THORPE WOOD GOLF CLUB
MEN'S CAPTAIN FOR 2012
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STEVE WATSON
The Captain 2012
I am extremely proud to announce myself, Steve Watson, as your captain for the coming year.
Being born and bred in Peterborough I've played here for the best part of 20 years so I am honoured to captain the club that has been such a big part of my life. I started playing here during the early 90's in the junior division alongside a young Simon Fitton!! In those days I could get the better of him from time to time but I cannot say the same today although I'm keen to resurrect those matches with him over the coming year and use my 9 handicap to my advantage and give him a good hiding!! I am very ambitious and aim to reduce my handicap to at least 5 by the end of the year. Hopefully with all the opportunities I will get to play in my captaincy year I can achieve this then take on the scratch team!! But a wise Neil Grant once told me "Practice doesn't make PERFECT, Practice makes PERMANENT", so as long as I practise the right things and work hard I will reach my goal. I class myself a 'wayward' 9 handicapper who claims any fairway hit is classed as one hit whether the intended fairway or not!! "Better line in from here" is one of my regular sayings!
I was introduced to golf by my stepfather, Ken Beasley, himself a single figure handicapper and former committee member, and have not looked back since.
I am delighted to be part of the new look Thorpe Wood and cannot wait for the range to be completed and find out what is in store next. The changes can only be a positive and will benefit all of us as members and also attract new members to the fantastic facilities we will have to offer. I am looking foward to being able to hit a few balls before taking on our 200 yard opener!! Maybe I'll then be warmed up a bit for the first hole and not the 6th when I usually loosen/wake up!. I will do my utmost to represent the club and yourselves in selling and marketing our club to a wider audience as well as maintaining the club's traditions.
I am a Publican by trade and currently in my 5th year at the Wheatsheaf Public House in Peterborough. The trade has been in my family for generations so it was the natural path for me to take as a profession and am now into my 18th year in the industry which, trust me, feels like 38!!
May I take this opportunity to bring to your attention the club matches we have in place this year. These are by no means only open to 'regular' team players. In fact what I ask of anyone interested in representing the club is to complete the registration form on the board (no difficult questions!!) so I can gather a bank/squad to choose from for each match. Even if you do not mind being contacted as a late replacement please fill it in anyway. Some matches are known to be a full day out but I am in the process of arranging some shorter formats with fewer players to make these matches less of a burden on your valuable spare time. Your support in fulfilling our match calendar would be greatly appreciated and I can assure you a great craic along the way, especially if we win!!
Our green staff work tirelessly all year round as I am sure they will during my time as captain so I ask nothing more of them other than to continue their hard work and excellent standards (although a few more back left pins on medal days to accommodate my slight toe hook would be great thanks!!). I believe we are spoilt with two great courses at hand, both of which are in magnificent condition and credit must be given to Mick, Phil and their teams for keeping up standards on courses that take a battering all year round with minimal use of winter tees and greens.
I would like to urge all members from both courses to play the 'other' course in preparation and support of our upcoming merger and challenge youself to play to your handicap! I am a firm believer that our handicap travels well to other courses as we have such a demanding test off the whites here so keep that in mind this year when visiting other courses.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank my captain for last year, Vaughan Lutkin, who has shown me the ropes and took us to the final of the Derek Burridge trophy. We paired up many times in matches and he tried his hardest to teach me how to hit it straight but unforunately even Gary Casey has failed there! I believe I always hit straight, straight left or straight right!! Vaughan has filled me full of confidence when making speeches after dinner at matches so here's to this year!!
All that is left for me to say is enjoy the year, play well and remember if you get to play with me throughout the year it's courtesy to let the captain win and give him putts from 5ft!!!!
Steve Watson
The Mens Committee wants to encourage members to enter competitions, improve their standard, and above all enjoy their golf.
On this page: Handicaps: Competitions : Matches : Social Events : Open Events : Finally
Handicaps
All our members are members of the English Golf Union by virtue of our membership of the Cambridgeshire Area Golf Union.
If you do not have a handicap you need to submit three cards with a score on every hole of the course. This can be over any perion of time and should be played off the yellow tee markers. The card should be marked by someone who is a member of this club, or who has a handicap from another affiliated club. A member does not need a handicap to mark your card. The scores should be in the low hundreds, and there should preferably be one of under 100. Mark the card "For Handicap" and make sure your name and number are legible. Put the cards in the club's letterbox in the Mens changing room.
The highest handicap you can be given is 28. The handicap committee will process your three cards, and post your handicap in the glass case in the mens changing room. It is usually only possible to reduce your handicap after the initial award by playing in competitions. [Back to Top]
Competitions
The club holds 17 individual Medal competitions each year, 6 Stableford competitions and 11 other competitions mostly for pairs of players.
Entry sheets for competitions are posted on the notice-board in the lobby at least two weeks before the competition is due to be played.
Allow ten minutes at least before your tee time. When you arrive pay the Green Fee in the shop, and report to the starter who is usually a member of the Committee. The competition entry fee is usually £2.
You will exchange cards for marking purposes with another member of your match. He will mark your score in the player 'A' column (see scorecard) and his own score in the leftmost column of the card. After the round you sign his card and agree the score with him. Check your score, sign your card and put it in the box provided.
(The commonest cause for disqualification is players forgetting to sign their cards.)
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Matches
Every year the club has matches against other clubs in the area. Some of these are for the lower handicap players, but there are friendly matches against Mens, Ladies and Seniors teams from other Clubs. Seniors matches are for players over 55. There are also 9 mixed matches each year. Entry sheets for all these are put on the lobby noticeboards well before each match.
These matches are a good opportunity to meet other members of the club and to visit other courses. All matches are followed by a meal, at which you will be required to wear a jacket and a tie. If you play regularly we shall ask you to wear a club shirt and sweater and encourage you to buy a club tie.
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Social Events
During the year the Club organises two or three days out at other Golf Clubs within an hour's journey where we usually play 36 holes. They usually conclude with a meal at the Club concerned where the jacket and tie rule is enforced.
We also have an annual Autumn Break playing one round each day. These are usually within a reasonable distance.
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Open Events
We receive notification of 'Open' events held by many clubs in the district. These sometimes have handicap restrictions on them but most players can usually find something suitable. You would be wise to ask for a handicap certificate before attending these events. The posters and entry forms are available in the Men's Changing room.
Thorpe Wood holds four Open Events during the year: Opens: For more detail click on the link.
Finally...
A brief word on etiquette. One of the commonest causes of complaint is speed of play. Please read the 'Rules of Golf' which contains more information on this, but as far as Thorpe Wood is concerned, be ready to play when it is your turn and try to play briskly. Don't hurry yourself, but don't waste time.
We hope you have found these notes useful and wish you many years of successful and enjoyable golf
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