Could I suggest that the Golf Committee look again at the use of Buggies in competitions. Although not recommended by England Golf the use of Buggies in competitions in not banned.

We like many other established Golf Clubs have an ageing membership and restricting the use of Buggies in a Saturday or Thursday competition could be regarded as Ageist and favouring the younger members of the Golf Club.

We should want to encourage members to play as often as possible and that includes all competitions. I know members can obtain a Doctors certificate and use Buggies but this practice is outdated and has a stigma attached to it.
Progressive Clubs such as Prenton have taken over the supply of Buggies from the professional and have up to 12 Buggies available for members and Societies to use 7 days a week. Prenton offer members an annual rental contract covering 8 months of the year when buggies are useable ( Prenton is a far wetter course than Heswall)

This provision not only benefits members but creates significant revenue for the Golf Club from Societies.

Peter Rogers

Harry Kennedy

Dear Peter – hope you are well.

I write to reply to your email querying the use of buggies at HGC, and I apologise for the delay in doing so, but I wanted to ensure that the matter was fully considered by both the Golf Committee and Council.

The Local Rule prohibiting the use of buggies in competitions at HGC (except for registered disabled golfers and those with a medical certificate) is fully in line with general England Golf advice in respect of competitions and has been in place for a number of years. Because of the limited number of buggies that are available at Heswall, it would be unfair to allow just any member to use a buggy during a competition as this could preclude a member who really needs one for medical reasons from being able to do so.

The current Local Rule therefore allows those members in real need of a buggy to be able to book one.

We have also looked again at increasing the number of buggies at the club, including replicating the Prenton model, and, whilst it remains a live issue, it has been put on hold for the time being whilst we look more strategically at the club’s future development and operating priorities.

Thanks once again for taking the time to write in with your suggestion.

Kind regards,

Harry Kennedy

Chair of Golf