After
the first issue back after a bit of a break in January we now have the second
issue of the year. More info about the developments in golf at club,
provincial, national and worldwide levels. Also a bit of fun and humour to
keep the smiles on our faces Invoicing
& Members Information 1 Golf
Humour 3 Smart
Cards 1 Captains
Greetings 4 Rules
Corner 1 Club
Lotto 4 Charity
Contribution 2 The
most important golf shot 4 Sponsorship 2 AIB
Irish Seniors Open 4 Club
Teams 2 Website 4 Courses
of the world 2 Rules
Corner – Answers 4 Non
Conforming Drivers 3 If
there is anything you would like to see covered in future editions please
let us know and we will do our best to meet your wishes – We will be around
the club house or you can leave a note behind the bar marked for our
attention. This is your medium for getting information
published so please use the opportunity. Colm Burke & David Hainsworth
Contents
Feedback
Invoicing & Members Information. As most
if not all of you will have received Invoices for the coming year and your
personal details sheets by now can we now explin the reasoning behind this
new approach. The invoice run was aimed a fulfilling a twofold role –
primarily it was to issue each member with the exact amount which was due
for the year to avoid confusion which has occurred in the past. Secondly
the invoice run has allowed the club to establish a control audit practice
around the receipt and monitoring of subscription income. It will allow us
to get more detailed reporting of income and will allow us to provide
members with detailed information. The one unfortunate result of
this process was that members who had already paid their sub for the year
also received invoices. This was because we were unable to credit payment
to peoples accounts unless the initial invoice had been run – sincere
apologies to anybody put out by this process. The additional sheet(s) included
with the invoice detailed what details we had on file about every one of
our members. This was our opportunity to ensure that everything is correct
and up to date. Many people have returned corrections to phone numbers, added
email etc which can only improve the manner of communication from the club
to the members. Please check your details and ensure it is correct and
complete.
The
Draws for many of the interclub competitions have been posted in the
locker rooms and the team managers are looking at the players who are
eligible to make up the team. Trials
for some of these teams will be held shortly. If you are eligible for any
of the teams then I’m sure the respective team managers would love to hear
from you Courses of the world - As a new item we will feature some of the classic courses of the
world with a brief insight. This edition we will have a look at Pebble
Beach. Web Site : www.pebblebeach.com Pebble
beach is a golf resort with four courses ( Pebble beach golf links, the
links at Spanish bay, Spyglass hill golf course and Del Monte golf
course.) a golf academy, three accommodation options ( The Lodge at pebble
beach, The Inn at Spanish Bay and Casa Palmero) and a state of the art Spa.
It is located on the Californian coast South of San Francisco near Carmel. It
offers the total golf experience but it comes at a price. To stay in the
resort it will cost you anything ranging from $475 to $2,250 per night and
this excludes taxes and service charge. To play on the Pebble beach course
it will cost you $395 for your basic green fee, if you stay in the resort
you will get a cart for free otherwise you must hire a cart for $25 per
person. You will be glad to know that tee times are available and can be
booked online ! Green fees at the other resort courses can be purchased
for anything from €95 plus a $20 per person cost for the carts. To
offer a complete experience there is a 17 mile private drive through the
resort and the Del Monte forest where the wonders of the Californian
natural beauty can be seen. Have a look at the web site – it is one of the
best sites for a golf resort I have ever come upon – explains everything
you want about the resort and even has a live web cam of the course
Club Teams
There
has been some discussion in the club over the past few weeks around the
rule around non conforming drivers and when they will be illegal from. The
following article has been taken from the GUI website as should clarify the
position ______________________________________________________________________ The
Golfing Union of Ireland will introduce a clause limiting the ‘spring-like’
effect of driving clubs to its Condition of Competition for all its leading
National and Provincial Championships, effective from 1st January 2005.
This follows similar action by The R&A, and the men’s three Home Unions
in England, Scotland and Wales. ____________________________________________________________________ To
summarise – the timetable will be as follows Competition Level Date Effective National
and Provincial Championships January 1st 2005 Club
Competitions January 1st 2008
Non
Conforming Drivers
For most club competitions and recreational play there will continue to be
no limit on ‘spring-like’ effect until 1st January 2008 when the new rule
will be introduced.
A list of driving clubs which have been tested and found to be contrary to
the Driving Club Condition of Competition is published on the R&A website.
The R&A’s interpretation of a "driving club" is that it is a
club with a loft of 15 degrees or less. However, The R&A will continue
to monitor design innovations of all clubs in respect of spring-like effect
and, where appropriate, any club, regardless of loft, may be subjected to
further testing prior to a conformance ruling.
The GUI’s National and Provincial Championships that will be governed by
the new rule from 1st January 2005 are:
Irish Amateur Open Championship; Irish Amateur Close Championship; Irish
Boys’ Amateur Close Championship; Irish Youths Amateur Open Championship;
Irish Seniors’ Amateur Open Championship.
West of Ireland Amateur Open Championship; East of Ireland Amateur Open
Championship; North of Ireland Amateur Open Championship; South of Ireland
Amateur Open Championship. All Provincial Boys’ Championships; All
Provincial Youths’ Championships; All Provincial Seniors’ Championships
This Condition, which will be clearly stated in the entry form and the
Conditions of Competition, will limit the characteristic time of driving
clubs to 239 microseconds, plus a test tolerance of 18 microseconds.
The AIB Irish Seniors Open is being held in the
Heritage this summer and the club has been asked to supply stewards and
caddies for the event. If you are interested then please put your name on
the lists which are in both the Mens and Ladies locker rooms. Captains
Greetings – As
we prepare for the season ahead both Arthur and Anne would like to wish all
the members of the club the very best for the coming season. They would
particularly like to thank all those who have given their support and best
wishes for the season ahead. The
club website – www.portarlingtongolf.com
is undergoing an overhaul at present so that it can provide members and
guests alike with the information and details they require. Thanks must go
to Paddy Bates for the voluntary work he puts in to this facility and keeps
it up to date with results on a weekly basis. Check it out for upcoming
events and competitions. As always your feedback is appreciated as we aim
to build and improve on the excellent facility we have developed. Rules Answers : A1. No, the players
should be disqualifed under rule
1-3. A2. The player incurs a one stroke penalty under Rule 20-1 and
must replace his ball A3. Yes, A and B lose the 12th hole for a breach of rule 7-2
