Redbourn Member News - October

CLUB

Hannah Morris returns

Following a year of maternity leave, our Sales Manager, Hannah Morris is back at Redbourn. Hannah’s baby boy, Oakley, is just about to start walking! Over the last few days, she has slotted perfectly back into the team, and is looking forward to seeing you all again.

Winter wheels

Dear Redbourn Member,

Robin Cheng General Manager

Dear Member,

With the recent change in temperature, it’s clear that we are well and truly into Autumn now!

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.

So, be sure to wrap up in extra layers, come bearing a thermos flask, and expect much softer conditions. This month, we will be carrying out renovation work on the course that will put us in good stead for the cold months to come.

Recently, I have spoken to several of you regarding not using Winter Wheels for the first half of Winter, on a trial basis. However, after careful consideration and taking onboard industry advice, we feel to have the golf course in the best condition possible condition throughout the winter months, the winter wheel policy will still be in force again this winter, effective from 1st November. This was deemed to be the best course of action to keep the course in the best order. Apologies for any confusion.

Booking tee times – winter availability

Just a reminder to all members, that with the drawing in of light, there will be less tee times available for members to use. Please ensure that when making bookings, you only book for the number of golfers who are intending to play. That way other members will also be able to book slots and join up, with less tee times available. We want as many members as possible to have the opportunity to play through the winter months. Please inform us at your earliest convenience should you need to cancel, so that we can open up the tee time again.

In addition, we now have a new menu and breakfast special - £7.50 (-10% member discount) for a breakfast baguette with tea or coffee included.

Bitatur, sinctin nobist modiatio blaboritat estia quo voluptatur aperfer fercia pos ut optaquid quas ipsaniet dolorep erspelistiis reptio occatibuscil int qui omnimendit, occum sendelendi se rem as as vendele ctotas doluptatis volore est, sunt illaboreri officae invende sequid quia quidero quat. Aquibus, ipid ex exerum verumqu iaestio rporro

New shoe cleaner

We have now ordered a new, and much more powerful shoe cleaner, which should be installed by the end of October. The current compressor will be serviced and moved to the Short Course, where there is currently less traffic. We will be trying to keep these areas as clean as possible, and will be providing a broom, shovel, and bin so that golfers can also help to maintain them after use.

CLUB NEWS CONTD.

An update on The River Ver

Hi everyone, you may have seen me meandering around the course in a loaned buggy, courtesy of the club, filled with buckets, spades, and rakes. Below is an update on the voluntary work I’m doing on our chalk stream.

Last year, I noticed that the River Ver - a rare chalk stream that runs through the course - was hidden by weeds. So, I decided to take on the challenge of clearing it out to reveal the original river. With hand-tools, the task took around three months to complete, and in the end the Ver was revealed in all its glory.

This year’s hot summer and drought killed off all flow of the river. However, it did reveal the silt levels, and gave me the opportunity to dig it out, and build new banks with gravel, in addition to creating a new landing area for drives on the 7th.

If the current trend of rain continues, then the water will likely return early next year. I want to give a special thanks to Hayden and his brilliant team of greenkeepers for providing me the tools to do the job, and to Robin for his continued support with materials and encouragement.

Also, a very important mention for Martin Ede. A real character at the club, Martin made a tremendous contribution to this project. Regrettably, he is no longer with us, passing away in early August after a short illness. Certainly a new friend lost, and I fondly remember the time spent with him working on the stream, as well as our brunches in the restaurant afterwards.

Thanks, Paul Geary

STAFF / WINTER / COURSE

CLUB

CONTD.

/ WINTER / COURSE

Customer feedback and September winner

MORE...

Thank you to all those who took the time to provide us with customer feedback last month. It seems like we are heading in the right direction, although there is still plenty of work to do.

Positive Feedback

- Quality of the course

- Friendliness of the club

- Ongoing improvements

- Practice areas

- Professional approach

What are we doing?

Constructive Feedback

- Get the River Ver flowing again

- Tarmac the carpark

- Everyone can use any tee based on slope rating and handicap index rather than gender

- Shoe/trolley cleaning area

With regards to the constructive feedback, Paul has done an excellent job clearing the Ver alongside Martin.

While the car park would be a lot more efficient being tarmacked with marked spaces, it will be a very expensive thing to do. Currently there is a lot more work to do on the courses, so we will look into that further down the line.

I agree that tees used should be based on ability and not gender, allowing golfers to play off whatever tee they feel comfortable from. We will look into getting slope ratings for the yellow and white tees for all.

Thank you to all those who took time to respond to our questionnaires. The winner of the three complimentary guest passes this month is Sam Daniels. Sam, please get in touch with me when you would like to book.

Once again, we will be running a draw for three complimentary guest passes in October, for all those wishing to respond to the survey, regardless of score.

LADY CAPTAINS UPDATE

SHIRLEY DEUDON

Hello Ladies,

Spring and summer saw lots of changes to the course, with continuous improvements made. Conditions were challenging at times throughout the summer, but after lots of hard work and the arrival of the wetter weather we are sure that we will reap the benefits through the winter and into the next golfing year.

Autumn is here, and we are entering the twilight period of the golfing calendar. However, there is still plenty of golf to come as we look forward to making the most of the remaining autumn sunshine.

Daily Mail Foursomes

Regarded as the greatest amateur golfing event in the world, more than 190,000 players compete in the Daily Mail Foursomes club qualifying rounds.

Our qualifying round was held on Sunday 4th and Wednesday 7th September, with 10 ladies competing for the opportunity to represent Redbourn in this competition. Huge congratulations to Sue Hickman-Jameson and Bernie Marcus who qualified with a fabulous score of net 67. Best of luck in the knockouts!

Autumn Trophy

21 ladies competed for the Autumn Trophy on Sunday 18th and Wednesday 21st September. It was a tight contest, but Sally Burrowes triumphed over her fellow competitors with a score of 36 points. Samantha Daniels finished second with 35 points, with Lorraine Hull in third.

Charity Team Trophy

Seven teams competed for this famed trophy, which has been in our golfing calendar since

2002. Congratulations to Anne Williams, Lorna Gallagher, and Nicky McQueen who are this year’s winners. In second place were Linda Hill, Maggie Melville, and Chris Lewin. Well done ladies!

Thanks to all who participated and supported our chosen charity, Rennie Grove Hospice Care.

Friendly matches

Our final friendly match of the season was held on Monday 26th September at Chesfield Downs. The course was a real pleasure to play and the ladies from Chesfield Downs made us feel very welcome.

Well done to Pauline Byrne, Paula Craddock, Linda Hall, Maggie Melville, Barbara Smith, Bernie Marcus, and Sheryl Tye, who joined me to secure a draw.

A special thanks to Sheryl, who has managed the midweek friendlies for us throughout the year. We all very much appreciate your commitment!

Dates for the diary

Sunday 16th October Yellow Ball

Wednesday 19th October Match Play 3 and Texas Scramble.

Sunday 23rd October Flag Day Trophy

Wednesday 26th October Spooktacular

SPECIAL EVENTS

Ladies Open (Teams of four)

On Wednesday 14th September we held our Ladies Open Tournament. 48 ladies from nine different clubs enjoyed a fantastic day at Redbourn and provided extremely positive feedback on their experience. I am very grateful to all the ladies who helped me showcase our strong, friendly, and inclusive Ladies Section.

Forthcoming events

Playing an 18-hole round of golf for the first time can be a very daunting task. Looking to the future, it is important that we encourage and inspire new members to join us. Our Academy will provide the ideal opportunity and environment for new ladies to join our friendly and inclusive section.

On Wednesday 19th October, in addition to the Match Play Series 3, we are inviting the ladies from the golf academy to play alongside us in a friendly Texas Scramble. The Match Play Series will tee off first, with the remaining tee times used for the Texas Scramble. Academy ladies will be teamed up with the ladies who choose not to play in the Match Play Series.

Halloween Spooktacular

This popular event is back again!

- Select your teams of 3 or 4 - Best average team Stableford score

- Dress to impress - Sign up on HDID - Prizes for winning team and best dressed!

Monthly Draw Prize

The draw took place on 1st October and the results were:

1st Prize - £40 – John Smith 1728

2nd Prize - £30 – Shayne Norman 470

3rd Prize - £20 – Karl Wingfield 2117

Congratulations! Please seen noticeboard for details on how to claim your prize.

GOLF UPDATE

STEVE HUNTER

When it comes to golf equipment, most weekend golfers are not good enough, not to get custom fit. One of the biggest areas you will see issues with poorly fit clubs, is in the yardages in regard to carry and roll.

With support from the latest Trackman 4 launch monitor, now is a great time to check out your current equipment to see if it can be improved on. Myself, and Custom Club Fitter, Charlie Turner, will be delighted to carry out your free custom session to help get your set dialled in. Contact golfpro@redbourngc. co.uk to arrange your fitting.

James Wright and Oli Ball from our golf department are currently going through their custom fit training. We are looking for some golfing guinea pigs to take part in a custom fitting training session that will give James and Oli the opportunity to gain some valuable experience. Please get in touch if you would be happy to get involved.

You should have all received an email recently from Ben detailing the members roll ups we are starting. These are open to all members and just a great way of meeting new people and playing a friendly game of golf. We would recommend everyone turning up 30minutes early and checking in with Ben in the bar area. Please see the dates below.

Happy golfing, Steve Hunter Director of Golf

October roll-up dates

The Ver (Main Course)

Saturday 22nd October

11:32am first tee time

Friday 28th October

11:32am first tee time

The Kinsbourne (Short Course)

Thursday 20th October

10:36am first tee time