Truro Golf Club
Seniors Section

As I look back over the 2024 Senior golf season and Julian’s previous report I can honestly say that it has been a good year despite the summer wet weather!

I was able to take on the captain’s role because we have such a good division of labour, with the support of the vice-captain and the committee members.

My thanks go to Julian who has stayed on as our chairman and kept the committee in order. Thank you to Pete Tatlow who has ably organised the communications and minutes plus the Senior Open.

Our treasurer Peter Read and trophy manager / match sage John Doyle have stalwart status on the Seniors committee and once again kept the show on the road during the year.

Our new membership secretary Tony Randall has done a thorough job of compiling the members list which is riding high at 146. Another new committee member Terry McHattie has been tasked with updating and getting new Seniors' golf shirts and sweaters.

Co-opted member Andy Edwards has stepped up to help drive the Senior machine into next season with the new Seniors website which is planned to link in with Club’s own new version. 

Thanks go to Mike Regan who firstly agreed to be Vice Captain, with the view of taking on the Captain’s mantle next season. He took on the running of the home competitions and led the team for the five matches I was unable to attend.

The perks of my captaincy year include the club blue tops and jacket badge, car park space, selecting and leading the team, playing other courses, presenting the giant cheques to Cornwall Air Ambulance and Children’s Hospice South West, Captain’s day and more involvement in the club.

Thanks should also be given to Allan Hayhurst for teaching me how the selection system works, sending out the team emails, preparing the cards and compiling the match statistics. Indeed the "Oracle" behind the team. It’s a tribute to Allan that we have a committee of nine to do all the jobs that he used to do back in the day.

The friendly matches involving fifteen other clubs, home and away, were the main part of my remit and I am pleased to say that 55 seniors competed in these thirty fixtures. I remain a large fan of these competitions as it affords the opportunity to visit other clubs and see how we fare on a different course, all for the cost of the post-match meal. We have managed to field a full team for all the matches albeit with many a late plea for players. This does seem to be a common factor with other clubs too. Hopefully next year it may not be such a problem.

Several fixtures had to be rearranged due to the adverse weather.  However, we managed to complete all our fixtures and ended up playing our last match on 21st October. The main cause for celebration was avoiding a white-wash! 

Visiting captains to our short but delightful parkland course were very complimentary about the green keeping standards. So thanks go to Dom and his team for the work that they do. Dom is actively recruiting two replacement green keepers. If you would like to assist in the work of course maintenance and enjoy a work out in the ‘green gym’ then ask about the Tuesday voluntary working party in the office.

Visiting clubs enjoyed our post-match meals and commented on the good value for money. Thanks to the catering team ably led by Jess. I wish our main chef Jacob all the best in his new cooking ventures. 

My Captain’s Day was well attended and included several NTPs and a putting competition. Grateful thanks go to the committee who approved the subsidy toward the prizes. Thanks to your generosity the money raised together with the Senior Open, totalled £1,200. This was divided between the charities mentioned above and presented at the end of the season to the two respective representatives at the club. Letters of thanks are on the Senior notice board. 

I did promise Pilates, putting and professional coaching in my foreword last year. Three Pilate classes of exercises to improve mobility and core strength were run and there were good results in most players’ driving distances. One particular player gained an outrageous 25 yards! Thanks go to Scott who measured our drives before and after on his computer in the Cube. 

One group coaching session with George, our assistant professional, took place before he left for drier pastures in the UAE. 

I hope you have enjoyed the putting competitions which were introduced as a way to improve our green skills and raise money for charity. Unfortunately there were not as many as planned due to inclement weather and time factors. Experience suggests this side line competition is best run as nine holes either before teeing off or after finishing a round. Outdoor and Indoor putting may appear again at our Christmas Stableford, awards, and handover day. It will be the last of the year before I cash up and hand the funds to our treasurer.

Final thanks go to Peter and Paul in the office who have been a great help in running the HowDidiDo system and allowed match changes to take place.

I plan to run the Pilates for golfers again in the new year on our well carpeted bar room and organise the group coaching sessions as part of our winter training to set us up for the new 2025 golf season.

 

Keep mobile, keep golfing,

 

Johnny Horner 

Seniors Captain 2024