Welcome to the March edition of your favourite organ
SE Asia’s first drive-through vaccination station undergoing trials at Waterbom Park
Praise the Lord, and pass the biscuits! Vaccination programs are now in place here in Paradise, and stations are opening up all over the place to make it easier for the populace to get their jabs. The Tourism Minister has set Bali as a priority area to get inoculated, as part of his plans to restart our tourist-dependent economy, and the goal of “herd immunity” looks doable. Here’s hoping…
In the meantime, Raffles Golf Club continues to lead the way in innovations to attract players to NKGC, and our Bali-based members are all benefitting.
Naturally, our home course of NKGC, as well as others nearby like Pandawa and Bali National, have also benefitted from our programs, as by extension have the employees of these courses.
With the gradual return of golfers, a degree of self-sustaining has been achieved, and we have now wound up our Caddy Relief Fund, and with it, a couple of Staff Appreciation days have been held at NKGC and Bukit Pandawa. Just another way, I am proud of our Club to say, Raffles has led the way in assistance to our Golf Community throughout this dark time.
The darkness is slowly but surely giving way to a glimmer of relief and we look forward with great optimism to the return of our now-exiled members in the now-foreseeable future.
President’s Report
Dear Fellow Members,
My topic this month relates to two matters. The first is to advise as to the result of the elections.
This year our Captain, Tony Brandenburg, Ron Fletcher, Mike Barber and our Secretary, Hugh Brown, were required to either retire or stand down as their two-year terms had expired. Mike Barber had announced that he would not be standing and has retired from the board after a long and valued contribution as both a board member and the Club Captain. Hugh Brown and Ron Fletcher were both re-elected as directors. As we had a vacancy for the Board which would expire after one year Captain Tony did not re-stand for the Board at the AGM but was appointed by the Board to fill that one-year vacancy immediately after the AGM.
At that meeting, besides the re-appointment of Tony both as a Board member and Club Captain, Brendan Durkin was also appointed to the Board as a member/director. A Bali resident involved in the tourist industry he will be a valuable director of our Club. Yours truly was re-appointed as the Club President/Chairman, Melanie Lange was re-appointed as the Club Treasurer, and Hugh Brown re-appointed as the Club Secretary. Our hardworking Club Administrator, Peter Manz was also re-appointed to that role for a further year.
We now have a board of 7 with one vacancy, which we will fill should we find a suitable person willing to contribute to the Club’s future at Board level.
The second topic I am addressing this month is once again that of our name Raffles Golf Club. As you all know we are registered in Australia under the Corporations Act as Raffles Golf Club. We are secure with that name. However, in Bali, whilst we do have an argument that we are entitled to use the name Raffles there is a trademark registered by Raffles International covering, believe it or not, the name Raffles.
They have alleged that we are holding out that we are part of Raffles International! It is obvious to all of you (and myself) that this not the case, but they are a very large international corporation with a lot of financial muscle. They are using it in our instance to try and force us to give up our name.
Your board is therefore now considering a name change for Raffles Golf Club to use in Bali. We are having to do this because Raffles International, the apathetic to our cause huge conglomerate, is threatening action if we do not do so before the end of April. They have refused all compromise and have refused to even assist us in the expense we will have to go to in a name change.
Whilst we are seeking further advice on the matter, as well as considering challenging them in Australia with their trademark they have registered there and never used with respect to golf, we are also looking now at what other name we can use in Bali.
In case anyone is in any doubt, this is NOT a photo of Raffles Golf Club, but of a hotel in another country. (Ed.)
In turn, you as members must have a say in this and I am therefore asking all members to think this matter through and help us come up with a name for Raffles Golf Club in Indonesia. Whatever name we come up with must be approved by you the members as it involves a change in our Constitution. We would be most grateful if you would assist us in this regard with suggestions.
Because of the end of April ultimatum given to us by Raffles International, I would appreciate it if you would let me have your suggestions at your earliest convenience. If you can help in any regard, I would also appreciate it.
I will let you all know by a specific letter as to what we intend to do as soon as possible.
Cheers to all,
Yours in golf
Robert Nelson
President
March 2021
Captain’s Corner
Greetings from the Captain’s desk. Below is a précis of this year’s Captain’s report. I, like many, wasn’t at the annual general meeting. For me, the report was an opportunity to celebrate the year and to raise some of the plans we have for a covid free time.
Thank you
Many thanks to Raffles members and the Raffles Board for their support during 2020. It would be fair to say that it has been a year that I didn’t expect. I certainly began my captaincy with a long-term plan only to find that short term solutions were needed.
Club Administrator
I would like to publicly recognise our administrator, Peter Manz, for his excellent work. On behalf of Raffles members, I sincerely thank him. As I am copied into many of his emails, I read how much he is appreciated for the work he does by the majority of our members. Peter works tirelessly for the Raffles Golf Club. Peter is a past president and captain of the club and has now found a place to bring his talents to the fore and support our golf operations. On a personal note, I thank him, it’s not easy for him having a captain with many ideas, 4,308km away.
The Raffles Board
Many thanks to President Robert Nelson. I think we have been a great team during a year where we have had some challenging times. To the members of the Board executive, Hugh and Melanie, thank you for the professionalism you have shown and your support for my ideas. Many thanks to Mike Barber for his mentorship for the Captain. To the other members of the Board, Howard for your support and ideas and supporting the captain’s presence in Bali and to Ron for his honest appraisal of a situation and his practical wisdom, I thank you all. I also would like to recognise Alan Legg, although not in any official position his advice and golf wisdom made the captain’s role much easier.
Championship Events
The only championship event held in 2020 was the Matchplay event, both for men and women. Congratulations to Robbie Goodwin and Raima Gaden
The Eclectic
During the Eclectic, July-September, on Wednesdays, we averaged 47 rounds of golf per week. This, compared to other events during this year, was the most successful We will hold a similar event in 2021
Covid-19
Covid-19 robbed Raffles of many of its social after golf occasions. Pre Covid-19, Raffles averaged 103 rounds of golf per week, this dropped to as low as 16 rounds per week.
Caddie Support Fund
Congratulations to members on the success of this initiative. To Robert Nelson, whose idea it was and to Melanie, Howard and Peter thank you for your work. I believe that Raffles showed it was a generous part of the Bali community.
Monthly medals
I am proud that Raffles now offers a monthly medal for women in conjunction with the men’s event. (I note that as I type this we have an increased women’s field for this month’s Women’s Medal). As Captain, I am pleased to recognise, with a trophy, the gross winner, both men and women on the day. A list of winners can be found at https://www.golfgenius.com/pages/6849378799159637795
One Day in September
Many thanks to all those members from around the world that participated in this day.
Sponsors
I would like to especially thank Ruci Golf, Yanti Restaurant, Lucky Day Bar and Bali Garden Beach Resort for their sponsorship during a year when it was difficult to sponsor.
Members Trophy Day
To all the members who donated a trophy for these days, many, many thanks. The days are very successful, special thanks to Robbie Goodwin for his work on this initiative.
Dates we are holding
It would be fair to say that the following dates are still very tentative.
- 17th to September 26th, 2021, a new tournament week,
- 23rd and 24th of September of 2021 for the Raffles Club Championships (men and women)
- May 13th – 22nd of 2022 for the Raffles full tournament with the Raffles Club Championships (men and women) to be held on the 19th and 20th of May.
Player and Medallist of the Year
This year we have moved these events to February and away from Golf Week. Although this makes it more difficult for international members it recognises those members who live in Bali and play regularly throughout the year.
Cheers
Tony Brandenburg
Club Captain (Interim)
February Monthly Medal
Our February Monthly Medal would perhaps more aptly be described as The Howard Otten Day. Howard has been mining an extremely rich seam of good form for most of this year, and it all came together here.
Howard won the Men’s Nett Medal with an extremely fine score of nett 69, 3 shots ahead of Geoff Wighton on 72 and Thomas Linane on 73. Howard’s 69 of course also won the A Grade from Don Skipworth (73) and David Kirkwood (77).
B Grade winner was Geoff Wighton, whose 72 saw off Thomas Linane on 73 and Chris Neale also on 73.
Howard’s (then) handicap of 5 also meant he was the Grossest golfer on course as well, his 74 easily beating our oft-winning Alan Legg (80) by a huge 6 shots and Don Skipworth by 10 (82).
In the Women’s Nett Medal, winner was the fast-improving Yanti Djae with a nett score of 71, closely followed by Ira (Rara) Septiantari on 72. Rara also won the best Gross for her efforts, with 85
Ira, Yanti and Howard receive their respective Medal trophies.
The Medallist of the Year was played in concert with this month’s Medal event – open to all past winners of last year. To top off his day, Howard was the worthy winner of the Medallist of the Year.
Well done to all, especially of course to…
Player of the Month
Hmmm… guess who? February’s Player of the Month was none other than the omnipresent Howard Otten, whose aforementioned form streak saw him compete in 10 events and amass a score of 77.5 points, marginally ahead of our recently-returned Chris Neale, whose 11 events netted him 73.5, with Don Skipworth completing the podium with 68 points from his 10 starts.
Honorary mentions go to 4th and 5th placegetters David Kirkwood and Yanti Djae, whose meagre 8 starts saw them score 68 and 67.5 respectively. Gotta be in it to win it guys…
Member’s Trophy Day
For something a bit different, President Robert Nelson opted for a change of venue for his Member’s Trophy Day, and staged it at Bali National. 27 hopefuls lined up on a beautiful afternoon with eyes firmly fixed on Robert’s magnificent bottle of Glen Morangie Scotch.
Thirstiest and most skilful was Francophone and now Scotch aficionado Patrick Gouvernal, whose 37 points on a difficult course easily put paid to other contenders, with second placed Gavin Walker on 33, nudging David Kirkwood into third place on a countback.
A celebratory “nip” from Patrick to the assembled vanquished was a generous and much appreciated gesture, and went a long way towards healing the emotional scars of 1066. Well done to Patrick, and a big thank you to donor Robert.
Later in the month, it was Brian Hill’s turn to invite members to help him overcome the mental anguish of dipping his toe into his seventh decade on the planet.
Whisky was the order of the day, and with that incentive, it was the Legg family’s turn to be on the receiving end of Brian’s hospitality. A Russian Teams of two event was Brian’s chosen format, with a bottle each of The Macallan to the winning team, and a bottle of Johnnie Walker Black to the best individual.
In form Ira Septiantari and her playing partner, Alan Legg’s wife Sisca Boedilistiati won the event and hoovered up the Macallan. Not to be outdone, husband Alan Legg took out the individual prize and the Johnnie Walker. Whisky galore indeed…
New Sexogenarian Brian is still reeling from the shock of his milestone birthday as he presents Sisca with the prizes for their winning team
Well done to all winners, and of course to the birthday boy – Old Brian…
World Golf Rankings
MEN
Women
And Finally…
With the very successful addition of regular emails informing members of events proposed, as well as events held and their results, it seems much of the “Rag’s” information is becoming redundant. So we have decided to publish the now world-famous Raffles Rag on a quarterly basis rather than monthly.
That means the next Rag will be the June edition. This of course now gives you all the opportunity to inundate me with snippets or even, dare I say it, articles you have written and may care to share with the rest of us?
I look forward with guarded optimism, to waking to the sound of a groaning inbox, filled to bursting with your suggestions and/or contributions to robgoodwin76@icloud.com