Subject

1

Apologies

1.1

Apologies were received from Peter Garratt, Geoff Scher, John Murrer, Mark Simpkins, John Hall, John Bussey, Terry Purcell and Tony Hall.

1.2

Bob Collett brought Derek Spilling to the meeting, who was welcomed warmly by all attendees. Bob and Derek had to leave shortly afterwards.

2

Presentation of Prizes

2.1

The following prizes and trophies were presented by the Captain:

2.2

Christmas nine-hole competition, played on the morning of the AGM:

1st Fred Mercer  18 pts

2nd Jeremy Holt 16 pts on c/b

3rd Roger Sims  16 pts

Team Prize: Fred Mercer, Paul Holman, Steve Carr, Bill Baldock

Nearest the pin on 10th Hole: John Tweed

Nearest the pin on 13th Hole: David Hough

Nearest the pin on 15th Hole: Fred Mercer

2.3

Sir Norman King Pairs Trophy: Winners:  Simon Allen & Tony Morgan; Runners Up: Fred Mercer & Chris J Price.

2.4

JES Brookes Singles Trophy: Winner: Tony Hancock; Runner Up: Tony Widmer.

2.5

Vic Hill Cup: Simon Allen 39pts

2.6

July Centenary Medal Cups: Winner - Division 1: David Harris net 67; Winner - Division 2: John Bussey net 69 (John Bussey was not in attendance and sent his apologies).

2.7

Summer Eclectic: Net winner: Christopher J Price net 45.

2.8

Top of the Orders of Merit, Division 1: Jim McCutcheon 86 pts; Division 2: Peter Bertho 94 pts.

2.9

Willmotts Golfer of the Year: Peter Bertho

3

Minutes of the AGM held on 30th November 2017

3.1

Acceptance of the minutes was proposed by Eric Abbott and seconded by John Tweed. The minutes were accepted and there were no matters arising.

4

Captain’s Report (David Seymour)

4.1.

My year is nearly over and what a year it’s been. After the drive in with Bill I faced the daunting prospect of hosting all the events and activities throughout the year.

Early on in the year, I was keen to put in place the really important things that were my responsibility such as pre-organising the Mini Break, Ladies Night and Away Day plus negotiating in advance the menus and prices for all 2018 match and event meals.

I’d like to firstly confirm the success of the more Social Events.

The February Table Tennis tournament at Kingston TTC was hotly contested by 16 players and I managed to beat Colin Armstrong 3-1 in the Final.

The Mini Break at Greetham Valley was attended by over 60 people. We were blessed with great weather throughout. The accommodation, meals and levels of service were exceptional for a Golf club venue. The highlights were the two Bingo nights and Ceilidh with Govannen. A good time was had by all.

The Ladies Night was attended by 81 people. The meals and service were first class, as was the group Kobold. Everybody I spoke to seemed to enjoy it. 

The Captain’s Away Day was a new Willmotts venture and 41 players played out a Stableford competition at Cambridge Meridian with a meal and endless prizes.

Golf wise the roll ups continued to be popular and the Monthly roll up Texas Scrambles introduced in 2017 provided out of season competitive golf and were well attended.

We began the golfing year with a win over the Ladies section for the Clock.

We had 61 playing in Captains Day where we had the pleasure of both Captains and both Presidents participating. The half-way house proved ever popular with cakes and savouries. Thanks to all that made them and for Sandra, Lin and Gwyneth for dishing them out.

We unfortunately came 3rd in the Rhys Richards Trophy but the winners with 206 points were Leighton Buzzard who were always going to be hard to beat on their own track. I didn’t help by me falling on the 5th Tee, injuring my back and scraping 20 of our 183 points.

The two Mixed Texas Scrambles still prove to be popular and we got great support from the Ladies section.

Charity Cups was an equally popular event at which we raised £433 in the raffle, for Roy and Shirley’s two charities.

The match against the Club was a competitive affair, this year off the yellow tees with an honourable 3-3 draw to retain the virtual trophy.

There were many individual Medals, Stableford and Team events which were all well supported.

Of the 30 Inter-Club matches we won 11, Lost 13 and Halved 6. After Alan Moore and I won 7 & 6 at Ellesborough in 2017, my year’s highlight has to be Colin Armstrong and I giving the same Captain Ed Wymark another pasting 7 & 5.

Whilst my personal golf performance has unsurprisingly not been great this year however the last three events were somewhat better. To win the Captain v Rest, Mixed Texas Scramble and Captain/Vice Captains challenge was a great end to my season.

I have to thank Dave Gass and his green keeping team for their superb efforts this year. They did an exceptional job maintaining a first class track in a very challenging year of weather. Thanks also go to all the Willmotts who helped with tree pruning, divot filling and making huge improvements to the pond on 15.

As usual we helped with ball spotting and starting duties at quite a few events for which the club and charities were very grateful.

At the Mini Break and other events we raised via raffles and donations £600 for my two chosen charities. Prostate Cancer UK and MK Cats Protection both received £300 for their charities.

You will be pleased to hear we raised gratuities of over £400 from match meal fees and tips at other selective events, to be able to reward Martin, all the Bar and Service staff and all the green keeping team with a nice Christmas box. They all looked after us exceptionally well this year and fully intend to give them out this next week.

My Captains Year has been extremely enjoyable and I tried hard to provide competitive golf and Social activities for all of you to enjoy.

My year would not have been successful without the backing of the committee, certain individuals and as importantly yourselves.

Jim, David and Bob have been tremendously supportive on a day to day basis. Jim particularly has done a fantastic job in his first year as Secretary. As past Captains, Mac and Bill so often gave me guidance and help where it was required. Eric Abbott and Rod Fairclough have also helped with the Winter Eclectic and Website respectively. I wish Richard every success next year as our new Treasurer.

In 2018 Vice-Captain Rod has faced huge challenges with team selections and Intelligent Golf. He ensured we got the teams out and also made sure things all went well. His graces at lunch were legendary. He has been a fantastic help and I thank him for all his hard work and support.

It’s been a privilege to be your Captain in 2018. I’m looking forward to my final bash on Monday 17th December – the Last Supper.

I propose passing the Captain’s baton on to Rodders on Thursday 3rd January at 8am and I hope as many of you as possible will attend the drive-in.

I wish him well and all I can say now – good luck to everybody next year. Have a great Christmas and New Year.

5

Treasurer’s Report (Bob Barton)

Referring to the Balance Sheet for the Financial Year, Bob made the following observations:

5.1.

Accounts. It will be observed that the audited accounts for the last financial year show that the Total Net Assets (Accumulated Fund) at September 30th 2018 amount to £4,321.29.

5.2.

Income/Expenditure. After adjustments of Prepayments, Debtors, Accruals and Income in advance there was an excess of income over expenditure of £149.43.

5.3.

Income from competition fees. Income from 22 competitions was £3,076 compared to £3,282 in the last financial year from 23 competitions.

5.4.

Prizes. Prize costs from 22 competitions was £2,512.32 (Last season it was £2,832.32 from 23 competitions).

5.5.

The Business Savings Account, as reported in previous years, holds only a nominal sum of £100.

5.6.

The 2018 Mini Break at Greetham Valley. This was a very successful and enjoyable mini break which, after discounting refunds and accruals, realised an excess of income over expenditure of £125.92.

5.7.

Donations to Charities

We are thankful for the continued generosity of Willmotts for the donation of prizes and their support of raffles at Charity Cups and Ladies Night.

In November 2017 £300 was donated to Club Captain Grant Brook’s charities. An additional £300 was donated to an Aspley Guise charity DEGA, who provide day care for the elderly. A further £50 was donated in memoriam to The Multiple Sclerosis Society from cash collected from five Willmotts.

In 2018 the committee decided to raise additional funds with a view to charitable donations. £350 was raised from Bingo at the Greetham Valley mini break and a further £201 was raised on Captain’s day from auctions and cake sales. £73 was also donated by kind individuals. From this, £300 was donated to Prostate Cancer UK and £300 to Cats Protection Milton Keynes.

5.8.

Sundries. Unspecified sundry expenditure items this year totalled £130.50.

5.9.

Reciprocal lunch costs totalling £824 at home matches were recovered from cash received from Willmotts at the away fixtures.

5.10.

Invitation days. Invitation Fees, totalling £898 paid in advance to host clubs were recovered from participating Willmotts. The Captain’s Away Day at Cambridge Meridian broke even as anticipated.

I am grateful to Roy Healey who conducted the annual financial examination of the accounts. A copy of the Income and Expenditure Account is attached to this report.

5.11.

2017-2018 SUMMARY

This is my final report, as, after five years as Hon Treasurer, I am retiring from the position. I have enjoyed my time and would like to thank all Captains and committee members that I have worked with for their support and understanding.

The Willmotts operate on a not-for-profit basis and do not set a budget or targets at the beginning of the financial year but carefully manage income from competitions and expenditure on prizes and other annual unavoidable expenditure such that, overall, we do not make a loss.

Nevertheless, we have achieved a modest steady growth of our funds where the Accumulated Fund now stands at £4,321.29 For comparison in previous years this was; 2017 £4,171, 2016 £3,791, 2015 £3,724, 2014 £3,245 and £2013 £2,721.

Income          

We cannot rely on income from events such as Ladies Night Dinner Dance or the annual Mini Break as these are not-for-profit events where the budget is set so that income and expenditure is neutral.

As stated, the Mini Break is not budgeted to provide income. In exceptional years, where an excess has been realised, attendees have either carried forward a credit to the next years break, or, with the kind permission of those attending, a donation has been made to a charity of The Willmotts Captain’s choice.

We receive great support from the Ladies Section at The Charity Cups. All proceeds from this raffle are donated to the club Captain’s charity fund while some income from the Ladies Night raffle may be used to pay for invited guests. Where we receive donations from kind individuals which have been clearly given for charitable use, we are morally obliged to donate it. 

Therefore, the only dependable source of income is from competition fees which this year was £3,076.

Expenditure

Prizes for all our competitions this year totalled £2,512.

Our annual unavoidable expenditure was on; Engraving and maintenance of 24 Trophies £174.50, Purchase of The Willmotts Captain’s Shirt and Sweater £85, and Honorariums for Hon Secretary, £75, and Hon Treasurer £75. These totalled £410.

Balance

The difference between income from competitions and expenditure on prizes this financial year was £564. With unavoidable expenditure at £410 it can be appreciated that there was only £154 for unplanned costs or sundry items.

Going forward

While we do have a healthy fund, which enables us to manage mini break deposits and other prepayments as they become necessary, and covers us against any unexpected expenditure, the Willmotts Committee is aware that income and expenditure requires careful management going forward and I know that the accounts will be in the good hands of the new Honorary Treasurer.

5.12.

At the end of the Treasurer’s report, John Dyson offered a vote of thanks to Bob Barton for all his efforts throughout his tenure as Honorary Treasurer.

6

Election of Officers for 2019

6.1.

The following officers for 2019 were elected unanimously on a show of hands following a proposal from Rod Fairclough, seconded by Alan Moore:

Captain: Rod Kupczyk

Vice-Captain: David Gamble

Treasurer: Richard Norris

Secretary: Jim Gales

Past Captain: David Seymour

Committee Member: Malcolm McGregor.

6.2.

No nominations were received for the role of potential Vice-Captain to follow David Gamble, therefore one vacancy remains on the committee.

7

Address by Captain Elect (Rod Kupczyk)

7.1.

Gentlemen

                  Firstly, I would like to thank David & the Committee for providing this opportunity to represent you all. It’s a great honour to be elected Willmotts Captain. To follow such memorable & distinguished individuals will certainly be a challenge. It is one in which I will endeavour to uphold the high standards they achieved & to replicate them. My aims next year are as follows:

Where possible to increase our participating membership. With the sad loss this year of Ray Massey & Denis Gurner, together with health issues endured by others, which limit or preclude their participation, we need to ensure the longevity of the Willmotts. I intend achieving this by ensuring new eligible members are made fully aware of the Willmotts at interview.

To restore a closer relationship with the Ladies’ Section. This will be achieved by assisting & supporting them, as appropriate. They will be reciprocating.

To maintain & even elevate our standing within the Club. I intend to achieve this by working closely with key individuals & groups, heading off & eliminating any potential negative or damaging issues.

I would like to make changes to the organisation & management of next year’s club matches.

I propose the creation of a team of five, led by David Gamble. They will be responsible for team selection. When I’ve finished speaking, I will invite David to elaborate.

When representing The Willmotts, I would like to see every player selected for matches wearing team attire.

It's been very commendable to see the support provided to those in times of need.

Great credit goes to everyone who has volunteered to fill divots, trim trees & carry out pond maintenance. I would like to see this continue. You are a credit to The Willmotts.

Next year’s Mini Break has only two rooms left. For those undecided, you still have two weeks to secure a room & join the 72 who have signed up.

In conclusion, a big thank you to David Seymour, for his great commitment in his role as Captain & for the developments he has introduced. He has been a strong leader both on & off the course.

A personal thanks to Bob Barton & Bill Vorley for their measured & rational words of guidance & advice.

I wish David Gamble, my Vice Captain, every success & ask you all provide him with your full support.

We must be prepared to adjust to changing times, yet still uphold our unchanging principles.

I look forward to working closely with you all as we enjoy our golf.

THANK YOU

8

Managing Inter-Club Matches (David Gamble)

8.1

In line with the procedures used at some other clubs with whom we have seniors’ club matches, we want to provide an opportunity to involve more Willmotts in the organisation and management of club matches from 2019 onwards.

We play fifteen other clubs each year, home and away. Matches start in early April & conclude in late September.

The idea is to create of team of five match organisers, including me, with each organiser taking responsibility for home and away matches against three clubs – six matches in total. The organiser for a given six matches should, ideally, play in all of these matches.

I will take on the organisation for six matches (including some of our first fixtures) and, crucially, oversee the organisation across all thirty matches ensuring consistency of processes.

I will organise a training session for those who may be interested in becoming match organisers in late January/early February to cover the processes we will be using in 2019 to advertise matches, how players can sign up, selection of teams & reserves, liaison with key contacts in other clubs. This will include the use of Intelligent Golf (IG), as well as sign-up sheets and emails.

Following the training session & confirmation of the match organisers team for 2019, we will hold a briefing session in February for those Willmotts who wish to play in club matches in 2019 to explain the system/s we will be using and the protocols to be followed. We had such a session early in 2018, but it will be helpful to run this again, perhaps as part of a general briefing session about our 2019 Willmotts programme.

I will draw up a ‘help sheet’ clarifying all tasks that need to be undertaken by match organisers, so that, amongst other things:

a)    Matches are advertised in good time (at least 4 weeks before match date with teams selected 2 weeks before match date);

b)    Potential players have either expressed a preference to play on IG or have had opportunities by e mail or direct sign up on the notice board;

c)    Consistent application of criteria for team selection including reserves are in place;

d)    Timely communication with players chosen and reserves for each match;

e)    Early liaison with key contacts at other clubs regarding the Willmotts team and individual handicaps, post-match meal, start time and any other specific matters.

I will ensure that:

f)     IG is populated with our club matches for 2019;

g)    The excel spread sheets for all 30 club matches are headed up ready for posting on the notice board – also to include the post-match meal for each home match and meal costs;

h)    Match organisers are trained and have admin access to IG and understand how the team selection process works on IG;

i)      Willmotts are trained to use IG and to follow our protocols if, once selected, they become unavailable for a match;

So, if you would like to be involved, keep an eye out for the date of the training session for interested colleagues.

8.2

After David’s report, the following comments were made:

Alan Moore: All Willmotts will need training on Intelligent Golf;

Tony Morgan: We need proper procedures to ensure players and reserves are aware of their responsibilities;

(Note; the procedure already exists that if you withdraw you are responsible to contact the next reserve and confirm that they agree to take your place, then inform your playing partner and the match organiser.)

David Hough: the restriction on handicaps should be reviewed to allow those with handicaps higher than 28 to play off those handicaps; and

Jim Sweeney (in response to David Hough): handicaps over 28 are intended to be used internally only, not for inter-club matches, but we need to check this.

9

Fixtures List for 2019 (Jim Gales)

9.1

We have a packed programme next year. Between April and September there are, again, thirty inter-club matches in addition to all our internal competitions. The fixtures list is in a familiar format but, because there are some new Willmotts here, I shall explain the main points:

Colour Coding: Our internal qualifying competitions are shaded blue, inter-club matches are shaded in yellow for away matches and green for home matches, individual events are shaded in red. All other non-qualifying competitions are unshaded.

Qualifying Competitions: There are thirteen qualifying competitions, the same as this year, with seven Stablefords and six Medals, subject to any changes agreed from our discussion at item 11.

Meal Change: Our first competition, Willmotts versus the Ladies on 15th March, will be followed by a rolling, one-course meal as it was this year. Our Vice-Captain and the Ladies Vice-Captain agreed it worked better this year and have decided to keep the meal arrangements the same, rather than revert to a formal, two-course meal as in previous years. There remain two formal, two-course, meals after golf on the Captain’s Day and the Charity Cups events.

Other Changes: The narrow column containing “X”s denotes where a change has been made from this year, such as a change of date or a new event having been added.

Tee Times: The ‘TEE’ column has some start times highlighted in grey, to draw our attention to tee times that differ from our ‘normal’ times of 8:30 or 9:00am.

Potential Conflicts: We have tried to avoid any scheduling conflicts. The only slight problem is in June, where we have our Willmotts Putter competition followed a day later by our away match at Buckingham, on 13th and 14th June respectively.

New Clubs: Some of you may be aware that we receive requests regularly from other clubs asking to be included in our matches schedule. We have, to my knowledge, received four such requests this year. Usually, we have to state that we are full and cannot add any more matches to our schedule. In one instance, however, when Luton Hoo asked to join us and were given this answer, they offered to host us next year in the hope that we would like them and, if space becomes available, could include them in future. After some discussion at our committee, we agreed and have arranged a trial match for twelve players at Luton Hoo on 19th June. This is during the week when our course is closed for the Bedfordshire Ladies County Championship, so will have no impact on our club’s schedule.

I will include the final version of this fixtures list when I send the minutes from this AGM.

10

Dress Code Proposal

10.1

David Seymour read the proposal to change our dress code for inter-club matches to Smart Casual and invited the proposer, David Bowerman, to speak. After David described his reasoning for requesting the change, comments were invited from the floor.

10.2

Comments made included:

Rod Fairclough: We should maintain a Jacket and Club Tie dress code for all home matches and wear a minimum of our club tie at away matches where the dress code is smart casual. In all cases we should shower and change.

Bob Smith: Other clubs view seniors matches as social and friendly events with a relaxed dress code. In any event, we should decide our dress code for ourselves, not adopt other clubs’ codes.

Tony Widmer: I don’t know why we are debating this. Our dress code should be set by the club. (Note: the club’s dress code is smart casual).

Ron Rawlings: We represent our club and play as a team wearing our Willmotts shirts and jumpers and we should dine as a team wearing a jacket and our club tie.

Jim Sweeney: we should set a minimum requirement for our dress code.

John Dyson: Some other members have a ‘head in the sand’ attitude. He suggested our Club Tie should be a minimum standard.

Bob Barton: I agree with Tony Widmer regarding dress code and since jackets are excused regularly, wearing a tie is no big deal.

John Tweed: The club changed its dress code for the same reasons made by the proposer.

Malcolm McGregor: Change is happening as shown by Harpenden Common changing to smart casual and Northampton, originally stating their dress code was jacket and tie but, when we played our away match there, it had changed to smart casual.

10.3

After all comments were heard, a poll was taken on a show of hands. The result was – those in favour of the proposal: 25, those against: 25, therefore the proposal was not carried.

11

Proposals to Change Medals to Stablefords (Jim Gales)

11.1

We have received three proposals to change some, or all, our monthly Medal competitions to Stableford competitions. I will read out the three proposals, then invite each proposer to speak if they wish. Malcolm McGregor has some information on the new rules for 2019 that is relevant to our discussion, then I will invite comments from the floor before asking for votes.

11.2

The proposals are: 1. From John Tweed, to replace two of our six monthly Medals with Stablefords, suggesting the April and September Medals should be changed; 2 and 3. From Richard Johns and Fred Mercer, to replace all our six monthly Medals with Stablefords.

11.3

After these proposals were read, Richard Johns stated that he was happy to withdraw his proposal and merge it with Fred Mercer’s proposal, as they are the same.

11.4

Malcolm McGregor described the relevant rule change for 2019 that allows Medal competitions to be run under a Maximum Score method. This allows players, once they have reached the stipulated maximum score for a hole, to pick up without having to record a No Result for the hole or the entire round. This will speed up play, eliminate Nil Returns and, effectively, make Medal competitions more akin to Stablefords. Our club intends to introduce this rule in its Medals for 2019.

11.5

Some comments were received from the floor, generally in support of the Maximum Score method. Many speakers were in support of keeping some Medals because they provide a different challenge from our other competitions and matches. During the discussion, Fred Mercer and Richard Johns withdrew their proposal to replace all Medals. Further comments were made, including from Rod Fairclough, who suggested we should continue to hold monthly Stableford competitions throughout the winter.

11.6

After all comments were heard, a poll was taken on a show of hands for John Tweed’s proposal to replace the April and September Medals with Stablefords. The result was – those in favour of the proposal: 33, those against: 19, therefore the proposal was carried.

12

Any Other Business

12.1

David Seymour stated that he wanted to make additional presentations to three Willmotts:

-       Rod Fairclough, for playing at John O’Gaunt at short notice and for his constant work on maintaining and updating the Willmotts web site;

-       Noel Gotts, for reaching the milestone of 90 years and still playing quality golf; and finally

-       Bob Barton, for his serving on the Willmotts committee for eight years, the last five years as Honorary Treasurer.

12.2

All presentations were warmly acknowledged by all attendees.

13

Close

13.1

David Seymour closed the meeting at 13:40.