Captain's Newsletter - 16 December 2019

Wow! What a week it has been for the Ladies Section of Chesfield Downs! The weather was certainly not going to deter us from enjoying some golf and a great deal of fun!! After playing our Christmas Greensomes on Thursday, in what can only be described as horrid weather, the ladies came together to enjoy mince pies and nibbles, but more importantly to provide our two visitors with a cheque each for their Charities. Sue Barnes from Tilehouse Counselling and Sharn Tomlinson from MIND in Mid Herts were thrilled to collect the amazing sum of £3,000 each for their great charities, and shared with us the support this money will help to deliver locally. The Ladies Section had throughout the year, emptied their cupboards and provided almost another £3,000 worth of clothing and goods for the local MIND shop. These are two very worthwhile charities providing vital support to adults, young and old, struggling with emotional difficulties and we have all been very proud to support them.

On Friday evening, many of us got out our sparkly tops and dresses to come back to the Club and enjoy a great night of eating and dancing as we joined in the fun of one of the many successful Christmas Parties. It was a really good night so do join us next year if you missed out this time around!

The last full week of golf before Christmas acknowledges how busy everyone is and provides a relaxed calendar for the ladies as far as the course is concerned. A practice round on Tuesday and a fun team event (Coloured Balls) on Thursday, weather permitting, are all that is planned. However, the club is running its annual Christmas Jumper event on Monday 23rd, details below, for all those not rushing around for the final shop or visiting relatives! Enjoy the fun, if you can, that is!!

A final reminder about the Club EGM on Wednesday 18th at 7pm, please do support the Club Committee if you possibly can.

As many of you will be aware, two of our dear friends will be tying the knot over the Christmas and New Year period. One, far away in New Zealand in mid January and the other in Kimpton just before New Year. We, of course, hope Nikki and Tina have a great day on 29th and that in New Zealand the sun shines on Pauline and Kereyn for their special day(s) in January. We will be thinking of you all.

More formally and thinking of the year ahead, a poster will be up on the board in the next few days regarding payment for the Away Weekend at Staverton Park. If I could ask you to send payment to Pat W as soon as possible please. Thank you.

So, this is my final newsletter! 😢😢😢 I have (somewhat weirdly) enjoyed sitting down on a Sunday morning to put these together, almost every week, and hope you have enjoyed reading them. Thank you once again for being such great group of ladies. Whilst I am looking forward to my role next year, I will certainly miss being your captain, but know that Rogie will be a Great Ladies Captain for 2020!

Best wishes for Christmas and the New Year to you and your loved ones.

Margaret Gentle
A very proud Ladies Captain for 2019

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Captain's Newsletter - 9 December 2019

Competing in a club v club competition can sometimes be daunting and especially when it is your first time out in the raspberry colours of the Pearson Squad. Matchplay is great fun but when you are out there on your own, it can sometimes feel a very different matter! Karen M wasn't going to be deterred though! In her first time out, in the Chesfield Pearson colours, Karen was to come in with a great win against Dyrham Park last Wednesday. Julie P used all her experience to win her match too and with dogged determination, Marica took her opponent to the 20th hole before finally losing her game. The final result of losing 5:2, doesn't portray the closeness of many of the other matches. A great effort ladies, well done! Katrina Douglas' talk on Sunday 16th February at Chesfield Downs, on the mental aspect of the game of golf, will be interesting and useful to hear, so please do check out the sheet on the noticeboard to reserve your place.

Last Thursday saw the annual team challenge of the Captain v Vice Captain Matchplay game. It was really nice that Bev Hattersley was able to present her trophy and also brought a huge amount of satisfaction, that as Captain, I was able to receive the cup on behalf of all the ladies in my team! This is the first time in six years that the Captain's Team have won, so well done everyone and thank you! This year's game had to be moved to the Par 3 course, at the last minute, as the main course was covered in a blanket of early morning fog! The fog was finally to lift and a fine morning of golf was enjoyed by everyone. The two rounds were finished off with a much needed tea, coffee or hot chocolate and cake in the conservatory. Thank you everyone who supported the match.

Next Thursday will see our Christmas Greensomes being played. There is still room on the tee sheet, if you are free so please do sign up. Sharn from MIND and Sue from Tilehouse Counselling will be joining us to receive their cheques. It would be lovely for as many of you as possible to meet the two ladies from the charities that you have all supported so generously throughout the year, so please do join us.

Friday 13th is party night, so please make sure you have sent your money through to Pat and have brushed off your dancing shoes!!

You should have all now seen the notice for the EGM on Wednesday 18th December at 7pm. The Club Committee have carried out a thorough review of the Club Constitution which we would like to formally adopt with your approval. Please do come along and support your committee. Thank you.

As we start to adorn our homes with Christmas Trees, lights and decorations, the cards start to fall through our letter boxes too. As in previous years, can I suggest that, like many of you do already, instead of exchanging cards with one another, we support a charity that is close to our own hearts.

Enjoy the last few rounds of golf before the Christmas break!

Yours
Margaret Gentle
Ladies Captain 2019

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Captain's Newsletter - 4 December 2019

Golf isn't always about winning, of course, it's also about having fun! Here are the 'smiley' ladies who played against the Men on Sunday, in our annual competition. Their smiles cover the disappointment felt by us all over the very convincing win the men had! We really do need to find a way of levelling things up after seven years of losing to them! (Apologies to Wendy M, who had to run off before this photo was taken to see to her domestic heating problems!!)

Last week the weather got the better of most of the golf with both Tuesday and Thursday being largely washed out through the rain! Well done to those few ladies who, nevertheless, battled through it and got in some good practice holes. Better weather is forecast this coming week so we should be ok for the Hattersley Cup on Thursday. If you have forgotten your tee time, the start sheet is now on Intelligent Golf.

Lin has done some very valuable work for us on Ig around pairs and team games and how we sign up. See below....

Pair and Team Competitions will be displayed on start sheet as single slots in the tee times. Therefore ensuring solo ladies are able to book in, as well as those who have partners. Once sign up is closed, conversion takes place to create the Pairs and Teams as displayed on the start sheet. Hopefully this has resolved the issue with Christmas Greensomes, which now reflects those changes. Your patience is appreciated as we all come to grips with migrating to IG.'

As you can imagine the whole process of getting us organised onto Intelligent Golf has been a huge job for Lin and on behalf of us all, I thank her for her efforts. The initial set up has opened up issues that were not necessarily evident at the beginning. Having said that, once this first year has been worked through, the system will simply replicate this, year on year, thus saving a lot of work going forward.

On Intelligent Golf, you will see the sign up for the Christmas Greensomes, along with the rules of the game and a mention of the after game gathering in the conservatory. I have ordered mince pies and tea/coffee and I am aware many ladies bring along a few nibbles too! Don't forget it is a time to dress-up if you wish, so brush down that Santa outfit and get ready for the fun! The two CEOs from MIND in Mid Herts and Tilehouse Counselling are planning on attending to receive our cheques too. Hopefully a photo opportunity for the local paper - might be in order!!

Good luck to the Pearson Squad playing on Wednesday against Dyrham Park at home. Let's hope we can beat them on home soil!

EXTRAORDINARY GENERAL MEETING

FINALLY, THE CLUB COMMITTEE WILL BE CALLING AN EGM ON WEDNESDAY 18TH DECEMBER AT 7PM., TO PUT BEFORE YOU ALL, THE NECESSARY REVISIONS TO THE CLUB CONSTITUTION, FOR YOUR APPROVAL. I know this will not necessarily be high on your agenda, particularly at this time of year, when other pressures on your time take over. However, if I can ask you to spare a few minutes of your time to attend, it would be much appreciated. We promise to keep it as short as possible. A further notice about the EGM along with the revised Club Constitution will be sent out to you all via Ig.

As the year comes to a close, I propose to write one more newsletter before the Christmas break and then will be handing over to Rogie for 2020!!

Thank you,
Margaret
Ladies Captain 2019

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Captain's Newsletter - 24 November 2019

Are you ready for the Winter weather?

It certainly was pretty chilly on the course this last week, and hopefully you have found that stock of hand warmers, got out your thermals and the winter gloves ready for the winter ahead! The weather never really deters most of us, and we manage (just) to swing the club in any number of different layers of clothing! Over the next few months, we are generally pleased to be only playing 9 or 12 holes as the competition dictates, but we are sometimes encouraged to venture to a full 18 holes if and when the temperatures allow. Please remember though to bring your cards in at the end of the competition holes, and before continuing to play all 18 holes. This allows the necessary closing of the competition to take place. Thank you.

Thursday of last week saw 85 ladies join us in the Winter Invitation, an amazing number of players and certainly more than we have had before. The day stayed dry for the 9 hole individual Stableford and with prizes for Guests and Members, Low and High Handicappers alike, everyone was keen to take away a prize.

Home winners on the day were :-

Handicaps 21 and over - Angela H for Nearest the Pin on 9th
Handicaps 0 - 20 - Pat W for Longest Drive on 15th
Handicaps 21 and over - Julie R for Nearest the Pin on 12th
Handicaps 21 and over - Maggie T for Longest Drive on 18th
Overall Front 9 Winning Member was Julie P with 17pts and in 2nd place on 16 pts was Katy C.
Overall Back 9 Winning Member was Julie R with 18pts and in 2nd place on count back was Pat W also with 18 pts, of course.

Through the enormous generosity of our guests and lady members, Crossroads Care, Rogie's Charity for her Captain's year began early, with an amazing £500 raised through the raffle. On her behalf, can I thank you all once again! This local charity does some very important work supporting those who care for loved ones at home by providing much needed respite and support. I know as 2020 comes around you will continue to support this worthy cause.

Now back to the golf, Saturday saw the 3rd round of the Winter Mixed League. Les and Pat W came a very creditable 11th place with 42 points closely followed by Margaret and Robin F with 41 pts and Megan and Alan B the next mixed pair, who came in with 39 points. The day was to be won with an amazing score of 50 pts by Karl P and his partner John R.

Lets hope Karl and John are not playing next Sunday when the Ladies will be challenging the Men in the annual Pairs Matchplay Competition. Good Luck ladies, lets see if we can win this year!!!

Thursday will see the first main competition held on Intelligent Golf for the Ladies in our November Stableford Qualifier. Please remember you will need either your PIN number to hand or your Club Company Silver Card to enable you to sign in that morning and to then enter your scores. Good Luck everyone!

There are still one or two places left to play in the Hattersley Cup on December 5th, so if you fancy a bit of pairs matchplay, do get in touch with Lin who will slot you in.

FINALLY, THE COURSE:-

IT IS VERY SOFT ON THE GREENS, SO PLEASE REMEMBER TO HAVE A PITCH REPAIRER IN YOUR POCKET TO REPAIR ANY MARKS YOUR BALL MAY LEAVE BEHIND!

TROLLEY WHEELS CAN GET VERY BOGGED DOWN WITH MUD AS WE GO AROUND THE COURSE, BUT PLEASE DO NOT USE THE FAIRWAYS TO CLEAN THEM!

I know I am preaching to the converted and you know all the above points, but you perhaps know of someone that might just need reminding!! Thank you!

Enjoy your golf this week!

Margaret Gentle
Ladies Captain 2019

REMEMBER, YOUR PLACE ON THE COURSE IS IMMEDIATELY BEHIND THE GROUP IN FRONT AND NOT IMMEDIATELY IN FRONT OF THE GROUP BEHIND!

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Captain's Newsletter - 17 November 2019

The Ladies AGM is not only about providing the section with an update of how 2019 has gone, it is also about celebrating success! Olive C won the weekend Spring Salver 2019 back in May and was thrilled to receive the silverware and her keepsake! One for your album, Olive!!

Last week, many of you kindly attended the Club AGM. I was deeply touched to have your support at the meeting, where I was formerly announced as the Club Captain for 2020. This is a huge honour and I follow in the footsteps of only two other ladies; Marica K and Kathy D. If I can simply mirror their great work as Club Captains, I will be satisfied!! Thank you to all those who took the time to vote in the Ballot.

This last week's golf was rather a difficult one. Tuesday was incredibly cold for the individual Stableford competition and on Thursday morning, we made the decision to postpone the Hattersley Cup due to a very waterlogged course early morning. It is always a tricky decision first thing in the morning to make that call, but in the end most of the ladies thought it was the right one. Nevertheless, some of you did go out a bit later and found the course surprisingly playable. Next week it looks drier and fingers crossed the planned Mulligans game on Tuesday and the Winter Invitation on Thursday will be unaffected by the weather. There are still a few places left for the Winter Invitation if you can play, so please drop me an email and get your name down. If you haven't paid yet, can I please remind you. The rearranged Hattersley Cup will now be played on Thursday 5th December. There are plenty of spaces for you to fill up and join us. Lin has now put this particular match onto Ig, so if you are available to play, please email her and she will find you a timeslot.

PLEASE remember to continue to keep up a good pace while playing your round! Remember if you are ready to drive off as soon as you get to the next tee, this will help! Marking your card can take place while others tee off!!

Chesfield Downs will be hosting a Women and Golf Tour event on Sunday 16th February from 10am – 3pm. The workshop will be run by Dr Kitrina Douglas (an ex Solheim Cup and Womens Tour player) and will focus on the psychological aspects that influence how we play golf. The outcome should be to make us feel more confident, focussed and better prepared for the 2020 season. The event is open to all lady golfers, not just those from Chesfield Downs so please invite your friends and family. There is an initial sign up sheet and further information in the changing room and the cost for the day will be £30.00 to include refreshments and a light buffet style lunch. Please sign up and get the date in your diary. For more information, please see Sarah F.

We are just a month away from the Christmas Party on Friday 13th December. There are still places if you fancy joining us on an evening of great company and 'just' a bit of boogieing!! The sign-up sheet and the menu sheet are on the locker room noticeboard.

There is a lot going on at this end of the year, so please don't forget to pay Pat for everything you are joining in!

Thank you!
Margaret
Ladies Captain 2019

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Captain's Newsletter - 10 November 2019

My goodness, Thursday night's AGM was such a great evening, with lots of Trophies, Cups and prizes to hand out, photos to enjoy and of course, the great company of many of the Ladies Section! Thank you to all those who attended, I hope you enjoyed the evening. We formerly, welcomed the new committee and especially Rogie T, who will be the new Ladies Captain for 2020, with Pauline H as her Vice Captain, it will be a great year, I am sure! A MASSIVE thank you to all for your very generous gift, the lovely memory book and the messages in the card. As I said on the evening, I have thoroughly enjoyed my year, THANKS TO ALL YOU LADIES!! Here is Jackie S receiving her 'Most Improved Player for 2019' award. A much deserved award after a massive reduction in her handicap through the year.

It has been a while since my last newsletter, so big apologies for not being able to include everything that has happened while I have been away! You certainly seem to have had fun!! Halloween appears to have been a success - do you recognise everyone I wonder!! Maybe it will become a regular addition to the diary?

So what has happened in the last week or two? The changeover to Intelligent Golf has occurred and appears to have gone well. If you have any problems booking into a competition, please do say and the committee will do their best to help you out. The first competition on Ig for the ladies will be the November Qualifier on 28th and you will need your new silver card or your PIN number to allow you to check-in on the morning of the comp., something for us to get into the habit of! Registering to enter a competition can be done at the club with your card or PIN number or at home in the same way as before. Let us know if you have any difficulty, we are here to help!

The Mixed Weekend League started with a 1st round of a Pairs Texas Scramble. Well done to those who went out in what was a very cold morning. A special congratulations to Margaret F, who with her husband, was the first lady on the results sheet with a 19th place. Great start to the Winter Golf season! The Tuesday competition last week was only 9 holes with Jackie S winning on count back from Lynn T, both with 16 points. Well done ladies. The prizes for the Fun event's winning team on Thursday were presented at the AGM! Please forgive me for not remembering the results, it had been a busy evening!

This coming Thursday is the Hattersley Cup; Captain v Vice Captain. The team sheet is on the board and we will present the Trophy to the winning team after the match with tea and cake to hand, in the upstairs meetings room. Please do stay after the game. Mandy U has very kindly given us some packs of her personally painted Christmas cards in order that we can raise more funds for the Captains Charity. The packs will be sold for £3.50 per pack of 6 or a donation if you feel generous!

The Tee Time list for the Winter Invitation is now on the board! As you will see we are a HUGE group of almost 90 ladies!! Lunch will therefore be served as a rolling buffet because of the numbers! The impact of SLOW PLAY is a concern as you will understand. Please remember IF YOU LOSE 1 MINUTE OF TIME EVERY HOLE, THIS AMOUNTS TO 18 EXTRA MINUTES PER ROUND!!! Please be vigilant!!

Finally, the Club AGM is on Tuesday12th November at 7pm, when the announcement will be made about the result of the Club Captain Ballot. Please do come along and support this event, if you can.

Yours
Margaret
Ladies Captain 2019

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Captain's Newsletter - 21 October 2019

Last week was a really busy one all round for the Ladies Section! Of course, there was the golf but also a fair smattering of tea and cake and belated presentations too!!.

Tuesday was a Stableford game for the ladies followed by the Stableford Presentation. The Tuesday Club Stableford League ran over 5 rounds from April through to July, (September was unfortunately cancelled due to poor weather). Winners were Division 1 - Vicky T, Division 2 - Karen M and Division 3 went to Debbie F! Well done ladies. We also managed to catch up on some of the presentations that were not carried out during the Autumn Meeting. Pat W seemed to go home with quite a few winning prizes but escaped the cameraman, however, Kathy D enjoyed collecting her August Eclectic Cup and prize as you can see above! Well done to all those ladies, far too many to mention here, I am afraid!

You can never have too much cake and on Thursday we were there again, this time to thank all the ladies who had contributed to a great season for the Friendly, Pearson and Scratch squads!! All squads will have new captains for the forthcoming seasons and we wish them well. A big thank you for their captaincies last season go to Sarah F(Scratch), Megan B (Pearson) and Kathy M (Friendlies). It is never too late to consider whether you would like to take play next time around, so please do come and ask one of the committee for more information!

Last weekend the 7-day ladies were able to start the week's Cup Challenge off, with the opportunity of competing for the Cup Winners Cup and the Consolation Cup! On Thursday the 5-day ladies would try to ensure that the winners would come from their particular day! Thursday would not all be about cake after all, but some very serious golf was going to be played! Three ladies eventually came in on top with a nett 74 in the Cup Winners challenge; Jackie R, Helen L and Kathy D, but on count back Kathy D was to come out the winner! (We can only guess what her card would have looked like, if it hadn't been for the bunker on the 5th!!) The Consolation Cup winner was slightly easier to sort out but again would be taken with a nett 74, this time by Vicky T who managed to beat Denise C by just 2 points! Great golf by all ladies!

This coming week's Thursday challenge is the Scratch/Handicap Cup competition, where the top 8 scores from the day go into the Knockouts to win the Faircliff Winter Scratch Cup and the second 8 scores similarly challenge in a KO for the Handicap Cup. Good Luck everyone playing!

Other news for the week.....31st October will be the last day to get those birdies in the book, before they migrate for the winter! Presentation of all outstanding birdie badges will take place at the AGM on 7th November.

We have two places left on the trip to the Albert Hall to see and sing to The Music of the Night on Wednesday 6th November. Please see Jackie if you are interested. A coach will be taking us from CDGC.

As you will be aware the transfer from HowDidIDo to Intelligent Golf will take place over the weekend of 2nd/3rd November. The three competitions before that are all still on HowDidIDo, so please do sign-up! The Daily Mail Foursomes will be played on Thursday 31st October, so for those who feel like scaring their opponents, lets make it a SPOOKY Theme in line with Halloween!!! Ghost-like make-up, a few spiders here or there, join in with the theme, if you would like, but no pressure!!

After the change-over date, we are rather fortunate that all our other matches will be on a paper sign-up in the locker room, until November 28th when we play our Stableford Qualifying competition. These paper sign-ups will begin with Thursday 7th November when we play a fun-game. This sign-up is now in place in the locker room, along with that of the Hattersley Cup (Captain v Vice Captain Matchplay) and the Winter Invitation. PLEASE, PLEASE make sure that you have signed into Intelligent Golf before the weekend changeover!! Thank you.

Slow Play is an item on the agenda of most clubs at some point throughout the year and it certainly needs recognising by all of us and addressing!! We have to accept that when a round of golf takes us 5 hours to complete, as it did for many, recently, we too have a problem! There are lots of simple hints on golfing website that as individuals we can use as a personal check list, so please do have a look! Here are just a few :-

a) Be ready on the tee, don't wait for others to drive off …play ready golf!...

b) WINTER RULES are now in place, so mark, pick and clean your ball so you are ready to take your shot when it is your turn...

c) Be ready for your shot before it is your turn...keep an eye on when you could play,..

d) Keep your pre-shot routine to a minimum i.e. one practise shot. Remember practising is for the driving range/putting green...

e) As you get close to the green, remember to take your trolley towards the route to the next tee and away from on-coming golfers, this allows a quick exit from the green...

f) Mark your cards on the next tee to ensure you clear the greens quickly!

These are just a few, there are many more!! Remember a round should only take 4hrs 10 mins and maybe less, at times. Most of us use these pointers, I know, but it never hurts to check as individuals and also to help remind others in order to speed things up!

With great sadness, I have to inform you that Kirsten George, a long term and much loved player at the club, passed away peacefully in her home last weekend with her family around her. I know many of you knew Kirsten longer than I did and had many happy memories of her, socially and at the golf club. She will be sadly missed by you all, I know! As soon as I have details of the service in her memory, I will, of course, let you know.

As some of you know, I am away on holiday from Thursday 24th, and will be back on Sunday 3rd November. In the meantime, you are in the very capable hands of Rogie.

Yours
Margaret
Ladies Captain 2019

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Captain's Newsletter - 14 October 2019

Have you got your waterproof golfing wear ready to hand yet? You may well have needed it this week! The rain and wind certainly affected most of us out there on the course at some point during the last week! The conditions were pretty tough over the two separate days of the Lauren Pitcher Plate and it was good to see that the top two places would come from both the weekend and the Thursday games. Taking second place with 31 pts was Nikki B but with just one extra point, the winner of the Plate for 2019 was Pat W with 32 pts. Pat has had an amazing year when I look back at the results over the last 8 months - well done - such a great year!! Two of our 9-hole ladies ventured out on Thursday and while they were not happy with their scores, they were out there and still playing! Well done Pat P and Maureen M!

Many of you joined in the Help for Heroes game on Saturday and I hope, if you played, you enjoyed your round and the knowledge that you were supporting such a worthy charity!

As if they hadn't had enough rain during the week, The Scratch Team quartet of Pat W, Kathy D, Sally W and Olive C had to compete in awful weather on Sunday in the Division 4 final at Harpenden GC against a very strong Letchworth B team! Coming in Runners Up for the division they have had a great season and a well deserved plaque for the Club wall to show for it! Huge congratulations to all those who competed for the Scratch Team during the year, you did your Club proud!

There is a really full team sheet for this coming Thursday when we will be competing for the Cup Winners Cup or the Consolation Cup! Its always great to see so many ladies playing! Good Luck everyone. The course is beginning to look much smarter with new distance markers, flags and tee markers etc. There are lots more plans in the pipeline and we should know by mid November of the planned work for the off-season. Thank you to those of you who have highlighted areas of concern. These have all been passed forward to the Head Greenkeeper. It is important though to be vigilant and continue to take care ourselves of the course. Thank you to you all for protecting the integrity of the ditch as it crosses our pathway on several holes - can I ask that you continue to remember to always use the bridges, particularly on the 10th hole where crossing traffic on the left is eroding the ditch sides!! THANK YOU!

So lets move to the messages - Jackie R has one spare place for the evening at the Albert Hall 'Music of the Night' on Wednesday 6th November! If you are interested please get in touch with her direct - first come, first served!!

The sign-up sheets for both AGMs (Ladies - 7th November @ 7pm and Club - 12th November @ 7pm) are now on the Noticeboards. Please support your committee and remember to sign-up, so we know you intend to come along!

We are now down to the final days of the Club Captain Ballot, this will close on Friday 18th October!

THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH FOR ALL YOUR WONDERFUL SUPPORT!

Keep golfing!
Yours
Margaret Gentle
Ladies Captain 2019

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Captain's Newsletter - 7 October 2019

Golf is very important to us, of course, but there are other times when sharing a cup of tea and a piece of cake with friends to celebrate achievement, share experiences etc are equally important! Three 'Gentle' reminders for you all:-

Tuesday 8th October - Pearson Squad Meeting
Tuesday 15th October - Stableford League Presentation
Thursday 17th October - Ladies Squads Thank you

The tea and cake are all ordered, all that is needed is YOU! Please come along to the conservatory straight after your game or if you are not playing come along for 2.30 p.m!

We have another two new ladies joining the section this week and some of you will meet them on Tuesday morning before you go out to play, so please do say hello! Paula and Lynn are joining our Section as they embark on their golfing career. Rogie and I will be taking them out at the end of our tee times to begin the process of completing cards for their handicaps. Paula and Lynn are both part of a very successful programme that Jo Oliver has been running to encourage ladies to get involved in the sport, so hopefully we will be seeing a few more ladies come our way.

More dates for your diary are, of course, the Ladies AGM on Thursday November 7th and the Club AGM the following Tuesday 12th. It is always great to see you support these two events and certainly the Ladies AGM will be a great celebration as many of you will be collecting trophies and cups. Do come along if you can!

The transfer from HowDidIDo across to Intelligent Golf will take place over the weekend of 2nd and 3rd November, with everything hopefully up and running by Monday 4th November. Our Ladies competitions during the following few weeks are conveniently all paper sign-ups which will hopefully make things easier and we will let you know when our competitions begin to filter onto Ig. For the 7-day ladies though the Ken Bird Winter League will begin on Saturday 9th November, so in order for you to have a tee-time reserved for you, please contact Les Ward on patles@btinternet.com who will ensure you have a place! Access to your personal golfing history should still be available through HowDidIDo via your phone app after the transfer but, of course, nothing will go onto that particular platform after Friday 1st November.

So how did the golf go over the last week? Tuesday's game was pretty much rubbed out by warnings of severe weather that never really materialised in fact. Several ladies nevertheless went out and enjoyed a practice opportunity. Thursday's game saw some of you competing for the Kathy Dale Trophy and others trying to come top in the Autumn Medal Qualifier. The weather was kind, so there should really have been no excuses for a tight game, other than two ladies were to play out of their skins and firmly take top position in the two competitions. Kathy D was to sweep away any opposition in the K.D. Trophy and come in with an amazing nett 67, a well earned handicap cut to 11 to boot!! Not to be outdone in the Autumn Medal, Anne L came in with an incredible nett 68 and a great handicap cut down to 19 for her too! Great Golf Ladies!! Will Anne finally get used to collecting prizes, I wonder?

This weekend, I will be writing to our local golf clubs to invite them to our Winter Invitational on Thursday 21st November, in the meantime if you have friends you would like to join you please do get the information out to them. The cost will be £23 per guest, £17 for members plus golf and £15 for those of you who would just like to lunch with us. Lots of prizes for the day! A sign-up will go up in the next few weeks.

Finally, as many of you will know, the ballot for Club Captain 2020 has now begun, please do vote! You can do this in the Clubhouse, using paper and pen or by using the IG link on the Chesfield Downs website chesfielddowns.intelligentgolf.co.uk and go to the menu (top right) and find INFORMATION. Voting will close on Friday 18th October.

I know many of you have already voted, so thank you!! 😘😘😘😘

Best wishes
Margaret
Ladies Captain 2019

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Captain's Newsletter - 29 September 2019

What a great day Saturday was!! The golfers set off as early as 8.00 a.m. with 88 of us playing in the Captains Day Team Alliance! The wind would be a challenge as it often is but it would not deter the overall winners, Joan W and Sue O and their partners. Sue O would go on to win the nearest the pin on the 12th. Well played to them all - amazing win! Amelia F would fire a long drive off the 6th to take away the Longest Drive for the ladies. Well done to her, of course! Most of us can only stand in awe of such ability!

The evening started off at 7 p.m. and over 120 players and partners would join us for a great evening of banter, good food and super entertainment. Of course, all such days can only be special with the support of some very important people, a big thank you to Barry and all his team, to Lee and the greenkeepers (the course looked great after such a lot of rain last week). As we said on the night, a special thank you to Jackie C whose support and organisation over the last nine months had been immense!! The silent auction of a 7-day membership was won by Helen L with a very generous donation to the Captains' Charities - THANK YOU!!! Finally, but no less importantly, a massive thank you to all the ladies of Chesfield Downs who supported the day/evening by attending and also those who couldn't be there but sent lovely messages of support for the day. How very special you all are!

I feel very honoured to be the Ladies Captain for 2019 in many ways! It is big occasions like Saturday of course, but also the smaller things which trigger this sense. Last Thursday, it was watching old friends come together over a coffee and a bite to eat, as the rest of us came in after our round! It was lovely to see Joan M, and Julia G come together to join our 9-hole ladies after their competition, we hope to see Julia back playing with them very soon. Pam B would come home with the highest points in their 9-hole Stableford followed by Jane S and Maureen M. Well done ladies. Mary H also joined us for a coffee and a chat and hopefully she will be back playing with us very soon. We've missed you all!

Thursday's result joined last weekend's to bring a great overall win for Nikki B with 36 pts in division 1. Anne L would take 2nd place with 33 points. In division 2, Lin G would take top place with 39 points from Linda B on count back. Three out of the four top places would go to the weekend ladies this time around, perhaps indicating the changing weather conditions as the week had progressed. Well done ladies some great scores!

A few on-going reminders for you all - get those diaries out!! The Ladies AGM is on Thursday 7th November at 7pm, please do come along to welcome the new committee and celebrate lots of successes from the past year. The Club AGM will take place the following Tuesday, again at 7pm. There is a sign-up for the Ladies AGM on the board, if you can let us know if you are coming or not. A similar notice for the Club AGM will go up in a few weeks.

I know the noticeboard is pretty full, but please don't miss the Christmas Party sign-up. It will be great fun and we would love it, if you would join us!!

FINALLY, the ballot for the CLUB CAPTAIN 2020 will open officially on Intellligent Golf on Tuesday October 1st. There will be the ability to vote manually at the club too, if you prefer, please ask at the reception desk. The ballot will remain open until FRIDAY 18th October. I would be very honoured to be the third lady at Chesfield Downs to be The Club Captain, following in the footsteps of Marica and Kathy D - but I will need your VOTE! THANK YOU.
Margaret
Ladies Captain 2019

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Captain's Newsletter - 23 September 2019

The Chris Leary Chalice presented by the lady herself!

What a very special day, last Thursday was, although many of you were away on your holidays! The sun shone all day, the course was looking great and even the sand on the greens didn't seem to affect the scores for the day. 37 ladies enjoyed the challenge of playing for the Chris Leary Chalice and with 11 of those ladies playing to 36 or better, it took something special to win the day. Linda B thought she had the main prize with a great score of 42 pts but just pipping her to the post, the Chalice went to Alison W after an amazing 43 pts. Well done to everyone. Well done to those who were able to receive their previous prizes and trophies from earlier challenges throughout the summer. Those of you away will be presented with your prizes at the forthcoming AGM on November 7th. A huge thank you to all those present for your support for my charities of the year and a further £200+ has gone into the coffers as a result of your generous purchase of raffle tickets. A further £100 has been collected by the regulars of a certain pub in Kimpton, thanks to Nikki B, and some very kind gents from Chesfield Downs who are also very supportive of the Ladies Section.

Also enjoying their golf since the last newsletter, Julie P and Amelia F came together to compete in the Ann MacLaurin Trophy match last Sunday at Mill Green. Whilst they didn't achieve what they would have wished for, they both enjoyed the experience against some very low handicappers!

I have already made mention of the Ladies AGM on November 7th, please ensure you sign-up to let us know if you will be attending so that we can arrange the necessary refreshments (Sheet on the noticeboard). A further date for your diary is the following Tuesday 12th November - the Club AGM. As Section Captains and Vice Captains it is always nice to see friendly faces in the audience, so please do try to attend. I will ensure that there is a sign-up sheet in the locker room by mid October.

Arrangements are still in the process of being made for the ballot for Club Captain. Many of you have been asking me how and when this will be done. I am anticipating the ballot arrangements will come out via Intelligent Golf in early October. As soon as I am informed, I will let you know. Thank you once again for all your support.

The sign-up sheet for the Ladies Christmas Party on Friday 13th December, is beginning to get your attention. Please do come along, it should be a great night of fun and the more of you able to attend, the better it will make the evening!

Early October brings some winners' trophies for those lucky ladies who are eligible to compete in them. There will be a qualifying competition running alongside each one for those, like myself, whose year has not been massively successful golf-wise! Lin will be doing her utmost to keep this as accessible as possible for everyone, but we will all need to do our best to ensure we sign-up for the correct competition. Please do double-check when booking in on-line AND also when you check-in before going out to play!!

Finally, there are many bunkers now with Sand Bees nesting around the edges! With an ever changing situation, it has been decided that any bunker where there is obvious bee activity should be deemed GUR. Whilst the bees are very unlikely to sting, they will buzz around you if disturbed and their presence will certainly affect your attempt to get out of the sand! As the temperatures start to drop, they will cease to be active and disappear from sight!

With a week of unsettled weather ahead, lets hope our golf isn't too badly affected.

Yours
Margaret
Ladies Captain 2019

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Captain's Newsletter - 16 September 2019

Well what an amazing week we have had at Chesfield Downs this week, only to be topped by some great news this morning, more of which later!

Tuesday's game of a Gift, Wish and a Joker was a novelty to many who played, but great fun. Once again, many thanks to Hazel for organising these great activities for us! Prizes await the winners for the day and after great use of their jokers, they were; 2nd place - Jackie S, but grabbing 1st place on count back - Barbara B. Well done ladies, prizes when I see you next!

Thursday was the September Club Medal match and in great weather, Lauren came in 2nd in division 1, with a nett 72 but in first place after a great round, Kathy C beat her with a round of nett 70! In the 2nd division, well deserved handicap cuts again would be the order of the day. In 2nd place with a nett 71 was Karen M only to be beaten by Jackie S who came in with an amazing nett 68 and a handicap cut down to 32.6! Great golf ladies, well done to you all.

As with many matchplay competitions and the Solheim Competition at Gleneagles would be no exception, games are often very very close coming to the final holes! Back home at Chesfield on Friday 13th, our own 'Solheim' would be no different! The wonderful ladies of the USA (Chesfield) would be disappointed yet again, losing the match 8:2. although many of those matches went to the final one or two holes, so a tough result! Sometimes though it is not about winning or losing, it is about how you take part and everyone of the ladies who participated in the day, threw themselves into the occasion with gusto as you can see from the photo below!

Were we disappointed, of course we were! But we will dust ourselves off and be even more determined to get revenge next time around! A big thank you goes to the three gents who gave their time in the morning as the official photographer and our match starters, Gerry, Ralph and Clive - Thank you! Another set of thank yous from the players goes to their glamorous and motivating caddies, you were awesome, and finally to Rogie for all her hard work in organising the day, to Pauline, Lin and Linda who gave their time on Thursday evening to decorate the room - it was brilliant. A VERY SPECIAL DAY!

Still leaving you waiting for the exciting news awhile longer a few notices. There are notices on the boards about the forthcoming AGM, if you can let us know whether you can support us on the day. There are also notices about eligibility for the Kathy Dale (Medal) and Lauren Pitcher (Stableford) Trophy/Plate competitions. You will recall you are eligible to play in these finals if you have won one of the relevant monthly qualifiers. Lin has put a list up so you should be able to see your name there if you think this applies to you.

A Rules Roadshow organised by the Hertfordshire Golf Union, is being held at the Welwyn Garden City Golf Club on Friday 18th October if you are interested. The poster will go up on the board later this week for more details.

So what was I so excited to hear about this morning...…… Our wonderful Scratch team have won their division and secured promotion to Division 3 after only a few years of competing in the Ovaltine Scratch League. After a nail-biting few weeks awaiting the results of our closest rivals, Veralum, the team were finally able to relax after a great season, winning all but one of their matches. This result will now see them competing in a play off against Letchworth B squad, to see which club can claim overall winner of Division 4. The match will be played on Sunday 13th October at Harpenden GC. Congratulations to the whole squad who have taken part this season - a brilliant achievement!

It always feels good to finish on a high, so enjoy the golf this week. I'm certainly keeping my fingers crossed for some lovely weather Thursday.

Yours
Margaret
Ladies Captain 2019

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Captain's Newsletter - 9 September 2019

As Captain it is always nice to go and play other courses and last Thursday Vicky invited Pat, Rogie and myself to be part of a team supporting the Garden House Hospice Charity event at Letchworth Golf Club. Football fans amongst you will have known the names of the Tottenham and Arsenal stars that were there supporting the day, but to be honest it had little impact on the four of us! We were still laughing as we left the Club that evening as we had been the ONLY LADIES there!!! Great day and a very worthy charity of course!

So to the news of last week back home at Chesfield. Last Thursday saw the second and final round of our Eclectic Cup. The final merged results are yet to be released but we will be doing that soon. However, some good scores came in and hopefully improvements for many of you. A very impressive gross score of 80 brought Sally first place for the 2nd round and a handicap cut to 12! Fantastic round, well done. Numbers on Saturday were low with only three of our ladies going out, I guess you were all saving yourselves for the Ward Trophy on the following day! Well done to Olive though who came in with the best score of the day. 

Saturday had been a bit cold, but the sun came out for Les and Pat and 48 players joined in the fun of the Ward Mixed Pairs Trophy. A great field for the first year saw Steve H and Olive come in second place with Steve getting nearest the pin for the men on the 9th hole, an achievement Jean R would mirror for the ladies. But coming in first place with a joint score of 47 points was husband and wife duo Linda and Ralph B. Brilliant day and a well deserved win guys and girls.

Other news of the week, Rosie was certainly not going to let the grass or fairways grow under her feet and after just introducing her to you last week, she now has her first handicap! Brilliant start Rosie, well done!

Several of you brought items to the Committee Meeting last week and your comments and concerns particularly about the course, its bunkers and greensides were discussed. It was agreed that these concerns would be forwarded on to be tabled at the forthcoming Club Committee. The greenkeeping staff have acknowledged the great effort the Ladies Section go to in order to support their work, so please do keep it up! One small thing that always helps the speed of play is, of course, ensuring that trolleys, whilst you are on the green, are left in a position as far away from the on-coming players as possible. It is a small thing but it makes a big difference! Thank you for your help with this.

The Solheim Cup is only a few days away now. We have found those stars and stripes socks, leggings etc and now can't wait for the day to come! There are still places for caddies, so if you would like to join us please let Pauline or Rogie know asap.

Looking at HowDidiDo there are still a few places left for next Thursday and the Autumn Meeting. Please don't forget that although the sign-up sheet might appear to be full, Lin can generally find a slot, so do email her. If you are unable to play but would like to join us for lunch, we would love to see you.

I know it is still three months away, but the Committee have been thinking about Christmas Celebrations this year and it has been agreed to subsidise the ladies attending the Club's Christmas Party on Friday 13th December. The details will be going up in the locker room sometime soon, but I wanted to give you plenty of notice so that you can keep your diary free for that evening and join us. We have already reserved some tables, so there will be plenty of room. This date of 13th will be mean you will have plenty of time that day and there will be no rush back from your golf! SAVE THE DATE!!

This week, I met with the nephew of our much loved Kay Baker. The family and I have agreed that room will be found in the trophy cabinet and our future diaries for The Kay Baker Memorial Bowl. The Bowl will be played for as near to her birth date of 3rd April as possible. The competition will be run as a Stableford competition over nine holes to ensure that as many of Kay's friends will be able to compete as possible. Ladies who would like, can continue to play the remaining nine holes outside of the competition, if they so wish.

FINALLY, after a lot of thought, I have decided to put my name forward to be CLUB CAPTAIN for 2020! I believe strongly that as a progressive club, the ladies should be continuing the great work that Marica and Kathy D have done in the past, in putting their names forward for this position, wherever possible. It would appear that this will result in a vote, as it has done in the past, and I hope sincerely you will support me!

Yours as ever
Margaret
Ladies Captain 2019

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Captain's Newsletter - 3 September 2019

A big WELCOME to the full complement of greenkeepers at Chesfield Downs!! With staffing levels now where they should be, we can look forward to seeing the course move from strength to strength. The bunkers all have 2 rakes in them (and some of the larger ones, 4) so there are no excuses!! If you do see players walk away without raking, please do speak to a marshall! I know this would never happen from any of our ladies, but some people are unfortunately not so responsible. The team are keen to respond to any information we give them, so please let me know. The bunkers are on their radar already!

So what else has been happening over the last week or so? Well, she missed my deadline last weekend but I feel that this particular bit of news should not be left out however late in the day! The celebrations are probably still continuing in a penthouse in Watton and the bin will be full of those empty fizz bottles very deservedly!! If you have been on Mars or away on holiday you may have missed the news of Megan's amazing round last weekend for the Denis Flynn Memorial Trophy. Scoring 46 points and bringing her handicap down to 18, Megan took 2nd place on countback from Rob W in this mixed event. Amazing Golf and well done to her.

Last week's Eclectic Cup Round 1 results are on HowDidiDo and have Virginia in first place so far, with Sarah close behind. Well done also to Maggie T whose great score of gross 99 gave her a 5 point handicap cut!! Impressive and very well deserved. Remember there is a Gross and a Nett winner of this competition, so there is still a lot to play for this coming Thursday in the final round. There are still quite a few spaces available and you don't have to have played last week to enter so get your name down if you are free. Good luck everyone!

Today (Monday) we saw the last of the Friendly Matches for 2019 at home against Knebworth. A great result of a 3 and a half win against 1 and a half was well deserved.

A big thank you to Kathy M for organising these matches this year.

Looking forward to the weekend, good luck to all those playing in the Ward Pairs Trophy. Both Les and Pat are thrilled at the number of players joining this inaugural competition. The weather looks fine and it should be a great day!

Friday 13th September and the Solheim Cup match against Mill Green is just 11 days away and we are all getting keyed up, practising hard and finding those stars and stripes socks!! We would still really love some more caddies to share the day with. Please do sign up to join us if you can.
I have put the blue charity box out again in readiness for the Autumn Meeting. If you do have any small items which could be used as raffle prizes it would be much appreciated. We already have a lot of alcohol (what does that say about us) but other bits and pieces would be lovely - thank you! The sign-up is getting full but there are still spaces so get your diary out and check out whether you can play.

Finally, I am thrilled to be able to welcome two new ladies to our section. Rosie is getting her handicap cards signed off as I write this and is keen to get her golfing career going and Wendy is joining us from Whipsnade GC after a house move. Already an experienced golfer, Kathy C will be looking to seek her out for the Pearson Squad next season! I know you will make both ladies feel very welcome as you always do!

Hope to catch some of you briefly on Tuesday, before the committee meeting! Enjoy your golf this week.

Yours
Margaret
Ladies Captain 2019

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Captain's Newsletter - 25 August 2019

As golfers we all know, there is nothing we would love to do more on a beautiful day than to play golf!! The sun certainly shone on the Squad on Friday last when they met Redbourn Ladies at home. I had the pleasure of seeing all the pairs tee-off and then come in some four and a half hours later, somewhat warmer!! Whilst these matches are always played in a spirit of open friendliness, underneath we nevertheless want to win and this time we were successful in doing that. Well done ladies, it was a great day! We look forward to playing them again next year!

The day before, Thursday, had also seen beautiful weather and two of the nine-hole ladies ventured out to complete their Stableford Qualifier. Well done to Jane S and Pam B. In the slightly cooler weather but nevertheless, completing all 18 holes, division 2 brought a great score from Kathy M of 42 pts and a handicap cut bringing her into division 1 with second place in that division going to Megan B with 37 pts. Quite a few ladies either met their handicaps (Debbie F) or were in their buffers so well done! Great golf, ladies! In division 1 it seemed a bit tougher, coming out on top was Hazel B with 34 pts and in second place on countback was Pat W. Well done to you all.

Some of the 7day ladies will have been competing today in the Denis Flynn Memorial Trophy, so I hope you have managed to get a good round on your card on this hot Sunday of the Bank Holiday!

This coming Thursday is the first round of the Eclectic Cup, a two round Singles Strokeplay, (please remember not to pick up!). It looks like a pretty big field, but if you still fancy joining the game, please let Lin know and she will try to fit you in towards the back of the field.

We are still about 6-8 weeks away from utilising Intelligent Golf for our competition bookings, but do get on-line at home on your computer or download the app onto your phone. It is pretty simple to do, but there is lots of help available if you fall into trouble. Please just ask! Intelligent Golf will run everything for us going forward so it is important that you are ready when the BIG DAY comes!

The Biennial Solheim match against Mill Green on 13th September is fast approaching and we are still looking for glamorous caddies to wear the coveted Waistcoats of CDLS/USA and support the players. It is all a bit of fun and no caddying skills are needed, so please do put your name down on the sign-up list and ensure you are part of a day to remember!!

Finally, our next committee meeting is on Tuesday 3rd September. If there is anything you would like us to discuss please do drop me a line or have a word with one of the committee, after all we are here for you!!

Happy Bank Holiday Weekend

Yours
Margaret
Ladies Captain 2019

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Captain's Newsletter - 19 August 2019

Well, Sarah made it to the Women's Grand Medal Final at Woodhall Spa last Thursday. What an amazing achievement for her - we believe she is the first lady golfer from Chesfield Downs to reach such heady heights! The practice round on Wednesday had been rather a wash out and she and her caddie Jackie, found respite inside (rumour has it in the bar!). The course was in amazing condition but the greens were apparently really difficult to read, even with Jackie's eagle eye helping out! It was not to be her day but nevertheless she is rightly very chuffed to have been part of the Grand Final. Well done Sarah, we are all very proud of you!

Of course, Sarah wasn't the only Chesfield lady out and about last week. Four ladies (including Sarah) played in the Saffron Walden Open on Tuesday, four more hardy golfers experienced the East Herts Open on Wednesday in very soggy and wet conditions and more of you played at the Veralum Open on Saturday (see below) and proudly came in third, well done to Olive, Caroline K and Kathy M.

The main event of the week at the club was the Macknight Pairs Scramble, fortunately played on a lovely August day. It was great to see Amanda out there playing in her own trophy but she and her partner Kathy C were not to be the winners! An amazing score of nett 68.0 from Pat W and Megan B would take the top place on the day with Jean P and Olive C coming close and in second place with a nett 70.7. No doubting the winners though!! Well done to those ladies in particular.

This week, we will have a further chance to improve our Eclectic Score on Tuesday and Thursday brings us a Stableford Qualifier so fingers crossed for fine weather.

Our lovely Junior Captain Amelia Fitzgerald, who plays off an impressive handicap of 12, would like to enter the Ann MacLaurin Trophy again, which this year is held on Sunday 15th September at Mill Green GC, but she needs a lady partner!! Many of you will have played with Amelia already and know what a nice young lady she is, so if you would like to play with her at this event, please read the notice on the board and get in touch with me. Thank you.

Talking about Trophies, can I please ask that if you have a trophy at home which you were awarded last year, could you please return it sometime soon, so that I can get your name engraved on it ready for the AGM and the new year. Thank you.

You should all have received your individual log-in details for using Intelligent Golf by now. The easiest way to complete your initial log-in is through the Chesfield Downs link on https://chesfielddowns.intelligentgolf.co.uk . Our competitions will not be on there for a while yet, in order that we can complete some of the on-going eclectics etc but I will keep you informed as to when we will be going over completely to Ig. In the meantime though, do have a look at the website, familiarise yourself with what it can do for you and remember you can book your individual tee times through that route now! If you have any difficulties in getting logged on please do ask. I know the guys on the desk are also very keen to provide help if you need it.

Having lived in Hitchin over the past ten years and I already feel very proud of the town and what it offers. Like me, you might be interested in knowing that the town has been shortlisted for the Champion Award for Britain's Best High Street. If you would like to support the town in winning please click here and VOTE!

I won't see you on Thursday as I have another commitment, but I hope to catch up with most of you on Tuesday. In the meantime, get those scores down!!

Keep golfing ⛳🏌🏌🏌
Yours
Margaret
Ladies Captain 2019

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Captain's Newsletter - 11 August 2019

The Palmer Cup is always a great event to be part of, with the Ladies competing in Pairs Matchplay games against the Senior Men for the trophy presented by David Palmer some years ago. The ladies were thrilled on Wednesday to come away with a 4:4 draw and therefore keeping a firm hold on the trophy for yet another year. Well done to all the ladies and especially to Jenny and Annette, who were last in the field and came in VERY wet indeed!! Nevertheless, they are made of 'sterner stuff' and came in with the important win the ladies needed! A great day!!

Monday last week, had seen another Pairs Matchplay event, when the Friendly Squad went to Mowsbury Park GC, Bedford for their annual head to head. This is always an enjoyable day, with good company but tough competition, especially away from home and the squad came away after losing the match 3 and a half to 1 and a half. Two more Friendly games to go before the end of the season and with both games being held at home, we are keeping our fingers crossed for two wins!! Watch out Redbourn Ladies on Friday 23rd August we are ready for you!!

Lin G and Virginia C travelled to Bishop Stortford on Tuesday to represent Chesfield Downs in the R&A Coronation Foursomes. Whilst they enjoyed the day, they were happy to come away finishing somewhere in the middle of an auspicious field of competitors.

The August Medal on Thursday saw the Junior Captain, Amelia F joining us, which was great to see. She had an amazing round and came in with the best score for division 1 with a nett score of 66 (gross 80) and yet another handicap cut for her! Taking 2nd place and very close behind was Lauren P with nett 67 (gross 82) and 3rd place, Annette G again with nett 67 (gross 84). There were some really great scores amongst division 1 and 5 ladies saw their handicaps cut. In division 2, Ann G walked away with top spot with a nett 69 and a handicap cut, followed by Katy C who came in with a nett 71. A brilliant day for many ladies - well done!!

Congratulations this week also go to Ann Kane, who has just got her new playing handicap and is looking forward to her golf developing. Well done Ann, we look forward to seeing you out there on the course!

We will all be thinking of Sarah F on Thursday, while we are competing in the Macknight Pairs Scramble at home, she will be out early at Woodhall Spa GC playing in the England Golf Medal Final. Good Luck Sarah - have a great day! With Jackie R caddying for her, she will be awesome!

This year's CAPTAINS' DAY is now being advertised on the main noticeboard in the clubhouse. Please do get your name up there on the list to play and join us in the evening of SATURDAY 28TH SEPTEMBER. Don't forget you have the freedom of the course if you are a 5-day member, so the day is open to you all. This is an opportunity for the four Captains to thank their sections for the support they have given them throughout the year, so PLEASE do come along!
Good Luck to everyone playing in the third round of the Tuesday Eclectic this week, it looks like its going to be a pretty house!! Enjoy the golf!

Lastly, a polite request......several pairs of reading glasses that have been kindly put in the locker room box alongside the sign-up sheets have gone missing over the last few weeks. I am only too aware of how easy it is to use these and then accidentally put them in your own bag! If you do find them, could you please return them for us all to use. Thank you!

Enjoy your golf this week!

Yours
Margaret
Ladies Captain 2019

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Captain's Newsletter - 5 August 2019

The Captain's Away Day at Bourn was a great success! Thank you to everyone who came along and joined in the fun, and, of course, a special thank you to Rogie for all the organising! There were times when it felt a little like 'Fawlty Towers' with the builders carrying large boards of wood through the main reception area, the chef being rather sniffy (if not rude) to some of us for, what he considered was, our late arrival and then the disappearing putting competition, that was there one minute but largely gone by the time we came in!!!! Nevertheless, all this was taken in good spirit and after a challenging round of golf, we were only concerned with our meal and who had been successful on the course. It was very clear to us that the defending combination of Nikki B and Helen L would be looking to retain the Kelland Pairs Trophy and indeed they did a fine job coming in with a score of 38 pts and taking second place. However, just beating them this year with 39 pts were Ann G and (in fine form) Annette G. Congratulations to them both! Annette was also the only birdie winner of the day!!

This weekend saw nine ladies playing in the fifth round of their Eclectic. Several ladies came in with gross scores within their handicap range but Pat W topped the leaderboard this time with a gross score of 80. Its looking good for another cut sometime soon for Pat!!

This coming week is another busy one for the section. Tuesday is Round 2 of the Eclectic, so hopefully some improvements from last week will be seen and perhaps some of us will be able to complete all 18 holes if the weather holds. Wednesday, we will be competing against the Senior Men in the Palmer Cup and hoping that we can retain it for a second year, fingers crossed! There looks like a pretty full field for the Thursday August Medal, which is great to see. Don't forget if you fancy a round and can't see a space, contact Lin who will try to fit you in!

There are certainly spaces for the SOLHEIM CONTEST against Mill Green on Friday 13th September. This competition is open to everyone. We are looking for a team of 15 players, plus some reserves. The contest comprises of 3 single games, 6 players for pairs matchplay and finally a further 6 players playing foursomes matchplay. Do get your diaries out and see if you can support us by either playing or caddying (the list for this will go up soon)!!!

The Nearly New Rack of clothing is in place in the locker room now, so please do add to it and also have a look through. There are also several pairs of golf shoes, which have hardly seen a pair of feet, so please do have a browse!!

Finally, it is with sadness that I have to tell you that Kirsten G is unwell. I have sent her some flowers on behalf of us all with a message that we are thinking of her. Many of our ladies have known Kirsten for a good while, and know her as a determined but gentle lady. We send her all our love and best wishes at this difficult time.

Yours
Margaret
Ladies Captain 2019

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Captain's Newsletter - 29 July 2019

Wow!! What an amazing season 2019 has been for the Scratch Team! Above, and rightly, looking very proud of themselves, the Scratch team won all of their matches at East Herts last week, to finish the season with only one match lost and 5 wins! They now have to be patient to see how competitors Verulam fair in their remaining matches. This has only been the 5th year Chesfield Ladies have been in the Ovaltine Scratch League, so it is quite something that they have achieved so much in those years. Well done to all the ladies who have competed in their matches over the season and to the two captains during those 5 years Kathy D and Sarah F. Brilliant achievement!

As we suspected the weather this last week was incredibly HOT with temperatures on Thursday reaching into the high 30s! Tuesday had been the 5th round of the Stableford League and whilst it was still hot, a fairly full tee sheet of ladies went out to compete. Temperatures continued to rise and by Thursday, many ladies took the sensible decision for them, to duck out of the July Stableford competition and stay in the cool! This was the main day of the competition and the previous Sunday had seen some good scores come in. Would the top places go to the weekend ladies or the Thursday players? How those ladies could even hold onto their clubs in that heat, I have no idea, but they certainly did, with some handicaps tumbling too!!! Winner of Division 1 from Sunday, with 40 pts was Pat W, second place went to Hazel B with 39 points. 5 ladies in that division played to their handicap or better!! In Division 2 and in the scorching heat of Thursday, Helen L came in with an incredible 41 pts and a well awaited handicap cut, taking top spot from Megan B on 34 pts. Well done to all those ladies who competed!!

This coming week is our Away Day at Bourn Golf Club and the Kelland Pairs competition. It looks like we might even need our umbrellas to hand, but hopefully it will be a great day! See you there!

Looking forward in the diary, the sign-up sheet for people interested in playing in the Solheim Cup competition on Friday 13th September is now up on the noticeboard. Please do consider putting your name down, the final selection will be made in the coming weeks! A further sheet will go up soon for those who are interested in donning Hilary's marvellous waistcoats and being caddies, etc etc for the day. This is a great day of fun as well as competition and of course, coincides with the real match being played out at Gleneagles that week!

Les and Pat Ward are organising the first of what is hoped will be many years of pairs competition for the Ward Trophy on Sunday 8th September. There are lots of guys from the Club looking for a female playing partner, so if you are free and would like to compete, the sign-up is on HowDidiDo. Alternatively, have a word with Les or Pat for more information about the event.

With several ladies mentioning they have golf gear which they would like to find a new home for, I am putting together a rail of Nearly New Golf Items in the Changing Room, this week. The intention is that the monies raised goes into my Charity Funds, so please pop your contribution into Pat's black box clearly marked 'Charity Donation'. Thank you in advance. If you have anything that might be suitable please do bring it along with a simple label re size etc and we will see if we can increase our 'charity pot' and find your items a loving home! Thank you.

Lastly, Lin has been doing a great job at moving tee times around to aid speed of play etc. As you can imagine, this is quite time consuming for her, but you can help by checking the sign-up sheet, particularly the night before play to see if you have been moved. This ensures that we can get as many ladies out there playing as we can. Thank you!

I think that's it for today's newsletter. My boxes of goodies are pack ready for Bourn, so all we need is fine weather. Don't forget there will be a putting competition to take part in either before your tee time or when you come in!

Looking forward to it!

Yours
Margaret
Ladies Captain 2019

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Captain's Newsletter - 21 July 2019

With temperatures reaching into the 30s for much of next week, please make sure you are well protected when you go out on the course; lots of water, an umbrella, sun hat and sun cream are the order of the day!!

Nine ladies will venture out today for the Alternative day for the July Stableford, so good luck to them all. Thursday will see the Main Day for that competition and we will be certainly needing lots of water on board if the forecast is to be trusted! The sign-up for Thursday looks pretty full at the moment, but if you still want to play email Lin and she can hopefully find you a slot near the end of the field. Good luck everyone! Pat P looks like she might be going out alone for the Nine-hole competition that day, so hopefully someone will be joining her!!

Earlier in the week, we will be putting in another card for the Tuesday Stableford League, this week its round 5! Hopefully some good scores for that one too.

Tomorrow sees the final match for the Scratch Team, when they travel to East Herts for the final match of their season, They have had a brilliant season, with some amazing results so we all wish them well! Some of you may remember that Sarah competed in the Regional Final of the England Medal and finished in the top 10. She recently received confirmation that she has got through (as she had hoped) to the National Final to be held at Woodhall Spa in Lincolnshire on Thursday 15th August. An amazing achievement and one she should be very proud of! We will be wishing her well again nearer to the date!

So back to the highlights from last week! The Friendly Squad visited Heydon Grange and were blessed with beautiful weather. With big teams from both clubs, we were able to put out five pairs and whilst each individual game was close and in some, Chesfield were giving away a lot of shots, the overall result was a win for Heydon 1.5 v 3.5. Well done to all the ladies that played. Mowsbury Park away is their next challenge!

The Lorraine Palmer Cup took pride of place on Thursday and once again, it was a big field of players in almost perfect conditions. Coming in second on the day was Jean P and her partner Linda B with 43 pts, but with an even more impressive 44 pts, the Cup was won by Pauline H and Annette G. Great scoring ladies and a well deserved win.

There are one or two places left for the Palmer Cup (Senior Men v Ladies) on Wednesday 7th August and a few reserves would be very welcome. Please do check those diaries and see if you can support us towards a win against the 'Chaps'.

In the meantime, take care, enjoy the gorgeous weather this week and having watched lots of the Open over the weekend, no doubt, we all know where we are going wrong!!! Poor Rory - what a great 2nd round though!!

Yours
Margaret
Ladies Captain 2019

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Captain's Newsletter - 14 July 2019

With no photos taken this last week, I thought I would give you an insight into part of the course from the air. In fact, from a drone that the greenkeepers sometimes use to get a different perspective of the course! An interesting view isn't it, but can you place it?

Some small changes that The Club Company promised a few months back are beginning to be seen! This week the new 'Costa' coffee machine took pride of place in the clubhouse and all the staff received their training on it Tuesday! New menus are now out on the tables, with a separate one for Breakfasts for those who like to partake before a round! Think you will agree they look tasty and there are certainly some welcome additions. New mats have arrived for the Driving Range and I believe they are now in place. No time to take advantage of them for me this last week, although I could have done with it! We have been informed that Intelligent Golf and the electronic booking system it supports, should be up and running by the first week in November. All concerned thought it sensible to delay the coming on stream until the important matches; championships, medals and cups/trophies etc are largely out of the way thereby avoiding any difficult moments!! Our new membership cards should be out soon, but I have no definitive date as yet, your balances will move across for you. I should have more news after Monday 22nd when we have our first club committee meeting with the new team. In the meantime, I will keep you as informed as I can!

This coming week sees the Friendly team away at Heydon Grange, good luck to all those playing! Its a great course as long as it stays dry!! Keep your fingers crossed for good weather.

There are still a few places left on Thursday for the Lorraine Palmer Cup, so do sign up and fill up the spaces please! The Palmer Cup competition against the Senior Men on August 7th still has a few spaces too and a reserve or two would be perfect! This competition is open to anyone and is Pairs Stableford Betterball, so we are all equal and there are no handicap restrictions! Check your diary to see if you can join us! A general point about signing up on the computer please, whilst Lin is always willing and able to move people around to avoid gaps in the tee times we use, it would save her time if you were able to do this when you consider booking yourself in. Its always good to sign up with different people and pick up a few tips as you go along! Thank you.

Thursday of last week saw just 3 nine-hole ladies venture out, with Pam B taking top spot with 15 pts on count back from Pam W and Pat P. Don't forget if you decide that you would prefer to play only 9 holes on a given day, for whatever reason, please do sign in to play with them. I know they would welcome you!

The main competition that day saw the Ladies' Champion playing to her best again! Kathy D came in with an impressive nett 71, just beating Jean R on countback and winning Division 1. Division 2 was won by Ann G with a nett 72, just ahead of Jean P and Julie R, all in with a nett 72. Great playing ladies! Personally, I must go away and get my head together after a disaster in the bunker on the 15th and ending up 'picking up' - what was that all about!!!

There were Medal matches all round this week and on Saturday, four ladies were out for their game. Nikki B came in with a nett 73 a convincing win for her ahead of Megan B, Lin G and Annette G. Well done Nikki!

Finally Friday September 13th 2019 is a HUGE day for Chesfield Downs Ladies!! While the biggest event in women's golf takes place at Gleneagles, this is the date for our very own biennial Solheim Cup Competition played against Mill Green Ladies. This year we will be at home and if you were not there in 2017, you simply can't imagine the fun we all have supporting the United States in this club v club day! (See 2017's photo below.) A notice will be going up on the board very soon for you to express an interest, your availability to play etc etc. We will then be looking for a squad for the day but also an equal amount of ladies to be caddies for our players. We obviously hope you can join in the obvious fun and challenge!!

Solheim Squad Members 2017

Finally, enjoy the week's golf and good luck in the Lorraine Palmer Cup, if you are playing!

Best wishes
Margaret

Ladies' Captain 2019

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Captain's Newsletter - 9 July 2019

Well readers, what an amazing week the Ladies of Chesfield Downs had last week!! The weather was very kind indeed to us but much more importantly the golf was FABULOUS!!

The Ladies Club Championship of any club is one of the major dates in the diary and the last two Thursdays saw the ladies battle it out for top place. Was their good score in the 1st round going to be enough or would they fall by the wayside?? Could they make up the shots that they needed? All thoughts in their heads as they ventured out no doubt! The weather was beautiful and the course amazing! For the last five years, the Club Champion Trophy has been held firmly by Virginia C, an amazing achievement indeed! This year, there were several ladies with other intentions and after a very close 1st round between several ladies, I am thrilled to say Kathy D took the top spot this year, achieving not only the best gross score overall (83 + 85 = 168) and taking the trophy but also coming in with the best overall nett score of 146 too! Quite outstanding and very very well deserved. Taking the Angela Chatterton Trophy with the next best nett score of 148 was Sally W just two shots behind Kathy. An incredible two days of golf! I know both ladies would want to thank their playing partners over the two rounds and the close competition they provided. Hope the celebrations are still going on!!

Whilst the previous Tuesday wasn't able to completely match the thrills of the Club Championship, around 30 ladies battled it out in the new Miss Designer Golf competition held this year. With a 1st prize of £100 to compete for the afternoon saw several ladies rush along after a hot day at work to get their entries in before the close of day. It was a great day and one we hope we can repeat next year. Coming in with the best score on the day was Diane C who takes away £100 of MDG gift vouchers, 2nd place went to Nikki B (it was worth the rush from work after all) and 3rd place went to Angela H, with smaller prizes for them both. Another great day!.

Looking ahead, we are not far away from the Away Day at Bourn on 1st August! Nikki and Helen will be looking to repeat their win from last year, of course and we will be doing our best not to let them!! Please pay the remainder of the costs to Pat now please if you haven't already. If you have any concerns as to whether you have paid or not please do ask her. Any other queries to Rogie or myself. The tee times are being done today, so the sheet will be up by Thursday hopefully.

The sheet is also up for our annual competition against the Seniors in the Palmer Cup on Wednesday 7th August. The competition is a pairs matchplay format, so lets see if we can get a big squad out there. Everyone is invited to join in and if we can get a bigger team together, the Seniors are ready to match us in number. Please see the sheet on the board.

With the Solheim Cup match being held on September 13th at Chesfield Downs and the new Pearson Season soon approaching, it is important that squads are as prepared as they can be! The matchplay format is not necessarily one we get a lot of practice in, and it is my intention to utilise some of the tee times on a Tuesday to provide the opportunity for those keen to refine their skills, to take advantage of, so please do keep an eye on the Tuesday board for a few changes to the sign-up sheets. The fun games that we are all familiar with, will not change but the number of tee times given to them will reduce just slightly!

Good luck to all those playing this week, lets hope the weather stays fine!

Take care
Margaret
Ladies Captain 2019

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Captain's Newsletter - 30 June 2019

The Ladies Captain's Charity Day is always a big part of our calendar and the 2019 Charity Day was no different. This year it was a day of umbrellas, rain and woolly hats, winter wear and but also GREAT generosity. Could this really be June!!! Whilst the rain was fairly continuous, the smiles and jokes were to be found everywhere, outside on the course and during the prizegiving. The big question is will Pat ever get over her one hour ''SIMULATOR'' session with James?? Being serious, it was lovely to see old friends and new ones, make the journey to be part of the day and whilst our numbers were not huge this year, due the enormous generosity of everyone, we were able to make almost £3,000 on the day towards our two local charities, MIND in Mid Herts and Tilehouse Counselling. Thank you so very much to everyone who was able to support the day in whatever way you could. THANK YOU!

Winners on the day were Veralum's Tina B and Sarah S with a great score of 45 points, followed by our own Lauren P and Jacqui H on 43 and Hazel and Julie R came in 3rd on 42 pts. Well done to all those who played and also to Pat P and Pam B (above) for playing 9 holes in the rain and walking away with a bottle of fizz each for their 'endurance', long may it last!

What a difference a week makes and from the cold and wet of the Charity Day, the Ladies Club Championship this last Thursday saw much brighter weather and some great scores. Well done to those who kept their heads in the 1st round and are still in the running. We look forward to awarding the Championship Trophy on Thursday to the overall gross winner and to the overall nett winner, the Angela Chatterton Cup. Please do stay behind to see the winners come in and to join in the tea and cakes kindly donated by Jenny F to celebrate her important 'Shhh' birthday! Even if you haven't played on the day but can come along around 2.30 - 3.00pm, we would love to see you, please do sign up or let me know.

Before the final round of the Championship, we will be competing in the new Miss Designer Golf competition on Tuesday. This is an individual stableford competition with a very large prize for the winner of £100 worth of gift vouchers, with smaller prizes for 2nd and 3rd place. All those taking part during the day will receive a £10 gift voucher from MDG for competing. As most of you will be aware, you can play at any time during the day, as long as you inform myself or Katy C, and you can have your card signed by another player from our section. There are still some places on the sign-up sheet in the locker room so do come along!

Yesterday saw around 40 Past Captains compete for top place, good luck to those who did get out there, it was incredibly hot so rather you than me!! Good Luck also to the Scratch Team who compete against Veralum at home, tomorrow. Can they keep a clean sheet, lets hope so!! Fingers crossed.

As one of our ladies has suggested my newsletters are 'rather long', I will endeavour to make them briefer, so until next week, enjoy some great golf.

Best wishes
Margaret
Ladies Captain 2019

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