Membership opportunities offering immediate weekend golf are currently available at Porters Park.

Following the re-allocation of membership categories as decided at December’s AGM, the club now has vacancies for new members in the restricted 7-day category. Application forms can be obtained from Secretary/Manager Peter Marshall.

Would-be lady golfers of all abilities are invited to “an introduction to golf” to be held at Porters Park at 2pm on Saturday, 6 May. PGA professionals will be on hand, together with existing lady members who will be happy to encourage and help.

For further information please contact Gerri Warnes on 01727 866612.

Chair of Junior Golf Gerri Warnes is to hold a welcome session for boys and girls aged 5-10 years who feel they would like to take up the game and perhaps join the club.  The date is Sunday, 30 April, the time 11am , and the venue the practice ground beyond the 9th tee.

Those interested should get in touch with Gerri on 01727-866612, or ring the pro shop on 01923 854366 well in advance. No need to worry about finding clubs and balls – these will be supplied. 

There must be many members of Porters Park whose golfing attributes are, to a degree, hidden under a bushel. One is surely Rosemary Watters, Captain of the ladies’ section in 1983.

Rosemary’s name is well displayed on the honours boards in the lounge as Ladies Champion on no fewer than 12 occasions between 1979 and 1999 – a club record equalled only by Pam Lane between 1953 and 1971.

Less well known perhaps, particularly among the newer members of the club, are her golfing achievements away from Porters Park .

Rosemary represented England at the senior level in 1990, winning the European Senior Team Championships. She was manager of the English team for the Home Internationals in 1992/3, and again in 1995 for the Spanish Championships and the European Team Championship. She competed in the USGA Seniors Championship in Scotsdale , Arizona , in 1999; and in 2003 she captained the victorious English Seniors team against Ireland .

Rosemary has played in all British Seniors Championships since 1989, winning the over-60s and over-65s age group prizes. She is now aiming for the over-70s!

This year’s fixtures will be very much a repeat of last year’s, with a total of 22 matches including, for the first time, Brickendon Grange and Batchworth Park, writes Roger Morgan.

Details will be well publicised, and availability sheets will be posted on the dedicated notice board in the men’s locker room.

Matches will be captained by seven different members. Altogether 55 different members played in two or more matches last year. This year it is hoped to attract even more.

A reminder to those who would like to join us: the matches are home and away, 12 a side, four-ball better-ball, with a 2.30pm start. The dinner that follows is the only cost incurred. The fixtures provide green-fee free golf at our major neighbouring clubs and the chance to act as host at Porters Park .

I look forward to your support during the season, not least because each of the captains has guaranteed good weather.

The lists to sign are already up in the Palm Court for the first two matches and the others will be displayed about four weeks before the match.

Each team consists of ten pairs. We are always looking for new faces in the squad, especially gentlemen, so don’t hesitate to join us if you’d like to play. Typically, the matches start at 1.30pm and are always followed by dinner.

The Captain is pleased to welcome the following new members to the club: Michael Dawson, Colin Murray, Lincoln Small, Craig Hutson and Phillip Korn.

Porters Park member Peter Horden is set to try to achieve his lifetime ambition of walking from Land’s End to John O’Groats.  The walk – over 1,000 miles -  will take him to a point between Bristol and Bath, then onto the Cotswold Way, the Severn Way, and then via canal towpaths to Macclesfield. Next comes the Pennine Way to southern Scotland and the Forth Road Bridge . From there he will head north through the Cairngorms and Inverness to the top end of Scotland before turning right to John O’Groats. to southern Scotland and the Forth Road Bridge . From there he will head north through the Cairngorms and Inverness to the top end of Scotland before turning right to John O’Groats.

Peter will walk alone with his tent but will see his wife Barbara from time to time when she delivers supplies. His aim is to raise money for Breakthrough Breast Cancer, the pre-eminent breast cancer charity in the UK which is dedicated to the elimination of this dreadful disease through research and education.

He is hoping for the generous support of Porters Park members. Just 1p a mile would raise £10; 2p would raise £20, but any donation would be gratefully received.

Sponsorship forms can be collected from the Palm Court , where there is also a box for cheques. Alternatively, donations can be sent to Peter at 2 The Rose Walk, Radlett , WD7 7JS . He can be contacted direct on 01923 857194 or at pah.bah@ukgateway.net

To prevent a repeat of last year’s congestion on the course on Good Friday, the committee have decided to hold a four-ball better-ball competition this year.

The competition will be open to all playing members (men and ladies) with a shotgun start at 8.15am . Entries should be made on the start sheet posted in the clubhouse.

A new concrete base for the water tank has been constructed. Autoflow will arrive shortly to build a tank that will give a larger watering capacity to supply the new sprinklers which will be installed shortly on the bunker banks and eventually the fairways. These will all be controlled from our new computerised watering system. The greens will be fertilised with spring starter in the next two weeks, dependent on the weather. Once growth is underway, this will be followed by a heavy top-dressing and over-seeding. Tees and aprons will also receive a top-dressing at this time.

Kestrel Golf and Turf are returning early April to remove the wood edging from all new bunkers. The sand will then be pushed up the edges and compacted. It is expected that all bunkers will be back in play by the end of April.

Early April will see all the fairways verti-cut, after which the artisan section will start the summer divoting. All main tees will be back in play from the March medal.

A reminder to all players to fill in their divots with the soil/seed mixture provided in the boxes on the par 3s.

Once warmer weather arrives staff will be restoring outdoor furniture with teak oil. This will mean seating will be unavailable on the patio till dry. Notices will be posted to advise members accordingly.

In a new departure in the social scene, about 100 members and guests were hugely entertained by golfing film / TV actors John Peters, George Asprey, Sion Tudor Owen and Walter McMonagle performing as The Foreballs.

Described by the Independent on Sunday as providing an hilarious send-up of the game of golf and its characters, their repertoire lived up to its billing. It included a unique rendition from Evita – ‘Don’t take a wood, Ballesteros’ - and ‘A fade, a fade, my kingdom for a fade’ by way of a variation on Shakespeare. Fun was also poked at club personalities such as the Captain, Vice-captain, and Chair of Junior Golf Gerri Warnes.

Future events include a fish supper on Good Friday, April 14, and a celebration of St George’s Day on April 21. Book early to avoid disappointment.

Steve McAllister who won the March stableford with 37pts on a countback from  Shaun Reddin

John Cole who won the March midweek stableford with 36pts

Julie Talbot who won the Copley Cup running stableford with 52pts, 3pts better than second-placed Averil Mackett

Pam Cohen, Jenny Gelson, Christina Lye and Mary Williams who won the team stableford (two scores to count) with 84pts

The ladies Mail on Sunday team who beat Aldwickbury 5-0

Rory Suttie who won the March junior stableford with 48pts

A new publication is to be published in support of Tee Times. A Porters Park Special will be issued when space for large notifications is not available.