Aldwickbury Park Member News June

Ian McDowell General Manager

Dear Member,

Summer is officially here…. although I think it would be fair to say that we still need a degree of reassurance! The good news is that the temperatures are increasing, rain is subsiding, and growth is beginning to kick in on the golf course.

The past months have been a challenge for our hard-working greenkeepers, but they have done a great job of getting the course to where it is now, and I would like to thank them for all their efforts.

This year I have been determined to play more golf and May gave me plenty of opportunity to do just that.

GM UPDATE

At the beginning of the month, I joined Captain, Carl Lawson; ViceCaptain, Gareth McNeill; and Past Captain, Colin Anderson for the fiercely contested Society of Hertfordshire Golf Captains Inter Club Team Competition at Moor Park. It was a fantastic day on and off the course and we secured third place overall.

Later that week I had the pleasure of Carl’s company again, this time alongside Caroline Skelton and Harry Bech as we took part in the Burhill Challenge, a two-day event run by BGL to thank Captains and Committee members for their hard work at their respective clubs. While we didn’t feature in the prizes, it was a wonderful couple of days and it was great to spend time with Carl, Caroline and Harry, enjoying Burhill’s excellent hospitality and discussing all things Aldwickbury.

Finally, we also fielded a staff team for the Rennie Grove Peace Hospice Care Charity Day on 23rd May and I had the wonderful company of our Head Pro, Robin and Greenkeepers, Chelcie and Kenny who all played exceptionally well, and it was a pleasure to spend time with them outside of our normal work. The charity was certainly the biggest winner on the day, but I am pleased to say that our team score was respectable!

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GM UPDATE

Clutch Tour

We were pleased to welcome the Clutch Tour back to Aldwickbury Park at the end of April for their first tier two event of the year and our first time hosting an event on their main schedule. The tour is the biggest development pathway for professional golfers in Europe, providing access to both the Challenge and DP World Tour and its tournaments boast exciting fields of both established and up-and-coming tour professionals.

The pros found the course as challenging as ever, not helped this year by the softer ground conditions, with only 14 of the field scoring level par or better over the two rounds. The final round ended with three players tied all at -5, leading to a playoff which took four holes to determine the eventual winner - Arron Edwards-Hill of Woodbridge Golf Club.

Ken on the Course!

Following the Clutch Tour, Craig and I had the pleasure of spending a morning with Ken Brown walking the course, reviewing recent work and discussing plans. It is always fascinating to hear how Ken went about designing the golf course and the challenges that had to be overcome in the process.

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GM UPDATE

During the walk, Ken was excited to see the expansion of the 18th tee which he had always felt was a little too small but constraints at the time had limited what could be done. He was pleased with the new tee and thought it was a big improvement. We spoke to several members on our way around, and it was wonderful for Ken to hear first-hand how much they enjoy and take pride in the golf course he designed.

We are very lucky that Ken still finds the time to swing by and I would like to thank him for his continued input and advice.

Rules Videos

The Rules and Handicap Committee have recently uploaded several videos to YouTube to guide members, covering a range of topics from general rules/etiquette to some of the specific local rule situations you may face during your round at Aldwickbury. To see the videos, click the following link which will take you to the playlist:

https://shorturl.at/8h7j4

Redbourn Marshall Vacancy

Our sister club Redbourn Golf Club are currently recruiting golf marshals to join their team – if you, or someone you know, would be interested in working as a part-time marshal, or would like more information, please contact Charlie Turnerc.turner@redbourngolfclub.co.uk.

Renewals

We are now well into our main renewal period leading up to the first day of the new subscription year on 1st July 2024. Thank you to all those members who have already paid their subscriptions.

Members should now have received their renewal notices, and in the case of those who pay direct debits, notification of your new payment amount from July. Please remember that the first direct debit payment also includes your one-off union fee of £27 and from August your monthly amount will reduce to the amount detailed in the email sent by DFC.

If you have any questions, would like to change your method of payment, or are considering other membership options available, please contact me or Miranda Abrahams as soon as possible so we can help.

I would like to thank you all for your support of the club over the past 12 months and hope that you plan to join us for another great year ahead at Aldwickbury Park!

See you at the club soon.

Ian

CAPTAIN’S UPDATE

Dear Redbourn

Carl Lawson Club Captain

A Message From The Captain

it later in the year and consequently, our qualifying score is unlikely to reach the very high threshold achieved by other clubs in the national pool of entries.

Member,

Welcome to the first summer newsletter of the year; a statement that could not be truer about the weather! As I start to write this the course is closed as we endure the second day of constant rain.

Competitions

Competitions have been played despite the weather and the first to report on, back in March, was the Fletcher Shield, with entrants being winners and runnersup in weekend monthly medals and stablefords over the past year.

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Playing in drizzly rain making conditions difficult we ended up with a five-way tie that required a count back to identify our winner, Matt Phillips, who got his name on the Honours Boards for the first time.

Good Friday saw our annual Ladies v Gents Pairs Match. Competitive and very enjoyable as always, the ladies coped with the showery conditions better than the gents and won the match by 6pts to 3pts. The sun came out at the end for the winning team photo.

On the following weekend, strong winds and the return of the white tees for gents made the PING Pairs a very challenging mixed competition. Nevertheless, Pete Laurence and Elaine Meagher won our qualifying event with a very impressive 40pts.

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Unfortunately, this national competition is unlikely to be included in our calendar of events for next year. It is difficult for us to schedule

It felt like spring on Easter Monday as players in the Spring Texas Scramble enjoyed golf and a drink on patio in fine sunshine. The scores were equally good with over half the groups achieving net scores in the 50’s! Winners with a fantastic net score of 54 were Vito Saponaro, Dan Thurlby, and Jimmy and Ali Hill. Congratulations to them and also to the team of Michael Van Wyk, James Lawrence, Matt Phillips, and Ryan Neary with the lowest gross score of 59.

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CAPTAIN’S UPDATE

Dear Redbourn Member, Giatinum nobitae eici officipicit ventur, conesequat quatur, quodist ruptat. Ecte verest qui necation

April began with a large field competing for the Spring Cup, the first major gents competition of the year. The result was very close with three players tied on 38pts. The winner, decided on count back, was Matt Phillips who wins two honours board competitions in a row. Well done also to Matt Brown who won the lowest gross prize with a score of 76.

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A cold northerly wind challenged players in the Combination Cup; a pairs competition playing four-ball, greensomes and foursomes formats all in one round. Yet again the result went to count back with three pairs tied on 40pts. The winning pair, who also had a combined gross score of 72, were Alex Dennehy and Matt Phillips. Terrific golf by the pair and a special congratulations to Matt for winning three honours board competitions in a row, this must be a club record!

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Congratulations also to Michael Van Wyk and Steve Pick for winning the (next) best gross with a score of 78.

The course was in excellent condition for the inaugural playing of the King Charles III Coronation Cup on 4th May. This was a proud occasion for me, introducing this new competition and donating the trophy in my Captaincy Year. The feedback was positive on having a new medal competition, even though only six players managed to play under their handicap. Christian Apsey won with a fine net 68 to be the first name on the new trophy and honours board.

Well done also to Michael Van Wyk for another best gross prize with a score of 77.

Steady rain returned to challenge the brave pairs who played greensomes to contest the Mo James Trophy on Bank Holiday Monday. The course held up very well despite the rain and much credit must go to Craig and his team for that. Regardless of the weather, five pairs scored 38 points. However, that wasn’t good enough and winners of the Mo James (for the third time) with an excellent score of 41 were Colin and Pauline Anderson.

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CAPTAIN’S UPDATE

I was very fortunate to represent the club at the first staging of the Burhill Challenge since the COVID pandemic. All the clubs in the group met at Burhill for a day and a half of golf, socialising and very generous hospitality. This was effectively a thank you to all the captains and GMs in the Burhill ‘family’, in recognition of their work throughout the year.

in a three-hole final, playing off scratch, on holes 10, 17 and 18. The finalists were Adrian Smalley, Chris Mercer, Dave Clouting and John Taylor. The winner with a level par score of 11 over the three holes was Adrian Smalley, who won a ‘Masters Champion’ golf top.

Caroline Skelton (representing the Ladies Section), Harry Bech (representing the Seniors Section), Ian McDowell and I came away feeling thoroughly spoiled and very much enjoyed the Old Course, which was in fine condition. Well done, Burhill, this was a great event and yes, they won the golf challenge as well!

Dear Redbourn Member, Giatinum nobitae eici officipicit ventur, conesequat quatur, quodist ruptat. Ecte verest qui necation natem cori sament officid quiatem facidusam ducid mi, odis eatus autas doluptae exeratium fugia dunt quam vellandit ipis con peligendel etur, odisciis doluptur, eum dolum repra am faccus expel iunt.

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Sunny weather accompanied players competing in the Aldwickbury Masters. A medal competition, it is an event which creates its’ own drama with winners in each of the four handicap divisions competing

Our final event in May was the Jubilee Trophy, an individual, mixed stableford competition. Players enjoyed the bright spring weather and managed to get in before a sharp shower arrived. Conditions and scoring were good, and Vice-Captain Gareth McNeill presented the trophy to Pete Armstrong who won with an excellent 40pts and is another first-time winner on the honours boards.

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CAPTAIN’S UPDATE

The start of June brought the Swindle Challenge, the end of preferred lies and competition played in very strong northerly winds! As ever, this was a keenly contested event with bragging rights for the top swindle on the line. The result was very close with the Ladies Swindle just beating the APGC Travellers with an average score of 32.47 across 19 ladies. Congratulations also go to Julia Bashford for taking the best individual stableford prize with a score of 40pts.

Dear Redbourn

season Matt Phillips, RotPunkt Kuchen, for keeping us looking fresh on the course.

Steve Sierra, Scratch Team Captain

The CBL Team played our first match of the season on 27th April at home to Shendish Manor and won 3 1/2 - 2 1/2. Unfortunately, our 2nd match on 11th May at home to Mill Green was a disastrous home defeat by 1 - 5. Sadly, our third match didn’t go our way either, losing at home to Chesfield Downs 2 – 4.

John Taylor, CBL Team Captain

The Foxes have had a mixed start to the year. We lost our opening fixture in April away to The Shire. However, we won our knockout match 4 - 0 at home against South Herts and this was followed up with a win in the league, away at Brickendon Grange, by 2 1/2 - 1 1/2. Unfortunately, we lost our latest match away at Arkley 4-0.

Dan Gilman, Foxes Vice Captain

Gents Teams

Member,

Our Gents Teams have made a start in their fixtures for the year and here are the latest reports:

After an amazing 2023 season which saw our Scratch Team win their division and get promoted, they go again against even tougher opponents. Our first game was at home against a very strong Brookmans Park team and unfortunately, although battling hard, we just fell short losing 3-5.

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Our Mixed Matches, (Sunday, mixed pairs four balls) had a false start with an unfortunate clash of dates for the first fixture. However, there are two further matches in the diary with sign-up via the noticeboard. Further information is available from Gareth McNeill or Chris Woodcock.

Club and Course

The club and course benefit from the work of members in many ways, often working together with staff at the club. The 1st of April saw the implementation of our stroke index and (gents) par change. A big thank you has to go to Axel Flaig, Caroline Skelton and Robin Turley for making the changeover as smooth as possible by updating our systems, scorecards and tee posts.

Our second game, again at home and facing a strong Chesfield Downs team saw us victorious, 5-3. Special mentions must go to Matt Brown who beat their captain (a +3.3 handicapper) 5 and 4, and to James Lawrance for a great up and down on 18 to win his match. A fantastic performance from the whole team and a great win!

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Also, a special thanks to our sponsor this

A week later a small group of members joined our green staff to make up a divot party. Despite rain and wind, all the fairways were completed. Members and green staff were rewarded with food and drink in the clubhouse afterwards. Another session is planned for the autumn and more volunteers would be very welcome.

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CAPTAIN’S UPDATE

Bunkers

Dear Redbourn Member,

Individually, we can all make a significant contribution to keeping the course in great condition every time we play by repairing pitch marks, raking bunkers and replacing divots. It is a familiar theme but worth sharing the following that I would expect we all adopt as standard practice.

Pitch Marks

If you are not sure of the correct way to repair a pitch mark, please see the diagram on our noticeboards.

There are two approaches to repairing pitch marks and I ask you to make a point of following one or a combination of the two.

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1. When you walk onto a green have a ball marker and pitch mark repairer in your hand. Look for your pitch mark (if you hit the green) and repair it. Then, find and repair one other pitch mark and do this on every green. It doesn’t take long and there is always time when others are playing. You will still have time to line up your putt.

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2. As an alternative you can ‘Adopt a green’. To do this please look up your surname initial on the table below. Each time you play and arrive at your allocated green locate and repair several pitch marks. Of course, you still need to repair any pitch marks you make on other greens during a round.

The green staff have been working very hard treating the bunkers and preparing the sand as best as they can to improve playing conditions for everyone. Consistency in the depth of sand is always going to be a challenge given the current construction of the bunkers (without a liner). A bunker refurbishment programme starts later this year when the first few bunkers will be reconstructed with permeable liners that will maintain a consistent depth of sand and should significantly improve appearance and playability. The new design has been tested and proven at other clubs in the Burhill Group. This is great news, however, the programme is a significant capital investment and will take several years to complete all of the bunkers. The requirement of us as players remains the same regardless of whether we go in a ‘new’ or ‘old’ bunker it must always be raked so that the next player to visit it is not disadvantaged.

Divots

If we move to the ‘closely mown areas’ please be aware that preferred lies ended on 31st May, so remember to play the ball as it lies everywhere on the course unless you get relief under another rule. Please also repair your divots, there is nothing worse than hitting a great drive only to find your ball in a divot on the fairway!

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CAPTAIN’S UPDATE

Two other points to note on the course. Firstly, the new 18th tees should be open for play in the next week or so, which is great news.

by members and visitors alike. Thank you, Gill Lee, for all your hard work throughout the year.

Dear Redbourn Member,

Secondly, you will see new, larger, distance plates appearing in the fairways. Please note these plates give the distance to the front of the green. Also, the current green posts on the side of the fairway that mark 150 yards to the middle of the green will move back in line with the new plates so that both will mark distances to the front of the green.

Events coming up

• Our Charity Day is rapidly approaching on 15th June - We will be sending out a separate note with details for the day to all members.

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Golf can be a dangerous game when the ball goes offline and so I want to remind you all that when this happens a loud shout of FORE! should come from the player and others in that group to warn players on the course or members of the public close to the course. We recently received a complaint from a walker who was almost hit when walking on the footpath adjacent to the 5th hole. There was no shout of fore or apology. Please be considerate of others when you play.

Some familiar rules and scenarios continue to arise where members are unsure of their relief options. The first situation is where a ball is on the steps or path between or beyond the hedge on the 13th hole. The second is when the ball is on the path but not out of bounds on the lefthand side of the 16th hole (before the bunkers). The third is where the internal OOB ends on the 12th hole.

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Each of these scenarios are covered by videos that are available on Facebook and HowDidiDo, so please familiarise yourself with your option(s) in each situation.

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On a lighter note, looking from the patio area the flower beds and borders are looking particularly full and colourful this year. They are a real feature of the club and are much enjoyed

• A HGU Centenary Event is being held at Sandy Lodge on Monday 23rd September. The winner of the Gents Championship Plate will be entered into this competition. A poster is displayed on the noticeboard. The ladies have a separate qualifying competition.

• Champions Day is a new event for this year (replacing Awards Night) and will be held on Saturday 9th November. Winners of all honours board events in the Gents, Ladies and Senior sections will be invited to play in this competition. It will also be an opportunity to recognise their success during the year by presenting their trophy in front of the members present. If you have already won a board competition, please put this date in your diary.

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CAPTAIN’S UPDATE

Stop Press!

Michael Van Wyk and James Lawrance have entered The Open regional qualifying at Moor Park (High course) on Monday 24th June. This must be a first for Aldwickbury Park Golf Club and we wish them the very best of luck on the day.

Finally

As you can see a lot is going on at this time of year. However, by the time you get to play, I hope you are enjoying your golf and leisure time at the club.

Mike Tozer Aldwicks’ Captain

A Message From The Aldwicks Captain

Dear Redbourn Member,

Carl

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Firstly, I would like to say my first few months as the Aldwicks Senior Captain have passed quickly and I am delighted and honoured to have had the support of our marvellous committee as well as the neverending help from all the organisers of the events run so far.

This invaluable help and support from our committee and organisers is certainly the key to the Aldwicks Seniors Section being extremely well run and I would like to express my appreciation to all those helping behind the scenes.

Unfortunately, the weather got the better of many of our planned events during March, April, and May, as many had to be cancelled. This is always a shame, particularly given the tremendous amount of work the organisers put into it. Hopefully, next spring will be dryer!

Just on another note, we are still on the lookout for someone to step into the role of Vice Captain. The role will prove to be quite rewarding and with the tremendous support in place, it is not as demanding as I first envisaged. I would be happy to chat with anyone who may be interested.

Please come and join us in the many events which will appear on HDID over the coming months, and we would particularly welcome any senior members who perhaps have not played in an event before to come and play in the matches and events we have scheduled.

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CAPTAIN’S UPDATE

What’s been happening so far:

One of the early season fun events was the Tony Fowler Shoot Out - a pair’s competition, which was won by Eugine Hickey & Keith Sheffield

This was followed by The Captains Fun Day in early April.

Bob Bright never misses an opportunity to dress for the occasion and join in with the “Fun Day spirit”.

Dear Redbourn Member,

A vision of nostalgia was needed to drive with this antique club on Fun Day!

contact Robin Edwards. It’s a great opportunity to play on other courses and meet new friends.

Aldwicks Senior Gentlemen’s Club Champion: Corin Superfine

Aldwicks Match Results Against Other Clubs

Redbourn Home Aldwicks Win

The Hertfordshire Home Aldwicks Win Mill Green Away Aldwicks Loss

Brookman Park Home Aldwicks Win

Chesfield Down Away Aldwicks Loss

Mill Green Home Draw

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South Beds Away Aldwicks Loss

Aldwickbury Seniors Scratch Squad

Our Senior Scratch Squad is in it’s inaugural season in the County’s Senior Scratch leagues and the team started with an emphatic 12-0 win over Bishops Stortford in April.

Whipsnade Park Away Aldwicks Loss

Mixed fortunes with the results but we are holding our own so far.

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We are often looking for more players to join us in these matches so if you wish to play, please

Aldwickbury Seniors’ Scratch Team 2024

Harry Bech winner of the Medal Trophy

CAPTAIN’S UPDATE

Seniors Scratch Team

A win over Stocks and a narrow loss to Royston means they are currently top of the 4th League and with three further matches next month, will be crucial in the squad’s bid to gain promotion at the first attempt so I wish Keith Greatbanks and our Senior Scratch Squad all success.

In their second round in the County’s Senior Scratch KO, they played Brookman’s Park a League One team considered to be the best in the county. Despite being competitive and demonstrating they can ‘mix it’ with the best, my commiserations go to our team as they eventually lost.

Dear Redbourn Member,

180 between them and “NOT OUT”

A marvellous milestone was reached with both Brian Hanks and Denys Penhale turning 90 this year. Whilst no longer playing, they are both ardent supporters of Aldwickbury Park GC and continue to play an active role in assisting and running competitions and juggling with the complexities of post-match checking of the scorecards.

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Brian is a founder member of our club and was an exceptional low handicap golfer and Denys is a past senior captain. They both celebrated their 90th birthdays this year and it’s remarkable how they continue to contribute to supporting our Aldwicks section with such enthusiasm.

If you see them in the bar, then don’t be shy in buying them a drink as they are both devotees of the Aldwicks in so many ways.

What’s Coming up

Rather than list all the events for the next quarter I would like to highlight some of them for your diaries.

Hartsbourne Away match 6th June. This is a super course with a friendly opposition so please sign up if you are available.

Panshanger GC Away match 11th June. Now open to enter on HDID.

Aldenham Panshanger GC Away match 20th June. Now open to enter on HDID.

Captain’s Away day 27th June. Old Fold Manor. This will be a super day out so please sign up on HDID t and join us for an entertaining day.

Regards, Mike

Birthday Boy Brian Hanks celebrating with his many friends and family.

Sue & Denys Penhale “Happy Birthday Denys”

“A great party hosted by Brian a very popular member.”

LADIES REPORT

Can you believe we are now in full swing with qualifying games, matches and trophy events?

The weather was still very unsettled during March, and not much improved in April, but the sun has decided to poke its head out and the course is drying up nicely.

Dear Redbourn Member,

The Pearson team continued the quest to win their division, beating Mid Herts away 5-2 but unfortunately losing to The Melbourne away 5-2. The last game this season was against Arkley away with everything to play for. The team drew. However, because Mid Herts somehow drew against The Melbourne, we managed to reach the Quarter Finals against Hartsbourne. The away match was played on 30 April, although we lost, it was a close result 4-3. The home match was played on 16 May with us needing preferably win 5-2, but a result of 4-3 would clinch it as we had more points. The team did fantastically and won 6-1 so we are off to the semis/finals (both played on the same day) at Hadley Wood on the 17th of June. Good luck to Helen Greensmith and her team.

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Linda and Elaine played their first round of the Daily Mail Foursomes knockout (after winning the qualifier last year) against Harpenden GC away, winning 3-2 and giving 6 shots. The next round was against Mid Herts at home on 27 April, which they won, again giving shots. Now they’ve played Harpenden Common in the 3rd round and won very convincingly.

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(formerly Mail on Sunday) should have taken place on 29 April against Welwyn Garden City at home. Unfortunately, the course was closed due to heavy rain overnight, so was rescheduled for the 4th of May. Despite everybody giving shots away the team won. Photo attached of the winning team. The next match was on May 27th against Royston GC at home, and I’m pleased to say the team were victorious again winning 4-1.

Unfortunately, the Dusty Bin fun competition in February was cancelled on both days because of heavy rain. However, the foursomes took place in March. The weekend ladies had better weather (dry) but high winds and the Wednesday ladies had both high winds and rain for the last groups. The winners were Anne Roche and Chris Woodcock with a respectable 33 pts with Julia Bashford and Caroline Skelton getting 32 pts on countback from Elaine Meagher and Linda Reeves.

The mixed PING competition (again played in very windy and wet conditions) was a very close call with 3 couples on 39 pts, but the winners with a score of 40 pts were Pete Lawrence and Elaine Meagher.

On Good Friday, the traditional match against the Gents was played with very strong teams on both sides. The victors for 2024 were the ladies continuing our good run. Please see a photo of Linda receiving the trophy from the Club Captain, Carl, on the team’s behalf.

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The first knockout round of the Annodata

LADIES REPORT

Friendly and CGLG matches have now commenced. Please sign up if you can these are fun, fun, fun.

The Aussie Spoons (for handicaps between 15 & 54) was played on the 10th and 14th April. The successful winners were Janet Ball and Annette Bugaighis with 31 pts and earning a place in the regional final. Second were Chris Woodcock and Gill Lee with 30 pts. Additional rounds can be played until the end of June to qualify.

gross winner was Elaine Meagher with 83 pts and the nett winner was Helen Greensmith. Trophy presented to Elaine and Helen with Mike Tozer.

On the Thursday, again very warm and dry conditions were the annual Ladies vs Aldwicks pairs match. I’m pleased to say that the ladies won again, and the men didn’t win one game! The result was 6.5-1.5 to the ladies. Team photo and Jan receiving the trophy from Sid.

Dear Redbourn

The Spring Cup in April, the first trophy event this year, was won by Elaine Meagher with 42 pts, with second place going to Pauline Anderson with 40 pts. Organised by Diana Godden.

Member, Giatinum nobitae eici

Because of the Clutch Pro Tour, our ladies’ day was held at Redbourn where we played a fun competition – Double or Halves (double the best score, halve the lowest and the middle score remains the same). The winning team with a fantastic score of 144.5 pts (with a very useful ghost consisting of Helen Greensmith!) was Anne Roche and Claire Henshaw Green. Second with a score of 132.5 pts was Chris Woodcock, Dinah Howard and Laurel Horan.

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The Mo James was played in very wet conditions, although not windy and reasonably warm. The winning pair with 41 pts was Colin and Pauline Anderson (for the 4th time). There were 5 teams on 38 pts, and the pair coming in second on countback were Corin and Ali Superfine.

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The following day in glorious sunshine was the Senior Men and Ladies Championships. The

Our second trophy event for the year should have been the Rose Bowl. Unfortunately, because of heavy rain on Tuesday and overnight the course was closed. However, we did have the plant sale organised by Irene McGregor and her helpers. This raised £240 for Macmillan Cancer Support. The afternoon tea still went ahead, which was delicious. Thank you to Sue Phillips for organising and having to sort things out at the last minute. The Rose Bowl was rescheduled for Wednesday, June 5th.

If not done already, don’t forget to sign up for the Fun competition – Greensomes on 10 July, Club Champions. Ladies, we need to remind you that several meetings happen throughout the year. Should you have any queries on the Ladies Section, Aldwicks Section or Members these can be put to one of the following to be raised:

Ladies – Mary Hynes, Linda Reeve, Caroline Skelton, Tricia Wyatt, Helen van der Kraan, Van Higby or Pauline Anderson

Aldwicks – our representative is Sue Hattam. Members – our representative is Julia Bashford. However, one of the Ladies Committee is in attendance too.

Ladies Committee

COURSE UPDATE

Dear Redbourn Member,

Craig Betts Course Manager

Dear Members,

The day after the Clutch Tour event myself, and Ian had a great course walk with Aldwickbury Course designer Ken Brown. It was great to get an insight into the layout, design and ideas for future tweaks to the course. This will include redesigning of a few bunkers later in the year as part of our bunker renovation programme.

Members will be pleased to see the 18th tee open this weekend for play, I know this has taken longer than expected but wanted to make sure the turf was rooted and stable underfoot. There is still some work to be done cosmetically in between the tee but this can be done when the tee is open.

Giatinum nobitae eici officipicit ventur, conesequat

I can’t believe it’s already June and halfway through the year, the course has started to come alive. This has been probably the hardest and most challenging start to spring/summer with the inconstant weather with heavy rainfall, and cold and mild temperatures but we are starting to see good, consistent growth.

At the end of April, we hosted our first twoday, tier-two Clutch Tour event with over 100 professional and amateur golfers playing in the event. Overnight rain on Sunday put a slight spanner in the works and it was a challenge to get the bunkers back into play, but the course was presented to a very high standard with fantastic comments coming from the event organisers and golfers.

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You may have seen we have been hit quite hard with bird damage on several greens mainly the 16th. The crows are targeting the leatherjackets which are small larvae that feed on the grass roots and then turn into Crane flies (Daddy Long Legs).

There isn’t anything on the amenity market to be able to use, as the legislation for the use of chemicals is now off the market. The damage caused had been heartbreaking, but we are hopefully through the worst of it now. We have just top dressed, spiked, brushed, and rolled the 14th, 16th, and 17th greens to help fill in any holes and in due course, we will be overseeding all greens.

Continued on the next page

COURSE UPDATE

We have recently installed new 150 and 100 yard disks in the fairways, these have now been completed on the back 9. There was a slight mix-up with the installation on the front nine and apologies for the confusion. They are all now measured to the MIDDLE of the greens. Hopefully, many of you will have had the chance to meet our new greenkeeper Kenny Gillingwater. He has been a member of the team since March and has settled in well, he’s very proactive and helped a great deal with the projects we have been doing around the course. He’s currently a member at Letchworth Golf Club and plays off a handicap of eight. Finally, I would like to remind all members of a couple of things they can do to help keep the course in the best condition possible:

Dear Redbourn

Member,

Pitch Marks

Raking Bunkers

Please rake footprints and you exit from the bunkers, please enter the bunker from the lowest point and don’t climb into them from high faces.

Trolleys

Please avoid walking trolleys onto tees and leave these on the side of the tee banks, they are a playing surface which gets a lot of traffic throughout the season and its unnecessary wear and tear.

As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to stop me for a chat if you see me at the club/ course.

See you on the course soon.

Craig

Giatinum nobitae eici officipicit ventur, conesequat quatur, quodist ruptat.

The greens staff and I have to repair hundreds of unrepaired pitch marks each week. An unrepaired pitch mark takes a long time to recover and affects the ball roll, whereas a repaired pitch mark is healed within a few days - something to consider if you miss a six-foot putt as a result of hitting a pitch mark. Please keep an eye out and repair any pitch marks you find on the green, even if you didn’t make one yourself.

PRO UPDATE

Dear Redbourn Member,

Robin Turley Head Professional

Tip Of The Month Range Finders

• Flexibility - The rangefinder will give precise yardage to any target you have a line of sight of, not just to the front, middle and back of the green or pre-mapped points on the course

• Lower scores - Knowing the yardages takes the guesswork out of your game

Many golfers think they are not consistent enough to need a rangefinder and can’t predict if their 7-iron will go 150 yards or 90 yards on a given shot! Whatever the level of your handicap I think you will be surprised how consistent your yardages are, especially with the wedges. Understanding how far you hit your PW and SW with full, ¾ and ½ swing gives you enormous confidence when the rangefinder gives you the exact yardage to the flag when using those clubs.

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When I think back to some of the innovations in golf technology in recent years the laser rangefinder is certainly the one that’s had the most impact on my game and scoring. If you are unfamiliar with them a laser rangefinder works by sending a laser beam towards your target and calculates the time it takes for the beam to return. By using the speed of light, it calculates the exact distance between you and your intended target.

Some of the many benefits of the rangefinders include:

• Ease of use - No worries about charging the battery or picking up a GPS signal

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• Speeds up play - No pacing off or looking for yardage discs and no navigating between holes and menu options

• Incredibly accurate - Just point and press to any target such as the flag, a bunker, or a tree and the rangefinder will give you a yardage accurate to within one yard

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In the golf shop, we have two of the leading brands of rangefinders, Bushnell and Shot Scope. Next time you are playing take a demo model onto the course and test if my confidence that they will lower your scores is proven! As an added incentive, anyone who tries one for free in June will go into a prize draw to win a dozen Titleist Pro V1 golf balls.

£20 OFF BUSHNELL OR SHOTSCOPE GPS RANGE FINDERS

PRO & EVENTS UPDATE

PING Fitting Day

On Thursday the 27th of June. 10.00 am – 2.00 pm Aldwickbury Park will be hosting a Ping Custom Fitting Day with Ping Master Club Fitter Alex Mason. If you are looking to upgrade any of your clubs from wedges to driver or just curious about the latest technology then this is a great opportunity to see what shafts, lofts and lie angles work best for your game.

The fittings are completely free of charge, but appointments are limited so please book early to avoid missing out. Fittings are open to any standard of player and Ping will have a complete range of clubs including ladies and left-hand models. If you would like to book a one-to-one fitting appointment, then email or talk to the golf shop team who will book you a space. Many thanks, Robin

UPCOMING EVENTS

BOOK ONLINE NOW! OCT 18

TICKET INCLUDES DINNER MAGIC, FOLLOWED BY 4 SUSPENSE AND MENTALIS YOU ASK

ALDWICKBURY