Fore Info October 2021
Content
Here are some of the October highlights:
- Final steps in deciding on Tee Times
- Clubhouse Development latest
- Members with non-golfing special achievements: hockey legend
- News from the Captains Day and External Mens Competition Results
- Our Ladies excelling in competitions around the area
- New Ladies Vice Captain announced
- Details of the Winter Knockouts and Returning Scorecards
- Seasonal results of our Mixed Matches
- Vets update and upcoming Winter League
- Details of upcoming Rollups
- Pro Tip from Mark Wood on Lowering your Score
- Updates on the Course
- Lucky Winners in the 100 Club
[hr]I hope you enjoy the read.
If you have ideas to further improve Fore Info, please email me at newsletter@alresfordgolf.co.uk or look me up on the club directory for a chat.
David Marshall
Editor
Alresford Members outfox competitors in Scotland Championship 
This month sadly no aces reported to me but we do have a story of golfing excellence. As a launch pad to 3 weeks Holiday in Scotland, Karen and David Fox decided to spend the first 5 days playing in the Scottish Golf Pairs Challenge. (A few other Alresford members went up and played in the mixed event in May). This was 5 rounds of Better Ball on 5 different courses, across 5 days….all within 25 minutes of Blairgowrie and in competition with 90 odd other pairs. The courses included four terrific James Braid designs and especially good, The Rosemount, Blairgowrie (1889) and Forfar (1893).
Karen and David won the net prize having completed all 5 courses in a net score of 312 shots. Their best being a 61 on the first day, worst a tired 64 on the last! Congratulations to Karen and David!
Management Corner
Tee Times
As I write this note, the Members’ survey on Tee Times has yet to conclude but I am informed by the Captain’s Committee & working party that they have received a stunning uptake from us all. More than 400 members have already completed the survey, which will therefore ensure that the results are representative of the membership as a whole. It is a welcome trend at our Club that so many people make a positive contribution to the running of the Club.
Once the survey closes on October 1st; the first step will be to audit the source of responses to ensure that each member has only provided the single, permitted response. You can imagine that this is a painstaking, manual process, however we must validate response sources. This will be concluded so that the results from the survey can be provided with confidence for members on 18th October 2021.
Should the survey reveal a significant interest in establishing some pre-booked Tee Times at the Club we will need to hold a Special General Meeting to change a Club rule, given that this would represent a significant change in policy. The rule that would need changing states that; ‘The Club does not normally apply tee reservations’.
So, we await the results from the survey to understand the preferences of our members as a whole. If there is significant interest in establishing some Tee Times revealed by the survey, the Club will hold a Special General Meeting as soon after the 18th October as possible which would take us into early November. If there is not significant interest in Tee Times then the existing Club rule will remain unchanged without need for a special general meeting.
I must congratulate the Captain’s Committee and its working party for reaching out to all sections of the Club to ensure that each and every member has the opportunity to contribute to the consultation on Tee Times as we would expect at this Club; run for the benefit of its members
Clubhouse Development
We currently have four, validated building firms working on their tenders against the detailed specification provided by our Chair of House, Sue Masser working together with the Club’s appointed Architect and Quantity Surveyor.
The Management Committee awaits the outcome from the tender process at which time we can consider next steps. Given the lapse of time since our original costing exercise, and the impact of the Covid pandemic, prices are expected to have increased. Once we have accurate information to hand from the tender process we can consider next steps, however, future prices are unlikely to reduce given inflationary pressures and our dated bar, lounge and dining areas continue to dilapidate.
Key Members Trophy
Last year I inaugurated a new golfing trophy to provide an opportunity to recognise the work of those members who voluntarily worked on behalf of Club as starters during the Covid restrictions, and as committee members for example. Imagine for one moment the extensive voluntary commitment made by George Clelland and Gill Freemantle together with the rest of the Match Committee without whom the Club could not run its competitions or indeed manage your handicaps. We need to be mindful of this effort which is provided entirely voluntarily.
We have been trying to find a date in the congested diary to hold the event to no avail, but I am trying to find an available date for Richard Lane to defend his title as ‘Key member of the Year’. He won the trophy with some great golf on the day, but it was a fitting victory as when Richard was unable to play golf last year he volunteered as; a starter, as the marshal for both days of the Club Championship and continued to contribute as a member of the Finance Committee. It is important for me that we embed this event in our annual commitments to ensure that all of our volunteers are recognised for their invaluable contributions. David Maskery tells me how lucky we are to have such committed members, which is rarely found in other Clubs.
Robert White
Chairman of the Management Committee
Members special non-golfing achievements: Welsh National Hockey Legend
AGC: We’ve Got Talent. This is the second of my reports to uncover special ‘non-golfing’ achievements from our membership. If during a game or over a beer you hear a story about another members’ special non-golfing achievement let me know and I will publish it. Maybe we have past Olympians, World Record holders or someone in the Guinness Book of Records?
Often members are shy to report these things but I hope readers will enjoy hearing about these special people in our midst. Just send me an email or give me a ring.
David Marshall
Editor
Our Hockey Wizard: from Services Captain to Welsh National Player
I suppose that given the similarity between hockey and golf, it is not surprising that an AGC member would have also been a good hockey player. However amongst us we have at least one player that reached the giddy heights of representing their country, Wales and received 16 caps.
This member was born in India of English parents and captained the Royal Navy Team as well as the Combined Services Team for a record 6 years (another member Keith Monkhouse was also in the team). He was very good, but was unsuccessful at a trial for the England Hockey Team. Luckily the Welsh selector was at that trial and spotted his skills, particularly his fantastic, long, fast running solo goal. As he had a welsh grandmother, the selector signed him up sharpish. The rest is history.
Some of you playing with this member, Simon Cook, may recognize the hockey swing in his golf today, although his pace has sadly left him. Thanks to Simon Cook for sharing his special achievement with us all.
[hr]
From the Club Captain
Another busy month of golf with and early highlight being a very successful Mixed Invitation. This saw 32 members invite guests on a lovely Sunday afternoon. All enjoyed the day with Robert Doley and his guest Linda Fossey, (Meon Valley) coming out on top. The course and catering showed the club in good light. Grateful thanks to Jan Harring and Tony Hutt for a very well organised day.
Simon and I enjoyed the hospitality of Corhampton Golf Club for their Salver without success. Similarly, Brian Wright and I failed to impress in the Hockley Twyford, but enjoyed another good day.
Our team of 8 played at Andover in the Francis Holmes. Alresford, Andover, Marlborough and Romsey compete each year for this above trophy. The history is that all 4 clubs were originally 9 hole courses. The format is teams of 8 playing foursomes medal play in the morning and singles medal play in the afternoon. In the morning the best three scores count and, in the afternoon, the best six scores. The team with the lowest aggregate score for the day is the winner. As usual, the host team won, but we were close behind and all enjoyed the golf and hospitality.
Captains Day on the 12th was another super day, very well attended and some great golf. Pat and I were very pleased to see so many members enjoying the day. The winner of the Captains Prize was Liz Williams who just pipped Mark Pyne on countback. Lyn Jones was Best Lady while Jenny Myers won Best Junior.
Liz and her team of Tony Hastings, Mike Bryant and Phil McCormick won the team prize with Steve Pratt, Jonny Cantor, Nick Connell and Juan Lyall second and Chris Stephens, Lee Phillips, Paul Robson and Mark Truran third.
While this is not primarily a charity fundraising day, £1780 was raised for Captains Charity by the generosity of our members.
Simon and I have been proud to be Starter for two events this month. This year was the 16th playing of one of our most prestigious events, the Alresford Cup. After sadly having to cancel last year’s event due to Covid, it was just wonderful to see 42 girls from Berkshire, Dorset, Hampshire, Kent, Middlesex, Sussex and Surrey back out on the course for the 2021 competition. It did not disappoint.
Huge well done to all the teams that took part and a special mention to all the girls from the various counties that were representing their counties for the very first time. It was wonderful to see all the supporters watching the girls tee off the 1st and 10th holes and to have a club house full of people creating a brilliant atmosphere for the prize giving. There was a hole-in-one on the 10th, while Sussex won for the first time.
We also acted as starters for the Ladies Autumn Meeting in very indifferent weather on Tuesday 28th. Thank you for inviting us to be part of your important dates ladies.
I was honoured to be invited to the Past Captains Salver. It was just great to see 15 past captains playing the course with 3 more attending the dinner afterwards. Humbling to be in the company of these Captains spanning the past 40 years, who have such love for this club and it’s members, present and past. George Clelland achieved a 13 year goal by winning the Salver!
Captain-Pro Challenge
The draw for the knock-out stage was held on Wednesday 29th by David and Mel. Gary Mugford and Ian Jones will play Peter Gunn and Chris Spicer in one semi-final while Gill Freemantle and Sarah Thorne play Harry Dhand and Dave Fox for the right to play Gareth Rees and Tony Stanton in the other.
Finally, thank you again to all who have taken part in the tee-booking process. Robert has made comments in his article. My personal thanks go to CapCom, and of course all members of the Consulting Group. I am also grateful for those members who have taken the time to send emails, outlining their views. All have been and will be most helpful going forward.
Happy golfing!
Tip
Ladies Section
September has been an extremely busy golfing month seemingly commencing early on the August Bank Holiday Monday with the fun Parr three Competition organised by the Social Committee.
Alresford Ladies played three Friendly Matches winning against Brockenhurst and Royal Winchester and halving the third with Farnham.
Pat Palmer, Mary Panter, Jane Hendry and Victoria Macintosh represented Alresford in the Ladies Centenary Shield at Corhampton achieving second place, whilst our team of Mandy Overton, Gunnel Berry, Nikki White and Caroline Warne came home with third prize from the Bramshaw Inter Club Eclectic.
In the past few weeks I have interviewed 5 new Temporary Members to the Club, Elizabeth Farrow, Jenny Steiner, Clovis Axton, Mary Ritchie and Heather Williams. We welcome them and hope they will enjoy all Club Activities.
Heartfelt thanks to Jan Harring and Tony Hutt who at short notice organised and ran a very successful day for the Mixed Invitation with 64 entries with visitors from 17 different Clubs and won by Robert Doley and Linda Fossey.
Congratulations to our Club Captain, Mark Tiplady, who, ably assisted by his wife Pat, worked extremely hard to make his Captain’s Day a fun and enjoyable day with 172 Players taking part. Our Junior Captain Jenny Myers is becoming a Raffle Expert so we all know where to look for help.
The Hampshire Ladies Past Captain’s Autumn Meeting at Bramshaw proved a great day for Alresford with Lynne Cowser and her partner winning the overall Scratch trophy with 31 points, and in Second Division, Caroline Warne and yours truly in second place, and on countback Mary Panter and Sue Masser coming in third.
The Daily Mail Foursomes was won by Polly Church and Gill Freemantle and Kim Johnson won the Esme Norris with Gunnel Berry the runner up.
Jan Harring and Sarah Staines organised and ran the Autumn Meeting with expert efficency. Although the weather was not ideal 58 Ladies completed their Medal rounds with Sandra Hooker, Alicia Hardy and Tinneke Ribbink winning 1st, 2nd and third divisions. Our thanks to everyone who contributed to make it such a special day.
Congratulations to Gunnel Berry who shall be our Vice-Captain for 2022. Gunnel has worked on the House Committee for many years and her wisdom and wealth of experience will be of great benefit to the Ladies Section.
Finally, I was very saddened and extremely upset to hear of Viv Pain’s death last week. Viv was a popular and active member of the Club who fought her illness bravely and with great courage. It was wonderful that she could join us for a while at the Spring Meeting and Lady Captain’s Day. Our thoughts are with David and family and with all who knew and loved her.
Di
Ladies Captain
Match Committee Report
Winter Leagues
Booking for the Winter Mixed Foursomes 2020-21 and the Men’s Lombard 4BBB 2020-21 has been available from 26th September. These competitions are open to 7-day members who have played in at least 6 qualifying competitions since 24/10/2020. The closing date for entries is Sunday 24th October and the draw for the leagues will be posted by Wednesday 28th October. You should enter as a team and the entry fee of £3 per player will be taken when you book and reserve a place.
The first stage of both competitions is played in leagues of 4 or 5 teams where each team plays match-play against the others. Points are awarded for winning (3), drawing (2) and losing (1). All matches in the leagues must be completed by Sunday 20th February 2022 after which winners of each league and possibly one or more runners-up will go forward to the knock-out stage.
The maximum number of teams for the league phase is 32. If there are more than 32 entries, a number of teams may have to play a preliminary knock-out match to reduce the number to 32. All draws for leagues and the preliminary round (if necessary) will be random.
Sign-in for the Ladies Winter Foursomes and 9-hole Winter League is now closed
Handicap Allowances for Lombard 4BB
Each player should calculate their Playing Handicap as 90% of their Course Handicap (CH x 0.9). Strokes are then taken relative to the player with the lowest Playing Handicap (whether present or not); that player plays off zero strokes.
Handicap Allowances for Winter Mixed
Playing handicaps for each side are 50% of the combined Course Handicaps of the two players in the team, plus an adjustment for the difference in Course Rating between the white and red tees. The man should determine his Course Handicap for the White tees; the lady should determine her Course Handicap for the Red Tees; work out half of the combined Course Handicaps and then add 1.3 to give the team Playing Handicap.
Example:
Man; Handicap Index = 14.9 Course Handicap = 15
Lady: Handicap Index = 25.6 Course Handicap = 28
50% of combined Course Handicap = 21.5
Plus adjustment of 50% of Course Rating difference 1.3
Team Playing Handicap = 22.8 rounded to 23
The number of strokes to be given/received is the full difference between the team Playing Handicaps. The Stroke Indexes on the Ladies Red card should be used to determine where shots should be given/received.
Return of Scorecards
A reminder that competition scorecards for all Men’s and Mixed competitions must be deposited on the day the competition or round is played in the BROWN wooden box in the Entrance Hall. If your scorecard isn’t in the correct box, then you’ll be disqualified from the competition under Rule 3.3b – Undue delay in returning scorecard, though your score may still be processed for handicap purposes.
Scorecards for Ladies’ competitions should be deposited in the box in the Ladies Changing Room.
Wilkinson Trophy & Millennium Quaich
I’d like to apologise for the problems with sign-in and score entry for the competitions over the weekend of 25th/26th September. In the competition set-up we have to explicitly specify the dates and times when sign-in and score entry is available and whether this is on the PSI and the Members App. Unfortunately, the Saturday competition was setup in April along with several others and the sign-in and score entry dates weren’t set to the date of the competition at that time; the date of the Sunday competition was changed at short notice and the sign-in and score entry dates were over-looked.
George Clelland
Chair, Match and Competitions Committee
Mixed Matches
There is just one match still to be played. Normally, by October, we have completed all our matches but we still have the Covid-delayed Corhampton away match to be played soon.
Special thanks to our Captains Mark and Di and Vice Captain Simon for their support as they have always made sure that one of them is available to captain our team for each match. This level of support and commitment for Mixed Matches is not something that all our opponents’ clubs enjoy.
The Alresford teams have included lots of new names playing in the match lists for the first time this year, with many of them playing more than once, so it must be an enjoyable experience! If you haven’t been sure about joining in and want to understand more about the matches then there are a few months to find out more before next year’s season starts in April. The matches are run in a friendly manner with everyone welcome, no matter what their handicap. Don’t miss the opportunity to play mixed golf both at home and on some very enjoyable away courses. You don’t need a partner as playing partners are allocated as part of team selection.
So far this year Alresford have played 9 matches, 4 away and 5 at home. The results have been:
Away – Lost 4
Home – Won 3, Drawn 1, Lost 1
The schedule of Mixed Matches for next year is nearly complete with 5 home and 6 away games. The fixture list will be on the noticeboard soon so that you can reserve the dates in your new calendars for 2022. We look forward to seeing even more club members signing up for the matches next year.
Marion and Alan Bruce
A Look at the Rules
Question.
Q. During a competition round, either stroke play or Match play, a player who suffers from illness or injury is allowed to stop playing for how long?
a) 5 mins
b) 10 mins
c) 15 mins
d) 30 mins
Vets Section
Welcome to this, my penultimate report, for Fore. September has been a really busy month for the Section. We have played 7 matches, 4 at home and 3 away, held the Over 80’s Championship, played the Flag Day Competition and The Joe Kitchen Trophy. The annual Vets v Ladies is set for the 30th September so too late to cover in this report. The 3 away matches at Basingstoke, RWGC and Stoneham were all defeats, again by small margins while the 4 home matches saw wins against Blackmoor 6-1, Basingstoke 8-0, Hartley Wintney 7-1 and a half against Cowdray Park. We remained unbeaten over our 8 home matches and now have only 2 remaining away fixtures to play at Cowdray Park and Hartley Wintney which brings and end to our summer matches.
The Over 80’s Championship, an individual stableford, saw 14 members competing on a glorious day. To make it more interesting each player received an additional stoke to his handicap for every year over 80 yrs. of age.
The winner, successfully defending his title, was Tony Brooking winning on countback from Norman Sheen with 40 pts. Everyone had a good time and when I left the party was still in full swing!
The Vets Over 70’s Knock Out saw a close run game in the final with it going down to the final putt on the 18th. Jonathan Scott, being 2 up with 3 play , managing to hang on to keep Barry Scott out. Congratulations to Jonathan. The final of the Fred White Foursomes and Vets K.O. Championship are due to be played within the next couple of weeks. Good luck to the finalists and thanks to all players involved for playing their matches in plenty of time.
The Joe Kitchen Trophy, formally known as The Vets Secretary Trophy, is a 36 hole qualifying competition with a medal round followed by a stableford round. The overall winner being the player with the lowest difference between the two scores. 31 players entered with some good scoring on both days. Wynne Tufnell led after the first round with a nett 64 and returned an excellent 39 points in the stableford round to be the overall winner of the trophy by one point from Gerry Collard who recorded a credible nett 69 and a fantastic 43 stableford points .
As the summer fixtures end our attention turns to the Winter League. Ed Tinley has agreed to be co-ordinator for this years series with home and away matches against Hockley, S. Winchester, RWGC, Corhampton and Salisbury & S. Wilts. I can assure you these matches are taken far more seriously than the summer friendlies with points scored for home & away results and the winners of the league presented with the Winter League trophy. We are the current holders of the trophy from 2019 and are looking forward to defending of our title.
Gareth Rees
Vets Captain
General Manager’s Update
NEW MEMBERS
Welcome to the following new members who have all joined the club during September ; Heather Williams , Nicholas and Rosemary Ashford (Temporary), Sam Collins (Intermediate), Matty Norfolk and Sabrina Green (Student), George Sandison and Tobias Cobb (Juniors), Clare Nightingale, Ali Maude and Charles Day (Academy).
We hope that your time at the club will be a long and enjoyable one for all of you.
CLUB ‘ROLL UP’ RESUMPTION
Fancy a game during the week? All members are welcome to come along to the informal ‘club roll-up’ on Wednesday mornings. The usual start time is between 11.00-11.30am all year round but may change subject to any advanced tee reservations. Everyone welcome, meet at the starters hut from approx. 10.45am for allocation of groups. As per the times highlighted for the Ladies and Vets Sections, we politely ask members to show courtesy to those who wish to play in this ‘roll up’ at this time.
OCTOBER
Wednesday 6th ~ 11.00am
Wednesday 13th ~11.00am (Mid-week Stableford)
Wednesday 20th ~ 11.00am
Wednesday 27th ~ 11.00am (Mid-week medal)
Wednesday 3rd Nov ~ 11.00am
CLUB DIARY – IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Members are still being caught out by only referring to the Club Diary Icon on Club V1 app.
Please remember that the Club Diary icon within the Club V1 app, only shows upcoming competitions. It does not link with our google calendar and so reflect the full club dairy with any tee reservations for matches or golf societies.
If you wish to access this via the Club V1 app , use the Club website icon / Homepage / Menu / Events
Alternatively check the noticeboards outside the Pro-Shop and on the 1st tee – both of these show two weeks of any tee restrictions.
FACEBOOK – check out our Facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/alresfordgolfclub
Make sure you ‘like’ our Facebook page and you will link to it and get the regular pictures and updates on what’s happening ! Share with your friends to help us boost our online and social media profiles
Follow us at https://www.instagram.com/alresford_golf_club/
TROPHY WINNERS 2020
Would all trophy winners please return their trophies to the club. Whilst we are currently unsure about any presentation evening, they all need to be returned so they can be audited and engraved in readiness.All Trophies must be returned to the Office by Friday 15th October. Every year we are left with a few unhappy members who either do not have an engraved trophy or a trophy at all, where previous winners have forgotten to return their silverware in time.PLEASE RETURN YOUR TROPHIES IN PLENTY OF TIME.
CAR PARK
A couple of near misses recently prompt me to remind ALL MEMBERS that when entering and exiting the car park please follow the directional signs. DO NOT be tempted to take the short cut to get the ‘best spaces’ or out get out quickly.
Similarly, please only park in designated spaces and if none are available use the Overflow Car Park.
Parking adjacent to the B3046 Cheriton Road potentially blocks access to the Overflow car park, access for ambulances and prevents delivery lorries entering the car park to off load at the far end. This can be a major issue.
GREAT GREENS: EVERYONES RESPONSIBILITY NOT JUST GREENKEEPING
It’s the time of the year when the greens are becoming softer. Repairing pitchmarks and replacing divots is a basic responsibility of all golfers, so please look around the green when walking to your ball and try to repair a pitchmark on every green even if it is not yours. Grass growth will be less over the winter, so damage to greens takes longer to repair. Lets all do our bit to ensure our greens stay in good condition for as long as possible.
If you are not sure how to repair a pitchmark properly (even if you think you do!) watch the you tube video below.
[kad_youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1UWnpv3woU” ]
KIT’s CLUB QUIZ NIGHT
Saturday 9th October – 7.30pm (prompt)
Max. 6 players per team
Pre-ordered food available before the quiz.
Sign Up on Social Noticeboard
David Maskery
General Manager
Social
Mike Battisson
Chair, Social Committee
Pro- Corner
Quick Tips for Lower Scores
Shooting lower scores starts by getting your tee shots in good positions. The best bit about this means that improving your driving doesn’t always mean changing your swing. Let’s boost your confidence and consistency off the tee by simply focusing on strategy. By thinking more decisively on the tee, picking better targets, staying calm under pressure, and developing an effective pre-shot routine, will set you up for success on the course—and better scores.
Tip 1 – Play the Hole Backwards
As we play Alresford golf club a lot, this tip is perfect for you. As you stand on the tee it is a great idea to start looking at where you want to be playing your next shot from. This change in view will give you a better understanding of the hole layout and will help you figure out where you want to place your ball off the tee. This will start to give you the best route in on attacking the greens from the right locations from the fairway.
Tip 2 – Don’t let the Tee Box Aim you
Another course feature is to notice where the tee box aims you. Sometimes the tee box will aim you towards the trouble and away from the preferred side of the fairway. What I mean by this is taking note of where the trouble is on the hole and aim away from it. For example, if there’s out of bounds down the left, set up on the left side of the tee to give yourself a better angle out to the right. You might be surprised how many strokes you can save by doing this.
Tip 3 – Focus on a Small Target
As a Professional Golfer when I walk up to a hole, I don’t see the trouble. Instead, I see the area I want to drive the ball into. What I would like you to do is to focus on your target instead of the trouble you want to avoid, hazards and trees. This gives you the best chance at putting your tee shot in line with your target. By staying positive will free up your mind—and your swing.
Tip 4 – Make a smart club selection
Sometimes the driver should just stay in your golf bag. Good strategy starts with getting the right club in your hands, and sometimes it’s not the driver. If you are struggling with the driver on any given day or you just don’t feel confident, it’s quite a good idea to take your 3-wood or hybrid instead. The most important thing about driving is not only how far you hit it but keeping the ball in play.
MORE GOLF TIPS
I am always filming new video tips and popping them over on my YouTube channel which is completely free to subscribe to. You can find my channel here – https://www.youtube.com/user/markwoodgolfacademy
Greens News
So as I write some rain has finally arrived, good news for the course and it reduces our mains water consumption now we have used our annual bore hole quota of 4,000 m3. The Greens have had another light aeration recently along with Iron and turf hardeners to strengthen the plant. Fungicide has been applied to stop fusarium but it is also that time of year for “dollar spot” (tee tops) and “take all” but our staff are on top of this. As we get cooler and damper these things develop particularly on the 3rd; 7th and 10th greens that can been in the shade even at Midday.
Granular fertiliser will be applied shortly that should also combat any additional anthracnose which is driven by late summer warmth and heavy dew.
Perhaps you have noticed how the poorly Ash Trees suddenly lost all their leaves in the last couple of weeks. The Arborist has been and whilst we are still waiting for the report we think the pink dots are to fell and the white dots to monitor. Most of the diseased ash are relatively small and in areas where thinning is needed anyway. However we are a little concerned about the large ash tree on the right hand side of the 12th fairway just before the second footpath. Ash dieback normally happens at the top of the tree but this one seems to have it more towards the bottom.
Time for a “little known fact”? Simon our Course Manager was once the Hockley Junior Captain and played off 10!
You will be delighted that it’s that time of year to cut and collect the rough! Initially forward of the Par 3’s and then onto other area’s where the sheep don’t graze (yes they will be back fairly soon). However the rough cutter broke a chain so a part is enroute so that it can continue.
Some of our path edgings had rotted away so you will have noticed the path away from the 9th tee has enjoyed some replacements and looks a lot better now.
The new tee mirror went into position but we decided it was too distorted and that has now been rectified. The Chipping Dome back wall has been removed and sent away to be used as a template for a replacement as the old one was becoming torn and tatty.
Academy 1 is now open which means we have 8 holes in play. The risk assessment of the proposed Academy 9 continues which if approved will allow the loop to close and return you to the same starting point at the end of the carpark.
The Winter Development projects are now approved so the first change you will see is the fairway grass on the 4th between the fairway bunkers being allowed to grow a little. This is a trial to create a “risk and reward” situation with a choice of laying up or clearing the bunkers!
Happy Golfing!
Bob Moore
Chair, Greens Committee
A Look at the Rules
Answer.
c) 15 mins, and if the player requires to stop more than once, they must not stop for more than 15 min’s in total for the round. Any longer than this, the player would be considered to be unreasonably delaying play. See interpretations 5.6a/2
If you would like to find out more about the rules, there is a wonderful rules section on the R&A website www.randa.org where you can also find these exceptions. Just download the R&A app (Rules of Golf) from the app store.
Thanks to Brian Overton for all these Rules Q and A’s.
100 Club
The winners of the 100 Club prize draw for October 2021 were:
£100 Gil Francis
£50 Carol Clark
£32 Ken Richmond
£32 Roger Corkhill
£32 Clare Sly
£32 Tony Marshall
Congratulations go to all our winners this month. Gil and Tony have been lucky two months running so well done. Next month’s draw will take place during week beginning 18 October.
If you would like to be part of the 100 Club and actively contribute towards future enhancements to our facilities, for example the Starters Hut on the 1st Tee, and have the chance of winning a cash prize each month then why not join us.
The 100 Club was started back in 1987 and continues today with the objective to provide funds for projects or items which would enhance the Golf Course and/or Club House and generally be considered as extras and not necessarily within the Golf Club budget.
The monthly draw is for six cash prizes: £100, £50 and four at £32.
There are currently 124 members and an annual prize fund of £3,336. You can join in for as little as £1 per month paid for by monthly standing order and there is no limit to the number of shares you can purchase. Members generally have between 1 and 10 shares with 5 being the most common holding. So over a 12 month period for as little as £12 you have the opportunity to share that prize fund.
For further information about the 100 Club and its history please refer to this section in previous editions of FORE Info. Application forms can be obtained from the Secretary’s office or from me – Pat Wallis phone 01420 564417 or email peterpat51@outlook.com
Pat Wallis
Funny Endings: Joke and Cartoon of the Month
No jokes or cartoons recieved from members this month… but please keep smiling.
We are looking for golf related, clean, seriously funny humour suitable for all members. Send your contributions to the Editor (David Marshall) at newsletter@alresfordgolf.co.uk
If we use your joke or cartoon, I will buy you a drink in the bar.
Quote of the Month
“Strive for progress not perfection”
Editor: David Marshall
DISCLAIMER
The Editorial Team take no responsibility for incorrect information received from Contributors.