PATHS. As members may be aware we have been looking at the subject of the state of the paths in recent months. The whole subject of paths, their purpose etc. was looked at and it was concluded that rather than just remaking the existing paths we have, there would be a better outcome if we considered not only refurbishing some paths but the elimination of some paths by extending the fairways, hence obviating the need for paths in those areas. Initially we will be allocating money to replace the bridge on the first. Extend the fairway watering so that the area from the tee to the bridge on the third, becomes a smooth fairway. Replacing the masonry bridge on the third with a concrete causeway drive-through. A price has been obtained for extending the irrigation and a final price is expected within the next few days for replacing the bridge on the first and the concrete causeway drive-through on the third. The Board has authorised an appeal for these works with the members being asked to contribute, with the club making up the money on a dollar for dollar basis. A suggested donation is $200, although any donation is more than welcome. These can be made direct to the club's secretary/manager. Many members have expressed an interest in contributing, so now's the time.
"It's the best round I've ever played" Jordan Spieth on winning the Australian Open. He won the Australian Open 5 shots clear. Here he is on the 7th on his shot in. That's Larry Canning sitting in the foreground.(Larry was the club's pro a few years ago) Larry works as a golf 'scribe' and told me that he had just dictated his piece that 'no one can score 3 birdies in a row on this golf course' and then as we were standing there Jordan did, scoring a birdie on the 7th.
 Christmas Cheer is on Sunday 7th December 2014. It is a teams event and the format is an Irish Fourball. Book and pay for the golf in the Pro Shop (normal comp fee $15.) Book and pay for the BBQ in the clubhouse ($30). You don't have to play golf to come to the BBQ. The cut off date for BBQ booking is Monday Dec 1st. Please remember that even if you play golf you still have to book and pay for the BBQ if you intend to go.  |  Nov 30th is St Andrews Day. St Andrew is the patron Saint of Scotland. Each year on the Saturday nearest to the 30th of November we have the St Andrews Day Trophy with 4 bottles of Scotch Whiskey donated as a prize for the winning team. The benefactors were Alister Fotheringham, Alan Turpie, Bob Young and our President Ian McKenzie. The winners this year were Paul Carroll, Jim Phillips, Tony Fitzpatrick and Brian Hanrahan - they scored in the 4 ball aggregate stableford 149 points.  |
| Our members room recently has been the beneficiary of two upholstered leather chairs. Much of the 'good' furniture in the club has been donated by members over the years and, last week, Mrs Mathers, David Mather's mother, generously donated two button-upholstered chairs to match the leather chesterfield. Thank you to David and Mrs Mathers. Promoting our Golf ClubOur club is increasingly being used by members and their guests, golfing groups, function groups and locals. We provide a very nice experience for all with constant comments from visitors and members alike about the standard of our course and clubhouse and the friendliness of our staff. It's very pleasing to see the welcome extended by our members to visitors and those on the course. Let's keep it that way. The State government travel promotion website has got Bowral Golf Club (at the moment) as a "must do" for those interested in sporting venues when visiting NSW. This doesn't happen by accident - we are constantly promoting our club through various organisations. More can be done, of course, but that is the same with anything.  From 'visitnsw.com' Photos of a few groups recently  Hot Weather During the Club Championships last Sunday the temperature on the course rose to 38 degs. We must all be aware of health issues such as heat exhaustion etc and keeping our fluid intake up. There is also a provision spelt out in the Events Scoring and Prize Calculation that "A player may discontinue play if they consider, in equity, that extreme weather conditions make it unreasonable for them to continue. In this case they should alert the Captain or his representative and their card may be recorded as ‘No Score - Approved’ That means that if it is too hot and one feels that it is a health risk (and it is best to be conservative about this) then it is best to stop playing. There will not be a penalty if the procedure is followed. The complete document is shown below. (click to enlarge)  |
Coincidentally the honour boards were being updated that morning and Faye's name was on the 'Hole in One' board by the time she was back in the clubhouse. Annie Chabert-McKay also scored a hole in one in the last month. (Each year the Captain organises the updating of the boards. This year there were a couple of spelling mistakes made on the boards -incredibly they were not of his making. The sign writer will fix up the boards when next in the area) PaspalumA letter from member John Russell "Dear Members, Over many years, a small group of members has undertaken a paspalum-spraying program each summer. This has resulted in Bowral GC being one of (if not THE) cleanest local course as has been remarked upon by many visitors. Over the past two years, however, our team has been depleted by health & age problems. Consequently we are asking for volunteers to rejuvenate our program. As mentioned, this is a summer program where a team of 3-5 members spray for 3-4 hours from 8am till 11/12ish (usually on Thursday mornings – but this is negotiable: Monday, Tuesday or Friday could be possibilities). Morning tea is provided along with pleasurable company !! If you are interested in joining this team & resurrecting our paspalum-control program, please contact John Russell (48611 562)." Legacy is the Club's Charity Legacy Day 2014 was held on Saturday 22nd Nov and was an outstanding success with over 100 players in the field for the golf competition with many visitors. Over $3,000 was raised for Legacy, all of which is spent to support the widows and dependants of veterans locally. Legacy is the club's charity and it is well supported by both members and visitors to the club. The dinner on Saturday night was delicious and guest speaker Russ Shalders, an ex chief of navy, spoke on "his" charity Australian Veterans' Children Assistance Trust. The Children's Trust supports children of veterans with scholarships. There is a range of criteria that applicants are selected against and Russ reported that they have an 85% success rate for the recipients of the scholarships. There are a number of silent auctions held during the evening with teddy bears, bottles of wine and paintings together with a chauffeured winery trip by Rolls Royce. The raffle tickets were sold throughout the day at the 2576 MASH tent, at the clubhouse and during the dinner. David Farthing (David is the organiser of Legacy day) reported that all of the prizes were won by the members. |
| | David Hughes, Bugler. For those at the ceremony on the terrace who would have heard David's playing of the Last Post followed by Reveille, they would all agree what a wonderful rendition it was. The bugle has a certain character to it and when played by a virtuoso brings a special meaning to these compositions. David Farthing has written a short history of the bugle that was used on the day. |
 |  The bugle was produced in London in 1911. It was issued to the Royal Highland Fusiliers and (we are fairly sure!) saw action in WW1, WW2 and Korea. In 1973, Colonel Phillip Badcock, visiting the Fusiliers, then based in Singapore, swapped the Bugle for an Australian Slouch Hat, presumably as they were about to be disbanded. It has been in Phillip’s hands until recently, when I started looking for a bugle for our excellent Bugler, David Hughes. David only received the bugle one week before our Services/Legacy golf day, but still managed to play the Last Post and Reveille superbly. He is now custodian of this special instrument. It was very noticeable that the bugle has a much richer and impressive tone than the trumpet previously used.  The group at 2576MASH |
| Monday week ago we had a 'working bee' which attracted over 30 members, both golfers and social members and also a non member to help. This was followed by drinks and a BBQ on the terrace. Much work was completed, cleaning up along the 1st - which produced a gigantic pile of debris; around the 10th, the 8th tee, the 11th tee and many other areas on the course. Thank you to these volunteers. We plan to have another one at the end of the summer period which will be well publicised in advance and we will try and make it at a time when it doesn't conflict with other activities. |  |
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