Newbiggin’s John Bell took office as president of the Northumberland Union of Golf Clubs following the organisation’s annual general meeting at The Northumberland.
John – who has been a member of the county executive since 2015 and has served Newbiggin in various roles, including as captain in the club’s 125th year and as chairman – said: “I’m very proud to become president of the Northumberland Union of Golf Clubs. The first few minutes were a bit nerve-racking, but I’m told it gets easier as you go.
“I’m very proud to be a member of Newbiggin – it’s a real honour to be the second county president from the club, and the first since 1909.
“There is a lot to look forward to in the next two years, and while there is always a lot of focus on elite golf with lots of events and matches to be part of, I’m very keen to support our handicap events – the Forster Cup and the County Salver – and see those grow.”
John succeeded Arcot Hall-based Paul Brennan as president at the AGM. Paul, who served two years as county president, said: “I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time as president. They’re long seasons when you commit to not missing a single fixture, and there has been some hard work, but I’m proud to have had the opportunity and done the role in the way I set out to. I’ve had a lot of fun meeting and getting to know people – in our own county and from the other northern counties – and the camaraderie has been a real highlight of the last two years. I’m looking forward to continuing to support the county, and the Society of Northumberland Golf Captains, while also having the time to enjoy playing some more golf.”
Meanwhile, City of Newcastle-based Andrew Minnikin – Northumberland’s most-capped men’s player – will continue in his role as county captain. He said: “I’m looking forward to the season ahead. As always, we have our league matches to look forward to, and this year we host The Big Six [The Northern Counties Men’s Qualifying Championship] at The Northumberland on August 5.
“A home Big Six is always a big occasion, and presents as good an opportunity as ever for us to go to the national finals. We’re putting a lot of focus on this event, and will be committing time to playing the course, working out our team, and nailing our gameplan in the run up to it.
“I’ve also been working with [Northumberland county player] James Conn to analyse our statistics and enhance what we do from a performance, strategy and scoring point of view. This ties in with our coaching programme with Mark Penny, which we want to build on and see results from this season.”
