WELSH CLUB GOLFER24
GUW WELSH GOLF AWARDS
And the winner is...Hamish Stuart presents a round-up of all of the major winners from the prestigious
2009 CCV Golf Union of Wales Welsh Golf Awards...
WELSH GOLF CLUB OF THE YEAR: GLYN ABBEY
G
LYN ABBEY Golf Club in West
Wales won the CCV Welsh Golf
Club of the Year in a glittering
ceremony at the Celtic Manor
Resort, receiving the trophy from First
Minister Rhodri Morgan.
Current Ryder Cup captains Colin
Montgomerie and Corey Pavin, along with
celebrities such as opera singer Bryn Terfel, TV
personality Chris Evans and Gareth Jenkins were
among those who congratulated a delighted
Glyn Abbey on receiving the Golf Union of Wales
award at a dinner to celebrate next year's Ryder
Cup in Wales.
Glyn Abbey's award was a great reward for an
incredible turnaround at the golf club in 11
years.
IMPROVEMENTS
In 1998, the golf course, which was uniquely
built on the site of an open cast coal mine, was
in very poor condition, with totally inadequate
drainage and generally run down.
Adding to the problems was the lack of
common facilities for golfers. Indeed, there was
no clubhouse, only 73 adult members and just
the one solitary junior member.
Now Glyn Abbey, which is between the
Trimsaran and Carway, is proud to be a Golf
Foundation Junior Starter Centre and has an
impressive membership list. In fact, there are well
over 300 members now attached to the
forward-thinking club, including over 50
juniors.
There is a much improved course with an
outstanding layout, an excellent clubhouse, a
gym, a nine-hole par-3 beginner course and a
driving range complete with dedicated long and
short game areas, including a USGA specifica-
tion pitching green.
DELIGHTED
"We are delighted and thrilled to have got the
award, particularly for it to have gone to a small
club like ours," said Glyn Abbey's managing
director Martin Lane.
"It is Welsh Golf Club of the Year, it does not
have to be a big club � it is about club spirit and
all the people who have worked over the years to
make it great."
Lane recalled the days when there was
nowhere for members or visitors to relax, either
before or after their round.
"In 1998 it was boggy," said Lane. "There was
no clubhouse, playing in a muddy field, but a
great layout and fantastic potential.
"It has been something of a mission and we
have a long way to go yet, but I saw a great golf
club and course waiting to happen and hoped I
could help get it there.
He said the reaction from people within the
club has helped pave the way for a brighter
future and, in turn, has led to an increase in
junior members.
"There is a tremendously positive club spirit,
great club committee and fantastic junior
section. They were second in Dyfed this year, by
just one point, which is a long way from having
just one junior member 11 years ago.
"We have got the facilities now and I would
like to thank the Ryder Cup Wales legacy fund for
the Mission course, our par three starter course,
and also the driving range. They have been
tremendously helpful.
Lane also paid special tribute to the club's
former PGA professional, Darren Griffiths, a past
winner of the Welsh PGA Professional of the Year
Award. "I would also like to thank our former
professional Darren Griffiths who helped drive
forward everything we have tried to do."
Lane added: "With the Ryder Cup coming to
Wales with all the fantastic support for IT
structures and other facilities it is a great time to
be trying to improve things in Welsh golf."
The club has a slogan "Rhwybeth I Bobun"
"Something for Everyone", and has put the jun-
ior section at the heart of efforts to provide a
vibrant community service.
In 2009 the club was awarded GUW Higher
Junior Golf Cert accreditation and has produced
a junior boys' team, which finished creditable
runners-up by just one point in the Dyfed Order
of Merit.
This has all been achieved thanks to an effec-
tive partnership between members and manage-
ment demonstrated by members, junior and
adult alike, regularly being involved in fundrais-
ing activities and providing a willing workforce
for clubhouse and course improvements.
Club captain Andrew Shufflebotham said he
was delighted the effort put in by everyone
behind the scenes had finally paid off.
"It is a fantastic achievement for everyone in
the club from the committee down.
"Everyone has made a big effort over a
period of time to plough money back into the
course, we are attracting golfers from a wide
area � it is a members' club and we are
really down to earth."
"It is a fantastic achievement for everyone in the club from the
committee down. Everyone has made a big effort to plough money
back into the course. It's a members' club and we are down to earth"

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