The Officers 2011
Message from your President
I am proud to be your President for 2011, and look forward to my year in office. It seems a rare occasion for brother and sister to be President
and Lady President in the same year, so Muriel and I are justly proud of this.
I was pleased to accept the invitation to the Seniors' Christmas lunch which was most enjoyable. The Club Captains' Drive-In was a well attended
event with a good atmosphere.
Ian Lloyd held a "Rules of Golf" evening in December with the help of Josh, last year's Junior Captain and Matthew, this year's Junior Captain.
The evening was well attended, and I am sure many of us will be aware of what you can and cannot do when faced with the problems shown
on the screen.
At the time of writing we look forward to the Christmas Whist Drive, and Bingo evenings, followed by the Christmas Draw. The New Year's Eve
dance is eagerly anticipated, though not to be compared with Strictly Come Dancing!
To finish, I would like to thank all those who helped to make our Centenary Year of 2010 such a memorable one, and look forward with
anticipation to the outcome of the ongoing discussions between Abergele Golf Club and the new owners of Gwrych Castle.
Matthew Hunter
President
Message from your Lady President
This is my first attempt at writing a report for the newsletter and, as it's early in the year, there is not a lot to write about. But may I start by
thanking all the members who sent me cards and good wishes back in November 2010 when I took over as Lady President, and I do promise to
do my best for the club.
At the first ladies' committee meeting I attended the Lady Captain, Gina, gave us all our little jobs for the year ahead, and I have been given the
lovely job of helping to welcome the "New to Golf" ladies. This I feel is a very important job as we want to make everyone welcome. I can
remember when I first took up golf Gwyneth Prys Jones took me under her wing and urged me to keep going and not to give up. I am so glad
I carried on playing as it has given me so much pleasure, and I have made so many good friends through golf. Just remember, you can't expect
to play perfect golf every time; just be thankful that you can get out there and play on such a wonderful course. If you are a New to Golf lady
or any member reading this letter and you fancy a game of golf, don't be shy, ring me.
I hope you all had a lovely Christmas, and here's to a great golfing year ahead!!
Muriel Wynne Jones
Lady President
Message from your Captain
Meretricious it was not. The Centenary Year ended on a high with a glittering New Year's Eve event at the Club with exquisite food,
relaxing entertainment and a warm festive atmosphere. As always the catering and bar staff did us proud.
The previous 12 months have been most memorable. All involved, but especially Cynan, Mike, Val, Josh and Kevin who, with many
others, somehow kept a demanding and interesting programme well and truly on track, deserve the highest accolades. The
Edwardian drive-in, Becky's visit, the round with Adam and Stewart, the summer festival of golf and the associated social events
were handled with great skill and flair. Well done all concerned.
Well done also to Darren and the green staff. Many of us feel that Abergele exists in some kind of favourable climatic bubble. We
seem to get away with mild conditions when neighbouring areas suffer. That theory was punctured at the turn of the year when
the course took a pounding from exceptionally cold weather. Amazingly, in spite of the rapid thaw, the course played superbly within
hours of the snow and ice disappearing.
As Captain I look forward very much to working with Gina and Matt who have my warmest best wishes for a successful year in their
respective sections. May I also mention that this year's Captain's Charity is SSAFA (Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families
Association) which provides support to the widows and families of servicemen. The need for their work is massive.
Very warmest best wishes to all members and their families - and to the Club itself as it enters a year of exciting opportunity for a
bright future.
John Newcombe
Captain
Message from your Lady Captain
Hello everyone and a very Happy New Year.
Since my appointment as your ladies' captain at the end of November, life has been a whirlwind of social events with lots and lots of snow. I
would like to sincerely thank you for the many cards received wishing me a successful year in office and the support and kindness you have
shown me. It has been quite overwhelming.
My first pleasant duty was to organise the Children's Christmas Party on the 4th December, making sure that Santa had presents for them all in
his sack. This year we entertained 50 children along with even more mums, dads and grandparents who enjoyed the occasion just as much. My
thanks to Janet, our Lady Vice-Captain and Sybil, the Captain's Lady, for their help and support and, of course, to Santa and his little helpers.
The 5th of December saw the Captains' Drive-In. It was lovely to see so many of you in attendance and especially my own family and
grandchildren who were thrilled to see me hit the ball up the fairway and scatter the juniors.
The Ladies' Christmas Dinner and annual Pantomime was on the 8th; the performance this year was Sleeping Beauty, which is always the highlight
of the evening and was much enjoyed by all. Thanks to Julie Wade who writes and organises these fantastic theatrical productions along with
the ladies who perform them and make us all laugh. Girls, you're such a ‘tonic' and it's a shame that you only give the one performance,
considering all your time and effort spent in rehearsals.
Draw night on the 17th was sadly lacking in numbers owing to the snow and treacherous driving conditions, with more people ‘doing the draw'
at the start of the evening than sat in the audience. Luckily quite a few brave souls walked up the hill to swell the numbers. Thanks to all those
who worked extremely hard behind the scenes in the organisation and setting up of the magnificent array of prizes.
The fun theme continued with the Junior Quiz on Sunday evening, the 19th December, with whole families turning up to compete against each
other in this annual ‘brain drain' event, which is brilliantly organised by Iain and Pat, and Karen from the office. My thanks go to them for organising a super evening, enjoyed by us all.
83 people attended the New Year's Eve Dinner Dance with a 3-course carvery meal served by our caterers. Don Adams, a singer, entertained us
and Mike Roberts Disco saw in the New Year. Numbers were lower than in past years but nevertheless still enjoyed by many of us tripping the
light fantastic on the dance floor.
Our Bingo, Quiz and Whist evenings continued throughout the festive season, with our thanks to Terry, Bryn and Elsie. These will continue fortnightly until the end of April with dates advertised on the notice boards throughout the clubhouse. Please do try and support these events
which really are fun.
Future events for your diary are our annual successful Coffee Morning on Wednesday 16th February, the Spring Fayre open competition
on Friday, 25th March and a mini-outing to Rhuddlan on 1st April.
My Captain's charity for this year is the Alzheimer's Society, and I ask for your continued support for this very worthy cause which so far has
raised £257.
That's all my news for now. I look forward to seeing you all very soon at our social events and out and about on the course.
Gina Hughes
Lady Captain
Junior Captain
Abergele welcomes its new Junior Captain Matt Goodwin to the role. We beleive he is going to have a great golfing year and wish him every success with his role
Past Officers of the club