MEMBER NEWS
Members Newsletter - August 2022
We could forgive ourselves recently for thinking we’ve taken a wrong turn and ended up in Arizona, but sadly we haven’t, and we’re certainly not as well equipped to deal with this prolonged hot dry spell as they are out there! If you think playing the course is tricky at the moment, you should spare a thought for the Greenkeeping team who have been battling the weather for weeks trying to provide the best surfaces possible in the circumstances. Our priority right now is to protect the course and nurse it through to more favourable conditions where we should benefit from a faster recovery but despite the all the difficulty, what fantastic weather to be playing golf in!
In addition to the challenges faced on the course, we are also enduring the burden of continued cost pressure across the business. While inflation is currently 9.4%, food service inflation is now over 11.5% and we have seen the cost of many of our staple menu ingredients increase more than 20%. We are all feeling the impact of soaring utility prices at home, and it is no different at the Club with our electricity alone expected to increase by over 120% for the final quarter of the year (an increase of over £15k vs the same period in 2021). We will continue to work hard to mitigate the impact of the cost pressures and will try to hold our own prices wherever possible, but some increases will be inevitable to continue to deliver the standard of course, quality of food and levels of service expected by our Members.
Elite Live Update – Flexi Points A recent update to the Elite Live App now means that Flexi Members can view their points balance and top up through the Elite Live App and Online Booking portal. Please remember that points are taken when a booking is made, so your balance will include any deductions for games booked in the future. Welcome to the Team We are pleased to welcome Debbie Payne to the Club who will be joining the Golf Shop team from mid-August. Debbie is a keen golfer and former Club Champion at The Buckinghamshire Golf Club and ladies course record holder at Batchworth Park Golf Club. Debbie has many years’ experience in customer service and is looking forward to meeting everyone. Checking in Prior to Play Over the past weeks we have found a number of members out on the course that have not checked in prior to play, particularly in the evenings. Please remember that you are required to check in at the Pro Shop prior to every round, irrespective of the time of day or how busy the course is. It is also the Members responsibility to ensure that any guests playing with them have paid the appropriate green fee PRIOR to the round. Bar, Kitchen and Office Closed – Thursday 25th August We have just received notification that we will have no power at the Club on Thursday 25th August due to the installation of a new substation on the line that feeds the clubhouse. The Golf Shop will be open as normal with access to toilets and changing facilities, but the Bar, Kitchen and Office will be closed for the day. We will follow up nearer the time with further details and let you know if anything changes. Burhill to Paris Last month I mentioned that I was joining a team of 10 riders from across BGL as we embark on a 300km ride from Burhill Golf Club to Paris to raise money for British Red Cross Ukraine Appeal. Thank you so much to those members who have kindly donated over the to our shared just giving page, it really is appreciated. If you would like to make a donation there is still time to do so – please click here! I hope that you are enjoying your golf and are making the most of the glorious weather, I’m sure it won’t be long before we’re moaning about the rain again! I look forward to seeing you at the club soon. Ian McDowell General Manager
A Message from the Captain
So, a short newsletter this month after a busy June/July. Big thanks to committee members for continuing the great organising of tournaments and matches. All is done on a voluntary basis we are always seeking more helpers. For many there simply isn’t enough time to help out, which is totally understandable. If you are able to now though, and like me want to make up for the years when I didn’t have time, please do step up and contact me or any of the Captains or committee members and we will welcome willing helpers! The weather has been sweltering and the course is now at its driest – well done Craig and team for keeping the greens so good! Here is the latest competition and team news:-
Recent Mixed and Gents Team News Mixed Teams update (Margaret Churry) Our mixed team played Mill Green away on Sunday 24th July, a warm welcome from the hosts and weather ensured a fun match. Eric told me it was tough going against a healthy volume of shots being given away. Steve Pick kept hitting it too far I’m told! The result went against us, but everyone had a great time and enjoyed playing a different format and course. The Gents Foxes (manager Chris Pearce) Foxes only had one league game in July, which was home against Aldenham, who are top of our league and are unbeaten. We were unlucky in a couple of games but in the end secured a draw sharing the points. We have our last league game in August, home to The Shire. A good win here and other results going our way may see us into the knockout stages. Our Gents Chiltern Breakfast League (CBL) team (manager John/Geordie Taylor) We had hard match away to Three Locks, very tough for away teams to do well there and we ended up losing 5 1/2-1/2. We are still in a good position to make the play off’s though with two key fixtures to come – home to Richings and the final fixture away to Chartridge Park. Gents Scratch Team (new manager Steve Sierra) Well, we needed a strong result and what a result we got, 8-0 against Aldenham and maximum points. What a performance from the whole team! This has now put us in a healthy position in the league with a strong chance of staying in this division for next year, which realistically was the aim for this year after being promoted. One game left this season which is against Mid Herts away. This will be another tough match but hopefully we will come away with a few vital points.
Here’s the league table to 1st August:-
Recent Mixed and Gents’ Competition Results Congratulations once again to Matt Brown for winning the Club Championship in the first week of July (already covered in my last newsletter of course but as our major trophy worth another mention). Likewise, Ziad for winning the Club Plate trophy (we still need to get that trophy receiving photo done, Ziad!). I will also sneak in here congratulations to Linda Reeve for winning her first Ladies championship (more of which in Diana’s section, of course)
16th July Aldwickbury Shield (Mixed) We had a very warm day for the Aldwickbury Shield. All went well and the results were as follows: 1st - 126 points - Adam Duke, Eamonn Donnellan, Graham Leith and Peter Creighton (they were the first group and Graham stayed to the end to accept the trophy) 2nd - 123 points - Gill Lee, Dave Walker and Caroline Leith (an excellent score for a team of 3) 3rd - 121 points - James Miller, Roger Gibbs, Richard Hyne and Dan Bearpark
Many thanks Carl Lawson (our Rules maestro) for doing the honours of awarding the Shield and to Graham and team for a great win!
Forthcoming Events and Competitions 14th August – Members Invitation Day (postponed). Apologies but we (I) missed pushing this one forward whilst it is, of course, in the diary. This is where members get to invite a guest to play in a fun competition and play our wonderful course. If you have invited someone already and are disappointed we didn’t manage to get our act sorted please let me know and feedback that you feel this is an important fixture to re-schedule later this year? 29th August - Langshaw Trophy Mixed pairs event (Bank Holiday Monday) This is a mixed stableford pairs’ competition with Gents off white tees and Ladies off reds. If you would like to play but don’t have a playing partner yet, please Email me at gents.captain@apgcmembers.org and we will work on finding you a partner or please enter on HDID and see if someone joins you! Booking closes on 14th Aug. 8th Sept – Kitchener Trophy (not listed in the diary) The winners of midweek stablefords and Thursday league nights will be entered in the board tournament “the Kitchener trophy”. We have set a date of 8th Sept for this and Steve Pick will be sending out details. Noting this is a midweek event we are thinking how best to do it noting many entrants may not be able to play during the day. 10th Sept – Captains Day (Mixed) This is where the Captain (me, I guess) provides the prizes, i.e. similar to Charity Day. The be a traffic light completion (i.e. playing off a mixture of red, yellow and white tee boxes). A random draw pairs and singles competition and a putting competition after we finish. It is open to all membership categories without a green fee and is a shotgun start. So please Ladies, Gents, Seniors, 5, 7 and Flexi members book early to avoid missing out! Full details will be posted on the notice board and we will send them out prior to the event. There is a glitch in the booking system at the moment (as of 3rd Aug) restricting entries which is being fixed. Please enter in any space on HDID as we will be doing a random draw of who you will be paired with to mix things
up a bit and get people playing and mixing with other members as much as possible. Book early to avoid missing out!! 6th Sept – Savills and Harpenden Rugby Club Charity Golf Day Savills and Harpenden Rugby Club is holding a charity golf day at Aldwickbury Park on Friday, 16th September. The format is a four ball stableford with a shotgun start with both individual and team prizes. Money raised will go to Breast Cancer Awareness and it would be great to have a few members taking part. The price is £380 per team, including breakfast, dinner and prizes. For more details – or to register your interest – please contact Kris Smith from Savills at kris.smith@savills.com Singles, Pairs, Thursday night and Summer League So many thanks all for pushing through your matches as all competitions are progressing well. Our summer league and Thursday night league are in full flow. There have been some questions about the format for the summer league. It remains the same, the best 2 scores from each team per weekend. The clarification was that if only 1 player plays then the 2nd score is counted as zero for that weekend. This is obviously then unlikely to help a team qualify so it is important to work as a team to get two good scores in each weekend. The league table is being double checked between Richard and Duncan. Ball In Lake Insurance Many thanks to all who entered the ball in lake insurance. With the course so hard and bouncy this to me is still great value for money as it is so easy to run through the green or bounce right off it as demonstrated by our Sunday swindle this weekend. For those un-insured who went in the lake and “forgot” to put your £1 in the charity pot you will be forgiven if you simply enter this tournament and get the rest of the year for free!
Rules and Handicap Committee With the hot weather and the new grass areas introduced to a number of bunkers cracks have appeared and GUR markings disappear in the hot weather. As such the R&H committee have introduced a temporary local rule as follows:TEMPORARY LOCAL RULE Cut Seams in Turf If a player’s ball lies in or touches a seam of cut turf or a seam interferes with the player’s area of intended swing: (a) Ball in General Area. The player MAY take relief under Rule 16.1b. by dropping the original ball or another ball in the relief area, from knee height. If the ball comes to rest in another cut seam the player MAY take relief again under this Local Rule. The ball when dropped MUST not be nearer the hole than the reference point where Complete Relief from all the interference is available. The ball MAY be cleaned when lifted. (b) Ball on Putting Green. The player MAY take relief under Rule 16.1d. by placing the original ball or another ball on the spot of the nearest point of complete relief. Using the procedures for placing a ball under Rules 14.2b (2) and 14.2e. Complete relief MUST be either on the putting green or in the general area. BUT interference does not exist if the seam only interferes with the player’s stance. Penalty for playing a ball from a wrong place in breach of Rule 14.7a General Penalty: (Loss of hole in Match play or Two Stroke Penalty in Stroke Play) TEMPORARY LOCAL RULE Cracks in Ground Cracks in the ground in parts of the General Area cut to fairway height or less are Ground Under Repair. If a player’s ball comes to rest in such a crack relief MAY taken under Rule 16.1b. by
dropping the original ball or another ball in the relief area, from knee height. The ball when dropped MUST not be nearer the hole than the reference point where Complete Relief from all the interference is available. The ball MAY be cleaned when lifted. BUT interference does not exist if the crack only interferes with the player’s stance. Penalty for playing a ball from a wrong place in breach of Rule 14.7a General Penalty: (Loss of hole in Match play or Two Stroke Penalty in Stroke Play) Many thanks to Linda (chair) and the committee for acting so swiftly. For any rules feedback please eMail either lindaereeve@btinternet.com or gents.rules2@apgcmembers.org.
Finally Many have mentioned the bunkers to me recently which are so dry and hard in these conditions and often left un-raked. Craig and his team are to increase a process they call “spotting”, which is whilst they do green maintenance in the mornings they will look at any bunkers as they pass them to see if any need raking (Dog-walkers regularly frequent the fairway bunkers on the 5th and 8th for example). For members please do your bit and rake the bunkers after use - I raked the whole of the fairway bunker on 5th for example on Sunday as it was like a children’s playground! For any new members your committee representatives regularly meet including with Ian and the club to discuss issues that are raised with us. So if you have any questions or feedback please do get in touch? I hope everyone has a great summer break and of course play lots of golf! Graham Payne Club Captain gents.captain@apgcmembers.org
A Message from the Lady Captain
It’s been a busy month of interesting golf with rock hard fairways and very soft sandy bunkers. For the Ladies’ section the most important event of the year is the Ladies’ Club Championship played over 36 holes. Seventeen of us played on a very hot day and congratulations to Linda Reeve who scored a magnificent 78 and 83 to win for the first time. The best nett trophy went to Chris Marsden. The day was brilliantly organised by Pauline Anderson and Eleanor Brooks. Congratulations everyone.
Ladies Invitation Day, superbly run by Sheila Bradbury, was a fun day. We were pleased to entertain our golfing friends from other clubs and show off our very special course. Margaret Chury and her guest, former member Olivia Borthwick, scored a great 49 points to secure victory. Our Millenium Trophy, which is a four ball better ball competition with a trophy donated by Dee Wyllie, was won by Annie Kirkham and Tricia Wyatt. Well done to the other July winners in medals and stablefords; Elaine Meagher (twice), Kate Bull and Diana Godden. We had a successful 9 hole evening competition and plan to repeat this so watch out for dates. 2nd August saw 84 ladies playing our course in the Open and a happy time was had by all. The Ladies’ open committee led by Anne Roche put on a fantastic day ably supported by most of the Ladies’ section as fushia growers, ball spotters, photographers, cake bakers and much more. Thanks to everyone there was lots of good publicity for Aldwickbury Park Golf Club.
The Halfway House
The raffle which raised £675 for the Captains’ Charity, Parkinson’s UK.
Congratulations to the Ladies playing in the Chiltern Ladies’ Golf League organised by Annie Kirkham. They have only lost one match. Please visit the Ladies section of the website to get all
match results. I am very grateful to Caroline Skelton for organising this. It is also full of lots of other useful information such as competition formats and match fixtures. The link is: www.aldwickburyparkgolfclub.co.uk/members-ladies-section If you have trouble accessing, please contact the club office for help. A big thank you to Tricia Wyatt for taking on the Treasurer’s role. Please keep her job as simple as possible by paying promptly for events by BACS and sending an e-mail confirming. A tribute is also due to others who run the section month after month; Caroline Skelton as Handicap Secretary and Linda Reeve as Competitions Secretary assisted by Sue Hattam. It is a huge team effort. This team needs a captain for next year. I am very sad that no one has come forward to take this on and we face an uncertain future without a leader. Please think about it even if you feel that you can only do part of the job. Plans are underway to spread the load so give me a ring or talk to me at the club with your ideas. I’d also like to hear from any of your friends or relations who are interested in taking up golf. We plan to organise some taster sessions. My email address is; dianagodden@hotmail.com. Make the most of the lovely long days and enjoy your summer golf. Diana Godden Lady Captain
A Message from the Seniors Captain
After many requests for volunteers to assist with the administration of our Seniors Section in 2023, I am delighted to let you know that we now have ‘lift-off’ following the offer by a past Seniors Captain (and current Aldwicks Secretary), Mick Beaufoy, to take over Captaincy of our Section next year. To join him will be: • • • • •
Mike Tozer. Vice-Captain in 2023. Alan Taylor. Aldwicks Secretary. Robin Edwards. Match Administrator. Past Captain, Trevor Bull, Competition Secretary Trevor Hones, Treasurer.
A sincere ‘Thank you’ to them all. July was a remarkably hot and dry month with an average of just 5mm of rain. This was the lowest amount of rainfall since the Met Office records began in 1836. Considering such extreme conditions, Craig and his team worked wonders to ensure that our Course was kept in excellent condition with the greens continuing to offer a fair challenge to all. It has been a busy month with 3 matches; a Medal; Memorial Trophy and the Harpenden Seniors Championships. We maintained our 100% record with our home fixtures with wins against Hartsbourne and Whitehill, but also maintained our 100% record of away fixtures with a loss against Redbourn on 28 July (5½ to 2½). On the 3rd July David Rayner entered the prestigious company of the club’s Octogenarians. Happy Birthday. On 5th July we had the Memorial Trophy (an Honours Board event that was organised by Brian Hanks).
The results were as follows: 1st place. Sid Sinclair with 40 points (on countback). 2nd place. Robin Bull with 40 points. 3rd place. Tom Walters with 38 points (on countback). 4th place. David Phillips with 38 points. On 12th July there was the Harpenden Seniors Championships played this year at Aldwickbury. This event is played every year between Aldwickbury, Harpenden Common and Hammonds End. Past Seniors Captain Tony Phillips did a splendid job organising the event - to such an extent that we actually won the Team prize. Eric Diment won the best nett score and Our Club Captain, Graham Payne, won 2nd best gross score.
Tony Phillips, with Brian Hanks, Denys Penhale & Keith Cox who, with Axel Flaig, were present all day on the registration desk and then checking and entering all the day.
The winning Team prize
Eric Diment. Winner of the Rose Bowl for best nett score (65).
Graham Payne. 2nd prize best gross score
On 14th July, the Aldwicks Ex-Captains had a very enjoyable away day at Old Fold Manor G.C. Thanks to Alex Hall for arranging the day. The winner was Mick Beaufoy.
On 15th July there were some birthday celebrations for Rajesh Panchal and Bryan Cooper. One of them became 55 and is henceforth eligible to play senior events whilst the other was 76. Which one remains a closely guarded secret! As APGC was closed on the 15th, Robin Edwards with Ian McDowell’s help organized an away day at Abbey Hill allowing 16 of the Friday Swindle to play
Bryan, I’m advised, came in with a remarkable 48 stableford points and his handicap was subsequently cut 4 shots. He reckons this may have had something to do with the 3 pints of Guinness he drank before the round. He believes that this should now obviously be built into his pre-match routine! On 19th July we were due to have the Aldwicks Captain vs Past Captain fun event. It was decided to postpone the event in due of the very high temperatures forecast on the day. It has been re-arranged for 17th September. On 26 July we had the Monthly Medal organised by Ray Crawley. The results were:
1st. Ray Crawley. Gross 92. Handicap 24. Nett: 68. 2nd. Robin Edwards. Gross 88. Handicap 18. Nett 70 (on c/b). 3rd. Norman Kershaw. Gross 96. Handicap 26. Nett 70. During the month, Sue and myself, along with Penny Fairweather and her husband, Waddy, played over at Great Hadham Country Club. Perhaps not the greatest of golf courses but I thought you might like to view a couple of signs displayed on the course where clearly the Club have our best interests in mind (?):
Looking ahead to the events in August, they include: 4th. Away match vs Whitehill. 10th. Away match vs The Shire. 16th. Home match vs Aldenham. 23rd Home match vs Panshangar. 25th. Monthly Medal. 30th. Mick Railes Autumn Cup. Looking ahead, on Saturday 10th September is the Club Captain’s Day. It is open to all membership categories without a green fee and is a shotgun start. Ladies, Gents, Seniors, 5, 7 and Flexi members should book early to avoid missing out. Full details will be posted on the notice board and sent out prior to the event. Due to open on HDID later this month is the Burhill Triangular Event which this year is being played on the New Course at Burhill on Thursday 15th September. Information on this event will follow in due course. Wishing you all well and happy golfing. David Phillips Seniors Captain Davidbphillips737@gmail.com 07836 200837
Course Report
Greens Greens have been under a huge amount of stress over the last few weeks especially after the very hot spell during the middle part of July when temperatures hit 40 degrees. We have eased up on the amount of cutting, raised the hight of cut to take the stress off the plant. At the time of writing this course report, there is no real signs of any significant rainfall for the next 2-3 weeks and beyond. Rainfall over the first 7 months of this year has been pretty much half of the amount that fell last year, 360mm vs 660mm in 2021.
Tees, Approaches, and Fairways After the struggles of 2018 with the heatwave that we experienced, lessons have been learnt regarding less is more and we just have to let mother nature do her thing. Again, we have eased up on cutting to protect what surface we have which will improve recovery rates when conditions become more favourable again. We have been applying granular feeds and wetting agents to help us manage our irrigation water more affectively as well as ensuring that the irrigation system as a whole is functioning correctly and as efficiently as possible.
Bunkers Bunkers have been a big talking point over the last few weeks with members stopping for a chat to discuss conditions with either myself or members of my team. Managing the bunkers has been far more difficult than normal recently as they have completely dried out, leading to the sand being far more powdery than normal. This leads to an increase of movement around the bunker and causes sand to come off many of the steeper faces back into the base leading to inconsistent depths. Each day bunkers are either receiving a full rake before play, or being foot printed with sand moved around where required. Over the coming weeks we hope to give bunkers a good stone sieve and will continue to remove / add sand where levels require it. Please remember to enter bunkers from the lowest point at all times and avoid stepping onto the face which can cause great deal of sand displacement. Please also take time and care when raking the bunkers, we will be adding more rakes around the course over the coming weeks to help. Trees You may have seen that a lot of the younger trees have now had all the protective coverings and stakes removed from around the bases. We removed the ones around the back of the 7th tee a while ago now and you’ll see how well these trees have matured and filled out over the last 6-8 months, hopefully the others will follow suit. I hope you’re enjoying your golf and please do feel free to speak to me around the clubhouse or on the course if you have any questions or queries– I’m always happy to discuss! See you on the course soon. Craig Betts Course Manager
Tip of the Month: The easy way to avoid swing tension! If you are playing with worn out grips you will naturally have to grip the club tighter, which is not good. They will cause you apply too much pressure and engage muscles in your body that are not helpful to your swing. Having a relaxed hold on the club will increase your chances of making a flowing powerful swing, one that delivers a fast stable clubhead to the ball at impact. Changing your grips at least once a year is an important consideration. You should also prolong the life of your grips by cleaning them every other month with washing-up liquid and warm water. We can help you choose the right grip for your game. The pro shop has a good selection in stock, so call in next time you visit! Robin Turley Head Professional
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