EPPA Newsletter -- July 2003

A collection of news and anecdotes, for and from members of the European Pitch and Putt association (EPPA)

Edited by: John Hudson and Brian Jackson.

1) News from Catalonia

NEW COURSE AT FORNELLS (Girona)
This 18 hole Pitch and Putt course is the 29th member of the ACPP and has been built according to the recommendations of the Catalan Government concerning new kinds of grass to save the use of water and the use of chemical fertilisers. Because of the importance given in Catalonia to the environmental aspects of golf, this case will be followed with attention and might affect the construction of other golf and Pitch and Putt courses. At the moment the Catalan Government does not give permission to build new courses unless they use recycled water with adequate processing. This fact explains that, in 2003, only three new Pitch and Putt courses will open: the above mentioned at FORNELLS, a second one on the Costa Brava (CASTELLO DE AMPURIES) and a third one near Barcelona (TEIA, which belongs to the owners of Sant Cebrià). The owners of the last of these courses have had to wait SEVEN years before getting full permission from the Catalan Government.

NEW SOFTWARE
After a long period training the Managers of the 28 courses and refining the program (and at a higher cost than previously budgeted!) the new system for modifying handicaps is finally in operation. This will mean that handicaps will be automatically changed after each tournament. There are some periods of the year where there are up to ten tournaments during the weekends and two or three on week days, therefore the work to be done by the Secretariat was almost impossible. We believe that the investment on this program will make it possible for ACPP to continue growing at the present pace (over 25% in the number of players per year and about 10% increase in the number of participants in tournaments).

FIRST DOUBLES CHAMPIONSHIP
For the first time we had a Catalonia Championship in this format. Participants played fourballs, greensome and foursomes. At the moment we have eight Catalonia Championships per year: "Absolut" (scratch, men and women), Handicap (men, 1st and 2nd categories), Women (several categories), Seniors (several categories), Juveniles, Match Play and Doubles.

SENIORS
Activities specific for Senior Players (men over 55 and ladies over 50) are developing very quickly and are one of the most important aspects of our recent development. Apart from local tournaments (always on week days), courses give special discounts to seniors and organise different activities to attract them, such as travelling abroad. A group of Seniors has visited Ireland recently. What is also a novelty is the fact that more and more seniors who used to play golf and kind of "reject" Pitch and Putt, are now discovering its advantages. We see this as the segment of potential players that can grow faster in the coming years and are preparing a communication campaign to promote Pitch and Putt amongst senior citizens (golfers and/or beginners).

SALARDU
One of our Interclub matches took place at the beginning of May in the course of Salardú, in the "Valle de Aran" ( Central Pyrenees ). We thought that it was safe to play at this time of the year but the reality was that when the players arrived early in the morning to start the competition the course was covered in snow. Fortunately the sun appeared a couple of hours later and the competition could take place.

JM Anzizu