News

Dear Members,

THE END TO LOCKDOWN APPEARS TO BE IN SIGHT !!!!!!!!!!

With the government announcement on Monday we have a clear roadmap for the end of lockdown, which I have no doubt has been well received by all. While the stage dates will be subject to continued review the timetable for the club appears to be :

March 29th – outdoor sports allowed

: Golf course opens for play :

• Format of play – at the present time we are we are assuming that four balls will be okay and will update members if this changes
• Initially the course will open for members and their guests and Stuart will open the booking system from March 22nd
• The course will be opened up to visitors at a later date subject to tee time availability but members will be given a booking window of seven days while visitors will have a shorter period.
• COMPETITIONS – With the resumption of golf from March 29th, we plan to include as many club competitions as possible with immediate effect. Entry to these will be via How Did I do and the competitions committee are currently setting these up on the system. Alternative dates for those missed in March will be sought to see if these may be fitted in later in the year.

: bowls green opens on April 1st – detailed guidance to follow

: club house remains closed

: Stuart on site to open changing rooms for access to toilets but shop closed to customers

: bowls equipment stored in outside bar – committee to determine procedures

April 12th – bar and restaurant opens for outdoor service only

: Pro shop open to customers (face masks mandatory)

: Bar service but no customers inside clubhouse – only outside table service

: Restaurant service outside – times to be determined (not every day)

: Outdoor seating – rule of 6 or two households applies

May 17th – Club house opens but subject to the rule of 6

: snooker room opens but subject to guidance

: Bar service inside but subject to rule of 6 or 2 h/holds (maybe face masks)

: Restaurant service inside but subject to rule of 6 or 2 h/holds (maybe face masks)

: Outside – rule of 6 no longer applies – groups of up to 30

June 21st – all restrictions lifted which should allow the club bar cards to be used

July – We are aiming to hold the club AGM in July and will publish the date shortly

Other Matters

After the recent flooding we are making good progress with clearing the course of debris and well advanced with our insurance claim which has now been formally accepted by the insurance company. Our claim has been submitted and while replacement of some items has been agreed we are waiting on approval for the remainder. More information on this will be published when available.

As detailed in my last two updates we are planning to hold our club AGM when able, which appears possible in July and this will include a debate on whether there should be any rebate to members in recognition of the lockdown over the last 12 months. The board continues to maintain that the decision to award any form of compensation, be it additional months of free membership or holding annual fees for existing members for 2022 (and maybe 2023) or an actual rebate has to be voted on by the membership rather than being decided by the board who believe it best to keep the money in the club for improvements. The advantage of leaving the surplus we accumulated in 2020 in the club will be that, much needed, improvements can be made around the club without the need for resorting to loans or raising fees and we would be better able to avoid the need to increase fees in 2022.

If, however, the collective decision is to make some form of gesture the benefit to the individual member could be regarded as, relatively immaterial while having a more major impact on the club, eg :

: a 10% rebate or 1 month extension on membership would be roughly worth £10 to a bowler and £80 to a 7 day golf member but cost the club £25,000

: a 20% rebate or 2 month extension on membership would be roughly worth £20 to a bowler and £170 to a 7 day golf member but cost the club £50,000 which would wipe out almost all of the surplus achieved in 2020

Now that we have a roadmap for exiting the lockdown and a date for reopening the course and bowls green can I remind members that they need to pay their 2021 fees if already due. Please be aware that any member overdue with their fees will not be able to access BRS to book tee times or bowls rinks. Judith can be contacted on 01487 813595 to take payment which will apply from the due date.

On a final point I am aware that there have been some rumblings amongst club members on a range of matters and if any member has concerns then please ring me (01487 823542) and I will try to address any concerns.

Stay safe

Richard Coles
Chairman, Ramsey Golf and Bowls Club

Dear Members,

I hope that this update finds you all well and not too bored with the continuing enforced lockdown.

We are all hoping that with the progress being achieved with the vaccine delivery there will be some relaxation of the Covid related restrictions in the near future, hopefully in March. There is some speculation that a roadmap will be published in late February setting out how the country will exit these restrictions and please rest assured that, as soon as there is any definite news, I will write out again with details of when the club house, bowls green and course will re-open. As with the previous lock downs we will aim to re-open the course to members only initially and then extend access to guests and then visitor’s dependant on the uptake of tee times by members.

I am sure that members will also be very aware of the flooding the course has continued to suffer on the back of the severe flooding just before Christmas when the grounds building was breached causing extensive damage to equipment and machinery. Neil and his team have been working hard restoring the pathways, which were damaged as well as progressing the clear up around the course and in the grounds building and we are equally making good progress with the insurance claim but I feel that I need to warn members that a lot of our machinery needs extensive repairs and/or replacement and this will take time and could have some impact once the course re-opens but every effort will be taken to minimise this.

Following my last update in early January where I laid out that the next club AGM will include a debate on whether there should be any rebate to members in recognition of the lockdown over the last 11 months I received a small number of messages supporting the fact that consideration will be given to this matter and I want to thank those members for their comments.

Stay safe

Richard Coles

Chairman, Ramsey Golf and Bowls Club

January 11th 2021

Dear Members,

Further to my update last week advising members on the state of the course following the flooding and the hope of re-opening, it was desperately disappointing to then hear Boris’s statement on the return of a severe lockdown for an extended period. This announcement was not a particular surprise but I had been hoping and, indeed, expecting that some level of golfing would still be a permitted activity even if restricted to members only within a given distance from their home club as is the situation in Scotland.

As soon as there is any further relaxation of the restrictions I will write out again to members but there are a couple of specifics that I want to communicate.

Firstly for our golfing members I have been asked by Sharren Kjenstad and Ollie Wright to relay the following message :

Due to the unfortunate circumstances surrounding the bad weather causing the flood conditions and also having been closed due to Covid-19 we will have to cancel the Winter League and the Cornthwaite Bowl as there is not enough time to now play them.

As such all monies will be refunded back to the competition charge accounts.

We are however hoping to play the summer knock-outs and will be in touch with members to advise when these will be available to enter.

Thank you from the competitions committee 

Sharren Kjenstad and Ollie Wright

Secondly for all members across the club I want to take the opportunity to provide some insight into how the club has fared over 2020. As everyone is fully aware the pandemic has presented the club and its members with a significant set of challenges ranging from the health impact on those individuals who have been unfortunate enough to have contracted this dreadful disease to the restrictions on being able or, not being able, to play golf, bowls and snooker over the year and not being able to enjoy the more social aspects of membership in the bar and the absence of social functions that the club has, historically, operated.

When the first lockdown was applied back in March last year the financial outlook for the club was severe especially as we did not qualify for the main elements of financial assistance that were being provided by government. However, through the efforts of our team and numerous volunteers, the club has overcome the anticipated financial pressures and with the success in attracting 106 new members over the year and across all of the membership categories which included 35 under the points based “play more golf” initiative and also managing to accommodate a significant number of visiting players whilst minimising the impact of member’s own enjoyment of the course, the result was, financially, the club achieved a significant financial surplus over the year.

This is great news for the club and worthy of a resounding HURRAH !!!! but I am very conscious that there was disturbance to play last year and this is clearly going to continue for some time in 2021 with the current closure of the club. As well as the disturbance to members with the on going closure the impact on the club’s finances is also a consideration in that for each month the course or clubhouse remains closed the financial impact is a loss of visitor revenue (£2000 – £3000 at this time of year) and bar/restaurant profits (£4000-£5000). I am aware that there has been comment on the apparent unfairness of membership fees continuing to be payable whilst the course is closed and I believe that the most appropriate way to consider what should be done is to address the issue at our next AGM, as and when we are able to hold it, and put this matter to the membership for a decision recognising that we are a member’s club and, as such, it is appropriate that some decisions are put to the membership for resolution.

We will certainly be holding an AGM in some form this year, which may have to be virtually with relevant matters being voted on either in person, if allowable, or by paper or on-line voting. I am going to defer any decision on how and when to hold an AGM until early March by which time I hope that we will all have a better idea on an exit route from this pandemic.

Essentially, as I see it, we ended the year with a reasonable financial surplus which has enabled the club to avoid any fee increase for 2021 and it gives us an opportunity to plan for accelerating improvements across the club but, alternatively, we are in a position to effect a rebate to all members as a gesture for the disturbance incurred during 2020 and, now, in 2021and, in simple terms, it boils down to these two options.

Personally I would prefer to retain the financial surplus we have managed to achieve during 2020, despite the challenges, and use those funds to continue with the programme of improvement across the club and, maybe, commit to holding fees for existing members for, at least, 2022 rather than to effect a rebate to all members but I do believe that the decision should be for members, collectively, to make rather than the management board.

To put this into context a rebate of say 10% would give a social member a rebate of £7, bowls members a rebate of £11, a five day golf member some £73 and a seven day golf member some £87 but the cost to the club would amount to some £25,000 which could, alternatively, be used to purchase a much needed piece of course equipment, or go towards improvement programmes on the course, bowls green or club house or deferring an annual fee increase for existing members in, at least, 2022 and I believe the majority of members would support the case for the funds to be used towards improvements around the club etc rather than providing what would be a fairly immaterial rebate on an individual basis and my plan is to address this at the next AGM.

I will end this update by wishing all members well and hope that we are all able to return to some degree of normality soon.

Richard Coles

Chairman, Ramsey Golf and Bowls Club

Golf courses and facilities must close with immediate effect

The UK Government has announced a complete lockdown of England with immediate effect.

This means everyone must work from home where possible, except for critical workers, and it will supersede all local restrictions currently in place.

Golf clubs, golf facilities – both indoor and outdoor – and driving ranges will be required to close during this full lockdown. As such, coaching will not be permitted.

Golf retailers will be able to operate a click-and-collect service where goods are pre-ordered and either collected off the premises or delivered.

England Golf  – as part of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Golf along with other leading industry bodies – is extremely disappointed with the news, having made a strong case in recent months to keep golf open during the national lockdowns and in the regional tier system.

It is with great regret that we share this news with you, but please be assured that we will continue to make the case for golf to reopen whenever possible.

The England Golf website and social channels are regularly updated and we will communicate any new information as soon as it is available. Clubs and players can refer to the England Golf Coronavirus FAQs for additional questions around playing, running facilities and finding available support funds.

Dear Members,

Firstly !!!!! – HAPPY NEW YEAR and may it prove to be a substantially better year once the vaccination program has progressed sufficiently for us all to get back to some degree of normality.

We inspected the course this morning and following a concerted effort by our grounds team, Neil, Richard and Matt, ably helped by a number of volunteers and the loan of an industrial pump by Lord De Ramsey a lot of the lying water has drained but the course will remain unplayable until later in the week at the earliest.

We have scheduled the next inspection for Wednesday and are hopeful that some play will be possible on Thursday or Friday but it will certainly not include all 18 holes and specific details on which holes are playable will be released on Wednesday. There will also be some areas that we want to restrict traffic over and these will be roped off and I ask all members to follow the directions.

Given the conditions I am afraid that buggies cannot be used and I would ask those members able to carry their bags to do so rather then to use their trollies in order to reduce the inevitable damage to the course. We advise navigating the course via the rough as much as possible and taking extra care around the greens complexes in particular. 

As reported last week, as more information is released I will send out further updates and Stuart will open the booking system as soon as we can but, as is clear from the tier 4 guidelines, the pro shop will not be open as a shop but it can still provide golf items on a “click and collect” basis so please email Stuart in advance for any items you need. Stuart will be on-site on most days to maintain the booking system, providing phone cover, opening the toilets, offering lessons etc etc but probably working shorter hours.

Initial bookings will only be open to members and will remain so until we are in a better position to determine membership demand at which time we will then start opening up play to visitors. We will adopt the same procedures to those following the first lockdown, ie giving members an extended booking window and visitors only a couple of days so as to maintain fairness and priority to members.

It is vitally important that bookings are in line with government guidelines and, as members will be aware, we are now in tier 4 where the rules, as detailed on the England Golf website, are :

Golf can only be played in the following formats :

• Individual play
• Two-balls from same or different households/bubbles
• Three or fourballs involving people from the same household/bubble

By way of clarification,the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Golf – of which England Golf is a member – has issued the following statement addressing issues of play, retail, coaching and travel:

“The All-Party Parliamentary Group for Golf is happy to confirm that golf courses will be able to remain open when the new Tier 4 restrictions become effective in parts of England from 06:00 GMT on Sunday 20th December.

“In Tier 4 areas, golf courses can remain open for individuals playing with members of their own household or support bubble, or with one person from another household.

“As usual, social distancing is to be observed and all necessary steps are to be taken to ensure a COVID-19 secure environment.

“Under Tier 4 restrictions, non-essential retail – including Pro Shops and golf retailers – must close. Click and Collect will, however, be permitted.

“Outdoor coaching will be allowed on an individual basis or for multiple members of the same household or support bubble. Indoor coaching will be not be permitted.

“There are exceptions for indoor disability sport, sport for educational purposes, and supervised sport and physical activity for under-18s, which can take place with larger groups mixing.

“Custom fitting can take place outside on a one-to-one basis but is not permitted indoors.

Stuart sent out a message last week regarding payment of membership fees given that Judith is not in the office every day – Judith’s home number is 01487 813595 and any member who would prefer to ring and pay over the phone can now do so.

Best wishes to all and happy new year !!!!!

Richard Coles

Chairman, Ramsey Golf and Bowls Club