Dear Members

As I come to the end of the first year as secretary of the Old St. Beghians’ Golfing Society, I wish to thank you all for your continued support and valued contributions to the society.
Following my correspondence at the start of the year, I am pleased to say that over 50 people replied with the intention of remaining members of the society. We have made good progress with membership subscriptions in 2009, doubling our income from 2008. Whilst this is extremely good progress, we are still a little way from becoming self-financing, so if you have not yet done so, please ensure your standing order for £25 for your annual membership subscription is set-up.
Despite the good response, we still need more members as we look for the society to grow in strength and have a more progressive feel. One of my primary aims is to ensure the society can continue to be enjoyed by Old St. Beghian golfers in years and decades to come.
On a sad note, I am sorry to announce the death of Howard Delany earlier this summer. Howard was a stalwart member of the society, having represented the society in all team events over a number of years and was a member of the teams that reached the final of the Grafton Morrish in 1972. His exceptional company and golfing talents will be sadly missed.
As usual, we entered teams in the various national competitions. This year passes without any particular moments of mention on the competitive front. However, it must be said that our arrangements off the course at all of the events are first class and I hope reflected by the enjoyment had by all who attend the team events.
I think you will agree that one extremely positive development in 2009 was the Critchley Cup. On Sunday 12th of July I am delighted that we welcomed almost 30 Old St. Beghian golfers to Royal Liverpool Golf Club. The course provided a very good challenge and the weather was demanding but comfortable. Congratulations to John Currie, the winner of the Critchley Cup, on his magnificent round.
As we look forward to 2010, one of my personal challenges is to get non-team members more involved in the society. Speaking from my brief experience, I believe that you do not get a true feel for Old St. Beghian golf until you have spent the best part of a week together in the Kent countryside or a long weekend playing some tremendous golf around Edinburgh. It is a shame that so many Old St. Beghian golfers miss out on this type of experience, and I do hope that this is something we can address as we move forward.
I am delighted to say that golf seems to be making fantastic strides at the school with a number of pupils taking advantage of the facilities and the resident professional Stuart Hemmings. Thanks to Stuart’s excellent work, handicaps continue to fall and I’m sure the society will soon see the green shoots of his work.
As always, we would be very grateful to hear from any Old St. Beghian golfers who are interested in joining the society and playing on some of the UK’s best golf courses.
Finally, I look forward to seeing you in 2010.

James Doggett, OSBGS Hon. Secretary.
Tel: 07712 874 452 or Email: james.doggett@hotmail.co.uk