Denbighshire Golfing Union
Minutes of the Council Meeting
19th March 2025 - Denbigh GC
The Chairman opened the meeting by acknowledging the recent loss of Tony Brunyee, who had provided considerable technical support to the DGU, and who will be missed by both the DGU and Wrexham GC. Andy Rainford was welcomed as incoming County Secretary and recognising the work done by the previous secretary John Hatcher.
1. Apologies were received from: Reg Peacock (Treasurer), Howard Farell from Abergele, Gerald Parry from Denbigh, Arwel Williams from Old Colwyn, Rob Parkes and Daryl Oehme from Plassey, Paul Wallace-Jones and Patrick McHugh from Clays, John Williams from Ruthin PG, Shaun Benson from Wrexham.
2. Attendance register was recorded as: (DGU) Chris Parry (Captain), Peter Evans (Vice Captain), Jonathan Tym (President), Gareth Roberts (IPC), Arthur Jones (Scratch), Martin Jones (Senior Scratch), Wayne Harris (Competitions), Andy Brown (Jubiliee Plate), Andy Rainford (Secretary and (Clubs) Mel Jones (Abergele), Don Walmsley Eric Howells and Dilwyn Roberts (Denbigh), Dave Evans & Jonny Rogers (Moss), Brian Willett (Old Colwyn), Dave Brayshaw (Plassey), John Lewis (Ruthin PG), Wyn Jones (VLGC).
3. Minutes of last meeting 18th September 2024 were agreed (proposed by County President, seconded by County Captain).
4. Matters arising from minutes not identified within the Agenda: None.
5. Financial Update: The President provided a verbal update from Treasurer Reg Peacock:
Transactions since the AGM
A £650 grant has been awarded to Plassey.
£430 has been paid out for vouchers issued last year that have since been redeemed.
£118 paid for championship trophies/medals awarded at AGM.
Almost £26 bank interest received.
Affiliation Fees
Invoices about to be issued to all clubs requesting payment of the £3 affiliation fee per adult male member whose Wales Golf affiliation fee is paid through that. This is our main source of income and last year amounted to just over £6,185 after deducting the NWCGA payment.
Scratch, Junior and Senior Teams
Nothing to report.
Bank Balance and Projection
The current bank balance amounts to just over £7,038 and, based on previous years, I currently see no reason why income and expenditure should not broadly balance at the next AGM.
6. Team Manager/Organiser reports
SCRATCH TEAM REPORT
Arthur Jones provided a short report.
The first match of the season is against Caernarfonshire at Conwy GC on 11 May 2025. The first tee time is 9.42 am. One buggy is booked for officials and food is booked for eight people am and pm.
The second match is against Flintshire at Denbigh GC on 1 June 2025. The first tee is 9.00 am. One buggy is booked for officials and food is booked for eight people am and pm.
The third match is against Anglesey at Abergele GC on 13 July 2025. The first tee is 9.40 am. Food is booked for eight people am and pm.
The NW Intercounty Championship is booked at Rhuddlan GC on 23 August 2025.
The season will conclude with Denbighshire hosting the Welsh Intercounty team championship at Vale of Llangollen GC on September 20th and 21st 2025.
Arthur also raised the issue that there is frustration in trying to book venues for matches owing to a lack of available dates. It was suggested that the fixtures could be allocated to clubs on a rotating basis which might allow fixtures to be agreed earlier. The President will raise the matter at the next NWC meeting.
SENIOR SCRATCH TEAM REPORT
Martin Jones provided a short report.
The DGU Scratch Senior Team travelled down to Swansea Bay GC for the Welsh Team Championships Sept 7th - 9th 2024.
Unfortunately, the South Wales Counties, who all played in the morning, avoided the heavy rain which we endured all afternoon on the first day, leaving Glamorganshire well ahead of the field, which was difficult to pull back on the second round.
Denbighshire were second behind Caernarvonshire in the North Wales Counties.
The following week we entertained Brecon & Radnorshire @ VLGC where we fought out a hard-earned draw.
This left the final match against Flintshire @ Wrexham GC on 10th October to be contested after a 5-5 drawn result at Mold GC earlier in August.
Denbighshire Seniors did not disappoint with a grand 9-3 winning margin, securing the Miners Trophy again with a 14-8 aggregate win.
Our 2025 fixtures are on the DGU website with the highlight being the Welsh Senior Team Championships held at Abergele GC in early September.
JUBILEE PLATE
Andy Brown provided a short report.
Entry forms for this season have been sent to clubs, with some already returned. The closing date is 30th March 2025. There will be a preliminary round if there are more than 64 entries.
The trophy is currently having the winners engraved on the rear. Andy raised the question of whether it would be worth looking for a sponsor for a new trophy. The President replied that it had been agreed that there would be funds allocated for new trophies at the AGM.
7. Decision regarding June Council meeting
The president proposed that the June Council meeting be replaced by an online update. The proposal was seconded by the Captain and passed by a unanimous show of hands.
8. Date of the next meeting
The date of the next meeting will be 17th September 2025 at Denbigh GC.
9. Any other business
WH Team Championships – host club for FGU qualifier
The County President raised the issue of the need to find a host club for Flintshire’s qualifier in the Welsh Handicap team championships. He has approached Denbigh GC as a possibility. Don Walmsley (DGC rep) will raise the matter with the club professional to see if a suitable date can be agreed.
Organisation website
The County President also noted that following Tony Brunyee’s passing, there is no one with full access to the back end of the DGU website, i.e. no new material can be uploaded or content changed. The current licence agreement is set to run out in December 2025.
The Jubilee Plate Organiser mentioned that this might cause issues with updating the results for the Jubilee Plate on an ongoing basis, but that this was delegated to an associate, and he would raise the issue with her.
He suggested that the current website could be cloned onto a new site with a different domain, e.g. denbighshiregolf.co.uk, and requested comments on this.
The Senior Scratch manager commented that it should be possible to have the access to the existing site transferred rather than starting a new site. It was acknowledged that this may require access to Tony’s personal effects, e.g. laptop etc, or by requesting a copy of the death certificate from Tony’s widow (Janet). The County President agreed to discuss this with her, but that to do so at the present time would be insensitive.
INTER-CLUB MATCHES
It was requested that details of dates for the league fixtures be sent to Dave Griffiths (Marketing Manager).
JUNIORS
The Senior Scratch Manager asked whether the DGU has a policy in place to ensure junior golfers in the county have access to the Learning Pathway. The County President responded that the decision had been made not to have a policy at county level due to the significant legal implications regarding safeguarding requirements etc. and that the DGU currently doesn’t have the resources to ensure these could be met, kept up to date, etc. It was acknowledged as an unfortunate solution, but the most practical one in the circumstances.
EISTEDDFOD OPEN COMPETITION
The Senior Scratch Manager announced that Wrexham GC is hosting the Eisteddfod Golf Day on 6 August 2025, and that there will be an open competition on that date. Entry can be made via the club website.
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