Greens Committee Message - Nov 2019
Dear Members
There have been a couple of increasingly important Health and Safety (H&S) issues recently that relate to all of us. Although H&S is a subject that tends to switch most readers off, please do read this important message.
Near Misses
Under H&S regulations, there is a need to have a process in place where all near misses are reported as soon as possible, this applies to all, i.e. ‘player on ground staff’ and ‘player on player’.
Player on Ground Staff
Player on ground staff incidents have now become so numerous that ground staff have stop reporting them. There are three main factors in these incidents:
· Ground staff cannot always be clearly seen
· The known presence of ground staff is simply ignored
· Simply a poor, wayward shot
To help combat issue one, ground staff are wearing hi-visibility vests when on pedestrian activities, be it in trees or raking bunkers. When using machinery or vehicles they are obvious through machine noise, movement and the parking of vehicles in visible positions. However, we continue to have incidents of balls being played towards ground staff when they are clearly visible - mowing the centre of a fairway, on a very obvious vehicle and moving in the direction of the shot being played.
Players want to play golf; ground staff want to do their jobs. We have asked again that grounds staff are mindful of players, frequently checking and moving to the side and safe as soon as it is pertinent to do so. We are also going to remind green staff of the importance of reporting every issue. Those reports will ALL be looked at to establish the cause(s) of what is going wrong and discussions on whether it/they can be rectified by modifying the procedures. We all understand how key it is for the grounds staff to be able to do their jobs as unhindered as possible, especially in the shorter winter days.
We therefore ask all players to use “Care and Consideration” when using the course.
· Be aware of others on the course
· Shout “FORE!” as loudly as possible, for ALL wayward shots, whether or not someone is in sight. There’s no such thing as a poor shout.
Health and Safety constraints are only necessary in hazardous conditions or when common sense fails, let us all work together to eliminate the need in the latter case.
Player on Player
These near-misses incidents are poorly reported, we all know they happen. There are three main reasons why we need these to be reported, to establish whether:
· There are any especially dangerous places on the course where incidents occur on a regular basis?
· There is a player who is continuously involved?
· It is simply following a poor, wayward shot.
Where the course is a problem, we must note these and act upon them as soon as possible. I feel absolutely confident that the second point will not apply, as playing partners generally fix this on the clubs behalf! However, we are legally bound to address it, however unlikely or unpleasant.
Again, we are all capable of poor, wayward shots and the simple solution here is to shout “Fore” as loudly as possible, whether or not someone is in sight.
Issue 2 – Playing in Foggy Conditions
We recently suffered some very foggy conditions first thing in the morning. This is a reminder that players should be aware of the rule that forbids play from either the first or the tenth tee if they are unable to see the black and white posts. In addition, if play has started and then the fog descends, play should be immediately suspended until players can see further than they are able to hit the ball, and as a minimum 150 yards.
In summary, please be mindful of all people on the course whilst playing and only hit your ball when it is clear and unobstructed. If you then hit a wayward shot, shout FORE in all instances. This is also a timely reminder to ask that all players familiarise themselves with the safety instructions displayed on the notice board adjacent to the 1st tee.
Thank you for your patience and understanding in these matters.
