June 2020 Web Notes

Condolences were extended to the family and friends of member Martin Murphy and to the Crennan family on the death of Cora Crennan.

Competitions will resume next Monday, 8th June as Phase 2 of the easing of the restrictions comes into effect.  There will still be a few members who must wait until the end of June before they can return to play. 

A Competitions Committee meeting took place last week with Mary Stapleton, Therese Porter, Captain Aidan Doyle, Gerry Doyle and Pat Stapleton.  There will be competition golf for ladies on Mondays (9-hole), Tuesdays (18-hole), Wednesdays (18-hole), Friday (9-hole back 9) and Saturday/Sunday (18-hole – one day only).  Casual golf slots will be available each day. There will be specific time slots allotted to Ladies competitions on Monday, Wednesday and Friday (back 9).  If any of these time slots are not used by 8pm the night before the competition, then the lines will be released to all members.  The Men’s club will run 18-hole competitions on Monday/Tuesday, Thursday/Friday and Saturday/Sunday.  With the exception of the 9-hole competition on the back 9 on Friday’s all other competitions will be qualifying for handicap purposes. The timesheets will be reviewed on a weekly basis and changes may be made. 

The CoM are hoping to attract more societies once the restrictions are relaxed even more and hopefully some of these will take time slots on Fridays.

There are no specific guidelines on the use of scorecards.  The CoM are looking into an app that can be used on smartphones but in the meantime, players will mark their own card and keep their playing partner’s score on the side.  Players will verbally verify their scores at the end of the round, sign their card and put their playing partner’s name on the card.

One player from each group will enter the scores on the computer. They must wash their hands, enter the scores and then wash their hands again.  If no-one in the group is comfortable doing this, then they can just put the cards in the box and the card checkers will enter them.  Although there are plenty of card checkers Mary and Therese have agreed to do the cards for the next three weeks to reduce the numbers involved for Contact Tracing.  Mary was thanked for all her hard work over the last few weeks.

Lady Captain Clodagh and Lady President Ann are ringing the sponsors to touch base with them and see how many would still like to sponsor a prize this year.  Sponsored competitions will start once all Lady members are allowed back to play.  If we have too many sponsors, then some sponsorship will be used at the weekends. The prize values will be reduced slightly for Ladies competitions. Where possible Club vouchers will be given as prizes.

The Ladies committee were asked to release from 11am to 12 noon on Wednesdays for Juniors.  A discussion was held, and it was agreed that this time would not be reserved for Juniors.  Under normal conditions it would be used for GIG/SIG ladies.  Juniors can presently play in any casual golf time slot once they are accompanied by an adult.   In Phase 3 Juniors will be allowed play without an adult and there would be no adults present to ensure social distancing.

A plan is being put together for re-opening the Bar and Restaurant on a limited basis once the restrictions are lifted.  The kitchen is a good size but is in an awful state and needs a deep clean.  Drinks may be served to members who are eating but there will be no social drinking.  Members must sit with their playing partners and are not allowed to sit at the bar. 

The Marketing sub-committee is looking at attracting green fees and societies once the restrictions are relaxed.  They sent an email out to all members about setting up a Business Directory on the website for local businesses but there was low uptake on this.  Names can still be added.  Lady Captain Clodagh and Lady President Ann are currently ringing the Ladies sponsors so they will mention the Directory to them.

The new 13th green is in play now.  Lots of bushes have been removed from the course and trees have been pruned.  Nora Dunne thanked all the members who helped out around the course and clubhouse while the no play restrictions were in place.  Three parking spaces are going to be allocated to the Handicap/Competitions secretaries. 

The Committee agreed the following text is to be inserted into the Ladies Byelaws.

“On the death of a member or past officer of the Ladies Club, or the death of an immediate family member of a current member, an email will be sent to all Lady members by the Hon. Secretary of the Ladies Club.  All past and present officers attending the funeral should wear the official Club blazer, and other members attending should wear the club colours.  (Immediate family members to include Husband/Wife/Partner, Child, Parent).”

An addition to the Club general Byelaws was agreed and Lady Captain Clodagh will bring this to the next CoM meeting.

Ian Mooney has been asked to clarify the rule on bunkers before competitions start next week.  An email will go out to all members.  Louise will be asked about doing a video on how to smooth the bunker with your foot.

The CoM are looking at setting up a purse so that competition payments can go through when the booking is made.  However, it will be next year before it comes into operation.

The taps in the Ladies toilets were replaced with sensor taps to reduce contact and water usage.

The Ladies Committee is to request a meeting with the Constitution sub-committee regarding the Lady officers being nominated again for next year.  All agreed that the officers should remain for 2021. 

Lady Captain Clodagh thanked everyone for contributing to the wonderful video.  It was a great success.  She also thanked Brendan Hickey and Ilona for all their hard work putting it together.

Lady President Ann was congratulated on her great idea to distribute the Spring League prizes last month.  All ladies were delighted with the surprise.

Therese was thanked for putting together the email that went out to all members regarding the start of competitions next week.

A short meeting will be arranged for Thursday, 18th June at 8pm to discuss competitions and the Bar Restaurant.  Our next monthly meeting will be held on Tuesday, 7th July at 8pm.

18th June 2020

Liz Cuddihy, Lady Captain Clodagh, Tom Vickers and Tony Michaels have been working towards getting the Bar and Restaurant ready for re-opening, hopefully on Monday, 29th June.  They have consulted with Ciaran Doyle re Covid-19 regulations.  All bar staff have completed a number of safety courses.

There will be a one-way system around the lounge area, with tables well-spaced out. 

The Clubhouse will only be open to those playing golf and tables will be available for one hour, 45 minutes with a further 15 minutes allocated for cleaning.  Alcoholic drinks will only be served with a substantial meal.  Members will not be allowed to order drinks at the bar.

CoM is currently in talks with a member about taking the catering job for a few months and will get a wage from the Club.  This member has a number of years’ experience with golf club catering. 

Competitions will hopefully resume on Monday, 29th June.   There will be competition golf for ladies on Mondays (9-hole), Tuesdays (18-hole), Wednesdays (18-hole), Friday (9-hole) and Saturday/Sunday (18-hole – one day only).  Casual golf slots will be available each day.

There will be no reserved Ladies competition slots on Monday’s and Friday’s for the 9-hole competitions. Ladies can choose their own times. 

There will be reserved competition slots on Tuesday’s for Open competitions.  These slots are open to both ladies and men.   Competition play is only allowed within the specified times.

There will be reserved competition slots on Wednesday’s although competition play is allowed outside of these times.  

There will be reserved competition slots on Saturday’s/Sunday’s with play allowed on one day only.  Competition play is only allowed within the specified times. 

All competitions will be qualifying for handicap purposes.

HowDidIDo have added Wicklow G.C. to the list of clubs that can avail of their scorecard entry app.  A Smartphone is needed, and the app must be uploaded to the phone.  Once members have their HowDidIDo account set up it is then possible to sign into the competition and enter your scores.  However, it will be necessary to fill in a card to verify scores.  Not all members have a Smartphone so will not be able to avail of the app. 

Mary Stapleton and Therese Porter will redo the diary.  Presently nearly all the sponsors have agreed to continue with their sponsorship this year.  Some sponsors will have to be moved to a weekend competition. 

The committee agreed with Una Doyle’s suggestion that she complete the vouchers that are still to be given out as prizes and deliver them to the relevant winners over the next few weeks.

A question was asked as to whether it would be possible for the Club to send out notifications when spraying is being done on the course.  Some members have allergies/medical conditions that make it difficult to be on the course when spraying is in progress.  Nora Dunne will bring the matter to the Facilities sub-committee.

There are complaints about slow play, not just from the new beginner ladies but from more experienced ladies also.  The time slots at the moment are 14 minutes apart but will reduce to 10 or 12 minutes in a few weeks.  Therese Porter will send an email to all ladies regarding slow play.