On Friday 28 May at 12 noon, our President, dressed in clothes befitting the early 1900’s and using a genuine antique, hickory shafted Driver, will re-enact the official opening of Filton Golf Club, exactly 100 years ago. If you can come along to support our President, please do.

If you can wear period costume, so much the better, as the media have been invited and the more people dressed the part, the better.

From 11.30, anyone suitably dressed can try a shot with one of the antiques. An “exhibition” match will then take place between past and present Presidents and Club Champion and Captain.

Important Notice - Andy Chivers

Just a small piece about our work with “Golf Mark” We as a Club now have to recognise our awareness for the safety and well being of Juniors in our Club. I would appreciate it very much if you would take the time when you are next in the changing rooms to read the Child Protection Policy and mission statement that are up on the notice board.  We as a whole must now take responsibility for the welfare of our junior members, making sure that they are safe at all times.

Adult members must remember to exercise care when in the changing rooms and out on the course when children are present.  Linda Thorne is our newly appointed Welfare Officer for the Club and she is now the point of contact for any incidents that may occur here.

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As from June 1st the following starting procedure will replace the existing one, initially for a 6 week period, following which it will be reviewed.

Hello Members. Things are really hotting up now. The weather has at last started to feel like it should and as a result the course continues to get even better... Well done Marcus and the team.

The Mixed April Bank Holiday Greensomes was a great day.......  I forget who won-- but it will come back to me…  May Bank Holiday Mixed was again a great day 14 teams took part and again , I forget who won that !!!..

 Ah- I remember now------ Josie and I --- on both occasions !! 

Well done to our pro Daryl Kelly's team of Pete Peachey, Shaun Radford  and 1st team captain James Parker who triumphed at the Cornish Open at Perranporth over 3 days.. Brilliant... Keep up your winning run Daryl.

All the club teams are getting into the swing. The seniors (more members needed) the Ladies, First and Second teams, Juniors and not forgetting the Stragglers. We are blessed with so many people who are willing to organize and play in these games. Well done to all who take part. New members are welcome and we look forward to seeing you join the Filton teams.  Please make yourself known to the  respective Captains.

I'm blowing my own trumpet now...  On Friday 7th  May at Minchinhampton New course, Trevor Atkinson,  Geoff Endicott, yours truly and our guest County player, Jason Cuff, (Chipping Sodbury) combined to bring to Filton GC, for the first time, The Gloucestershire County Am Am Trophy, with a score of 124 (16 under)  beating by one shot, Bernie Powell, Pete Bowe,  Reg Cox and their guest player into second place. A great result for Filton.. Sorry Bernie. Honest!!! The trophy is displayed behind the bar. 

Our Open was won by Luke Derrick's Dad Tim... congratulations and well done Tim. Thanks also to my Vice Captain, Geoff Endicott, for doing the presentation on my behalf.

Members Invitation was well attended and was won by members of the Rich family with a score of 45 points. Prizes went to 6th place.

Just a late reminder. I have my Captains Charity Day on Friday 4th June. Please try to enter a team or even donate some monies or raffle prizes. I realise that money is tight for all. Everyone wants something and I'm no exception. Try your best. That's all I can ask. NB. Charity Day postponed until 6 August—Ed.

I've reluctantly decided to postpone the Away Day at Cotswold Hills on the 28th May until later in the year when things start to quieten down.

At the time of writing I have a busy three days ahead. Tuesday, The Kendleshire, Wednesday, Gloucester Captains at Stinchcombe and Thursday Home to St Pierre. Yes , I will be resting at the weekend.

 To all that are unwell at this time, a speedy recovery and get back into the swing as soon as possible!!!

My year as Ladies Captain is going at a cracking pace. I can’t believe this is my third contribution to the news letter.

Our ladies match with the Seniors was enjoyed by all. We look forward to competing again in October.

The third round of the Mail on Sunday was drawn away to Thornbury. Unfortunately the match was ruined by atrocious weather, with conditions very demanding. Alas, we did not get the result we wanted, but very well done to all for `toughing out` the conditions.

 Sue and Shirley played in the first round of the BDLGA Handicap Foursomes at Worlebury. The match was against Mendip Spring. Steph and Angela played in the BDLGA Scratch Foursomes competition against Farrington at the Park. Both matches were very hard fought, but we were not successful. Well played Ladies.

We are now coming to the busy part of the golfing season. Our golf course is coming into bloom, and we are all optimistic for a good golfing year. There is a rumour we may even get a glimpse of the sun!!  Fingers crossed. Play well and good luck.

Greens: A monthly liquid feed was applied to the greens at the beginning of spring but growth has been slow mainly due to the ground temperatures and the lack of rainfall. When we had the rain it was through the cold periods and reduced the ground temperature even more.

The Bent grass in the greens grows at a lower temperature than the Poa Annua which results in uneven growth which leads to bobbly slow greens.

The first summer feed was applied to the greens on the 20^th May and with the temperatures rising we will now start seeing a more even growth which will result in truer faster greens.

We are about 5 weeks behind where the greens were at this point last year; although we use fertilizers we are heavily dependent on the weather.

Fairways:The fairways were all divoted at the end of April and we would like to thank everyone who helped. A liquid feed will be applied soon and with the help of the warmer temperatures we will start seeing decent growth.

Rough Areas:A weed killer has been applied to some of the rough areas (including the practice area, this will be continued over the next week or so.

We have applied a total weed killer in and around the ditches and around the bases of trees. These areas will die back over the next few weeks.

Ladies 5^th Tee:The new 5^th tee is now growing very well and play will commence from it during the first week in June.

At the recent Annual General Meeting Max Clarke stepped down as President and handed over to newly elected Maurice Stagg. As you know Max has been Club President for many years and the Club owes him an enormous amount of gratitude for the sterling work he has done. Max will continue to serve the club as a Trustee.

I  would like to wish Maurice every success and hope that he has as much enjoyment as Max did.

Following the Annual General Meeting the Council meets to elect their officers and their positions within the Council.

I  am delighted to have been selected to work as Chairman of Council for the coming year and will do everything I can to ensure that the highest standards are maintained within our financial capabilities.

The Committees will consist of the following people:

Greens: Gary Smith (Chairman), Roy Oaten (Club Captain), Josie Peirce (Lady Captain), Chris Foran (Council Member), Marcus Phelps (Head Green Keeper), Don Biddle (Competition/Handicap Secretary), Daryl Kelley (Head Professional) and Trevor Atkinson (Managing Secretary).

House and Social: Goff Pimm (Chairman), Geoff Endicott (Vice Captain), Esme Mannering (Ladies Vice Captain), Andy Chivers (Council Member), Julia Rose (House Manager) and Trevor Atkinson (Managing Secretary).

Security: Gary Duke will continue with security, please let any out of place walkers know where the rights of way are and as requested many times before, report any issues on the course direct to the police.

Jim Henderson will not sit on a committee but will join them as and when needed. Jim Henderson will also work with the Managing Secretary on other issues like Health and Safety and Staff Appraisals.

Council will continue to meet every 4 weeks to ensure that we have a firm understanding of issues and our financial position. Email and phone is used by Council members to ensure that any real or impending issues are dealt with swiftly

Your Council will hopefully continue to recruit new club members; as it stands at the moment we have recovered our losses after the renewal period. We are still seeking more members to increase and sustain our membership growth.

A detailed cost cutting and supplier review exercise is ongoing across all club areas; we are presently negotiating a single source supplier for all food and beverage items that will hopefully show a very good annual saving on purchasing costs.

We are also trying to reduce all other club operational costs, I urge members to switch off lights that are not needed, and to try to save on items used in the clubhouse, as every little helps! 

We are looking to recruit a working party to assist in re-painting the disabled parking bays which will be widened to offer a bit more space to disabled members/visitors - those interested please let Trevor know and we can firm up dates later on.

Further working parties may also be called for during the coming year to assist with other projects.

Litter: Can I urge all members to pick up dropped litter and ensure that drinks bottles and chocolate wrappers are placed in bins or brought back to the clubhouse for disposal.

May I wish you all a great golfing season and please remember that your Council is here to help, so please do not hesitate to talk or bring ideas to us to us at any time.

Can I just give everyone a quick reminder of the upcoming social events.

Friday 28 May, a Greek evening.

Friday 25 June, a Spanish evening.

Friday 30 July, a Caribbean evening

Friday 27 August, a Western evening.

Don’t forget the regular Sunday carveries, for which you need to book at the Bar.

I would also like to welcome the many new members that have joined us this year, do come along to one of these events, by all means bring some friends, I am sure you will enjoy yourself. We are also always looking for new ideas for events, so if you have any thoughts, let me have them, via the Office or Social Committee member, and we will see what we can do.

It with much sadness that I have to report the passing of Victor Eaves aged 98 years. Vic was a much loved gentleman with a huge circle of friends beyond the golfing fraternity, all who knew him held him in the highest regard. He was man who was a committed Christian who lived, worked and played in the highest  principles of his faith and was for many years the leader at our Christmas  Carol Evening with his friends from Salem Methodist Church.

Vic's ambition was to play a round of golf on his one hundredth birthday, unfortunately it was one ambition he did not achieve, never-the-less he led an active life until an unfortunate fall at home when he broke his hip. It was the operation to correct this that was to be his demise. He was a member of Filton GC for more years than anyone can remember and we must not forget that he had a hole-in-one at the age of 85 years. Vic will be sorely missed and our condolences are with his family at this most difficult time.

The summer comps are now in full swing although we still await a result for the winter 4somes! The 4BBB was convincingly won by Messrs Brain and Phillips. However one of the losing pair made the pathetic excuse that he was under extreme pressure as he was of the opinion that the tee off time was 9.00 am and, as it was a final, from the 1^st tee.

He proceeded to the course at a leisurely pace only to be confronted with gesticulations and arm waving from the 10^th tee to get a move on. Instead of being in good time he was in fact 15 minutes late. The banter continued when standing on the tee and, staring at three balls in the centre of the fairway, he consequently  put his drive into the hedge. The result was that it was five holes gone and four down before he could gain any composure. The moral of the story is “Assume nothing, get it in writing” Another thing, get one of the new rangefinder devices, it helps no end. Congratulations to other winners so far this year: P/Owen1: John Hall, Jackson Cup: Peter Peachey, P/Owen2: Tony Bowen, Moving on to the Senior's Open on June 10^th Colin Sharpe  has once again done a fantastic job, as a  result we only have room for four more. Spread the word and lets reach the target of a full house. Don't forget the over 60's Open on the 19^th August.

Senior matches are in full swing, to date we have played 7, won 3, lost 3 and one half, but we need more members to assist the Captain by putting forward their name. As most of you are aware Captain Barry is still indisposed and we have had a variety of stand-ins to whom we are indebted and thank very much for their loyalty to the team and the seniors. So come on, put your name forward and help Barry to pick a team from the sheet instead of having to make umpteen phone calls. One reminder is that if you are in the team and for unforeseen circumstances you have to withdraw late, please either telephone Barry or the Captain of the day and not just scratch your name off the team sheet. Calling on reserves late is quite a challenge.

One final point is to say thank you to Barry for his Captain's Away Day. Numbers were disappointingly low but those of us who played at The Park  had a superb day so Thank You again  Barry. The wine went down a treat!

The season has got off to a great start with our junior nights/coaching sessions being a great success.  Brent has taken on the juniors while Daryl competes in Jameaga and Gloucester & Somerset tours, and with his recent couple of successes in the Cornish Festival, and his win at Enmore Park in the Gloucester and Somerset PGA strokeplay we wish him the best of luck for the rest of the year.

Brent has been very busy setting up the two practice areas we have at Filton for junior night coaching. We now have a small par three academy course and the chipping areas around the larger field for short game skills.  Our new Academy membership has been a great success with new juniors joining by the week, and learning the ropes in the hope of becoming a future star of Filton Golf Club. 

Filton Juniors would also like to welcome Veronica Bacon, who is one of Filton’s newer lady members, who has kindly come on board as an organiser to support girl members, and I am very pleased to say we now have two young girls join up, and hopefully can build on this throughout the year. 

Well done to Sam Williams in winning the Bill Buckler Trophy and I would also like to add that I came in on the card more than once!

Our winter weekly Junior stableford competitions have now ended and congratulations to George Boyes for winning the Order of Merit. The results are as follows: 1. George Boyes - 55.50  2. Elliott Cubie - 33.50  3. Luke Derrick - 29.00. Thank you to all who have competed, we will be running more next winter.

The Bristol & District League has not started the way we would have liked with a loss and a half at home. We have two away matches now and must win both to try and secure a league final play off, but on a more positive note we have got through to the second round of the Junior knockout and will face Knowle at home very soon.

A few of our Juniors have competed in County events and have played well despite the fact that when a County event takes place the weather seems to be a nightmare, but well done to them all as they will gain valuable experience. 

I would like to personally thank our team of organisers, assistants and both Daryl and Brent for their help and support so far this year. At the end of the day this is a volunteer role and these members are giving up their free time. They are all very excited as I am about the bright future for juniors here at the club. I would also like to thank you, the members again for the kind support you give to us and the juniors.

You can keep up to date with the juniors at www.filtonjuniors.co.uk

Question: Marking the position of the ball. How may a person mark the position of the ball?

The note to Rule 20-1 recommends that the position of the ball should be marked by placing a ball marker, small coin or other similar object behind the ball. This provision is a RECOMMENDATION ONLY and there is no penalty for failing to act in accordance with this note.

Examples of methods used to mark the position of the ball which are not recommended but are permissible:

Placing toe of club behind or at the side of the ball, using a tee, using a loose impediment, scratching a line on the green

When marking the position of the ball where may the marker be placed?

There is NO restriction. The marker may be placed behind, at the side or in front the ball

However if placing the marker in front of the ball presses down or raises a tuft of grass the player contravenes  Rule 1-2.

Filton recently hosted the Bristol & District Junior League Trophy (newly named Alexander Trophy) an excellent day was enjoyed by all Juniors, and under a stiff breeze and a cold early start, scores were good. The course was in great condition despite the poor weather the County had suffered a few months back, and Chipping Sodbury came through as winners with 110 points.

Bath came a close second with 109 points. Congratulations to Bethany Brown for winning the best individual score, with Jack Miller from Shirehampton taking second place. Ed Ledger from Kendleshire took the 2's sweep with 32 entering, but there was only one two on the day! A huge thank you to the helpers on the day. David Phillips who was match starter, along with David Williams and Matt Carter who were out on the course keeping an eye on things.  

Thank you to B&D’s Club Secretary, Bob Perkins, for sorting everything out and giving the presentation along with Filton’s Club Captain Roy Oaten. Also a big thank you to the Juniors who competed, and to all the organisers and parents who took their time out to make this event such a successful one this year.