WARLEY PARK SENIORS May 2020
Gentlemen,
Hopefully we will be back playing golf soon, in an appropriately safe way.
I wanted to take this opportunity to share with your my thoughts on our future having participated on a Zoom call with Ed Richardson, the owner of Get Golfing, with our captain, Nick Pulham and others.
Ed is an impressive individual , an England golfer , who still plays off a handicap of +2. He has transformed Redlibbetts in the short period since he acquired it and I strongly recommend you visit their website as Warley will be run along very similar lines. Ed recognises there is a lot of work to do on the course , tees , greens , bunkers and drainage , and it will take time. He asks to be judged over a 3 to 5 year period , but he is passionate about golf and I believe we will end up with a substantially better golf course than we have now.
Inevitably there will be change , and of course most of us don’t like change , but I don’t believe it should fundamentally alter the way our section enjoys its golf. The main change that will impact on us is the introduction of tee times , which could have some impact on the swindle. Looking at our various activities , my understanding , and this will need to be confirmed , I believe the position will be as follows –
Inter Club matches – all cancelled for 2020 , but should resume in 2021 on a similar historical basis . Details of one or two tee closures and whether we will continue to get free green fees for our visitors to be discussed.
Competitions – both club and seniors section , should continue as before. Mike Trett will estimate the likely number of competitors and book out the appropriate no of tee slots , this will be refined 72 hours before the competition date and surplus tee slots released.
Swindle – the Section through its 7 day members ( 7 day members can book 21 days in advance , 5 day members 14 days in advance ) will book an appropriate number of tee slots , but people will need to confirm 72 hours in advance whether they intend to play so that if we have overbooked we can release the surplus slots. This will require us all to be better organised and place an additional burden on Gordon as swindle organiser, but it is eminently doable. We will still be able to draw the pairings on the day and even if people haven’t booked in to play that day , there could easily be tee times available around the time of the swindle.
Fees will be at a similar level to what we pay at the moment , 7 day slightly cheaper , not sure about 5 day , but there will no over 65’s discount and no deals to attract new members. There are discounted rates for under 30’s and juniors will pay nothing. The more you pay the greater the benefits in terms of booking times and food and drink discount , so in future rather than the loser of the swindle match buying the coffee it will be the 7 day member!! Fees can continue to be paid by monthly direct debit and he specifically confirmed that whatever the legalities he does not take action against those who cancel their direct debits , but he won’t accept cancellation in November and restarting in April for example.
Ed says he has developed a good relationship with Muhib Rahman of Zayyaan and he will act as the go between for the members and Zayyaan. He has total control over the course and he confirmed that there would no alteration to the 18th , but that the 9th might have to be redesigned. The club house and changing rooms will continue to be available to the members as now. Zayyaan are planning to build a partially permanent marquee type structure on the site of the existing wedding area where their functions would be held . I believe they will need planning permission , but if that goes ahead then the clubhouse area should become more available for members.
I expect some form of communication to all members from Ed in the next couple of weeks and if you have questions you would like answered please let me know and I will collate and forward to Ed, although I may well wait until Ed has communicated with the full membership.
Personally I am optimistic about the future and think we will have a caring golf loving owner who will invest in the course , which is something we haven’t had for the last 12 years. My strong recommendation is not to be hasty , give the new owners a chance and wait and see how things develop.
Steve Abbott
2020 Captain
Gentlemen,
Hopefully we will be back playing golf soon, in an appropriately safe way.
I wanted to take this opportunity to share with your my thoughts on our future having participated on a Zoom call with Ed Richardson, the owner of Get Golfing, with our captain, Nick Pulham and others.
Ed is an impressive individual , an England golfer , who still plays off a handicap of +2. He has transformed Redlibbetts in the short period since he acquired it and I strongly recommend you visit their website as Warley will be run along very similar lines. Ed recognises there is a lot of work to do on the course , tees , greens , bunkers and drainage , and it will take time. He asks to be judged over a 3 to 5 year period , but he is passionate about golf and I believe we will end up with a substantially better golf course than we have now.
Inevitably there will be change , and of course most of us don’t like change , but I don’t believe it should fundamentally alter the way our section enjoys its golf. The main change that will impact on us is the introduction of tee times , which could have some impact on the swindle. Looking at our various activities , my understanding , and this will need to be confirmed , I believe the position will be as follows –
Inter Club matches – all cancelled for 2020 , but should resume in 2021 on a similar historical basis . Details of one or two tee closures and whether we will continue to get free green fees for our visitors to be discussed.
Competitions – both club and seniors section , should continue as before. Mike Trett will estimate the likely number of competitors and book out the appropriate no of tee slots , this will be refined 72 hours before the competition date and surplus tee slots released.
Swindle – the Section through its 7 day members ( 7 day members can book 21 days in advance , 5 day members 14 days in advance ) will book an appropriate number of tee slots , but people will need to confirm 72 hours in advance whether they intend to play so that if we have overbooked we can release the surplus slots. This will require us all to be better organised and place an additional burden on Gordon as swindle organiser, but it is eminently doable. We will still be able to draw the pairings on the day and even if people haven’t booked in to play that day , there could easily be tee times available around the time of the swindle.
Fees will be at a similar level to what we pay at the moment , 7 day slightly cheaper , not sure about 5 day , but there will no over 65’s discount and no deals to attract new members. There are discounted rates for under 30’s and juniors will pay nothing. The more you pay the greater the benefits in terms of booking times and food and drink discount , so in future rather than the loser of the swindle match buying the coffee it will be the 7 day member!! Fees can continue to be paid by monthly direct debit and he specifically confirmed that whatever the legalities he does not take action against those who cancel their direct debits , but he won’t accept cancellation in November and restarting in April for example.
Ed says he has developed a good relationship with Muhib Rahman of Zayyaan and he will act as the go between for the members and Zayyaan. He has total control over the course and he confirmed that there would no alteration to the 18th , but that the 9th might have to be redesigned. The club house and changing rooms will continue to be available to the members as now. Zayyaan are planning to build a partially permanent marquee type structure on the site of the existing wedding area where their functions would be held . I believe they will need planning permission , but if that goes ahead then the clubhouse area should become more available for members.
I expect some form of communication to all members from Ed in the next couple of weeks and if you have questions you would like answered please let me know and I will collate and forward to Ed, although I may well wait until Ed has communicated with the full membership.
Personally I am optimistic about the future and think we will have a caring golf loving owner who will invest in the course , which is something we haven’t had for the last 12 years. My strong recommendation is not to be hasty , give the new owners a chance and wait and see how things develop.
Steve Abbott
2020 Captain