AROUND THE TRAPS Farewell to Bob Platt Golf North Queensland’s Newsletter

November 2014
AROUND THE TRAPS
Golf North Queensland’s Newsletter
Farewell to Bob Platt
At the presentation ceremony for the NQ Open, the
Association presented Bob with a watch in recognition
of his many years of service to golf In North Queensland,
both as a delegate and as District President.
Bob has retired from work, bought himself a caravan
and intends to travel for a couple of years.
Safe travels Platty and we hope to see you “Around the
Traps”!
2014 Motoco North
Queensland Championships
The first combined men and women’s Open
Championship in the district wrapped up last month.
Numbers were down on expectations and the committee
will be considering various options for improvements.
The new format this year had several deviations from
previous years. For a start, it was played at two different
courses, it was moved from June to the October
weekend, fell at the end of the school holidays, clashed
with Okterbest celebrations and the NRL grand final.
As with all changes there will be some teething problems
and lots of notes have been taken of where we went well
and where we might have fallen down. We also thank
those players who came to us with their own suggestions
for improvement. If you have any suggestions, please
don’t hesitate to email them through.
Vacancy on Match
Jim Johnson, chair of the
men’s match committee has
resigned and expressions of
interest are sought from interested persons to fill that vacancy until the next AGM in
March.
Position descriptions have now
been prepared for all positions
on the management committee so if you would like a copy
of the roles and responsibilities of the Chair of Match,
please email:
[email protected]
Many have indicated they had a great weekend and
that’s the main aim. List of winners is on the website.
GNQ team comes third in the 2014 Qld Women’s
Inter-District Matchplay Tournament
Three new faces joined last year’s team to compete in the above event (also known as
the Meg Nunn Salver).
Sheree Hasson (Mackay) on a +2 handicap, Cassie Douglas (Bowen) on a 3 handicap and
Kris Dugi (Rowes Bay) on a 7 handicap will join Eileen Bell (Townsville) on a 5 handicap,
Fiona Bell (Townsville) on a 7 handicap and Bev Hockings (Townsville) on a 9 handicap.
Golf North Queensland's team captain/manager, Carole Power, a veteran in this event,
said the Inter-District Matchplay Tournament is the pinnacle of golf for low markers in
the district. "There is no doubt that all players selected this year have earned their spot
on the team", she said. “Between them they have won almost every Open event in the
district and Sheree won the Queensland Sand Greens Championship.
The event is designed to give low markers an opportunity to compete against other
players of a similar calibre. Current members of State representative teams, girls under
the age of 18, and participants in the QAS Golf Program are unable to compete as this
would unfairly advantage the larger districts, such as the Gold Coast and Brisbane.
The tournament was held in Toowoomba from 8-11 September and anyone who has
played at City Golf Course would agree that home course advantage would play a big
part in any win, mainly because it’s the greens are difficult to read. And that’s exactly
what happened. Downs & South West ran away with the win. Despite the weather
being freezing for the first 3 days our girls played very well. Had Far North Queensland
defeated Brisbane and District in the final round, we would have come second. Unfortunately those teams had a draw and we were toppled from second place by just a half
a point. Well done girls!
AROUND THE TRAPS
Golf North Queensland’s Newsletter
Page 2
Golf NQ’s new
Website
Casual appointment—
President’s position
As Bob Platt has resigned from the association, we are
very pleased to announce that the vice president, Bev
Hockings (a member of the Townsville Golf Club) has
been voted into the casual position to replace Bob until
the next AGM in March.
The association is going through a lot of changes at
present and we’re working hard to make improvements. Please bear with us if we occasionally slip up
through a lack of knowledge.
You can be assured that we have all members’ interests at heart and will do our best to raise the profile of
the association
Forum to be held in Bowen
At the last Delegates’ meeting in Townsville on 4 October, it was decided to hold a forum at a central location
to discuss three main topics, i.e. NQ Pennants, NQ
Open Championships and Club Opens.
We are organising to have a professional meeting facilitator run the forum and would like to extend an invitation to you all to come along and give your views, not
only on these three main topics, but on how you think
the association can improve to better meet the needs
of its members.
This will take some time to organize but we are aiming
for a mid February deadline which will give us time to
digest the report and make a presentation at the
March AGM.
At the last delegates’ meeting
it was agreed that the association needed to have a more
modern and professionally designed website. Quotes and
suggestions are being sought
and it is hoped to have a new
site available early in the New
Year.
2015
Calendar of
Events
Has your club submitted its
dates for the men’s and
women’s open championships?
Don’t forget that before you
finalise your calendar, please
send us your proposed dates so
we can let you know whether
there are any other majors
scheduled for those dates.
It’s important that we avoid
clashes wherever possible so
clubs can maximize attendance
at their Opens.
More details will be posted on the website in due
course.
Have you noticed
our new logo?
2014 Men’s Inter-Association
Teams Event, 9-11 November
The above logo was professionally designed and adopted by the
association a couple of years ago.
Unfortunately, due to many
changes in members of the management committee, another
logo surfaced and has been used
since then.
A hearty congratulations to the following players who
With the help of Pat Foley from
The Willows (thanks Pat), we
were able to track down the artwork and now have it in our possession.
Mick Gidley, Glenden (21)
The company we contracted to
produce the logo, ran a competition world-wise and the design
was selected from a graphic artist
in the UK of all places.
accumulated top points throughout the year to become eligible for participation in the above prestigious event.
Adam Metcalf, Black Springs (+2)
Chris Nielson , Rowes Bay (10)
Alan Cameron, Glenden (13)
The event will consist of a Four Ball Stroke Play , a
Foursome Stroke Play and a single Stroke at the
Hervey Bay Golf Club. GQ covers all costs for the tournament except for the nomination fee which is the
responsibility of each district . Districts also supply a
team shirt.
We wish our team a successful and enjoyable tournament. You can check out daily results on the web site.
AROUND THE TRAPS
Golf North Queensland’s Newsletter
Page 3
Golf Queensland Grant Writing Assistant Program –
NOW OPEN
Golf Queensland remains committed to supporting clubs and districts to access funding from
Government and philanthropic sources. Golf Queensland continues to work closely with
partners in an endeavour to open up more opportunities to more clubs and districts.
Under the Golf Queensland Grant Writing Assistance Program funding may be sought for a
variety of projects including:
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Equipment associated with the activities of the organisation, including sport and play
equipment and office equipment and furnishings
Special one-off events and activities including community arts and recreation events,
conferences and community education activities
Community development and organisational development including access and eq
uity projects, research projects, organisational review and redevelopment, training,
fundraising initiatives and volunteer support
Motor vehicle purchase costs
Minor capital works (except where the facilities are owned by an individual or private
company), including part of or total contribution to health, safety and access upgrades
of community facilities and fit-out costs for community facilities.
Grant Writing Assistance
Golf Queensland, with the assistance of Red Tape Busters, offers a Grant Writing Assistance
Program. If your Club needs assistance with grant writing you will need to complete the Expression of Interest Form by visiting Golf Queensland’s website.
Please note, Golf Queensland is only able assist with one application from clubs per year. If
you wish to engage Red Tape Busters to assist your club with additional grant applications please call (07) 3882 2055.
Funding Rounds
The closing dates for applications are 28 February, 31 May, 31 August and 30 November. If
your eligible application is not successful in the first funding round, it is automatically considered in the next funding round. With only one date left for this year, you will need to act
quickly if you are considering assistance.
If your club would like to find out more about grants, visit Red Tape Busters’ website.
Diesel Fuel Rebate
Did you know your club may be eligible to claim a diesel fuel rebate? If not, your club can contact the HPL Group who specialises in back claims. Back-claiming can amount to a significant
payout. The HPL Group works on a No Refund - No Fee basis.
Many Australian businesses are eligible for the Federal Government Fuel Tax Credits. However, many of those businesses are missing out on this significant income source.
Do you need to lodge a claim for Diesel/Petrol/Biodiesel purchases in the past?
Does your club understand the full amendments to the Fuel Tax Credits Scheme which became
effective from 1 July 2008, then 1 January 2009, then 1 July 2009, then 1 July 2010, then 1 July
2011 , then 1 July 2012 and 1 July 2013 ?
If your club does any of the following you may be eligible for a back claim:
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run auxiliary equipment on heavy vehicles?
run a Diesel or Petrol or Gas Powered vehicle?
purchase Biodiesel?
use a Diesel Powered Burner?
use a Generator?
claiming the Fuel Rebate at the correct rate?
If you would like to find out more, contact the HPL Group on (02) 4655 5565.
If you have any items for inclusion in the newsletter or any suggestions for content,
please email them to:
[email protected]
We’d love to hear from you
AROUND THE TRAPS
Golf North Queensland’s Newsletter
Page 4
Junior End of Year Awards
On Saturday 18 October at Proserpine, as part of the junior pennants weekend, the presentation of end of year awards for junior golfers in our district was held, along with a BBQ
dinner.
It was good to see most the recipients in attendance to collect their rewards for all their
hard work during the year,. Well done to all the winners and good luck to those of our
juniors who are leaving the junior ranks. A big thank you must go to the parents who drive
their children all over the district, allowing them to participate in events.
Winners were:
18 holes Boys—Division 1—Gross: Sam Spelta
18 holes Boys—Division 2—Gross: Jack Brown
18 holes Girls—Gross: Koralie Key
18 holes Boys—Nett: Matt Bower
18 holes Girls—Nett: Emma Lyons
9 holes Boys—Gross: Jessi Horvat
9 holes Girls—Gross: Stephanie McDougall
9 holes Boys—Nett: Andrew Thompson
9 holes Girls—Nett: Charlene Lyons
Junior Pennants
Well done to Rowes Bay who took out the junior pennants by winning all three rounds,
ahead of Platty’s Proserpine Pirates, Mackay and Ayr. The spirit in which the games were
played was excellent and clubs should be very proud of their upcoming juniors who participated. See photos on the website. Well done to all concerned.
Proserpine Juniors presented Bob Platt with a Weber Q for him to take on his travels. Bob
has worked tirelessly with the juniors pennant team at Proserpine for many, many years
and it’s great to see his service recognised in such a way.
These are our
2014 Open
Champions
Calvin Buckton
And Sheree
Hasson, both
From Mackay