Cornwall Golf Union
Glyn Rowett takes the CGU Helm
Last night’s Annual General Meeting of the Cornwall Golf Union at Lanhydrock Hotel & GC saw new President Glyn Rowett replace his retiring predecessor David Inch. Rowett now commences a two year stint at the CGU helm. Rowett’s Vice President Mike Ellis was also installed along with a number of others. Rowett (above right) and Ellis are pictured above.
If you research Google for the name Glyn Rowett the chances are one of your early and most enlightening discoveries will be mention of him being sacked from his position as manager of Carlsberg South West Peninsula League Division One leaders St Austell back in 2009. This was a major shock on the Cornish football scene at the time as Rowett had lifted the club from the brink of extinction to winning the Cornwall Senior Cup, beating then red hot favourites Saltash United in a dramatic final. Football remains one of Glyn’s sporting interests although moving from it brought him headlong into the Cornish golfing scene.
Rowett - aged 59 for but a few days more - was born and raised in St Austell and has spent his entire lifetime there. In 1985 he established Rowett Insurance Broking Ltd as a new start-up and has since grown the company to be the largest independent Cornish brokerage. The firm provide both personal and commercial insurances online as well as through offices in St Austell and Plymouth in Devon. Glyn is a member of the Chartered Insurance Institute.
Married to Ann, the couple have two grown up sons Gareth and James. Ann works in the office at St Austell Golf Club and is no stranger to sport. An avid runner she has completed four London Marathons. Both sons work locally.
The transition to management of his local team was perhaps inevitable but the aforementioned sacking thrust him closer to another love, golf. Having been a member of St Austell Golf Club for some 40 years he has captained the club twice, first in 1990 and then during its Centenary Year in 2011, when the CGU staged its County Week and Amateur Championship there. Under Rowett’s guidance the club delivered a venue that was complimented on all fronts by those who participated.
Glyn, a 6 handicap golfer, became Vice President of the Cornwall Golf Union in 2014 and now takes up the reins as President. On taking up office he said “I am really looking forward to the next two years. We are a strong group with much experience of the game and now we must look to use this to continually benefit all of the golfers in the county”. He paid tribute to the work of David Inch over the preceding two years describing him as a proud Cornishman who had embraced the role and been a good ambassador for the county with much success, most notable being the County Final win in 2014. To cap Inch's term of office, only last Sunday his beloved West Cornwall had claimed the Cornwall Team Championship.
Coming into office as Vice President is Mike Ellis (Trevose). Ellis, 61, retired from his career as a General Practitioner in 2015 having worked in the Penryn Surgery for some 30 years. Married with two grown up children, Ellis was born in Belfast but has spent most of his life in Cornwall. He has been a member of Trevose since early childhood and amongst his hobbies lists skiing and sailing.
The AGM continued to ring the changes as Simon Harper (St Austell) took up office as County Seniors Captain in place of the retiring Mike Marshall. Marshall has been directly involved with the county seniors for many years and was the instrumental driving force behind gaining Channel League representation for what are the largest group of golfers in the county. Marshall thanked the Union for their support and expressed how proud he had been to be able to Captain the team. He would now do as senior golfers should, ‘wander off into the long grass to search for balls’.
Further reflecting the strength of experience in the St Austell area, Alan Lund was formally elected as Juniors President taking over from Phil Linaker.
Elections to the CGU Executive committee also took place. Tuck Clagett (St Enodoc) was returned and joining the existing members are Alan Creber (Launceston) and Antony Richards (West Cornwall).
The Statement of Accounts for the year ended 31st December 2015 were adopted and David Inch paid tribute to the exceptional work carried out on behalf of the CGU by Treasurer David West.
West was able to report on an increase in the budgeted surplus for the year which has seen reserves return to a healthy level after several years of losses. Membership numbers continued to fall, but at a declining rate of just over 1%. The collection of subscriptions from clubs had improved in 2015. He was pleased to report Ivyleaf GC had joined the Union in 2015. West thanked the Unions sponsors for their continued support of golf in the county and highlighted the assistance of Ocean BMW Falmouth and TMS Financial Services. He referred to the County Dinner an event which in its current format is always likely to run at a loss. He was, however, pleased to report with much improved attendance and reduced costs the 2015 dinner’s loss has nearly halved from the previous year. He was also pleased to state the additional £2,000 budgeted to provide support to individual members participating in national competition had been fully spent. He thanked Whitakers, Newquay for continuing to act as our Independent Accountants. West and Whitakers were formally elected to continue in their respective roles. The Affiliation Fee rate for 2017 was approved by the meeting and will remain at £10 per male member.
In his retiring report Inch spoke of his pride at having held office for the preceding 2 years. He thanked the Executive and other committees for their vast contribution and for the support to him personally as well as thanking them for their actions and productivity in relation to golf in the Duchy, with considerable progress made on a number of fronts. He referred to having been very well mentored by good friends and Past Presidents Malcolm Jones and Gerry Fitter whose commitment he had sought to follow. He spoke of the Union’s more satisfactory financial position and again paid tribute to Treasurer David West and the prudency of the various sections. The upcoming County Week at Newquay is revamped in an effort to see an inclusive golf week for all, with early indications suggesting increased attendance. He thanked Newquay GC for hosting the 2016 Championship week.
Inch wished all the section Captains well for the year knowing that, under David Kneebone, Ian Veale, Simon Harper and Juniors President Alan Lund, all are in safe hands. He looked forward to the inter-county rivalry at St Enodoc in June during SW Week. He also acknowledged the work of Mike Marshall for his commitment to seniors golf in the county.
He said Cornwall was seen by England Golf as one of the most proactive counties both in administration and commitment and paid tribute to the work and dedication of Glyn Rowett and County Secretary, Chris Pountney. He described the Union's vital signs as being robust and healthy.
Inch thanked all the officers and members of the affiliated clubs whom he had the pleasure of visiting and meeting and also for making their clubs available for the many county events. He wished the new presidential team of messrs Rowett and Ellis well for the future. In closing he said “Fellow Golfers. I give my sincerest thanks to each and every one of you for the deep honour and distinct privilege of serving you as President. We shared our talents. We shared our kindness. We shared our time and ever so rewarding, we shared our love of golf, our beloved County and the Cornwall Golf Union. Thank you “One and All”
Glyn Rowett then presented an inscribed decanter to Inch on behalf of the Cornwall Golf Union - picture above.
Full minutes of the Annual General Meeting will be published on the website shortly.
Following the meeting there was an opportunity to photograph Present and Past Officers of the CGU. Pictured below L to R are Mike Ellis, Glyn Rowett, Paul Clahane (President SWCGA and CGU President 2004-6), John Rowe (CGU President 2006-8), David Inch and Gerry Fitter MBE (CGU President 2010-12)
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