5th February 2024 Newsletter :: Brocton Hall Golf Club

Brocton Hall

5th February 2024 Newsletter

BROCTON HALL GOLF CLUB

THREE OFF THE TEE 5 FEBRUARY '24 NEWSLETTER

Hello there

While the England cricket team faltered in their bid to chase down what would have been the highest ever successful fourth-innings chase, it does keep the series against India even more exciting. I don't quite say the same for football - my nerves were shot yesterday watching the Arsenal vs Liverpool game (Arsenal & Birmingham supporter for my sins). I wish the top of the Premier League wasn't quite as as exciting as I would like the cricket to be. 🙂 With a great weekend of rugby, I don't understand why Australia can be a part of Eurovision, but the Springboks can't play in the Six Nations 🙂

Can members please enter and leave the golf club premises with caution. Please slow down as there have been some near misses for the tenants of The Lodge. There are days when there is a small child around and speeding cars are a great danger. Please do not wait until it is too late!

Do you need a 'hot desk'? Flexible working space that is quiet and in beautiful surroundings? We have five hot desks available to rent for £15 per day. Rent as and when you need. If you are interested, please let me know - generalmanager@broctonhall.com

Lady Captain, Julia Nichols has chosen the Guide Dogs for her charity this year and a wonderful visit was had by these four legged friends. These dogs are life changing to their users. You will see a large Labrador collection box in the clubhouse so please feed it regularly with any loose change that you have (including notes and foreign currency)

IG have updated their Tee booking journey for members to a much friendlier experience. More information can be found under 'Notices' below.

Another stunning member photo again this week! This week from Tom Hayward taken on Saturday morning. 9th Green bliss! Thank you Tom! That does look like an early tee start 🙂

PAR FOR THE COURSE

The Greenkeeping team have been solid tining the greens - introducing air into the soil profile whilst causing minimal disruption to the playing surface. Renovation work on the bunkers continues with the practice bunker open for play again. At this time of year, tidying up debris is a constant.

Some stunning photos from Andy. The team hard at work early!

COMPETITIONS

Men

There was amazing scoring in the Texas Scramble on Saturday! The winners with a nett 48 also had the best gross score with a 57.

Here are the winners out of 35 teams

1st Tim Davis, Karl Horvath, Anthony Matthews, Patrick Turner with a nett 48
2nd Stuart Hunter, David Parr, David Thurgarland, Bob Walker with a nett 50
3rd Joshua Nesbitt, Brian Sumner, Stephen Turner, Bill Whittle with a nett 51

Ladies

The Ladies' Drive-In was held on Wednesday 31st January. The combined distance was 329 yards, which was correctly guessed by Katie Bland. There was an excellent turnout to support the ladies and £146 was raised for Lady Captain's Charity, Guide Dogs for the Blind.

Individual Stableford 9 holes. Front 9 -

1st Caroline Wilkins with 21 points
2nd Trish Franklin with 18 points
3rd Diane Bell with 18 points

Individual Stableford 9 holes. Back 9 -

1st Anne Margaret McKay with 23 points
2nd Bridget Locke with 16 points
3rd Samantha Morris with 15 points

CLUBHOUSE

The cobs are selling out quickly every Tuesday - tomorrow we will be increasing the amount for sale! Thank you for your support.

We're cooking up a fabulous Sunday lunch treat for Mother's Day. Make sure the woman if your life knows she is the cream of the crop this year by spoiling her to an extra special lunch at Brocton Hall. Open to Members and Non Members

Booking are now open - 01785 661901 option 2 or barandcatering@broctonhall.com. Please note that we already have bookings for 60 guests so please book asap.

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. Can more closures be expected based on the weather forecast? Does any thought go into the impact closures have on other aspects of the club? We saw in the accounts that the Bar is not able to break even. In my opinion the decision to close shouldn’t just be taken in isolation about the course but a holistic view should be taken which includes what is the impact to revenue and the clubs reputation.

Q. As a Provisional I can only play on either Saturday or Sunday afternoons as part of my 'restricted' membership. Whilst I understand I can't play in any Board competitions I have seen urgent requests on a weekly basis for players to make up teams in either Saturday or Sunday competitions. To date I have ignored these requests because, whilst I have the desire and availability to play, I am unsure if I am able to put myself forward? Furthermore if I can put myself forward for inclusion do I then have to pay an additional Green Fee if it is not on the weekend day I have previously selected or would that be waived as I am helping out fellow members?

Q. I wonder if you will clarify a question for me concerning the use of buggies on the course? It always used to be the case that to use a buggy a person had to demonstrate a medical requirement. I'm not now sure what the Club's policy is? Yesterday, on a day when members were being asked to carry if they can, two buggies were out on the course occupied by 2 men and a younger golfer. I'm not sure if they were members or not, it makes no difference. At a time when the course is struggling with wet conditions I was really surprised that these, apparently, able bodied golfers, were out in buggies. As we all know Brocton was not designed with buggies in mind and their use does seriously damage the wetter parts of the course at this time of the year.

A. In next weeks newsletter.

NOTICES

Congratulations to Ian Gibson and Robert Whiston for winning £100 each in the lottery last week! Have you signed up? Click here

Intelligent golf has recently updated its member booking journey for booking tee times. When booking a tee time on the web or in the app, you will notice a new look to the member booking screens:

Scrolling the screen on desktop will fix an easy-to-use header and sidebar with all the course information you need. On mobile or in the app, you will still have the option to view any existing bookings, weather, course status, or any notes by clicking the icons at the top of the screen. Competition times will be shown in purple, and you can expand the times to see the full start sheet:

A part of your membership subscription, an annual affiliation fee is levied, which is allocated between the Staffordshire Golf Union and England Golf. This document elucidates the utilization of this fee, delineating the advantages it extends to you, BHGC, and the broader golfing community. Staffordshire Union of Golf Clubs link

All of us at Brocton Hall wish our many members with a birthday this week a very Happy Birthday! Happy Birthday to Ashley Thomas, Mr J Pick, Adrienne Siddons, Evie Gorman, David Sly, John Sly, Walter Adams, Dave Taylor, John Manning, David Hulme, Julie Wells, Sally Griffin and Peter Betteley. Each passing year is like a golf ball. You have no idea where it went!

PRO SHOP

Remember that it is February Frenzy in the Pro Shop! Keep an eye on Facebook for daily updates or even better yet, pop into the Pro Shop and say hi!

HOLE IN ONE

John comes home after his regular Saturday golf game and his wife, Mary asks why he doesn't include Alan Smith in the games anymore. John asks, 'Would you want to play with a guy who regularly cheats, swears outrageously over everything, lies about his score, and has nothing good to say about anyone else on the course?'

'Of course I wouldn't,' states Mary..

'Well,' mutters John, 'neither does Peter Smith.'