Dear members,

I hope that this email finds you well and that those of you who are getting out to play in Phase 2 this coming Saturday 13th will really enjoy it.

After play on the 13th June, 101 of the 122 members will have played leaving 21 members yet to play.  Out of the 101 members who will have played:

29 members will have played 4 times
12 members will have played 3 times
22 members will have played 2 times
38 members will have played 1 times

In advance of the BRS system opening up for booking this evening I would like to let you know that each member can now only book for themselves and one other member.   The rational behind this is to open it up to a larger group of people gaining access to the timesheet to book.   Technically, leaving it as it was meant that 18 people could dominate the timesheet, although I don’t believe that was happening.

Some of you may not be aware of this but when you gain access in the timesheet to a particular time slot, you are blocking out the whole row/4 slots from anyone else accessing them at the same time.  Therefore, could I ask that when you have made your booking that you exit the timesheet immediately so that the next person can access the row.

Commencing next Thursday, 18th June I have updated the BRS booking system to enable a wait list.   This means that if you don’t get on the timesheet for the 27th you can join a wait list and as soon as someone cancel’s their booking the person on top of the wait list will automatically be moved into the vacant slot.   I will send you more detail on how to operate this next week.

Out of our twelve new members this year only three of them managed to get 3 cards in for handicap before the lockdown.   This leaves nine of them awaiting handicap.  I am keen that they will be in a position to play in competition as soon as it opens up and so, in consultation with the Handicap Secretary, Maire Barrett, I have put in place an arrangement for the nine members to take a record their own score on their own notepaper.  They will need the assistance of one of their playing partners to verbally agree with them their score after each hole.   The new member will enter the score on their notepaper and at the end of play will sign and date the record.  In place of the assisting playing partner signing the record they will take a photo of the record and send it to me via WhatsApp or email.  The reason I am informing you of this is because you may be asked by a new member to be their assisting playing partner.

I have nothing further to add for now so fingers crossed the weather will be good on Saturday and happy golfing to everyone.

Best regards,

Paula
Lady Captain

Dear members,

I hope you are all keeping well and that those of you who have been back playing golf in Phase 1 have enjoyed the long awaited experience!

I am maintaining a log of members who have/will have played over the 3 weeks in Phase 1 and, out of the full complement of 122 members, the following are the stats:

32 members played 3 times
25 members played 2 times
16 members played 1 times

A total of 73 members have been back playing, leaving 49 members yet to play.

It was brought to my attention by a number of people in recent days that there were 3 groups out playing on Saturday last with only 2 players.   With timeslots at a premium I was very disappointed to hear this.   Can I remind everyone that if for any reason you have to cancel your booking after the booking system is closed on Friday evening, the usual golfing etiquette applies.   You must let your two playing partners know by phoning or texting them and you must also phone Leopardstown and ask them to remove your name from the time sheet.   They will then be able to re-allocate your slot to someone on the waiting list.

There are some welcome changes coming in Phase 2.   The ILGU/GUI are allowing 4 balls every 14 minutes from the 8th June.    This means that we will have an extra 18 players with capacity for 72 players each Saturday from the 13th June.   In pre Covid-19 times we had 93 slots available to us with general take-up in the 65 to 70 number bracket.

When the timesheet opens this coming Thursday, for those of you who have not logged in recently, the screen has a new look which I believe was amended by the BRS.   I was not aware of it last week so I could not give you the ‘heads up’ in advance.

You may find that your user id and password does not automatically come up like it did before, when you try logging in.   I suggest that you try to login well before 7 p.m. on Thursday next and if you need a reminder of what your password is you can email/text me.

Phase 2 sees the ‘eligibility to play’ distance extend from 5 km to 20 km.  This is a welcome step and opens it up to the 49 additional members who have not yet played.    I am keeping the priority list going for the duration of Phase 2.    For clarity, this means that anyone who has not played to date can email/text me and I will allocate a slot on the time-sheet for you.  Could I ask you to do this by 12 noon on Thursday, 4th June for play on the 13th June.   You can only be on the priority list once.

Leopardstown have re-iterated their request that you go straight from your car to the 1st tee.   You do not have to register your arrival at reception.  Please do not tee off before your allotted time so as to ensure that the 14 minute gap is maintained between groups.

Club competitions can commence from the 8th June but the Committee and I have decided to hold off until Phase 3.   While it is up to each society to determine when they will recommence competitions Leopardstown are not encouraging it.   They have advised that quite a number of golf clubs across the country are planning to hold off on competitive golf until Phase 3 of the roadmap, which is 29th June.   Score cards seem to be the biggest issue in relation to this and the Committee and I will need to be comfortable with how the card exchange/marking process is conducted.

Phase 2 allows for members to bring guests to their golf club to play.   Leopardstown have advised that as the demand for golf is huge amongst the ladies societies they have decided not to allow guests in the first week, from 8th to 14th June.  They will provide a further update on this.  This relates to bookings made directly with Leopardstown for play between between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. each day, after ladies societies play is finished.

McGuirkes Golf will re-open their store on the 8th June.   There is no date yet for re-opening the Café.   The driving range is open with every second bay in use.  You can pre-book or just turn up.

That is as much information as I have for now.   I am looking forward to playing on the 13th June and to seeing everyone again.   As always, please feel free to email/text/phone me if you have any issues or need clarity on any aspect of Phase 2.

Take care for now.

Best regards,

Paula
Lady Captain 2020

Hi ladies,

I attach the text of the email I received from Leopardstown providing further information in relation to the rules and protocols to be adhered to in preparation for our return to golf of the 23rd May.     It is very important that we make our best effort to follow these rules and, whilst all of them are important, I have highlighted some of the ones that I believe will be of specific interest to the Saturday Strollers.

The first thing to note is that Leopardstown has no special exemption from the public health advice on over 70s age demographic and for the 5 km travel distance limitation.   It is up to each individual member to ensure that they are compliant in these matters.

Our normal allotted timetable has changed and for phase 1 of the reopening of the course our time slot will run from 12 noon up to 4 pm.   This provides us with one additional hour of play and the ability to facilitate 54 players in total with a 14 minute interval between each tee-time, which is great news.

The time-sheet will open and close at the usual time, i.e. open at 7 p.m. on Thursday, 14th May and close at 6 p.m. on Friday, 22nd May for play on Saturday, 23rd May.  All tee times MUST be booked in advance.  You cannot turn up on the Saturday morning hoping to find a vacant slot.  Once Leopardstown receive the timesheet from us on the Friday evening they will keep it for up to six weeks to facilitate contact tracing.    If you need to take your name off the timesheet please do this before it closes on the Friday evening, so as to permit someone else to pre-book into your vacant slot.

I am very hopeful that the number of players that fall within the guidelines for this phase will be accommodated within the 54 available tee-times.  However, in the interest of fairness I will be monitoring the timesheet to ensure that everyone who can play will get a turn to play, if not in week 1 (23rd May) then they will be given first preference in week 2 (30th May).  Please feel free to contact me if you fail to get a tee-time on the 23rd and would like to play on the 30th May.

Outside of our society timelines the course will be open from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Monday to Friday, and 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday for society members only.  No guests or visitors will be permitted.  The regular fee of €10.00 will apply.   A timesheet will be available each day and times must be booked over the phone in advance.   Players should go to reception to let them know you have arrived and you can pay by tapping your card.   They will start taking bookings from Monday, 18th May when they have re-opened.

I am sure you are as excited as I am with the prospect of getting back to golf and I hope you thoroughly enjoy your ‘day out’ whilst observing social distancing.

Best wishes,

Paula
Lady Captain

Good morning ladies,

I hope this email finds both you and your families well.

Finally, there is light at the end of the tunnel!   As Ireland starts to re-open we golfers are among the lucky ones who are included in the first phase of the gradual easing of restrictions for sporting activities.

Leopardstown Golf Centre have been in touch and confirmed that golf will be returning for societies starting from Monday 18th May.   The governing bodies have issued protocols for both Golf Clubs and Golf Players and I attach a PDF of the full set of those protocols and the road map for each phase of re-opening.

There are a number of different things that need to be adhered to in order for this to happen.

The main thing is to ensure social distancing and, as confirmed by Leopardstown, tee times must have 14 minute intervals and a maximum of three players in each group.

This will impact the number of players that each society will be able to accommodate but that is what the longer intervals are trying to achieve. Less people on the course and around the whole facility.

By my calculation this facilitates a maximum of 42 players, within our usual 3 hour timeframe,  restricted to those members who are living within 5 km distance of Leopardstown Golf Centre.  If you are unsure of your distance you can check it out via http://www.2kmfromhome.com

Leopardstown will revert to me again during the week with an outline of how things will work and have asked that we do not open our timesheets until then.

I am sure you will all appreciate how fragile this situation is and they have assured me that they will prioritise all of the ladies societies as we are a vital part of Leopardstown.

I will revert during the week when I have more information to hand.   In the meantime, have a lovely week-end and enjoy the lovely weather we are having.

Best regards,

Paula Lady Captain

Dear Members,

As we head into what is a very unique Easter weekend I hope you are keeping safe and that you find hope and peace during these challenging and uncertain times.  

Under normal circumstances we would have been gearing up to a fun Easter weekend of golf with three prizes in each category, not to mention the Easter Bonnet Competition!

However, the last few weeks have been very strange.   Most of us rush through life, forgetting to enjoy the present because we are weighed down by the past or worried about the future.   We have had to slow down the daily rush, simplify our lives, spark our imaginations and inspire ourselves and those around us by taking each day as it comes, moment by moment.   As Mother Theresa said ‘Be happy in the moment, that’s enough.  Each moment is all we need, not more.’

The Committee and I send our warmest wishes to you and all your loved ones this Easter and look forward to meeting up again soon.

Best wishes,

Paula
Lady Captain

Dear members,

Please note that as of the 14^th March 2020 our golf competitions have been suspended.  This decision was not an easy one to take but the safety and welfare of both members and Committee members is a priority.    A number of considerations were taken into account before arriving at this decision.  As we are all aware, in the current environment it is vital that we do everything to ensure that the spread of the virus is minimised.   When a competition takes place Committee members are subjected to the handling of 60+ score cards which have already been handled by numerous people.   The Society laptop is inter-changed between Committee members on a weekly basis where the screen/keyboard is again handled by various Committee members.   In the circumstances, I believe that there is no option but to cancel competitions until further notice. While Leopardstown remains open you are more than welcome to play a friendly game of golf.   I will keep the timesheet operating so that you can book your tee-times each week.   If anything changes and Leopardstown closes I will keep you posted.

For now, please be careful and keep yourselves safe.

Best wishes.

Paula
Lady Captain 2020

Dear Members,

I would like to express my sincere thanks to you all for your support, kindness and generosity on Saturday last, for my Captain’s Drive-in.   It was most unfortunate that the run of bad weather continued and sadly we had to forgo the golf competition.   Nevertheless, we didn’t let the weather dampen our spirits and were able to enjoy the beautiful lunch in the Green Room without looking wind swept!!

Next Saturday, 14^th March we will have our Shamrock Special competition where there will be three prizes in each category.

Leopardstown GC will be closed on the 4^th April due to racing.   We have arranged a return trip to Woodenbridge Golf Club on that day and hope the weather will be kinder to us than it was last Autumn!   We will have a bite to eat afterwards in the clubhouse before prize giving.   The notice will go up on the Notice Board on the 21^st March.

Best wishes for now.

Paula
Lady Captain 2020

Hello members,

The golfing season got off to a great start on the 4^th January with a clear blue sky and plenty of sunshine.   I am sure that this contributed to the wonderful golf that was played on the day resulting in 4 birdies, one each for Karina McGrane, Ann O’Connell, Kay Kennedy and Maria Brandon.   The following week was the total opposite with gale force winds forcing Leopardstown to close the course! There were three more birdies during January and they were achieved by Maureen Kelly, Dolores Brennan and Patricia Murphy.

Congratulations go to Therese Cahill who was January Player of the Month in category C.

Over the past number of weeks we have welcomed 12 new members to the Society and said goodbye to 5.   The 5 who have left are Helen Dundon, Mary Hoare, Jackie Sharpe, Niamh Nash, and Eimear Kingston.

My Captain’s Drive-in is taking place on Saturday, 29^th February 2020 with a siren start at 12.30 p.m. Please assemble at 11.45 a.m. to collect your cards. The format for the day is a Greensome Team Event. The Notice is displayed on the Strollers’ notice board in the Locker room.   Please sign up to play as soon as you can as the numbers are limited to 72.   You will have the opportunity to meet most of the new members either on the course or, post-golf, in the Green Room.

Remember to bring your water with you to keep hydrated!

The rules for a Greensome Team Event are as follows:

Player A & B tee-off on every hole and the best drive is chosen. If Player A’s drive is chosen, Player B takes the second shot.   Alternate shots are then taken until the ball is holed. Complimentary aperitif’s, lunch and prize-giving will follow golf in the Green Room.   If you have any special dietary requirements, please let me or one of the Committee members know in advance and catering will provide a suitable alternative.

If inclement weather conditions prevent play, the lunch will go ahead at 1.30 p.m. and there will be a draw for prizes.

I wish you all the very best of luck and look forward to presenting the winners prizes!

Saturday Strollers’ Golf Jumper
Some of the new members have been admiring our Society’s golf jumper.   If you would like to purchase one you can do so from Liam at Express Embroidery on 1800 925 722.

Paula
Lady Captain 2020