96 ladies welcome their new captain on Zoom; Golf club permanently closes after 60 years; Another course vandalised during the lockdown

Alistair Dunsmuir
By Alistair Dunsmuir April 6, 2020 11:50

A golf club in Manchester has welcomed its new ladies’ captain via modern technology, as more than 90 female members surprised her by appearing on a video conferencing app at the same time.

Lymm Golf Club’s members ensured Lottie Makin was not denied her first celebration of the year.

The outgoing lady captain, Liz Lyons, undertook to get 90 lady members signed up to Zoom, and organised an online, on-screen meeting for her first evening as captain.

With the help of Lottie’s husband Clive, they all managed to keep it a secret from Lottie but made sure she was in the right place at the right time. At 7.45pm on April 2, they were all on screen to watch Lottie come online.

Image from Twitter

They took a short break at 8pm to join in the national applause in support of the NHS.

Tradition had dictated that Lottie was due to ‘drive In’ on April 2, followed by a fourball ladies’ team event with a shotgun start.

Meanwhile, Camperdown Golf Course in Dundee has officially closed after 60 years of operation.

Councillors took the decision to close the course to save hundreds of thousands of pounds a year before the pandemic, but attempts in March to save the venue are believed to have been thwarted by coronavirus. In addition, the venue was due to survive until the end of April, but this was brought forward due to the Covid-19 lockdown.

The council has taken in the tee pegs, removed the flags and filled in the holes on the greens of the municipal facility.
Ian McAlindon, Camperdown Golf Club captain, told The Courier: “I think this decision will come back to haunt them in the coming years. It’s the end of an era.

“It’s a very sad day for Camperdown’s members, the people of Dundee and golf membership holders.

“I feel for the green staff who have transformed the course over the last three years back to its championship best and have been rewarded for all their hard work by being shown the door.

“This decision was taken despite an eight per cent increase over the last few years on rounds played at Camperdown.

“So many people have been thrown on the scrapheap despite supporting the course religiously for decades.

“We went ahead and celebrated the 60th anniversary of our club last month and many broke down in tears.

“We rallied together and came so close to saving the course. The committee, members and green-staff can hold our heads up high in this travesty.”

Another golf club has reported that it has been attacked by vandals during the lockdown.

Via Facebook

According to Bunkered, Nairn Golf Club in Scotland has revealed that three separate fires were started on gorse and trees on the course, whilst attempts were made to set light to a shelter next to the 14th hole.
Lighters and wine bottles were recovered from the scene.

In a statement on social media, club officials hit out at the attack.

“These are clearly disgraceful acts and these individuals should not be gathering due to the government regulations,” said a club official. “We can’t identify nor confirm the age group of the perpetrators but regardless these wilful acts of destruction will not be tolerated.

“We ask if you are taking your daily exercise over the course in the early evening and notice any evidence of this behaviour if you can take a photo and report to the police.. Please do not approach the individuals and challenge them.

“These are challenging enough times without this unacceptable behaviour from a minority who clearly have a total disregard for other people’s property and the laws of our land.”

Last week, Oldmeldrum GC in Scotland reported that vandals had driven across parts of its course.

And Golf.com has reported that the mayor of Brampton in Canada has said anyone caught playing golf on a public course during the lockdown will face a fine of up to £57,000 (100,000 Canadian dollars).

 

Alistair Dunsmuir
By Alistair Dunsmuir April 6, 2020 11:50
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