Ladies’ October newsletter

OCTOBER NEWSLETTER

RYDER CUP – We all gathered on the Friday evening for the Pre Ryder Cup Dinner when we found out which team we were playing for and given our shirts.  There will be no mistaking those who played for Europe when they wear their ‘Sunday’ shirts on the course – they were bright pink! There was much fun and laughter as we played Irish bingo and both Captains gave their ‘team talks!’

DAY 1 – We were all off the tee bright eyed and bushy tailed to play Four Ball Better Ball. Sadly it rained all day but we battled on. After we had all dried out we returned for food and danced the night away to Chris King. What a fabulous night! Who would have thought we were all in training for the Sunday match?!

DAY 2 – Singles Match. The weather was fantastic – what a change from the Saturday. Everyone sat down to a hearty Sunday lunch. It was apparent when I came in that USA was well in the lead and that didn’t change. We try at Lilleshall to match our event to the real one and this year even the result was the same. All in all a fabulous couple of days – the fun and camaraderie were fantastic. I think Snax may have a problem losing his American drawl though!

LADIES FRIENDLY MATCHES – We played our last Friendly Match at Brockton on Monday 3rd October. Unfortunately it was a win for Brockton but the weather was very kind and we were made to feel very welcome.  I would like to say a very big “Thank You” to those who have played throughout the season.  These matches are great fun and a wonderful way to meet ladies from other clubs.  Another big “Thank You” must go to Lady Vice Captain Chris, and Brenda Murphy for organizing these matches. This is the first time we have had an Assistant Friendly Match Organizer and it has worked extremely well. Brenda has done a sterling job!

Mixed Friendly Matches – We played at Ingestre on Saturday 8th October and the weather was glorious! There was some slight confusion over the starting time as the last group came in just as it was getting dusk! The hospitality from Ingestre was wonderful. It is always a pleasure to play there and the result was very fitting – we halved the match.

FRIENDLY MATCH V WALSALL 22ND OCTOBER – This was our last Friendly Match of the season. I had never played Walsall before but thoroughly enjoyed it and again our playing partners were very hospitable and friendly. It started to drizzle on the 1st tee and we all thought ‘oh no’, however it soon blew over and the sun came out! The result was a resounding win for Lilleshall 6½ to 4½. It was wonderful to finish the season on a “high!”

CONGRATULATIONS BERNADETTE – who won the final stableford competition of the year with a fantastic 42 points. Well done Bernadette!

NEW LOOK LADIES V SENIORS – We have all heard of Gorillas in the Mist, well initially we were Golfers in the Mist! The mist didn’t actually clear until we were on the back 9! Aiming for the flag really wasn’t an option – you couldn’t see it! Eventually the sun broke through and we all finished 18 holes. The new format was 2 Ladies and 2 Men with the best Ladie’s score and the best Man’s score going on the card. It was tremendous fun and a thoroughly enjoyable day.  As you would expect, some prefer the new format and some prefer the old so perhaps we may run one of each next year – watch this space!

The winners were Sue Parker, Stan Cornes, Peters Williams and Mike Redfern.  We were one lady short so Stan stepped into the breach. I think that if this happens again we will have to insist that he wears a dress! In 2nd place were Alice Drewnickie, Alex Collins, David Thomas and Malcom Widdows. In 3rd place were Margaret Edwards, myself, Zed Pazio and Barrie Sutherland and in 4th place were Linda Porteous, Joan Lawson, Rick Tiller and Tony Hewlett.

A WORD FROM YOUR COMPETITIONS SECRETARY – The Competition Team has been listening to Ladies’ requests and has endeavoured to run competitions to meet everyone’s needs.

The majority of our lady members can arrange to play in most major competitions on Tuesdays, however, some cannot.

Therefore next season we have agreed with The General Committee that we will trial a few Sunday dates as alternative/additional for major competitions in the following week. Competitors can only enter on the one date but the result will be aggregated over the two days.

We will continue to schedule half of our monthly medals on a Saturday (that is, one per month). Where possible these will be alongside a Men’s Medal or Stableford, so that there is a greater continuity in the playing format of the day.

In addition, next season during the longer summer days, we will attempt a late afternoon draw time to accommodate the time constraints of working ladies, and monitor the uptake.

Finally, over the winter we suggest trying to offer some of our fun Tuesday competitions on a Saturday, as a separate event available to all.

I hope you will find this useful. Please let me know if you have any constructive suggestions – all will be given serious consideration.

Julie Cann, Competitions Secretary.

BENCH IN MEMORY OF MARGO – In total we have raised £231.93 to purchase a bench.  Thank you to all who contributed. In addition the General Committee have agreed to contribute £100 making a total of £331.93. I have been in contact with Alan and the family and they are happy that we go ahead and purchase the bench, however they feel that it would be prudent to wait until the spring rather than have the bench outside in the winter. Hopefully, ladies, you are in agreement with this.

JULIE NAPIER’S 1000 KILOMETRES RUN – Julie would like any future monies pledged to go towards the club refurbishment programme. Monies already pledged will go towards the Captains’ charities.

SPOOKTACULAR HALLOWEEN COMPETITION – Mixed team 9 hole competition with the best 2 scores – one man and one woman – to count on the card. For the time of the year the weather was great and many made a brilliant effort to dress up. Alex Collins won the best dressed woman and David Kidby won the best dressed man – very scary!

In 7th place were David Wilkes, Chris Downing, Jo Cole, and Kevin Cole – they won a toffee apple! In joint 2nd place were Snax, Alex Collins, Paul and myself, Ruth Belcher, Anthony Sutton, Sue and David Parker. In 1st place with 44 points were Mr. Captain Will, Maureen Shepherd, Ben McNamara and Sue Everatt – well done guys! Although it was a small field it was really great fun and we had a thoroughly enjoyable day.

CHRISTMAS COMPETITION AND LUNCH – I cannot believe Christmas is almost upon us! It only seems 5 minutes since I was planning my Lady Captain’s Day! The sheet for the Christmas Competition is on the board. It promises to be great fun on the day so don’t forget to put your names down ladies! The menu for the lunch is also on the board.

OUR BLOOD BIKE LILLE  – Many of you know that last month our Blood Bike Lille was involved in an accident – she encountered a herd of black cows (12 of them) in the middle of the night. The rider, Steve, suffered 3 broken ribs & a punctured lung but is recovering well. Lille was a write off. The good news is that the insurance money has enabled us to buy a second hand bike, which will also be called Lille – she will be paying us a visit soon once she has been liveried up in the SSBB colours.

TELEPHONE LIST – As you are aware, we issued a new telephone list with the last newsletter and we had asked if there were any changes to be made in the previous one, however, it appears that we need to make a further couple of amendments. Before we do this can you PLEASE check that your telephone numbers are correct? Thank you.

Lady Captain Linda