The Leicestershire

Golf Club

www.theleicestershiregolfclub.co.uk

Newsletter

January 2017

The start of a new year - so it is out (in the

nicest sense possible) with the “old” – in

this case our 2016 captains (l to r) Richard

Dalby, Naeem Dassu, Fran Howkins, Tony

Mendes and Barry Davies....

......who putted out on the 9th green to

officially mark the end of their year of

office. Many thanks and congratulations

on an excellent year.

All hit solid putts and earned the applause

of watching members. Then it was in with

the new and over to the 1st tee for the

2017 Captains’ Drive In to officially

start their year of office.

L to r; Peter Brookes (Senior’s), Francis

Lobo (Club Captain), Gillian Gravett

(Ladies), Ben Ridgway (Juniors) and Harry

Hill (under 35’s).

All hit good shots to impress the watching

membership before returning to the

clubhouse for lunch. Prior to the drive-in,

Tim Stevens & Bernard Crump won the

traditional Cross-Country event with

25 points. Gary Daley & Will Ridgway

came second with 24 points whilst Richard

& Robbie Dalby edged out Jason Thorpe

& Nigel Dryden for third place on

countback. Both pairs finishing on 22

points

At the lunch, Club Captain Francis Lobo

launched the Captain’s Charity for

2017. Francis has nominated the

Leicestershire and Rutland branch of the

Motor Neurone Disease

Association (MNDA)

Janet McMillan, the Chair of the

Leicestershire and Rutland branch, joined

Francis as his guest......

.....and gave members an insight into the

work of the MNDA. Key points she made

were:

Motor Neurone Disease (MND) is an

incurable condition that paralyses the

muscles, leaving people unable to do

the everyday things the rest of us take

for granted yet the mind and senses

remain mainly intact. MND kills six

people in the UK every day.

The Motor Neurone Disease

Association (MNDA) provides care

and support to people with MND,

enabling them to live their lives to the

full. This includes loaning essential

equipment, training Association

visitors and running a national

helpline. MNDA promotes scientific

research, and provides funding to

specialists seeking to understand, find

treatments and ultimately cure the

disease. The Association speaks on

behalf of people with MND, campaigns

locally, nationally and internationally,

demanding the best possible

standards of care for all.

Established in 1986, The

Leicestershire and Rutland Branch

aims to improve local support for

families affected by the disease,

increase awareness of their needs

within the community and raise money

to fund research in the hope of finding

a cure for MND.

Our small team of trained volunteer

visitors liaise with local health and

social care professionals to offer direct

practical and emotional support to

people throughout Leicestershire and

Rutland who are affected by MND,

whether they are a person living with

the disease, a carer, family member,

friend or colleague. We warmly

welcome new members and are

always pleased to hear from people

who may be able to help the branch

with its ongoing work.

We wish Francis Lobo every success in his

role as Captain of The Leicestershire Golf Club

and are most grateful to him for choosing

MNDA as his Captain’s charity. It is only

through the generous support of the local

community that the Leicestershire and Rutland

Branch of MNDA can continue the fight to

maintain and improve the levels of care for

those who are living with the disease in our

area as well as helping to fund vital research

programmes. We hope you all enjoy a great

season on the golf course and wish you all the

best with your fundraising events on our

behalf.

The raffles and various auctions of tickets

for Leicester City and Tigers matches got

the charity off to a good start raising an

impressive £607. Francis sends his

thanks to all members who generously

donated on the day. Members also have

the opportunity to submit bids for the

LCFC shirt, pictured below,

...and signed by Jamie Vardy on the day

he scored his first hat-trick for the club in

the 4-2 thrashing of Manchester City (that

makes good reading!). Many thanks to

Phil Thomason for getting the shirt signed.

Sealed bids should be lodged with Will

Bevan by 1pm on Saturday 18th February

with the winner being announced on the

comedy evening the following Friday, 24th

February.

Francis has also nominated the pond at

the front of the 17th green and invites

members hitting the ball into the pond to

donate £1.00 to the Captain’s Charity.

Collection boxes in the pro-shop or

upstairs bar.

Francis and Gillian take their places on the

General Committee (GC). The full

list of members on the GC is:

Alan Fletcher – President

Clive Smith – Vice President and Chair of

House

Francis Lobo – Club Captain

Neil Scotchbrook – Vice Captain

Bob Esterbrook – Chair of Finance

Mark Simons – Chair of Greens

Ben Peter – Junior Organiser

James Dobson – Junior Organiser

Gillian Gravett – Lady Captain

Mary Jarvis – Lady President

Carol Smith – Committee

Arif Osman – Committee

Bhikhu Hindocha – Committee

John Cullip – Committee

The General Committee has resolved that

Simon Bridgwater (co-opted as Chair of

the Marketing, Communication, IT and

Social Committee) and Will Bevan

(General Manager) be invited to attend all

General Committee meetings.

Friday 13th is always a bad omen and so it

proved with bad weather forcing the

cancellation of the fourth round of TLGC

Winter Series. The fifth round is on

Friday 10th February; contact the pro-shop

for starting times.

As well as prizes for each individual

competition, there is also an order of merit

prize for the best aggregate over the

course of the Winter Series. Jevann

Parmar, in his first months as a

professional, is leading the way with 99

points over the first three rounds.

Round 4 of the Senior’s Winter

Series, played on 23rd January resulted

in a win for Arthur Campbell, David

Johnson, Mike Burrill & Peter Nuttall who

amassed 82 points.

In second place was the team of Nev

Spikings, Geoff Butler, Richard Brucciani

& Brian Marlow with 80 points.

The R & A has recommended a new

local rule for implementation in

2017. It modifies rules 18.2, 18.3, and

20.1. Head Professional Tim Stevens

explains:

When a player’s ball lies on the putting

green, there is no penalty if the player, his

partner, his opponent, or any of their

caddies or equipment accidentally moves

the ball or ball-marker.

The moved ball or ball-marker must be

replaced as provided in Rules 18-2, 18-3

and 20-1.

This Local Rule applies only when the

player’s ball or ball-marker lies on the

putting green and any movement is

accidental.

Note: If it is determined that a player’s ball

on the putting green was moved as a

result of wind, water or some other natural

cause such as the effects of gravity, the

ball must be played as it lies from its new

location. A ball-marker moved in such

circumstances is replaced."

For more information or to watch a short

video explaining the change please visit

the R&A website at

http://www.randa.org/News/2016/12/New-

Local-Rule-for-Golf

Our Head Professional Tim Stevens has

once again been nominated for a national

industry award.

Members will recall that, following the

dramatic transformation of the pro-shop

facilities and services, last year saw Head

Professional Tim Stevens nominated for

most improved Professional Shop in the

TGI golf partnership national awards. TGI

is Europe’s leading golf retail services

group, supporting over 500 clubs.

Although he did not go on to win the

category, Tim was pleased to receive

recognition for his efforts.

This year Tim has received a nomination

in a different category, Most Improved

Business. Tim says:

‘I’d like to thank everyone at TLGC for

their support, me, Pete and Sam really

enjoy life at the club, we couldn’t do what

we do without your support’

The judging is in early February at the

Belfry when the TGI golf partnership hold

their annual conference and awards

ceremony. Being a member allows Tim to

secure the best deals from manufacturers

and price match against the internet,

something that benefits all members as

alongside competitive prices, we get Tim’s

advice and expertise.

Good luck Tim.

Junior organisers Ben Peter and James

Dobson put on a presentation evening and

disco for the Junior members who

proudly display their awards

Another dip into the club’s

archives

The photo shows the 9th green and was

taken by Agnes and Thomas Moore of

Clarendon Park who cycled around

Leicestershire taking photographs. The

photo was probably taken before 1919 as

that was when sheep were banned from

the course. Looking at plans of the course

around that time (see the centenary

history of the club p26/27), the location of

the 9th green would be at, or close to,

where the public footpath crosses the 1st

fairway.

Last year, the newsletter carried an item

on the putting studio installed by Tim

Stevens. An intrepid group of 20

members have engaged Tim to run a

series of clinics during the winter.

Pictured below, Francis is with Tim and

Peter to see how he measures up at the

session held on 18th January.

A launch angle of 1 degree is the target,

anything more and you are effectively

chipping! Anything less is similarly bad.

So, Adrian is good but Simon and Francis

need to practise. As for Richard, well

...........

Getting the ball rolling is important but it

needs to roll in the right direction

(obviously) so alignment is also a key

factor. Below are the stats from the clinic.

They show that Adrian is close to

perfection, clearly “the boss of the moss!”

with Francis at least aiming in the right

direction. However, only three out of the

17 attending the session aligned

themselves correctly. Simon Gravett, from

10 feet, was aiming more than 12 inches

right whilst Roger Corp aimed more than

seven inches left. Sadly, as well as

chipping his putts, Richard is also aiming

in the wrong direction. Remember

Richard declaring that Umesh Pankhania

looked silly wielding his large headed

putter (see December’s newsletter) –

wonder if Umesh gets the ball rolling in the

right direction?

If your putting needs a tune up, contact

Tim or Peter.

Coming up in February

3rd February – Quiz Night, the sheet is

almost full but members can still reserve a

spot, the signup sheet is in the clubhouse

foyer

24th February – Comedy night, tickets are

now available at £10

Looking further ahead, some important

dates for your diary are:

Saturday 25th March - Captain/Pro

Challenge. Your chance to challenge the

Captain/Pro team in a LEICESTERSHIRE

BRAMBLE (Francis will reveal what a

Leicestershire bramble is in next month’s

newsletter), as well as a wonderful

opportunity to meet and play with a

member of our champion scratch team.

Saturday 10th June - Men's Invitation.

Invite your friends to experience our well-

maintained course and the excellent

service in our clubhouse.

Saturday 15th July - Club Day. A day

open to ALL members.

And finally...........

“On the tee “.

An appeal for volunteers to act as starters

for visiting societies – as one of the

premier courses in the region, TLGC hosts

a number of society meetings through the

year. To improve the quality of our offer to

societies we are looking for members to

act as starters. The role would require

members to ensure societies get away

promptly, local rules made clear and to

communicate any other information

(distance markers for example) to enable

the day get off to a smooth start. Most

societies have tee times that take up an

hour or so, so the time commitment would

not be onerous. Interested members

should forward their names to Will Bevan.

PS. We cannot promise the Rolex starters

booth!