Every year the Club is represented at several invitational events. Since the last report, the male members have represented the Club at the Shanklin and Sandown Vase, the Centenary Trophy, the Stoneham Spitfire Trophy, the Corhampton Salver, the Pairs and the Hockley Twyford Trophy. In the Meon Valley Millennium, the Club Captain and Vice Captain had a good day and were the first Alresford pair to win the Trophy.

As usual I will leave Mary, our Lady Captain to cover both the Ladies and Mixed matches; however, I would like to compliment the ladies for their successes.

Kathryn McLaughlin and Jane Hendry played exceptionally well in the County Foursomes at Skylark and came home with the Trophy. Well done girls.

Jenny Myers had a fantastic day at the North Hants Junior Open. In the morning medal she came 2nd with a nett 64 and in the afternoon, she came 1st in the stableford with an unbelievable 50 points. She started the day as a 19 handicapper and finished as a 10 handicapper! Jenny was also chosen to represent the Hampshire Girls in the HLCGA Alresford Cup. Against 7 other Counties, the Hampshire team achieved a very creditable second place. Well played Jenny.

The Pro-Am organised by Malcolm and Jane Scott with the PGA, fielded 180 players of which 45 were Club Professionals. The winner was Martin Adams with a new course record of 63 and Alastair Hay came second with 66. The day was very well organised and can only have brought credit to our Club. Thanks to Malcolm and Jane for all the hard work they put in, which ensured a fantastic day.

I am delighted how my Captain’s Day went. Thanks to Adam and the Lads, the course was in excellent condition and this was reflected in the very good scores achieved. The Captain’s prize was won by Tony Hutt with 43 points on countback from Mark Tiplady who was Best Man. The Best Lady was Gill Fremantle on 40 points and the Best Junior was Oliver Stuart. Gill had a great day as she also won the Team Prize with her husband Simon, Claire Gould and Peter Sly. David Maskery, Melissa and Linda ensured everything was ready for the day, David Robertson had the task of checking the cards and Chris Pullinger presented us with some tasty food. My wife Marilyn supported me at the half-way house, which she enjoyed immensely. My thanks go to you all for making this such a memorable and enjoyable day for me.

Brian Wright

I had a lovely day in the Petersfield friendly which was the last one I will be playing in as Captain. (Gosh this year has flown by!).  A half was a nice result to have as well and everyone seemed to enjoy their game and the friendly company.

Alresford looked at its best when we hosted the Knight Cup Semi Finals and Finals which was won by South Winchester.  It was a beautiful day and the golf was to be admired!

In the annual Eclectics at Corhampton, Hayling and Hockley we narrowly missed being in the prizes but we were consistently near the top ..so my thanks to all of you who have represented us and played so well.

The weather was not great for the Alresford Cup on Sunday which is a competition between 8 counties for Junior Girls. Despite being cold and damp, to watch these young girls play golf is truly impressive and congratulations to Surrey who won again this year. My thanks to all of you who helped make this day such a success, led by Mary Rook who started this event in her Captain’s Year.

Now, please can I ask you to look at the Notice Board and sign up for the Vets and Ladies which is being played on Monday 22^nd October. This year, it is we Ladies who make the rules and although I want it to be a ‘fair’ game…I am certainly not going to make it easy on the Vets….who, let me remind you,  made us play off the yellows last year!!!

Also, the Vets, Juniors and Ladies match is being played on Thursday 25^th October. This is always a nice game, so please sign up for that as well.

I am very much looking forward to seeing many of you at the Autumn Meeting – the last big meeting in my year…I am sure we are all going to have fun on the course, with a nice meal to follow.

Best wishes

Mary

Cock & Hen Trophy

The closing date for the Cock & Hen Trophy of 10^th October is fast approaching, The Cock & Hen Trophy is a mixed 4BBB Stableford competition with drawn partners, and will be played on Sunday 21^st October. At time of writing there are more men than ladies signed up, so ladies, if you haven’t signed up yet please do so by 10^th October, otherwise there will be a few unhappy men with no partners.

New Rules of Golf

The Player’s Edition of the Rules of Golf is now available from the Office. This publication is a convenient size to carry in your golf bag and is written from the player’s perspective, with lots of diagrams to help with the explanation of the rules. The R&A website (https://www.randa.org/en/rog/2019/pages/the-rules-of-golf} has online versions of the Player’s Edition and the full Rules. The MyGolf website (https://www.my-golf.uk/rules-of-golf-2019-major-changes-most-relevant-to-golfers/) has a selection of short videos to illustrate those changes to rules which will affect most golfers. Everyone will benefit from looking at these. Remember the new rules will take effect from 1^st January 2019.

Presentation Evening

Advance notice of the Trophy Presentation Evening which will be on Friday 16^th November. A list of all the trophy winners will be posted on the notice boards by the end of October. We encourage all those who have won a major competition during the year to attend and receive their trophy and the plaudits from the assembled company. If you won a trophy last year and have kept it at home, could you please return it to the Office as soon as possible so that it can be engraved with this year’s winner.

George Clelland

Question.

In match play at a par-3 hole, player A hits his tee shot into a greenside bunker. Player B hits his ball into dense woods. Player B then hits a provisional ball which comes to rest 12” from the hole. Player A searches for B’s ball, player B walks to the green, removes the flag and holes out his provisional ball. Player B states A played out of turn and recalls the shot. He then finds B.s original ball within the 5 mins allowed. Does player A have to play his original ball, or his provisional ball when it is his turn to play?

We lost heavily to Basingstoke away. And, yes, it’s still there – just. It has not been sold for housing yet, thank heavens. And what a lovely course it is! The highlight of the day was a hole in one for Stuart Slater on the fierce seventeenth hole, the green of which is about as wide as a handkerchief with a bunker 2 feet to the right of the pin. Great shot Stuart, and well done for holding the kind of golf insurance that pays for a very healthy round of drinks in the clubhouse. Good idea.

Then we welcomed Royal Winchester to our own lovely course and won, followed by the same result against Hartley Whitney, both very friendly matches. Our game at Lee on the Solent, which was switched from the spring due to flooding was unfortunately played over 9 holes (twice) because their green keepers were doing heavy maintenance on the front nine after a torrid year for them. But fun was had nevertheless. We lost.

If you haven’t done so already please sign up for the Vets’ and Partners’ Dinner on the 1st November. It’s nearly full but I think we could just squeeze in another table if there is demand. You will be welcomed by Tom Jesty, a great young pianist, to entertain you over drinks and the early part of the meal. And it’s an opportunity to get your black and white togs out, and for the partners to wear their fancy frocks. The menu looks excellent.

And the sign up sheets are on the board for the “vets vs ladies” and the “vets ladies and juniors” matches, both of which are good days. The ladies get to set the rules for our match against them this year and have something to prove, having lost heavily last year. So it could be tough, but you know what they say about the going getting tough. I know I can count on you vets, so don’t forget to sign up. Go vets.

Chris Thompson

BAR CARD ‘TOP UPS’ – YOUR HELP PLEASE?

If you are coming to a function, please ‘top up’ your card beforehand. This helps the staff and your fellow members when it is very busy at the start of the evening and you are not taking the attention of one of the bar staff for a longer period of time than necessary and perhaps having to wait for the credit card machine as well etc etc. ‘Top Up’ the day before whenever possible.

KITCHEN CLOSURE – ANNUAL DEEP CLEAN

The ‘deep clean’ allows us to meet insurance requirements meaning that an external specialist company carries out a thorough cleanse of our extraction system and main cooking equipment.

The kitchen will therefore be closed on Monday 29th reopening at 1pm on Tuesday 30th October. As before freshly prepared sandwiches will be available on a ‘first come first served’  basis from the bar.

We roped the tree off and our tree surgeon made the tree safe within 48 hours. I am delighted to see that the tree still looks great! Over the winter, the outstanding work on the trees identified will be completed. Further detail will be available to interested parties.

Fairways recovered from the drought incredibly well following the rain. I have heard no reports of any course in better condition. We do still have a lot of issues to sort out. The grow sheet is down on the 8th temporary green to try and speed up germination of seed. We did overseed 3 weeks ago but because of the lack of rain in the last month nothing has germinated or recovered. Adam has spoken to a few local greenies and all are suffering this on the weaker discoloured turf that is suffering drought stress. Members and visitors can help by not taking trollies between greens and greenside bunkers. These areas are weak and should always be protected. Please also stick to the path when walking from the 6^th and 7^th and avoid walking down the 15^th.

We are very concerned about rook damage on the course and particularly around bunkers. The ban on chemicals that kill the leatherjackets and chafer grubs was lifted by the EU for certain sports grounds, including golf courses. We were unable to source any supplies during the window!  Some fairways (the 1^st and 5^th in particular) has been hammered by the pesky rooks. They ripped at large portions of the first 150 yards of the 1^st fairway leaving quite a mess in their wake. All has been ‘made good’ with seed feed and dressings but it is quite concerning. We have reluctantly employed ‘bangs’ and the ultimate deterrent of hanging dead rooks in problem areas.

We are very happy with the condition, speed and play of the greens. Autumn greens maintenance went well, and recovery has been exceptional.  Bunkers are in great condition considering our staff situation. This is down to volunteer help, above the great work of our staff.  Special mention to John Goodacre who has raked the bunkers every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday for weeks now. He also cut rough in preparation for the Pro-Am. Outstanding from a non-playing member.

Mark Tiplady

Answer.

When Player A holed out his provisional ball, it became the ball in play and the original ball was lost, however, player B was within his rights to recall the shot and player A should then play in the correct order. Decision 27-2b/1

Not a member of the 100 Club?

The objective of the Alresford Golf Club 100 Club is to raise funds for projects and items requiring capital expenditure that will enhance the Golf Course and/or the Clubhouse. Such projects would generally be considered as ‘extras’ and not necessarily be within the Club budget. The 100 Club was launched in 1987 to raise funds to augment the Centenary celebrations of the Golf Club in 1990, but at the request of the members, the 100 Club has continued to raise funds for items such as the Information Board and Clock on the 1^st tee and the Automatic External Defibrillator in the Entrance Hall.

If you’re not a member of the 100 Club, you can become one for as little as £1 per month. Shares in the 100 Club are purchased for £1 per month and there is no limit on the number of shares which can be held. In general, most members have between 1 and 5 shares and pay by monthly direct debit, though it’s also possible to pay quarterly or annually. Each share is allocated a number which in entered in the monthly draw. The top prize is £100, with a second prize of £50 and four other prizes of £32. For more information contact George Clelland on 01962 735008 or george.clelland@btinternet.com, or call in to the Secretary’s office.

George Clelland