Half term report

What do you mean you don't know what you're doing?

A light hearted take on my first 6 months as Captain of our little society. How has it been? Have things changed? What's the good points and not so good points? What about the future? How did I get into this mess? I need a drink!

Just before Christmas 2024 we were desperate for a Captain, Clare had poured 15 months of hard work into making us a success, several people were asked but not too many volunteered....actually none.

I remember we were at Miraflores just before the Christmas comp, and I made a throwaway comment that "whoever won this comp would be next years Capt". The responses were generally that most would N/R ( nil return ) rather than take on the role. This was of course said jokingly ( I think ), anyways, muggins here won and I was reminded at my victory speech of my remarks. Think it was either Steve Wallington or Lobo who shouted out, anyway, being a man of his word and stupid into the bargain I couldn't back down so here I am.

So how's it going? As in life, you get out what you put in. I had no knowledge of the role not having been Vice Capt and so was "flying by the seat of my pants" or as we would say in the RAF..."winging it"!

My only stipulation is that I wanted to put my own "stamp" on things...I sort of had a few visionary moments and would do things my way...that went wrong a few times haha.

So I guess part of my legacy will be that I introduced" Captains Drive In" and also made us a website...made possible by the kind contribution of Adam, cheers dude, and to be continued next year thanks to Robert (Blobby) Thompson.

Captains Drive in at Calanova did take a whole lot of organising, I had help from Jon Sanchez the Gen Manager of Calanova who made sure we got great rates. I thought the day went very well, Sonja my lovely wife did so much behind the scenes, as she does every tournament...she's my best mate.

What I did learn from that exercise though, is that you cannot do everything on your own, for 3 days afterwards I was an emotional and physical wreck, I've not experienced tiredness like that since my military days. However, I do learn quickly so decided that delegation was the way forward in the future and I feel a lot more confident knowing that there are good people right behind me.

There have been some pretty tough moments but far more good moments.

What actually goes into running a comp? Well, it starts with the calendar, getting best rates for the best courses, in this Gemma from Sunshine Golf has been brilliant and our own Martin B got us a couple of great deals at Santana, thanks Martin.

Next thing is to publish all the info, this was part of the reason I wanted a website...you now have all the info you need, months in advance, along with links to the websites of the courses, I really enjoyed that part.

You also have to make sure the catering is sorted out, that meals come when you order them and that players turn up at the presentation on time. This was a little problem at one time but now everything seems to run like clockwork...and talking of meals, we have to be very grateful to Bar 97 for their generous donations to us.

The Wed before the comp we generally have a committee meeting to fine tune things and to "make the draw" for the comp. It's at this point that you hope everyone has paid because the funds have to go to Sunshine Golf first thing next day, late drop outs are probably the thing I dread most. Usually that same Wed or maybe Thurs morning, I publish the draw so you guys know who is playing with whom.

That last week I tend to go to the golf course 2 or 3 times just to make sure there are no problems, check out what facilities there are, get the blank cards and fill them in with team/Ind details, this is where Charlie comes in, he will give me everyones handicap days before the comp.

A couple of real life moments? e.g when we played Alhaurin, I went there 3 times that week made sure they had NTP flags and there was sufficient buggies for us, checked out the catering and practice facilities....what happened? There was insufficient buggies on the actual day ,they issued them at the wrong times, there were not enough NTPs and when I previously asked about buggies on the fairways, they changed their mind on the day, which meant a lot of people struggled mobility wise.

Another instance, Miraflores cancelled our booking without telling me or Sunshine Golf, nobody knows why! I was with Gemma when she confirmed it, fortunately we got reinstated ....but on the day we were told we had only booked 5 flights instead of 6....more running around like crazy, again I had to reorganise the NTPs days after I requested them.

After the comp it's a bit of a rush to check scorecards which is where Johnny H comes in with his expertise...I did try to do it all myself...nervous breakdown time! Just doesn't work, you have to have good people behind you....quick point here...DON'T take your b****y scorecards home with you, hand them in please.

Then comes one of the hardest parts, trying to get everyone to Bar97 on time...I think we've sorted that now though. Forgot to mention that I tend to shop around to see the best deals on golf balls and wine etc...all part of the job, the presentation can also be a challenge, I don't have the same panache as someone like Deano, I prefer a backseat but it has to be done.

There is a lot more to it than I imagined, each month it gets better ( I hope ), but as I said earlier, you get out what you put in. It does impact on your own golf though, very little time to practice on the day.

For me, the good times far outweigh the not so good ones. I Know you guys appreciate what the committee does for you, that's reward enough for me.

Would I do it again?....Yes I would, it brings me into closer contact with some great folk, that's more than enough reward, and part of my challenge is to see that next years Capt gets a good insight into what's what and he can lead us onwards and upwards!

That's it for now guys let's enjoy Santana

Taff

Oops....forgot the report!

Effort A plus

Vision A

Patience B minus

Determination A plus

Ability C minus

Charisma F

Mills is a young man who tries very hard to improve his environment, he is insightful and caring, determined to make a difference, keen to please but somewhat intolerant of others and can be a real pain in the arse!

I see a future for him in politics or maybe window cleaning.