Spanish Night

Last night was the Spanish Night organised by the Company to celebrate the food and culture of our European partners ... and we had around 50 members and guests who paid the £5 for the tickets and were rewarded with a meal of 2 types of paella ( a fish one and a chicken one), potato omelette (tortilla de patatas) and a tomato dish (patatas bravas?)... washed down by a glass of sangria. There was an impromptu quiz organised by Colin Davison and the evening was crowned with a members draw for £100 which was won by Joyce Bramfitt who shared her good fortune with Betty Bainbridge. Buenas Noches.

Fairway Protection

Last year we protected the fairways in the winter months by 'placing in the first cut of the semi'. There is little doubt that the course benefited from the policy, but some members were unhappy with the method and it has been suggested that mats would be preferable. There are a number of mats available in the entrance way to the golf club, which can be carried by the members to trial this method before any decision is made. Give it a go and put your comments in the box provided. We trialled the mats today .... with the photo showing Mike Wallace on the 6th fairway.

Simon Lane, General Manager, Newcastle Racecourse

The meeting of the Club Committee on Tuesday 19th Oct was attended by Simon Lane from Northern Racing who introduced himself to the Committee and briefly outlined his background and aspirations for the coming 5 years. If you would like to know more about Simon, there is an article on the website nebusiness which you can access by clicking on the following link.

http://www.nebusiness.co.uk/business-news/interviews-with-business-people/2010/08/23/simon-lane-general-manager-newcastle-racecourse-51140-27118686/

The first and hopefully the last

It's 10.00am and the weather outside is sunny and fine ... and I'm sat in the house on the PC when I should be outside playing golf because its Sunday morning!! But today has seen the first competition of the 'winter' season lost to the weather ... the course is closed due to rain!

Lets hope this is just a glitch and not the shape of things to come!

Mr President announces his retirement

It is the end of an era .... a lifetime of support and service to Parklands Golf Club. At the Club Committee Meeting yesterday evening, Danny Hall, our President for the last 16 years, announced his retirement from the position of President of the Golf Club. Danny has served the Club in various capacities for 34 years and is probably the most recognised and is certainly the most respected member of the Golf Club. He has acted as the starter on a Saturday morning for many years, greeting new and old members alike with his encouraging and welcoming manner. Danny's retirement is due to ill health and we all wish him our sincere best wishes during his enforced retirement. He intends to visit the Clubhouse on a regular basis and we look forward to seeing him soon. Good luck Danny!

A week in the golfing life of Rod Armstrong

Rod's week started with the Sunday competition at Parklands in the Handicap Trophy and unfortunately he was nursing a back injury. However he managed a creditable 81-9=72 and a good start to his week.
A 4am start to Monday and a long drive to Oxfordshire and the Frilford Heath Golf Club where Rod was to compete in the final phases of the Volvo Matchplay Championships. Rod won through to this final by entering the matchplay singles and through the months of June to September winning a series of matches in true knock out fashion against competitors from Whitburn, Hobson, Alnmouth and Seaton Carew. Monday was practice round day and accompanied by his brother as caddy, he played 9 holes and walked the back 9. He was tired to say the least after his early start and long drive, but determined to 'give his all' on the day with the winners of this competition going to play in Portugal. As things worked out, it was not to be for Rod. Frilford Heath has 54 holes of Championship standard with the Red course at 6800 yards and lots of thick lush gorse just off the fairway waiting to swallow stray balls. As Rod said "you could see your ball but there was no way to reach it". A long drive back home and time to reflect on what might have been, but Rod confirmed that the experience of the day and the event was worth all the time and effort.
And then to Friday, and Rod attended the Hadrian Golf League Annual Dinner and Presentation Evening at the Assembly Rooms along with a few Men's Committee members including the Captain, Brian King and his Vice Captain Brian Rutherford. The main event of the evening for both Rod and the other Parklands reps was the award of the Challenge Cup Best Net Prize, won at Bedlingtonshire earlier in the season, which went to .... you guessed Rod Armstrong.
Well done Rod ... I hope you have enjoyed the week and well done for being such a great ambassador for Parklands Golf Club.

Scores on the Doors

I am sure that you will be pleased to know and reassured of what you already know, that Lynn and Cheryl have been awarded 4 stars by the visiting inspectors for their hygiene in the kitchens at Parklands. Their score is on the door for all to see. The Scores on the Doors scheme allows members of the public to see the results of the last food hygiene inspection in the form of the hygiene star rating. 4 stars means "very good" and a high standard of compliance with food and safety legislation. The only obstacle in obtaining the 5th and highest rating is the kitchen floor which has the wrong type of surface. So the message is .......... eat with confidence, but not off the floor! Well done ladies ... another bacon sandwich please!