1st December, 2022
THOUGHTS FROM AN OUTGOING CAPTAIN
Dear Fellow Lucifer
2022
As we come to the end of our Centenary Year it is time to reflect on what has been a memorable year for the Lucifers.
The Society finances are in very good shape and, in spite of my efforts, we actually underspent the budget for the Centenary celebrations. The Committee has decided that, in view of the considerable rise in charges to Societies from all Golf Clubs, we will in future subsidize the cost of the Spring, Summer and Autumn Meetings to the sum of £40 per member. I hope that this will encourage greater participation by members in these highly enjoyable events.
The Lucifer golfing season following the Commonwealth Meeting was remarkable for many things, but none more so than the weather which was the best that I can ever remember. As the fairways got harder the courses became shorter and our drives went so far that we all started to believe that we really had found the magic swing.
Since I last wrote to you we have played matches against The Seniors, The XL Club, The Elders, Walton Heath and Rye golf clubs; all the matches were needless to say great fun for all concerned. The results of all our matches can be found on the Results page on the Lucifer website.
The success of our programme of matches is entirely due to the efforts of our Match Managers who run these days. Putting ones name down for a match in good time is a great help to the Match Manager.
During the second half of the year we had three meetings; the Summer Meeting at a very brown New Zealand, the Autumn Meeting at Royal Birkdale, Formby and Hillside; the day at Hillside was unscheduled but when we were rained off at Formby Ladies Nigel Turner persuaded Hillside to let us play there instead, a very good decision as it turned out.
The final meeting of the year was the Guests and Family day at Hankley Common, when the fog cleared we played in shirt sleeves on a course in excellent condition and had pre-lunch drinks on the terrace, a fitting finale to our golfing year.
These meetings were greatly enjoyed by all who took part and the results are available for everyone to see in the Results section of the website.
The final Event of the year was the Members and Guests Dinner at Boodles, this proved to be a happy way to round off the year.
The Lucifers could not function without the work of our four executives who not only have to contend with an inexperienced Captain but also over 100 busy members who may, or may not, read their emails or visit the website.
The Scribe, the Treasurer, the Match Scribe and the Commonwealth Scribe are the heart of the Society and we should all do everything that we can to make their lives as easy as possible. At the end of this year the Match Scribe and the Commonwealth Scribe are both retiring and we owe many thanks to Jeff Turner and Chris Bonsall for all that they have done for the Society, especially in this unusually busy year.
Our new Match Scribe is Paul Richards and Mike Bourne is the new Commonwealth Scribe. For the last few years Jeff Turner has been filling in as keeper of the trophies and now Derek Scott has taken on that role, complete with polish and dusters.
Please make the lives of your office holders as easy as possible by making regular use of the website.
2023
At the November Dinner I handed over the Captaincy to Mark Dumas who will hit the ground running leading a very large touring party to Australia for three weeks, starting on 27th January. To organize these tours takes a great deal of time and effort, to do it three years running, as David Pettman and Chris Bonsall have had to do, is above and beyond the call of duty. Many thanks to them for setting up a tour that I know will be an outstanding success.
The Commonwealth Tournament 2023 is on 3rd and 4th July with the Savoy Dinner on Wednesday 5th July. This year we should all be able to play in the Tournament as usual because we will almost certainly have fewer entries from overseas than we had in 2022. Please note these dates in your diary as the Commonwealth Tournament is the cornerstone of the Lucifer year.
The Commonwealth Meeting is not just about the Tournament, it is an opportunity for individual Lucifers to entertain our overseas guests both at their local golf club and at their home. For many years the Pettmans and others have been very generous with their time in looking after our competitors, I feel that it is time that the rest of us did more to make our visitors feel included in the Lucifer family.
Our next get together will be on 21st March 2023 at the Turf Club for the Members only dinner and I look forward to seeing you there, and hearing from Captain Mark Dumas about the highlights, and hopefully a few lowlights, of the Australian Tour.
Sadly I have to report the demise of four members during the Summer months; Richard Blake, past Captain and Treasurer, Michael Wauchope, Robin Ord-Smith, and Bill Yates, we send our deepest sympathy to their families and hope that they will keep in touch with the Society.
In conclusion I would like to say what privilege it has been for me to serve as your Captain in our Centenary Year, the support and encouragement that Rosie and I have received has been quite amazing.
We wish you everything that you wish yourself for the festive season and for 2023.
Over and out,
Bertie.
