Captain’s Newsletter 5
October 2017
Dear Ladies,
The end of the season is upon us and there are just a few bits and pieces to tie up before we lay off for the winter and keep our fingers crossed for a drier summer next year.
This will be my last newsletter as lady captain because I do not intend to put myself forward for the job again next season. Time for new blood and fresh enthusiasm I think.
During my time as captain I tried to establish, by consultation, what the lady members wanted from the club and managed to try out every suggestion that they put forward. One of my main aims when I took on the job was to improve communication with the ladies and I tried to do this via the website and the newsletters. I also wanted to encourage and support new lady members mainly through come and try events and coaching sessions and we gained 8 new lady members over the past two years. I hope the ladies have enjoyed the variety of fixtures on the calendar. I was really pleased with the success of our ladies open this year, a big thank you to all of you who helped make it such a fun day, we had many positive comments from visiting golfers.
I would like to thank all of the Lochcarron Lady members for their support and especially those who have supported the club events regularly throughout the season, this support is invaluable for the development and long term health of the club. I would like to give a very special thank you to Karen Starr who has given her time selflessly to go through all the coaching training and testing to help our beginners and has helped consistently with the website, membership, handicap and rules queries. Her help has been greatly appreciated.
End of August to 1st October Winners:-
27th August – August Medal – Elspeth Underhill
3rd September – Shieldaig Trophy 5 – 1st Karen Starr, 2nd Miriam Drysdale, 3rd Ank Carins
10th September – 9 hole eclectic – Overall winner – Karen Starr
16th September – 9 hole mixed walk on open – David Hunter (First lady Karen Starr)
17th September – Mulligan Foursomes – June Miller and Heather Climson
24th September – September Medal – June Miller
1st October – Shieldaig Trophy 6 – 1st Karen Starr, 2nd June Miller, 3rd Ank Carins
Club Championship – Karen Starr
Ladies Locker Room and Toilet:-
Thank you to everyone who responded to my questionnaire about the use of the toilet in the ladies’ locker room. It took a while but we finally got a good number of responses from the ladies. One person thought that anyone should be allowed to use the toilets, one person thought we should put our lady golfers only sign back up and try to reinforce it and a third person voted for a partition. The overwhelming consensus however was, that a keypad should be fitted. The committee agreed and the keypad is now in place. I will email all lady members the code separately. Sharon also has the code if you can’t remember it when you get to the clubhouse.
Club AGM and Prizegiving:-
As you have all been informed, this will take place on Friday 17th November at 7.00pm. It would be great to see as many of you as can make it on the night.
The evening will include a short AGM with election of office bearers, the presentation of this season’s prizes and a fun quiz. There will be a free finger buffet and the bar will be open.
If you are going to nominate someone for a job, please make sure you ask them before the meeting.
Karen is stepping down as club membership secretary so we need a replacement to whom she will pass on all relevant info.
For those of you who may be interested, the lady captain’s job is to look after all things concerning the lady members ie arranging fixtures, working out and publishing competition results and sorting out prizes, maintaining handicaps, organising catering when necessary and dealing with any issues that arise. The second part of the job involves being an active member of the golf club committee which meets once a month and deals with all things relating to the development and running of the club.
I think it’s important for the ladies to have a captain to run the ladies section and have a voice on the committee. Please consider whether you can take on this role either by yourself or with a willing partner.
I would be happy to pass on to the new lady captain all the background information and answer any questions they may have.
All best wishes for the future to you all.
See you on the golf course.
June
Shieldaig Trophy is postponed until 10am on Sunday 8th Oct.
Shieldaig Trophy – 1st October
Because of the very poor weather forecast for tomorrow, the provisional start time is moved to 2pm. Please re-check this page before you leave, as the competition may need to be cancelled.
Mulligan Foursomes – 17th September
Great fun competition with lots of laughs! Elspeth played with Mary but June and Heather came out on top. Well done to you both.
Captain’s Newsletter 4
July/August 2017
Dear Ladies,
Still raining and windy! Well done to all of you who have been ploughing on regardless. Maybe we’ll have some sunshine in September to make up for the miserable summer.
New Players
I have been encouraging our new beginners to come and join in with the ladies’ activities and it’s been good to see one or two of them begin to do so.
Club Championship
Karen managed to beat Elspeth and June managed to beat Sandra to reach the finals of the Club Championship. The final will be played within the next couple of weeks and I’ll let you know the winner in the next newsletter. Full details of the draw and results are on the noticeboard in the ladies changing room.
June Winners
10th June – Gairloch at Home – A convincing win for Lochcarron
11th June – 2 clubs and a putter – Karen Starr
18th June – 9 hole eclectic – Karen and June very close at the top with quite a gap behind. Come on girls let’s start the chasing.
25th June – June Medal – June Miller
July Winners
2nd July – Shieldaig Trophy 3 – June Miller
8th July – Gents Open –Scratch winner Stevie McIntosh MOO(gross 64). Lochcarron winners Div1- 1st Thomas Ferns (nett 60), 2nd Thomas Watson (nett 63).
Best Lochcarron man Simon MacKenzie (nett 59). More details on club website news page. A big thank you to all lady helpers.
9th July – 9 hole eclectic – Karen in the lead closely followed by June
15th July – Gairloch Away
16th July – Skins
23rd July – July Medal – June Miller
24th July – Director’s Cup – This is a pairs competition for Highland Council workers past and present which moves to a different venue every year. More
details on club website. Winners this year Karen Starr and June Miller with Slippy and Chris from IOS just one point behind!
30th July – Isle of Skye Away – The weather cleared up nicely for us and we had a good day’s golf but the Skye girls triumphed on the day.
August Winners
6th August – Shieldaig Trophy 4 – Karen Starr
13th August – 9 hole eclectic – Karen is now in the lead by 3 strokes from June and 5 strokes from Joanna
19th August – Ladies Captain’s Day –It was too wet to play our team match but we still managed our silky skills test and relay hole much to the entertainment of some German tourists who are going to try it when they go home. It was a good opportunity for the ladies to get together for a nice relaxing lunch.
20th August – Isle of Skye Home – The Lochcarron girls won at Lochcarron but Skye’s extra points from our match at Sconser meant that they were overall winners.
Dates for your diaries:-
Sun 27th August – August Medal
Sun 3rd September – Shieldaig Trophy 5
Sun 10th September – 9 hole eclectic
Sat 16th September – 9 hole mixed walk on open
Sun 17th September – Mulligan Foursomes
Sun 24th September – September Medal
Sun 1st October – Shieldaig Trophy 6 – All of the above are 10.00 starts
Ladies pitch up and play – informal/sociable golf Thursdays at 11.00
See you on the golf course.
Cheers
June
Skins – 16th July
Ank won a closely fought fun skins 9 hole event today, choosing her time to strike with the cunning of a great huntress. Others tried and failed to catch her!
Match v Gairloch Ladies 15th July
Seven brave Lochcarron ladies survived the monsoon at Gairloch on Saturday. Fortunately we had a much warmer welcome from the Gairloch ladies than we did from the weather. June was delighted with her nearest the pin prize and a lovely 2 on the 7th. After a keenly contested stableford match, Gairloch narrowly emerged as the winners on the day.
This means that we share the as yet unnamed trophy that the Gairloch and Lochcarron Ladies play for annually.
Many thanks to the Gairloch ladies for a super day and lovely hospitality.
Here are a few photos of the day…
Captain’s Newsletter – June 2017
Dear Ladies,
What happened to all the lovely sunshine? It seems to have been raining constantly since I mentioned the good weather!
Well we must all be really hardy because we’ve just kept going and lots of golf has been played.
May Winners
7th May– I managed to move myself to the top of the eclectic chart. I’m not sure how long that will last. I’m sure you’ll all be chasing me down.
14th May – Yet another successful Come and Try Day resulting in three and perhaps four new members for the club all of whom are coming to the coaching. A winning combo. The ladies will soon need practice on the course and will be looking for buddies to play with.
I’ve suggested that they come and join in at 11.00 on Thursdays where there will usually be someone available to go out with.
21st May– The Bring a Buddy Greensomes was great fun and hotly contested. It was won by one point by Karen Starr and Susie Cooper from Caroline Bashford and Alison Wilson.
28th May– The May Medal was won, much to her surprise, by Joanna MacKinnon.
3rd June– Lochcarron Ladies Open Report
Our 2017 Ladies Open was a great success. The atmosphere in the clubhouse was fun and friendly. We got a bit of competition going with the quiz teams and everyone seemed to be enjoying the cocktails and mocktails and having a good time.
The overall winner on the day was Kerstin Reich with 37 stableford points and a better inward half than the bronze section winner Cathryn Field who also had 37 points. The bronze runner up prize was won by Joanna MacKinnon with 32 points and the silver section was won by Karen Starr with 31 points. Kerstin also won the Isy Dua trophy for the Best Lochcarron Lady. Karen had the longest drive and Rachael Bannerman from Strathpeffer was nearest the pin in two.
Good results from some of our Lochcarron ladies, and many players from other clubs have told me they enjoyed themselves, so lots of positives to take away.
Many thanks to…
- The team who maintain the course so well…Thomas, Dave and Roddie and their helpers
- Sharon and Morag for lovely food throughout the day
- Starter and ball spotters – Simon and the two Ians
- Entry desk and raffles – Johan
- Everyone who donated a raffle prize
Finally, our grateful thanks to Cathryn Field from Tigh an Eilean Hotel for her continued sponsorship of this event.
10th June – Lochcarron Ladies v Gairloch
We had a great result in our ladies Stableford match with Gairloch with Lochcarron players winning every match. I’m sure that Gairloch will hope to emulate our result when we go to play them on July 15th. Wins and losses aside it was good to spend time with the Gairloch ladies again and we had a pleasant day followed by a lovely lunch provided by Sharon.
11th June– 2 clubs and a putter competition was won by Karen Starr
Communication
Can I ask everyone please to respond to availability queries, by email if possible, in a timely fashion whether they can play or not. Recently I’ve been having to chase round some people for their responses which takes up a lot of time and means that I can’t get things organised till the last minute. It would be so much easier if everyone just took two minutes to respond to requests when they get them.
Dates for your Diaries and Upcoming Events :-
Club Championship– This is a handicap matchplay format. Attached draw and dates to be played at the end of this letter.
18th June– 9 hole eclectic 11.00
25th June– June Medal
2nd July– Shieldaig Trophy 3 stableford
8th July– Lochcarron Gents Open – volunteer ball spotters welcomed
9th July– 9 hole eclectic
15th July– Gairloch Ladies v Lochcarron Ladies (note change of date)
16th July– Skins
23rd July– July Medal
30th July– Isle of Skye v Lochcarron Ladies
If you would like to play at Gairloch or Skye please let me know a.s.a.p. so that I can sort out teams.
I am hoping to reschedule the lady captain’s day which has been moved to make way for the Gairloch match to Saturday 19th August. I’ll confirm this next month.
See you on the golf course.
Cheers
June
Ladies club championship 2017 draw
It is the responsibility of the first named player to make contact and arrange the match in good time. Any difficulties, contact June as soon as possible.
| Round 1 | Play by
9th July |
|
| Joanna | V | Karen |
| Kay | V | Elspeth |
| Ank | V | June |
| Mary | V | Sandra |
Ladies Come and Try Day 14th May 2017
A lovely day! Thank you for coming and for making it worth while for us holding the sessions. We hope you continue to learn lots at the coaching sessions to follow…
Captain’s Newsletter 2 – May 2017
Dear Ladies,
Sunshine golf! Hasn’t it been great and the greens are getting better and better as the season goes on.
April Winners
2nd April – Shieldaig Trophy 1 – Karen Starr 3pts, Ank Carins 2pts, Kay Liston 1pt
10th April – Metoo fun competition – June Miller
17th April – 9 hole eclectic – the competition continues with Ank Carins in the lead
24th April – April Medal – June Miller
30th April – Shieldaig Trophy 2 – Karen Starr 3pts, Kay Liston 2pts, June Miller 1pt (on countback)
Playing Away
A group of 6 Lochcarron Ladies played in the Fortrose pairs competition on 6th May. No winners but some decent scoring and we all really enjoyed it. Some of the Fortrose Ladies hope to come to our open in June.
Encouraging Beginners
We are always looking to welcome new members to the club and we are going to try again the successful beginner pathway trialled last year. For the ladies section this is what we’re going to offer:-
Come and Try Day (14th May) – FREE
5 coaching sessions for £25 (ie £5 each) plus a £20 reduction in joining fee if they choose to join
For those who join a minimum of 3 buddy sessions round the course so that they can gain confidence going round the course and have cards marked to gain their handicap. Once they have their handicap they can begin to join in any of the 9 hole or 18 hole, fun, team, stableford or strokeplay competitions available or just go out for a few holes with friends.
Dates for your Diaries and Upcoming Events
Club Championship – The draw for this competition will take place this month and the first round should be played by June 24th. A handicap matchplay format will be used. Details of the draw will be on the clubhouse noticeboard and on the club website.
Sun 14th May – We are going to have a ladies come and try day so if you know anyone who might be interested, please encourage them to come along. Any offers of help on the day will be very welcome.
Sun 21st May – Bring a Buddy Greensome 18 holes. Lochcarron ladies should bring a buddy from another club to play with them [In greensomes both players tee off. They choose which drive they want to use and from then on play alternate shots with that ball]. If each pair pays £5 we should be able to buy a nice prize for the winners.
We’re hoping to have a fun day with as many pairs as we can get out on the course. This will be a cheap fun day out for your friends from other clubs.
Sat 3rd June – Lochcarron Ladies Open.
This competition will be played in a stableford format once again as it helped keep games moving along smoothly last year and reduced the frustration of some of our visitors at the more difficult holes. I will be looking for volunteers to help on the day. I am also looking for raffle prizes. Any donations will be gratefully received. Please let me know a.s.a.p. if you or any of your friends are going to play so that I can begin sorting out the tee times etc. The draw will be available from May 28th on the website. A big thank you to the Tigh an Eilean hotel for once again sponsoring this event.
Sat 10th June – Home match v Gairloch Ladies
I’m making up a team to play this match and really need some volunteers to make up the team. All welcome.
Please let me know if you are available to play in this or other matches by completing the availability attachment at the end of this letter and returning it to me asap.
Thurs 27th July – Fabulous Foursomes – Pairs will be drawn on the day from the list of entrants. We have a lovely Quaich available for the winners. Entry forms for the foursomes and club championship are available in the clubhouse or from me by email and should be returned to me by June 1st.
Hope to see some of you on the course soon. Cheers for now.
June
MATCH AVAILABILITY RETURN
Please mark either the yes or no column for each match to indicate your availability. Thank you
| Day | Date | Match | YES | NO |
| Sat | 10/6/17 | Gairloch (H) | ||
| Sun | 30/7/17 | Isle of Skye (A) | ||
| Sat | 12/8/17 | Gairloch (A) | ||
| Sun | 20/8/17 | Isle of Skye (H) |
9th April 2017
Congratulations to our first fun competition winner of the year…the “metoo”.
Captain’s Newsletter 1 – April 2017
Dear Ladies,
Ready, Steady, Go!
After a very successful flag day I’m sure you’re all raring to gofor the coming season.
As last season’s combination of fixtures seemed to work out pretty well I’ve decided to repeat them, maybe with a few tweaks here and there along the way.
Our Fixtures
You have all received your fixture lists on your new membership cards and copies of the fixture list will also be posted on the club website and the noticeboard in the ladies’ changing room. Sometimes changes have to be made to the fixture list and if so I will try to give you as much notice as possible. All changes will be updated on the website and in the clubhouse.
As well as monthly medals, 18 hole strokeplay and Shieldaig Trophy matches, 18 hole stableford, which can all be used as qualifying competitions for handicap purposes, I have included once again the 9 hole, foursome, mixed and fun competitions that people were keen to have. We also have matches against Gairloch and Sconser.
I’ve left the Thursday pitch up and play sessions as casual get togethers at 11.00. I feel that it’s important for us to keep to an agreed time frame for these sessions so that any member knows that they can come along then and there’s a good chance that there will be someone to play with. I want all players to feel included and welcomed into our group.
Competitions
There will be a variety of competitions on offer this season:-
Monthly Medals – 18 hole handicap strokeplay competitions, bronze and silver divisions will be separate, lowest nett score on the day wins.
Shieldaig Trophy – 18 hole handicap stableford competition. 3 points for a win, 2 points for second, 1 point for third. Player’s 5 best scores are totalled to give an overall winner.
9 Hole Eclectic – This handicap strokeplay competition which runs throughout the season. It was really exciting and close run last year so here’s hoping it’s just as close this time. Each player will put their completed scorecard in the scorecard dropbox in the ladies changing room. I will keep a running record of their best score for each hole. At the end of the season the player with the lowest nett total is the winner.
Fabulous Foursomes – As last season if I can get a minimum of 8 players entering, this pairs competition will go ahead. Players will enter the competition and pairs will be drawn on the day. We have a lovely Quaich available for the winners.
Club Championship – Usually these competitions are played off scratch but that’s still not a worthwhile option for us at the moment as we don’t have enough low handicappers to make it competitive. Instead I propose to use a handicap matchplay format again.
Entry forms for the foursomes and club championship will be available in the clubhouse or from me by email from April 10th and should be returned to me by April 30th
Fun Competitions
There are several fun competitions on the fixture list and I hope that you will enjoy them. Small fun prizes will be awarded to the winners.
Communication
I will keep the online ladies’ noticeboard on the club website www.lochcarrongolfclub.co.uk. updated so that everyone can keep in touch with what’s going on. I will also post monthly newsletters there and in the clubhouse.
All lady members will have my contact details on their membership card if they need to get in touch. Please feel free to contact me with any ideas or changes that you feel would benefit us.
Encouraging Beginners
Following last year’s success we are going to have another ladies come and try day. If you know anyone who might be interested, please encourage them to come along. This event will be advertised in local shops, on noticeboards and in An Carranach. Any offers of help on the day will be very welcome. Following this I plan to offer a series of basic coaching sessions in May and June for anyone who is interested.
Dates for your Diaries:
Sun 2nd April – Shieldaig Trophy 1- 18 hole stableford – 10.00
Sun 9th April – Metoo – fun competition – 10.00
Sun 16th April – 9 hole eclectic – strokeplay – 10.00
Sun 23rd April – April Medal – 18 hole strokeplay – 10.00
Sun 30th April – Shieldaig Trophy 2 – 18 hole stableford – 10.00
Sun 7th May – 9 hole eclectic – strokeplay – 10.00
Sun 14th May – Ladies come and try day – coaching – 11.00
Sun 21st May – Bring a Buddy Greensome 18 holes. Lochcarron ladies should bring a buddy from another club to play with them [In greensomes both players tee off. They choose which drive they want to use and from then on play alternate shots with that ball]. If each pair pays £5 we should be able to buy a nice prize for the winners – fun competition – 10.00
Sun 28th May – May Medal – 18 hole strokeplay – 10.00
Sat 3rd June – Lochcarron Ladies Open – Stableford
This event will be advertised from the end of March onwards. I will be looking for volunteers to help on the day. I am also looking for raffle prizes. Any donations will be gratefully received.
If there are any questions or suggestions please get in touch.
Looking forward to seeing you all on the golf course.
Cheers for now.
June
Lochcarron Golf Club 