SPRING NEWSLETTER OCTOBER 2011

FROM THE PRESIDENT

I write this report while New Zealand is basking in the All Blacks tight and exciting win against the French in the rugby World Cup final. As they say, a win is a win, no matter that it was by one point. Congratulations to all those involved.

Membership

The past three–four months has been a challenging period for the club's board and management. As usual, at this time of the year, cash flow has been tight but even more so by the uncertainty surrounding the maturing two-for-one memberships. The marketing committee over the last six months or so has been in touch with most of these members to ensure they feel part of the club and to obtain feedback on their experiences in their first year.

The board introduced a "bring a buddy” scheme (detailed in the marketing convenor's report) in September aimed at growing our membership. I have to say that to date, it has not proved all that successful. The board decided to supplement that initiative by directing a 25 percent rebate solely to the two-for-one maturing members if they renewed their membership. The offer was open for a limited two-week period and required payment in full on renewal. I am pleased to record that that was much more successful with 65 members re-committing to the club for a further year. This success has materially assisted our immediate short-term cash position. In addition to a small number renewing under the "bring a buddy” scheme it has been pleasing to also see others renew by continuing to pay by the instalment programme.

The longer-term position is, however, still a major issue for the club, as with many others in the Wellington region and throughout New Zealand. The general economy, peoples discretionary spend, changing lifestyle and growing alternative sporting interests, continue to put pressure on traditional sports, such as golf. Addressing this issue remains a major focus for the club's board and I would suggest all members.

Centenary

I first raised the idea of forming a centenary committee in 2009, when 2013 seemed a long way off. As I expected, time has simply flown and the centenary is now only a short 18 months away. A small but dedicated sub-committee of the marketing committee has been beavering away on our behalf for the last two or three years compiling a programme to commemorate this significant event in the club's history. Full details will be released in the coming months and I look forward to as many of you as possible supporting the various events and activities. Some initial information is provided under the marketing convenor's report. If you have any ideas, thoughts or anecdotes for inclusion in the centenary book, please contact Allan Criglington, the centenary convenor (04 566 1095 or e-mail allan.criglington@xtra.co.nz) in the first instance.

Raffle

You will now be aware of the 100 x 100 raffle (100 tickets at $100 each) to raise funds for the club. The first and second prizes of three-year and one-year membership subscriptions are well worth winning, so look out for the raffle board in the Chip In. We would very much appreciate your support.

Take care out there and, as usual, good golfing and stay well.

David Tuck
President

CAPTAIN'S CORNER

Spring is here, the greens are speeding up, the ball is running on the fairways and winter handicaps will be on the way down.

For the men members the club championships are under way and the Bree and Tingey Cups are continuing.

We have called for those interested in playing men's Interclub next year to register as soon as possible. This year was a stellar one for club in the interclub competition. The 36-hole team was highly competitive and just missed the Duncan Cup round. Manor Park won three of the 18-hole divisions, including division one. The division four and nine teams won their grades with a round to spare and are promoted for next season. Division six had a royal battle (literally) and finished a close second to Royal Wellington. Division 10 showed fighting spirit and hung on at the end. We are hoping for similar results next year so we need your names on the list.

Our Women's Interclub teams have also been very strong again this year with three 18-hole teams winning their respective divisions and the 36-hole team finishing second. So with the men performing to a similar level as we have become accustomed to with our women, overall it has been a highly successful Interclub season for the Club

Reminder of one event coming up:-

Rider Cup – Kiwis versus Internationals on Sunday, November 13.

Over the years, the club has run a very successful junior programme and our thanks are due to Carmen and Greig Blackler who have managed the juniors for the last five years.

We are delighted that Richard Gibbs has volunteered as convenor this year. He will be supported by Jayne Irvine for secretarial assistance, plus 12 coaches who will impart their knowledge to the children. The coaches will be trained by club professional Murray McDonald who has assessed the children and organised them into groups. The season for the juniors started October 30.

As I am new to this role I would like to express my thanks to the outgoing club captain, Alan Humphries, who has completed five years in the role. He has managed the golf committee and all its endeavours with style and humour. He will continue on the committee along with Peter Brown, Andy Hamilton and Isobel Knapp. Our role is to manage all things pertaining to the playing of golf. I thank them all for their continued enthusiasm and participation.

Geoff Lane
Club Captain

WORDS FROM WALLACE

Membership

We have experienced a higher resignation rate this year than in recent years which we believe is partly due to the economy but also the heavily discounted website promoted daily deal offers which are floating around the golf market at present. The club is therefore actively seeking to attract more members. To encourage members to help grow the membership as well as to incentivise renewal, the ``Bring a Buddy'' scheme was launched in August, the details of which are covered by the Marketing Convenor in his report. I would just like to observe that a full playing man, for example, can join for as little as $802 (or by instalments at $17.36 per week), and I encourage you to get in behind this promotion.

It is good to see that many of you have been bringing guests to the club with the vouchers provided earlier in the year following the collapse of the golf passport scheme and I do hope you are able to use this opportunity to persuade them to join your club and share your experience at Manor Park on a regular basis.

If your membership is due for renewal and you are considering resigning please do not hesitate to ring Steve or Chris in the club office who may be able to suggest an alternative membership option which may better suit your needs or budget.

Firewood

You have probably noticed the stack of pine tree trimmings at the northern end of the Porthole practice hole by the railway line. While it is intended that this be split early next year and sold to members and the public alike when dry, if any members wish to purchase now unsplit and wet please contact the club office. We are charging $50 for a standard 6 x 4 foot trailer with high sides. Same sized trailer without high sides $30, larger trailers/loads by arrangement. This is a good discount on commercial suppliers.

On the Course

Our grant application to the Southern Trust, Dunedin, was successful and course superintendent Craig Flack and his team are in the process of installing fairway irrigation on holes one and twelve. This will mean all par four and five holes south of the clubhouse will have been completed and will also allow more frequent rotation of our mobile irrigators on northern holes. A prerequisite to commencing underground irrigation on holes north of the clubhouse is an additional water bore and pump which will involve significant additional expenditure.

I am sure you will support the two-monthly mini-tyning coring regime we introduced on trial earlier in the year, one of the benefits of which recently became quite apparent with the usual full annual coring in late August which in effect closes the course for a week, no longer being necessary.

Good golfing to you all over the spring and summer months, here's hoping for some great golfing conditions.

Steve Wallace
General Manager

MARKETING COMMITTEE

Last year, during October and November, we enjoyed great success with our special offer of two adult new members joining for the price of one. As a result, just over 240 new members joined and many of us have met, played golf with and enjoyed their company.

This year we've rolled out the ``bring a buddy'' initiative aimed at rewarding those who introduce a new member and giving the new person a substantial discount. This offer is available to all Manor Park members. In case you missed the details, the offer is as follows:

Under the bring a buddy scheme, when you introduce a new member to any adult 12-month playing category of membership, the new member will receive a 25 percent discount on their first year subscription and you, the introducing existing member, will also receive a 25 percent discount on your 2011-12 subscription.

This is a great opportunity to talk to that friend or acquaintance who's been thinking about getting into golf. Tell them that Manor Park is an A grade golf course that provides challenges and rewards for golfers of all levels but demands respect (as most of us know). We have a reputation for being a friendly and sociable club thanks to you the members who welcome newcomers and make them feel at home. If you need some background information about Manor Park, have a read of the profile page on our website under the Club button or perhaps bring them along for a game to encourage them – Steve and Chris in the Office will be happy to provide you with a round voucher for those guests genuinely interested in joining a golf club.

Our Profile page refers to the fact that Manor Park Golf Club has been in existence since 1913 or 98 years. In two years time we will be celebrating our centenary. Celebrations will take place in April of 2013, just over 18 months away. A small group of members continues to work hard planning what will be a memorable few days. Centenary celebrations will start on Anzac Day and run through to Sunday, April 28, 2013. The centenary committee is keen to contact past members as well as current. If you know past members, please pass the message on -- we would like to hear from them. The convenor of the centenary committee is Allan Criglington, phone 04 566 1095 or e-mail allan.criglington@xtra.co.nz. If you have Manor Park memorabilia that you would be happy to lend the committee for display at the centenary, please let Allan know.

The members of the Manor Park marketing committee are: Allan Criglington, Anne Howe, Glenys Simmonds, Jennie Hewett, Paul Gueorgieff, and Craig Berridge. We would like to hear from you if you have great ideas for attracting new members, communicating information, generating sponsorship, increasing usage of the club facilities or promoting our centenary.

Craig Berridge
Marketing Committee

WOMEN'S SECTION

Our overnight trip was postponed due to snow and is now rescheduled for November 10 and 11. The interclub pennants section finals were held at Te Marua on Monday, September 12. Due to the inclement weather this was the third attempt to finish interclub. Our silver grade team played Royal Wellington and our bronze grade team played Royal Wellington and Boulcott's Farm simultaneously. The results were a draw for all grades as they again had to be abandoned due to the weather.

The qualifying rounds for club championships were held on Sunday, September 11 with 18 members taking part. Due to lack of numbers, the open and intermediate sections will combine into the open section. Good luck everyone, enjoy your matches.

Well done to Julianne Alvarez for finishing runner-up in the New Zealand under-19s women's strokeplay at Tauranga, and for having a great win at the Wellington Strokeplay at Shandon. Well played to Lucy Davis and Imogen Donnelly-Lawrence who finished second and fourth respectively in the Wellington Strokeplay and again congratulations to Lucy who went on to win the matchplay title of the Wellington Championships. Manor Park women's golf remains the strongest by a country mile in Wellington and should again dominate the Wellington team for the Interprovincial tournament at Whakatane in December.

Congratulations to our Manor Park players who cleaned up at the Wellington District Women's Strokeplay recently at Waikanae.

This year's introductory day did not attract the numbers we usually have. We will try again early next year.

Enjoy your golf

Isobel Knapp
Women's Captain

VETERAN'S GROUP

A variety of weather conditions over winter brought some interesting results with the field on occasions struggling for anyone to play to their handicap. However, our rather unique snowstorm in August made us reflect that we are fortunate not to be living in more northern hemisphere climes where golf is only possible for four-five months of the year.

Our Easter tournament resulted in victory for Roger Morris on 37 stableford points with quite a gap back to several on 33, with Bob Allen getting the runners-up prize by lot.

Our mid-year tournament attracted a good entry with Robin Bound victorious on 37 points followed by Brian Hasell on 36.

The mid-year dinner was another very successful evening, the highlight of which was a talk by Barry King about his experiences while serving on the royal yacht, Britannia. Barry recounted a number of entertaining anecdotes, including playing gin rummy with the late Queen Mother, but as his was a mixed audience I suspect that his experiences included some not fit for such an audience.

The weather caused cancellation of our visit to Carterton in May but this was re-scheduled and we were fortunate in having a good day for our visit in July. As usual, Carterton were excellent hosts but not to the extent of letting the visitors win. A combined stableford format resulted in 76 points for Gay Martin and Max Bayliss of Carterton, with an equal 74 points by Trevor Clayton and Chris Connor of Carterton and Ron Lukis (Carterton) and Peter Brooks (Manor Park). Peter had the distinction of having the highest points of the day with 40.

In late July we hosted a visit from Waikanae with the winning spoils being shared by Jim Lynch of Waikanae and Bob Allen of Manor Park on 37 points, followed by Alan Clarke and Ken Hughes, both of Manor Park, on 36.

At time of writing our Winter Cup competition is reaching completion with the cup having been won by Bruce Burnett, the consolation by Noel Dalziel and the plate to be decided between Ian Reid and Brian Marshall. Congratulations to the winners.

Evergreens

Trevor Chandler has reported that while the Evergreens competition is at present in recess, the last two matches resulted in closely contested wins for Manor Park against Ohariu Valley at Te Marua in April by 8.5 to 6.5 and against Wainuiomata at Kapiti in May by 8 matches to 7. Manor Park had the bye in June and hosted the other matches.

Team standings are Trentham 51.5, Waikanae 49.5, Wainuiomata 38.5, Manor Park 34.5, Ohariu Valley 34, Te Marua and Kapiti 32.5.

Ken Hughes
Veteran's Club Captain.

TAXI CLUB

We have all lasted the winter months and handled it well.