• Clubhouse update
• The future of the Honours Boards?
• Mens and Ladies Results and News
• Quiz Question: lifting on a putting green
• Upcoming knockouts and Team Competitions: sign up details
• A roundup of all the Mens & Mixed Team Matches
• Vets update: biggest ever Vets Invitation
• Social : lots of new events coming soon… sign up quick
• Greens News: latest on the state of our course
• Winners in the 100 Club: check if you won

Another bumper issue for you this month. It is great to see the Social side of life at AGC coming back into full swing. There is a variety of upcoming events from a fun Par 3 competition to Music Night and quiz. I hope many members will support these. Let us know what you would like to see for the future in YOUR club.

On the course we continue to see amazing results. Again the Ladies Stoneham Cup Team (captained by Rosemary Verrall) excelled and find themselves in the semi finals of this Hampshire event. AGC can be proud to have such a dominance across the county. After all from AGC we are now represented with President (Jane Scott), Captain (Jill England), Safeguarding Officer (Liz Hastings) and Allena Dooley is also going to be the County Vets. Captain next year. Well done Ladies! The Men have a way to catch up!

Read about Fergus Rooney and a nice way some Juniors have helped crowd source to his cancer charity. Every little helps, thanks.

Well done to Tonny Maxwell who shot a Hole inOne on the 10th at the 100 Club Salver.

Photo Competition: Do we have our own mysterious Crop Circle? 

On the left hand side of the 11th fairway you will have noticed this alien intervention. Why would aliens choose such a tough hole to play their earthly golf? Or is it an ancient ‘Youngs or Whites’ burial ground unearthed by the drought?

The first person emailing me with the correct answer will win a drink on me in the bar. I need all the exact details… Good luck and all suggestions welcome.

As always keep in touch to get your news in this, your club mag e-zine. Don’t forget to let me know of your ‘hole in ones’ (with photographic proof) too.

David Marshall

Editor

newsletter@alresfordgolf.co.uk

Trophies and Clubhouse décor

A new cabinet is being made to prominently house the Fred Morse trophy and the Triumvirate trophy which previously had prominence in the Clubhouse. This large cabinet will be made in three sections and will provide a screen between the bar/lounge area and the walkway to the ladies changing room, as planned. This will be in place before the AGM in November.

Other prominent trophies are displayed above the bar behind glass. The previous large trophy cabinet built by Keith Monkhouse, was only partially filled with trophies throughout the year as of course many members like to display the trophies in their homes. We imagine that the Club will continue to display the trophies that are never removed from the Club and that members will wish to take home their winning trophies.

Further enhancements will be made to the décor, such as paintings and photographs together with replacement Honours Boards.

Club Rules

Geoff Jenkins and Tony Hutt, on behalf of the Planning and Development committee and the Management Committee have been diligently reviewing and amending our Club rules. It is a hefty job, trawling through all 31 pages seeking out inaccuracies and changes to custom and practice. Due to their amazing work we are now at ‘final draft’ stage with a final check taking place over the next fortnight.

All of these rule changes will need to be voted on at the AGM, however, all members will need full sight of the proposed changes well ahead of the AGM. It is therefore proposed that the draft rules will be distributed in the coming weeks to full members for their comments, before a final version of the amended rules is completed.

Again, the ultimate final version of the proposed rule changes will be distributed to full members well ahead of the usual papers that we distribute before the AGM.

Robert White

Chairman of the Management Committee

The old arrangement of the boards did not reflect the inclusive nature of the Club and left some sections of the Club under-represented by the boards in the bar and dining areas, so we need to fix that problem too.

The Captain’s Committee, with representatives from all sections, have grouped competitions into categories from 1 to 6 to reflect their importance to the Club; starting with the Captains boards and then onto our most prestigious competitions. This will determine the size, placement and priority as part of the Honours Boards project.

It will take time to gain the budget to replace all of the boards and maybe add some new ones, however we are motivated to get this going. We do appreciate how important this is to the Club, our new Clubhouse environment and all of us as individual members.

Team Competitions

A reminder that the following pairs competitions take place in September/early October.

Millennium Quaich – Sunday 18th September

A Quaich is a two-handed drinking bowl used to offer a welcoming drink to friends and visitors. The two-handed design incorporates trust on the part of both giver and receiver.

This competition was inaugurated in the year 2000 by Club Captain Alex Davie. It is now a mixed 4BBB Stableford competition in which teams can be any combination of men and ladies. Please make up your own teams. The competition is open to 7-day members who have played in at least 6 competitions since 17^th September 2021.

Reserve your tee time in the normal way, either as a pair, 2 pairs or by adding your name to another player.  Tee Bookings will open at 9pm on 8^th September. You must still sign-in to the competition on the day you play (PSI terminal only). The £3 entry fee will be taken on sign in.

Cock & Hen Trophy – Sunday 2nd October

This competition was inaugurated by Club Captain Ken Mills and Lady Captain Kate Mills and is a mixed better ball Stableford competition.  Partners and tee times will be drawn

Please reserve your place as an individual for the competition Cock & Hen through “bookable competitions” via the App.  The competition is open to full 7-day members who have played in at least 6 competitions since 1^st October 2021. To allow for the draw for partners and playing groups, entry will close at 9pm on Sunday 25^th September.  The £3 entry fee will be taken when the draw has been made.

Gill Freemantle

Chair Competitions & Handicap Committee, Handicap Secretary

handicaps@alresfordgolf.co.uk

The mixed match season finishes soon with the final match at Royal Winchester in September. There have been 11 matches scheduled during the year and many club members have joined the teams for the first time this year. It is a relaxed, fun format and provides an opportunity to play mixed golf both at home and on some interesting away courses. Everyone who has played in the matches has enjoyed the experience with many of the new players signing up again.

The last match is:

Royal Winchester    Away     Friday  2^nd Sept at 12.00pm

The schedule of Mixed Matches for next year is nearly complete with 5 home and 6 away games planned. The fixture list will be on the noticeboard early next year so remember to look out for the 2023 schedule early in the year so that you can reserve the dates in your 2023 diaries! You don’t need a partner as playing partners are allocated as part of team selection.

We would like to thank everyone who has supported the matches this year.

For more information or any queries please contact Marion or Alan Bruce.

After the heady heights of regular wins last year, we met some good teams in all three competitions and therefore not able to emulate the runs in the KO competitions.

The EAGG (scratch) team play in a regional group of five, so two home and two away matches with the group winner qualifying for the next stage of this southern regional competition. Our league record of W1 D1 L2 started optimistically with an initial draw against Knighton Heath (h) but losses against very strong teams of Parkstone (a) and Ashley Wood (h) meant we were out of the running, despite a number of very close matches going to the last hole. However, a win at Royal Winchester on the last half point of the last match of the last fixture, meant we finished on a high!

We were often up against scratch or plus-handicap golfers, so a big thank you to the often HUGE efforts of all the regular players – Jim White, Grant Thorne, Richard Prescott and James Banks and those that were only able to play a couple of fixtures – Ashley Wilmott, Sean Yeates and Will Packenham-Walsh.

The County 7s is keenly contested Hampshire County PGA straight KO with a handicap limit of 15 and after an encouraging win against North Hants (h) in May, we succumbed to a particularly good Petersfield team (a) in round 2 in July.  At a busy time for all, I’m grateful to the usual suspects plus those made their 7s debuts this year and hopefully a taste for future years – David Fox, Neil Hunter, Graham Arkley and Steven Johnson.

The National Annodata Matchplay is again a straight club KO with an 18 handicap limit and after a bye in the first round, a win at South Winchester (h) gave us some encouragement before we headed to Cams Hall (a) in July. A rock hard seaside course can be tricky at times, except perhaps for members, so an unsurprising loss meant we exited the competition for this year. More thanks then to Karl Evans and Andy Chandler for joining the regular players in representing the club.

Although named, a couple of additional notes and thanks to the regular players who compete in the three competitions above. You’ll recognise the names especially on Club Championship days (and others) as the best players we have at Alresford GC. Grant Thorne, Ash Wilmott, Sean Yeates, Will Packenham-Walsh, Trevor Pearce and Mr. Ever-Present Gary Mugford, who only missed one of our eight matches this year across the board!

Last note to recognise the possible first for AGC, and to congratulate the two generations of Myers, father and daughter Derek and Jenny, who represented the club in the EAGG (scratch) this year against Ashley Wood in July.

Whilst overall our results (P8 W3 L4 D1) may not reflect the closeness of many fixtures, I’m pleased to report the positive approach and attitude of all the players representing the club in regional and national competitions. Opposing captains have commented on the quality and challenges of our golf course and also the après golf social atmosphere – home and away.

Finally, thank you to David Maskery the Club Manager for assisting in picking dates that have minimal clashes for our home matches and for the Club Captain and Vice Captain in their continued support of our competitive club teams.

Jim White

Scratch, County 7s and Annodata Teams Manager

Question

In Match play, a player marks and lifts their ball on the putting green and then realises that the ball was their opponents. Is the player subject to a penalty stroke, loss of hole or no penalty? Would the answer be different in Stroke play?

Junior Members Raise £10,000 in 4 days and are still going … please support them if you can

Oscar Rooney, Edmund Willmott (both junior members) got together with Orlando Civardi and Wilfrid Willmott to shave their heads (expertly done by Alresford golfer Rosie Rooney) in solidarity with Oscar and Rosie’s younger brother Fergus, 8, who started chemotherapy in July. Little did they know this act of empathy would start them off on a successful fundraising mission.

Two months ago, the four of them were on the beach playing with Fergus a happy, sporty, sociable 8-year-old. Today Fergus is weeks into his chemotherapy treatment for Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma and faces the summer in Southampton General Hospital.  The boys decided to support Fergus by shaving their heads. They thought they might raise £400 for Lymphoma Action but their incredible gift of friendship caught the imagination of their friends and family and within 4 days they had raised over £10,000.

Inspired by the generosity of others and knowing that Fergus is struggling with long hospital days missing his toys and friends, they have now set their sights on raising more money. This time for The Piam Brown Ward Fund where Fergus is being treated. The ward is incredible but is desperate for funds to enable them to provide their young patients with toys, games, and special treats like pizza nights as well as to support them and their families well being. The patients often cope well with the brutal treatment but find the long stays in hospital difficult. The work the fund does with the money supporters raise has earned the ward the reputation for being, “the happiest sad place”. Oscar, Orlando, Wilfrid, and Edmund are determined to raise as much as they can and help keep their brother and friend and all the patients as busy and happy as possible.

If you would like to support them, they have a just giving page

www.justgiving.com/fergusrooney

Winners Circle

Harriet Riches

Juniors Captain

We had nearest the pins on 2nd Barry Stevens (Test Valley), 6th Jim Fitzgerald (Darwin),

13th Ernst Oberthaler ( Blacknest), 16th Drew Fielden (Alresford), 18th in 2, Paul Marks (High Post), nearest the flag on 9^th , Martin Field (Worcester).

The winners

1st Gerry Collard (Alresford) Geoff Spear (Old Thorns) 79pts

2^nd Ian Foden (Alresford) Mike Wooding (High Post) 71pts

3^rd Chris Fuller (Alresford) Nigel Brown (Blackmoor) 69pts

We have to say  thank you to the three ladies Yvonne, Margaret, and Mon, for the great job doing the halfway refreshments.

Also, to Jan, Wynne, Ken, and Ewan for their time and Ben and his staff for the food and service.

Bob Archer

Vets Captain

Editors Note: special prize for anyone finding a winners photo without smiling Ewan and Bob

Team Golf

As a thoroughly enjoyable and successful season drew to a close, there were only two more items of news.  Thank you to a gracious Lynne Cowser and her team, we were recently able to present The Championship trophy to Captain Ady and The Cobblers (pictured), who actually won on a busy night of golf and were finally rewarded with their medals and trophy (and a picture of Simon we can use!).

In addition, Papa Morph, as League Champions represented Alresford against South Winchester.

Annual Team Golf Match v South Winchester

Congratulations to our winning league team Papa Morth on achieving a resounding win at our annual Team Golf match held on Thursday evening the 25^th August at Alresford. 

On a sunny evening with the course in excellent condition, the team was ably led by its Captain Ian Cantrill who produced the highest mens score with 19 stableford points over the nine holes, followed closely with Pat Palmer’s 18 points helping the team to accumulate 70 points from the best four scores out of six players, against South Winchesters 61, the holders of the Inter league Club Cup.

The evening concluded with a convivial supper prior to the prize giving. The opposition were full of compliments on our course as well as the renovated clubhouse and were amazed how green the course is especially the fairways.

FYI – This magnificent cup was first played for in 2002, which Alresford won, and have now been successful eleven times in the past eighteen years. Well played the team of Papa Morth!!

Team  Ian Cantrill (Capt), Pat Palmer, Bob Moore , Norman Parker, Harriet Riches, Alistair Gray

Once again, many thanks to all players and Captains especially, for keeping the momentum throughout the year and helping to ensure all participants had an enjoyable time this year, during Team Golf 22.

All results, photos and newsletters are on the TEAM GOLF button in the members area of the club website, if you’d like to re-live the season week by week.

We look forward to seeing as many of you as possible for next year’s competition – TG23, what a year it promises to be!

All the best, we’re off to hibernate!

The Whites (John, Jan and Jim)

On behalf of the Social Committee

Our Course Manager, Simon, reports that he is happy with the current condition of the greens and their speedy recovery after maintenance week, consequently, we expect them to be back to our expected standard in time for this weekend’s Ladies Medal & Medal Winners Trophy and the Men’s Medal. The maintenance work went well with ten tonnes of hollow cores removed from our greens, 30 kg of bent grass seed applied and thirty tonnes of sand dressing going in to level them off and dilute the organic matter or thatch further. Although we received some much-needed rain last week the Green Keepers had needed to water the greens to get them back to a good standard using the irrigation water.

As golfers we are understandably more concerned with the surface we play on than what lies beneath. However, the long-term health of the sward and the playability of the green has much to do with the root system. Over the past three years Simon and the team have worked hard to improve the root system on each of our greens because in the long term our greens will be healthier but also because the chemicals previously used are no longer available to us. Simon reports that rooting is improving and all the nutritional and bio stimulant applications are working with good affect. An example of the positive impact of the team’s work is the depth of roots on the third green which have doubled in the last 3 years. The nutritional programme for the greens has continued with fortnightly liquid feeds along with wetting agent.

General maintenance of bunkers continues. Sand depths have been checked in all the new bunkers with the liners, edges have been fly-mowed and strimmed. In addition, a number of repairs were carried out after last Tuesday’s heavy rain. We will continue to evaluate the playability of the bunkers and will look to standardise our “expected bunker playability” over the next year. However, I am minded that this is a particularly challenging areas for green keepers not least because, low and high handicappers play the same course, end up in the same bunker, and come out with a totally different assessment of the bunker’s quality, some golfers prefer less sand whilst others prefer more. We cannot and will not please everyone.

Unsurprisingly fairways have had very little growth until recently. Some areas coming back nicely following the rain although we will continue to monitor the recovery closely. The Green Keepers showed immaculate timing in applying a wetting agent just before the heavy downpour. This opened the surface to get the water into the dry soil instead of it all washing away. If fairways stay relatively green for another week Simon and the team will apply some liquid iron which will further improve the health and appearance of the fairways.

There has been some rain damage to paths, including the path to the first hole and once we have the relevant material the team will make good. In addition, the team have cleared all the car park drains of the rain wash material that had filled them.

You will have noticed the early leaf drop around the course. We believe this is a result of the very dry summer and some trees have not been able to pick up enough moisture. We will continue to manage our woodland and Simon has surveyed our trees noting those twelve or so Ash trees that require removal due to Die Back. The Greens Team will remove most “in house” and a tree surgeon will be commissioned to fell the remainder.

Finally, I hope you all enjoy the course this weekend and throughout September.

Derek Myers

Chair Greens Committee

Answer

There is no penalty in either Match play or Stroke play if a ball is accidentally moved on the putting green, no matter how that happens.

Rule 9.4b – Exception 3

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 and James White for the photo and situation. If you have any rulings questions for Brian he will answer them here in future editions, just email the editor.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5NAVowV1O0

Congratulations
Well done to Richard Calton who has put his lessons into good practice by winning the over 60s medal with a net 64. Great work!
Also well done to our Ladies Stoneham Cup squad who topped their group and qualified to the semi finals in September , thank you for letting me share your journey.

Our winners in the 100 Club prize draw for September 2022:

£100    Carol Middleton

£50      Rob Black 

£35 Prizewinners

Clare Monkhouse

Peter Harwood

George Hand

Mary Rook

Wynne Tufnell

Congratulations to all our prize winners this month – a good mix of ladies and men this time. The next draw will take place week beginning 26 September so look out for the result on the noticeboard.

100 Club 35^th Anniversary Summer Stableford

The annual Summer Stableford and Salver Competition was held on Friday 29 July on a very hot day – how lucky we have been this summer.  This was our first ‘proper’ 100 Club event since before Covid so it was great to see so many 100 Club members taking part in the competition and coming along in the evening for the meal – specially as this was an opportunity to celebrate our 35^th anniversary.

38 members entered and the overall scores reflected the ideal conditions.  However the ladies swept the board!  The winner of the Salver was Di Peisley with an excellent 43 points, in second place Sue Pearce with 40 points on countback from Sandra Hooker in third place with 40 points. Tonny Maxwell scored a Hole in One on the 10^th and was later presented with a bottle of fizz.  Very well done ladies.

Fifty three members and partners sat down to a two course meal having enjoyed drinks in the warm sunshine on the patio beforehand.  The patio and clubhouse really were a magnificent setting for the evening – the first time for many of us to have enjoyed our new facilities.  The prizes were presented by George Clelland then Pat Wallis gave members an update on what has been happening with the 100 Club.

This was followed by special one-off 100 Club draw to mark the 35^th anniversary of the very first draw back in 1987.  All of the share numbers currently in play were put in an old tombola-type drum and one number was drawn out for a £100 prize.  Carol and Brian Young pulled the number from the drum and Gill Freemantle was the lucky winner of this special prize draw. Carol and Brian were actually among the founding members of the 100 Club and by chance were also celebrating their golden wedding anniversary that weekend so it was rather special for us to have them with us that evening. 

Why not make this the year you join the 100 Club – you may win a cash prize and can join in the Summer Stableford next year.

If you would like to be part of the 100 Club and actively contribute towards future enhancements to our golf club facilities, and have the chance of winning a cash prize each month, then why not join us.  If you are already a member then please encourage your friends or new members to join us too.

The monthly draw will now be for seven cash prizes: £100, £50 and five at £35.

Each share cost £1 per month paid for by monthly standing order and there is no limit to the number you can purchase.  Members generally have between 1 and 10 shares with 5 being the most common holding.

For further information about the 100 Club or for an Application form please give me a call or send me an email – Pat Wallis phone 01420 564417 or email  peterpat51@outlook.com Or you can pick up a form from the Office.

Pat Wallis