Data Protection And Seniors Success

Techy, technical stuff has never been my forte; throw data at me and I duck.  For goodness sake, I still don’t know what a buffer zone is, having always assumed it was the most unfathomable of unfathomables, something to do with England batting collapses, Tottenham’s inability to win semi-finals, the Middle East crisis or whatever the modern-day equivalent of the Schleswig-Holstein question is.  Wasn’t it Palmerston who said, in all seriousness, that he was one of only three people who ever understood what that was all about and added, “Two are dead and I have forgot.”  Imagine any prime minister being that honest now.

Anyway, the golfing side of the blog has been neglected because I’ve been wrestling, belatedly as ever, with the implications of the new General Data Protection Regulation, which comes into force today, Friday 25th May 2018.  Quoting from one of the many (and varied) missives received on the subject:  “The GDPR is European Union (EU) legislation that will apply to all EU member states and covers how organisations [and, one has been led to assume, disorganisations like this blog] collect and process their customers’ personal data.  It is designed to increase the control that people have over how their personal data is used and put more responsibility on organisations that process personal data.  Following the UK’s vote to leave the EU, the UK government has confirmed that GDPR will continue to apply to the UK after…” [Insert the B word that I’ll no longer mention and is proving even messier than anticipated.]

Updated privacy policies seem to be part of the deal – although I think it was Amelia Gentleman in The Guardian who brilliantly highlighted how little privacy any of us have in these online, e-centric times – and our opening bid is presented here, with the caveat that we can only hope that the technical bods on our side – WordPress, Green Geeks and associated blog builders/hosters/advisers – can counteract the myriad foreign forces and lone teenage geeks holed up in impenetrable bedrooms who see this blog and its readers as a rich source of invaluable, vital info.

Here goes and please forgive me if there is a lack of legalese:-

Privacy Policy May 2018

Our madillgolf blog stores your email address so that we can send you the blog posts you’ve subscribed to on a Friday morning.  The emails that include one of Maureen’s tips include a link to the madillgolf You Tube videos.

We don’t ask for your name or address, we don’t share or sell the data we have and we do our best to keep everything safe.

If you have any concerns, questions or problems, you can email Patricia or Maureen on madillgolf@gmail.com. 

And if you no longer wish to receive our weekly emails, just click on the unsubscribe button.

Also, as you’ve probably already noticed, we use cookies, which are, apparently, vital to the good health and management of a blog or website and are, we’re assured, sugar-free.

That’s it, hope it’s enough to satisfy the legislation and those of you who’ve ploughed on in the hope of coming across some golfy stuff – the computer, which is almost in its dotage in laptop years, kept wanting to write “goofy”  and who am I to argue with such insight?

On the golf front, I liked Thomas Bjorn’s Ryder Cup vice line-up, announced at Wentworth in the run-up to the BMW PGA Championship.  If the worst comes to the worst in Paris in September (25th-30th), Padraig Harrington and Graeme McDowell should be able to talk the Americans into knots.  Not sure what the Irish for Ole is but am sure Padraig does – and if he doesn’t, he’ll come up with something creatively off the wall.

They’re not quite as big or as manic as the Ryder Cup but the World Amateur Team Championships (WATCs), aka the Espirito Santo (women) and the Eisenhower Trophy (men), are taking place in Ireland this year, for the first time, at Carton House, Maynooth, not far from Dublin (the splendid trophies are in the photo at the top of this blog).  The Espirito is first, from August 29th – September 1st, followed by the Eisenhower, from September 5th – 8th.  Three of Ireland’s finest, Maria Dunne, Paul Dunne and Mary McKenna, were at the 100-day launch this week and this is a great chance to see the world’s best amateurs in action and try predicting who’ll go on to bigger and better things.  Tiger Woods, Sergio Garcia, Rory McIlroy, Jack Nicklaus, Annika Sorentam, Juli Inkster and Suzann Pettersen are just some of the big names who’ve competed at the WATCs.  There’s also the enjoyment of a national team competition, which adds to the excitement and tension.  What’s more, admission is free.

I met my husband at the WATCs so I’m a great fan.

Finally, on an immodest note, my partner and I won the Seniors (no denying that designation) Mixed Open at Whittington Heath yesterday with 40 points.  The count back went to the last three holes, so Mike’s putt for a par 4 on the 17th, which teetered in to the hole on its last gasp, was crucial.  Thank you partner.