15th January 2024 Newsletter :: Brocton Hall Golf Club

Brocton Hall

15th January 2024 Newsletter

BROCTON HALL GOLF CLUB

THREE OFF THE TEE 15 JANUARY 2024 NEWSLETTER

Hello there

Wishing you, your family and friends a very healthy and happy 2024. May the coming year be filled with joy, laughter and lots of good golf.

David and I enjoyed 17 days exploring seven cities in six different countries, travelling by train to each. We visited Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Zagreb, Ljublana, Salzburg and Munich. Unfortunately we were caught in the gunshots in Prague just before Christmas; thankfully a bullet missed us by a couple of metres. A very scary 30 minutes! I would recommend exploring Europe by train though.

My two favourites, Rory and Tommy battled it out in the Dubai Invitational with Tommy getting his season off to a perfect start with a final hole victory. Looking forward to seeing them both in action again this week in the Hero Dubai Classic. Rory won his first professional event here in 2009, aged just 19.

Congratulations to Mark Wheatley for his hole in one on the 30th December. Thank you to Nigel Lunn for sharing this beautiful photo taken on the 16th December. Our members sent in many stunning photos last year; I wonder if we should create a Brocton Hall Calendar with member photos for 2025? Please keep them coming!

PAR FOR THE COURSE

After the deluge of water in the first week of the year, the course is starting to dry out enough so that the Greenkeeping team can put sand back into the bunkers that have been relined. It could still be a few weeks though before they are back into play. Work continues on the damaged trees after the destruction of Storm Henk.

Please look at purchasing some winter wheels – winter wheels pick up less mud, making them easier to move, and they’ll also cause less damage to the ground. Even better, ditch the trolley and carry your bag instead if you can. The course will thank you for it, and you’ll be a lot warmer. The Pro Shop have a great selection of carry bags in stock.

COMPETITIONS

Men

11th January - Men's Midweek Stableford

1st Gary Murphy with 41 points
2nd Karl Horvarth with 39 points
3rd Alan Westwood and Mick Dilworth tied with 38 points

Saturday saw a great send off for Captain David Parkes with 88 golfers tucking into breakfast before a shotgun start. A great way to celebrate your birthday Mr Captain! Many wishes for a great year.

1st Nevil Bland, Craig Walker, Christopher Duncan and Samuel Evans with 101 points
2nd Mark Newman, David Thompson, Steven Cotterell and David Craister with 100 points
3rd James Mason, Stephen John Smith, Ian Partington and Paul Crane with 96 points

Ladies

10th January - Ladies 9 hole Stableford 10th tee start

1st Barbara Russell with 14 points
2nd Judith Austin with 13 points
3rd Kathryn Wilson with 12 points

10th January - Ladies 15 hole Stableford 10th tee start

1st Anne McKay with 29 points
2nd Julie Wells with 29 points
3rd Mary Robertson with 25 points

Juniors

The Annual Charity Christmas Competition took place on Saturday 16th December 2023 with a full tee sheet. Thank you to everyone who supported the day. This year the Juniors raised £1059 for the Birmingham Children’s Hospital in memory of Charley Mears. Well done all!

1st Junior and winner of the new Charley Mears Trophy Jack Marshall
2nd Junior Abbigail Pountney
1st Blue Tee Junior James Kinvig
1st Adult Nicki Bowen
2nd Adult Andy McMurray

The annual Junior Presentation evening took place on the 7th January with 100 Junior members and their families celebrating the successes of 2023. And there were many.

95% of Junior members now have a WHS Handicap.
Hannah Golding, who has been a great role model at BHGC, is turning Professional.
Maria-Tiffany Thompson was nominated for the England Golf Young Volunteer of the Year (the final ceremony is in February).
Liv Whittle won the Staffordshire Girls Junior County Championship and the Ladies County Championship and she will be off to the USA this year to pursue her golfing dreams.
Joe McCandless has also been successful in gaining a place at William Woods University in Missouri, USA on a golf scholarship.
Jay Atkin and Taryn Davis represented BHGC in the Race to Woodhall Spa competition with Jay making it through to the final.
Alfie Wilby won the County Boys Championship for Under 12's.
Ben Foulner won the Gross Order of Merit and Molly McMurray won the Nett Order of Merit at the 3 Hammers.
Ben Foulner, Jack Youlden and Alfie Wilby represented BHGC in the England Gold Junior Team Champs finishing second, only two points behind the winners.

There are many more and we thank Junior Organiser Nicki Bowen and the wonderful members and parents who help her, for the their hard work over 2023.

CLUBHOUSE

A warm welcome awaits you here at BHGC. Our Sunday Carvery is popular with our members, their friends and families, and along with all our meals offers great value for money. Click here for the Sunday Lunch menu. The Club offers a wide range of breakfast items, light snacks and meals throughout the day for members and golfing visitors. Both the bar and catering facilities open from 11am each morning but please check for closing times when the course is closed. Look out for weekly specials coming soon.

From 23rd January until the 19th March, the kitchen will be closed every Tuesday. Delicious snacks a fresh baps will be available to purchase at the bar.

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. Recently when the course has been closed, re-opening has been delayed until a slightly later time which has precluded some players if there tee time is prior. Most recently on 29/12 the course re-opened at 9am and yet there were tee bookings from 7:40. I’d just like to understand the logic behind this please as it seems to invite discontent and frustration? If for good reason then it would be more palatable, but would also then question why buggies allowed as opposed to a carry only policy?

A. Tee time allocation have been discussed at great length in the past and it was agreed that it would be impossible to reallocate the whole days tee times once a decision has been made that the course is playable. It is unfortunate for the people who book early but is always a risk during the winter period.

With regard to buggies, damage can occur in many ways. In fact the grounds machines which we use to maintain the course have much more capability to cause damage than the personal ride on buggies. The difference is the mind set of the driver. The ground staff are well educated on the subject. We need to do more regarding creating safe buggy lanes and specific no go areas to advise members and visitors on how to avoid damage. At the next course meeting on the 16th January we will be discussing creating a new policy which will include the above. It will be made clear that the use of these restrictions will be mandatory during the winter periods.

NOTICES

The Bedale Golf Club in North Yorkshire has joined the Association of 1894 Clubs. Bedale Golf Club is a challenging and scenic course in the heart of the Dales, with easy walking and natural drainage. For an updated list of Reciprocal and 1894 Clubs, click here

All of us at Brocton Hall wish our many members with a birthday this week a very Happy Birthday! Happy Birthday to Rafaela Picas, Susan Glover, Nathan Rose, Pauline McAra, Andrew Wicken, David Robertson, Alan Benger, Timothy Burton, Ben Rees-Champion, Olivia Whittle, Jacqueline Brocklehorst, Jane Christopher, Sally Wardle-Gray, Kevin Mellor, Jack Lees, Gareth Youlden, Michael Woods, Vibber Johnstone, Anthony Bissell, Tony Ireland, Alan Thomas, Stewart McDonald, Benjamin Foulner, Stan Ashcroft and Alison Parkes. May your birthday be as fabulous as your golf game. Happy Birthday!

PRO SHOP

A little bit of heaven has landed at the Pro Shop.

New Mizuno irons
New TaylorMade clubs
New Cobra woods
New Ping irons
New Callaway woods

All these have launched this week and are in the studio available for fitting! What are you waiting for? Its warmer in there too!

HOLE IN ONE

In 1895, the winner’s share of the prize fund at the first U.S. Open Championship, a 36-hole stroke-play tournament held at Newport Country Club in Rhode Island, was $150. The remaining payouts for the best finishers in the 11-player field were $100, $50, $25, and $10. Adjusting for inflation, the 1895 winner’s haul equates to about $5,600 today. The total purse for the Hero Dubai Desert Classic is $9 million, with the winner pocketing $1,530,000 million in the United Arab Emirates!