The main playing activities at all golf clubs are almost invariably the “serious” competitions for men on Saturdays and an assigned day for ladies, which latter may be during the week or on the weekend. Most clubs however also operate less formal competitions during the week. At Tai Tapu Golf, this latter is the Mid-Week Group, formerly known as the Wednesday Group. An attempt has been made here to outline the history of the Mid-Week Group but although it has been an interesting exercise it was also somewhat frustrating because records of its early years have been sparse. Every effort has been made to ensure that the following is an accurate and unbiased account and it doesn’t necessarily reflect the views of the Club’s Management Committee. However, corrections, additions and suggestions for improvement will be warmly received. Please use this website’s “contact us” menu item for that.

In the Beginning

Initially there was a strong connexion with the Hoon Hay Working Men’s Club of which a golf section had been formed in 1966. In that year the first Hoon Hay Golf Section tournament was held at Tai Tapu. The winner was Dick Dunn who benefited from his opponent and then event leader, Neville Herron, having taken a disastrous 5 putts on Hole # 16, Cottage. Following their enjoyable experiences in that tournament (notwithstanding Neville’s disastrous putting) Dick Dunn and Neville Herron started meeting at Tai Tapu Golf Club each Wednesday at 1 p.m. After their game of golf they repaired to the Hoon Hay Club for “refreshments”. The Tai Tapu Golf Club at that time did not have the clubhouse open during the week.

[As an aside it is mentioned that in Christchurch at that time there were a number of Working Men’s Clubs which were receiving strong support and seemingly, a secure future. The Hoon Hay Club was then one of smallest and newest (opened 1965) of them. All the Clubs had golf and many other sporting sections. Despite a 1000-strong membership, the Hoon Hay Club later ran into terminal financial difficulties. There was initial interest from members in saving it, but the Hoon Hay Club finally closed in 2006.]

Thus the founders of what became the Wednesday Group were:

Oddly enough there was yet another small group of Hoon Hay members who were also Tai Tapu Golf members, but quite independent of the Wednesday Group. They played on Wednesdays and were led by Robert McGinley with Neville Collender, Murray Clephane and others, although never more than about two or three fours. However they played at a number of golf courses and were not therefore Wednesday regulars at Tai Tapu. When at Tai Tapu they teed-off earlier in the mornings and completed their rounds before the Wednesday Group itself started. That group appeared to have ceased its activities from about 1997. There were yet other regulars at Tai Tapu Golf at the same time but they did not coalesce with any other e.g. Maurice Burke (later Hon Life Member of the Club) who had a contracting business based on a gravel pit at Halswell quarry, and also Bill Burgess.

Organising Fours and Managing Match Fees.

The small group of players who formed the nucleus of what was to become the Wednesday Group played according to simple unwritten rules, much as a four might play today in a haggle. Even as the Group began to expand, there seemed no necessity to set-up formal rules. Players put in something like 2 shillings towards a prize pool. [Decimal currency in New Zealand replaced the pounds, shillings pence currency on 10 July 1967 but the match fee was still only 20¢. Because of the long-term inflation of currencies the 20 cents match fee in 10 July 1967 would be equivalent to about $3.30 around 2013. By 1995 the match fee was actually $2.00, then $3.00 in about 2010 and $4.00 in 2013.]

The nucleus Wednesday Group had the informal policy of distributing the whole prize pool to the winning players of the day. It has to be understood that none of that nucleus could have imagined that it would not only be extant years later but also to have grown to its present size and status. Therefore saving some of the match fees for administrative purposes was not seen as relevant. However, as the Group grew in numbers, putting aside some of the match fee pool for a later use, such as an end-of-season dinner or similar, seemed not unreasonable. Unfortunately the first step in that direction caused some dissension as the then organiser Mel Laurie proposed that all the match fees be put aside for such purpose and the only “prize” was that winners on the day simply had their fees returned.

Official Tai Tapu Golf Club Mid-week Tournaments

While the Wednesday Group was still developing as an informal group, independent of the Club’s administration, the Club itself, in April 1978 made two attempts at a Mid-week tournament. It is interesting to speculate as to why, and indeed why choose a Wednesday? According to the minutes of the Club Committee in the period, the first Wednesday tournament attracted only 15 entries and probably was not proceeded with. The second was more successful with 40 starters. The following month, May 1978, had 31 starters and the Club decided to advertise more widely around golf clubs. But in June 1978 the Mid-week tournament was left in abeyance for the remainder of that year. In 1979, mid-week tournaments were run satisfactorily in May and August. There was a further mid-week tournament in February 1980. Minutes of the Tai Tapu main club committee noted that a mid-week tournament held March 1982, was “well attended”. In May 1982 there was a Club committee discussion on the subject. The minute of that meeting simply, but inadequately, stated “Discussion on mid-week tournament”. Presumably it was unfavourable as no more Wednesday open tournaments were recorded. Having official Club tournaments during the week had the draw-back that club officials would have to attend and that would be difficult for those in employment. There may have been another reason for the Club holding tournaments on Wednesdays and that will be considered in another item.

Membership of the Wednesday Group

From 2011 the Wednesday Group became the Mid-Week Group. Members are either Mid-Week members of the Club or Full members. There is neither formality in becoming a member of the Mid-Week Group nor any subscription. The list of members is really just a list of players who turn up and is used purely for administration. It is culled from time to time by the Secretary-Treasurer. Predominantly the Wednesday Group is comprised of older players although with changes in the last decade or so of much varied working hours, younger players have increasingly been turning-up. Although the Group has throughout been entirely male, it has never been stated that women were excluded. However, any ladies who contemplated joining could be daunted by the overwhelming male presence. It is believed that at one point ladies were indeed invited to become regular members, but apparently only four turned up and did not proceed further. Of course, since the regular ladies day at Tai Tapu is Tuesday (it had been Thursday in the past) playing again on the Wednesday would not normally have been favoured. The annual social matches between the Tai Tapu Ladies and the Wednesday Group (once on a Wednesday, and once on a Tuesday for trophies donated by the late Ivan Jacobs and by Brian Donovan) have always gone harmoniously but the ladies numbers have been limited. With the reservations stated above the lists of members of the Wednesday Group/Mid-Week Group members show the following numbers.

Obviously not all members turn up for matches. The weather at the time is obviously a central factor determining attendance. In 2012 the average turnout for Mid-Week Group members was 40.9 members but if bad weather attendances are omitted from this then turnout was 43.1 members.

Internal Organisation of the Wednesday Group

From the beginning, relaxation and informality has always been the order of the day for the Wednesday Group. As a prime example, in the seasons 2008-2010 inclusive Wednesday Group members delighted in the hilarious repartee between the Convenor Brian Donovan and the Secretary Bob Borer as the members gathered to await notices, a weekly joke or two and the assignment of fours and tees. And then, aftermatch with the prize-giving and raffle the repartee and jokes resumed and the sound of hearty laughter echoed through the clubhouse. This informality extended fully into the Wednesday Group committees and even committee meetings were described as being “relaxed and permissive”. It is not surprising therefore that the Wednesday Group committee has seldom, if ever, been subject to any formal complaint about its operations.

With the growing size of the Wednesday Group the need for a more structured administration became evident. When the formality of creating a committee first occurred is uncertain, but once Presidents (aka Chairmen, Convenors) were begun to be elected, they normally held office for one season at a time. However that convention did not last. It is known for example that Gilbert (Bert) Kissell was elected to the position of President for 1979 and 1980. (Bert was a long term member of Tai Tapu Golf until he announced in 2011 that he would not renew his membership). Having a President of course implies a structure supporting that office—at the very least, a Secretary-Treasurer is needed. Unfortunately the search for any documents, such as minutes of meetings has been fruitless for any period before 1994 to determine when committees were formally becoming established.

The administrative structure below the top position in 1994 included a Vice President but after 2004 that position was discarded. The committee in the period from 1994 had varying numbers of members, usually 8 or 9. From 2011 when new Club Rules were implemented, the Mid-Week Group committee has comprised only 5 members in addition to Convenor and Secretary-Treasurer.

Restrictions of the Use of the Golf Course on Wednesdays

Having a firm booking for the whole course every Wednesday for the Wednesday Group /Mid-Week Group meant that there were limited opportunities for other members and green fee players to get onto the course. An explicit decision of the main club committee notified 9 March 2009 was reached on this as follows:

That the course should be fully open to Green-fee players and Club members alike on Wednesdays except when the field for the Wednesday Groups game of the day appears likely to exceed 50 (including no more than two fours of Nine-hole players) in which case the course may be closed from about 10:03 am until about 3:30 pm. Any Green-fee players on the course before about 10:30 am are to be permitted to complete their rounds, merging with the Wednesday Group field if necessary.

The Club Committee felt that there should be some give and take in these arrangements and looked to the Wednesday Convenor and the Club Administrator to reach amicable agreement on minor variations to the above.

The Place of the Wednesday Group in the Structure of the Club

The Wednesday Group reached its largest number of members a decade or so ago and has probably plateaued. But it was not an integral part of the Club in the same way as are the Saturday Men and the Tuesday Ladies. Looked at objectively, it was simply a group, albeit large, of Club members who have agreed to go along to the Club, as they are quite entitled, and play a game amongst themselves. Club officials and committee members were neither required in any way to be present, nor indeed to be involved in their official capacities.

But inevitably, issues arose. Wednesday Group members felt that the Group should actually be officially “recognised”. It was not listed in any way in the Annual Club Programme booklet, and yet it was a large presence in the Club—in colloquial terms, it was the “Elephant on the Course”. The Wednesday Group issued its programme for the season directly to its members but it was questioned why it wasn’t listed in the Club’s Annual Programme booklet. It was argued in return that since Wednesday Group wasn’t an integral part of the Club, but an autonomous group of members, inclusion in the programme booklet would imply falsely that it was indeed an integral part of the Club. While this sort of issue continued to be debated, the newly appointed Club Secretary, Brian Williamson, unilaterally, but without opposition, included the Wednesday Group programme in the Club programme booklet starting in 2006. And in In the Club programme booklets starting in 2008, the Wednesday Group officials were also included.

Nominally the core operations of any golf club are paid for from the annual subscriptions of members and from Green Fees. Grants from Charitable Organisations can add the so-called icing on the cake but cannot be relied upon to fund core expenses. At Tai Tapu, part of the match fees for Saturday Men’s and Tuesday Ladies’ matches goes to the Club’s general funds. For the financial year 2012/2013 (to 30 September) the contributions from these two groups were $1071 and $361 respectively. The amount from the Mid-Week Group was $803. Actually for the Mid-Week Group the seasonal sum was an agreed $1000/annum and that had been in effect for at least a decade. In relation to the Club’s total operating costs the amounts contributed are quite minor. In 1997 it appeared that the Wednesday Group had been asked for a greater regular contribution in 1997 but the Group had responded General meeting 10/9/97 that:

“We feel that $1000/annum is sufficient as a financial contribution from our Group. While we are not willing to make further financial contribution we are willing to assist through voluntary labour.”

That nevertheless had not prevented the Wednesday Group from making ad hoc contributions to a number of the Club’s projects. An example from about 1996 was the landscaping of the Club’s main entranceway area to a design by Robert Prisk, Wednesday Group Committee member, the volunteer labour involved and the sum of $425 towards plants. An example of a later ad hoc

contribution of $500 was towards the computer equipment needed for the DotGolf handicapping and results processing system.

A rustic style seat was donated to replace an old unit at #1 tee. In 2014 an ad hoc donation of some $1000 was made towards the costs of security equipment around the clubhouse.

It may be sophistry perhaps to note that since the Mid-Week Group has been incorporated in the Club (see paragraph below) the funds nominally held in the Mid-Week Group account and managed by the Mid-Week Group actually belong to the Club itself.

Nomination and Election of Officers and Committee of Wednesday Group

Having no written Rules, the Wednesday Group continued to operate according to the rule “how we have always done it” and any variations which established precedents. While members of the Wednesday Group had for years been very satisfied with how well the Group operated, it can with hindsight be observed that there existed a ruling group which seemed to be perpetuating itself. There was for example rotation of office holders and committee members with limited new entrants. The Annual General Meetings of the Group were notoriously brief (a bare fifteen minutes was not uncommon) with nominations of office holders and committee cut and dried before the meeting. The nominations were read out from the Chair and closed almost immediately thereafter, usually with the assistance of a voice from the floor moving that nominations be closed. There were few instances of nominations from the floor. Even as late as 2010 a Committee Meeting of the Wednesday Group (18 Aug) carried an agenda item “AGM: How do we handle this year? (a) do we stick with the status quo, or (b) do we advertise for positions and have an election.” The decision was to remain with the status quo. It must be noted that members of the Wednesday Group fully realised that the situation as described in the preceding paragraph existed. But such had been the efficiency and fairness of the administration and the enjoyment of after-match socialising and prize-giving, that there had been no impetus towards making the nomination and election of officers and committee more open. (For all the known members of the Mid-Week officers and committee, scroll down below)

Finally, the Wednesday Group is incorporated into the Club

In 2011 a significant revision of the Club’s Rules drawn-up by a sub-committee (President Mark Tentori, Immediate Past President Carol Bates, Honorary Life Member and Trustee Bruce McAlister, and Club Secretary Brian Williamson) came fully into effect. In those Rules the Wednesday Group became integrated into the Club and although it was left free to organise and operate its matches as it saw fit, some significant changes were made. Its name was changed to Mid-Week Group. The nomination and election of the Mid-Week Group officers (Convenor and Secretary-Treasurer) and Committee was changed to a more open contestable process.

Representation of Mid-Week Group on Club’s Management Committee.

For some time the former Wednesday Group had looked for direct representation on the main Club committee but the revised Rules did not provide for that even though the Ladies Captain and the Men’s Captain had places on that committee. The rejoinder from the Management Committee to these requests for representation has been, and currently in 2014 still is, that current Mid-Week Group members are present on the Club Management Committee by election as individuals and can speak for the Mid-Week Group. This matter is continuing to be an issue with the Mid-Week Group.

The DotGolf Handicap Processing System

As with all the other sectors of the Club, the Mid-Week Group experienced the major change in compiling results of matches in moving from the slow manual system to the computer-based DotGolf system. Teething problems were experienced initially as members traversed the “learning curve” for the system and of course, those already computer-competent adapted quickest. Early on, the “new fangled system” did indeed raise the ire of a few members when delays occurred in producing the results. The assistance of Club Administrator Stephen Piper was invaluable in this period, particularly in setting-up matches on the computer. But by 2013 or so, the Mid-Week Group was operating the DotGolf system smoothly and efficiently. Additionally, since the Club has had its website firmly established, Alan Argus, the Mid-Week Convenor, has most regularly and reliably of all playing groups been entering the results of all its matches into the website.

Conclusion

To play in the Group on a Wednesday is one of golf’s most enjoyable experiences. Members look forward eagerly to every Wednesday in the season and are disappointed if there is bad weather or other matter keeping them from the golf course. That the Mid-Week Group from 2011 was following formal Club Rules has not in any way dampened its informality and joie de vivre. Credit for this must be attributed to the Convenors, Secretary-Treasurers and Committee members of the seasons from 2011 who have been efficient administrators whilst continuing to provide an environment for enjoyable golf.

Acknowledgements

The kind co-operation of Neville Herron, past Convenor of the Wednesday Group is gratefully acknowledged as are the comments from Robert Prisk who held positions on the Wednesday Group committee for 15 years. The information provided by Mid-Week Members Kevin Newcombe, Ivan Narbey, Alan Argus, Reg Kinzett, Club Life Members John Hartnell, Bruce McAlister and Bruce Miller, and a number of others has been of much value. The permission of the 2014 Mid-Week Group in allowing scrutiny of its archives and current records is acknowledged with thanks. Tai Tapu Club Secretary John Rogers is thanked for careful proofing of drafts. However, the author retains responsibility for any errors or omissions and will readily correct errors and omissions brought to his attention.

Mid-Week Convenors

Mid-Week Secretaries-Treasurers

Membership of the Mid-Week (aka Wednesday) Group Officers and Committee