The Seniors
The Seniors section at Costessey Park is very active and busy throughout the year. At Costessey male members of the Club automatically become seniors when they reach the age of 55. (At some Clubs in the area the minimum age is 60). There are no formalities to complete or additional subscriptions to pay. Becoming a senior does not mean that a member's status as a member of CPGC changes, it just opens up a whole new world for the older male members of the Club.
At Costessey we are fortunate that the owners of the Club appreciate the contribution the senior's section makes to the overall picture. Consequently they actively support and encourage the section.
The organisation of the section is in the hands of an elected committee headed by the Seniors Captain for the year together with his Vice-Captain, immediate past Captain, Secretary, Treasurer, Competitions Secretary and one other member. An AGM is held each January when the officers report to the meeting and elections are held.
The seniors section has its own competitions and Club matches and most Clubs organise an annual "Open" competition. These events take place on weekdays leaving seniors the opportunity to continue to participate in Club competitions and functions at the weekends as usual. At Costessey, over 40 inter-club matches are arranged with other clubs on a home and away basis and although these are played in a competitive manner, the main aim is to enjoy a social round of golf with other like minded golfers from other clubs. In 2007, 50 members played in one or more of 42 matches. If the aim had been to win as many matches as possible, then teams would have had to have been selected and consequently fewer members would have played.
Each year, the captain and his committee organise two days when officers of the seniors section of the clubs played in inter-club matches are invited to Costessey Park to compete for trophies and to enjoy some hospitality and comradeship. The first is the sections own "Costessey Cup" when captains and vice-captains are invited to play for the "Cup" as an appreciation of the work they all do to make inter-Club matches possible. Later in the year, the "Ambassador Cup" is also organised when teams of four, to consist of officers of the clubs seniors sections, are invited to play as a team, in appreciation of the work they do to assist their captains.
There are two senior county team competitions in which the club participates, The Barnard Cup and the Hodds Salver. The team for the "Barnard Cup" is selected from all available senior members whilst the team for the "Hodds Salver" is selected only from those that have not appeared in any of the County team competitions but have played in the social inter-club matches.
Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning, a number of seniors meet to play a morning swindle. To take part, members must be in the starter's hut by 8.20 am when the draw takes place prior to the first group going off at 8.30. This is an excellent chance for new members to meet other members and be introduced to the seniors section. There is of course no compulsion for senior members to take part in any senior activities at all if they do not wish to do so. However, senior golf is a great way to spend your leisure time, and it offers great rewards of companionship in friendly company.
Ambassador Cup
This is a trophy which has been presented to the club as a memory to Jack Collier, a recently departed popular senior member. Each year, clubs from the whole of Norfolk are invited to send a team of seniors to CPGC to compete for this wonderful trophy. The teams consist of the captain, vice-captain, secretary and treasurer of each club's senior section, i.e. those members who help to run the senior section of each club.
This year, Costessey Park's own senior section were victorious. The photograph shows Doug Whalebelly, our senior captain, proudly holding the trophy together with Brian Burke (vice-captain), Jimmy Hughes (secretary) and Keith Edwards (treasurer). Congratulations to all of you.
Costessey Has it's Very Own D Day
The 'D' on this day stands for 'Doug Whalebelly' who said a big thank you to all of his seniors who have supported him throughout his year in club matches. Once the competition was over some of the seniors wives joined the party for a two course luncheon in the clubhouse. Fortunately, the weather was fine and there was a pleasant Autumnal feel to it as the lads set out to their various tees for a shotgun start. Doug had provided many prizes. As well as the overall winner, there were many spot prizes for nearest the pin, longest drive, nearest on the second shot and he gave it all an amusing twist by supplying a few wooden spoon prizes as well. Better than that, all the prizes were presented to the wives! Many thanks to Doug for a good day and a successful year. He finished the day by wishing his successor -Brian Burke - the very best of luck and good wishes for next season.