Minutes

Minutes signed by:  __________________________________ Chairman

Dated:   ________________________________ 2011

Minutes

Minutes of:  Council Meeting (Presidents Day)

On:	Monday 21st June 2010 at Cotswold Hills

Attendees: M. Pettit (President), I. Foulner (Chairman), R.J. Gardiner (Treasurer), I. Watkins (Secretary), R. East, N. Thompson (Captain), R. Chatham, D. Casling (CGP), M. Darby, I. Cornwell, M. Doyle-Davidson, B. Hill, T. Davis,  P. Lamb, I. James, E.T. Jackson, F. Fletcher, M. Widdows, B. Carnie, P. Holland, A. Harvey, T. Atkinson, G. Legg, R. Powell, T. Thomas, G. Osborn, P. Murphy, B. Sheridan, D. Barnard, A. Dangerfield, A. Akerman, M. Hoey, N. Haddock, N. Morgan, M. Woods, E. Chitty, D. Day, M. Williams, J. Penfold

Apologies: J. Leighton, A. Colledge, T. Brown, D. Griffee, S. Aitken, C. Boyle, J. May, P. Fisher, B. Jackson, R. Knight, K. Hodgson, S. Bennett, D.Hares, S. Elway, J. Ward, T. Clink, J. Ferris, D. Strange, R. Turner, R. Tugwell, B. Wright, D. Davis, S. Bingham, J. Morris, G. Simms, R. Skinner, M. Cutts, D. White, D. Spicer, R.J. Palmer, H. Purvis, C. Maine, P. Stone, M. Lewis

Also distributed to: Secretaries on request

Purpose of meeting: Council Meeting (Clause 8:2 of GGU Constitution)

No.	Item	Action	Deadline
	The President Mr Martin Pettit welcomed all to the meeting and his
	Presidents Day at Cotswold Hills.  He hoped everyone would enjoy the hospitality and the golf course.  He then handed control of the meeting to Ian Foulner, GGU Chairman.
	Ian Foulner thanked the President for his warm welcome and also
	Wished to thank the officers and members of the club for giving us
	their course and facilities for the day.  He also mentioned that many
	Past Presidents were in attendance and he wished to welcome them
	all.  Ian revealed that it was his 73rd birthday on this day and his SSS is now 73
1.     2.         3.   4.       5.                                                                                 6.                                                                                                   7.                                                                                                                                                       8.	To receive apologies As above   To approve the Minutes of the Council Meeting (AGM) of 24th March 2010 Proposed by:  Brian Carnie, seconded by Brian Kingston as a correct record.   To deal with matters arising from the Minutes There were none. To deal with matters arising from the Minutes of the Executive Meetings of 24th March and 10th May None for the 24th March None for the 10th May Report on the Gloucestershire County Golf Partnership (CGP) Debbie Casling had sent out her report to all (attached).  She reported that the CGP committee has a new Chairman in Malcolm Lewis (Past Captain of England) from Henbury and also a new Men's representative in Colin Pattinson from Minchinhampton.  Colin has already organised a men's taster session for beginners.  This follows the very successful lady beginners taster days run by Jenny May.  Many of the ladies have now joined clubs in the North and South of the County.  Golf Mark accredited clubs have increased with 11 accredited and 15 working toward accreditation.  We also have one accredited 'Range Mark' establishment and one working towards it.  The Summer Academy Schools have started with the selection process of juniors taking place.  81 applied and 43 have now been offered places within the academy.  Debbie asked all clubs to send her details of vacancies for all categories, she will then pass them on to the course participants when they are ready to join. Five CGP workshops for the PGA Pro's in Gloucestershire have taken place.  There is a Safeguarding and Protection of Children Part 2 Course about to take place for those that have taken their Level One course.  If members take the SPC2 then it will not be necessary to re-take the course. All interested please contact Debbie. Debbie reported that we are now running 7 para-golf projects in all parts of the County.  Four special needs schools in both the North and South are being used for the projects. Debbie reported on the various events that are taking place within the County this year. We are supporting the Avon and Gloucestershire Schools tournaments. Many of the participants are not yet members of clubs. The 2nd Annual Race Course Challenge has taken place at the  Cheltenham Racecourse, which was amazing.  It was covered by local Radio and the Gloucestershire press extensively.  Tom Workman was the winner of the event with a new course record of 5 under par.  Our thanks must go to Edward Gillespie for all his assistance & kindness in offering us the opportunity to run the event. Debbie reported that on the 1st July the CGP is launching its new website.  It is a terrific website and includes all Gloucestershire's clubs.  If clubs want to promote themselves then please send the information through to help us market your facilities & product. There were no questions for Debbie.  Ian Foulner thanked her for all her work.  It was very much appreciated.   (a) Report of the County Captain Nigel had sent his report to all (attached) and picked up on several important points regarding South West Week at Trevose and the matches v Wiltshire in the Channel League and Wessex League.  He reported that we finished in 2nd place in the EGU qualifier and 3rd in the Match-Play Shield.  We had great chances to win in both events but it did not quite happen for us.  Somerset won the EGU qualifier and will represent the South West in the county finals.  Devon won the match-play shield.  Our congratulations to both Counties.  Nick Day and Chris Lloyd were picked for the South West Counties team to play the Midlands.  Nigel also wished to thank all the supporters who came to Trevose to support us.  It is very much appreciated. He also wished to mention Daryl Griffee of 'Downend Flooring & Tiling', he is our SW Week  ball sponsor & we thank him very much for his support. Nigel stated that we had won our Channel League match at Broome Manor against Wiltshire and we remain unbeaten.  We also won our Wessex League match v Wiltshire at Knowle to put us back into contention in that League. There were no questions for Nigel and he was thanked for all his efforts at South West Week.   (b) Treasurers Report Jolyon Gardiner paid tribute to Nigel Thompson and his team for a great effort at Trevose. Jolyon reported that we have received around 12000 levies to date from our clubs.  11 clubs have not yet paid their first levies which were due on May 1st.  He asked all in the room to check up if their club was one of the eleven.  Jolyon stated that a small amount of income has been received from County cards and that this will increase through the summer.  He extolled the virtue of the county card scheme which allowed reduced green fees on over 1000 clubs in 27 counties in England and Wales.  It is an important source of income to the GGU and offers great value to our members, allowing them to play some great courses at much reduced rates. All Reps were asked to promote the scheme as much as they could. Jolyon reported that we always try to break even on our Championships and that is proving to be the case this year so far.  The Members Association Days run by Brian Carnie are a great success and again, this provides a small surplus for the Union.  Jolyon paid tribute to Brian Carnie for running these very successful Days. He then reported that our income and expenditure in 2010 almost mirrored that of  2009.  We have just under £100,000 in the Bank at the moment and our liabilities are around £34,000 leaving a figure of approximately £66,000.  This is just about what we expect at this time of year. Jolyon wished to record his thanks to the Secretary for his work in keeping the books up to date and producing the accounts for the Union.  We are all very grateful for his prudence.  Jolyon asked if there were any questions for him or the Secretary.  There were none.   To receive reports from the sub-committee Chairmen (a) Junior Representative  Mark Powell had sent his report to all (attached).  He said a few things had taken place since he had written it.  We halved our 2nd Junior Channel League match v Wilts to remain unbeaten.  We did not do as well as usual in the annual SWCGA U14s/U16s tournament although Kesley March from Minchinhampton came second in the U14 category. Mark stated that Juniors have done extremely well in the Duchess Salver events in particular, Tyler Hogarty came 2nd in the County Championship after winning the County Junior Championship the week before. Mark made mention of the excellent play of Chris Lloyd and Adam Carson and paid tribute to their commitment to the sport. Mark reminded all that the SWCGA Boys Championship will take place at Cotswold Hills this year on July 15th and we have a very strong team.  He hoped for good support. Mark wished to thank Bristol & Clifton for hosting the Junior Championship.  The course was in terrific condition despite the awful weather.  He was very disappointed to learn that the boys had left the changing rooms in a very poor state.  The County Secretary had written a letter of apology to the club and Mark also wished to apologise on behalf of the Juniors.  Mark had spoken to all of the players and made it clear that this behaviour was not acceptable.  Measures have now been put in place to make sure that this does not happen again and changing room procedures will be put into the 'players charter'. Mark asked if there were any questions.  There were none. The Chairman thanked Mark for his commitment and contribution to junior golf in the County and beyond.   (b) EGU Representative Ian Foulner had sent is report to all (attached) and went through some of the points therein.  The EGU Levy 2011 is proposed to be raised by .25p making the annual levy £5.25 (this has since been ratified and confirmed). Ian reported on the proposal of CONGU to sanction a handicap scheme for non golf club members.  Both Ian Watkins and Ian Foulner gave a comprehensive overview of proposals put forward by the EGU.  There were several points raised regarding how such a scheme would work in practice and a good debate ensued.  Following the session Ian Foulner was asked to support the scheme of behalf of Gloucestershire at the EGU voting members meeting on 30th June and to report back to the Council on how the proposals progress from here. Ian Foulner stated that to win a vote at the EGU Council Meeting there will need to be a majority vote of 75% of Counties in favour. There were no further questions for Ian Foulner.   (c) Championship Chairman Peter Stone had sent is report to all (attached).  He could not attend this meeting today. Ian Foulner thanked Peter Stone and his team of Referees for all their hard work in running tournaments on behalf of the County.   (d) Coaching Chairman David Hares could not be with us today but he had sent his report to all (attached). David was thanked for all his hard work, it is appreciated.   (e) Development Officer Ian Cornwell had little to report regarding new course development but Dennis Barnard wished to update everyone on the new course at Lydney.  He said 9 temporary greens had been seeded and expected to be in play by the end of August.  The main greens would be ready shortly after.  The course now has 3 ponds and they are all filling with water.  Fairways and rough are being cut on a regular basis.  All services should be in place by September/October.  Dennis was asked what Financial support has been received in response to Lydney's request for clubs and individuals to invest in their debenture shares.  Dennis reported that the County had invested £2500 and one GGU club has invested in the debenture scheme.  Several individuals including members of the County Executive have also invested in the scheme. The Secretary said it was a great shame that more GGU clubs and individuals had not invested in the debenture scheme to help one of Gloucestershire's oldest clubs to survive following the sale of the land they have been leasing for over 90 years.  This is an opportunity to show that our County is protective of its family and it is hoped that more clubs can help Lydney to flourish once more.  The rate of return on the debenture is 4% p.a. and shares can be redeemed after 4 years.  There were no questions for Ian Cornwell. County Secretary The County Secretary reported that 11 clubs have yet to pay the first part of their 2010 EGU/GGU members levy.  He asked all present to check the list and see if their own club had paid.  It is not fair that members pay their levies and then find that they are not passed on to the Governing Bodies.  It does put the members handicap system at risk but at the County Executive meeting it was decided not to invoke clause 12:1:2 of the Constitution for the time being.  The Secretary would write to all the non paying clubs as soon as possible. The Secretary asked all clubs to send him a good picture of their golf course by email so that he can include it on the GGU website.  He also urged all clubs to use the EGU Golf Central website to advertise memberships and events at their club.  It is free and an excellent way to market your clubs.  We have given small donations (£200) to both Avon and Gloucestershire Schools Associations.  Both have sent very nice thank you letters in return. There were no questions for the Secretary. The Chairman thanked the Secretary for all his conscientious and hard work on behalf of the GGU.   He then passed control of the meeting to the President, Mr Martin Pettit.  Martin wished everyone a lovely day and looked forward to meeting everyone over the next few hours of his President's Day. Martin closed the meeting at 11.35am.	All           All                                                                                                             All                                                                               MP                                 IF                                                                 All                   I.W.	ASAP           ASAP                                                                                                             Ongoing                                                                               ASAP                                 Oct 2010                                                                 ASAP                   ASAP

Date of next meeting:

7pm, 12th October 2010 at Stinchcombe Hill

Prepared by: Ian Watkins

Minutes signed by:  __________________________________ Chairman

Dated:   ________________________________ 2010

Minutes

Minutes of:  Council Meeting AGM

On:	24th March 2010 at Minchinhampton Golf Club

Attendees: M. Darby (President), I. Foulner (Chairman), R.J. Gardiner (Treasurer), I. Watkins (Secretary), R. East, N. Thompson (Captain), M. Pettit, P. Stone, R. Chatham, D. Hares, M. Powell, I. Cornwell, M. Widdows, B. Carnie, A. Gough, B. Kingston, D. Casling, N. Casling, I. James, J. McPherson, F. Fletcher, B. Wright, C. Maine, A. Davis,  R. Williams, P. Watson, P.  Holland, H. Harvey, T. Thomas, D. Bowen, G. Fleming, G. Osborn, E. Innes, R. Tugwell, B. Sheridan, B. Theobald, A Dangerfield, D.A. Barnard, J. Mills, M. Doyle-Davidson, J. Penfold, N. Haddock, A. Colledge, M. Woods, E. Chitty, K. Rix, W. Hill, I. Crowther, P. Franklin, D. Day, B. Smith, L. Mitchener, J. Williams, M. Spashett, E. Jackson

Apologies: P. Murphy, R. Knight, T. Atkinson, K. Newman, E. Felton, G. Terry, M. Lewis, N. Morgan, R.F. Crisp, K. Hodgson, N. Hodgkiss, H. Purvis, L. Whitton

Also distributed to: Secretaries on request

Purpose of meeting: Annual General Meeting of the Council (Clause 8.1)

No.	Item	Action	Deadline
	The President Mike Darby opened the meeting and welcomed all to the
	AGM at Minchinhampton.  He thanked Minchinhampton for the use
	of all its facilities today.  The meeting was then handed over to the
	Chairman, Ian Foulner.  Ian Foulner welcomed the Auditor Mark
	Spashett of Guilfoyle Sage & Co.  He also welcomed two new club
	representatives Ian James (B & C) and Fred Fletcher (The Bristol).
1.	Apologies As recorded above
2.       3.                     4.     5.                                                                                                                                            6.                                            7.	To approve the minutes of Council Meeting 13/10/09 Proposed by Rob East, seconded by Brian Carnie as a true record with unanimous approval.   To discuss matter arising from the minutes Eric Innes queried the increase from £12 to £15 for the inter-county card.  The Secretary explained that the GGU inter-county card was the lowest cost of all inter-county cards.   It contained more counties and more clubs than any other inter-county card.  It would be reviewed at the next Finance meeting to see if the price increase curtailed any sales.  The card itself was valid in 29 counties and over 1000 clubs. Ian Foulner thanked everyone who attended the Junior Seminar and for making it a success again this year. There were no further questions.   To discuss matters arising from the Executive Meeting of 03/02/10 There were none.   Hon, Treasurers annual report.  Adoption of accounts 2009 and appointment of Auditors Ian Foulner thanked the Treasurer Jolyon Gardiner for his excellent work and also the Auditor Mark Spashett of Guilfoyle Sage and Co who is with us today. Jolyon Gardiner had sent all a copy of his report on the accounts (attached).  The accounts themselves had been sent separately to all Representatives by the Secretary in January. Jolyon reported that we have had a reasonably good year finishing as predicted almost breaking even on income and expenditure.  We recorded a small loss of £70 during 2009.  Jolyon wished to record his grateful thanks for the huge amount of time that David Hares, Mark Powell and Nigel Thompson gave us as volunteers.  It is remarkable that they have any time for themselves and families.  We owe them a great debt of gratitude.  Jolyon also thanked the President, Chairman and Officers of the GGU for giving us so much of their time.  He made special mention of Brian Carnie who looks after the hugely successful Members Association Days and the Secretary for all his work in keeping the records so very well. He then went through the accounts in detail and made mention of the generic loss of membership in golf clubs.  This of course meant that the County and National union were losing members and this year we are down to 18000 members.  The County Golf Partnership (CGP) is trying to address this issue by growing the game from the bottom up. Our income in 2009 (including the CGP ring fenced .70p) was £131,000.  We are putting the levy up in 2010 by 50p per member of which 10p will go to the CGP.  Jolyon  asked all present to support the County Handicap Championship (County Medal) for all categories of handicap.  We have around 3000 entries each year and Jolyon felt it should be closer to 3500.  It is just £1 to enter and all monies go back into the competition. Jolyon also talked about the advantage of the inter-county card scheme it is a very worthwhile investment for anyone wishing to enjoy the opportunity of playing over any of the 1000 clubs in 29 counties. It costs just £15 for the card, please promote it to your members Entry fees for County competitions will remain the same as in 2009. Jolyon reported that our total income including the EGU levy was £259,579, the EGU levy of £81,000 is of course passed onto the EGU. Expenditure was almost the same as last year at £259,644 and Jolyon explained the small differences that had occurred.  We therefore have made a small loss of £70 during the year.  We made no transfer to the contingency fund, nor did we take money out for finals. Jolyon then called up Mark Spashett of Guilfoyle Sage and Co, our auditor to confirm his report.  Mark confirmed that the accounts represented a true & fair view of the Unions affairs. Jolyon invited questions for himself and Mark Spashett. Bob Williams asked what was spent on the web site each year.  The Secretary reported that in 2009 we spent £2500 which includes all management charges, licences, software virus and protection control, internet address functions and 'spam' filters for officers. Bob Williams asked if there is a move to improve the web site as a marketing tool.  The Secretary reported that there was no increase in this year's budget to change the website and that we do not currently use it as a marketing tool to sell any products.  It was mainly a website of governance and reporting with links to all our affiliated clubs and other governing & related  bodies who may have products to sell, including themselves. Bob Williams then asked if we have considered adding £2 to each members levy and giving all a county card.  This would attract £36,000 into the Union each year. The Secretary replied that this had been considered on several occasions and been turned down by the Executive.  Devon Golf Union tried this several years ago but after heavy criticism by many members and some clubs it had been abandoned.  Alan Colledge said that several of Devon's main clubs had threatened to withdraw from the County card scheme if the 'blanket distribution' was not stopped. There were no further questions for Jolyon who proposed the 2009 accounts for approval, seconded by Mike Doyle-Davidson.  There was unanimous support for the proposal by all. Richard Chatham proposed a vote of thanks for all the volunteer work carried out by the Treasurer, Jolyon Gardiner to much acclaim.   Captains Report Nigel Thompson had sent a copy of his report to all attendees (attached).  He took everyone through his report.  Even though the weather has been atrocious this winter we have managed to get the teams together twice, at Lansdown and Chipping Sodbury. A players Charter of guidelines has been produced by a small committee from each squad.  A copy of the Charter is available from the Secretary.  It consists of a set of standards expected from those picked to represent the County. The 1st team v junior team match had taken place at Filton which the 1st team just managing to win.  There was some very fine golf played and as a bonus Ralph Crisp who had presented the trophy for the event was able to attend and personally present the winners with his cup. Nigel reported on the 1st team squad weekend away at Trevose.  This is the venue for S. West week in 2010 and it is hoped that the squad would use this experience in June to qualify for the EGU finals in October. Nigel asked all to come and support the teams whenever they can.  He was hoping for a great season.  He thanked Mike Darby, the 2009 President for his support during the year. There were no questions for Nigel.  The Chairman thanked him for his commitment and wished him and his team a very good season.   County Golf Partnership (CGP) Mark Powell reported that the CGP have had a very busy year.  It started on a sad note when Don Harmer the CGP Chairman had died suddenly in April 2009.  This left a huge gap to fill.  Mark reported that he had taken on the temporary Chairman's position until a new Chairman could be sought. Mark was pleased to report that Malcolm Lewis of Henbury Golf Club, past England Captain, selector and Walker Cup player has accepted the post.  We are all absolutely delighted that Malcolm has accepted the Chairmanship and all look forward to working with him and the CGP.  Mark would continue as Deputy Chairman. Mark reported that we have been successful in gaining funding of £81,000 over the next 5 years from Sport England.  He was particularly pleased with the creation of a Junior Academy with boys and girls as young as 8 years old starting to play the game.  Mark then asked Debbie Casling to bring all up to date with this year's plans.  Debbie reminded everyone of all that has been achieved over the last year with 'Taster days', 'City days', Cheltenham Racecourse Challenge and all our work with those with special needs.  She reported that we have 25 level one coaching volunteers in the county and several of our clubs now have 'Golf Mark' accreditation including the 'Range Mark' accreditation at Hambrook Driving Range.  She reported that from now on unless clubs had 'Golf Mark' they would not get funding.  It was important that clubs wishing to access funds contact her via the web site, email or telephone.  The CGP has secured funding to offer additional skill training for PGA Pro's and 14 have taken this up. Jenny May has had a very successful year with her 'Ladies Taster Days' with over 100 attending the sessions.  Most of these ladies will be looking to join clubs in the GGU and if any club has any special offers or fliers to promote their club please send them to Debbie. We will continue to offer help and advice with clubs who wish to attain 'Golf Mark' status.  It is not too difficult and the CGP can get your club through it.  Eleven clubs are accredited so far with fourteen in various stages of the process. We have purchased an inflatable golf net trainer with sponsorship from the 'Pied Piper Appeal fund'.  If clubs wish to hire this equipment for an	All           All Reps                                                                                        All                       All                             MP                           ALL           DC	Ongoing           Ongoing                                                                                        By request                       Ongoing                             Immediate                           ASAP           Ongoing
8.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    9.             10.                                          11.                                                        12.	'open day' please get in touch.  It is a great piece of kit. We have arranged 3 Rules evenings across the County which have been very well attended. The 2010 resource CD has been sent to all clubs and we are about to send out our volunteer information booklet.  City Days and Taster sessions are being planned for the summer and posters will be sent out shortly.  This will include mixed and men's taster days and we will be supporting the 'National Skills Challenge' this year.  To date Gloucestershire has not been very successful with this event and we are determined to change that.  We will host our own County final in 2010.  She asked all clubs to register. The Racecourse Challenge would take place on 20th May at Cheltenham Racecourse with 28 of the Counties club champions taking part.  It is a fantastic day with the famous 'Gold Cup' course transformed into a 9 hole golf course for the day.  It starts at 4pm and is great fun, please come along and support your club champion and enjoy a lovely day.  Debbie paid tribute to all the volunteers and clubs that are helping to grow the game in Gloucestershire.  There were no questions for Debbie. The Chairman paid tribute to Debbie for all her work.  He read a letter received from CGP Chairman Malcolm Lewis who wished to thank the clubs and the volunteers who support what the Partnership is doing.  The CGP is extremely grateful and hopes their efforts will bring more players into the game for the future. Malcolm also said that the CGP were extremely grateful for the hard work and commitment the County Union and its members put into the drive to grow the game in Gloucestershire.  The Chairman, Ian Foulner thanked Malcolm Lewis for his kind words.   (a) EGU Representatives Report Ian Foulner had sent his report to all Representatives (attached).  He brought everyone up to date with the EGU merger talks with the EWGA.  There would be a voting procedure taking place in the summer of this year.  Before the merger can take place a minimum of 75% of members of both organisations would need to accept the proposal put forward by all Unions / Associations.  Ian noted that 35 clubs in Gloucestershire have uploaded to the Central Database of Handicaps (CDH) only 9 clubs remain to upload their membership and it is hoped this will take place very quickly.  Ian reported that the Course rating team will start its re-rating procedure in April.