The Committee, for want of a better description, has met and propose the following plan. If we were a democratic organisation we would offer these proposals for comment but we are not, so don’t waste your breath!
The plan is as follows:
The General Idea
The aim of the RMA GS is to play golf with mates.
The Society will be run as informally as possible but at the same time we must minimise any financial risk to individuals or reputational risk to the RM Brand. Accordingly we need to cover the basic functions and procedures using nominated people rather than simply sending emails around the group. To support this requirement we will be registered with the English Golf Union as a Golf Society.
The season for RMA GS golf will be Mar – Oct incl annually. Play can occur outside this period but the formal events will happen inside this in the better weather.
The original idea to link to the RMGA has not worked and though many will remain members of this, there will be no direct linkage to it. (The reason for this is that the insurance and financial benefits we hoped for were not forthcoming.)
Trial Period
The period from now until the end of Sep, following the RMA weekend, will act as a trial period. We will run everything as a GS until then and make a call as to whether it is working at that point. Thereafter we will formalize plans.
Charter
A Charter will be produced to lay down the rules.
Organisation
The ‘Committee’, who for ease of meetings are all South West based, will be:
Membership Rep – Graham Scarrott – role is to manage the membership database and annual subscriptions.
Events Rep – George Martin – role is to arrange the calendar and coordinate the events, using additional volunteer support.
Treasurer – Rick Hall – role is to manage the money (details tbc – possibly through a Pay Pal account, the RMA Central Office or CTCRM Central Bank). Outgoings will also be controlled through the treasurer, including insurance and English Golf Union membership.
Website Rep – Don Hayes – role is to keep the website up to date.
Note: One of the members should ideally be a member of a Golf Club and one member will act as Chairman, nominated by the others.
Membership
Membership is open to all RMA golfers. There is no minimum handicap required.
There will be a record of all members held on the website.
The Committee will be the arbiters of good taste in all matters concerning membership.
Events
There will be an event per month of the season. These will include the current events we attend and support. (RM Spring Champs (May), Exeter Charity Game (June), Hollington Memorial Match (July), RM Autumn Champs (Sept) and the RMA Weekend Match (Sept).)
We have made in-roads into the RN, RAF, RAF Regt, Para, Rifles, RE and RA Associations. There will be plenty of scope to organise another 3 from here for this year. George is on the case. If we can generate enough support, there is no reason to limit the events we organise.
We will also have a Society match annually piggy-backed onto one of the RM championships, where we can use the RMGA’s support.
Local Club
The RMA GS will use Tiverton Golf Club as its ‘home’ venue for this season. This will be reviewed at the end of the year.
Finances
The core financial model is to ‘pay and play’.
Insurance will be paid for centrally for RMA GS events.
Subscriptions will be charged annually at a rate of £25, payable on joining and thereafter as requested by the Membership Rep by 1 Mar each year. The subscriptions will under-write any financial risk and also provide prizes etc for the competitions.
A grant has been requested from Corps Funds and the RM Sports Association to cover the fixed annual expenses of insurance and English Golf Union membership.
Insurance
The Society will hold its own insurance to cover players on the Society matches (only).
Website
A website will be created at www.rmagolf.co.uk
The website will be linked through the RMA website but accessible directly also. The website will be hosted by Robin Hollington’s company and managed by Don Hayes locally. All Committee members will be able to update their own areas directly.
Additionally an email contact list will be maintained for communications via the membership area.
Handicaps
The RMA GS will not issue handicaps. Individuals should use their own club or the RMGA to earn a handicap. Or just lie as usual!
Golf Shirts
The Society will produce a shirt which members can buy on joining.
The membership rep will be responsible for coordinating the golf shirts, once the system is in place.
Logo
A logo will be produced for the shirts and wider use.
Calendar of Events
The current calendar of events is:
| Date | Event | Venue |
| 22/23 May 14 | RM Spring Champs | Launceston Golf Club |
| 12 Jun 14 | RMCTF Charity Event | Exeter Golf Club |
| 11 Jul 14 | Richard Hollington Memorial | East Horton Golf Club |
| Aug 14 | TBD | TBD |
| Sep 14 | RM Autumn Champs | TBD |
| 19 Sep 14 | RMA v RM | Stover Golf Club |
| Oct 14 | TBD | TBD |
