Club Captain? Am I crazy?

[Speirsy11]

So, my club has asked me to be Club Captain. I'm thinking it sounds like a great way to change a lot of things that I'm not happy with but am worried that it's going to be WAY more work and WAY more stress than the outgoing captain has said it is.

Aparently I will be head of the Match commitee, run the Sunday comp, decide on the fixtures list and be the end voice on rules and comp questions.....It also gives me a chance to have more say in conditioning of the course (right now it sucks) by being part of the match commitee which serves as our greens commitee too. They tell me I'm looking at 1 meeting a month and having to be at the comps (which I'm at anyway)......

Is this going to be a massive headache? Or will it be a useful endeavour that I will benefit from?

Anyone here sitting on their club's board? Any experience?

Thanks in advance

Speirsy

[Ducky]

Club Captain is for when you're too old to swing a golf club, not when you're in your prime. Wait until you're old and fragile and then get on board.

[Keza_G]

Speirsy....

Massive headache mate... the experience can be good, the only thing you can take from this is patience.... I was Vice Captain of 1500 members on the main committee.. but members will approach you while you play, practice, drink, and even when you are working.... day and night.... with dilemma's that are so insignificant and will ***** at you about some trivial incident that you will want to throttle them.

And then there is the paper work to shuffle and the Tee times, Comp cards, membership pprocessing, (Captains are usually expected to welcome new members to the club), course condition for members comps.....the list goes on....

I have been asked to run for Captain or committee to shake up the Riverlakes crew, but am not interested...and a conflict of interest being Staff (management) .... I stuck at vice for a while and did all of that, captain does even more..... Pennant teams to organise, liase with other Captains, etc.... I would suggest a committee posting first and see if you can handle it... Dont dive in the deepest end.....

Just a few from my head to yours....

[amanda]

Rob - the captains at the club we just left were there for at least 1 meeting a week that started at 7pm and never ended before 11pm.

I think it's possible - but you just have to have firm rules for the juggling of club stuff vs work/marriage/other stuff. Otherwise, it can take over your life!

I was on the ladies committee for a year - lots of talk and we never managed to decide on anything.

[Courty]

Spiersy, send Mike a PM. He was captain at Mareeba GC last year. He'll fill you in.

Btw, he's now the manager at Mareeba (I think it's less work than captain ;))

[Flowergirl]

No Robby no
No Robby No
nooooooooooooo Robby!!!

Don't do it. You'll be sorry. My club asked me to put my hand up for next year and I said no. Too much work - too much responsiblity- no thanks and only complaints. Your game will suffer - as will any relationships you have within the club.

[Falcon]

Yeah I definately wouldn't do it... only if you're old and retired.

Just like my regular playing partner, he doesn't have any real interest out side of the golf club and he's doing an awesome job!

He did tell me that older member come up with the most bizarre complains you would ever want to hear, just crazy. Mind you, he does want he think is right anyways :D

[goughy]

Maybe what you have to consider is, if yo do this will you be able to make the changes that will make the club a much better place. Old retirees can mean old ideas.

And if you get things started, who is going to continue it. As long as you expect the workload will be much higher than told, and am dying for some changes and are willing to put in the effort to make them then go for it. It might not take much work to let things run as they are, but change can often mean tons of work.

And you may butt heads with people who don't want things to change. It could mean more work for them too.

[Fishman Dan]

Who says a club captain has to be the be-all-and-end-all? Surely the job wouldn't be available if it was great fun, but those responsibilities you highlight don't have to be your decision entirely.

Have a crack, make some friends, drink some beer, get impeached. But have fun while you're doing it ;)

[terryand]

CobraSS might be abe to give you some insight too.

And he's only a young fella like us.

Terry.

[Moe Norman]

i'm power ungry, so I'd definately do it.

I'd love to cut some trees down and make changes to a course if they have let it go.

[mike]

Don't do it.

[3oneday]

CobraSS might be abe to give you some insight too.

And he's only a young fella like us .

Terry.
:smt081 :smt046 :smt115 [-( :smt009 :smt019 :smt101

[terryand]

Whats your problem Grandad :-s

Terry.

[CobraSS]

Don't do it.

[AndyP]

That's pretty compelling from the two who have been club captains.

[connico]

im with moe...hehe do, for the power!!! lol

[Speirsy11]

That's pretty compelling from the two who have been club captains.

Thats what I'm thinking......Seems like anyone who has done it tells me not to do it.......I'm thinking I'm going to sit on the match commitee and bail hard on the idea of being Captain......Lots of time left to do it once I can't play anymore ;)

Thanks for the input guys, I'll keep you posted on what I do....

Speirsy

[BrisVegas]

im with moe...hehe do (it?), for the power!!! lol

Now there's a surprise....:smt002

[Bruce]

Someone needs to do it - why not you?

One of the ways to divide the world's population is:
Those that do and those that bitch about those that do.
I try to spend my time on the first group and not the second.

But you are a young fella and there is still time. Do get on the committee and start to make your views clear to the general club population. You will either get some backing or not be asked again.

[Speirsy11]

Talk about your all-time dumb decisions......

If anyone is ever asked to be club captain, I hope you have time for every moron who has ever set foot on your course because you'll need it.

"I think that so and so shuold have won this and that because _________"

"Why is this ___________"

"If I _________ and he ____________ then is it______?"

I do have a question for all involved in OzGolf........

At your clubs, if someone wins both Scratch and net, do they get both prizes? This came up today at our place, and myself, the pro and the president all agreed that the guy who won should get both prizes since he clearly played best. Why should you punish someone for playing well for the sake of making someone who placed second happy? The person who finished second bitched and whined to everyone BUT me this afternoon because they didn't get a first place prize after finishing second.

Seems pretty ****ing stupid to me.........If you didn't win, you don't get the winners prize.

[3oneday]

Your job is to try and keep as many folk as possible happy. At my club, you win the major event of the day only, ie you win the fourball you can't also win the singles.

Tough one, but I think allowing someone to win net and scratch as unfair to all the other members. Fourball and singles yes, net and scratch NO.

[goughy]

I'm pretty sure at our club you can also receive only one prize. If you win gross and net, you will receive whichever is considered the most important prize for the day. Then the next will be handed to the second place and so on. Usually when there is a gross prize it is the most significant prize.

Many of our events only have prizes for net anyway.

During our monthly medals, the overall medal winner dosen't win his division as well. So you end up with the nett winner, plus 3 or 4 division winners as well.

You were warned though ;)

I hope you can make the difference. Maybe you'll be able to teach them all the whinging dosen't get them anywhere.

[Andrew]

At Newcastle GC it's 1 prize, 1 player. You can't win both scratch & net.

If it's just your average club comp, then it's not that important, & it's there for the fun & enjoyment of the members. The more people who can get prizes (within reason) the better.

I'm not sure how big your club is, but if you have 2BBB, Scratch, A, B & C grades, then there are 5 winners who will go home happy & 5 runners up who have a story of misfortune to tell.

In saying this, I just remembered that the one preson can win 2BBB & individual in a comp, but that is similar to many clubs as well.

[Grunt]

Everywhere I have played, you cant win scratch and the nett. Like what was mentioned before that way you get more happy players.

[Keza_G]

At royal and ancient Riverlakes you can only win one prize.... In regard to Club Championsips we ask the player which one they want out of nett or gross.... my personal opinion is that the gross winner/prize is the really the more prestigious... so I choose that one every time...

The nett winner is more for those with handicap that can play to it or better than it on the day or days..., the aim of golf clubs today is to encourage and promote the game of golf and if you start to piss ppl off by giving the best player in the club all the prizes, you are not encouraging those that can play to their handicap, they will get the shites and go elsewhere where they feel they can win. Clubs are struggling for members with the introduction of "golfbank" and the like who now facilitate handicaps... by encouraging members you are guaranteeing the survival of your club and course.

[Courty]

Same at Cairns, one prize per player. Can't win nett and gross in the same event, usually in grades depending on the size of the field.

[AndyP]

Looks like the one prize rule exists in most places. That's what I've come across in the more major comps that I have played in too.

[Grunt]

Club Captain's have the responsibility to help members with their questions about golf don't they?
I know if I ever have a query about something I ask my Club Captain. I hope he does not think I am a moron for asking.

[markTHEblake]

At your clubs, if someone wins both Scratch and net, do they get both prizes?

Sounds like to me this decision was made after the fact?

In the absence of a Tournament condition that "a player is only eligible to win one major event" then he wins both.

I have played in many events where a player has won Gross and Nett events, in fact i remember one where this fella won the 54 hole gross and nett, and almost every daily gross and nett. The guy needed a removalist van to get his stuff home.

Anyway what are we talking about here? your club championship? monthly medal? wed PM chook run? - theres a big difference (becuase of the value of the trophy)

Despite how silly it might seems, most clubs do put in place the one trophy rule in major events. And as typically the only golfers who end up in this position are low markers they are not going to give a toss about a nett event.

Anyway you seem to be doing a great job as Captain. Dont forget that you are doing it because you think you can make a difference and secondly, your putting something back into the club/game that has served you well so far.

And - it does look good on the resume, unless you only did it for one year. That means you couldnt handle the responsibility and spat it or got sacked.

[AndyP]

And - it does look good on the resume, unless you only did it for one year. That means you couldnt handle the responsibility and spat it or got sacked.
....or moved to another country.

[Fishman Dan]

At Gordon i think you can win 2 prizes (overall and grade winner) except in last Saturday's memorial event. That was clearly stated before the commencement of play.

[Speirsy11]

Thanks guys......

It is just an every day nothing comp. Our club had no rule regarding it in the first place, so the way I look at it is if you win it, you get it.

Lets say Dan has the day of his life and fires a 78 net 60 in a stroke event. Why shouldn't he be recognised for it? I mean really, it only happens once, maybe twice a year that someone wins both....We all know that 90% of the time a high marker wins the Net and a low marker wins the scratch. If a 15 wins scratch, I say he deserves to be noted by recieving the prize, likewise a 4 marker who fires a 67 to win the net........If you play well enough to win it, you're getting it....

Grant, they only think you are a moron for asking if you are drunk when you ask it and/or make it a confrontation rather than a question. Plain and simple, I'm a volunteer, and if they can blow me if they think that I'm going to put up with rudeness just because they need a question answered that can easily be looked up if they weren't seeing double from 15 schooners.

[3oneday]

Rob,

I really think clubs do it as an encouragement thing. Imagine the club champs, invariably the guy who wins the scratch in each grade will go very close to winning the nett as well, so instead of 6 winners you have 3.

That's my main point I guess, you could also say something like foresomes champs, almost always in A grade the scratch winners will have won the net. The year we won A grade scratch foursomes we won the net by 7 as well.

You can reward the select few or reward a few more.....

Pete

PS, I assume you weren't talking about our Dan ;)

[Speirsy11]

Rob,

I really think clubs do it as an encouragement thing. Imagine the club champs, invariably the guy who wins the scratch in each grade will go very close to winning the nett as well, so instead of 6 winners you have 3.

That's my main point I guess, you could also say something like foresomes champs, almost always in A grade the scratch winners will have won the net. The year we won A grade scratch foursomes we won the net by 7 as well.

You can reward the select few or reward a few more.....

Pete

PS, I assume you weren't talking about our Dan ;)


Our Dan COULD do it.....couldn't he?

At our club we dont even award the scratch winner of B-D grades of the CLub Champs, and in A grade there is no net winner (what A grader wants to win the Net award anyway?)....>We don't have a foursomes event, we really only have 3, 2 man ambrose events a year, the rest are Stableford or stroke.......So you rarely see this happen, it just happened to be on my first week :-P

I think the reason a couple of drunks got mad was that the winner was from Bunbury GC, the rival club across the road and they thought I shuld have worked it so someone from our club won.......

Hell, I wasn't even there when the "controversy" started, I'd left 2 hours earlier, only 30 minutes after presentations ended.

[Fishman Dan]

Put it this way - if 'our' Dan managed it, he'd offer all of the prizes back to the club. I'd imagine this bloke plays for the love of the game, not the spoils of success. ;)

But you might hear all about it through other means... for example, the internet? :p

PS - That would be a nett 61 too ;) :lol:

[CobraSS]

Talk about your all-time dumb decisions......

If anyone is ever asked to be club captain, I hope you have time for every moron who has ever set foot on your course because you'll need it.

"I think that so and so shuold have won this and that because _________"

"Why is this ___________"

"If I _________ and he ____________ then is it______?"

I do have a question for all involved in OzGolf........

At your clubs, if someone wins both Scratch and net, do they get both prizes? This came up today at our place, and myself, the pro and the president all agreed that the guy who won should get both prizes since he clearly played best. Why should you punish someone for playing well for the sake of making someone who placed second happy? The person who finished second bitched and whined to everyone BUT me this afternoon because they didn't get a first place prize after finishing second.

Seems pretty ****ing stupid to me.........If you didn't win, you don't get the winners prize.



For the trophy part of your post, we have a one major prize per person rule at the club, eg win the gross you can't win the nett, or which ever is deemed the better trophy for that particular event, also if we have an event where there is an overall winner for the day and winners in each grade, if you win the overall for the day you can't win your garde as well. etc etc

[pt73]

At my club you can win both handicap and scratch. Last Sat one of the juniors (a mate's son) shot 2 under which won A grade nett and the scratch. He had the best score (42 pts) of any player in any grade and deserved to win both.

PT

[markTHEblake]

If its just a Daily event what was the prize for Best Gross? cant really see what the fuss was all about unless it was a new Telly.

In most cases I remember best gross got 2 or 3 golf balls. Reason being it was the same schmuck who would win it 90% of the time.

We dont have a best gross at Emerald Lakes in the normal comps. The low markers (ie guys on +1) win the nett comps as often as anyone else. A grade is 0-9 though, and then B,C and D,

[Speirsy11]

We give a $50 voucher for low gross every week.

[3oneday]

We give a $50 voucher for low gross every week.got a few of those then Rob ;)

[Fishman Dan]

We give a $50 voucher for low gross every week.

That's pretty good - especially considering they may not be the comp winner on the day. Surely this is only possible for a very small portion of your members?

[Speirsy11]

got a few of those then Rob ;)

:-)

[Matt 3 Jab]

If you play well and win both then you deserve both prizes, its not about being fair, its about being the winner!! If i shot -2 and won both scratch and nett, then ive been the best player on the day, bad luck to the rest! play better.

[Grunt]

But you don't play anymore, so just be quiet ;)

[AndyP]

Yeah, I only play to win. That's why I'm in a shitty mood most of the time.....

[BrisVegas]

Yeah, I only play to win. That's why I'm in a shitty mood most of the time.....

ahh, thanks! I was going to ask, but you never know how some people will react..... :|

[jaster]

I am 100% with you Rob. I think it is a joke not being able to win 2 prizes (ie gross and nett), too often I have played a great sub par round and won the nett as well only to be given the nett and the gross go to someone who shot +4 or worse. Talk about rewarding crap golf :( My previous club even changed the format of the club champs to suit the "older generation"....went from 4x18 to...2x27..OMG what a joke that was....27 holes is a good test but 54 holes total and over 2 days..pffft!!!

I say go for captain Rob if you have the time, you can always quit saying work is driving you too hard but you have too much interest, knowledge and experience to waste it mate. I was handicapper at 18 and on the match comittee and had the time of my life!

[jimandr]

I see a trend forming here.

The low markers who are capable of winning both scratch and nett think it is the fairest way, the rest, who have little chance of winning the scratch, want a nett and a gross prize.

For club morale purposes, most clubs have a one prize only rule.

My personal view is that the lowest score should be the winner. So what if the same person wins both.

Port Kembla used to only award one prize if one player won both, and then award a runner-up nett prize, giving half the value of the nett to the 'winner' and half to the runner-up. That wasn't a bad solution.

Just wait for the day, Rob, when you win the nett and the gross on the same day. Not many will agree with you then.

[Grunt]

Sounds as if he may have already had that situation Jim.

[jaster]

Jimander - I know what you are saying and that your on us lowbies side but given that my club usually most big events have a field over 200 and almost always the nett winner will be someone who has a nett of 64ish (CCR normally 69 Par 71). This means as a low marker (off 4) I would need to shoot around a 68 or less to match them. Realistically a nett less than 65ish is pretty unlikey to ever be from a low marker (4 or less) at my club unless someone goes on a real tear which only happens once a year at most. It's just to tough a course to go too low on consistantly unless your a freak like our +2 marker is who shoots 66 with ease around there. (My low is 65 by the way on a career day last year playing with ozgolfs legendary Unit!!)

What about you only have to pay half the entry/nomination fee if you can only ever win one prize? :p I'm sure it's been brought at a certain clubs!

[Fishman Dan]

If you play well and win both then you deserve both prizes, its not about being fair, its about being the winner!!

How's that guitar going?

I think the majority of prizes should go to the winner of the day. A scratch winner can usually become a side-bet for the better golfers.