Joe Pare
Games
John Braun
Finances
Ridger International 2011
Final Informational Meeting
Wednesday, August 17, 2011 at 7:00 pm
Donald Ross Room at Pine Ridge Golf Club
At this meeting you will be provided with your tournament shirts and tee gift for your Shannon opponent (to be given to your Singles opponent at Shannon). In addition, because the Committee got lucky on the exchange rate at the time we made our final payment to J.D. Tours we will have a small refund (+/- $100) for each of you at the meeting.
We know you will enjoy your visit to Ireland; however, we thought it worthwhile to outline some important information that may assist you in preparing for the trip. At the meeting we will touch upon all of the topics listed below and do our best to answer any questions related to such topics or otherwise.
Committee – Our Captain on this tour is Bob Ramsay and the Committee is comprised of Aidan O’Brien, Joe Pare, Bob Massey and John Braun. If during the trip you have any discomfort or issue, please speak to one of us and we will try to address your problem.
Passports – To enter Ireland you will need a Passport. Please ensure that the Date of Expiry on your Passport is at least six months later than your planned date of return to Canada.
Travel Insurance – If you do not have travel insurance through work or otherwise, you should arrange for travel insurance for the trip. This can be arranged through Blue Cross and it is very important to have in place – a medical emergency in a foreign country will be very expensive without appropriate travel insurance coverage.
Emergencies – We have collected Contact Information for our various stops in Ireland. It is attached and also available on the Trip Website. You might wish to leave this information with your spouse, girlfriend, mistress and/or other friend. We will also be collecting emergency contact information for each of you so that in the unlikely event of an emergency we can notify your loved one(s). Quadruple bogies are not emergencies.
Currency – You might bring some Euros or Pounds Sterling from Canada so you have spending money on arrival; however, you should be able to withdraw Euros and Pounds Sterling from ATMs using your debit card in the same fashion as in Canada. Conversion rates are reasonably good when using your debit card.
Credit Cards – Room pairings have been posted on the Trip Website. At each hotel a credit card will need to be presented for each room for any room charges. To avoid having your credit card “frozen” you should contact your credit card provider in advance of our trip to advise that you will be using your card abroad for the period of our trip.
Cell Phones / Electronics – If you bring your cell phone please familiarize yourself with the roaming and other charges your cell phone provider will charge you for use of your cell phone in Europe. Nonchalant use of your cell phone could result in a very nasty surprise when your next monthly bill arrives. If you bring electrical appliances (for example, Bob Massey’s hair dryer), you should get an adapter as Europe is on a different current. The required adapters are readily available at any luggage store.
Handicaps – Each of us will need a verified handicap from the professional at our home golf course. The Committee will coordinate this with Shane for all Pine Ridge members. For the five golfers not from Pine Ridge please obtain and bring a handicap card from your home pro.
Weather / Clothing / Golf Balls – September weather is reasonably mild, but rain is always in the air so bring along good rain gear. Please also bring (i) a pair of tan pants to be worn with our tournament shirts for our official group photo, and (ii) a jacket and tie for our closing dinner at Shannon. Golf balls are more expensive in Ireland so stock up.
Photos – Speaking of photos, on past trips we have collected the digital photos taken by the various members on our trip on a single computer hard drive and later produced CDs with all photos for all trip members. Provided someone with the requisite technical expertise (Bob Ramsay or Brad Borgstrom?) is willing to coordinate this, it can probably be done again for this trip.
Dublin Arrival + Departure on September 3 – Our bus will meet us at the Dublin Airport at noon on Saturday, September 3. The bus will depart from the Airport at 12:30 pm and head to the Grand Hotel in Malahide where we’ll collect the members of our group that arrived early. From there we will travel north to the Burrendale Hotel in Newcastle County Down. Please advise the Committee as to where you will board the bus – Dublin Airport or Malahide.
Bus Libations – A “Dark Zone” is designated on the bus from which adult beverages will be served each day. You should purchase your bottle of choice at the duty free shop prior to leaving so your particular favourite is accommodated in the Dark Zone.
Buggies, Caddies, etc. – Buggies may not be available at all courses. If you anticipate requiring a buggy while golfing you should obtain a letter from your Doctor for this purpose. Pull carts and caddies will also be available at most courses.
Meals, etc. – Breakfast is provided at our hotel each day. We’ll generally lunch at the course we’re playing. Apart from at Shannon there are no advance dinner plans. Each morning after breakfast at the time we board the bus for our day’s travel there will be a brief Court Session at which time our Learned Prosecutor will bring charges against one of our number for some egregious faux pas committed the previous day and our Honourable Judge will pronounce an appropriate punishment upon the guilty miscreant.
Golf – In advance of each day’s golf we will announce that day’s foursomes. There will be a different competition each day. Your payments to date were sufficient to establish a small prize fund from which each day’s golf winners (September 4 – 7 matches) will be rewarded. The following are our first tee times at each golf course:
Friday (2nd) – Portmarnock (10:12 am)
Sunday (4th) – Ardglass (11:00 am)
Monday (5th) – Royal County Down (2:00 pm)
Tuesday (6th) – Royal Portrush (2:00 pm)
Wednesday (7th) – Ballyliffin (11:00 am)
Thursday (8th) – Travel to Shannon (no golf)
Friday (9th) and Saturday (10th) – Shannon (see below)
Sunday (11th) – Doonbeg (8:24 am)
Monday (12th) – Lahinch (12:10 pm)
Shannon – Upon our arrival at Shannon on Thursday, September 8, there will be a formal welcome reception for us and after the completion of the competition on Saturday, September 10, there will be a formal closing dinner. On behalf of Pine Ridge, we will make a gift presentation to Shannon Golf Club as part of the dinner formalities. Our golf competition with Shannon will be a two day tournament comprised of three sets of matches – Foursomes (alternate shot) on Friday morning, Four Balls (better ball) on Friday afternoon and Singles on Saturday.
As a gentle reminder, we should always refrain from discussions involving politics and religion.
The primary criteria for this trip is that you have a good and memorable time. See you in Ireland.
