MENS SECTION

Dear Members,

In case you don’t already know me, I have been a member of Nene Park for the last 8 years and I am proud to be the new Club Captain of an exceptionally friendly, inclusive and welcoming club.

First of all, I would like to welcome Karen Hiles as the Ladies Captain and Brian Robinson as the Seniors Captain. I look forward to working with both of you over the coming 12 months, growing our club together, across all divisions.

I still remember my first introduction to the club. Back in 2014, I had only been playing golf regularly for a few months with friends. Nigel Alban was captain at the time, and I remember how friendly and welcoming he was, and he suggested I entered one of the 9 hole fun evenings as I was new to the club and it would help me meet fellow members. Nigel welcomed me that evening and introduced me to one of my scramble teammates who was Chris Naylor. Like Nigel, Chris made me feel very welcome (although he did get slightly annoyed with me on the 2nd hole). Chris helped me over the following weeks in not only introducing me to other members, but in getting my cards completed for my first handicap.

I would like to thank the outgoing Club Captain Nigel Richards for all the hard work he has put in over the last 12 months. I did not know Nigel that well when I became his Vice this time last year, but over the last 12 months I have seen the amount of work that he has put in behind the scenes. Along with getting to know him personally, I am proud to have been his Vice-Captain.

Over the past few years, we have seen some positive development of the courses, along with how we do things as a club. Without the hard work of the Management and Golf committees along with Simon and his green keeping staff, none of these would have happened. The work on the 17th and 5th bunkers at Thorpe Wood, the practice net at Orton Meadows along with the recent work on the greens are all great improvements to the courses. The introduction of the Club V1 system, cashless competition entries and the sheer volume of club competitions would not be possible without the Handicap & Competition Secretaries.

As a committee, I am also pleased to be able to tell you that we have sourced a new club clothing supplier for this year that will be able to supply us with the same designs each year. These will be available to purchase from our new club website https://neneparkgolfclub.com/ where you can also enter our club Opens.

This coming year we have more club matches planned than previous years. As a club we have 7 Mens’ friendly matches planned, as well as entering the CAGU Greensomes League for the first time plus we now have Thorpe and Orton teams in both the Derek Burridge Challenge and Jock Stewart Memorial Trophy. As a regular over the past 6 years in club matches, both friendlies and inter-club competitions, I have been honoured to represent my club and this year I hope to see many more members putting themselves forward. If you would like to put yourself forward for any of our men’s club matches, they can be found on the Club V1 app under Club Teams. In addition, we also have several Ladies, Seniors and Mixed matches planned, so please speak to myself, Karen or Brian regarding these if you are interested in representing our club. Friendly matches are exactly what they say on the tin – Friendly !

My Captain’s charity this year will be Headway Cambridgeshire. Headway is a charity that is close to my family’s heart as they have supported my mother in-law for over 10 years following her brain tumour. Headway works to improve life after brain injury by providing vital support and information services.

My Vice Captain for the year is Allan Young, I have known Allan for around 20 years and his dedication to the club and to golf will be a huge asset.

Finally, I hope that everyone enjoys their golf for the next 12 months and if there is anything that I can help you with please do not hesitate to get in touch with me.

Regards

Ben Ferguson

Club Captain