Hoebridge Newsletter - June/July 2024

June / July 2024

AN UPDATE FROM...

Sarah Blunden General Manager

Hi Everyone!

June traditionally marks the start of Summer with many of our main golf days being held, including Club Champs, Ladies Club Champs and our Invitational Shotgun. These lead to one of our favourite days of the year – Charity Day.

The team are working hard to ensure the course is in its best possible condition, and that the clubhouse is ready for you to enjoy following your round.

It has been brilliant to see the courses return to their normal high standards following a tough winter, and slow return during Spring. My utmost thanks go, once again, to our greenkeeping team who are doing a phenomenal job keeping all three courses playing so well.

I love heading out and seeing the courses striped up, and definition down the fairways. A freshly cut golf course is a beautiful thing!

You can each do your bit to help keep our courses in fantastic condition by ensuring you are repairing divots and raking bunkers. Every little helps, and together you can make a huge difference. Thank you very much to everyone who supports us by carrying a divot mix bag during their round and covering/repairing the divots as and when they see them.

Thank you to those who joined us for the divot party on Wednesday 24th April. We spent a couple of hours out on the course, before enjoying a chilli con carne and a drink back in the clubhouse.

We will be looking at a further evening later in the year (weather dependent) and would love as many of you to join us as possible. The more hands, the more ground we can cover!

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Cancelling Tee Times

Unfortunately, we are seeing an increased number of members booking tee times and then not cancelling them should they not be able to make it.

We manage our tee sheet very closely to ensure maximum utilisation for an increasing demand from our members for tee times. When a tee time is booked, but then not used, this is taking away a tee time from other members who had wanted to play.

We contact everyone who doesn’t show up for their tee time. Following 3 warnings, they will then receive a phone call from either Ian (Head Professional) or myself, where that member’s booking rights may be removed.

I’d just like to remind you that you can cancel your tee time online or via the Elite Live App 24 hours in advance. Within 24 hours give us a call in the Pro Shop, where the team will be able to cancel your tee time on your behalf.

Please ensure you are giving thought to all our members and are cancelling your tee times when you can’t make it.

Burhill Challenge

On Friday 10th and Saturday 11th May, I invited our chairman; Graham, Men’s Captain; Rob, and Ladies Captain; Jess to join me in representing Hoebridge at the Burhill Challenge.

The Burhill Challenge is a thank you to our chairman and captains for all the hard work that they do for all of us as members of Hoebridge.

It is also an opportunity for us to get together with the nine other BGL sites and share thoughts and best practices.

The event kicked off with a practice round on the Friday, followed by a delicious threecourse meal and drinks hosted at Burhill Golf Club. Following an overnight stay, we

reconvened on Saturday ready for the main event.

We had a fantastic round, with all four of us holding our own in the 4-ball better ball format. Unfortunately, the home team, Burhill, had the winning advantage, but Hoebridge finished in a very respectable 2nd place!

Thank you for a brilliant few days, Graham, Rob and Jess. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.

R&A Sustainable Agronomy

Over the past year, we have started working with the R&A Sustainable Agronomy Team. I have been lucky enough to meet and share thoughts with several of the R&A Team on a few occasions over the last year. It has been especially interesting to hear about their ‘Golf course 2030’ project and how they are working across the industry to identify key sustainability issues and explore opportunities for innovations to help golf manage the impact of climate change. Even more so, as their project falls in line with our sustainability mission at Hoebridge.

During the winter of 2024, the R&A filmed a series of short films at Burhill Golf Club. I wanted to share the clips with you, to show some of the educational golf industry content that the R&A are producing.

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• Link: Bunkers

• Link: Tees

• Link: Rough

Paul Woodham, R&A Head of Sustainable Agronomy Europe (seen in these clips), used to be our course manager’s (Barry Gardner) agronomist, when he was at his previous site, Maidenhead, so it was great to see Paul now with the R&A producing such great educational content which can be shared across the golf industry.

Finally, I have two exciting announcements!

Par 3 Rating

When the World Handicapping System was introduced in 2020 it had three key principles; to be welcoming, provide a consistent measure of ability, and remain modern.

Four years later, these principles influenced the first revision of changes that came into effect in April 2024. One of these changes was “A lower minimum length for a golf course to obtain a course Rating and Slope Rating”

Before 2024, an 18-hole course had to be at least 3,000 yards to receive a course rating and slope rating (or 1,500 yards for nine holes). With the 2024 WHS Revision, the yardage requirement has been cut in half to 1,500. This change means that Par 3 courses can now be rated and enable more golfers to obtain and use a Handicap Index.

We were very excited by this revision to the WHS, as we believe golf should be accessible to everyone. This change will allow more of our members, especially our beginner and junior golfers, to obtain a handicap, enjoy taking part in competitive golf, and track their progress against others at different courses.

We were very keen to move forward with getting our Par 3 rated as soon as possible, and you may have noticed the introduction of new blue tees across all 18 holes on the Par 3.

In May, our course was measured, and we have planned for our course to be rated and scored by Surrey Golf in june. Once we have all the official certifications in place, I will update you further, with new scorecards being introduced from around September 2024.

Electric Car Charging

The second exciting announcement is the installation of four electric car charging points.

As part of our ongoing commitment towards sustainability and minimising our carbon footprint, we are very pleased to be working with EVC to install four electric car charging points in the car park this summer. They will be installed opposite the Party and Meeting Room, with the four disabled bays being moved to directly behind and right next to where our other disabled bays are currently located. Therefore, please note that this very end row of the car park will be reserved for disabled parking and electric charging only. We hope that all our members will respect these prioritised parking spaces and will use the remaining spaces, otherwise, individual warnings may be issued.

For those of you who have already made the change to electric cars, we look forward to you being able to take advantage of ‘plugging in’ and charging your car whilst you’re out on the course for a round of golf.

Thank you

Sarah

AN UPDATE FROM...

Connor Thomas F&B Manager

A big thank you to everyone who used and supported our seed honesty table this spring.

The seeds were donated by a local allotment group, and we have managed to raise over £400 in donations for the Thames Valley Hospice, the allotment charity of choice!

I hope your gardens are greener and more beautiful as a result!

Meet the Team – Anita and Enrico

Let us introduce you to two new faces within our sales team (one of which will be very familiar to you!)

In April our sales team experienced some changes, with Becca moving into the Gym as a personal trainer, Enrico moving upstairs into the sales office and Anita joining us as a brand-new team member.

Anita has a strong Health & Fitness background. She has competed as a fitness model to a high level and still enjoys training so if you see her in the gym, please say hi! She has enjoyed getting to know all about golf, our membership and golf days since joining Hoebridge and is looking forward to taking up a brand-new sport.

Enrico moved to the UK from Italy five years ago and has been working as an Assistant Professional within our golf shop. He has now joined the sales team and is ready and waiting to answer all your membership questions.

Enrico is still coaching alongside his new role and continues to play golf to a high standard. It’s not just golf and gym memberships that our sales team look after. Should you be looking to hold an event, organise a golf day, or join us for one of our tribute nights; the sales team are there to help.

AN UPDATE FROM...

Barry Gardner Course Manager

Thankfully we are now in summer, and the courses are looking great!

It has been a blessing for the team to be able to get out there in reasonable weather and do some mowing, it seemed at some point in the winter that it may never come. I want to say thanks to all my team for enduring the winter and the endless wet weather jobs that they had to do.

So, apart from lots of mowing, the team have been busy with the start of our thatch management on the greens and what seems like a perpetual job of strimming and weeding bunkers. It seems like the weeds and grass grow much faster when in bunkers!

Behind the scenes, Hoebridge Golf Centre and BGL are working hard on how to reduce our carbon footprint and are well on their way to being carbon net zero. One way that I am working on focusing on this very important end goal is by looking at how our course provides habitats for birds, bats, mammals, amphibians, reptiles, and invertebrates.

You may have seen some of our artificial habitats, bird boxes, bug boxes, tennis balls for harvest mice and bat boxes as you’ve been playing your round or walking our site.

We will also be looking at creating some more natural homes. Along with the planting of hundreds of tree whips (we will be looking for volunteers for this later in the year), we will also be looking at maintaining some of the long rough areas by thinning out the coarser grass and in some areas stripping back to bare soil to see what native wildflowers may appear. Last year we had some orchids appear in a section of long rough and around the top of the reservoir.

We are having volunteers from the Guildford RSPB in to carry out a bird survey and offer us advice on habitat creation, and the local Surrey Bat Group will be coming in to offer us some advice on what we can be doing for our bats. The British Bee Charity, who have hives near our reservoir, gave us some wildflower bombs to plant around the top of our reservoir and hopefully we will work with them to create some wildflower roughs.

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Sarah and I walked around the site with Bob ‘The Badger’ from the West Surrey Badger Group to show us all the setts we have and how we can protect and monitor them. I look forward to sharing the results of our wildlife surveys with you in future newsletters.

The continual investment at Hoebridge continues with the arrival of our latest machinery purchases.

These include a tractor-towed leaf sweeper/ hoover which can also be a flail mower to cut and collect long rough, a tractormounted sprayer which has GPS controls to allow for less over-spraying, resulting in less chemical/fertiliser use and another professional electric backpack blower and strimmer set up.

As well as helping to clear the leaves from the courses, this tractor-towed leaf sweeper/ mower will also aid with our sustainable way of working. This autumn, the leaves we will remove from the courses will be mixed with our used coffee grounds from the clubhouse, along with sand/soil to create a divot mix which we can use on the tees or fairways to improve weaker growing areas. Just one of the many ways we are working towards conserving resources and fostering nature.

I look forward to seeing you out there in the sunshine!

Barry and the Greens Team

GOLF OPERATIONS UPDATE

Ian Hayward Head Professional

It was a great experience to have the Taylor Made European Tour Truck visit us at Hoebridge on Wednesday 8th May. The day was very well supported by members and visitors alike who all got to receive an optimised club fitting from a Taylor Made expert club fitter. This was followed by a tour of the European Tour truck (most recently seen at the Soudal Open in Antwerp), and to get a flavour of how clubs are built on-site for the world’s elite golfers.

This is the type of experience that we would like to make available to our members more often and from the success of this event, I am confident that we will be able to offer more events of this calibre again in the future.

The fitting event schedule doesn’t end with Taylor Made and continues with the following events planned for June:

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• Wednesday 12th June: PXG Fitting Day 12pm – 4pm

• Thursday 20th June: Yonex Fitting Day 12pm – 4pm

To register your interest in either of the above events please contact the Pro shop on (01483) 722611 or e-mail proshop@ hoebridgegc.co.uk and we will happily book you a time to try the latest clubs from these manufacturers.

The PXG fitting day is the first time that we have offered the opportunity to be fitted for a product that we do not stock in the shop at Hoebridge. Don’t miss the opportunity to try the latest products from this well-known manufacturer that offers a wide range of products across a varied price range.

If you are interested in new products and (like me) are too impatient to wait for these events, please remember that our PGA Professionals offer custom fitting free of charge to our members, using Trackman technology and covering the market-leading golf brands, completely free!

Don’t delay, book an appointment today!

HEALTH & FITNESS UPDATE

Ryan Stonehouse

H&F Manager

Hello from the Health Club.

We have an exciting event coming up at the end of June, where we hope to see lots of you there.

Wellbeing Exhibition 30th June 9.30am - 1pm

We are so excited to be hosting our very first Wellbeing Exhibition as part of World Wellbeing Week (24th-29th June).

Come for FREE with your friends, family, and kids to join us in exploring local wellbeing businesses including:

MH Chiropractic

Trinity Physiotherapy

Andy’s Man Club

Silver Friends UK

Eat Wright With Leonie

Barbara Cosgrave Stylist

Zotheka Lifestyle

Rhonda Ness Reiki & Life Coach

Sound with B

Temple Spa

Miracle Leaf Wellness

Enjoy free gym access, free classes (booking is needed), and talk to our personal trainers about any fitness goals you might have!

During April we welcomed two new members to our gym team.

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Dan Ash

Hello, my name is Dan Ash.

I’m a highly experienced, multitalented individual, with qualifications in acting, entertainment and personal fitness. I’m highly energetic and passionate by nature and have a collegial approach to my clients, I have an outward-going personality with the strength and ability to lead and teach fitness to all levels.

The various roles throughout my career reflect my passion for the performing arts and the physical appearance and wellbeing of my clients. I’m a sportsman and have a particular passion for and all-round ability in cricket and running. With over a decade of experience in the fitness industry, my goal for you is simple. Train hard and improve, but at the same time enjoy the work we do! If this sounds good to you, grab me anytime you like, I’m always up for a chat!

Becca Cummins

Growing up a competitive swimmer and dancer, I have always been moving my body.

Having transferred my passion for movement into a fitness career by gaining my Personal Training qualification through lockdown, I now love being able to share my knowledge with my clients.

Over my three years of experience teaching classes and PTs in luxury health spas, I specialise in building people’s body confidence through exercise. Developing my passion for nutrition and gut health, I focus on a rounded approach to fitness including nutrition, mental fitness and physical fitness.

Building a growth mindset and teaching clients to love exercise is extremely rewarding and seeing my client’s goal-driven results is why I love what I do. Having had extensive physiotherapy for my knee, hip and lower back issues due to my previous dance training, I love learning about everyone’s body injuries and applying my experience to help relieve pain and build muscle to support injuries.

My goal is to help you achieve your goal, even if you don’t have a set goal in mind, I will work with you to discover more about your body and how we can improve your health, fitness and mindset. Whether you lack confidence in the gym with no idea what to do or have a current exercise plan that needs re-evaluating, get in touch with me to kickstart your fitness journey!

Say hello to Becca and Dan when you next see them in the gym!

Increase your hip mobility and strengthen your lower back

Knee Drops

Keep the opposite shoulder blade flat on the floor, twisting the knees side to side and stacking the feet on top of each other.

Hip Rolls

Feet in parallel, again keeping shoulders flat on the mat, twisting knees side to side

Single Leg Glute Bridge

Keeping the hips parallel to the ceiling, press your glutes up whilst knitting the ribs together

Superman’s

Relax the glutes, peel the chest up from the floor, working into your lower back extensors

Let us know how you get on with these exercises and if you need any further advice, you know where to find us! 1