelly stepping in for Laura, who is currently on maternity leave. 

Golfer Insurance 

Following a tender process in October/November 2018, personal golf insurance has been secured for all EG members. The insurance went live to all members from 1st July this year. The cover includes £10million personal liability insurance cover for every member at a premium cost of 29p per member. The EG Board supported the use of EG reserves to fund the first 6 months and then it will form part of the ongoing budget. Bluefin Sport is the insurance broker and they work with Allianz Insurance to provide the cover. 

The insurance is compulsory for all EG members. There is no “opt out” even for those golfers who 

have their own insurance. This has been controversial with some members within this County and within other counties. EG have invited Blue Fin to the next EG meeting in December to answer questions and concerns about the cover they provide. The main concern has been that players who have their own insurance have found that the EG insurance does not give the same level of cover, so the player as ended up with two insurances. They would prefer that the EG insurance was an option rather than compulsory. Some clubs have taken this matter up directly with EG. 

County U14 Talent Funding 

The current County U14 talent pathway funding of £223k will run out at the end of 2019. 

After a favourable vote from voting members, the affiliation fees were increased to £9.50 per member to fund the programme after 2019. This increase starts from November 2019 and will be ring fenced for sole use of the U14 programme. 

Annual Fee Increases 

The Board are proposing that from 2021, the affiliation fee will be increased incrementally on an annual basis. This will be voted on by voting members at the 2020 April meeting. Any changes will be communicated to clubs and members. 

Girls Golf Rocks 

The Girls Golf Rocks Programme was launched in Worcestershire with Redditch, Gaudet Luce, 

Hagley and Warley Woods being the clubs chosen to kick off the programme in the County. 

The clubs offered a free taster session for 5-18 year old girls in their area and a further six week  

course for those who enjoyed the taster and wanted to take golf further. The programme was very successful with the four clubs involved all having their available places taken up. The final figures of the success rate has not yet been finalised, but the estimated take up of further lessons and/or junior girl memberships across the four clubs is about 25%, which would be a good take up rate. 

England Golf Board 

Nick Pink, Chief Executive of EG, has resigned to take up a position at England Hockey. A new Chief Executive is being sought and EG are hopeful to recruit a new CEO by the end of November. 

Independent Golfer 

There is still a concern from EG about the number of independent (nomad) golfers there are around the country and the amount of revenue EG may be losing by these types of golfers not paying an affiliation fee. An advisory group has been set up to look into ways in which these type of golfers can be made to contribute towards the sport’s governing body. Clubs and Counties will be asked their views on how best to capture this type of golfer. 

12. County Welfare Officers Report 

Angela Taylor read Netty Kitson’s report in her absence. 

In January all clubs were reminded to have a notice in a central position with contact details of their Club Welfare Officer (CWO). New delegates were reminded to check that their welfare officer details were current and correct and to inform Netty if necessary. 

Mrs Laura Yapp (EG Club Support Officer) and Mr Gavin Anderson (EG Senior Regional Manager) were in attendance at the January County meeting. Laura introduced the www.safegolf.org  website as an initiative outlining the safeguarding standards that EG were promoting. All clubs must have the correct policies and procedures in place to provide a safe and positive experience in golf for children and vulnerable adults. Clubs were offered help by providing templates and resources. It is a five step process for club accreditation. Mark Romasivk would help the Herefordshire clubs. Laura stated that CWO’s were a mandatory position in all clubs. Contact details for Laura and Mark are on the County website. Information can also be found via www.clubsupport@englandgolf.orgm  

Promotion of two Time to Listen courses were outlined and had to be attended by welfare officers if they had not already attended one. Details were given of courses held at Bromsgrove Golf Centre on 28th February and at Worcester Golf and Country Club on 20th February from 6.30-9.30 pm. They were well subscribed and all who attended received sound information through discussion topics and case studies. All concerns and advice were well received. Iain Moir was the course tutor at Bromsgrove with 15 attendees. 

Laura Yapp has now taken maternity leave and her position is currently replaced by Ciara Kelly:  Tel: 01526 354500, Mob: 07702 913879, Email: c.kelly@englandgolf.org  

Welfare Officers were also reminded to attend Safeguarding and Protecting Children workshops. Laura would provide updated information on closest workshops. They need to be renewed every three years. Netty pointed out that the Junior Committee keep a benevolent eye on renewal dates for all assistants helping at the academies or with matches and coaching. It was pointed out that child bullying involving parents and children is at the forefront of her cases. Do make sure Netty is contacted in the first instance if there is any suspicion. Confidential advice would be given at any time.  

A W&HLCGA Bullying Report Form was distributed for all delegates to view. Awareness of what to look for and how to complete the form was outlined. This form was to be used to gather facts and details of any alleged incidents and to be completed by the CWO and reported to the County WO who would advise on further action. 

In April, Netty thanked all clubs for advising of any updates and changes of welfare officers. She reported three safeguarding cases, all of which involved juniors with suspect adult intervention. Action plans were monitored during the summer months but not all cases are conclusive yet. It is still an ongoing problem although a benevolent eye is being kept on all situations. EG Compliance Department have been contacted in two cases.  

The new EG Lead Safeguarding Officer contact is Ashley Wilson 01526 351824. Email a.wilson@englandgolf.org.  Please refer all cases to Netty in the first instance but if it is a critical issue contact Ashley direct.                   

Netty Kitson  Mobile: 07813 184001     Email: annettekitson@gmail.com 

13. Handicap Advisers Report 

Ros Jones read the report in the absence of Jayne Freeman due to work commitments. 

New Rules 

At the beginning of the year we saw some new and amended rules being brought in. This was aimed at making the game quicker and to simplify the rules for ease of use. 

Maximum Scoring Competition (Medal Comps) 

The format of Maximum Scoring for medals was introduced as an option to encourage more players to participate in medals and to also encourage higher handicappers. To date, only two clubs in the county have stated that they are using this format. One club has decided to use it for monthly medals but will not use it for any board/trophy competitions. One club are using it for all medal competitions in the hope to encourage more ladies to play - so far this has had a favourable response and more ladies are playing. One club may do a couple as a trial this year. Finally, a few clubs have decided to review the situation towards the end of the year. 

World Handicap System Update 

The new World Handicap System (WHS) is still on track for a 2020 start. The new system is designed to bring the game under a single set of rules for handicapping and provide a “more consistent measure of players’ ability between different regions of the world”. The key features of the system will see us move from an aggregate to an averaging system that will calculate handicaps based on the best eight out of the last 20 rounds. CONGU has an anticipated start date of November 2020. 

The R&A and USGA, who have launched a new WHS website to provide national associations with a library of materials to support their education efforts, said significant progress had been made in preparing for the roll out of the new system. National associations are, and in the case of EG have, for some time, been busy ensuring their courses are rated in accordance with the USGA Course Rating System and are working to “update local software platforms so they are ready to apply to the new Rules of Handicapping”. 

World Handicap System Key Features 

WHS will use the USGA course and slope rating system – your handicap will change depending on the difficulty of the course and the competition conditions. A minimum of 54 holes will be required to gain a handicap but that can come from any combination of nine or 18 hole scores. 

Handicaps will be calculated using the best eight of the last 20 scores. The 0.1 increase will disappear. Both competitive and recreational rounds will be able to count for handicap. CSS will be replaced by a new system known as the abnormal course and weather conditions adjustment. 

The county handicap advisors, in association with a representative from either CONGU or EG, will be putting on educational seminars for clubs in the County in the near future.  

Preparing for the handicap system at club level 

The R&A, USGA and EG have released a check list for the implementation of the WHS which can be found on the EG website. Clubs will need to: 

1. Ensure there is club representation and attendance at local County information workshops 
2. Have a committee and key individuals view the online WHS videos and documentation 
3. Prepare a dedicated WHS page on their club website and a club notice board 
4. Arrange members events to support further understanding 
5. Cleanse their club handicap systems by removing non-members, removing pending status and ensuring all playing members have one active CDH number 
6. Ensure all handicap reviews are completed prior to 1st March 2020 
7. Encourage and promote the returning and recording of all scores (qualifying competitions and non-qualifying plus supplementary scores) 
8. Ensure rules on scorecards have been reviewed and space available to record slope and rating values 
9. Preview all their terms of competitions, communicating changes to members 
10. Have a handicap committee, minimum of three members, who will be required to support WHS compliance at club level 

Further explanations on these points can be found on the EG website. 

Change of Regional Handicap Advisor 

Following a reorganisation of the areas of responsibility, Claire Baker is now the EG Handicap Advisor for Staffordshire, Shropshire & Hereford, Warwickshire and Worcestershire. 

World Handicap System – County Led Seminars 

Two seminars have been organised for Worcestershire and Herefordshire: 

Saturday1st February, 13:00 – 17:00 at Kings Norton and 

Monday 10th February, 13:00 – 17:00 at Kings Norton  

Claire Baker, the EG Regional Handicap Advisor, will be coming along to support both the delivery of the seminar and to help answer any questions. Each club should send a maximum of four people and a cap of 60 participants will be applied. Jayne Freeman and Stuart Pritchard (County Secretary Worcestershire Union of Golf Clubs) will be in attendance and presenting. 

Jayne thanked Ros Jones for standing in for her at some of the County Meetings, when her work commitments prevented her from attending and also for her support during the year. 

Course Rating Report 2019 

Ros Jones read Linda McKeown’s report. 

It has been a very busy year. Courses rated, for the second time in the case of red tees, this year are Stourbridge, Blackwell, Wharton Park, Little Lakes, Cleobury Mortimer and The Vale (Lenches). 

The Vale International had to be cancelled due to poor weather and it is hoped that this will be carried out next week. Once The Vale’s white and yellow tees have been rated, we will have reached our target ensuring that all Worcestershire’s tees for gentlemen and ladies have been rated in time for the introduction of slope rating and the new WHS next year. 

Linda thanked Wendy Ray for her support, as always, this year. She also expressed a huge thank you to Stuart Pritchard and Tony Edwards from the Worcestershire Golf Union, without whose friendship and co-operation life would have been much more difficult. Thanks were also extended to John Whitehead, who is taking over from Tony next year. 

Linda explained that she had made it known that she would be standing down once targets had been met. She has been delighted to have had the company of Janice Kerr who has been working with her all year and who will be taking over from Linda in 2020. Janice has been highly enthusiastic and Linda knows she will make a great success of the role. She said it was comforting to her to know that this post will be in very safe hands. Linda wished Janice and her team the very best for the coming years. 

14. Adoption of Reports 

Andrea Kiernan (Redditch) formally proposed the adoption of the reports en bloc. This was seconded by Sam Smith (Moseley). The Delegates voted unanimously in favour of the adoption of the reports en bloc. 

15. Election of Officers 

The Hon. Secretary read out the nominations for new officers for 2019/20. 

The Chairman explained that in order to maintain the pattern of a new President and new Captain in alternate years, the new President this year will serve a one year term only. 

Yvonne Foley introduced the proposed President, Judy Taylor, on behalf of the Life Vice Presidents. Judy comes from an illustrious golfing background, starting with her Uncle Bill, who was President of the English Golf Union in 1957 and then Chairman of The Open Championship Committee. Her mother was on the County Committee for 12 years from 1961, and she served as Chairman, Secretary and Competition Secretary. The family played at Stourbridge and in 1975 her mother was made an Honorary Life Member. Judy was taught to play golf by Bill Firkins Senior, but at the time she preferred tennis as it took up less time. Later, after a brief spell at Little Lakes, she joined Kidderminster and in their centenary year of 2009 she became Lady President for two years. She has served on the County Committee as Competition Secretary and Assistant Competition Secretary, serving a total of seven years. Most of her family play golf in our County. Her mother died in 1981 and the family, in her memory, donated The Grace Boulton Salver. Although Judy finished on Committee in 2018, she continues to support the Competition Secretary when required and has gained valuable County experience over the years. Yvonne said Judy is very honoured to take on the role and the Life Vice Presidents have every confidence that she will make a wonderful ambassador for the County over the next year. 

Sarah Nicklin, County Captain, introduced the proposed County Captain, Lyn Robinson. 

Lyn was introduced to golf in Australia and has now become a golf fanatic! Since her return in 1999, Lyn has been a member of and Lady Captain at The Vale and is now a member at Redditch. Lyn has played for the County 2nd Team for the past six years and has captained the 2nd Team in 2016- 2017. She has been County Secretary and is currently the EG Rep as well as a member of the Junior County Committee. Lyn has served on the Executive committee for the past five years. During the 2016 CMW at Temple, Lyn made a fine Caddy Master. In CMW 2017, she was promoted and played a key role in the tournament office when we hosted the event at Kings Norton. In the 2018 CMW at Denham, Lyn took on the role of Team Manager and in 2019 CMW at Frilford, she was Sarah’s right hand woman. Lyn is a keen golfer and will give W&HLCGA her very best and in doing so Sarah said Lyn will make a great Captain. 

In Naomi’s absence, Lyn Robinson introduced the proposed 2nd Team Vice-Captain, Karen Simpson. Karen moved to Birmingham very reluctantly 14 years ago when her husband was posted to Medical Defence at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. Within a few months she joined Kings Norton and was immediately made to feel at home there. Since then Karen has: been on the Ladies Committee in the role of Handicap and Competition Secretary; been Lady Captain; been on the General Committee; been secretary for the County Vets and has also managed to play some golf! In her spare time, Karen also does running, military fitness and hill walking. She plays the clarinet in the Bournville Clarinet Choir and also plays in a saxophone quartet. She has two children and four grandchildren. Karen will be most welcome on the Committee.  

Lyn Robinson introduced the proposed County Liaison Officer, Julie Currie. Julie was born in Harborne, three minutes after her identical twin sister Kim. Julie grew up in the West Midlands.  

Her first job was with NatWest Bank in domestic branch banking. She progressed into a number of different roles including staff training, sales, marketing and eventually acquired a senior lending role at the bank. After meeting her husband, Ian, Julie moved to Bray in Berkshire where they had their first son James. Shortly after, twins Hannah and Charles arrived. Three children under 2½!! 

Deciding not to return to work, Julie left the bank, after 14 years of service, to work with her husband in his commodity business, which allowed her to be a full-time mother. Upon moving back to the Midlands, they bought a working farm in Kinlet and continued to run their commodity business from there. It was at this time that Ian introduced her to golf by buying her a new set of clubs, some lessons and a membership at Cleobury Mortimer. Julie has been an active Committee member at Cleobury for over 10 years, undertaking various roles including Treasurer, Handicap Secretary and Captain. Julie has also been a Droitwich League representative for 12 years and has been involved in running the league. She has been a County Delegate for the last five years.  

Julie currently lives in Shelsley Beauchamp and works three days a week with her twin sister in the families’ fire protection company in Bromsgrove. One of Julie’s hobbies is cooking and entertaining. She enjoys baking and making wedding cakes for family and friends. Her one achievement in this area has been to get through to director’s selection for the Great British Bake Off. With Julie’s experience and enthusiasm, Lyn had no doubt that Julie will be a great asset on the County Committee and she looks forward to working with her. 

The Chairman called upon Faith Wilson (Wharton Park) to formally propose en bloc the nominated officers. Jane Abraham (Kidderminster) seconded the proposal. The Delegates voted unanimously in favour of the election en bloc of the nominated officers. 

Yvonne Foley presented Judy Taylor with her President’s badge. Judy thanked all the Life Vice Presidents for inviting her to be County President and said she was looking forward to working with Lyn and the Executive Committee. She said it was an emotional day. She had known all the LVP’s most of her life and would ask their advice if necessary along the way. Judy said she had put together a list of 20 County Presidents since 1950 and considered it a great honour to follow them. 

Sarah Nicklin presented Lyn Robinson with the County Captain’s badge. Lyn said it was a great honour to be Captain and she was looking forward to taking on this role for the next two years. She hoped that she could continue with the same work capacity and spirit as Sarah had shown over the past two years. Lyn also said that we have a dedicated Committee who work hard for the County. 

Lyn Robinson presented Sarah Nicklin with the County Vice-Captain’s badge. 

The Hon. Secretary read out the list of officers who would  continue into their next year of office: 

The Hon. Secretary read out the officers proposed for re-election for a  further term of office: 

Julia Kyte (Droitwich) proposed and Andrea Kiernan (Redditch) seconded the re-election of officers en bloc for a further term of office. Delegates voted unanimously to re-elect these officers. 

The Chairman reported that Sue Harris, County Liaison Officer, was retiring at this AGM. Dorothy thanked Sue for her enthusiasm, commitment and hard work during her six years in office. She said Sue was a familiar face at County events – always helpful and always with a smile. 

In her retirement speech Sue Harris said she joined the Committee in 2013/14 and had really enjoyed her time. She had particularly enjoyed meeting all the Club Delegates. Sue thanked the County Captains and the Committee for all their help and support. She said the Lady Captain at Stourbridge is overjoyed at the amount of space there is now in the committee cupboard without all the County kit. Sue wished her successor Julie all the best and was certain she would enjoy her time as much as she had. Sue said that she would remain as Club Delegate for Stourbridge for another 12 months so the County had not got rid of her yet! 

The Chairman concluded by explaining that at the moment, the County is still fortunate to obtain courtesy of courses for competitions and she extended thanks to Elizabeth Johnstone for obtaining dates and venues and to Wendy Ray, Jane Abraham and their helpers for running the events. She added that this may change in the future. She encouraged members to support the County by entering competitions and said that there are competitions for all abilities, not all are qualifying competitions, and everyone is welcome. Also to play these good courses for £6 is very good value and it is a great day out with friends and a chance to make new ones. 

The Chairman reported that a list of County fixtures for 2020 will be issued via email after this meeting so that diaries can be organised. She asked for clashes with County Vets and Club fixtures to be avoided, if at all possible, and County events should take priority.  

16. Any Other Business 

Lyn Robinson, Captain, announced the Delegate meeting dates for 2020:  

Monday 20th January 2020, 2pm at Worcester Golf and Country Club 

Thursday 16th April 2020, 2pm at Redditch Golf Club 

Monday 20th July 2020, 2pm at Redditch Golf Club 

Tuesday 20th October 2020, 2pm at Redditch Golf Club (AGM) 

A cheque for £100, a donation to the Juniors, was presented by Judy Lee from Blackwell Ladies. 

The Chairman presented Sue Harris with her retirement gift. 

Yvonne Foley, Life Vice President, proposed a vote of thanks on behalf of the members for the work carried out over the past year by the Executive Committee and the Junior Committee. All members of the committees give up their time willingly and are never slow in volunteering to help at this event or whatever needs doing. Behind the scenes, they work tirelessly to enable us to happily turn up and just play golf. Yvonne thanked Sarah for steering us over the past two years, wished Lyn all the best for the next two years and Judy as she starts her Presidential role. She also thanked Dorothy for chairing the meeting. 

Date and Time of Next Meeting 

The next meeting is on Monday 20th January 2020, 2pm at Worcester Golf and Country Club. 

There being no further business, the meeting closed at 3.47 pm 

Signed:      …………………………………………………………………………………………………… 

 Date:         …………………………………………………………………………………………………….