The much talked about renovation of our course began on schedule on Sunday January 22 under the supervision of PB Dye's representative, Ohio based golf course construction specialist Mike Davis. The first thing was to excavate the “old” 15th green so that Mike could start from scratch. Over the next 10 days Mother Nature had ideas of her own and work was hampered by rain, though every means was sought to minimize the time lost, like hiring portable lights so that work could take place at night. The first thing was to install the drainage, then spread the gravel blanket which is what you see in the picture below.

A special modification was made to the Smithco bunker rake bought for the project to enable Mike to have very delicate control over the spreading and contouring of the gravel. A probe was used to check all the depths and once the levels were right it was time to apply the “root zone”, that is the mixture of sand and peat moss. It is at this stage that the artistry of green shaping was evident as Mike moved around the sand, checking it periodically with the probe, to get the contours to his satisfaction. The entire green was then compacted. Also part of the rebuilding of the 15th was the total redesign of the approach to the green. No more are there two bunkers but one large inviting one. Back to the green. The root zone was fumigated when the shaping was complete and this process took 7 days after which the surface was sprigged with Bermuda tiff dwarf harvested from our own greens by verticutting them.
All that is left now is for the grass to establish itself and a special grow-in program of fertilization and irrigation at regular intervals is being followed to enable the green to be brought back into play in the shortest possible time.

New irrigation lines and heads have been installed around the green and these will be integrated into a new irrigation system next year. Also, hand in hand with the rebuilding of the green was the installation of gabion baskets below the 16th Tiger tee to stabilize that area.

Once Mike was finished shaping the 15th he turned his attention to the renovation of the 14th green. Initially the plan had been to tackle the 13th but given the proximity to work on the 15th it was decided to work on the 14th instead so that Mike could easily move back and forth between the two greens.

The first step on the 14th was to use a sod harvester which cuts sod in 30 inch strips and would result is less seams to be healed after the sod was re laid. It took two days to get the sod off with the sod being kept cool to the front left of the green. Both the removal and the replacing of the sod was a very labour intensive exercise and a lot was learnt which we will apply when we renovate the rest of the greens next year. It is important to note that each piece of sod was numbered so that it could be replaced in the order in which it was taken off. When the sod was removed the first step was to rototill the old root zone which was heavily compacted and needed a lot of breaking up. I have some chunky pieces in my office if any member would like to have a look! The entire surface was rototilled seven times until Mike was satisfied with the fluffiness of the material. The next stage was the introduction of fresh sand which was rototilled in until the material was satisfactorily homogenous.

Now remember that the reason for renovating our greens was to achieve two outcomes: 1.) to address the problem of compaction in the layer of bagasse which had become impermeable in all our greens and 2.) to reduce the severity of slope on the back nine greens where so much playing surface had been lost gradually over the past 10 to 15 years. Well, the rototiller addressed problem number one and Mike's shaping expertise addressed problem number 2. What he did on the 14th was to move around the rootzone until he got an acceptable, yet still interesting, putting surface. The outcome is one that we are very pleased with for no more will there be balls rolling off the 14th green with loud shouts to be heard cascading down the valley. For the first time in so long that we can't remember when this green is re-opened in the first week of March we will be able to set a pin on the front left of the green.


Once we were all satisfied with the shape of the green the surface was compacted and the sod re laid. This process was slow and painstaking as so much care was required to minimize the damage to the sod and to achieve the tightest possible seams. All in all the entire process took seven days and now it is watered four times a day, in addition to which there have been fertilizer applications and the green is well on its way to being back in play.

On January 7 we welcomed General Finance Corporation who committed to a 3 month sponsorship of the medal. The President thanked David O'Brien for their sponsorship and encouraged him to extend his commitment. He reminded those present that since mid 2005 the management had focused on lifting the standards of the medal to make it more appealing to the male members of the club. These efforts have already borne fruit. In 2005 the average medal had 70 entries and in February 2006 the entry had climbed to 119 medal participants.

	GFC's Tyrone Kowlessar presents neil Sheppard with his prize at the Medal
	David O'Brien speaking at the GFC Medal in january 2006

A brief History of General Finance Corporation

In 1971 General Finance Corporation Ltd began operations as part of the Neal & Massy Group of Companies. The Head office is located at 61-63 Edward Street; POS. GFC has a total asset base of $211,000,000 and an equity base of 40 million. The Senior Staff include: C.E.O. Vishnu Tiwari, Assistant General Manager, Tyrone Kowlessar and Credit Manager, Christian Rodriguez.  

The Major services GFC offers are:

1) Installment Loans
2) Fixed Deposits
3) US currency transfers (Money-gram)

1) Installment loans are offered to both companies and individuals. They are used for the purchase of new & used vehicles, new equipment, insurance premium financing, and other miscellaneous purposes.
There are various types of installment loans including:
Hire Purchase, Finance leases , Mortgage Bills of sale, Promissory notes, Demand loans.

2) Fixed deposits are offered for 1 & 2 year periods at competitive rates. Interest can be paid annually or semi annually.

The benefits of GFC are:

• No additional administrative, processing or legal fees on Hire Purchase, Leasing, and Premium Financing facilities
• Speedy credit decisions (within 24 hours in most cases)
• Customers need to provide a minimum of documentation
• Competitive rates on the lower end of the scale
• Personalized service with documents often taken to the customer at their work place. (For companies primarily)

With effect from January 1, 2006 the R&A and the USGA, golf's governing bodies, announced 111 changes to the book “Decisions on the Rules of Golf,” which is published every two years.  The 2006-2007 Decisions book includes 37 new Decisions and 66 revised Decisions, while eight Decisions have been withdrawn.


Each year The R&A and the USGA receive thousands of requests to clarify the Rules for on-course incidents that have occurred at all levels of the game, throughout the world.  With changes to the Rules of Golf established on a four-year rolling cycle, the ability to publish official interpretations of the Rules in the Decisions book every two years is helpful to the game. The book contains more than 1,200 individual Decisions, which are set out in question-and-answer format.  You can look up the Decisions on any Rule both at www.randa.org or at www.usga.org

Use of distance measuring devices  
In the 2006-2007 Decisions on the Rules of Golf Decision 14-3/0.5 enables a Committee to introduce a Local Rule permitting golfers to use a distance measuring device to obtain distance information during a round. Without such a Local Rule, the use of such a distance measuring device is a breach of Rule 14-3, the penalty for which is disqualification. 
The R&A is not advocating the introduction of a Local Rule permitting the use of distance measuring devices and is not introducing such a Local Rule for any of its own amateur championships or matches, or The Open Championship. It is for each individual Committee to decide whether it wants to allow the use of distance measuring devices for play on its course or in certain of its competitions. In the absence of a Local Rule, the use of such a device is contrary to the Rules of Golf. If the Committee wishes to introduce such a Local Rule, the following wording is recommended:

Distance-Measuring Devices:

[Specify as appropriate, e.g.: In this competition, or For all play at this course, etc.], a player may obtain distance information by using a device that measures distance only. However, if, during a stipulated round, a player uses a distance measuring device that is designed to gauge or measure other conditions that might affect his play (e.g., gradient, wind-speed, temperature, etc.), the player is in breach of Rule 14-3, for which the penalty is disqualification, regardless of whether any such additional functions are actually used.

It should be noted that any Local Rule, regardless of the wording, must prohibit the use of a distance measuring device that is capable of gauging or measuring other conditions that might affect play, even if such a function is not used.
The R&A does not endorse or approve any brand of distance-measuring device. Manufacturers are not permitted to use terms such as "R&A approved" or the like in any product advertising.

New Amateur Status Rules now in operation

R&A and USGA don't see eye to eye on Hole in One prizes

Revisions to the Rules of Amateur Status that provide amateur golfers with the opportunity to receive payment for giving golf instruction and reduce the waiting time of those who have breached the Rules and wish to return to amateur status, came into effect on January 1, 2006.

A new Instruction Rule provides that an amateur golfer may be paid for coaching golf as part of an approved programme. David Rickman, The R&A's Director of Rules and Equipment Standards, said: “I believe that this will greatly assist the worldwide development of the game by bringing coaching to remote areas where professional tuition is often not available."

Under the new Rules on reinstatement, the time amateur golfers in breach of the Rules have to wait before they regain their amateur status is reduced. The new guideline of 1-2 years brings these waiting periods in line with those for professional golfers returning to the amateur game.

These are the principal changes to The R&A's Rules of Amateur Status which, together with the Amateur Status Decisions book, have been significantly redrafted after a comprehensive, two-year review.

The R&A's affiliated unions from around the world played a full part in the review and The R&A liaised closely with the United States Golf Association throughout.

The two codes diverge on only one matter – hole-in-one prizes. In the new R&A Code acceptance of an excessive prize remains a breach of the Rules but carries a much reduced period awaiting reinstatement. The new USGA Code will allow amateur golfers to accept hole-in-one prizes of any value.

In next month's newsletter we will publish the guidelines relating to Hole in One Prizes.

Is your driver legal? 

Golfers throughout the world are being encouraged by The R&A to check the driver in their bag, and any driver they may buy in the future, in preparation for a rule change in 2008. The limit on the spring-like effect of driving clubs, which has applied to elite golf since 2003, will be a Rule of Golf and apply to all golfers from January 1, 2008.

This new rule will affect the conformance status of some drivers currently in use and in the marketplace.

The R&A has compiled a list of conforming driver heads and a further list of non-conforming drivers. Both can be accessed at http://www.randa.org in the Rules section.  Detailed guidance is provided on each list, including how to identify a club in question. Both lists are updated weekly.

There are also details of a new Condition of Competition which will be available for use by committees from January 1, 2006, requiring players to use a model of driver included on the list of conforming driver heads. While this condition is not recommended for use in normal club matches and competitions, it may be implemented at national level and in any qualifying events. Between January 1, 2006 and December 31, 2007 golfers should check the Conditions of Competition before playing in any such event, to be sure that their driver is permitted for use.

It is strongly recommended that each golfer should have his or her own individual public liability insurance. Although an accident is by nature not deliberate, the golfer who hits an errant shot is not absolved of responsibility. There is a level of risk which we all accept when we head out on to the golf course, and also a level of due care which we should each take. Depending on the circumstances the extent of responsibility can cause a golfer to be placed in a very precarious situation which is not adequately covered by the club's insurance. Please therefore make the necessary inquiries and protect yourself for 2006. You are also advised to also take out insurance for your golf clubs.

For further information on a golfer's insurance policy with includes public liability coverage up to $500,000 please contact Agostini Insurance Brokers at 623-0576 or United Insurance Company Limited at 628-8343.

General Finance Corporation
January Medal Results
Sat. 7th January 2006

Overall Medal Winners : Jamsheed Ali / J. De Meillac 68
Frontenac: Teddy Grell 71

1st Flight 0-9
Gross: Teddy Grell 71
Nett: Jean De Meillac 68

2nd Flight 10-16
Gross: Jamsheed Ali 79
Nett: Neil Sheppard 71

3d Flight 17+
Gross: Rikhi Permanand 91
Nett: Kenneth Mc Phail 72

Seniors Flight
Gross: Robert Grell 73
Nett: Ralph Chan 68

Closest to the Pin 5 th Hole: Richard Charles
Closest to the Pin 11 th Hole: Rikhi Permanand

General Finance Corporation
February Medal Results
Sat. 11th February 2006

Overall Medal Winners : Stephen Webster 65
Frontenac: Patrick Boocock 71  

1st Flight 0-10
Gross: Patrick Boocock 71
Nett: Jordan Stephens 67

2nd Flight 11-17
Gross: Michael Grell 80
Nett: Rikhi Permanand 68

3rd Flight 18+
Gross: Terrance Farrell 89
Nett: Kendall Aleong 70

Seniors Flight
Gross: Robert Grell 75
Nett: Boyer Jaggassar 68

Closest to the Pin 5 th Hole: Deryck Gonsalves
Closest to the Pin 11 th Hole: Michael Hackshaw

Winner of Last Medal Playoff: Jamsheed Ali