We’re on the eve of the official start to our season, the Masters is on whilst we also enjoy some sunshine…what’s not to like. Whilst this is all about looking ahead to what is hopefully a successful season for us as a club and individuals I think it’s worth looking back at what we’ve done to get us ready for the peak season.
Clubhouse
The member survey told us that we needed to take some action on the clubhouse. A huge amount of credit has to go to Captain Tommy Kelly and good friend and fellow committee member Jim Christie who have either carried out or enabled work on the entrance, hallway and shower room. That’s allowed us to bring the cost in at much less than typically might be the case. Hopefully it demonstrates that the committee are listening to your needs and spending the limited budget we have wisely. Those that have signed up for the 100 Club have played their part in enabling these improvements.
I know some won’t have seen the results as they’ve not been up for a few months or they just go car park-golf course-car park.
Bar & Kitchen
As well as the material investments in the clubhouse we’ve now had Chefs Corner with us for around 7 months and we’re excited about having a full playing season with them. The clubhouse has been notably busier over the last few months and that’s testament to the quality of the food on offer.
We’re also delighted to have Piotr as our new bar manager. Those of you that have met Piotr will know that he’s been a breath of fresh air with his can-do attitude and friendly nature. As well as the fine front of house skills he has Piotr is also working hard in the background on ensuring that the bar runs efficiently and we’re getting value for money from suppliers.
Tomorrow Chefs Corner have produced a Masters themed menu which you’ll find below.
Lockers & Trolleys
We continue to make progress on this and made some significant progress today on the trolley spaces. I reckon we have 15 before we make more space available. I’ll be in touch soon with those who will secure a spot. We’re looking to get proper labelling and listings in both and then they’ll be good to go in around 2 weeks,
The lockers are a whole different ball game and involves either ordering and fitting new locks or trawling through hundreds of keys we have. I’m edging closer on those and I assure you those and the trolley spaces remain near the top of my to do list.
Junior and Juveniles
We had junior coaching this week for around 2 dozen juniors hosted by Clare Marie Macaulay. The feedback has been excellent and we’re going to strike while the iron is hot and have a Flag Championship on Monday evening for the kids aged 12 or less and with no handicap or one of 37+. You’ll see the tee sheet is reserved for an hour but the course good be slow after that so I’d just ask for some patience if you decide to play after 6 on Monday.
It’s been really pleasing to see so many kids at coaching, especially the handful of girls we had, we just need to translate that to course play next
Clare Marie and Stewart McGill have been putting the junior Fleming Watson team through their paces and they open the season at home to Haggs Castle on Sunday at 2pm. Haggs and Fereneze are the 2 most successful clubs in both the junior and gents league so it’s a cracker to open the season.
Scottish Golf Junior Club Hire Fund
We’ve been successful in securing £750 from Scottish Golf and £350 from the Senior Friendship League which we’ll match to purchase some junior/ladies sets that we’ll rent out to juniors for a season. This hopefully keeps the cost of golf down and may encourage some that golf may seem unaffordable to take up the game. We’ll keep you up to date on that as we now more.
Membership Numbers
I don’t have records that go back to 1904 so I can’t claim that our membership position is the best it’s ever been but I do know its the best it’s been since we started tracking them properly again around 8 years ago thanks to our very own Statto Bert Holt. We’re keeping the Under 35s membership open until the end of this month which then allows us to cap that and may well move to a waiting list at that point for all membership categories. We need to continue to grow but also protect the existing memberships opportunities to play golf and we’re working hard to find that sweet spot.
Growth in membership at Fereneze far out strips the national average (source: our Regional Scottish Golf Development Manager)
And What About the Golf…
Saturday
We open up the season with our Masters Match Up. You can find out more about the format here but it’s a combination of your talent, dealing with our very own Amen Corner and hoping the player you draw does the business on Saturday night.
Sunday
We have our Captain v Vice Captain grand match on Sunday which is our Memorial Cup. We have around 35 teams for the game that pitches Tommy’s Toppers v Hill’s Hackers
And last but not least the star of the show….the golf course
I spoke with Kevin today and he’s “generally pleased with the course” but says we’re looking for warmer nights, some moisture and then the summer nutrition can be applied helping us get smoother putting surfaces. Although it’s warm in the afternoons, night temperatures are close to zero so we’re not quite there yet.
You’ll have noticed that the posts for fairway protection were much wider during the winter. We’re looking to make some subtle changes to the course and hopefully that will become evident as we progress through the season.
Thanks, and have a great season!