MEMBER NEWS
General Manager Update
April welcomes the beginning of the golfing season, punctuated as always with the Masters, the first major of the year. While the tournament does an excellent job of getting everyone excited for golf again, it can often raise our expectation with regards to course condition slightly beyond what is possible from the British climate at this time of year and in the absence of millions of pounds worth of under soil heating technology! Thankfully, our course has emerged from the winter season in excellent shape and it’s great to see that growth is kicking in nicely. Craig and his team have done a fantastic job in keeping the key areas protected and it has also been great to see how many members elected to carry their clubs over the winter period, the benefit of which we can all see and enjoy now.
This month we saw the launch of our Spring / Summer menu with some tasty new options (including an increased salad selection) complimenting the old favourites. As a business we currently face significant cost pressures across the board and while we do everything possible to mitigate them, price increases are unfortunately inevitable in order to continue to deliver the quality of food and levels of service expected. Members continue to receive 10% discount on food and drink when paying by levy card and we will continue to work hard to ensure that our food and service levels represent value for money. Dates for your diary: Easter Sunday Lunch, Sunday 17th April We still have some tickets left to join us for a delicious 3 course carvery on Easter Sunday – please speak to a member of the team the office for more details. Swing into Golf, 10am Friday 29th April Swing into Golf is a free taster session for ladies wanting to try golf for the first time hosted by our new Professional Steve Barker. If you know anyone who would like to join us for this free one-hour session, please refer them to the ProShop to book. Quiz Night, Saturday 7th May Curry Buffet followed by our second quiz of 2022. Teams of up to 8 people. Members £12.95, Non-Members £13.95, Tickets available from the Bar. Jamega Tour, Monday 9th – Tuesday 10th May Please be aware that the course will be closed on Monday 9th and Tuesday 10th May as we welcome the Jamega Pro Tour back to Aldwickbury Park. Members are more than welcome to come along to on either day to watch some of golf’s up and coming professionals tackle the course. The Jamega Tour has been a steppingstone to the Challenge and European Tours for over 16 years with previous players including Andrew ‘Beef’ Johnston, Tyrrell Hatton, Todd Clements and Zane Scotland. County Cards and Hertfordshire Golf Member Survey As with previous years, The County Card is available for members through the IG County App and is a great way to save money when playing at other golf clubs around the country (that aren’t under the BGL banner). If you haven’t downloaded the app yet you can do so by visiting https://www.hertfordshiregolf.org/hgnp_details . Hertfordshire Golf have also launched a Member Survey to find out more about your view as a club player, so that they can target their support and effort where it is most needed and valued. To take part in the survey please visit https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/C6LQSXG 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. 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. Wishing everyone the very best for the season ahead – I hope it is full of good times and low scores, unless it’s a stableford! Ian McDowell General Manager
A Message from the Captain
I would like to start with thanks to everyone who supported the Yellow Ball tournament in support of Ukraine. Altogether close to £600 was raised and with Calla Scott’s company running a triple funding scheme over £1,600 has been raised to support Ukraine. Many thanks for all who have entered the golf fantasy league that Chris Westcott is running and, by the time this letter goes out, also to everyone who attends or has supported the Gents/Mixed awards and race night on Thurs 7th April. In terms of golf we are entering a busy period indeed, here is the news on recent results and upcoming events/competitions: Recent Mixed and Gents Competition Results 6th March Copper Cup (Gents’) Congratulations to James Hillman who won the winter league play off with a massive 43 points.
Thanks to Steve Pick (Vice Captain) for standing in for me and doing the prize giving.
12th March 3 Clubs and a Putter (Gents’) 1st - Winners with 118 points: Allan Fender, Mike Howells, Terry Daly, Mike Tozer. 2nd - With 115 points: Mark Quigley, David Gott, James Hilman, Paul Beecher. 26th March Yellow Ball (Mixed) Stableford (Supporting Ukraine) 1st - Sheila Bradbury, Jan Cookson, Helen Greensmith and Van Higby (164 points) 2nd - Naz Ball, Eleanor Brooks, Chris Woodcock and Gill Lee. 162 points
2nd April (Gents’) Spring Cup Our first Gents’ major one day competition of the year was very well attended. Thanks to Richard Hyne for meeting/greeting and organising the event. Carl Lawson and Mike Childs did timekeeping in our efforts to encourage players to keep up with the group in front. The weather was fresh but bright and sunny. Craig and his team did a great job getting the course in shape enabling removal of winter rules, plus getting many bunkers back in play and us back off the white tee’s. 1st - Mick Pepper 40pts (on countback) 2nd - John Harris 40pts 3rd - Andrew Fitzgerald 38pts
Here’s Mick with the Spring Cup
Forthcoming Events and Competitions The Summer League (Gents’) and Knockout Tournaments are now open on HowDidiDo. Please click on the “knockout” tab to enter the Gents singles and summer pairs, mixed greensomes and family foursomes! Midweek Stablefords and Thursday night 9 hole summer The midweek Stableford which is open every Wednesday is not well supported even though the day has lots of people playing. To enter simply sign in on the day from any tee time via the PSI or “Today’s Golf” on HDID. It is open to all members and winners are entered into the Kitchener Trophy, which is an honours board event. We have also decided that winners of the summer 9 hole competition Steve Pick is organising will also get through to the Kitchener Trophy play off. 15th April (Good Friday) Ladies’ vs Gents’. We are still looking for players to represent the gent’s section. Colin Anderson is our Captain on the day as I am away in Dubai for the Easter break. 18th April Spring Texas Scramble (Mixed). Booking closes on 9th April with a strong field already entered! 23rd April Combination Cup (Mixed). An honours board competition of teams of Gents’, Ladies’ or Mixed pairs. So, find your partner or please enter and the organiser will try and pair you up with someone. The event is a mixture of 4 ball better ball, foursomes and greensomes. Booking closes on 9th April. 26th April Divoting party Many thanks to Alex Hall and Craig who have arranged a divoting party, which is hugely appreciated by me, followed by BBQ. This will hopefully act as a reminder to all players to repair your divots please and help look after our fantastic course. 1st May Mixed Match – Chartridge Away This event is normally posted on the “Mixed” board so please put your name on the list to meet new friends and play different courses and support our club. 2nd May Mo James Trophy This is a mixed greensomes event. If you wish to play but don’t have a partner please do put your name in the list and let hyne_richard@hotmail.com know that you would like to play if a partner of the opposite sex is also looking to play. 9th and 10th May – Jamega Tour event The course is closed to members but all are welcome to come and watch including supporting our club champion Mike who the gents section are sponsoring for entry into this prestigious event! Adopt a Green Following the “Adopt a Green” I have seen fewer repairs being needed (my general observation), so many thanks to all who are making the extra effort to repair other people’s pitch marks. It shouldn’t be necessary but sadly it is. If you don’t know which green you are allocated, please look up your surname initial below and take pride in making sure that green above all is in pristine condition repairing as many pitch marks as you can on it when you play if you can please? Mine is the 18th so if you are watching me finish my round you will see me scanning the green and bending down a few more times!
Ball In Lake Insurance With all proceeds going to the Joint Captains’ Charity a gentle reminder if you go in the lake on 18 it is nominated as the charity lake and we ask players to put a £1 in the charity pot. However, we aren’t seeing the pots filling up as much as the lake is with balls! This we expect as many people now don’t have cash on them and regularly forget to put their money in the pot. So, to make things easier and offer a fantastic value for money deal (for most members that is) we have re-introduced the “Ball In Lake Insurance”. For an annual fee of £5 you then don’t have to worry about hitting that ball in the lake (apart from for your score of course) as effectively you have pre-paid for as many times you want to go in the lake as you like! Just enter the Ball In Lake Insurance competition set up on HowDidiDo and then the fee will be deducted from your PSI account. Please do enter and please encourage your playing partners to do so when you see them in that lake! Slow Play We have had much discussion on this subject in the Gents, Members’ and Captains’ committees. The ranger is now more visible on the course and is empowered to give warnings to slow groups and ask them to wave groups through if they don’t speed up. As a gents committee we have also invested in some 3 min timers and it is evident many people either aren’t aware that you are only allowed 3 mins to look for your ball or aren’t aware how short 3 mins actually is! We will trial this in forthcoming events where the first person on the draw sheet per group will be asked to be time keeper for the group. Final Thoughts A month on and I am still shocked on a daily basis by the horrors coming from the war in Ukraine. My thoughts and wish for peace are with the people of Ukraine. Graham Payne Club Captain gents.captain@apgcmembers.org
SUNDAY 17TH APRIL Three-course carvery Easter craft making for the children £22 per adult I £19 per member I £12 under 12’s I £5 under 5’s
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A Message from the Lady Captain
What a beautiful spring we are having and the bluebells are already out by the 10th tee. Huge thanks to Gill Lee for keeping the flowers blooming at Aldwickbury. She puts in hours of work each week on a voluntary basis and the flower beds look amazing. Thanks are also due to the flower fairies who supply the locker room, Penny Fairweather and Eleanor Trigell.
Congratulations to the March winners: Weekend Medal: Elaine Meagher. Stableford: Division 1, Julia Bashford. Division 2, Chris Woodcock. Fun Competition: Dinah Howard. Foursomes: 1. Gill Lee and Chris Woodcock. Weekend Stableford: Elaine Meagher. Medal: Helen Greensmith.
9 hole Stableford: Sue Penhale. 18 hole Stableford: Margaret Chury. With winter restrictions lifting, it’s time to get back to a full golf routine. If you have got out of the habit, please come along on a Wednesday morning and enjoy the fellowship. Our next Honours Board event is the Rose Bowl on 25th May. I hope that everyone will enter on HDID or the PSI. I look forward to seeing you all in the clubhouse afterwards. Please introduce yourself if we have not yet met. Our charity fundraising started brilliantly with a Mind Factor workshop presented by Karl Morris. It was a fun evening and we raised £1,040 for Parkinson’s UK so a big thank you to all who supported it. The Ladies next fundraiser is the Plant Sale after golf on Wednesday 25th May. Please bring along all your spare plants, flowers and vegetables. Time for the less green fingered to buy and plant up their planters and gardens. My Charity Day is on Wednesday 8th June with a Platinum Jubilee theme. It will be a pairs Four Ball Better Ball fun competition, so find a partner or let me know if you are looking for one. In the pro shop, Robin has got some new purple tops from Sunderland embroidered with our logo. They are very comfortable so please take a look. Our new pro, Steve, is planning some Stroke Saver group lessons followed by coffee and chat, so look out for these. We are also hoping to run some taster sessions for new golfers. We welcome new lady members at all levels and I will be happy to contact anyone who expresses an interest in playing golf with us. Wishing everyone happy golfing. Diana Godden Lady Captain
A Message from the Seniors Captain
I start off this Monthly Newsletter on a sombre note as last month we lost Robert Andlaw (pictured), a much liked, respected, and delightful person, after a very short illness
His sudden death has come as a great shock to all of us. Our thoughts at this time are with Ros and their family. His funeral is being held at the Catholic Church ‘Lady of Our Lourdes’ in Harpenden on Monday 25th April and will be followed by a Wake at APGC at 1:45/2:00pm. If you would like to attend the Wake, I’d be grateful if you could contact me as numbers will be limited.
We are now a quarter of the way through this year and with the prospect of the Spring approaching (I write this Newsletter with snow falling outside), the Aldwicks various events are starting to get busier with 3 matches; our Fun Day; Medal competition, Canadian Scramble and Medal Trophy this month. I’m pleased to record that our first match of the year last week was against Redbourn and was successfully organised by John Rowland, resulting in a 5-3 victory. Having been a non-playing Captain since my return from a disrupted holiday in Mauritius, I am pleased to say that my ample body has since been recovering from the various bruises, aches and pains I sustained, and I managed to play in our Tony Fowler Shootout competition this week.
In the knowledge that 3 months have already passed, I am finding the workload that is coming through on a daily basis is considerable and I really could do with having a Vice Captain working with me and sharing some of the duties. I am sure that there is someone amongst you who would enjoy being Captain of our much respected and friendly Section next year? A number of you have been asked if you would be interested and I (or any of the past Captains) would be happy to have a chat with you to talk through what’s involved. Perhaps the prospect of having your own parking bay and having your annual Club subscription paid would tempt you? Please give it some thought as our Section is too important to the Club to have no continuity at the end of this year
SATURDAY 7TH MAY From 6pm
Quiz, Curry & Prizes Members £12.95pp Non-Members £13.95pp For teams of up to 8 players BOOK YOUR TEAM TODAY BY CALLING 01582 760112 OR EMAIL INFO@ALDWICKBURYPARKGOLFCLUB.CO.UK
Events during April: Tue 12. Monthly Medal. Thu 14. Match vs Mill Green (A). Tue 19. Match vs Brookmans Park (H). Thu 21. Canadian Scramble. Tue 26. Match vs Chesfield Downs (A). Tue 26 Divoting event with BBQ. Thu 28. Medal Trophy. Advance notice of my Captain’s Day on Tue 17th May. HDID opens on 2 April and closes 7 May. Apart from urgently seeking a Vice Captain, we would also like to find a Treasurer to take over from Keith Cox at the end of the year. Ideally, we would hope that someone would volunteer sooner rather than later as they could then have a better understanding of what’s involved by working alongside Keith for a period of time. Finally, congratulations to our two new Octogenerians, Bob Bright and Ray Crawley. They both look far too young to qualify. David Phillips Seniors Captain
Course Report
Greens and Course Condition March was a varied month with regards to weather, cold temps, high winds and a few days of warm sunny spells that gave you the false hope that summer was just around the corner! All post and rope have been taken down for another year, I feel that this has been our best winter yet for keeping course damage to a minimum, all the high traffic areas will be seeded, top dressed and fertilised to aid in recovery, but most importantly, all areas around greens are in good condition for the playing season ahead. We have also applied a slow-release fertiliser to the fairways throughout the course which will kick them on over the coming weeks into the season. Winter rules have now been lifted effective 1st of April. Following a couple of instances of accidental damage, I would like to remind members to take care when replacing the pin so as not to catch the edge of the hole. Holes are changed 2-3 times a week but even after days play there have been reports of edges of holes really badly damaged. Don’t forget you are no longer required to remove the pin when putting.
Greens and Tee’s Maintenance During March we undertook our first renovations on the Greens of the 2022 season, greens were double verti-cut at -2mm, cut to clear off all the material, heavily top dressed and were spiked with 9.5mm tines to push the sand into the profile. To finish the process, we brushed and drag matted all the sand into the profile, adding more where necessary, leaving as smooth a finish as possible. The surfaces exceptionally well and are now ready for the season ahead.
Bunkers We have had a big push in the last few weeks to get the bunkers finished and back into play. The fairway bunkers that have been reshaped are also being turfed so will still be GUR, but there are several bunkers now back in play. Please speak to the ProShop before teeing off so you know what bunkers are still GUR, there is also a notice next to the shop entrance with any Bunkers GUR listed. On the Par 3 course the bunkers on the 4th and 5th holes have now been filled in, the decision was made to remove them due to their size and position. These areas will be seeded in due course.
The Fairway bunker on the top right of the 16th has also been filled in and removed, again this was a bunker that wasn’t in play and will be grassed over before planting some gorse in the remaining void later in the year. As many of you may have seen there has been a very big change to the greenside bunker on the 6th, the face of this bunker has always washed out very heavily in bad weather and the edges had also collapsed due to damage from Miner Bees. The face has now been revetted, making it more of a pot bunker and most importantly, far less prone to washout and stone contamination. Turf removed during projects on other areas of the course was used to create the revetting, which will knit together and form a strong wall around the bunker. We intend to monitor progress during the season with a view to potentially use this technique on other problematic bunkers.
I look forward to seeing you on the course. Craig Betts Course Manager
Tip of the Month: Don't Lag Behind! As I am writing this month’s tip the Masters is in full swing and it’s always impressive to see the skill and touch of the world’s best players on some of the toughest greens in golf! At Aldwickbury we are fortunate to play on the best greens in the area and when they get to their fastest speeds it can be very difficult to keep 3 putts off your score! When faced with fast, sloping greens effective lag putting is a great skill to have. Lag putting is the ability to leave your ball close to the hole from longer range putts and reduce the chance of 3 putting. With modern technology there is now a range of data that highlights the importance of getting your long range putts in close proximity to the hole. On the PGA Tour in 2021, the best players on the best greens hole over 95% of their putts from inside 3 feet (about the length of a standard putter) - very impressive! But what might surprise you is that the world’s best golfers statistically only have a 1 in 3 chance of holing a putt when they get outside of 10 feet from the hole! This shows for those long putts how vital it is to get the ball within that 3 foot radius of the hole. So how can you improve your lag putting? A big influence is the type of practice putting you put in. Spending a lot of time just practicing holing out from 3 feet or just going between the holes on the practice green will help your putting but not all aspects of your putting so be sure to practice from long distance too. Try as long putts as possible from one end of the green to the other focusing on the length and tempo of your stroke. Practicing long putts with large breaks and uphill/downhill slopes will also improve your feel for distances. Recording your putting scores is also a great way of improving your awareness of your performance. Write down on your scorecard how many putts you have on each hole and see if you can go a full round without a 3 putt. It’s not easy but if you can manage it I’m sure you’ll see your scores lower. Once you’ve mastered that challenge see if you can match the feat of Swedish professional Freddie Jacobson who went 30 rounds (542 consecutive holes) on the PGA Tour without 3 putting a green! Robin Turley Head Professional
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Ladies Swing into Golf Free Taster Class for Aspiring Players Friday 29th April at 10am
Join our PGA Qualified Professional on the lesson tee and discover the joy of golf and learn about life at the Club. Start your journey today! Duration 1 Hour. Book in the Pro shop. Members guests welcome.