Penrith GC start of season update
Hi all,
Just a start of season updates from myself and the leads for all the sections we have here at the club.
Firstly, it was good to see such a positive start to the season with the first summer competition having a good attendance despite still having mats and 3 winter greens due to the weather we have had the week previous, likewise the junior presentation night was well attended by a number of our juniors.
The two committees are moving forward with the best interest of the clubs at the forefront of what we do. The committees are communicating on a regular basis and will meet next week (13th of April) to go through any issues and look at how we progress the club.
Given that we are moving out of the pandemic PGC has a fantastic opportunity to progress, the levels of visitors are high and the income of that has been terrific and will be invested in the infrastructure of the club.
The key thing we are trying to get right is what we communicate to the membership, in the past we have been told we tell them too much and in similar conversations we don’t tell them enough. So we have cut down the amount of emails we send to members will only look to send emails for major issues that need dealt with. In place of regular emails, we will use the member news function on the website to keep members up to date and every other month the committees will publish a newsletter with information from all sections of the club, our caterers and the professionals.
Regarding the AGM, the MC and EC will meet on the 13th of April to discuss this and how we move forward with it.
Before we move onto the sections however, I must say a thank you on behalf of myself and the club president Phil Park to the volunteers that have helped remove debris from storms, fixed issues within the club, cut the practice facilities, picked up our range balls, helped with our junior section, assisted with the running of opens and any others that have helped our club. Without you the club wouldn’t exist in the way it does now and my gratitude goes out to them.
Last week I spoke to Robin, Gideon and the greens team and the update can be found here
The timelines for the course coming back online can be found here
Ladies sections
The first qualifying competition, the Jefferson Trophy, is scheduled for Sunday the 3rd and Tuesday the 5th of April and the lady’s section are looking forward to the 2022.
The past captain’s competition was held on the 16th of March, with Jenny Balmer (our most recent past captain) winning the trophy. On Saturday the 19th of March we held our presentation and coffee morning, which was well attended, with donations going to the past captain’s charity, Jigsaw Children’s Hospice.
The ladies team start their matches in April, with the A team playing Seascale at home. This is followed by Windermere at home on the 22nd of April.
The Cecil Leitch team have their first match on Monday the 11th of April at home to Seascale and the B team play Seascale away on the 22nd of April.
Good Friday sees us holding the usual charity competition for Guide Dogs For The Blind, alongside this we are having our Easter cupcake competition, following this we will sell the cakes with all money taken going to the charity.
The first mixed social golf was on Saturday the 26th of March and it was enjoyed by all. The next is the 16th of April. If anyone wants to play please keep an eye on the notice boards and add your availability to play. It is competitive golf but held in a friendly setting where the aim is to get to know more members.
All the trophy winners are pictured below. Well done to all the winners and all the best for the coming season.
Junior update
The junior section had their presentation on the 4th of April. This was well attended by juniors, their parents and grandparents as well as the junior committee members. During the evening the awards were given by the lady’s captain Carol Slinger, Carol presented the awards and congratulated everyone.
This year the junior team will play matches against Kendal, Workington, Carlisle and Brampton. As well as this the junior open will be held on the 30th of May with an inter club competition being included in the format.
Junior coaching will be available from the 11th of April at 5:30. The coaching will be held in six three blocks and will run until the middle of September (apart from bank holidays).
The junior academy course is available and offers the juniors the opportunity to gain an official handicap.
The junior fundraiser this year will be held on the 29th of April, teams of 4 are welcomed as well as juniors. Tees are also available to sponsor for £20, please get in touch with the the professionals if you would like to do this. As well as this a big thank you to Dad’s Army who have donated £200 to the junior section.
Dad’s army
Dads Army have had another successful winter season with only three competitions cancelled due to the weather and from a group of 135 members we generally have a very good turnout of between 60 and 72 playing each week.
We have a full summer calendar ahead of us playing for a variety of trophies and in different formats, most of which are qualifying competitions.
As well as our weekly competitions we also run inter club competitions, home and away, from many Cumbrian and southern Scotland clubs which does help promote PGC.
If you are over 55 and would like to join Dads Army just book in for one of our Thursday morning competitions on BRS or alternatively contact Peter Holliday (Competitions Secretary) email- paholliday50@outlook.com
As a group we also support the club on and off the course and give some financial support to our valued junior section.