Greg Cawthorne, Club Captain 2018 was unable to attend the 26th AGM and requested the following letter to be read out at the meeting.
5th February 2019
Letter from the Captain
Good evening Mr President, Chairman, Committee Members, Members, Ladies and Gentleman.
Over the past year of my Captaincy, the Club has performed exceptionally well both from a results point of view, and also from a playability point of view.
Some of these highlights were the Club winning the Gedling Challenge for the first time in 8 years, and this was surely a highlight of the year for me. We had a hole in one on the 2nd hole by James Abbott in the first round of the Club Championship, we also had Lee Bettison holing out for 2 on the Par 5 13th hole, and we also had Cameron Murry winning a hat trick of Club Championships. All of these were memorable achievements and will remain cemented in the History of this Club for many years to come. During the season, we also had a number of great performances in the honours board events, and these were recognised by the Club at the annual presentation evening where a number of members received Trophies and other awards for their performances, well done to all the winners.
From a playability perspective, we had one of the hottest and driest summers for many years, and the course played hard and fast for many weeks. I am sure a number of you even managed to get your longest drives on a few holes due to the amount of run on the fairways, and this also made for some very different approaches to a number of holes on the course. Besides the dry conditions however, Steve and his team from BGL have delivered once again a fantastic course which in my opinion has the best greens in the County. The BGL Team have also been making changes to the course in regards to bunkering, as well as the long awaited pathway for the 18th tee box. All of this makes the course more inviting and playable, and the membership is now reflecting this with a large number of new members joining which will only bode well for the Club and all its members.
It was also very pleasing to acknowledge that we as a Club issued a cheque to Nottinghamshire Hospice for £9,500, and I would like to specially thank Danny Harkin and Hans Bauder for their assistance in planning and organising the various events we planned during the year. A special mention has to go to Brian for his personal starters collection bucket and his sneaky comments offered on the first tee, and I am hoping that this continues as a tradition which I believe was well received by members and guests alike.
It is also with sadness that my time has come to bid farewell to one and all as your Captain, as well as a member. As most of you know by now I have relocated back South to Buckinghamshire and my Northern adventure has ended, but I will definitely endeavour to make the trip up North every now and then to visit friends and catch up on some golf around this great course.
To my Vice Captain; Mark Oldershaw, thank you for your assistance throughout the year standing in for me when I have been unavailable, and I am sorry that I cannot be there tonight to hand over your Captains blazer to you myself. I wish you and your Vice Captain all the best for the year ahead and I look forward to catching up in the near future.
To all the members, thank you for the opportunities given to me and the friendships built, and I wish you all a great year ahead personally, as well as on the fairways and greens of Ramsdale Park Golf Club.
Regards
Greg Cawthorne – Captain 2018