No. 44 Captain: Kevin Roberts. February 2004
Former Caddy Takes Over As Club Captain.
As a teenager living in Green Lane, in a house overlooking the course, Kevin Roberts used to make a little pocket money acting as a caddy for men like future captain and life member Trevor Fallows – cash he used to build up his first set of golf clubs, which he still possesses.
And at the Annual General Meeting on February 24, the wheel turned full circle when Kevin, now a proud 4-handicapper who will celebrate his 50th birthday in March, was installed as the club captain for 2004-05.
A member since 1968, Kevin recalled the support and assistance given to him by Trevor and others - particularly by the late Harold Cass - in the early stages of his career.
"I shall always be grateful for their encouragement," he told the 106 members present.
He said he was both proud and honoured to be nominated for the captaincy and thanked the retiring Captain, Alf Selby, for giving him the opportunity.
Of the course, he said: "The ‘Little Gem’ has improved over the years, with the addition of sand bunkers and trees since the time I joined the club, though the rough seemed to be like elephant grass in those days.
"It may be a short course but it is still a good test of golf and only very rarely does anyone get the better of it – usually by the name of Rowbotham."
The new Captain, who celebrated his year as Vice-Captain with a spectacular hole-in-one at the 280-yard par four fourth, and by winning on Captain’s Day, is an accountant who is now executive director of Halifax-based Calderdale Primary Care Trust, an NHS organisation employing almost 500 and with an annual budget of around £200m.
He lives in Whitworth, Rochdale, and is also a member of Crosland Heath Golf Club
"However, I am always fully committed to anything I put my mind to and will endeavour to make myself available as required,"he said.
He added: "My two predecessors, Captains Heatwave and Sunshine, had great fortune with the weather, and I am hoping to be equally fortunate and to be known as Captain Lucky."
He chose Cancer Research as his nominated charity but will share the proceeds equally with the club’s Centenary Fund.
"I Did It My Way"- Captain Heatwave.
In his retiring speech, Alf Selby said he had been intensely proud to be Captain of "this hidden gem" and that his wish that he could become known as Captain Heatwave had come true, with wall-to wall sunshine right through to December, apart from a couple of weeks in May.
"I’ve tried to be myself, warts and all," he said. "Obviously, you can’t please all of the people all of the time, but I have endeavoured to give everyone a fair crack of the whip without fear or favour, and without employing double standards – a phrase I’ve heard a couple of times during the year.
"I have tried to bring some dignity and respect to the position of Captain. Whether I have succeeded or not you must be the judges. But I believe that I can leave this position with the clear conscience of having done my very best for the club."
Unlike his predecessor, Brian Hope, he said he had faced few problems, but expressed disappointment that the ladies’ section had failed to vote in favour of appointing their Captain at the same time as the club Captain.
"I can well understand tradition, and if one of the stumbling blocks is the desire to present the two major ladies’ prizes in the Lady Captain’s year, may I humbly suggest that the ladies join in the annual prize presentation evening to make it a whole club celebration."
Mr Selby revealed his charitable events had raised £2.193.91, of which the bulk will go to the MacMillan Nurses, with almost £500 earmarked for the club’s Centenary Fund.
Pledging his support for the new Captain he said: "We have in Kevin an excellent and modest golfer. More than that, he is a super person who possesses a clear, incisive, brain and a wealth of common sense."
Five Changes On Council.
Ten candidates competed for five places on the council when the annual elections were held at the AGM.
Elected for three years were Shaun Rattigan, Adrian Brierley, and Steve McNamara.
Paul Higgins will serve for two years and Peter Griffin for one.
Three of the vacancies were caused by the resignations of John Andrew, Jack Cain, and Terry Marner, who were all thanked for their sterling service.
At the council meeting held the following night, Brierley was appointed handicap and competitions secretary, with Bill Waterhouse taking over as greens’ secretary and Alf Selby as bar secretary.
Dark Cloud Over Sky Tv.
Following the resignation of 34 members, and the recruitment of only eight at the time of the AGM, it was made clear by treasurer Andrew Vickers that the club faced a difficult year.
"We need to tighten our belts quite a lot," he said.
But his announcement that one economy measure would be the cancellation of Sky TV, which costs around £2,500 a year, proved to be contentious, with some members accusing the council of adopting a negative and short-sighted policy, particularly with regards to football and golf coverage.
But Alan Milligan, for the council, said few people actually watched and that on Monday nights, when live football was screened, bar takings were so low that they did not cover the cost of the staff.
Proposed New Rule Rejected.
Alf Selby proposed a new rule at the AGM empowering the council "to increase annual subscriptions by an amount not exceeding six and a half per cent of the previous year’s subscription without recourse to a meeting of members of the club."
He said there was no intention to deny members their rights but the fact was that out of 337 full members (and 503 overall), only 62, 42, 90, and 58 had bothered to attend the last four Special General Meetings.
"Members have voted with their feet," he said, while sending out invitations to the meetings cost about £200 each time.
Though the motion was approved by a majority of 65 to 41 it failed to attract the necessary two-thirds required for a new rule, and was therefore not carried.
Weather Affects February Comps.
Only three Pro’s comps were possible during the month due to weather conditions.
Winners were:
Feb. 7 - Nigel Wareing 36pts beating Jonathan Wilde and a countback.
Feb 14 – Peter Griffin 40pts, Michael Hulme 39pts.
Feb 21 – 16 winter greens: John Yemm 33pts beat Gary Seville on a
card play-off, with Joe Cassidy in third place, also 33pts.
Success In Golf Classic.
Our quartet of low handicappers defeated Rochdale by two and a half to one in the first round of the Mail on Sunday Golf Classic, played at Werneth.
But it was tough going. New Captain Kevin Roberts won two up but his three colleagues were all involved in tight finishes.
Mark Abbott won on the last, Lee Rowbotham halved on the same hole, and the 18th ended in defeat for Peter Griffin.
Few Places Left For Charity Day.
The charity golf day on Friday,July 2nd organised by Rick Dobrowolski in aid of cancer research at Manchester’s Christie Hospital, has only a few places left.
The cost is £80 for teams of four players, all monies raised and donated going to the charity.
Rick is also seeking sponsorship. He can be contacted at the club.