Noticeboard

The MC has decided to operate a restricted service for members in the open balcony area on a trial basis to see if this is feasible. The area is being refurbished using the proceeds from the 10.28 day ….so again many thanks to the Grealy family for this very practical support.

Hopefully we can return to a greater degree of normality once the current 3-week period comes to an end. In the meantime members are urged not to give COVID a chance …… stay alert, maintain social distancing, wear a face covering and wash hands frequently.

Lets all stay well and playing golf..

And we continue to receive new applications on a daily basis.

At the moment of writing we have a total of 47 members in the intermediate category i.e.those in the 20 – 30 age bracket and this is a significant increase on previous years. We also have in excess of 100 members in the introductory membership category year 1 and 2 and we appear to be retaining a very significant proportion of those members as we go forward. At the time of writing there is a waiting list for 7-day membership!

The membership numbers change on a daily basis and the MC will provide a full membership profile in the end-of-year reports.

The biggest contribution to our good financial position is, ironically, because we were closed for such a long period, our costs have also been reduced. The biggest factor in reducing costs, apart from obvious utilities costs, is that the club contribution to our staff wages was significantly reduced because of the government €350 COVID weekly wage subsidy.

Because our wage bill reduced our financial position improved. It is unlikely that this support will continue indefinitely and, once the supports are removed, the Club finances will again feel the strain.

There is some essential business that must be conducted at the AGM that includes election to various positions that will become vacant at the end of the year. There is other business that could be arranged, because of the special circumstance this year, in a different format from other years.

The MC is currently looking at how best to manage the current situation. Ideally the Club AGM and the men’s and ladies AGM will adopt similar formats.

Hopefully the general situation will ease and it will prove possible to have all AGM’s in the traditional format. The MC will keep the situation under review and keep everyone informed as soon as the position becomes clear.

The sanding of the greens has been successfully completed with minimum disturbance and there are plans to repair the pot holes on the entrance drive in the vicinity of the clubhouse.

Members may have noticed some new security cameras that have been installed in the car park area in recent days. These are part of an ongoing project to upgrade the security provision to protect the clubhouse and the car park from any unwelcome attention. The cameras will also protect the compound and the caddy shack.

Our current security system is somewhat outdated ……. the current cameras do not provide number plate recognition in the event of an intrusion. But the new system will offer a greater accuracy and detail. It will also allow direct supervision of the first tee and so help address any unauthorised access to the golf course.

A special word of thanks to Bernard Pender for his professional advice and support in this project.

This year Chairperson Evan Buckley steps down after 4 years in situ (where did the time go!). Aidan Smith is also stepping down from the position of Facilities Officer. So there are two vacancies to be filled. Membership of the MC is open to all ordinary or life members of the Club. Vacancies are filled in the usual way by a proposer and seconder who must also be either an ordinary or life member of the Club. The committee may also nominate an eligible nominee for election.

These are important positions and filling them with good people is important for the future drive and direction of the Club. Both Evan and Aidan, or indeed any member of the MC, would be happy to talk, in confidence, about what each role entails with any interested member.

President Paddy Chambers is also stepping down. The process of identifying the President for 2021 is part of the role of the Golf Council and a nomination from there is likely to be made public in the near future.

Club Captain Declan McCarthy and Vice Captain Tony O’Hare are continuing in their roles for 2021.

Lady Captain Rosemary Buckley is stepping down at the end of the year and the incoming Lady Captain for 2021 is Joan Halpin. The incoming Lady Vice Captain is not yet known but is selected by Joan for confirmation at the ladies AGM.

All the members acknowledge the commitment and dedication of all those, past and present, who take up committee roles in the Club. The Club would not be able to function without their tireless work on all our behalf.

And all committee members enjoy their work on committee and get a great insight and perspective on the complexity of running a golf club.

So maybe it’s your turn in 2021?

The Play in Pink day was a victim of an unseasonal day but nonetheless raised €1,600 for breast cancer research while the TLC day, with a full time sheet, raised just over €5,000 for St Francis Hospice.

It is wonderful to see the generosity of the members of Beaverstown as it continues to shine through in our great Club.

Well done to all concerned.

Some interesting points on the FAQ’s are as follows:
* the new WHS handicap for a person will be automatically calculated on the basis of the best 8 out of the last 20 scores submitted
* it will come into effect on 2nd November 2020
* each time you add a new score your WHS will automatically be recalculated on the basis of the best 8 of your most recent 20 scores (it appears that the 0.1 back system is gone!!)
* you may be able to submit scores from social and recreational golf in certain circumstances
* it may be possible in the future that matchplay and four-ball scores could be added to the system …. but not initially
* there are no buffer zones in the new WHS calculations
* WHS handicaps will be managed and adjusted automatically and on line.

These are just some of the points referenced in the FAQ’s and members are urged to read the text in full to familiarise themselves with the new arrangements …. the text is really well laid out and simple in its delivery.

Here the Newsletter has to admit that these topics bring it well outside its comfort zone, its competence and it pay grade. So what follows comes with a bit of a general golf health warning!!

Course Rating is a number attached to each course in a club (bear in mind some clubs have more than one course). This number reflects the number of shots a scratch golfer can be expected to score on a particular course. It is possible to have two courses each with a par of 72 – one difficult and one benign. On this basis the scratch golfer might score lower on the easy course but higher on the more difficult course so the course rating might be 73(difficult course) and 71 (benign course) even though both courses have a par of 72.

To an extent then the Course Rating does give an indication of the difficulty of a particular course.

Slope Rating is a calculation that indicates how much harder a course is for a handicap player as opposed to a scratch golfer. A Slope Rating is calculated for each course and it is a number that falls within the range of 55 to 155. A Slope Rating of 113 is the rating of an average course.

If a course has a high slope rating (say 120) then that means that it is more difficult for a high handicap golfer to score than it is for a scratch golfer and in competition it is possible for the handicaps (WHS) to be adjusted to reflect that discrepancy. Equally if the Slope Rating of the course is less than 113 then it is easier for the high handicap golfer to compete with the scratch golfer and the handicaps can be adjusted to reflect that situation.

Any of these handicap changes will be made automatically through the new systems that are being introduced. Into the future courses will make their course and slope ratings public as a normal course of events and golfers can make informed decisions about whether or not particular courses meet their playing needs.

The first 3 weeks of the phased return is almost over. A special thanks for all the members within 5k who have warmed up the course for all the 20k members who are chomping at the bit in anticipation of a return to golf on Monday 8th June.

The course staff are all in situ, the pro shop is open with social distancing procedures in place and the office will be open 3 days a week during the next 3 weeks.

The restaurant cannot open until the end of June but a limited take-away service is on offer on the 10th tee.
The time sheet is set up to deliver maximum social distancing and the club will begin to welcome back society guests from 8th June.

There is ongoing advice on competitions from GUI / ILGU. In the initial phase all golf was casual but internal competitions have been approved from 8th June. Work is ongoing on how to enter competitions, manage the return of cards and arrange for the provision of competition results. Work is also being done on a revised schedule of events for the remainder of the year. And it looks like there will be no inter-club matches for the foreseeable future.

Pitchmarks
Hard to believe it but pitch marks not repaired continues to be an issue on the course. In these few weeks it is not possible to blame either societies or visitors!!
So please, please give more attention to repairing divots and pitch marks and lets keep the course in the condition that we would like to find it.
Growth.
With the spell of dry warm weather the growth has reduced a little but cutting is still in full swing. Course staff cut everything twice a week, once for Wednesday and again for the weekend.
Weeds.
Course staff have sprayed around all trees, paths, ponds etc which is great as it normally takes till June to finish this job. Weeds on fairways, tees and aprons haven’t been sprayed yet because of the dry weather. Bellis perennis, commonly knowing as the daisy, is the main weed in these areas and it needs a strong herbicide to control so there must be strong grass growth to spray. Once the rain comes, this will be done.
Greens.
Greens have come on well since the verti-draining and looking good. They are seeding strongly now and are verti-cut twice a week and ironed twice a week to keep them fast and true.
Irrigation.
With the dry spell there is plenty of watering to be done. Greens are fine with all the sprinklers working and hand watering the hills. Tees are not so good as over 60 sprinklers need to be replaced so there is a lot of hand watering to be done there which takes up a lot of time. Some aprons are drying up badly e.g. 4th, 5th and 6th and the drains on 5th fairway and 9th fairway.
Bunkers.
Bunkers in general have enough sand in them. The problem is that, over the winter, the sand has formed a crust and has gone hard. Bunker sand is ordered for this month.
In general
In generally the course is looking well and things are going good. Special thanks to all the volunteers who are doing great work.
Pat Healy.

Every evening a group of local members is keeping an eye on the course and checking compliance with social distancing protocols.
During the day the men’s committee has agreed to provide course marshals to ensure that a good pace of golf is maintained and that groups continue to stay apart and comply with social distancing norms.
So please don”t be offended if you are asked to produce membership tags ….. its all part of keeping the course and club in good shape.
There does appear to be a small number of teenage groups congregating in the areas immediately outside our boundaries who may not be practicing social distancing norms but they are not interfering with with the Club or the course and they probably just want to be left alone!

A key priority for the MC during the current crisis is to minimise the impact on the Club income. Members will know that the Club income is made up of three main parts: subscriptions (68%), societies and green fees (13%), and competitions (13%).
That is why the MC recently circulated a number of members with their subscription profile details, restarted society patronage from 08 June and is working with both golf committees to get competitions up and running as soon as possible.
Members co-operation with these efforts is much appreciated by the MC …… many thanks.

Contact has been made with Hora Construction Developments and they have stated that they will be erecting a boundary fence as agreed in the near future. They have also agreed to water the construction roads on their site to minimise mini dust storms that blow across the course in these very dry days.

The club recognises the importance of being open and transparent and providing members with the maximum amount of information possible.

The main source of information is the Club web site. The most recent additions include the interview between Captain Declan and Shane O’Donopghue and the latest drone overhead video of the course and its environs.

The Club Facebook page is also a great source of communications where David Dolan’s 18 holes of video and Mark Buckley’s countdown to opening videos proved very popular. The Facebook page also has many many photos of the course and events in the Club. You don’t need an account or be a Facebook user ….. just google Beaverstown Facebook and you can easily see what it is all about.

For more mundane information the club uses email messages (free) in preference to text messages (small cost) and 33 group emails were sent to members already earlier in the year.

And, of course, there is the newsletter which is issued every 4 to 6 weeks.

So a big thank you to all the members who have contributed in so many ways to keep everyone up to date with happenings in the Club.

Work is continuing on the Fingal Coastal Way, a 32km recreational walking and cycling route connecting Donabate, Rush, Skerries and Balbriggan. The greenway will link with the proposed Broadmeadow Way which connects Malahide to Donabate. Fingal CC has recently issued tender documents for the design of the construction stage of the project.

The greenway will be a flagship tourist amenity for Fingal and will form part of the developing network that will also link with the S2S Project which links Sutton to Sandycove.

Just recently planning approval was given for the Malahide Estuary Bridge element of the overall project. Members who have ever travelled by train from Malahide to Donabate will have crossed this bridge and it is proposed to add a cycleway and walkway to the bridge to join both villages.

All this is important for our Club because our course boundary lies on the Rogerstown Estuary which forms a natural element of the proposed greenway.

The MC has met with Fingal CC earlier this year for a general chat and an overview of their plans and the MC is keeping the latest developments under review.

During the week the ILGU / GUI have added a number of clarifications to their protocols for golf with effect from 8th June …..
* A temporary new local rule until further notice. BUNKERS – preferred lie….. 6 inches placing, not nearer the hole.
* The use of scorecards is permitted. The player gets a verbal verification from their marker when entering a score. Markers do not sign the card, the player prints the marker’s name on their own card.
* Players are encouraged to use provisional balls if necessary, rather than returning to the tee and losing their position on the course.
* Playing in lines of 4 is now approved

All details can be found on Golfnet under Guide for Committees. See also notices in the clubhouse or just check with the club Pro, Gavin.

• No new developments on Club mortgage refinancing since last Newsletter
• New stone and bedding plants on the first tee box are really nice
• A new Calendar 2021 is being produced. Sponsored by Mick Morris it is an ideal new year gift and will be available towards the end of the year. Funds raised will go to Children’s Hospital Crumlin
• Mark Buckley, David Dolan, Bernard Pander and Sean Browne have joined Padraic Fallon on the marketing sub-committee
• Like to paint some sleepers? …. let Padraic Fallon know you are interested ….. bring your own paintbrush … he might even supply the paint …..
• Still some car stickers available …. contact PF
• New photos on web site