Steam Crane, Southville
Attendees:
Paul (Larry) Larkin (Chair)
Rohan Panesar
Brett Keepin
Tom Sutton
Nick Millar
Michal Bandzarrewicz
Leigh Williams
Dom Clarke-Sieling
Rob des Forges
Tom Loughran
Ben March
Dave Auckland
Jack Goolden
Alexander Leitch
Robert Heard
Al Sweetman
Dan Green
Apologies:
Wayne Davey
Paul Waite
Agenda Items
Introductions and summary of BDGC activities – Larry.
Larry welcomed everyone to the AGM and briefly summarised the year for BDGC including specific thanks to:
- The League Dudes for their hard work coordinating another very successful year of league
- All of those who have supported in the maintenance of the course which has been looking great
- To Tom Sutton for the excellent tournament
- Jack Goolden for his day-to-day support and liaison with BCC and so many others
Financial updates – Jack
Membership for the year has been:
19 Standard members
31 Gold members
The current balance on the account is £4,356 (2025 9 months) which is great news and will enable further improvements to the course.
It was agreed that membership fees remain as they are: £25 standard and £50 Gold.
Course/club updates – Jack
Bag Tags – Thank you to everyone who has taken part with bag tags this season. As these were distributed later into the season this year it was agreed that the current tag season will end at the end of January 2026. With new tags distributed from the end of March.
There is a possibility of getting three new tee pads – subject to BCC approval. It was proposed that these would be Pond, WS and Hump Back. Everyone agreed with the suggested locations.
Relocating Hump basket with Pond. It was suggested that the Hump basket was relocated to the Pond given that this is a signature hole for the course. After some discussion it was agreed that there are spare sleeves to enable a direct swap of the baskets to retain both positions. Jack and Rob to follow up.
Tournament Updates – Tom Sutton
The EDGA, C-tier Tournament was a great success and was attended by 90 people over two days.
The Ashton Court Open was also a great day despite the windy conditions. Thank you to everyone who took part.
Next year the EDGA will be running a max. of 10 events all year and are keen for AC to host an event in Spring 2026 if we are able to receive relevant permissions from BCC.
There are also plans for a couple of one-day events next year as well and details will follow in due course.
Open discussion with members
The floor was opened to general discussions and ideas regarding the club and courses in Bristol.
Robert Heard was welcomed to the club. Rob used to organise the Swindon Cyclone so his experience as a TD will hopefully be a great addition to the club.
A question was raised regarding the purchase of maintenance equipment for use by the club for example a petrol strimmer. There were a number of offers of donations of these to the club. However, a review of H&S issues related to the use of these by the club will need to be undertaken to ensure we are insured.
There was suggestion of the installation of better signage on the course and it was agreed that this would need to be in consultation with the council and priority should be given to the tee pads in the first instance but options to include QR codes on tee boxes/baskets could be considered in the short term.
Glenside – there were concerns that the site was to be sold but recent news suggests that this is not happening now.
- Is there a possibility to liaise with the grounds maintenance team on site to support management of the course in collaborations?
- Suggested that we contact UWE to try and build a relationship between them and BDGC.
- Rohan has contacts and will begin approaches
No Glow League this year but leagues will return in force for 2026!
There will also be no Glenside New Years Ace Race in 2026
Appointment of the BDGC committee
In line with constitution the three executive roles of the committee are required to be re-elected at the AGM. Paul Larkin – Chair; Wayne Davey – Treasurer and Al Sweetman – Secretary, were all nominated and voted into their roles.
Jack G0olden was appointed as Lost Disc Officer and will support the coordination of reuniting discs with their owners.
The other members of the BDGC committee; Paul Waite and Dan Green were approved by the members in attendance.
Duncan Fraser stepped down from the committee with thanks from all.
AOB
Tom Sutton shared the news that, after 16 stops on the first EDGA tour, from March to October and ranging from Bristol to Colchester with 400 players competing over 22 divisions, two players from BDGC triumphed and won! Congratulations to:
- Ben March – MPO winner
- Leigh Williams – all female divisions winner
Closing remarks
Everyone was thanked for attending the meeting and the meeting was called to a close followed by social discussions between members in attendance.