A busy start to my year as national captain has seen me take the long and winding road.
As the golf season swings into action, the national captain has a very busy diary in May and June. I have already visited eight of the regions and captained my first International match – but more of that later.
As I was travelling back from the East Anglia regional meeting, the Beatles’ Long and Winding Road came to mind for a number of reasons.
Firstly, it is a lovely melancholy ballad and it reminded me of my schooldays at Quarry Bank High, in Liverpool, where John Lennon attended.
And secondly, thanks to Highways England closing what seemed like every motorway in the Midlands and North, my sat-nav took me on several long and winding roads!
I have been warmly welcomed by every region and have been intrigued by the variety of contributors and the way each meeting has been run. It has been a relief to arrive and not have the responsibility for the organisation of the meeting and golf.
With increasing demands on the club manager/secretary on a daily basis, it is imperative that such meetings are relevant to the issues we all encounter. I know regional managers work very hard to ensure that such meetings are planned accordingly. Many
of these issues were discussed at the recent regional managers’ conference in Bromsgrove. It was also evident that the regional structure requires a fresh look.
In some areas, the sheer size of the region has precluded some members from attending and I know that regional managers are seeking to address this aspect.
The Southern region held their excellent Spring meeting at North Hants where Justin Rose is an honorary member and a room named after him houses some memorabilia of his victories at the US Open and the Olympics. Awe-inspiring!
In addition to attending the regional meetings, I have been involved in the planning of the national conference and I would urge you to ensure that the dates – November 12-14 – are in your diary.You should make every effort to attend as I know that an interesting and exciting programme is being planned.
Remember that a discount is available for early registration.
The first international match of my year was against the Irish Golf and Club Managers’ Association, held at Galway Bay and Galway. It would be fair to say the weather was not kind but, as you can imagine, the hospitality was excellent. My personal thanks to Michael Walsh and our own John Edgington for their first-class organisation. The result: a narrow(!) 9-3 win for our hosts.
Please feel free to contact me to discuss anything to do with our association at [email protected]
National Captain
Howard Williams
By GCMA
