I feel immensely proud and privileged to be your new Captain and am thoroughly looking forward to getting to know as many of you as possible over the next two years. 2005 has marked yet another momentous 12 months for county golf and as I look back on the last two years, I do wish to pay tribute to Pat Hale who has taken Warwickshire to new heights

A final word from Pat Hale as she retires after two years as Warwickshire Captain. This is her report from the Warwickshire AGM.

Plans for the development of golf in England, aimed at increasing the number of individuals playing golf by 5% over the next four years, were unveiled today in London. Under the umbrella of The England Golf Partnership; the English Golf Union (EGU), English Ladies’ Golf Association (ELGA), The Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA), together with the support of The Golf Foundation and Sport England, have come together to produce a ‘Whole Sport Plan’ for golf.

This list is taken from the WLCGA booklet which contains full details of all the activities of the Association for 2005 and includes so very interesting Features to help you with your game. Also included are Senior Ladies Golf events for 2005.

Golf has won the government’s backing with the announcement today from Sport England that it is to receive an £8 million boost over the next four years for the development of the game. The 88 per cent increase of its annual grant to £2 million represents a major leap forward for the England Golf Partnership, which is planning to increase the number of individuals playing golf by 10% by 2009 and grow the active members of affiliated clubs by 50,000.

WITH £9m GOING INTO GOLF as part of a four-year funding plan to boost participation and international success Sport England, the strategic lead for sport in England, today announced its four-year funding, totalling some £315 million for 32 priority and development sports in England.

Pat Hale welcomes us all to 2005 and provides an insight into the work that the committee has been doing since the AGM in November and looks ahead to a new and exciting year.