Burhill Newsletter March 2022 Edition Helping those in need Burhill memeber Paul McCarthy recently drove to camp Zilina on the Slovakian side of the Ukraine border to provide 5 tonnes of food and 5.5 tonnes of essentials for women & children. Thank you to those members who donated goods, this will go a long way to those in need. Burhill Golf Club also donated £1,000 towards Pauls trip which helped towards the expenses for the journey.
The clocks have jumped forward this month and so the start of the golf season is very much on the horizon. It’s only a couple of weeks away from the start of the Masters in Augusta, USA which normally is the unofficial start of the UK golf season, so lets hope the fantastic weather we saw in March, continues into April. You will have noticed a lot of investments are being made around the club to the bunkers, pathways and our driving range facilities so thank you for your patience. It wont be long before you are enjoying the new driving range! Darren covers all the details in this Months Member’s newsletter.
A Polite Reminder Covid-19 is still very much around, so please bare this in mind when around the club and using the facilities in order to be respectful of everyones surroundings.
Rob, Darren, Stuart In this Edition: Golf Courses Report by Rob Surgey, Senior Course Manager Golf Update by Darren Wood, Head of Golf Operations Clubhouse update by Stuart Barr, Head of Clubhouse Operations
GOLF COURSES REPORT
by Rob Surgey, Senior Course Manger
Driving Range Project The driving range improvement works continue with the new outdoor teeing area being completed. We are just waiting for the turf to establish around the tee and the aim is to open this area in the coming weeks. This will take our total number of range bays from 10 to 24. These new mats allow a ball to be teed up on them. New outfield targets will be added later in the year.
Bunker Project Update All bunker works are now complete and I am pleased to say we have taken delivery of sand. We will be sanding the bunkers over the first 2 weeks of April and the aim is to get them open for the spring meetings. Pathways Improvement Programme We have continued with our pathway improvement programme throughout March with the installation of new sleeper steps to the 10th tee. This will be finished during the first week of April. We have also opened the new bridge crossing the ditch on the 15th hole of the New Course and we will finish off stoning the new pathway to the 15th tee in the coming weeks.
March Maintenance We have recently completed scarifying and collecting both the Old Course and New Course fairways. This helps with removing organic matter from the fairways which will aid plant health and make them more tolerant to drought stress. We are really pleased with how they have turned out and we are now ready to fertilize all fairways ready for the main playing season.
New Course Tees We have completed turfing the new tees on holes 2,3 and 5 of the New Course. These will be back in play as soon as the turf has established over the coming weeks.
New Course Tee Signage We have taken delivery of new tee signage and mow over tee discs. These will get installed early in April. The mow over discs will replace the current single posts and we have added a main sign to match the set up we have on the Old Course.
I must make clear that practicing on the golf course is strictly prohibited. We are finding large areas of divots close together where practicing is taking place. This picture shows the 8th apron on the Old Course after someone’s practice session late one weekend evening.
GOLF UPDATE
by Darren Wood, Head of Golf Operations
Course Etiquette Unfortunately we are seeing a high number of damaged areas around the golf course due to poor etiquette. This divot was taken out of the 17th green during a competition during March.
We are proud to be hosting the Regional Qualifying for the 150th Open Championship and the NedBank Charity Day at Burhill Golf Club this year. We will require volunteers for both events, please register your interest by emailing Jess Rosser on j.rosser@burhillgolf-club.co.uk Open Qualifying Monday 20th June Nedbank Day Friday 9th September
We have also seen misuse of the practice facility where balls have been hit towards the main building. Not only has this left huge divots close to the green it is also very dangerous.
Other notable dates for your diary: Ladies England Golf South Region County Match Week Sunday 26th – Wednesday 29th June Burhill Junior Open Wednesday 3rd August - To enter email Joana on j.desapereira@burhillgolf-club.co.uk Burhill Family Foursomes Wednesday 24th August - To enter email Joana on j.desapereira@burhillgolf-club.co.uk
Teaching Academy Update
Course & Driving Range Etiquette
We are close to completing the refurbishment of our Academy bays with a much-improved area for members to enjoy their lessons.
Golf Course
The new dividers will now provide a more private experience during your coaching sessions.
- No trolleys MUST be taken onto the tees - Do not use the golf courses as a practice area - Replace divots - Repair pitchmarks
The aim is to open this area in the coming weeks.
Driving Range Please respect other users of the driving range. It can be extremely busy therefore please be mindful of other members waiting for a bay. - When using the chipping and pitching greens, please use your own balls. Driving range balls are not permitted in these areas. - Please do NOT hit balls from the chipping area on to the driving range. - Smoking is NOT permitted on the driving range. Mobile Phone usage Please do not use your phone within the driving range building or on the bays. If you do need to take a call, please move to the car park area, and remove your clubs and balls so that other members can use the bay. Retail Update Although we are still experiencing some delays on the arrival of products, we have received stock for the 2022 golfing season including clothing from J.Lindberg, Footjoy and Oscar Jacobson as well the new Stealth product from TaylorMade. Please visit the Pro Shop to see the latest products.
Club Fitting event for April: Titleist full bag fitting April 7th, 10am – 2pm
Open Play & Two-ball times
Pace of Play
Through close monitoring of the usage of our open play times we feel that we have the right balance between open play and bookable times. We will be increasing the times of open play for April with the increased daylight hours when possible.
Burhill Golf Club adopts the England Golf ready Golf initiative. Please play your next shot once you get to your ball if it is safe to do so and keep up with the group in front. This will lead to a more enjoyable round for all.
Monday – Thursday 07:30am – 10:00am Friday 07:30am - 11:00am Saturday, Sunday & Bank Holidays 07:30am – 1:00pm
Please also make sure that you arrive to the tee at least 10 minutes before your tee time.
Two ball courses will generally be on Tuesdays before the Ladies competition and on certain weekend days, competitions allowing.
Greenfee & Rental Equipment 2022 Prices
We will be operating a pair up policy for open play, therefore if you turn up as a two ball or a three ball we will pair you up where possible to make your game a four ball.
Members Guest (Monday-Thursday) - £48.00
Check in Process I have received feedback on the current check in procedure at the club. As many of you are aware this was introduced at Burhill at the start of the pandemic so that names could be recorded for track and trace purposes. This is now predominately used to check in the golf courses and ensure that all visitors and guests are checking in via the professional shop. We are working on a starter/marshal working on each course on a daily basis so that the check in procedure can change, please bear with us as we work on this. Penalty Scores for General Play We are pleased to announce that Penalty Scores can now be managed within intelligent golf. A penalty score is applied to stop players trying to manipulate their handicap index in an upwards or downwards direction by failing to return the general play score. A default penalty score will be Course Rating + Course Handicap. Each player will have up to 2 days to enter a general play score and after this point a penalty score will be added in the event that no card has been added.
Winter Rules Due to planned fairway maintenance in the coming weeks, winter rules will continue throughout the month of April and we will stop them from May 1st.
Please see below updated prices from April 1st.
Members Guest (Friday-Sunday) - £58.00 18 Hole Buggy (Monday-Thursday) - £28.00 Off-Peak Buggy (Monday-Thursday) – £18.00 9-hole Buggy (Monday-Thursday) - £15.00 18 Hole Buggy (Friday-Sunday) - £30.00 Off-Peak Buggy (Friday-Sunday) – £20.00 9-hole Buggy (Friday-Sunday) - £16.00 Electric Trolley - £12.00 Pull Trolley - £5.00
Please turn over for our Clubhouse Operations update!
CLUBHOUSE UPDATE
by Stuart Barr, Head of Clubhouse Operations
Due to member feedback, we will also be reintroducing membership card access to the changing rooms. With this in mind it is essential member records are accurate and it is particularly important that you have photo ID attached to your account, if you do not I would like to kindly request you contact Reception so we can update your details. This is for security and to ensure staff can verify members and guests, plus so that members accounts are charged correctly, thus reducing the risk and frustration to members when accounts maybe charged incorrectly. As this is my first golf season at Burhill I would like to wish everyone the best of luck with their golf and I look forward to seeing you around the Club.
Welcome to the monthly Clubhouse update. As mentioned last month the new Bar menu was introduced mid-month and so far, we have had positive feedback, my personal favourite is the Calves’ liver and Bacon so please do give it a try! Should members like to see a particular dish on the menu please let us know.
Upcoming Events
An updated Wine list will go into circulation from the 4th of April, and I am pleased to let members know the “Club Claret” will be available. I know members have been asking for this for some time, so I am delighted that we will have this available for you. I do need to advise members that we will need to review our pricing over the coming month. We have tried very hard to balance the increases from our suppliers and not to pass these to members but in some instances this has not been possible. David and Ilias in the kitchen have been busy getting ready for the new season and the new restaurant menu will be available from mid-April. On the 27th of March we entertained 110 members and guests at our successful Mother’s Day Carvery and we look forward to seeing members again for Easter on the 17th April with a surprise guest in attendance!! We continue to review our maintenance programme; the Asbestos removal went well and ahead of schedule. This coming month will see some line painting around the car park plus the power washing of the terrace.
Sunday 18th April Three-course carvery, Easter Eggs for the kids PLUS a visit from the Easter Bunny! £39.95 per adult | Under 12’s £19.95 | Under 5’s Free Book your place with Jess, Chris, Helen or Graham.