Mid Winter thoughts from Captain Tony Ball

It is January 5th and there is 8 inches of snow on the ground, so I have decided not to go to work but to stay at home and watch the cricket from Cape Town, South Africa where it is blue skies and temperatures just about to reach 40 degrees C.

Apart from the lack of golf since before Christmas, I must say how much I have enjoyed my year to date, which is in no small part down to the support I have received from the Council, the Staff and you the Club Members.

I really looked forward to playing with as many members as possible and managed to achieve this, with most pleasant company on and off the Course.

I would like to congratulate all the winners, especially Ismael Mury for winning The Captains Prize. The weekend was one of the many outstanding memories that will stay with me. Also a big thank you to all the members who turned up to Prize Presentations on Fridays evenings, your support was greatly appreciated by myself and the Prize Winners.

The Men’s Dinner and Prize Presentation was very well supported with great banter between the Winners and the Losers - The Winners won the battle led by our resident stand -up comedian Roger Sallabank.

The Socials this year have been excellent and well attended, my favorite being the August Bank Holiday Family Fun Day’ where the Club was able to entertain Members, their children and also grandchildren. This was closely followed by ‘The Family Christmas Lunch’ which was celebrated with snow on the ground and children having snowball fights on the putting green. Involving families in the Golf Club Calendar is most important to the future of our Club and I thank Howard and Christine for all their help and enthusiasm.

The Club is looking to the future purchasing an on-line booking system which should be up and running by the start of the golf season. This is a step forward in realizing the spare times available on the course, this will allow us to market these times and turn them into much needed revenue.

I am sure you would like me to thank all the staff, on the course and in the Clubhouse, for all their help during the year and doing their best to make Sale Golf Club a club to be proud of.

I thank you all for the respect you have shown me during my Captaincy and wish you all a Happy and prosperous New Year.

Tony Ball
Captain Sale Golf Club