Advance Notice
Captain's Carol Concert - 14 December
In recent years, the outgoing Captain has held a private dinner just before the AGM. When I thought about it, I decided I wanted to say goodbye and thank you to as many people as possible.

So, this year, I have invited back the band, choir and soloists from Prudhoe Community High School. I'm pleased they have accepted in view of the poor attendance at the event in 2005.

However, with the benefit of hindsight, I realise that we can't just rely on posters to bring in the crowds. So, this year, I am marketing the event much more effectively with the objective of filling, what will be on the night, our beautifully refurbished and refurnished Clubhouse.

Apart from our own members there will be many guests from elsewhere including some of the Captains and Vice Captains I have made friends with over the last couple of years.

I'm looking forward to seeing everyone on the night.

Presentation Nights & Dinners
A number of people have mentioned to me that I must be enjoying a bit of a rest now that the League and County games are finished. However, I am very pleased to say that there is definitely no rest for the wicked. Apart from other meetings and events still ongoing, I am now well into the Presentation/Dinner season and here are a few highlights:

Junior Presentation Night - 18 October
The ideal event to kick off the presentation season and, arguably, one of my favourite events. As usual, all the trophy winners are either present or represented and setting an excellent standard for the more senior sections of the Club! The evening is also an opportunity for motivating the Juniors for the future. Kevin Cademy-Taylor, the County Captain, kindly attended to present the prizes and deliver an excellent speech. He also brought with him the Northern Counties Trophy and all three Prudhoe members who contributed to the title were present – Shaun Philipson, James Curry and Danny Shevill. Our ‘old’ friend and former County Captain, Peter Davey was another valuable guest. A super evening as always.

Hadrian League Dinner - 20 October
There were seven of us attending this year which was a little disappointing. However, we all had a good night at the Old Assembly Rooms meeting old friends, reminiscing on the season and taking bets for next year. The speaker, a vicar in a Newcastle United shirt, was probably very good but for some reason, it was difficult to hear him. As in past years, some of us came back on the bus whilst others stayed on to visit the City’s sin spots. But that’s another story apparently.

Club Presentation Night - 28 October
This is for the Ladies and the Men’s sections and the Clubhouse was pleasantly packed. Like the Juniors, all the Ladies were either present or represented whereas 8 men had failed to inform us they wouldn’t be there, regardless of the contents of my invitation letter. I am told that this was a record low number but the ideal result is, of course, zero. It was particularly sad that the Gary Lathan Memorial Trophy winner wasn’t present – especially as Gary’s parents had kindly come to present the trophy. For the first time, we had some entertainment so, yes, I did listen to members’ requests last year. Sue Sweeney was, as usual, excellent although she did have to deal with a noisy group near the bar. Enough moaning – overall an excellent night.

Junior League Presentation Night - 3 November
A packed event hosted by Morpeth who were the winners of the League and a few other important events in this their Centenary Year. Congratulations to them and their excellent Captain, Harry Cone. We had a good bus full of Juniors and members and we were presented with the Junior League Team title and the individual winner in that event. So, well done to the Juniors and many thanks to them for leaving enough of the excellent buffet. Unlike the League Dinners, we all came home early and sober of course!

District League Dinner - 10 November
Sixteen Prudhoe stalwarts originally for this one although, due to illness and work commitments we ended up with a witches coven of thirteen. Around 200 people at the Old Assembly Rooms and that included one Club who had no attendees! Another opportunity to meet up with friends past and present and celebrate the season’s various team and individual successes. When I was League Chairman in 2000, I invited Graham Willis as guest speaker at the Airport Hotel before moving the Dinner to the Civic Centre. It was great to welcome back Graham who delivered another great speech on behalf of the guests. If he ever wants to change career, I’m first in the queue to become his manager. Afterwards we paid homage to a local bar and then the more hardy explored the flesh pots whilst myself and a few other respectable Prudhoe members went home on the coach at around 1am – just a little tired!

Parklands Presentation Night - 24 November
Report to follow.
Vets Presentation Night & Dinner - 30 November
Report to follow.

English Golf Captains

It is quite possible that many have not come across this great organisation, run by the English Golf Union.

Fortunately, at Prudhoe, we have three members, one of which told me all about it.

I investigated further, like what I saw, and joined.

Rather than ramble on, I recommend you visit the EGU web site which will describe the benefits properly. www.englishgolfunion.co.uk

Alternatively, contact Paul Reiz, Manager of Membership Programmes at the EGU on 01526 351885 or email Paul at preiz@englishgolfunion.org

Past and current Captains, take a look!

Thoughts For The Months - January to November 2006
* Nov - Even crime wouldn't pay if the government ran it.
* Oct - If you can't spot the fool in the game, it's probably you!
* Sep - Newspaper obituaries prove that people die in alphabetical order.
* Aug - Character is what you are. Reputation is what people think you are.
* Jul - What was the best thing before sliced bread?
* Jun - I had a reality check recently but it bounced.
* May - If you must cry over spilled milk then please try to condense it.
* Apr - It's that time of the year when Income Tax = Capital Punishment.
* Mar - Children and dogs are good judges of character
* Feb - Those who get too big for their breeches will be exposed in the end.
* Jan - It's just after Xmas but I must have money - I've still got cheques in my cheque book.

English Golf Captains
It is very possible that many have not come across this organisation, run by the English Golf Union.

Fortunately, at Prudhoe, we have three members, one of which told me all about it. I investigated further, like what I saw, and joined.

Rather than ramble on, I recommend you visit the EGU web site which will describe the benefits properly. www.englishgolfunion.co.uk

Past and current Captains, take a look!

Captain's Charity Day - 14 October
It just goes to show that it's the simple ideas that can often be the most effective. Originally, I had planned to have a Texas Scramble for just 20 teams. But our clever Chairman, John Perry, thought that we should duplicate Captain's Drive In and have places for 20 teams in the morning and 20 more in the afternoon.

And the result was that we had 39 teams playing. And with the event opened up to all sections of the members it was good to see ladies, juniors and vets playing amongst the 'normal' members.

Having paid out nearly £400 in prize money, I still managed to raise over £500 for the Great North Air Ambulance thanks to the generosity of the members who also bought raffle tickets.

Our junior members featured highly with three in the morning's winning team and four in the third placed team. Neil Graham, our League Player of The Year turned up on spec and helped his team to second place in the morning. Family bonds obviously work with the Williamsons coasting into second in the afternoon. And it was good to see greens master, George Gainford, guide his team to third in the afternoon. Amazingly, one team put in a no return and that must be a rarity in a Texas Scramble! However the highlight of the day was Kevin Robson's ace on the 15th which no doubt helped his team to win in the afternoon with a record breaking score of 50.9 - effectively, a birdie on every single hole!! But an expensive day for Kevin to have an ace. Just as well his team won!

The competition winners were as follows:
Morning Texas Scramble
1st - G. Ross, A. Scrimshaw, M. Haywood, Alan Scrimshaw with 66 - 10.3 = 55.7
2nd - W. Breckons, K. Young, M. Cronin, N. Graham with 61 - 3.5 = 57.5
3rd - L. Anderson. J. Fung, B. Waters, J. Chambers with 64 - 6.2 = 57.8

Afternoon Texas Scramble
1st - G. Hill, Kevin Robson, D. Carroll, J. Bell with 54 - 3.1 = 50.9
2nd - R. Williamson, K. Williamson, A. Williamson, C. Williamson with 63 - 6.3 = 56.7
3rd - N. Hurst, K. Dobson, A. Dunn, G. Gainford with 64 - 5.1 = 58.9

The raffle prize winners were as follows:
Round of golf at Ramside - Ken Duffell
Bottle of whiskey - Alan Hepple
Bottle of wine - J.C. Bennett
Callaway Gift Set - K. Young
Bottle of wine - James Dobson
Bottle of wine - Gordon Garratt
Golf balls - Dave Stewart

So, at the end of a very successful day, my sincere thanks to:
- The members from all sections for their enthusiastic and generous support.
- Gordon Garratt for all his hard work during the day
- Rachel and the team for the excellent food and bar service throughout
- George and his team for the great course, especially considering the time of year
- My dear lady Christine for her excellent sales skills with the raffle book
- John Perry for his idea, helping with starting and his raffle prize contributions
- John Crawford for his service and raffle prize
- Phil Brookbanks for his raffle prize

The cheque for Great North Air Ambulance will be presented to the Director of Fund Raising at the AGM on December 7.

The Charity Day means that the total so far is close to £1500 and rising! All of this has come, one way or the other, from the members.

From me, and on behalf of GNAA, thank you so much.

NDGL 2006 Players' Championship - 8 October
I issued the press release which follows this entry but I must make special mention of the Prudhoe team. Originally, this tournament was due to be staged at Tyneside on 24 September but had to be re-arranged due to the course being flooded.

Our original team was James, Shaun and Neil - our three highest points scorers during the League season. Neil and Shaun, on 20 and 19 points respectively, automatically qualified for the singles section of the Championships whilst James was the wildcard pick to make up the 3 man squad for the team event.

However, the new date meant that James (holiday) and Shaun (injured) were unavailable and were replaced by Kevin and Danny. This made sure we had a full team out but now only Neil could compete in the individual Championship.

All three did a tremendous job and, although we did not win any of the trophies, I'm sure they are fairly pleased with their scores. I know that I'm proud of their professional commitment on the day and certainly in stark contrast to Tim Bull from Northumberland who walked off the course after playing just one hole! I know and like Tim but he has let his Club down as well as himself.

Our scores and positions amongst the 16 teams and 48 competitors were as follows:
Kevin Robson - 70 - 5th
Neil Graham - 73 - 16th
Danny Shevill - 73 - 16th
Team Score - 216 - 5th

Congratulations to Newcastle United who won the Team Championship with a one under par aggregate of 209 helped immensely by Simon Lee whose 67 also won the individual title. Gosforth and Morpeth were second on 213 and Tyneside fourth on 214. The net trophy was won by Prudhoe defector, Michael Kennedy, who shot a gross 69 net 66 to win by two from former net winner, Ian Glendinning from Tynemouth.

Thanks guys, you did a great job as have all the squad this year and I really feel you deserved some silverware, and we have been close at County and League level, but it was not to be.

Here's the press release I issued on behalf of the League.

News Release
For Immediate Release
PRUDHOE GOLF CLUB
The Home of Champions Date: 8 October 2006



Newcastle & District Golf League - 2006 Players' Championship

The Players' Championship has been played for since 2000 and was devised by the League Chairman at that time, Richard Hannam, a current member of the League Executive and Captain at Prudhoe.

This is how it works. At the end of the League season, the two highest points earners in each of the 16 League teams qualify to play in the individual Championship. Each club then picks a third member of the League team to complete the squad for the Teams Championship.

The venue each year is an honour offered to the Club that won the League the previous year. So, this year, the host Club was Tyneside and, in 2007 it will be Morpeth.

The various winners were as follows:
Players' Champion (Gross) - Simon Lee (Newcastle United) who shot a fine 67
Runner up was Seaton Wakenshaw (Gosforth) with a 68
Players' Champion (Net) - Michael Kennedy (Tyneside) who shot 69-3 = 66
Runner up was Ian Glendinning (Tynemouth) with 72-4 = 68
Team Champions (Gross) - Newcastle United with a team score of 209, one under par. The individual scores were; Simon Lee (67) Ross Crowe (69) and Warren Young (73).
Runners up were Gosforth and Morpeth who both scored 213.

"This event gives at least 48 League players, plus officials, the opportunity to get together in a competitive environment after the League season has finished and before the Annual Dinner in November," said Richard Hannam.

"It also helps to ensure that a significant proportion of the League players have something else to fight for right up to the last match of the season. Apart from the top two players from each Club qualifying for the Championship, the League also awards a trophy to the top player in each Club rather than just the League."

- ends -
For further information please contact:
Richard Hannam, 2006 Captain
Tel: 01661 835 588 Mob: 07976 823564 Email: rjh47@tiscali.co.uk

Notes to editors:
Prudhoe Golf Club, the Home of Champions, was established in 1930 and has developed a national reputation for the quality of its course, clubhouse, friendly welcome and its County and National Champions. When Neville Dunn won the British Boys Championship in 1951 he set a pattern followed by Janet Soulsby (British Champion, Curtis Cup and LPGA player), David Curry (Amateur Champion, Walker Cup and European Tour player) and Shaun Philipson (England player and British Mid-Amateur Champion). David's son James is following the tradition and, along with many other players, has contributed to over 100 League, County and National titles. Prudhoe will host the 2007 Northumberland County Championship week and the 2008 Seniors County Championship.

Captains' Courtesy

The press release below was submitted to local and national media today:-

Captains invest a considerable amount of time and money in their year of office – and, arguably, so they should. In return, they are granted courtesy at most other golf courses. Problem is that there just isn’t time to enjoy this benefit, especially if the Captain is doing his job properly!

In some countries, course courtesy is granted in the following year but this is certainly not the norm in England. However, initiatives are beginning to spring up and Richard Hannam, Captain of Prudhoe Golf Club, has developed an idea that could be followed elsewhere.

Most golf clubs compete in League golf and Prudhoe is no exception, actually competing in two. One of those, the Newcastle & District League has been in existence for over 50 years and comprises 16 Clubs.

At the start of the 2006 season, Richard wrote to all 16 Captains proposing that course courtesy be offered in 2007 to the 2006 Captains and retrospectively in 2006 for the 2005 Captains. The proposal would also apply in future years to save Committees having to make annual decisions.

Up to now, 10 of the Clubs have decided in favour of the proposal meaning that 16 Captains can now enjoy course courtesy on a number of courses for the foreseeable future.

“Harry Cone, Captain of Morpeth, came up with the idea late last year,” explains Richard. “However, it is their Centenary and, with Harry being so busy, I took up the idea on his behalf.”

“Since the majority of the Clubs have agreed, this demonstrates that there is a real need for the tradition of current year courtesy to be re-assessed at national level.”
A separate part of the initiative saw the 16 Clubs forming a 2006 Captains’ Society. “We felt it very important to maintain the bond we had created during our year of office and decided to get together at least once a year to cement our friendship.”

Many of the 2006 Captains played recently in an inaugural competition, held at Morpeth, and this was won by Terry Irving from Newcastle United Golf Club. At the dinner afterwards, the Captains decided that the winning Captain each year would host the following year’s event.

NDGL 2006 Captains' Society - 22 September
Annual Golf Tournament - Morpeth
Earlier this year, the 2006 Captains of the 16 Newcastle & District League Clubs agree that it would be a good idea to maintain the friendships we had built up during our year of Captaincy.

Part of that process would be to have, at minimum, an annual golf competition and dinner and this we did at Morpeth recently.

Although some Captains were on holiday or detained at work, (yes, not all of us have retired yet) nine of us gathered on what turned out to be a rather wet day. However, the weather in no way dampened our enthusiasm or enjoyment and the Captains who attended this inaugural event were:
William Rose - Arcot Hall
Tony Hunter - Gosforth
Harry Cone - Morpeth
Terry Irving - Newcastle United
Jim Storey - Newbiggin
John Murray - Ponteland
Me - Prudhoe
Peter Lawson - Tyneside
David Blair - Westerhope

First of all, sincere thanks to Harry for offering us the courtesy of Morpeth and organising a wonderful after match supper. Yet another task in a busy but highly successful Centenary year. By the way, it's Gosforth's Centenary too. Congratulations to both Clubs and I wonder, do they get telegrams from the R&A?

Our Society's first winner was Terry who scored a pretty impressive 36 points considering the weather and playing of the back tees with only 3/4 handicap. Well done Terry and also to Tony who was second with 34 and to William who had 33 and beat David on a count back.

We decided that the winner each year would host the event the following year. If we're not careful, we could be playing at Newcastle United for a few years. So we've either got to practice hard or nick Terry's clubs! For anyone who can't remember what Terry looks like, he's the one with the striped shirt, mask and swag bag!!

I'm afraid that, although I had 19 points on the front nine, I only added 12 more. But I think I had a good excuse. I'd felt a bit dodgy in the morning and, when I went home that evening some horrible flu bug kept me in bed until Tuesday. All together now..............!

It was wonderful to have some real quality time together and we do deserve it of course. Getting together also has other benefits such as being able to share ideas about Club management and League issues. On behalf of the Captains present, I will, as promised, be presenting our proposal to the League to have the Thompson Shield drawn in future rather than the current method of working out pairings on arrival.

To all District League Club Captains, I hope you are having a wonderful year and that what bit remains is even more so.

Northumbria Junior Golf League
Liaison Officers Day - Prudhoe - 15 September
I very much appreciated being invited to attend and play in this annual event staged for two Liaison Officer representatives from each of the 18 Clubs in the League. Prudhoe were represented by Cath Jenkins and Geoff Ross.

Few would disagree that JLO's rank among the hardest working Club members and it is great that they have this opportunity to get together for some R&R.

I had the pleasure of playing with two great guys from Slaley, Steve Gray and Paul Shrimpton, who both played very well and helped me to score 41 points, one of my best scores since becoming Vice Captain nearly two years ago. Nice to see I can still shoot scores well into Category 1.

Although I did have the highest score and won the sweep, I couldn't win the trophy of course. However, as usual, I did mark the winner's card and congratulations to Paul on his great 39 points.

To make up for the loss of the sweep, Paul also won the Pairs Trophy which is decided by two cards being drawn at random.

After the golf, we all enjoyed a fine meal, some liquid refreshment and a chat - arguably the most important part of the day.

Again, my thanks to the NJGL and we all thank you and the JLO's for the tremendous job you all do on behalf of the Juniors.