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From the end of play today, Winter Rules are no longer in force

We currently have 10 full time hard working and self motivated green keeping staff led by our Head Green Keeper Lee March.  

When we look how our course has developed over the past years and how it has withstood one of the wettest winters in memory, we know the team is not only hard working, but motivated and highly skilled.  There are many building blocks in place that have gotten us where we are, not least the staff development programme which has been in place for some time.  

Lee is currently heading the team at Beaconsfield, where he started his green-keeping career as a trainee in 2002. He has been a senior member of the team for the last decade, having served as a senior assistant, deputy head green keeper, and as head green keeper for the past two years.  Lee is head of woodland management and is a qualified chainsaw operator and has a tree-felling license.  He is also in full control of the machinery budget and maintains this equipment himself, which has saved the club the expense of external maintenance.  

Currently, Lee is managing the full rota of the workforce, the day-to-day maintenance, and preparing the course for a busy summer of competitions. He has a strong team working with him, including Tom, our Deputy Head Greenkeeper, who joined us in 2015 from The Grove and is maintaining these high standards.  

Alongside Lee, the team is a perfect mix of experienced and young individuals. We have Tom, Harry B, Rob, Josh, and Callum, who together have over 75 years of fully qualified green-keeping experience. These professionals have worked at renowned clubs like Sunningdale, Stoke Park, Burhill and The Grove.  Together they possess vast knowledge on all aspects of green-keeping, including spraying, tree management, and construction.  

In Judd, Harry P, and Toby, we have apprentices who are currently training through the Berkshire College of Agriculture (BCA) and working towards a level 2 in sports turf maintenance. Last but not least, we have John, who came to green-keeping later in life but has certainly found his calling. He works on the course in the mornings, the practice range in the afternoons, and occasionally even fills in as a starter.   

We are always looking to further develop the staff, both in-house and externally. Over the winter Lee began training Judd on the servicing of the machines and the grinding and sharpening of the cutting units. In January, four of the team attended a 3-day trade show including seminars on new and more sustainable fertilisers. Externally, Callum gained his Pesticide Application License and can now spray and fertilise the course.

Stuart has now moved from Course Director to General Manager, which is very much in keeping with the club ’ s commitment to staff development and career progress from within.  

Some years ago Stuart commenced his own external studies and he has now completed the Club Managers Association of Europe ’ s (CMAE) Management Development Programme (MPD) and achieved his Club Managers Diploma.  He has worked on case studies of high profile clubs throughout Britain as well as detailed projects on our own club.  This structured academic thought process coupled with his pro-active networking throughout the industry means Stuart is in a very strong position to lead our club going forward.  

We on the Green Committee want to thank Stuart for all his help over the years and will miss his day-to-day input, but we have no doubt Lee and team will continue the high standards and we expect the personnel change to be seamless.    

Mark Conway

Chairman of the Green Committee

We now have our Spring and Summer clothing in the shop. All we need now is the weather to join us!

We are now giving members the chance to take advantage of our new mix and match Deal  for the summer! Buy a shirt and a pair of trousers or shorts for £99.00 (saving up to £20.00)

In tune with the new wedges dropping for the season, we think its time for you to upgrade with summer on the horizon. New wedges = more control.. and we all need a bit more of that!

Wedge Multi Buy Deal  - Buy any 2 or more wedges and receive a £10.00 discount per club - (eg SM10 Vokey £169.00 down to £159.00 when purchased with another).  

Chris has been away this week with some of the members, including the President. They have taken to North Wales to test themselves against the links.. and of course the Welsh weather! They have played at Royal St Davids and Aberdovey to name a few of the courses being tamed this week!

See below for the lesson link and as always please do contact us if you are struggling with your game! 

Lesson Booking | The Golf Team | Welcome to Beaconsfield Pro Shop (foremostgolf.com)

Chris, Adam and Tom

Future events scheduled for your diary are:  

Saturday 13 July 2024 - Summer Sizzler – this will be a 12pm Shotgun start followed by a hog roast and steel band for all the family to join in the festivities from 5pm so even if you aren’t planning on playing, please consider joining us afterwards.  Entry will open shortly!

25 October 2024 - A gourmet tasting menu with a flight of wines and tasting notes

16 November 2024 - Night Golf – 6 hole Texas Scramble competition followed by Supper

30 November 2024 – Turkey Trot

Social Committee

A wet sodden April resulted in a rather subdued Catering month but the team still managed over 30 functions, team matches and societies with the highlight being the Variety golf day with many well-known faces enjoying their day at the Club.

We are now looking forward to warmer weather and more al fresco dining. To provide a bit more space between the tables and chairs, we have decided to extend the terrace slightly. We plan to move the sides out about 1.5 metres and square off the edges which will allow more space to open out the tables. The work is scheduled to commence on Monday 10th  June and will take no longer than two weeks and the terrace will remain in use during this time.  

Richard Cottrell

Chairman of the House Committee

The junior Texas scramble competition was well attended with 24 juniors and 8 supporting members on 5th May. The weather was perfect and it was great to see so many new junior members participated in this fun competition! Congratulations to Benji Southwell Sanders, Monty Evans, Standley Finn and Stewart Gilmour winning this event with an impressive 9 under 63!

On 28th May, the BBO under 25 mixed championship was played at Huntercoombe golf club. Our own Thilanya Rajapaksha managed to shoot very impressive score of 1 over par, 73 to win! She is the first girl to win the BBO U25 Championship in the history!

We also had 3 junior JOOM competitions this month: 

11 May- Winner Elsa Gilmour (44 points); 

1 9 May - Christian Cotter (43 points); 

25th May - Jamie Southwell-Sander (39 points)

Congratulations to all the winners!

The JOOM leaderboard is now live  (https://www.beaconsfieldgolfclub.co.uk/orderofmerit.php?oom=38)!  Keep track of your progress throughout the season as points are allocated based on your performance in each JOOM event, with the top 6 being rewarded.

Looking ahead, mark your calendars for our upcoming Yellow Ball competition on Sunday, June 2nd. If you enjoyed the Texas scramble, you're sure to love this event too! Secure your spot by signing up at   https://www.beaconsfieldgolfclub.co.uk/competition2.php?tab=details&compid=5660   

The Junior Committee

This month I wanted to explain the rules about marking, lifting, cleaning, dropping and replacing your ball.

The rules are different when you are going to REPLACE your ball in its original position and when you are going to TAKE RELIEF by dropping a ball in a different place.

Lifting and Replacing the Ball

Normally you are only allowed to lift the ball and replace in its original spot on the putting green, however there are some other situations when you are allowed to lift the ball in other areas of the course.  However, because you are not normally allowed to lift and replace the ball between the tee and the putting green, there are restrictions on when and how you are allowed to lift and replace a ball.

Situations where you are allowed to lift and replace a ball, other than on the putting green, are as follows:

• Checking if a ball is embedded – if you think your ball may be embedded in the general area but it is not obvious, then you are allowed to lift the ball and check the ground underneath to see if it is embedded.  If it is NOT embedded you must replace the ball on its original spot.
• Identifying a ball – anywhere on the course if you are unable to see your identification marks, you are allowed to lift the ball to identify it
• Your ball is interfering with play – anywhere on the course if another player believes your ball may interfere with their own play, they can ask you to lift the ball.  You MUST be asked by another player, you cannot just lift a ball that you think may interfere.
•   Checking to see if a ball is cut or cracked.

In all these cases the procedure is as follows:

1.        MARK the ball before touching it – this can be with a tee peg or ball marker or by holding a club on the ground next to the ball

2.        Lift the ball

3.        You cannot clean the ball 

4.        You must use the original ball unless it is found to be cut or cracked

5.        You are not allowed to deliberately move loose impediments that, had they been removed before the ball was lifted, would have likely caused the ball to move 

6.        Replace the ball by setting it down by hand on the original spot – so if the ball was buried in long grass you have to replace down in the grass

7.        You must remove the tee peg/ball marker before playing the ball

Taking Relief

The procedure is different when you are taking relief – either free relief or penalty relief.  In this case you are dropping the ball in a relief area.  The following applies when taking relief:

1.        You do not have to mark the ball before lifting

2.        You are allowed to clean the ball or use a different ball

3.        You are allowed to move loose impediments in the relief area before dropping a ball

Janet Beal

Click here to see all the Winners for the Trophy Competitions