Galway Golf Weekly In Association With

Host Club to the 2021 Irish Amateur Open Championship Celebrating 125 Years in 2020

Friday May22nd, 2020 Dear Member, Welcome to Galway Golf Weekly brought to you in association with INTUITY TECHNOLOGIES.

Lotto In Support of Team & Junior Golf The winning numbers from the lotto draw on Friday May 15th were 7, 17, 25 & 31. There was no winner of the jackpot of 2,275. There was no match 3 winner – well done to Ethna Joyce who won the Lucky Dip €50.00.

This week’s Jackpot will be €2,300

A note from the Lady Captain Dear fellow golfers!

It was so nice to see some of you again on the course throughout the day last Monday – the first official day back after “Lockdown”. There was a great ambiance as you all returned with your polished clubs and hopped out of your cars full of renewed vigour and enthusiasm! Everyone was in high spirits and smiling (as captivated in the gallery of photos that Dave posted on Facebook later that day). It was wonderful to observe each and every one of you adhering to the protocols established by our governing bodies for a safe return to golf. As long as we continue to abide by these measures we are assured of our club staying open, so that we can enjoy our wonderful course that has been maintained throughout by Billy and his team.

A huge “shout out” also to Bernadette – who was looking as glamorous as ever! Bernadette has been working away alongside our GM Dave for the last 9 weeks (quietly in the background), balancing the books and taking care of payments etc. A big welcome back also to Olivia in the office who returned to work this week after some weeks of working from home. We look forward to the return of our bar-staff Olivia, Ellen and Damian, our Cleaner Bismarque & Lynette and Roy in the pro shop in due course.

It was also great to see the doors of the Pro shop open on Monday and Dave with his beaming smile gazing out at everyone from behind his safety screen. Dave too, has been busy behind the scenes organising his new Swing Room. Again, a huge word of gratitude goes to Dave as he mans the booking of the practice areas & accommodates junior bookings for us. Dave has everything in the pro shop that the keen golfer may need - especially the new portable personal rake heads which we have made available to help maintain the bunkers - a very handy tool to possess in this current climate!

A big welcome back is also extended to Gabriel / Naomi and team some of whom resumed business this Wednesday with a great take-away menu on offer! We have all missed the restaurant cuisine – please do offer our wonderful chef & co. your support in the coming weeks.

It is great to see the 2 brothers Joe and Michael O’Farrell taking on the role of course rangers alongside Ranger Joe Broder. It is important that we all continue to observe the correct etiquette with regard to social distancing and tee off times to assist them in monitoring the conduct on the course. It is in everyone’s interest after all. In this regard the Club Council have been working tirelessly to ensure that the proper procedures are in place to keep GGC safe. A lot of energy has gone into the compilation of our Protocol Document with the best interests of all our members in mind at all times. We shall continue to meet (via ZOOM) to ensure compliance with the Governing bodies and update you all with any amendments/new measures necessary.

Wishing all our members the best of social interaction and exercise in the coming weeks and hopefully before long the restrictions will ease up and we can all get back to some semblance of normality at GGC!

Members Take Away Catering Service Available - Orders taken daily from 12pm-5.30pm from Wednesday May 20th. Orders taken

over phone only to 091 522033 Ext No. 4 or 091 521827 and can be collected

between 12pm & 7pm daily. Payment will be by credit card or Member Voucher

Credit at time of ordering or exact change only upon collection.

- Upon agreed collection time you should arrive to the gate at the backyard and dial

the number above, whereupon a staff member will place the order into your boot

(only). If paying cash on collection the exact amount should be left in an envelope in

the boot as payment.

- Menu available below and from the “general news” section of our website.

There have been less than 15 orders placed in the 1st three days of operation. Unless order numbers improve the Caterer may be forced to re-consider continuation of this service. Meet the Team – Week 6 Conscious that a lot of new members have joined the Club in the last few years and may not know who everyone is and what we all do I thought it might be useful to do a “Meet the Team” feature each of the next few weeks via a Q&A. Our 6th week introduces you to Michael O’Farrell who has worked with us in a number of capacities in the last few years and who is currently operating as Course Ranger. Q&A with Michael O’ Farrell Golfer? Yes Handicap? 2 Raised in? Headford Living In? Knocknacarra Favourite Place to Visit in Ireland? Clonakilty Favourite place to Visit Abroad? Florida Family Members? Mum, Dad & Brother Michael How Many Years in Galway GC? 4 years on and off. Favourite Place to Eat in Galway? Boojum Birth Date & Month? 24th Oct Any Pets? No

Favourite Golfer? P Harrington Favourite Sportsperson? Ronan O’ Gara Chocolate or Crips? Crisps What lessons will you take out of the current Covid-19 situation? Don’t take anything for granted! Flying the Flags for the Front Line Workers We are proud to be flying flags on the 9th and 18th holes in support of the HSE and all front line staff along with the tri-colour at the main entrance. #notallheroeswearcapes #keeptheflagsflying

Junior Golf Sponsored by Dubarry

New Junior Members 2020 - Bookings As the Club and Pro Shop have received a number of queries in relation to the correct procedure for booking tee-times for Jnr Golfers please see below which we hope is of help, especially for the new junior members who have just joined us. In order to book a tee time the junior or parent (THE PARENT BEING A PLAYING MEMBER OF THE CLUB) can: 1) ring the pro-shop and make the booking over the phone 2) reserve a tee time online for both the parent (in their own name) and the child (using the

"Guest With" option on BRS. In order to book a tee time the junior or parent (THE PARENT BEING A NON-MEMBER OF THE CLUB) can: 1) ring the pro-shop and make the booking over the phone. In all cases we would ask that the "Guest With"booking be changed with the Pro Shop to the Juniors name as soon as is practical. Please note that in all cases and in line with the GUI/ILGU return to golf protocols all junior members

U18 years of age must play in the company of an adult member 18 years or over. The same rule applies to the use of the practice areas which for all members must be pre- booked. We will update you as soon as these restrictions are eased. Cat 1 Boy & Girl golfers (full handicaps of 12 or less boys / 24 or less girls) may continue to use BRS for online bookings but again must play in the company of an adult member, until further notified. Junior Council will be in touch with all new junior members in the coming weeks once everyone has joined and will update you, as best as is possible, at that time re the plan for the season.

Temporary Juveniles 2020 Now inviting applications – please see notice below.

Care for the Course Please see notice below issued this week re pitch-marks. Course rangers have been instructed to remind all groups re this matter. 18 Holes / Club Competitions A number of Club members have enquired as to the above. Re moving back to 18 holes please note that this will be a decision of Club Council. As you can see from the tee sheets they are very heavily populated with tee time utilisation ranging from 87%-96% in the 1st three days of play. Operating 2 separate 9’s ensures we can get the maximum number of allowed golfers on the course and helps ensure a greater level of tee time availability. A bit like the recent “flatten the curve” campaign we will need to see tee time utilisation drop back before we can revert back to 18 hole play. Re Competitions – this matter will be discussed at upcoming men’s and ladies Clubs meetings and an update will issue thereafter. Whilst the GUI / ILGU return to golf document states that competitions may recommence from June 8th it is upto to each individual club to agree their own dates thereafter for resumption. We are conscious that June 8th is the 1st time that those who live more than 5KM away from the Club, and who have been adhering to that restriction, will be free to visit and play.

Galway GC Privacy Policy Please see bottom of each page on the Club Website.

Galway GC Website Cookie Policy Please see bottom of each page on the Club Website.

Galway GC CCTV Policy Please see bottom of each page on the Club Website.

Club V1 Members Hub App I would encourage as many members as possible to download the app as it is a very handy tool to accompany your membership of the Club. Please see attached document. Some members have asked me how to control the information that other members can see about them within the app itself. To review / change your privacy settings see screenshots 1 & 2 below. In the app click on the 3 lines top right hand corner, select “privacy”, tick the information you want to show / untick the information you don’t want to hide – hit save. Your done! 1 2

Please note that the above app has not replaced BRS for golf bookings but you can access your BRS account from within the new app which is very handy. The weekly email is now also sent to the app.

Portable Personal Rakes & Bunker Care

Personal rake heads which can be attached to your golf club grip are available for sale, at cost price, from the Pro Shop. I am glad to report that these are almost sold out and we have ordered an extra batch which will be delivered next week. Thank you to those who purchased. Please smooth the bunker sand with your foot if you do not have the above. Please enter and exit the bunkers from the lowest point

in order to minimise wear on the bunker edge and disruption of sand.

ILGU clubs vote to cancel 2020 inter-club events ILGU clubs have voted overwhelmingly to cancel 2020 inter-club events for 2020 with feedback from GUI clubs expected soon. As a result, the AIG Ladies Cups and Shields, the Revive Active Fourball, the Girls’ Inter-Club and the Irish Senior Cup won’t be played until 2021. The ILGU has also decided to cancel the ILGU Silver and Bronze Medals and ILGU Junior Medal. Following the announcement that golf was to be included in the first phase the Republic of Ireland’s Roadmap for Reopening Society and Business and the Northern Ireland Executive’s Approach to Decision Making earlier this month, attention quickly turned to the feasibility of competitive golf. However, according to the ILGU, advance planning during the COVID-19 pandemic for local, national and international competitions has been extremely challenging. At all times, the ILGU’s planning has been driven by complete adherence to public health measures in order to ensure the safety of all involved in the organisation and playing of competitive golf. Following a high level of correspondence and communication from club golfers and golf clubs on the issue of inter-club golf this year, the ILGU Tournament Committee prepared a survey to gauge the potentiality of running inter-club competition for the remainder of 2020. It was believed that running these events may have been possible by amending the conditions under which the competitions are usually played. Due to considerations such as reduced timeframe, availability of courses and health guidelines, the proposed terms were presented to clubs: Competition would commence when the ROI government travel restrictions are lifted and would only include singles competitions Competitions would run to District final only and a minimum number of entries would be required to make a District final feasible All matches would be played on a home and away basis with no neutral venues The timeline between matches would have to be very tight with two-week windows for matches to be completed. It was also envisaged that the availability of courses would be limited due to demand of members play and a number of mid-week fixtures would be likely. Of clubs who responded the following results presented an overwhelming vote in favour of cancelling inter-club events for 2020. Senior Cup: 34% in favour of competition, 66% in favour of cancellation

AIG Junior Cup (107 responses): 27% in favour of competition, 73% in favour of cancellation AIG Intermediate Cup (177 responses): 27% in favour of competition, 73% in favour of cancellation AIG Minor Cup (146 responses): 23% in favour of competition, 77% in favour of cancellation AIG Challenge Cup (149 responses): 22% in favour of competition, 78% in favour of cancellation Sandra Barnett, ILGU Tournament Manager said: ‘We are obviously disappointed that we have had to cancel the inter-club competition for 2020 but we extend a huge thank you to our sponsors AIG and Revive Active and clubs who were scheduled to host matches this year. Their support is acknowledged and we look forward to resuming inter-club golf in 2021. Inter-club events cancelled AIG Ladies Cups and Shields Revive Active Fourball Girls’ Inter-Club Irish Senior Cup *The ILGU Silver and Bronze Medals and ILGU Junior Medal will also be cancelled for 2020 A set of proposals is currently in front of the men’s committees of each club. Kind regards,

Dave Kelly General Manager Galway Golf Club Board Member Irish Golf & Club Managers Assoc.

GALWAY GOLF CLUB

TEMPORARY JUVENILE MEMBERSHIP

SUMMER 2020

APPLICATIONS NOW OPEN

TO THE CHILDREN/GRANDCHILDREN OF GGC ORDINARY MEMBERS WHO

ARE AGED BETWEEN 9-12 YEARS INCLUSIVE ON 1ST JANUARY THIS YEAR.

How to Apply:

Application forms can be downloaded from the Temporary Juvenile Section

of the Junior Section of the Club Website and Should be Completed &

Returned by E-mail to info@galwaygolf.com.

Note:

Please note that GGC members may Propose or Second only 2 new member

applications in any one year. Due to covid19 restrictions there is no

requirement for forms to be signed by the Proposer & Seconder but they

must be named thereon.

Previous Temporary Juvenile Members who still qualify on age must re-

apply if they wish to be considered for Temporary Juvenile membership

again this year.

CLOSING DATE: FRIDAY MAY 29TH 2020.

Please note that due to the current Covid-19 pandemic it may not be possible to run all aspects of the Temporary Juvenile Programme this year.

This is being kept under review by Jnr Council.