Golf Club Newsletter - 2009, Issue 1

2008 in Review

Sometime early last year I was having a few bottles of red wine after a game of golf with David Bray at Kew Golf Club when I made the mistake of asking him what had happened to the Harlequin golf days. In true Braysie form he said 'why don't you organise them' and given the amount of red wine that had passed my lips I agreed to get things going again.

Andy Corp sent me a list of people to contact and some tips on what to do and we got going with our first golf day for the 2008 year at the Growling Frog course at Whittlesea, a short drive out of Melbourne. David Bray was kind enough to set me up by getting the manager at the course to tell me as soon as I arrived that I had booked for the following weekend and there were no slots available! Well after a minor heart attack we had a good day. Unfortunately my golf cart ran out of batteries at the furthest point from the clubhouse but luckily a new one arrived and the rest of the day went without a problem.

After Growling Frog we played Eagle Ridge, Flinders and Waterford Valley and I think it's fair to say that everyone who participated thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

Dennis Crawford Cup 2008

A number of us went up to Bowral for the inaugural Dennis Crawford Cup between Melbourne and Sydney Quins. It was a great weekend and Jeff Naylor and I are now in the process of planning this year's event. The official activities for the weekend started with a dinner on the Saturday night at a local Italian restaurant and many Quins caught up with people that they hadn't seen for a number of years. Jeff Naylor, Warren 'Nipper' Lewis, Trevor 'Hawkeye' Hawkins, Rex Harris and Dave Grey (and apologies to those that I have missed) were there and everyone spent most of the night catching up on old times which in many cases was as much as forty plus years ago.

The next morning we hit off on the Bowral Golf Course and had a great day of golf. For the first time in many months (maybe years) the heavens opened up in Bowral on the Saturday and we were lucky that the weather cleared and was perfect for golf on the Sunday. We had a BBQ lunch after the golf and the prizes were awarded. The Melbourne Quins won the Dennis Crawford Cup by the smallest of margins and Mike Dundee won the Green Jacket for the best individual performance (a great round of 40 stableford points).

A few of us went up to Bowral earlier and had a look around the area and got some practice on the Bowral Golf Course on the Saturday afternoon before the dinner. Then on the Sunday after the BBQ the Rugby League Grand Final was televised at one of the local pubs in Bowral and it was one of those matches which Melbourne Storm 'couldn't lose' (a bit like the Rugby League World Cup when NZ thrashed Australia). Melbourne Storm got thrashed eight tries to nil and most people dispersed and set off for Melbourne and Sydney on the Monday morning.

It really was a great weekend. If you have a reasonably fast broadband connection you can see pictures of the weekend by clicking here. (The photos were taken by Andrew Turner, Hawkeye's future son-in-law).

What's Happening in 2009?

I thought it would be good to set out the program for 2009 in advance even if we haven't locked down all of the venues - at least people can put the dates into their diary. The basic means of communication will continue to be email but everything that you need to know will also be on the new Quins website at http://quins.com.au/harlequins/events/golf_days.

Schedule (Preliminary)

The preliminary schedule is shown below and please commit the dates to your diary. As we firm up the venues the information will be committed to the website and I will send an email to everyone who has registered their interest in receiving information about golf days. You can register and pay for the Trentham Golf Day by clicking on the 'Date' link below and you will not only be able to register your attendance but also see who else has registered to attend. If you click on the 'Venue' links in the table below you will be able to view the course information.

Competition Format

The competition format for all events will be individual stableford. This means we need to know your handicap at (or close to) the date of each event. For those of you who have an official handicap we will ask that you update the details of your home club, Golflink number and handicap when you register on the website.

For those of you who do not have an official handicap you should provide your best estimate of your handicap. The maximum handicap allowed will be what now seems to be the standard 'club handicap' which is 36 for men and 45 for women. For those who do not have an official handicap we will maintain records of each players' performance so that we can gradually obtain an accurate view of golfing ability and allocate handicaps.

The prizes on each golf day will be:

• Highest number of stableford points (count back in the event of a draw) wins the perpetual trophy

• Longest drive

• Nearest the pin (one on the front nine and one on the back nine)

I'm going to dispense with the NAGA since I am not sure that too many people really want it known that they have come last and I certainly don'!

I also plan to have an 'end of year' award for the individual who has scored the highest number of stableford points over the year. This will include the seven golf days excluding the Bowral weekend.

Registration, Payment and Administration

Just a quick word about the role the new website plays in communication and administration. You should already have an account on the website which enables you to logon and access additional 'member only' functions. If you have not yet logged on go to http://quins.com.au and enter your username and password. If you don't know your username and/or your password click on the Request New Password link. This will ask you to enter your username or email address. If you don't know at least one of those then there's no way that I can help you!

Let's assume you enter your email address. You will receive an email with a link to enable you to logon. This link will only work once. When you have logged on go to 'My contact details'. Click the Edit tab, then click the Account tab and change your password - make sure you remember it. Then click the Member Details tab and update your information and in particular you must click on the Golfer Tag to receive information about golf days. Logout and then logon again with your username or email address and your new password. If you have difficulty give me a call on 0408 265 586 and if necessary I can remotely control your PC so that you can see how to do the above stuff. It's not hard but please don't all call at once!

Most of the venues that we use insist on us making a prepayment for the golf. Depending on the number of people and the venue this can be as much as $1,000 depending on the number of carts that we need to reserve. Apart from a small number of stalwarts most people leave it until the day to pay and this leaves me with with a reasonable bill to pay in advance and no certainty that I will get the numbers that I pay for. Most people pay on the day but with all of the other things going on I usually have no idea who has and who has not given me the money. It always seems to be 'OK on the night' but I would prefer a better process.

Now that the Quins have a new website we are able to make registration and payments for events much simpler for you and me. You will be able to register, pay and update your golf handicap in one visit to the website. For each golf day I will send an email which will provide you with the registration link and I would really appreciate you using this method of letting me know that you propose to play and making payment at the same time. It is also an opportunity to make sure that your contact details are correct.

This year I propose that the cost of the day will be fixed at $55.00 and I will try to manage the course fees to ensure that we don't lose on the day. Some of the courses will cost us more than the $55 fee and some will be less but over the course of the year I think you will get very good value for your money. The cost will cover course fees, prizes for the day, a contribution to the end of year prize and the engraving of the trophy. Carts will be additonal and dependent on their cost and availability at the particular venue and I will let you know when I send out the emails about each golf day.

Please note that 2009 Harlequin club subscriptions are now due and regular golfers are expected to be a member of the Harlequin Rugby Union Football Club. You can pay your club subscriptions using your credit card (Mastercard or Visa) or PayPal account (if you have one) by clicking here.

Happy New Year to you all and good golfing.