MINUTES OF THE HANDICAP AND COURSE RATING COMMITTEE MEETING HELD ON TUESDAY 20 TH MAY 2014 AT ENGLAND GOLF, WOODHALL SPA.

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1 MINUTES OF THE HANDICAP AND COURSE RATING COMMITTEE MEETING HELD ON TUESDAY 20 TH MAY 2014 AT ENGLAND GOLF, WOODHALL SPA. PRESENT: Mrs CLAIRE DOWLING Chairman Mrs MARGARET BERRIMAN Board Member Mr JOHN DAVIES Mr JOHN SHAW Mrs JOY HUNTER Mrs NICKIE CLARKE Mrs LIZ GAERTNER Mr ERNIE STEIN IN ATTENDENCE: Mr RICHARD FLINT Club Services & Development Director Miss GEMMA HUNTER Member Executive 1. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE Claire Dowling explained that due to the recent restructure within England Golf, the position of Club Services Manager was made redundant. As a result Paul Keeling will be leaving the organisation to pursue other opportunities within the golf industry. Richard Flint gave details of the restructure. 2. MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING Dated 3rd March 2014 were approved by the members present at that meeting as an accurate record and signed by the Chairman. 3. MATTERS ARISING Claire Dowling queried the production of the England Golf contacts book which will replace the Annual Year Book. Richard Flint confirmed this was in production along with the Annual Report. Claire Dowling requested these be circulated to all handicap advisors and course raters. Page 1 of 6

2 4. CONGU A. REPORT FROM BOARD MEETING 18 TH MARCH Claire Dowling stated that the proposed new Articles of Association were ratified on and as a result the Board had reduced to 11 members. Gemma Hunter will attend the technical meeting on the 28 th May Claire Dowling reported that the R&A had not returned a decision in regard to flooded bunkers and suggested that the current 50% guidelines were to continue. Claire Dowling asked if anyone wished to nominate members for the technical committee, communications committee and handicap research committee. Claire Dowling commented that the new structure of CONGU would improve governance, and create opportunities for new committee members. It was felt that the appointment of a communications committee was a positive step. Claire Dowling reported that the statistics committee had recommended the allowance for Four Ball Better balls should be amended to 7/8 th. It was felt that the CONGU website needs to be updated and amended and that this is currently being organised by Peter Austerbury. Claire Dowling stated it is encouraging that social handicaps/independent golfers were being discussed by CONGU and asked that any comments or suggestions should be forwarded to Gemma Hunter. B. REPORT ON WWH Gemma Hunter gave an overview of the Worldwide Handicapping seminar she had recently attended at St Andrews. The R&A update suggested that no progress had been made recently and that all Home Nations would need to be in agreement before any new system could be implemented. C. REPORT FROM THE EGA HANDICAP RESEARCH COMMITTEE Liz Gaertner discussed the report and demonstrated the proposed new handicapping table. It was agreed that the table and report were very effective. D. REVIEW OF UHS 2016 Page 2 of 6

3 Claire Dowling stated that whilst at the Staverton Park seminar there had been many negative comments in regard to the UHS and she felt that the general perception of the UHS was negative. The suggestion was that the UHS needs to be simplified in order to operate in accordance with the England Golf strategic plan to increase participation in the game. Claire Dowling stated that the EGA are currently examining simplifying the handicapping system for 20+ handicap golfers and that this could be considered for the UHS also in order to make the game more appealing and enjoyable. Richard Flint suggested that research needed to be conducted as to golfers views on the handicapping system and if it is perceived as a barrier to play. Claire Dowling stated that CONGU might now be prepared to consider drafting a handicapping system which encourages independent golfers to obtain a handicap from clubs and to make this payable to clubs with the view to providing an opportunity to attain these players as full members ultimately. Action: Members of this committee to forward any comments on the 2016 revision of the UHS to Gemma Hunter to take to the technical committee meeting on the 28 th May. E.REGIONAL HANDICAP ADVISORS Claire Dowling stated that the number of handicapping queries received by Gemma Hunter was excessive and needed to be addressed. It is proposed therefore to appoint 8 Regional Handicap Advisors. Gemma stated that these Handicap Advisors would mirror the current 8 development regions. Gemma Hunter reported that a ticketing system was currently being developed for use by golf club members to use through the England Golf website. These tickets could then be forwarded to the members Regional Handicap Advisor for a response. 5 COURSE RATING A. REPORT FROM CALIBRATION SEMINAR Joy Hunter reported that 23 countries from Europe attended at St Andrews and that the USGA are currently developing a course rating app for tablets, research Page 3 of 6

4 conducted suggests that USGA course raters are 50/50 divided of the use of this, over paper forms. B. REGIONAL TRAINING Joy Hunter stated that 23 team leaders attended the training at The Kendleshire with 31 in attendance at the training held at Moor Allerton golf club. It was stated that feedback from the training was good overall, however more manuals are required. Feedback regarding the length of time taken to rate, had been discussed. Gemma Hunter stated that a further session needed to be delivered for the 40 team leaders who didn t attend the Kendleshire or Moor Allerton sessions. C. PRE AND POST RATING PROCESSES Claire Dowling stated that the procedure for pre and post rating process should be finalised as soon as possible then circulated to clubs and course raters. D.EQUIPMENT AND RESOURCES It was suggested that a questionnaire be sent to course raters to collate information on equipment levels and to establish what raters currently hold and what may be required. E. EXCEL SPREADSHEET Ernie Stein demonstrated the spreadsheet which he has developed to record ratings before these are entered onto the USGA site. Ernie stated that this spreadsheet will greatly reduce time currently taken on paperwork. Claire Dowling suggested that the spreadsheet is circulated to as many course raters as possible in the near future. F. INTER COUNTY FORUM John Davies suggested that an online Inter County Forum be developed for course raters to post queries and comments and therefore reduce the volume of queries currently being directed to Nickie Clarke and Joy Hunter. Action: Richard Flint and Gemma Hunter to examine the development of an online forum and commonly asked questions and answers to be posted on the course rating website. Page 4 of 6

5 G. ALLOWANCES FOR RATINGS Some course raters have queried the allowances proposed for rating. It was confirmed that the allowance provided to course raters is for expenses incurred and not as payment for rating as this has been perceived by some individuals. The background to the funding was explained. EWGA had funded course rating from a monies provided by the LGU some years previously. The EGU did not fund any rating, counties were expected to fund their own. The funding agreed currently was seen as a reasonable compromise. Action: Gemma Hunter to add a paragraph to the website stating the above and to request expenses are submitted on an England Golf standard expenses form. H. REGIONAL COURSE RATING ADVISORS Claire Dowling suggested that a team of 8 Regional Leaders should be appointed for the 8 areas within England similar to the Regional Handicap Advisors. Richard Flint stated that a basic role description is required to be implemented for these regional leaders 6 WEBSITE A. COURSE RATING Gemma Hunter reported that she had updated the course rating website recently. B. MIXED GOLF SPREADSHEET The Committee were very pleased with the mixed golf spreadsheet which Liz Gaertner had developed. It was agreed that this should go onto the website with a how to guide. Action: Gemma Hunter to develop a guide on how to use the mixed golf spreadsheet Action: Liz Gaertner to examine appropriate wording to add to the website 7 CORRESPONDENCE Page 5 of 6

6 Gemma Hunter stated she had received some correspondence commenting on the CONGU UHS which has been forwarded to CONGU. Gemma Hunter had also received some correspondence querying the possibility of independent players obtaining a handicap from England Golf or CONGU for payment of a fee. Claire Dowling had received a query from a County Vets Association regarding the status of a Stroke Play competition. It was noted that some such Associations use County or Club software to run Qualifying Competitions, others do not. Unless the Association is part of the County Association they should apply to be on the Qualifying list, in their own right. 8 CATEGORY 1 AUDIT Gemma Hunter reported that all but 6 Counties had returned their Audits. 8 discrepancies were discovered which were all linked to England Squad players. These were rectified within the allowed time limits. Claire Dowling stated she was happy to sign these off. 9 ANY OTHER BUSINESS It was stated that the Global Handicapping Research Team have been discussing Slope and that Peter Austerbury had requested course rating data for research purposes from Frilford Heath and Woodhall Spa courses, with the assistance of Nickie Clarke and Joy Hunter. The committee agreed that Gemma Hunter should also assist with this rating for ongoing training purposes. Action: Nickie Clarke, Joy Hunter and Gemma Hunter to re-rate Frilford Heath and Woodhall Spa courses. 10 Date and Time of next meeting Wednesday 24 th September 2014 at England Golf, Woodhall Spa. Signed.Dated Mrs C Dowling, Chairman Page 6 of 6