I am  sure everyone, members and guests alike, have appreciated the condition of the course over the year. Credit for the condition of the course go to Stuart and his Team who on a daily basis must make hard decisions to ensure that this condition is maintained. No one likes to see the course closed after periods of heavy rainfall, or the greens being hollow tined in the summer months, but these decisions are essential to maintain and improve the course now and into the future.

Now that we are heading into the Winter months, we are looking to remind ourselves of the things we as members can do to help ensure the condition of the course is maintained at its current standard, ready to blossom again in the Spring.

We all need to remember the blue and white posts by the greens are there for a good reason. Golf, especially for club golfers, is a game that is self-policed by the players and their playing partners. If you saw a playing partner breaking a rule of golf, then this would be picked up by their playing partners. Could we all please look to adopt a similar approach should you see a playing partner ignoring the course direction provided by the Greenkeeping Team to protect our course.

With this in mind, we should all remember to adhere to the following;

• Please carry your bag if possible.
• If we must use a trolley, then a lighter bag will have less impact on the playing surface.
• Please keep trolleys on the paths.
• If we land near, or on the Green, there will be a pitch mark. Even if we can’t find our own pitch mark, please look to repair a pitch mark on the green.
• Adhere to all traffic management posts and ropes. Please walk round, not through or over.
• If you need to remove any posts or ropes to play a shot, please replace them after the shot.
• The posts are put in place to maximise the turf quality, helping you to play from around the greens.
• Avoid taking your trolleys right up to the edge of the tees and greens.
• Stand on towels on the putting greens when practicing for long periods of time.
• If you hit a shot into a practice green that leaves a pitch mark, please repair it.
• Enter and exit the bunkers at the lowest point, avoiding walking down and causing damage to the faces.
• Walk around the outside edges of the greenside bunkers.
•   Avoid walking on visibly worn and wet ground.
• Tap your golf shoes to remove ice before walking onto the greens. This will help maintain the quality of the putting surfaces.
• We should all look at the terrain and decide, based on our physical capabilities, the safest route around the course.
• Remember to avoid walking on severe slopes in wet weather. It is sensible to take flatter routes, even if this means walking slightly further.

Here is a friendly reminder of the main messages to help us all enjoy our golf over the Winter months;

PACE: Keep the speed of play up.

PITCH: Make sure you repair pitch marks.

PENCIL BAG: Carry over the Winter months if you can.

Garrett Cotter

Green Committee

(Click on the image to view in full screen)

I am pleased to confirm that the Board have now agreed on a recommended scheme for the redevelopment of the Clubhouse and an approach to how we propose to fund both this scheme and the development of the Driving Range. Over the next 3-4 weeks we will be preparing the drawings, computer images and more detailed proposals in readiness for presentations to Members in early January.

Whilst this has been a long and winding road for everyone and not made easier by the vagaries of the planning system, we hope the Members will be impressed with the proposals and support them fully. We have a fabulous building, and these plans aim to significantly improve and upgrade the look, feel and underlying fabric of the building including infrastructure and services which desperately need investment, plus the décor, furniture etc…. whilst making the most of all the space available and finally, making both floors fully accessible to all.  

In the meantime, we will be moving ahead with the new terrace and will be engaging contractors over the next few weeks so we can be ready for the Spring. Drawings will be posted shortly.

Richard Cottrell

Chairman of House Committee

We are delighted to announce the new Social Committee is now on board and consists of Ken Rumens, Paul Finch, Claire Taylor, Paul Hucker, Dan Hucker and Elaine Mayes.  We look forward to announcing some exciting social events for 2024 soon.  

The ‘Body in the Bunker’ Murder Mystery dinner on Saturday 11 November was a huge success with 62 members enjoying a murder mystery evening over a delicious 3 course meal.  

Current events open for entry are:  

Children’s Christmas Party – Saturday 9 December – 2pm-4pm.  There is limited availability left for tickets for the Children's Christmas Party, please book your tickets as soon as possible online if you would like to come. We have Mr Marvel’s Magical Fun Show featuring a mixture of magic, Punch & Judy, a live rabbit and balloon modelling followed by a disco with flashing lights, party games and bubble and snow machines followed by a visit from Father Christmas! Free face-painting by Elaine will also be available.  Cost: £21 per child -Age 3-7yrs (must be accompanied) includes Food & Drink, Entertainment & a Christmas Present from Father Christmas. Under 3yrs old are also welcome to attend (must be accompanied). Cost: £14.00 per child (£21.00 if they required food & drink). Stollen Bites, Mince Pies & Mulled Wine will be available free of charge for adults attending.  

Turkey Trot – Saturday 2 December – 9am shotgun start.  There are a couple of spare spots if there any single players wishes to sign up or go on the reserve list for any withdrawals in between now and then.  

Christmas Lunches – Sunday 10 & 17 December – Tables for the Club Christmas Luncheons are open to book online.  This year there are three different starters, mains and desserts to choose from and you can book for either two or three courses.  There is also a separate menu for children aged 12 and under.  

Future events scheduled for your diary for 2024 are:      

•             NEW Event Wednesday Supper Club – Thai Buffet - Wednesday 24 January – will open shortly!

•             Supper & Bingo night – Friday 2 February 2024 – will open shortly!

•             The 2024 Quiz Night – Saturday 9 March 2024

  The Social Committee

I hope you are well and enjoying your golf during the colder temperatures.  

We have had a brand new sloping lies range mat delivered. This will allow you to practice more realistic shots to enable you to be prepared for when you need it on the golf course! Here you will see Tom Demonstrating the ball above his feet, which could be similar to playing from the 8th fairway and also Tom is hitting one on a downslope, which is a similar shot to playing from the 6th top fairway. These are the types of shot that many golfers struggle with. So if you would like to learn more on sloping lies, let us know and get booked in!

It is now time for our annual Christmas Draw, the board is available in the shop and is £5 per square. These boards do fill up quickly but there will be multiple boards over the coming weeks for you to get your name down onto!  

With the winter snap really arriving over the next few weeks, it would be a great time to remind you about the warm winter gear we have in stock. We have had delivery of lots of woolly hats and gloves to keep you warm out on the course. As well as many warm weather garments. So you can be warm, and look good!  

We are still running the deals on Titleist and Mizuno wedges, the deals are whilst stocks last so pop into the shop to have a look! The 2 for £240 deal on Vokey SM9 Wedges is also still running.  

As per the email we sent out recently, Powakaddy are running a deal where you can get a free bag worth up to £289.99 when you buy a selected Powakaddy trolley. This deal is running to the 24th November, but could be sooner due to their stock levels.

Thanks all, see you soon.

Chris, Adam and Tom

700 booked for Christmas!  

The launch of the new menu last month seems to be going well with the introduction of new dishes being well received especially the Wraps, Daily Specials and Jacket Potatoes.

We are also starting to see a number of people enjoying breakfast before their round of golf and it goes without saying, that the chefs would love to see many more.  

Looking forward, the team are getting prepared for a very busy Christmas period with close to 700 bookings already confirmed. For those that have not booked yet, there are still tickets available for the Members and Families Christmas lunches on December 10th & 17th so, why not order your tickets before they sell out and come and enjoy a delicious Christmas meal.  

We have had further discussions with the external Catering Consultant and are pulling together an exciting plan to drive forward all aspects of the food and beverage offer next year so watch this space.

Richard Cottrell

Chairman of the House Committee

Handicap Review

In January the Handicap Committee will sit down and review all handicaps that get flagged by the system and all those member pleas for either an increase or perhaps even a reduction! There are a series of criteria from England Golf which need to be met before handicaps can be adjusted, but if you would like your handicap to be considered in the review, please email me by Friday 22nd December

Katie Free

Club Secretary

Many of you will have seen the articles in the press about WHS changes that are being introduced in 2024.

Although it may seem that we have only been using WHS for a short time, it was actually November 2020 when the current system was introduced in GB&I (England, Scotland, Wales & Ireland).  The R&A and USGA, who administer the Rules of Golf and Rules of Handicapping, make changes every 4 years so 2024 is the scheduled date for changes to WHS.

The changes will be introduced in GB&I on 1st April 2024, in time for the main playing season.  There will be more detailed information available in the new year, but here is a brief description of some of the main changes and how they will affect most people.

Course Rating minus Par

Many parts of the world already use CR – Par, but GB&I decided not to implement this when WHS was initially implemented, so those of you who play in other areas of the world may be used to using CR – Par.

Basically this means that your Course Handicap is adjusted to take account of the difference between Course Rating and Par, with the result that 36 points in stableford or nett par in medal becomes the ‘play to handicap’ score from ANY tee.

The calculation for Course Handicap becomes:

Course Handicap = (Handicap Index * Slope Rating / 113) + (Course Rating – Par)

For example, the men’s blue tees at BGC have a Course Rating of 69.9 and a Par of 72, so at the moment, you need to score 38 points or nett 70 to ‘play to handicap’.  From 1st April, the men’s Course Handicap from the blue tees will be reduced by 2.1 (72 – 69.9), but the ‘play to handicap’ score will be 36 points or nett 72, so there is no change to how scores affect your handicap.

Four Ball Scores

There has been some publicity that Four Ball will be an acceptable format for handicap purposes.  This is correct, but in a very limited format and does not mean that all Four Ball and Team scores will be submitted for handicap.  You will still NOT be allowed to submit a general play score when playing in Four Ball or Team format.

The actual change to WHS is to process results from Four Ball competitions with scores of 42 points (6 under par) or better – lower scores are ignored.  These scores will be checked by WHS and if an individual player is calculated to have played under their handicap, the score will be added to the player’s handicap record.

This DOES NOT MEAN that both players in a Four Ball should putt out and submit scores for every hole.  You should still pick up if you cannot score better than your partner.  The system will calculate a ‘score’ for holes where one player has not scored based on the team score, so that an 18 hole score can be determined.

It does mean that players may find their handicap is cut when they have a very good Four Ball competition score.

Expected Scoring

This is NOT ‘most likely score’, which is used in the USA, South Africa and some other parts of the world, when you do not complete a hole in matchplay, better ball or team format.

Expected Scoring is a new way of calculating the way that scores over fewer than 18 holes are up-scaled to an 18 hole score for handicap.  This is intended to be a more accurate reflection of what the player would have scored on the holes not played and will be a closed calculation generated by the software.

I have no idea how this will affect the handicap records of those people who submit scores for handicap over fewer than 18 holes, we will have to wait and see…  

Janet Beal

Click here to see all the Winners for the Trophy Competitions