Newport Golf Club - Club Officials and Committee

President - Mr A T Groves

Captain - Mr Michael D Samuel
Vice Captain - Mr Andrew J Gould
Immediate Past Captain - Mr Neil B Perry
Secretary - Mr Russell R Thomas
Hon Treasurer - Mr Mike A Kenney
Gwent Golf Union - Mr W Rob Martin

Green Committee - John V Dinsdale (Chair), Dorian G W Robbins, Mrs M Williams

House Committee - D R Samuel (Chair), Mrs J Ibbetson, W Rob Martin

Finance Committee - Dave J Platt (Chair), G R Williams

Contact Details:

Address: Great Oak, Rogerstone, Newport, NP10 9FX

Tel: 01633 892643

Fax: 01633 896676

E-mail: Russell Thomas (Secretary)

E-mail: Paul Mayo (Professional)

It does not seem like twelve months have passed by since I received the Captains tie and took up the office from my good friend Ian Ball. At that moment in time I knew that I faced a year in which my commitment would be tested to the limit. What I did not know was how fulfilling that year would be and what the office of Captain of Newport Golf Club would come to mean to me.

From start to finish, it has been packed with events and challenges both on and off the course and in this report I shall endeavour to deliver to you a brief summary that will encompass some of the highlights and the more significant issues that were enjoyed, encountered and overcome. On the way I shall be mentioning and thanking several of the members who have worked so hard this past year and I make no apologies for doing so other than to say that if I have left anyone out it was completely unintentional.

At team and individual levels we have seen some excellent results and some exceptional golf being played. Both the Ladies and Men’s first teams reached the finals of the Welsh Team Championships at Carmarthen Golf Club. For both teams the weather was atrocious with wind and rain battering the players, caddies, and supporters on every day. The Ladies eventually lost the final to the Vale of Glamorgan, but not before they had proved to themselves and all those watching their tremendous sense of team spirit and true grit.
The men followed on in August and had a lot to do to match the performance of the girls.
They fought hard and reached the final having to play Wenvoe Castle after already playing 36 holes that day from a 6.00am tee start. Words can’t express how proud I was as Captain to watch our team battle on in such conditions and under such inequitable terms. We may not have won the day but all that took part did so with such dignity and pride that they deserve full recognition of the club in this notice.

Our league teams played well and with distinction. The Men’s first and second teams maintaining there presence in the Gwent First Division and both the third and forth teams were promoted having won their divisions as well. The Wayfarers won the Brian Hardwick Memorial Trophy beating Llanishen in the final at Celtic Manor. Congratulations to them all and especially to the Captain Stuart Noyes. Congratulations also go to the Ladies first team who reached the eighth round of the Mail on Sunday competition, one victory short of reaching the play-offs in Spain. Well done to you all and to their Captain Jean O’ Conner. Finally in the ‘teams’ role of honours, Chris King captained the Gwent first team this year leading them to victory in the Channel League Trophy for the first time in 25 years.

Individually many of our members distinguished themselves again. Neil Povall won the Gwent Strokeplay and Matchplay events and Joe Vickery did the same at the National Boys Championships going on to be capped for Wales. Danielle Cobley, another of our juniors, is now a member of the Welsh Girls Elite Squad and has recently been selected to attend their training programme in Spain. A fantastic achievement and one the Club is very proud of. At senior level, we saw Jean O’ Conner, our Ladies first team captain being chosen to represent the Welsh Senior Ladies and Gareth Isaac Captain the Welsh Men’s Seniors.

The Finals weekend was definitely one of the highlights of the year for me, and in glorious weather we watched some great golf as the club championships were fiercely contested.
In the Ladies match we saw the defending champion Leah Gizzi play Lucinda Roper in a very close encounter that resulted in Lucinda becoming a worthy champion. The Men’s final saw third time finalist Rhys Barber take on Gareth Tucker. I had the privilege as Captain to referee this match and watch two of our best players go head-to-head. Rhys emerged victorious after playing two incredible rounds of golf and took his place on the Honours Board with distinction.

On behalf of the entire Club, I salute all who took part in our competitions last year and especially those who reached the finals, the team captains and the event organisers.
In that regard a special mention for Ray Chiltern, the Match Captain and Barbara Beese for the Ladies section is highly appropriate for all their hard work and dedication. Likewise to the organisers of the Little Oaks competition, John Hindson, Bob Daw and Mike Grace, without whose efforts such great traditional Newport events could be lost forever.
The Winter League competition, which I have enjoyed playing for many years, has been a great success again this year mainly due to the time and effort of Nick Rainey and Steve Sanger. Their enthusiasm and wit brings the Clubhouse alive on Sundays and I sincerely hope they will continue to take on the task next year.

Another big thank-you to Ivor Thom for organising the mixed golf events for me during my year. With his own unique presence of mind and body he has made every event a party, full of laughter, ’bon homie’ and of course a few songs (Down Mexico Way seems to be a favourite). Out of season there is still a lot of golf played and the Saturday Swindle is a firm favourite with many of our members. As usual it needs organising and I would very much like to thank Mike Grace and Graham Kingston for all their efforts to ensure that we can all play in these great Saturday fun competitions.

Last but not least in the golfing arena, I must say a few words about our junior section.
Firstly with regard to the commitment of the organisers who have played such an important role in creating such a successful section of the Club - Jan Ibbetson, Rob Ware, Rob Harper, Len Cronin, Jeff Moore, Sarah Edworthy and many others have given up their time and expertise along with our Club Professional Paul Mayo to support them throughout the season. Our juniors now comprise over one hundred of our membership and continue to go from strength-to-strength as they collect more accolades in their endeavours. Winning the Gwent League and going on to challenge in the Welsh Inter-Counties Knockout competition this year they have done us all proud and I am confident they will do even better next year.

On the course front, we have endured a pretty poor season in terms of the weather conditions which resulted in many fixtures and events being either rescheduled or cancelled. Certainly the Ladies Captain at the time, Kay Morris, had more than her fair share of very rainy days. But despite this, our resolute greenstaff kept the course in remarkably good condition throughout the year, achieving this with a new Head Greenkeeper and Deputy Head in the form of Paul Handy and Mark Wilshire. These gentlemen worked long and hard in their first year and were under no illusions as to the standard that they would need to achieve. They have done themselves proud and on behalf of the members I thank them and all of their team for delivering such a great course despite the weather.

Russell Thomas, our Secretary, will have almost completed a full year in his position in a few weeks and I am very pleased at how well he has settled in at the Club. His early months were very much a baptism of fire with his first days in the office coinciding with my ‘Drive In’ and the start of the season. Despite this he coped well and quickly orientated himself getting to grips with some of unique quirks of the Club. Speaking to him only recently it became apparent that his enthusiasm seems to have grown over the year rather than diminished, and I am sure he will continue to improve in his role.

At the end of April last year, the Steward and caterer gave us their notice, deciding to move to Somerset to be closer to their family. The timing was acutely troublesome with the whole summer calendar of events before us, leaving me only one month to find replacements. Over the past few years, many Captains had faced the same situation and having tried a number of different solutions we still had not achieved stability in this arena.
I took the decision to look locally and was fortunate to receive a number of interested parties. The interviews that followed resulted in the appointment of Philip and Diane Diaz, who were both local to the Club and had experience in running their own tenancy of a public house. To their credit they managed both situations simultaneously for a period and we came through losing only one booking during the season. They have settled in well and are still working hard to create the standards that they have set for themselves for the benefit of us all.

No Captain can enjoy his year without having a dedicated and hard working Committee to break down the detail and turn the strategy into reality. I’m afraid that it is all about attention to detail at the end of the day and without diligent and hard working people ‘things’ don’t just happen. My Committee has been exceptional this year and I make no excuses for praising them in this report. The Chairman of Green Mr Gareth Isaac has worked extremely hard to support and assist the new greenstaff and carried out inspections and appraisals as appropriate to keep our course and staff in A1 condition. The Chairwoman of House Mrs Joan O’ Brien has worked tirelessly to ensure that all our social events have been a success and all our unwanted and irritating house problems have been dealt with in a seamless manner. Both have done so exceptionally and well within the budgets allocated for the year. Finally, the Chairman of Finance Mr David Platt, who has worked hand-in-hand with our Treasurer, Mr Mike Kenney, to keep us on track and aware of our position both today and moving forward. I thank them all and their fellow Committee members most sincerely, as without their commitment and their work the Club simply would not function.

I would also like to thank Dr Alun Isaac, Geoff and Christine Pritchard for their work on the News & Views publication as the most recent Editors. The ‘in-house’ newsletter was created in 1991 as a means of bridging the gap between Committee and the members and that fundamental principle will remain as their legacy. The ‘team’ is stepping down this year as we will develop a similar typescript in a similar format and one that hopefully will be as successful and popular as the original.

Our President, Mr John Hughes also steps down this year and he does so having held his office with great dignity and respect. John has been a member of Newport for more years than many of us and has held almost every office during his membership. He has become a friend and advisor to me personally and a man who epitomises our standards and traditions. I thank him on behalf of us all for his commitment and dedication and for the tremendous effort he puts into our Club.

Finally please indulge me some personal thank you’s to those who have been especially supportive throughout my year. Ian Ball has been a great IPC as he was a Captain along with his predecessor Bob Budd and both great friends and advisors to me. The Past Captains (I won’t name them all) have all taken the time to advise, congratulate and admonish at times but always in the interests of the Club and I do thank them all. Lastly, Mike Samuel, the Vice Captain, who has a great challenge before him and one that he will relish. I am sure that his humour and leadership skills will stand him in good stead.

Thank you to the Ladies section and their Captains, Kay and Delores for all their support and also to the Veterans’ section – not only Trevor and Peter the Presidents in my year but to all of them. I had the privilege of attending two Vets’ AGM’s as Vice and as Captain and I sincerely wish I could attend next year as well - Great guys and great fun to be with.

Finally, I thank the members for their respect and courtesy. It has been a privilege and honour to represent and manage the interests of our Club. It is a serious endeavour and one that I have enjoyed and I would not have missed it for the world.

I believe that the new Captain will receive the Club in good standing and that we will again enjoy another glorious season of golf in our own quite special part of the world.

Neil Brook Perry.
Captain. 2007.