Captains Drive In

Wichita Lineman

Moate Captains Drive in is on Sunday 20th, as Vice Captain I'll be in the 2nd group on the 1st tee for the '4 person team scramble' after the ceremonial drive in. Should be a bit of fun.

Anyone else had the drive in already or have one coming up?

Dr_Colossus

Ours is on tomorrow but I'll admit I generally avoid as find it a bit of a chore with a lot of standing around and very little golf being played. It's only 9 holes which doesn't help plus I have a general disliking for team events which ours also is. That said it's good to see in the calendar as marks the start of a new season with proper golf about to commence in April.

Wichita Lineman

I'm sure we have a lot who avoid it too but it's a popular event all the same. I think it's nice to make a bit of a fuss over the respective Captains who put in a tremendous amount of hard work during the year.

Wichita Lineman

It's that time of year again!

Moate Captains Drive in is on Sunday 5th, only difference this year is that I'll be under a bit more pressure to smack one off the tee nice and straight seeing as I'm the 2017 Captain!

Anyone else had the drive in already or have one coming up?

spacecoyote

have ours this Saturday, 9 hole 4 ball scramble. Have played in it the last 2 years & its a good way to meet some people for a new member.

I'm fully supportive of the incoming committee, but I won't be playing in it this year, as its €14 which is excessive for a 9-hole scramble to my mind (I know it includes a bit of grub afterwards)

Looking forward to the season finally kicking off

and best of luck on the first tee Wichita

Wichita Lineman

Wichita Lineman wrote: »

It's that time of year again!

Moate Captains Drive in is on Sunday 5th, only difference this year is that I'll be under a bit more pressure to smack one off the tee nice and straight seeing as I'm the 2017 Captain!

Anyone else had the drive in already or have one coming up?

Good look with your drive in. Mine is on Saturday 11th. We have it around 1pm between a morning and afternoon shotgun scramble.

charlieIRL

Best of Luck for 2017 Wichita, hope its a great year for ye.

Wichita Lineman

We have the drive in about 11.45 followed by an 18 hole 4 person scramble with a bowl of soup or 'finger food' afterwards and we charge €10. It's not a money making exercise, purely a social outing to honour the incoming Captains and prizes are usually a bottle of wine each to the first 3 teams so not going to be breaking the bank.

This year I'm delighted to say that we have a very full timesheet (104 plus a few on the subs list) so it's not going to be a quick round but people normally know this before they put their name down and it's more for the enjoyment than the competition.

Best of luck to all in a similar position to me this year.

twounderpar

As a past captain I wish all incoming captains the best of luck with their drive in and the year ahead. The idea that you avoid it because you don't like team events is rather sad. It's a fun day. Support your club and especially both captains by supporting their drive in.

billy3sheets

twounderpar wrote: »

As a past captain I wish all incoming captains the best of luck with their drive in and the year ahead. The idea that you avoid it because you don't like team events is rather sad. It's a fun day. Support your club and especially both captains by supporting their drive in.

Yeah. The team events are usually a break from the gravitas of singles golf. Also an opportunity to mix and meet members outside of your normal timezones.

Wichita Lineman

Captains Drive In was postponed earlier as although the weather was actually pretty good today it was just too wet in certain patches after an overnight deluge.

The Rape of Lucretia

Wichita Lineman wrote: »

I think it's nice to make a bit of a fuss over the respective Captains who put in a tremendous amount of hard work during the year.

Do they though ? They may spend a fair bit of time being captains, but they do really do anything useful or productive ? Would clubs be much different if there wasnt one at all, or that their cumulative contribution in a year added up to a single days work ?
I have a feeling they wouldnt. But hard to break the cycle of past and aspirant captains and officials congratulating each other or how much they all 'give' to the club.

Wichita Lineman

I'm sorry if that's been your experience ^ but I'm not Captain for my own glorification. I'm Captain as I really do give a huge amount of my time to running the golf club with fellow committee members. If all the work we did had to be paid for subs would be twice the amount they are just to keep us running. In 15 years membership I have not seen anyone with the attitude you seem to have come across. Sad really if that is the case in your club.

neckedit

Wichita Lineman wrote: »

I'm sorry if that's been your experience ^ but I'm not Captain for my own glorification. I'm Captain as I really do give a huge amount of my time to running the golf club with fellow committee members. If all the work we did had to be paid for subs would be twice the amount they are just to keep us running. In 15 years membership I have not seen anyone with the attitude you seem to have come across. Sad really if that is the case in your club.

I would say the opinion offered in the other post is quiet strong in a lot of clubs, with a % of members not knowing who the captains are or what they do.... personally, I have been involved in Golf my whole life and would say a % of captains are in it for themselves to push an agenda. I will however say,in my position we had a lot of change management at the Club and both Captains were absolutly outstanding and went above and beyond their duties. It does come down to the personalities and what direction the Club wants too take.

The Rape of Lucretia

Wichita Lineman wrote: »

If all the work we did

I think it is in what many captains class as 'work', that is a bit loose. Time invested doesnt necessarily add up to anything truly positive for the club. Standing around the 1st tee and 18th green for interclub competitions, shaking hands with visitors and sharing a drink with then in the bar, and endless meetings that are repeated year after year on the topics of 'solving'; slow play, bar levy, the quality of the greens, lack of new members, who is eligible for what prize in the Captains prize, etc, etc. They may like to think of it as work, that they are doing their bit, and that it is beneficial to the club. But really, its contribution is nil when considered coldly.

Wichita Lineman

Jesus.

The Rape of Lucretia

Allahu Akbar.

Kingswood Rover

The Rape of Lucretia wrote: »

I think it is in what many captains class as 'work', that is a bit loose. Time invested doesnt necessarily add up to anything truly positive for the club. Standing around the 1st tee and 18th green for interclub competitions, shaking hands with visitors and sharing a drink with then in the bar, and endless meetings that are repeated year after year on the topics of 'solving'; slow play, bar levy, the quality of the greens, lack of new members, who is eligible for what prize in the Captains prize, etc, etc. They may like to think of it as work, that they are doing their bit, and that it is beneficial to the club. But really, its contribution is nil when considered coldly.

If sorting out the bar levy, maintaining the membership numbers, supporting the clubs interclub teams, meeting and greeting, promoting the quality of the greens and endless meetings amounts to a contribution of nil then you would be standing in an empty field, on your own, with no friends and wishing you could have your golf course back. Best of luck Witchita keep doing Fcuk all.

Loire

The Rape of Lucretia wrote: »

Do they though ? They may spend a fair bit of time being captains, but they do really do anything useful or productive ? Would clubs be much different if there wasnt one at all, or that their cumulative contribution in a year added up to a single days work ?
I have a feeling they wouldnt. But hard to break the cycle of past and aspirant captains and officials congratulating each other or how much they all 'give' to the club.

The Rape of Lucretia wrote: »

I think it is in what many captains class as 'work', that is a bit loose. Time invested doesnt necessarily add up to anything truly positive for the club. Standing around the 1st tee and 18th green for interclub competitions, shaking hands with visitors and sharing a drink with then in the bar, and endless meetings that are repeated year after year on the topics of 'solving'; slow play, bar levy, the quality of the greens, lack of new members, who is eligible for what prize in the Captains prize, etc, etc. They may like to think of it as work, that they are doing their bit, and that it is beneficial to the club. But really, its contribution is nil when considered coldly.

Well, there's only one way to find out..get involved yourself and report back to us.

Seve OB

The Rape of Lucretia wrote: »

Do they though ? They may spend a fair bit of time being captains, but they do really do anything useful or productive ? Would clubs be much different if there wasnt one at all, or that their cumulative contribution in a year added up to a single days work ?
I have a feeling they wouldnt. But hard to break the cycle of past and aspirant captains and officials congratulating each other or how much they all 'give' to the club.

The Rape of Lucretia wrote: »

I think it is in what many captains class as 'work', that is a bit loose. Time invested doesnt necessarily add up to anything truly positive for the club. Standing around the 1st tee and 18th green for interclub competitions, shaking hands with visitors and sharing a drink with then in the bar, and endless meetings that are repeated year after year on the topics of 'solving'; slow play, bar levy, the quality of the greens, lack of new members, who is eligible for what prize in the Captains prize, etc, etc. They may like to think of it as work, that they are doing their bit, and that it is beneficial to the club. But really, its contribution is nil when considered coldly.

Did you just eat a punnet of sour grapes or something?

morrga

spacecoyote wrote: »

have ours this Saturday, 9 hole 4 ball scramble. Have played in it the last 2 years & its a good way to meet some people for a new member.

I'm fully supportive of the incoming committee, but I won't be playing in it this year, as its €14 which is excessive for a 9-hole scramble to my mind (I know it includes a bit of grub afterwards)

Looking forward to the season finally kicking off

and best of luck on the first tee Wichita

There's moaning and then there's this. €14 for golf and lunch, ffs.

Jawgap

Loire wrote: »

Well, there's only one way to find out..get involved yourself and report back to us.

Maybe someone did try to get involved but didn't get the votes

Good luck to anyone taking on a captain's role, it's a nice honour but it doesn't come without a cost, literally and figuratively. It seems like people are not as quick to praise a good captain as they are to damn a mediocre or bad one.

And it seems to me that time spent 'glad handing' visitors, etc is not wasted as I think visiting groups appreciate it and that makes repeat business more likely. Further, while stuff like that, and interminable committee and sub-committee meetings may not be intellectually demanding, they are time sinks and that means people are needed to be giving of their time to make them happen, which means sacrificing time with family and friends and, perhaps, re-arranging work.

Our captains' drive in is this weekend.....postponed recently because of weather. Hopefully, all our captains will get a good day for it.

Derek Zoolander

Kingswood Rover wrote: »

If sorting out the bar levy, maintaining the membership numbers, supporting the clubs interclub teams, meeting and greeting, promoting the quality of the greens and endless meetings amounts to a contribution of nil then you would be standing in an empty field, on your own, with no friends and wishing you could have your golf course back. Best of luck Witchita keep doing Fcuk all.

Seve OB wrote: »

Did you just eat a punnet of sour grapes or something?

The Rape of Lucretia wrote: »

I think it is in what many captains class as 'work', that is a bit loose. Time invested doesnt necessarily add up to anything truly positive for the club. Standing around the 1st tee and 18th green for interclub competitions, shaking hands with visitors and sharing a drink with then in the bar, and endless meetings that are repeated year after year on the topics of 'solving'; slow play, bar levy, the quality of the greens, lack of new members, who is eligible for what prize in the Captains prize, etc, etc. They may like to think of it as work, that they are doing their bit, and that it is beneficial to the club. But really, its contribution is nil when considered coldly.

There is merit in the question here - how many general managers would actually rate the captains contribution outside of the hand shaking as productive.
Surely the GM should be one setting the strategy for the golf club and then converting that into an operational plan. Is this strategy really aided by having a different captain every year trying (with the best intention in the world) to insert themselves into what should be GM activities (membership, levies, staffing). I'd argue that most GM's would rather a hands off approach by the captain and let them get on with running the golf club

Jawgap

Derek Zoolander wrote: »

There is merit in the question here - how many general managers would actually rate the captains contribution outside of the hand shaking as productive.
Surely the GM should be one setting the strategy for the golf club and then converting that into an operational plan. Is this strategy really aided by having a different captain every year trying (with the best intention in the world) to insert themselves into what should be GM activities (membership, levies, staffing). I'd argue that most GM's would rather a hands off approach by the captain and let them get on with running the golf club

No, a GM's job, as in any organisation, is to implement or operationalise strategy not set it. Setting the direction is really up to the committee or, as many clubs are setting up, the council. Personally, I prefer the council model - smaller group, and longer terms mean the time horizon over which decisions can be considered can be years instead of 12 months.

You are right though, in that the captain, GM (if there is one), pro etc all have their roles and need to respect them - and certainly the day-to-day, week-to-week running of the club is not the captain's job, imo.

Levies, membership fees etc and the setting thereof are definitely outside the preserve of a GM in a club. Whereas, staffing, budgeting, marketing, administration etc are well within their remit.

Derek Zoolander

Jawgap wrote: »

No, a GM's job, as in any organisation, is to implement or operationalise strategy not set it. Setting the direction is really up to the committee or, as many clubs are setting up, the council. Personally, I prefer the council model - smaller group, and longer terms mean the time horizon over which decisions can be considered can be years instead of 12 months.

You are right though, in that the captain, GM (if there is one), pro etc all have their roles and need to respect them - and certainly the day-to-day, week-to-week running of the club is not the captain's job, imo.

Levies, membership fees etc and the setting thereof are definitely outside the preserve of a GM in a club. Whereas, staffing, budgeting, marketing, administration etc are well within their remit.

That's a reasonable call out - main point though is that its not the Captain's remit to set strategy nor be involved in the operational management of the club. So the point above in terms of what real value they are adding beyond the ceremonial is a pretty valid one.

Wichita Lineman

Clearly some of you are involved in much bigger clubs that employ a General Manager. Not all of us are as fortunate so there is a lot of voluntary work and time undertaken by committee members including Captains that are well beyond 'ceremonial' duties.

I do it willingly and without regret but I don't like the bitter tone in certain posts that suggested Captains add nothing to their club and the term work should be applied loosely. No need to tar everyone with the same brush just because he's obviously experienced that somewhere.

Kingswood Rover

Derek Zoolander wrote: »

There is merit in the question here - how many general managers would actually rate the captains contribution outside of the hand shaking as productive.
Surely the GM should be one setting the strategy for the golf club and then converting that into an operational plan. Is this strategy really aided by having a different captain every year trying (with the best intention in the world) to insert themselves into what should be GM activities (membership, levies, staffing). I'd argue that most GM's would rather a hands off approach by the captain and let them get on with running the golf club

Not all clubs have the resources to have a general manager

sector

we had ours at the weekend, fortunate to go ahead with all that rain. Its always a great craic to welcome in the new captains & see how they arrive (air balloon, horseback or whatever! ha!).

bit of controversy our way with the winners being a team of 4 + 1 (yes a spare player i know i know), didn't think that would be allowed but there ya go.

Wichita Lineman: fair play sounds like you are part of a good club.

Wichita Lineman

Got the 'Captains Drive In' done yesterday at Moate and although it rained a bit at least the sun came out eventually and everyone was dry and happy at the finish.

No messing it's a bit nerve wracking walking up with your ball after the Lady Captain has hit a stunner down the middle! A little bit of heckling doesn't help but it's all good natured and with 80 - 90 onlookers I smashed the ball - a fair bit to the left but I didn't care once I hadn't either gone right and landed in the car park or scuffed it off the tee!

On with 2017...........

The Rape of Lucretia

Good luck and enjoy your year as Captain.


On the wider topic, I think that a lot of people dont realise how the captain was a genuinely powerful figure in golf clubs of the past, whether those who could afford a staff and general manager, to the smaller more member run clubs.

The equality of membership for men and ladies was the end of that era, when men ran the clubs and the captain was a figurehead, there for the year to lead the club as a whole in all aspects, and generally tried hard to 'leave his mark' from his stint in office. But the doing away of lady associates, and widespread split into mens and ladies committees of equal standing with responsibility for running golfing affairs, and a separate joint club committee to manage the wider running of the greater club, infrastructure, clubhouse facilities, long term goals, etc, diluted all of that.
Leaving the captains role more limited to that of a hand shaker and pat speech giver within the boundaries of men's golf competitions. Someones gotta do that too of course. But a long way from the old style captain which was as a real Generalissimo for his year.
I think it is the echo of that era that sustains an element of cache to the role still, despite the much minor role it is today.

twounderpar

Best of luck as Captain and there is far more to the role than hand shaker and speech maker. I'm sure you know that already!!

Derek Zoolander

twounderpar wrote: »

Best of luck as Captain and there is far more to the role than hand shaker and speech maker. I'm sure you know that already!!

Interested in what far greater scope there is? What are Captains accountable for in your clubs

twounderpar

While there is a lot of meeting and greeting and representing your club at functions in the club and in the community, the main role of Captain is to ensure the smooth running of GUI club competitions in the club. A dedicated bunch of volunteers including competition sponsorship and handicap sub committees are needed. Regular meetings would take place with these groups and it would be the Captain's job to make sure that things are running smoothly through regular meetings not to mention numerous phone calls and informal meetings. You would also as Captain keep in touch with GUI treasurer to make sure that the budget allocated to GUI section is on course and the Captain would report to the Management Committee each month on GUI progress and bring forward recommendations from GUI section to the Management Committee.