New General Manager

MITCHAM GOLF CLUB

General Manager

The Board is delighted to announce the appointment of, and to extend a warm welcome Dennise Coker to the position of General Manager.

Some of you already know Dennise, the daughter of a Past Ladies’ Captain and mother of a Past Junior Captain, and others may remember her from her 3 years assisting our juniors section.  She joins us having spent over 30 years at HSBC.  Her time there has given her the benefit of a very strong financial and business background which together with her strong people-skills and proven organisational abilities we are sure will prove invaluable in her role here at MGC.  This will undoubtedly be crucial in helping us negotiate the interesting but challenging times that lie ahead.  Much has been said about the need to move our business forward; working together with The Management Committee, Board and members, Dennise is very well placed to assist us in doing just that. She will be instrumental in the development and delivery of the plans which will ensure the on-going success of our club.

We are confident of the warm welcome that Dennise will receive when she joins us towards the end of January 2013.

The Board would also like to take this opportunity to thank all of the other applicants who contributed towards making this a challenging decision.

MGC Board

Captains December Report

Captain’s Report November/December 2012

Well, this is the last report from yours truly in my capacity as Captain. Looking back over the year it has been dominated by the weather which has impacted greatly on our enjoyment on the course, and with the decimation of green fee income, has been instrumental in our reported loss which was in excess of £25k.
As I said at the AGM we must endeavour to recoup these losses next year. We can all do our part to this end. There are at least 2 things that we should all be able to manage: 

1. Attendance at Club functions this year was pitiful. Evie worked very hard to ensure that there was a veritable smorgasbord of acts throughout the year which should have appealed to most. Apparently not. While our direct losses are quantified in the annual accounts, losses in terms of bar and kitchen sales are less easy to enumerate. Please give Social your support next year.

2. We need visitors; golfers and function attendees alike. They provide income that is crucial to our survival. We do too little to welcome these valuable resources, and are often guilty of perceiving them as a nuisance, interfering with our enjoyment. We can all do our part by creating a (good!) memory for visitors to leave with, thus increasing the probability that they’ll return. 

If we are to see a return to profitability, continue to enjoy improvements on and off the course and see subscriptions maintained at reasonable levels, these things are the minimum to which we should commit. Let’s also work together on engendering a return to the ‘Club spirit’. As I said in an earlier report, we seem to becoming more of a fragmented collection of swindles rather than a club. 

Our Charity, Help for Heroes has benefited to the very healthy tune of £3161 thanks to the efforts and the generosity of many, not to mention poor golf on the 18th! The collection tins will remain on the bar until the end of the year – please don’t give up on giving! 

The AGM yet again failed to attract the required numbers to allow voting on any propositions. From this it could (quite rightly?) be assumed that the vast majority who didn’t attend is quite happy with everything, and that there are no concerns. If this is not the case, it throws doubt over the credibility of genuine concerns. Why is it so difficult to attract just 25% of the membership to such an important meeting? 

Jason Stocker and Paul Burton have been very busy behind the scenes putting together some initiatives that are sure to please. Jason described the Mitcham Golf Club Service Directory which includes some 20 companies (with many more to come) which will give discounted goods/services on production of an MGC member’s card. He also told the meeting of our new affiliation with The Golf Network which, for £10 a year, enables members to play at 27 other courses up to 10 times a year, completely free. Further details of these schemes will be made available when you pay next year’s subs, which can be done anytime now; the office is open (if not, the Pro Shop is) and would welcome you! 

Jason went on to hint at the plans for an ‘enhanced practice facility’. Several proposals have been tabled, and we have commenced a feasibility study – watch this space! 

In my address at the AGM I omitted to recognise the considerable time and effort put in by our Village Captain, Neil Heath. Sorry Neil; you have done a terrific job managing what was a very busy schedule, and together with your teams, through your unique fining system, contributed significantly to the Charity. Thanks to you all. 

The Ron Hart very nearly became yet another casualty of the weather. Fortunately the course was deemed (just!) playable, and after a short delay play commenced, despite a covering of snow on the greens. The adverse conditions didn’t prevent Steven Hall and Ken Mehmet coming in with an impressive 45 points. Well done indeed. What was equally impressive, and has always been so, was the slick organisation of the day. Congratulations and thanks to Mo Barber and Barry Jones for a truly great day. It would be remiss of me to fail to acknowledge the inimitable MC, Jack Bruce who had the audience howling with laughter; what a terrific character! Another unexpected truly exceptional performance came from Louise, who braved the elements to serve hot drinks outside for the duration of the competition. Above and beyond the call of duty, I’d say, and very much appreciated. 

The Ladies will be holding their Christmas raffle on Sunday. Thanks to many of you who have already bought tickets, and to those of you who haven’t, please do. The kid’s Christmas party is on the same day, so why not stay awhile after your game to get into the Christmas spirit and enjoy the spectacle of Santa appearing from the woods by the 18th. (It’s interesting to note that there were about as many kid’s names down for this event as there were names on the list for the Captains’ Farewell Party; hmmm). 

I would like to thank the ladies for their kind invitation to their presentation dinner which was a thoroughly enjoyable event. What worried me however was the thought of being stopped by the police on the way home, and Evie explaining, ‘Honest Officer, I won all this silverware!’ 

Declining membership numbers are a worry in general, but are of particular concern to the ladies and juniors. If anyone out there has any ideas how we can reverse this trend, we’d love to hear them. 

Evie and I have thoroughly enjoyed our year as captains, and would like to thank sincerely those of you who did give us your support. In closing I would like to thank the committee; Past Captain Keith Lewis, Match & Handicap Gary Brazier, who went through a very steep learning curve, and produced the goods, Vice Captains Adelaide Kirby and Peter Jablonski, Chairman Jim Lawrence, and of course, my nearest and dearest, Evie Simpson. Dave Willis and his team deserve praise of the highest order for maintaining our course in such immaculate condition. Paul Burton and Mark Fluskey are to be thanked for all they have done for the club and for the members and the bar and kitchen staff is to be commended for working so well in difficult times. Although I mentioned his departure in my last report, it wouldn’t be right not to thank Dave Tilley again for all he has done for MGC over the past 61⁄2 years, and to wish him well in the future. 

A very merry Christmas, and a happy (and hopefully!) prosperous New year to you all. With 
best wishes to next year’s captains for a successful 2013. 

Brian Simpson 

Your Golf Travel Sign up with us

Europe's biggest golf travel agency have signed a sponsorship deal here at Mitcham Golf Club with a number of golf days planned and some advertising at the club. Lee who is the Corporate Director at Your Golf Travel said" We are delighted to work with a golf club so close to London with so much history, we are looking forward to hosting a couple of big golf days here."

200 Club Results

1st Prize      Peter Jablonski       £150

2nd Prize    Bobby Moore          £75

3rd Prize     Alan Thorpe           £50

4th Prize     Ron Davis              £25

Next draw will be end of December, if any member is interested in joining just email paul@mitchamgolfclub.co.uk