MEMBER NEWS
Dear Member,
The season is well underway, and the longest day has now passed. As we progress through this year, I wanted to give you an update on what is going on both on and off the course.
TrackMan Driving Range
As previously mentioned, the TrackMan driving range will eventually move to a booking system. However, BGL will open their sixth TrackMan range at the Shropshire next month where the new booking system will be initially introduced. Therefore, we will continue to operate the range via the contactless payment system or use of levy cards. We are mindful that there has been no significant discount available to members and therefore the following levy cards have been introduced.
The following discounted levy cards are now available for members only in the Pro shop. The discounted levy cards will be available to purchase and use until the introduction of the new booking system. Any levy will be transferred to the over to the new system thereafter.
20% extra - £25 for £20
30% extra - £65 for £50
An option for 20 balls baskets can be selected when using your levy card on the ball dispenser. If in doubt, please speak to the Range Host or the Pro team and they will gladly assist.
Once the Shropshire has successfully introduced the new booking system, we will implement at Thornbury. I have used the new booking system and it is very simple and straight forward and I am sure our range users will find this to be beneficial moving forward.
Irrigation Programme of Works
The irrigation work has resumed, and the contractors will be on site for the next three months to complete phase one and two of the three phase project.
To manage expectations, the irrigation work will initially continue on the Severn View course (Par 3) as we are currently needing to hand water the greens This is not practical nor sustainable and is somewhat labour intensive, hence the decision to prioritise the works on the Par 3 course.
For anyone who has played the Par 3 course this week, you may have noticed that first 6 holes have been marked /mapped to indicate where the new pipework and sprinklers will be located. Once the first 6 holes have been completed, further irrigation mapping will be continued. The installation of the greens irrigation on the par 3 course should be relatively swift given the proximity and short run of pipework required. The irrigation team will take approximately one day to complete one / two holes, however, to ensure a safe working environment, we will need to close the holes they are working on. We appreciate this may cause some inconvenience to our golfers, and upon your registration the Pro team will communicate which holes are out of action. Golfers will be permitted to play additional holes to make up their full round of 18.
We are aware of several water leaks on the Marlwood and will continue to repair where possible, however these leaks are from the mains line pipework on the existing old system which continues to water the main course greens and feed the short course To rectify the leaks, we would need to turn off and drain the system, however, this will mean that we would lose the ability to water any greens for approximately 2-3 days. This is not a viable option through the height of the summer as we do not want to risk not having water to our greens.
For your safety, fencing surrounding the irrigation groundworks should not be moved under any circumstances. Golfers should not move fences to retrieve balls, therefore should your ball come to rest in one of these areas you must treat it as GUR and drop a ball.
Please rest assured that Robin and myself are working with the contractors to ensure that the irrigation works are completed swiftly, whilst minimising any disruption to golfers. I will keep you updated on the progress of the works now that the contractors are back on site, but should you have any questions please do not hesitate to give me a call at the Centre or ask for me when you are next playing
Member Profile Photos
All members are required to have their picture on their membership profile. The purpose of your profile picture is to protect your membership and prevent anyone using your playing rights and levy card, which staff can easily identify
Therefore, membership profiles without pictures will be temporary suspended on 15th July until pictures have been updated.
I would be grateful if you could assist and help us by taking one of the following actions.
• Call into the Pro Shop and ask them to take a photo for your membership record (this should take less than a minute).
• Send the Pro Shop team a head and shoulder profile photo. This can be taken on a phone and sent directly to the professional@thornburygc.co.uk Please include your name or membership number.
Reciprocal Golf
Just a reminder that full membership categories receive reciprocal golf at BGL venues, including one round at Burhill. The reciprocal golf does not allow large groups visiting but if you want to visit as a 4-ball then that will be accommodated. I highly recommend that you utilise and enjoy this benefit over the summer period To check availability or to book please speak with the Pro team and they will make the enquiry on your behalf
Tee Time Trial
Over the last few weeks, we have changed our tee time intervals from 8 minutes to 10 minutes, with the intention of improved pace of play. This trial will draw to close on 29th June and tee intervals will return to 8 minutes. We will analyse the information collated and review what impact this has had. As the competition diary has been entered onto our system for the year, it is highly unlikely that any changes would be made throughout the season.
Seamlessly aerodynamic, boldly designed. COBRA AEROJET enables new levels of speed that were not believed to be possible until now.
Archway Room
Throughout July and August, the Archway room will be made available for members to use at their leisure. The Archway Room is perfect for small groups of around 16, to unwind in private away from the main bar. Members will have access to the free play pool table, darts or table tennis in a relaxed environment. There is a Smart TV with free play, channels and a wireless speaker should you wish to stream some music. The Archway room will be locked to prevent unauthorised access and therefore, members will need to collect and return the key from the bar.
New Machinery
This week we will take delivery of our new Kubota tractor as our existing tractor was deemed beyond economical repair in May. This is an important piece of machinery as this is used to pull our Tri-max rough mower across both courses, and as we experienced the absence of this machine in early May it meant our rough grew to a challenging length. The new tractor also has a front loader attachment, which means the team can be more productive when completing renovation projects.
We are also due to take delivery of a new Toro 4300 Fairway mower, but unfortunately do not yet have a date of arrival as this is being shipped from the US. These two pieces of machinery combined cost £110k and this continues to highlight the investment into both courses
New Phone System
This week we have installed a new phone system at the Centre. When telephoning the centre, the options remain the same, however you will currently be greeted with a robotic automated message I would like to reassure you that this is a temporary measure and that we are working on a new voice over message, which will be updated soon. The “IN CASE OF EMERGENCY” (ICE) remains operational and will ring every phone in our business. A reminder that this should only be used in the event of an on-course emergency, after 999 has been called.
New Course Measurement
Last month the Marlwood course was remeasured as there are on some holes where new tees have been created over the years. Therefore, our next batch of score cards will be updated accordingly to reflect these amendments.
With the new course measurement complete we have decided to upgrade our existing white, yellow and red tee markers, but due to current production times these will not arrive until August.
Tim Good General Manager
