The Beaconsfield Niblick- Oct 24 :: Beaconsfield is a traditional Members club with a classic Harry Colt designed course that opened in 1914. The course is beautifully presented and complemented by excellent practice facilities. Visitors are welcome by prior appointment.

Beaconsfield Golf Club

Beaconsfield Golf Club
Seer Green, Beaconsfield
Bucks, HP9 2UR

01494 676545

From the captain

What a successful end to Mike's year and start to mine with a sell-out Captain's Dinner followed a week later by Ros and I driving in. Luckily, my anticipated block cut onto the 1.45pm to Marylebone didn't materialise due to a wonderful couple of lessons and adjustments with Tom which has transformed my game in 2 weeks flat. Tom's Tips certainly worked for me and for those that missed it, you can see the video here.

The change of format to include a competition beforehand was definitely a good idea and was won by Garrett and Edward Cotter with 47 pts, and the dining-room was full for the excellent carvery lunch afterwards. Thanks to all who attended and supported our charities by buying flags and to all the kind wishes of good luck. John Dryburgh's astute flag placing won him the Pink Champagne and we raised £690 on the day for Ros and my charities.

The following week, the Seniors all kindly supported (humoured) me at the Bogey Bowl by entering a Pink Quiz over lunch for a bottle of Pink Champagne and we raised another £335.

Finally, the ladies had their Breast Cancer Awareness day on Oct 24th and raised a magnificent £900, so we really are off to a flying start and yes you guessed it, I'm tickled PINK!

Simon Dodd has told me on a number of occasions that to be a good captain you have to be visible so this will literally be true with my "˜Pink' campaign in support of my charity Breast Cancer Now. Chris Dodds has supplied me with a variety of pink gear so don't be surprised if you think you spot Barbie on the course - that will be me.

The big ones though will be my Captains Day (more on that next year) and 100 Holes for Cancer June 23rd 2025 - in aid of Breast Cancer Now and Prostate Cancer UK.

Nick Theakestone and I were both planning '100 Holes in a Day' events so we decided to combine the two. This will be a big event with 32 players (we're hoping some celebs as well) starting at 4.30am and finishing near dusk. More details will follow but if anyone is interested in participating, sponsoring, caddying, ferrying people around, or just helping with organisation please do let me know and I'll get in touch.

May your drives this year be straight and true (if not, see Tom).

David Booker

Captain's Charity for 2024/2025

From the Ladies Captain

My year started out well with 97 ladies attending the ladies' AM. Drinks in the bar afterwards and lots of cards and good wishes made the day special for me. 3 days later after a fun round of golf I continued the new tradition of the Captains' drive in with Dave Booker. I chose to go off the gold tee as the black looked too threatening. Well done to Nuala who won my bottle of champagne. Insider knowledge may have helped as she played with me in the morning!

Over £300 was raised towards my charity Medecins sans Frontiers MSF. I chose MSF as I have seen the work they do in the places that need most help. They supply medical care in 70 countries. Sadly it would seem that they are needed now more than ever.

Our ladies continue to do very well in county events. We were the winners of division 1 in the Winter League. Ruth Lambert won the county Rose Bowl. Although Shannon Holt plays for Gerrards Cross we are proud of her winning the County Challenge cup. Beaconsfield shared the Cygnet Trophy with Gerrards Cross. Ella Buttress won the Silver Medal and is the Intermediate County Champion.

On Thursday 24th October we held our Annual Breast Cancer Awareness day. Pink was everywhere. Thanks to our very generous ladies we raised over £900 for Breast Cancer Now. The day was made even more special when Sue Schmidt got her first hole in one on the 5th. The champagne went very well with the cupcakes.

Ros Johnstone

Ladies' Captain's Charity for 2024/2025

News From The Junior And Younger Members

The final event of our season is the AGM which was held on Sunday. Thank you to all who attended celebrating our brilliant Junior section.

The afternoon kicked off with a Rules session by Andy McFee. It was really informative for both Juniors, the friends & family supporters so a big thank you once again to Andy !

Our Captain & Ladies' Captain kindly presented trophies, along with Judy & Rob Lucas, Gill Thomas & Christine Watson.

There are 3 trophies presented on the day that are on going through the year.

The Joan Gutteridge for most improved Junior boy - Winner James Stuart reducing his handicap from 52 to 29.8

The Christine Watson Quaich for must improved Junior girl - Winner for the 2nd year in row Elsa Gilmour reducing her handicap from 28.5 to 19.1

The Colin Biffa Trophy - this was won by Christian Cotter who averaged 36 pts in the Stableford competitions this year.

We were delighted to be able to play a video message from Gemma Dryburgh, who continues to support and follow our Juniors.

Gemma's inspiration message to practice, play & enjoy fits so well with the aims we have for the Junior section. Thank you Gemma!

Fraser Creighton reflected in his year as Junior Captain 2024 and we welcomed our incoming captain Senan Conway. We also announced his vice captain will be Thilanya Rajapaksha and wish them both well for the exciting year ahead.

In other news"¦..

Congratulations to the combined team from Burnham Beeches and Beaconsfield who won the Welham Weston Trophy last week at Buckingham GC. Beaconsfield were represented by Thenuka, Thilanya and Faeez.

We've also had 2 stableford competitions:
26 October - winner Faeez Chaudhary with 36 pts
28 October - winner Faeez Chaudhary with 38 pts

Ingrid Creighton and the Junior Committee

Course Update and Rainfall

With the clocks having gone back and the leaves turning, we are well and truly into the Autumn months. Lee has provided an update on the work that he and the team are undertaking as we head from Autumn into the Winter below.

Anyone who has been at the club recently will have seen the work has started to put the services in place for the new Practice Range, a full update on which Stuart will provide in advance of the work starting on the new facility.

As Lee points out in his update you will also have noticed that the blue and white stakes have reappeared on the course. We all know this isn't the start of the slalom season, but they are in place to maintain the condition of the course over the Autumn and Winter months.

There arrival of the stakes is also a gentle nudge to "˜Carry if you can'. If you do need to use a trolley, please can we ask that you walk on the paths, keep trolleys off the tees and greens, walk outside greenside bunkers and respect the areas that are staked off.

"As winter approaches, focus has turned to ensuring that the greens remain in good condition. Over the last couple of weeks, we have double spiked the greens up to 7 inches in depth to ensure adequate drainage. We have also fertilised the greens and will be adding potassium to toughen up the grass through the winter months. The fairways, tees and approaches have also been spiked.

With the arrival of cooler temperatures, the leaves have begun to fall so the team have begun leaf blowing work which will continue into the New Year. You will also have noticed blue and white posts set out on the course; this is to spread the wear on the grass, reducing any damage and promoting better turf coverage.

With the introduction of the new path around the putting green, one of our next projects will be reshaping this area over the next few weeks to ensure the path and putting green tie together".

Garrett Cotter

Chairman of Green

(Click on the image to view in full screen)

Chris' Corner

I hope you are well and enjoying this spell of lovely dry weather!

We have now got our stock in the shop for AW24, which looks great! We have also got some new pieces from J Lindeberg on a trial, the midlayers are available at £109.99 with a FREE J Lindeberg cap included, swing by to check them out!

We are also running a new promotion on a UNDER ARMOUR Waterproof suit, trousers and jacket for a combined price of £199.95, saving a total of £30. The waterproof jackets are also logo'd up so you're able to represent Beaconsfield in all weather!

If you would like to learn more then do contact us and book below.

Lesson Booking | The Golf Team | Welcome to Beaconsfield Pro Shop

Chris, Adam and Tom

Tom's Top Tips

Hitting greens is such an important part of our game. The best players in the world will hit 12+ greens in a round, which is a number lots of people think would be higher. A great way to work on improving your handicap over the winter, is to get the ball in play off the tee and give yourself a proper chance to hit the green in regulation. The more greens in regulation you hit - the more birdie putts you have - the more chances at making an easy par = shaving shots off that handicap!

Project Du Pre

We are delighted to confirm that we have now received approval from the Planners regarding the proposed clubhouse renovations as presented earlier this year. We are still working on the costings as they are currently coming in ahead of where we originally anticipated especially around the implications of new fire regulations which we are currently working through with the relevant advisors. Following these dicussions, we will be in a better position by early in hte new year to finalise the project details and we will communicate these to all members.

Richard Cottrell

Chairman of House

Social Committee News

Next up from the BGC Social Committee;

30 November 2024 - The Turkey Trot is now open for entry through the online diary.

Social Committee

In the Bag.... Winter Golf

Preferred Lies

Preferred Lies have been in operation since the beginning of October. This means you can lift, clean and place a ball when you are on the fairway or green fringes.

A few things to remember when taking a preferred lie:

Just rolling the ball over with a club is NOT acceptable. You will get a penalty for doing this.
The rules do not require you to mark the ball before lifting.
You can clean the ball or even use a different ball.
The relief area is 6 inches from the original position of the ball, no nearer the hole and in the general area.
Place a ball by setting it down by hand and letting go.
Once you have placed a ball, and it is at rest, then the ball is in play and you must not touch it until you have played again, even if your marker is still in place.

Ground Under Repair

We have an additional local rule this winter to allow relief from damage by equipment:

In the general area, tractor ruts and damage caused by heavy equipment are Ground Under Repair (GUR), even if not so marked with white lines. The player may take relief under Rule 16-1b.

Rule 16.1b is the standard rule for relief from GUR in the General Area. This rule cannot be used to take relief if there are light indentations made by trolleys or buggies, or just trampled grass - there have to be obvious tyre ruts or surface damage made by heavy equipment.

Temporary Water

You can take free relief from temporary water anywhere on the course except in a penalty area. Temporary Water is water that is visible on the surface - not just soggy or muddy ground.

To take relief from Temporary Water:

1. Find the nearest point of complete relief (NPOCR). This is the NEAREST point, in the same area of the course and no nearer the hole than the ball, where you can take a stroke with the club you intend to play so that the temporary water does not affect the ball, swing or your stance.

2. Drop a ball in a relief area one club length from the NPOCR, no nearer the hole than the NPOCR. You can clean the ball or even use a different ball.

In the general area, the relief area must be in the general area. The rules do not distinguish between fairway and rough, so you may get relief from rough onto the fairway, or from fairway into the rough.

In a bunker, your relief area must be in the bunker for free relief. You also have the option to take a one shot penalty and drop outside the bunker on a line going back from the location of the ball, as far back as you like.

On the green, you also get relief for temporary water on your line of putt. In this case you place a ball on the nearest point where the temporary water does not affect your line (this may not be on the green).

Embedded Ball

You get free relief from an embedded ball anywhere in the general area all year, but it is more likely to happen in the winter.

The ball has to have broken the surface of the ground, not merely be in deep grass or mud. If you are not sure, then mark the ball, lift it and check for a dent in the ground underneath.

If the ball IS embedded, then drop a ball in a relief area one club length from the location of the ball, not nearer the hole. The relief area must be in the general area, so if the ball rolls into a bunker, you must redrop.
If the ball is NOT embedded, then simply replace where it was - you can't clean the ball in this situation.

Janet Beal

Trophy Roll Of Honour

Click here to see all the Winners for the Trophy Competitions

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