23rd October 2023 Newsletter :: Brocton Hall Golf Club

Brocton Hall

23rd October 2023 Newsletter

BROCTON HALL GOLF CLUB

THREE OFF THE TEE 23 OCTOBER '23 NEWSLETTER

Hello there

So this weekend Birmingham lost and Arsenal only managed a draw. I am going to leave it there 🙂

One of my happy memories growing up was the many hours playing on the table football set (foosball?) with my father and brother. The red striker always had a little piece of plaster on the top of his head - he was Bobby Charlton. The world lost a great man over the weekend and I hope he is having a kick around with his Class of '66 team mates. For many years, the squad (or at least those that played golf) would have an annual get together for a round of golf and meal afterwards. The photo above, kindly sent in by Malcolm Woods, was taken in 2014.

Back row: Ron Flowers, Jack Charlton, Norman Hunter
Middle Row: Peter Bonetti, Gordon Banks, Geoff Hurst, Jimmy Arnfield
Front Row: Bobby Charlton G. Griffin (BHGC Captain) lan Callaghan, Martin Peters, Roger Hunt

Martin Grainger sent me in this link for an interesting read and mention of Harry Vardon. A 10 year old caddy being part of a winning the US Open. Read here

Peter Bowen spotted some of our deer last week. Not a care in the world! Please keep sending your course (and clubhouse photos) to generalmanager@broctonhall.com

The Pro Shop are recording some videos hitting off the mats with their Quad launch monitor to see the different ball flights. Here are some sneak photos of Nevil playing off the grass, then off the smooth side of the mat and then the rough side. It looks like more backspin off the smooth side and less off the rough side. Nevil hit four yards shorter off the smooth, and seven yards longer off the rough on these shots with a 7 iron. Full results to follow.

PAR FOR THE COURSE

The course did take a battering with the storms last Friday, and the Greenkeeping team worked very hard pumping the water out of bunkers and trying to get the course back into play.

Our bunker refurb is underway on 13th, 14th &15th (GUR) and prep has started for new bunker linings which hopefully will be fitted mid November. Andy will keep the Pro Shop updated on which bunkers are GUR - please pop into the shop on your way to the first tee (there will be a sign up stating which holes are affected)

COMPETITIONS

Well done to Ben Foulner for winning last weeks Tuesday Social by three shots with 22 points. Tomorrow is the last Tuesday Social of the year!

Ten pairs entered the Family Competition this weekend. Well done to all the players who took part.

1st Place 41 Points Bridget & Nick Locke
2nd Place 38 Points Jonathan & Senan Byrne

Ladies

The Ladies played the Ladies Charity Lifeboat Drawn Stableford in very blustery conditions last Wednesday.

9 hole competition winners:

1st Margaret Robertson with 20
2nd Mary Richards with14
3rd Sandra Houghton with 14

18 hole competition winners:

1st Anne Margaret McKay with 36
2nd Mary Robertson with 36
3rd Jennifer Bloor with 33

Seniors

The Senior Ladies played the Senior Men in their annual match for the Tom Malpass 1997 Trophy. The event was a great Success with great camaraderie and friendship between both sections of the club. The Seniors men retained the Trophy with a 6-2 Win.

CLUBHOUSE

Hopefully you will have seen my email earlier regarding our new Rijo42 coffee machine. We have done a lot of research to find the best coffee, and Rijo42 came up top each time. This machine does not require coins or tokens and simply requires a tap of your bank card. Click here to watch a short video on how to use our new Rijo42 machine.

The Quiz Night last Thursday was a great success with loads of fun and laughter, and we even had a team (and winner) join in over Zoom from Turkey! Not sure how VAR works with that 🙂

Friday, 17th November - Race Night - Join us for an action Race Night, guaranteeing a night to remember. Table plan is in the foyer and bookings for the races (free) and/or food (£12) can be done at the bar or online
Friday, 15th December - Members & Guests Christmas Party Night. Enjoy a night filled with great food, music, and laughter. Dress to impress - it's your party! Bookings at the bar or online (table plan is available in the foyer)

Our Gin of the Week is Sloe Gin with Elderberry, bringing two of the very best Hedgerow heroes; whole, handpicked sloe berries and elderberries. Next week we will have an exciting new cocktail menu. Watch this space!

MEMBERS QUESTION

You are invited to send any questions in that you would like one of the Management Committee members to answer. Often a committee member is approached on the putting green with a question that might not relate to their area of knowledge. This is a way for you to ask those questions.

Q. When submitting a general play card what do we record for a temporary green. Is it NS, NR or the actual score achieved?

A. For scores to be acceptable, no more than two temporary greens are allowed to be used on an 18-hole course, and no more than one on a nine-hole course. There are also restrictions over temporary alterations to the distance of a course for scores to be acceptable for handicapping. A tee must not be more than 10 yards different to the fixed measurement point (the permanent yardage marker you will see by the side of the tee box) of that tee. The total distance of an 18-hole course must not be more or less than 100 yards different to its measured length, while a nine-hole course must not be more or less than 50 yards different. If these conditions are met you put the actual score on the card. If they are not then a general play card is unacceptable for the course on that day.

Q. If we fail to complete a round because of inclement weather what should we record for the holes not played and will we incur a penalty for not completing the round if the course has not been closed?

A. A score intent should normally be satisfied other than for the following reasons

Valid reasons for not submitting a score can include:
Sudden injury or illness,
Emergency,
Dangerous weather conditions, or
Any other reason for stopping play that is considered valid by the Handicap Committee.

If you do have to come off you should still submit your score but NS those holes that were not started. The system is smart enough to determine if you played enough holes for the score to be qualifying. Failure to submit a score in such circumstances would put a penalty score on your account after 4 days. You can identify a Penalty round in your record as it will have a PS next to it.

NOTICES

All of us at Brocton Hall wish our many members with a birthday this week a very Happy Birthday! Happy Birthday to Clifford Shore, Adrian Tasker, Brian Pinches, Arron Gore, Alan Williams, Stephen Rushton, Geoffrey Wheatcroft, Alison Webb, Don White, Robert Harvey, Ian Burnside, Jennifer Bloor, Tony Tompkins, Finn Sanders, Kerr Dollochin and Paul White. I hope you get the chance to hit the fairways and have the round of your life!

PRO SHOP

Who needs to wait for Christmas to treat themselves! The Pro shop have a great promotion on now - get a free Mizuno umbrella (valued at £45) with every Mizuno bag purchase.