Welcome to WGC London Seniors

The meeting convened at 13.00, broke for lunch at 13.30 and reconvened at 14.30

In Attendance: Ed Flack, Joe Few, David Riddle, Bob Rutter, Bob Perkins, John Yeo, Andy Marsh, Alan Walters, Mark Boyd, Stuart Phillips, Martin Roffe Gerry Caley, Derek Stew, Pat McSweeney, Alex Evans, Paul Siggins, Martin Grimshaw, Peter Hamilton, Bob Skidmore, Baldev Sehmbi, Brian Atherfold, Kofi Agbolegbe, Mike King, John Rouse, David Hamilton, Gareth Jones, Bob Feeney, Tony Bergin-McCarthy, Richard Jarrett, Brian Elvy, Paul Mansfield, Bob Wilson

1) Apologies for absence: Terry McDowell, GilesBrown, Bob Haswell, Bob Rutter, Elaine Brown, Amanda Davey, Madeleine Griffin

2 & 3) The Minutes of the 2024 AGM were unanimously accepted with no matters arising.

4) The Secretary gave his report:

2025 has been a year of change for the section. Whilst the hard core members have remained pretty much the same those on the periphery have ebbed and flowed but I would like to warmly welcome those new to the section, especially our three playing women members Madeleine, Elaine and Amanda. Some of our older members have played less but I want to assure them that they are always very welcome to play whenever fitness and conditions allow. 

Let me start by recapping our matches. We played just 10 this year with 4 wins, 1 draw and 5 defeats. Andy Captained us in all but one of the matches. Notably only 3 of these matches required 16 a side which represents a continuation of the recent decline in the popularity of seniors golf across the board. 29 members represented the club in all with John Wells the sole debutant. To augment the match season we had three ‘away days’ to Orsett, Muswell Hill and Canonsbrook which were generally well supported. We will continue with 10 matches this year but we will be adding four away days to Orsett, Abridge, Canonsbrook and Ingrebourne Links. 

Our usual range of competitors were well supported with three captains medals added to the schedule. My congratulations go to not just all of the winners but to everybody who played. I want to make a special mention here to Andy who introduced our own presentation evening celebrating the season which was very well supported and I hope this becomes a fixture in the section calendar going forward. We administered all of our own competitions this year as the club migrated to the new BRS system. This may change in the coming year and I am in discussions with the club to find out our options going forward. If we are asked to administer competitions using BRS then there is likely to be a fee payable for each competition entered via the app. It is my intention to try to get the best deal possible for us which keeps golf cheap but also does not alienate us from the rest of the club. (MEMBERS VOTED WITH SHOW OF HANDS IN FAVOUR OF MOVING TOWARDS THE BRS SYSTEM FOR NEXT YEAR PROVIDED THE PRICE WAS OK)

Happily club catering has now settled down and our after match fare has been of a good standard. However this does come at a price and our match subs of £15 no longer covers the cost of pre match refreshments and post match meal. Pete will address this in his treasurer’s report in a few minutes. Whatever amount you are asked to cough up in the way of match fees or trip costs I would like to ask that ALL members now make any payments direct to Pete online rather than collecting cash on the day.

Whilst the number of visits to the website has decreased to 36,000 this years, this reflects fewer matches and fewer playing members. I would urge all members to carry on checking the website and using it to sign up for matches, trips and competitions in the future. As always, my thanks to people that sign up early and make my life so much easier - you know who you are.

The move to card drawing for our rollups has proved successful and we will continue to use this method. As a reminder, the draw is made 15 minutes prior to the first tee time. Vets rollups have traditionally been a 13 or 14 hole affair. This has begun to cause a few problems. With much increased traffic on the course prior to our tee reservation, members are often forced to give way to players coming out of the field on the 6th tee. To solve this problem I would ask that members now play the field where possible and withdraw at the 14th if they do not wish to play the full 18 holes. If the field is closed then obviously the top 14 would be the order of the day. For clarity any remaining matches in this years Bill Stirling should be played over the top 14 as in previous rounds. Next year it will revert to an 18 hole competition unless the field is closed when it will be played over the top 14.

Up until now I have made the draw for all competitions two days prior to the event and I have tried to ensure that all members have a chance to play with everybody else whilst ensuring that faster players tend to go out in front of slower players. For this to work everyone needs to be at the club 20 minutes before their tee time and on the tee five minutes before they are due to tee off. Recently we have had players arriving at the last second or not at all whilst there have been some instances where members hadn’t realised that a competition was taking place and have been included at the last minute. This meant that scheduled tee times were changed and things developed into a free for all. I would like to gauge your support using a show of hands for either maintaining the current structure or abandoning it in favour of groups going out as they arrive with partners of their choice ensuring minimum disruption. (MEMBERS VOTED WITH SHOW OF HANDS IN FAVOUR OF PAIRINGS BEING MADE PRIOR TO THE COMPETITION BY THE SECRETARY)

This has been a challenging year both for the club and also the section. 2026 will see even more changes and the Vets section we have been used to is unlikely to look or feel the same this time next year. Without your continued support the section may struggle and contract and its years may be limited. With your support we can continue to offer a vibrant section where over 55s can enjoy their golf and camaraderie knowing that they will be made welcome both on the course and in the bar.I would like to go on record to thank our committee, Peter, Andy, Stuart, Gerry and Bob and of course our president Terry for their unwavering help and support in navigating through some frequently choppy waters.

5) The Treasurer gave his report

Peter explained that we had deliberately overspent by almost £3,000. He intended to overspend again next year by another £1,000 to reduce the surplus. Intention to keep subs at £10. The accounts were accepted.

6) The Social Secretary gave his report

Stuart said the the first two planned events of the year were cancelled due to clubhouse refurbishment. He would look into the viability of both quiz nights and suppers for the coming year.

7)  Appointment of Captain and Vice Captain

Outgoing Captain thanked the members for their support and introduced new Captain Peter Hamilton. Peter said his Vice Captain would be David Riddle. Peter said his charity would be split between Cancer Research and MacMillan Nurses.

8)  Appointment of Officers

Bob Rutter moved off of the committee as outgoing past Captain. All other committee members indicated that they were prepared to stand again and were unanimously re-elected.

9) Proposals for discussion.

1.   Matches / Team Colours - Proposed: Peter Hamilton/Seconder : Stuart Phillips

Having had discussions with Club, we have been informed that the team colours for 2026 and going forward are to be blue, green or white but will never be red in future,

Given that we will represent the Club in 10 matches next year we have been offered blue Footjoy shirts at cost price (£25) with the new club logo and personalised / embroidered “veterans” or “seniors”.

Peter proposed that this offer of blue shirts be accepted and that the membership can place an order at time of subscription payment. He also explained that the club owner had said that he would pay for match day catering on the proviso that we wore new club colours. Peter to follow up on this and get this offer substantiated. 

The proposal was approved with an overwhelming majority.

2: Name Change - Proposer : Peter Hamilton/Seconder: John Rouse

Peter proposed to change the name of the section from Wanstead Vets to WGC London Seniors.

The proposal was approved with an overwhelming majority.

3  Start times for rollups - Proposed : Peter Hamilton/Seconded : Andy Marsh 

Peter proposed to move the start time for rollups and competitions to 9.00 with matches to stay at 8.00

The proposal was agreed with a small majority - Ed will follow up with the office.

4 Presidents Cup - Proposed : Peter Hamilton/Seconded : Terry McDowell

That this competition reverts back to a medal format rather than stableford.

The proposal was agreed with a healthy majority

10 - AOB

Discussions were had around promotion and inclusivity into the section.

The meeting closed at 3.15