Member News
General Manager Report
Stephen Norton
I hope you are all keeping well.
Well October certainly brought more rain than we have had recently however the 77mm we had was still less than the average of 92mm over the last 5 years in October. The lakes and reservoir are slowly starting to fill again however we need plenty more to help us with this.
Neil and his team have a busy November planned with the start of the bunker projects and the cutting and collecting of the deep rough around the course having already got underway. Neil has gone into more detail on the bunker project below. Further to this work November should also see the hedge on the right of the 1st tee get cut back (hooray I hear some of you cry). We will also start the work to level the yellow and white tees on the 15th hole.
A quick thank you as well to Duncan who invited me to join his team for the Evelina Charity Day on Saturday. Thankfully I played a little better than the last time I partnered him and managed to register on the card a few times. I will make reference to an exceptional 2 on the 14th hole by Martyn. Thank you, I really enjoyed the company of Duncan, Martyn and Bal throughout the round and look forward to playing again soon.
New Rules for 2023 from the R&A
The 2023 edition continues the modernisation process, with an emphasis on both inclusion and sustainability. For the first time, the modified Rules for players with disabilities have been fully incorporated into the playing rules without the need to adopt a local rule. The governing bodies, supported by longstanding partner Rolex, will also promote digital and mobile app access to the Rules while significantly reducing the production and distribution of more than four million printed books. Several penalties have been relaxed and language has been clarified to help golfers at all levels of play. Key changes include:
• Modifications for Players with Disabilities: The modifications to the Rules for players with disabilities have been made part of the Rules and are in effect for all players who fall under the categories covered in Rule 25.
• Handicap Usage in Stroke Play: With the continued growth of digital scoring following the adoption of the World Handicap System, players are no longer required to show their handicap on their scorecard in stroke play. The Committee will be responsible for calculating the player’s handicap strokes for the competition and using that to calculate the player’s net score.
• Club Damaged During Round: The Rule has been amended to allow a player to replace a club that is damaged during a round, provided the player did not damage it through abuse.
• Ball Moved by Natural Forces: A new Exception provides that a ball at rest must be replaced if it moves to another area of the course or comes to rest out of bounds after being dropped, placed or replaced.
• Back-on the Line Relief Procedure: The back on the line relief procedure, often used for penalty area and unplayable ball relief, has been simplified so that the player now drops their ball on the line, and the ball must come to rest within one club length of where it is dropped.
Golfers will be able to learn more about the major changes and view the official 2023 Rules of Golf by following the links below or by visiting RandA.org.
Course Manager Report
Neil Crittenden,
Well what great weather for growing grass October has seen, All the seed that was put down has germinated well and continues to thicken up areas that were lost during the summer months. You can clearly see in the photo the lines of seed that have germinated.
We have been experiencing heavy down pours towards the end of the month meaning we have had to implement getting all the post and rope out, we do this to protect the course as much as we can through the winter months so please keep to the routes that we provide.
As we move into the backend of October / beginning of November, we have started our winter project work with bunker reshaping and filling to start off with. With this I thought you might like to know the process in which we do this.
Firstly, we must remove all the old sand and any old liner that was used before. This will then expose the old drainage in the bunker and then make the choice to
use the existing drainage or to put new system in place. We then reshape to bunker making it suitable for the new liner, this usually means creating a bunker where the banks are under 35ᵒ to improve the wash down from the face.
Once we are happy with this the bunker is measured so that the company installing the Bunker liner can be as accurate as possible under installation. The Liner that we use is in my opinion is the best on the market today and is called The Blinder Bunker Liner.
The Blinder Bunker Liner is completely different from all other liners. Its uses environment agency approved recycled rubber granules mixed with a binding agent throughout. The rubber granules are placed in a pan mixer together with the binding agent which gives the product great consistency and strength. The mixed product is wheeled into the bunker and laid by hand trowelling.
This ensures consistency of depth and allows the product to be laid on bunker faces to be at an angle of 35ᵒ, as it has proven to minimize sand wash from the faces. Once laid the product takes 12 48 hours to fully cure. The product drains effectively throughout and once cured is durable and resistant to club strikes. Importantly, being a rubber based product, it will not cause any damage to the golfer or the club.
Blinder is laid over a compacted layer of Mot type 1 aggregate. This gives a dry firm base to work from and forms a drainage medium over the surface area. This acts as
a blinding layer which is designed to bridge between the sand and aggregate thus minimizing the chance of particles moving from one medium to another, changing the drainage characteristics of the engineered bunker base.
Once Blinder has been laid it will take between 12 48 hours to fully cure. After this time, it will be possible to demonstrate its strength and flexibility by playing a ball directly off it. Once the sand has been installed your bunker will be ready for play. Installing Blinder will make bunker raking easier after heavy rain and save hours of time, with reduced wash out’s, sand replacement, drainage replacement and contamination and with this provides a playable bunker all year round,
We hope that the works will be completed by Christmas, but we are totally reliant on the company that installs the Blinder to complete the projects. We have an ongoing Bunker plan and every year complete a certain amount. We are moving forward with them and one day have all the bunkers done giving you consistency throughout the course.
Pro's Tip from Paul Humphrey
PGA Professional
Hit Through the Ball; Not at the Ball
Also Known As: “Ball is in the way of the swing; it’s not the target”.
This swing thought gets your mind to focus on making sure you continue your swing after impact.
This is in contrast to stopping more or less as soon as the club makes contact with the ball.
Swinging through the ball will promote a complete swing acceleration towards the moment of impact.
The objective is to reach maximum club velocity at the moment of impact.
It will also make sure your swing is full and that it won’t stop shortly after impact but will rather proceed with a complete follow through.
