Manager's Report

Firstly, thanks to the members who helped in the office over Xmas. It was much appreciated. Also thanks to staff and members who expressed support since I took on 'extra responsibilities'. It's a big job and we are managing to get by on vastly reduced Admin. Hours.

On the weekend of 9th and 10th February we had a 6,000 pamphlet drop into the suburbs of Torrens Park, Mitcham, Pasadena, Panorama and Unley. We hope this will increase membership.

For those of you who don't know - the Club was successful in gaining a $9975 Active Club Programme Grant which will be used to modify the Clubhouse for disabled access.

Our block of land in Schocroft Ave is now ready for sale. It is proposed that it will go to public auction in the near future.

Lastly there have been a number of initiatives put in place to help improve the financial position of the Club. More about the success or otherwise of these in the next Newsletter.

Peter Wood won the 'Cracker Barrel Cheese Tasting' competition. The prize was $2,000 of golf equipment to be purchased through Matt. Dent.

Phil Middleton, Acting Secretary/Manager

How About This!

1. Matthew Deans goes to Kooyonga as Assistant Pro. We shall all miss him when he goes in March. Matthew is a very capable golfer and also a young man who combines the knowledge of a teacher with the courtesy and good humour of a businessman with a future. Good luck Matty!

2. Matt Dent's handling of bookings/result sheets has boosted interest in many ailing competitions as well as presenting members and visitors with a fine preview of a well organized club.

3. A recent fourball Stableford event revealed that many members do not realize there can be no individual competition run at the same time. One group individually played out every hole and every putt with a consequent delay to the field of around 20 - 30 minutes. See the article, "Fast golf without haste.", dealing with saving time on the course without hurrying.

4. Work on lowering the 2nd tee, (see Course report), has begun and should soon be finished if we don't strike too many more boulders. The temporary tee is down the hill near the fairway.

5. Good to see Lloyd Willsmore back on course after many weeks off with back trouble.

Meet .......... Darryl McKee, Captain 2001 -

Darryl joined MLGC in January first 1982 and, like so many of us, is a keen and 'adequate' golfer, who enjoys the game and the Club. For years we greeted each other on Saturday afternoons as he was finishing his game and I was about to start. Even in those days, though we didn't play together, I knew from the conversations that he loved the course and respected the other members.

Many were surprised when Darryl stood for the captaincy - after all, he was just one of the blokes! It was not long after his election, that we knew he was the right man for the job.

Fail to replace a divot, go into the 19th improperly dressed and you'll get a friendly 'blast' from Darryl. More importantly, if you are new to the Club, he will introduce himself and make you feel comfortable. Darryl's says his immediate aim is to get back into B Grade and stay there - he plays off 20. C Grade hasn't treated him badly; he wins a few balls and in 1994 won the C grade Summer Cup.

In his youth he played Aussie Rules (not in the ruck!) for Wallaroo, his birth place, and for Millicent and on KI to which places he was sent as a ledger keeper with Goldsborough Mort.

Nevertheless, he considers his winning the State U14 3 metre springboard championship his greatest achievement. I've left out the year so that there will be no odious age calculations!

Darryl loves to fish (he has a boat) when he has the time between golf and running service stations with his wife, Beverley. He's a Club Captain caste in the old mould. We could do with more like him.

Frank Coulter., Editor