WERNETH WEDGE No. 79 Captain: Paul Higgins January 2008

SECRETARY TO FACE VOTE CHALLENGE AT AGM.

For the first time in his 22 years as Club Secretary, John Barlow faces a re-election challenge when the AGM is held on Tuesday, February 26.

The man who is to oppose him is John Yemm, Captain of the club in 2005-06, and a former handicaps secretary.

Seven candidates will also battle it out for five places on the council, including Mrs Pat Grant - a former Lady Captain and the first lady to seek a place on the council. Mr Barlow, who recently took early retirement after long service as a rep. for British Vita, was Captain in 1979-80 and has also served as secretary of the Oldham and District Society of Golf Clubs, an organisation which meets to discuss matters of mutual interest.

Cinderford-born Mr Yemm served 23 years in the Army, rising to the rank of Warrant Officer Class 2 in The Gloucestershire Regiment. A six-handicapper, and a former member of Catterick Golf Club, he was a member of the Werneth A team which won the Oldham and District League Knock-Out Cup in 2002.

In the elections for seats on the council, there are three places for three years, one for two years, and one for just one year.

Seeking re-election are Peter Griffin and Fred Whittingham - both former Captains. The others are Mrs Grant, Shaun Rattigan, Lawrence Dawson, John Suttie, and Tony McNamara. David Whaley retires from the council as Vice-Captain elect, and Shaun Rattigan is seeking elected office after serving in an ex-officio capacity following his year as Captain.

Paul Rowbotham, the club's only scratch golfer, has resigned from the council to concentrate on his playing career In accordance with the decision taken at last year's AGM that the council "shall be empowered to increase members' annual subscriptions by an amount not exceeding 5 per cent," subscriptions have been increased by an average of 4.1 per cent. The club is set to make a loss of £16,300 in 2007 but the council says this can be accommodated from existing cash balances. This one-off deficit is said to arise from planned improvements.

It is expected that the 2008 budget will return the club to a balanced position.

HAVE YOU CHECKED YOUR GOLF CLUBS?

From January l, many golf clubs - almost exclusively drivers - were declared illegal by the R and A. And there are a great many of them - "thousands" according to our Professional, James Matterson. "I have been sent a 42-page, small-print, foolscap-sized, list of all the illegal clubs," he said. "If anyone is in any doubt, I'll be happy to advise them."

The good news is that the clubs listed are only banned for use in official competitions. The can be used for social golf. The bad news is that disqualification is inevitable if they are used in competitions (see Rules 4.1 and 4.2).

The latest R and A rulebook explains the penalties for carrying, but not making a stroke with, clubs in breach of these rules are as follows: Match play: At the conclusion of the hole at which the breach is discovered, the state of the match is adjusted by deducting one hole for each hole at which the breach has occurred, with a maximum deduction per round of two holes.

Stroke play: Two strokes for each hole at which the breach has occurred with a maximum penalty per round of four strokes.

In both instances, if the breach occurs between two holes the penalty applies to the next hole. Any clubs carried in breach of the rules must be declared out of play by the player immediately upon discovery. Failure to do so results in disqualification. See the notes to rules 32-1a and 32-1b for penalties in Stableford, bogey and par competitions.

CONFUSION OVER WINTER RULES.

Though the new season is only a few weeks away, confusion still reigns over our winter rules. For instance, the instructions posted on the locker room notice board in November state that mats must be used on all areas of the course except on greens and when using a putter. More recently, a notice on the first tee said mats must be used on the fairways and in the rough. But all this is not strictly true.

Many members, not surprisingly, have been using mats in the gully over the intervening months. Questioned, greens' secretary Steve McNamara said this was not the intention. "Mats should not be used in the gully, or in areas of deep rough which are not regularly cut," he said. These areas include those on the right of the 11th, 17th, and 18th holes. And, perhaps obviously, mats should not be used in bunkers. Nor is putting permitted from the summer greens when winter greens are in operation. The ball should be moved to the nearest point of relief and then placed on a mat.

ALAN'S AMAZING POWER SHOT.

Alan Power, of our motorised division, spectacularly holed his shot over the gully at the par five eighth hole when playing a round of social golf. Unfortunately for this modest 26-handicapper, his ball did not finish in the hole but in the pocket of Dave Jones, who was waiting to play his shot on the sixth tee. Dave was unsure whether to berate Power for his waywardness or to claim a snooker. But common sense prevailed and he dropped the ball at his feet in accordance with the rules amid laughter all round.

Octogenarian Eric Smith also consigned Steve Wilkinson to a few rounds of discomfort when his drive from the 18th tee smashed into Steve's electric trolley, breaking a bracket and making it impossible to use.

Eric has since paid for the necessary repair

MONSOON WEATHER HITS COMPETITIONS.

With the course closed for more than a week due to almost continuous heavy rain, few competitions have been possible. Thankfully, the conditions eased sufficiently to allow the January medal to take place.

The winner was the aforementioned Dave Jones , who carded 88-22-61 to relegate Terry Walsh to second place with 73-11-62. Glen Shaw (74-12-62), missed out on a card play-off. Dave also won a Pro's Stableford with 36pts. This was matched by M. Henshaw, who had to be satisfied with second place on a countback. Brian Donnelly also amassed 36pts but lost out on his back nine score.

KEN BAKER MAKES IT A DOUBLE.

Ken Baker won two consecutive Pro's comps - and was docked four points under James Matterson's winter handicaps system. In the first he scored 38pts over sixteen holes to defeat Terry Walsh by a couple of points. In the second, he scored 36pts, one more than Louis Cordwell, with Jim Mellor missing out on a CPO.

AN ACE FOR WHITWORTH.

The old year ended on a high note for 12-handicapper Gary Whitworth when he holed his tee shot on the winter green at the 6th. But the New Year turned sour for Gary when he sneezed and broke a rib! He has not played since, but is now well on the way to recovery.

OH DEAR, McNAMARA'S LOCKED IN LAVATORY.

Christmas cheer turned to despair on Boxing Day afternoon when Tony McNamara popped into the locker room. Unfortunately for him, stewardess Carol Buckley did not know where he had gone, closed the bar, locked up, and left. And Tony simply could not find a way out. After about half an hour he eventually climbed out of the lavatory window.