Thanks for all the feedback/suggestions here chaps.
I held a similar day last year (albeit with, I think, 18 players) at the same time so have a pretty good feel for what works for most people.
First off the weather. If we have snow (unlikely really) then the day would be, obviously, postponed. As for frost Swinley is like most of the Surrey/Berkshire sand belt courses in that it usually remains open in the hope the frost will thaw as the sun rises.
As for daylight it should be light until around 17.30-17.50 so that gives the opportunity to get 36 holes in.
The lunch at Swinley Forest is one of the highlights so I would certainly recommend that it isn't diminished or skipped to squeeze a few more afternoon holes in. However the day is about the golf so it is possible to balance things so that everyone is (I hope) happy.
For the format of the day we are playing in three balls and the first tee time is at 8.15am 8.00am- so the first group in for lunch should be around Noon. The playing format that would make the most sense here is Stapleford and full handicap allowances and then prizes for 1st,2nd and 3rd places. Therefore I would suggest that everyone who has a balance to pay on the day of £50.00 also makes provision for another £5 contribution that will go into the prize fund for the morning round.
We have 27 players for the morning rounds so that will translate neatly to 9 three balls. I will produce a draw sheet for that and ask someone to post it here later in the week.
For the afternoon, given the light/number of players, 29 in total - there needs to be a degree of flexibility to a point. Last year we didn't have a draw for the afternoon round so people grouped up into three's (and two's) to head back out for as much golf as was possible. Nearly everyone managed another 18 holes of free play but for myself (as last into lunch and last back out - yes, planned that part poorly!!) managed an edited round of around 14 holes which to be honest was fine for me.
So my suggestion for the afternoon is that we arrange now or over lunch a secondary team event for the afternoon round that enables as many to play a full 18 holes as possible. We could, of course, also introduce another prize fund for this afternoon team match and again that could be a further contribution of £5 a head, split between 1st, 2nd and 3rd places.
For Swinley Forest I'm inclined to not have NTP and LD competitions though.
Sound reasonable so far?
Gareth
***Edit - Just spoke to the club and we can actually tee off from 8am as we have 8 minute increments for the morning groups. So makes sense to take that option and have the first group off at 8am here. Also for the afternoon the format is allowed to be Four balls/foursomes or greensomes - so gives us some options there***