Member News
Wycombe Heights Members newsletter August 2022
HiWhateveryone,glorious weather we’ve had recently although It’s almost been too hot for golf and those of you playing early in the mornings or later in the evening are certainly getting the best of the day. We really do need some rain now especially to help the fairways. Certainly, I understand the frustration around the 12th, 13th and 15th which all need a well thought out strategy and a bit of luck to keep the ball in play. Hopefully this week’s forecast will bring some new hope of a downpour and slightly cooler weather. We are however fortunate to have the use of the new reservoir which has come into its own this summer This was a considerable investment by the club and while many local clubs are really struggling to maintain sufficient watering, because we have our own supply, we have continued to water at required rates Without this we would have put a lot more stress on the greens and I think you’ll agree that they are looking better than ever this Summer. With hosepipe bans and official drought regulations in place across the south we are in a very fortunate position to have this facility in Onplace.thatnote I’d like to say a big thank you to Chris and his team. They have done an incredible job in difficult conditions. All greens have been getting a personal daily inspection and where necessary we have been hand watering areas with less coverage to ensure that the greens remain in great condition.
Chris goes into more detail in his report below but to everyone in the Greenkeeping team, thank you. We have a few big events coming up with Jack Robinsons Charity Day and the Seniors Invitational in September. The highlight however must be the Club championship on the 3rd and 4th September. I hope everyone’s practicing hard Captains Charity Day Well done to Roy and his team of organisers for a fantastic and extremely successful charity day. The day was supported by 94 members taking part in a shotgun start. The day managed to raise over £6500 towards the stroke association. What a great result! There were some amazing prizes on offer with
Inflationary Price Review
every hole having some sort of prize to aim for with even a Toyota Car for a hole in one prize on the 16th. It was a tough ask at 190 yards into the wind! A few got close with nearest the pin being about 8ft. Well done Roy and your committee. What a brilliant day
As all of you are only too aware we are in unprecedented times with inflation currently running at 10.1% and predictions in October of this rising to over 13%. We have all seen our food, energy and fuel costs rise dramatically. All Food and drinks categories have been hit by increased cost prices with Fruit, Dairy Oils and Fats recording inflation of over 20%. Several food and beverage categories have surged month on month as the impact of key commodities from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continue to mount. And moreover, we are faced with Drought conditions from one of the driest Julys on record. So far, we have managed to hold back any price increases from our members but with increased pressures on supply and production costs we are faced with further price increases again in September. We have reviewed our Beverage and Menu prices trying to absorb as much of these increases as possible. It’s never an easy thing to do but I hope you understand that in order to continue to invest back into the club and its facilities we need to remain competitive with our pricing. Finally, I’d like to wish Jess and Gemma all the best for the future as they leave the club at the end of this month. They have both made a huge contribution and impact into the success of the club. Thank you so much Ladies. You will both be sorely missed by everyone in the club. Chris Young
Chris Sharp Head Greenkeeper
The most important thing that you can do to help prevent this, is not climb the fence to retrieve golf balls. We must eliminate the damage that is caused to the fence by golfers. In line with this anyone seen climbing the fence or entering the field will be banned from the club.
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I feel the most obvious place to start is the weather. We have seen record temperatures and a total rainfall of 6.9mm during July. In comparison, the same period last year we received 80mm (just over 3inches) of rain. The combination of intense heat, strong winds and lack of precipitation really has taken its toll on the non irrigated parts of the course. We are not alone, even courses that have irrigation on fairways, approaches, walkways etc are now running out of water. I’m also hearing stories of water bills costing some courses more than £25K for July alone and the weather doesn’t look to be braking anytime soon. This summer really has highlighted the importance of having a sustainable approach to water management. There is no greater relief as a Course Manager knowing that water supply isn’t an issue and that the irrigation system is also in good health. I’ve said it before but the investment in this area has been fantastic over the last year. Now, to address the cow in the room. Many will have seen or heard we have had several incidents of cattle on the course. The area affected is along the fence line that runs behind the 12th, 14th and adjacent to the 15th and 16th holes. Repairs have been made to the fence by the team and indeed the farmer. However, the risk of the cows entering the course is still high and there is very good reason for this. Cattle are grazing in the field opposite the course, they haven’t seen green grass in sometime. They look over at the green areas of the course and can’t help themselves. Until the fence is replaced and the weather changes, the threat is still there. Please follow this simple advice if you do see any cattle on the course: 1. Call the Pro Shop immediately. 2. Do not approach them. 3. Do not chase them.
Moving onto a more positive note; I would like to acknowledge some members of the Greenkeeping Team and their continued personal development. Matt, John and Sam have now enrolled in a Golf Greenkeeping Apprenticeship Level 2. I’m sure you will join me in wishing them well, with their career are still holding up well during these hot conditions. To reduce stress, we aren’t cutting greens every day. The days when we miss a cut, will be replaced with a double roll. This helps to keep the pace and the surface true, whilst also protecting the plant. I hope everyone is enjoying the new cups, pins and flags that have been added to the Main Course. The new slim pin is now the standard across BGL. It enables the ball to be retrieved from the hole without needing to remove the flag (not damaging the hole). Psychologically, the pin also makes the hole look bigger. Finally, the 3rd tee on the short course is now open. However, the pathway needs completing and we will do so when the materials arrive. In the meantime, please take care whilst accessing the tee and follow the roped off areas.
Chris Sharp Duncan Purcell – Head PGA Professional Hello to All! July has been one hot month and the course is in fantastic (yet bouncy) conditions. This certainly brings a links feel to play at present. I have to commend Chris Sharp and his team for the wonderful work and extra hours they have put in to keep the course in top shape over the hottest period on record ever in the UK.
PROMOTIONS: We have a few offers in the Professional Shop at present, namely Stuburt and JRB shirts 30% off, as well as a selection of shoes reduced at the moment. With the weather being so dry and this looking likely for the foreseeable future, I would encourage all members to have an extra bottle of water or soft drink with them as well as a hat and suncream.
You will notice some activity on the course from external contractors over the next month. Please follow any signage and ask one of the marshals if you are unsure where you should be going. More information to follow. Finally, I just wanted to congratulate Roy on raising a fantastic amount for The Stroke Association on his Charity Day. Well done!! See you on the course.
• Hitting a shot if a person who has just played from a green side bunker is still farthest from the hole but is delayed due to raking the bunker
• Hitting a tee shot if the person with the honour is delayed in being ready to play
• Hitting a shot before helping someone to look for a lost ball
• Putting out even if it means standing close to someone else’s line
TaylorMade have an unbelievable promotion running, in which if you purchase any Stealth driver up until October 17th, you and a friend are in with a chance to win a playing lesson with Rory McIlroy! I would be thrilled if one of our members was the lucky winner of this prize. We have a healthy stock of grips once again, and with some major competitions on the way, why not have your clubs regripped. As always, should you have 8 or more clubs redone at once then you receive a 20% discount.
GENERAL UPDATES: We had a TaylorMade fitting event here in July, which was very well received. We have a Ping fitting event taking place on Tuesday, September 13th. Bookings are now being taken in the Professional Shop (these are by appointment only). In July we had Captain Roy Wood's charity day in aid of The Stroke Foundation. I believe Roy and his team have raised over £6k to date, so very well done to Roy and his team. A very worthwhile cause I'm sure you will agree. In August we have Jack Robinson's Charity Day on the Friday the 19th. This is in aid of Y.E.S. (Youth Enquiry Services). Another great cause and to all involved hopefully some much needed funds can be raised. Unfortunately, pace of play is an issue that I feel needs attention and highlighting. This has been an issue that we have tried to combat by hiring 2 course marshals this year. By and large this has helped, however there is a minority that we need to keep reminding that it is their responsibility to keep up with the group in front of them. With the help of the committee, we will support any agreed outcomes. No one likes to be told they are slow; however, this impacts the players in your group as well as all players that follow for the rest of the tee sheet. Picking up and walking to the suitable point of the course, penalty strokes and competition bans are just some of the ideas that have been discussed. Please, help us by adhering to the pace of play policies. Remember the principles of ready golf and try and adopt them where possible. Here’s a reminder of what they are.
• Shorter hitters playing first from the tee or fairway if longer hitters have to wait
• When a player’s ball has gone over the back of a green, any player closer to the hole but chipping from the front of the green should play while the other player is having to walk to their ball and assess their shot
• Marking scores upon immediate arrival at the next tee, except that the first player to tee off marks their card immediately after teeing off
• Hitting a shot when safe to do so if a player farther away faces a challenging shot and is taking time to assess their options
It has been great to see loads of our members utilising the early start times on the range over the weekends. See you soon Duncan
I'd like to finish off by wishing both Gemma White and Jessica Carter the very best in their future careers. Both ladies have been with us for a number of years and have been pillars of the management team. They both finish up with us here towards the end of the month, and I'm sure you will agree that they will certainly be missed by us all here at the Centre.
In my team, we have both Tom Keens and Matt Hudson both returning to Uni next month. They have both been valued members of the team and I look forward to welcoming them both back in the holidays
FROM ME TO YOU – ADIEU
Jack McDonagh Driving Range Manager
This month I would like to tell you all a little bit about Trackman, and how it makes our range an elite practice facility. Trackman range uses 3 radars placed strategically around the outfield to track the flight of the ball. It is the most accurate ball tracing technology in the world, and Trackman is used by 96 out of the top 100 pros in the world. There are 3 main modes that you can use on the Trackman screens, practice, games and virtual courses. Practice allows you to practice in many places all over the world, from our very own driving range to the Grove, which is just around the corner in Hertfordshire to world renowned courses such as Royal St. George's, Adare Manor and my personal favourite, the PGA National course in Florida. There is also a 'find my distance' feature. This feature allows you to find the distances on each club, and the distances between each club. There are 5 different game modes: Bullseye, Hit it, Capture the flag, Closest to Pin and Magic Pond. All game modes are fun and exciting for all ages! Virtual courses are relatively straightforward. They allow you to play 9 or 18 holes on many different courses around the world. My favourite course, which I would urge you all to try, is 'the lost nine'. The lost nine is a 9 hole, fictional course, that is all par 3s. It is a great course to practice on and enjoyable too, with a few tough holes and some amazing graphics. I look forward to seeing you all on the driving range soon. Jack
Whilst I’m very excited about my upcoming opportunities, there’s also a massive part of me that’s sad to be saying goodbye to amazing members like you all. I can’t tell you how much you guys have made me love my job more than ever, you guys are the reason I enjoy coming to work & for that I thank you all. Whilst I will not be in the office anymore or answering the phone when the cows are getting in the way on the 15th, I hope to see you guys around I am sure I’ll pop up for a drink or two, every now & then. My last day will be 02nd September & I hope to see as many of you as possible before then, but if I don’t then Thank You all again! xxJess
Touching on last month’s newsletter you should now have all received your renewal vouchers as these have all been sent Aout.gain
CHRISTMAS! It may feel like a lifetime away, but it’s not. Whether you are looking to book your sections Christmas events, Breakfast with Santa for the kids (or yourselves) or if you are looking to dance the night away with Tina Turner get them bookings in now. So now on to the part I don’t want to write (but I’ve promised myself I will not get emotional), this will be the last newsletter I write for you all. As some of you may know I have made the decision to leave Wycombe Heights, having finished my degree & realising events/production is where I want my future to be I know this is the right decision at the right time. However, it being the right decision hasn’t made it an easy one!
Jess Carter - Membership & Events Advisor 2022! What a year it’s been already! It’s been great to see so many of you sitting up on the decking enjoying the stunning weather we have had recently after your rounds. There have been some great member events recently from ‘Ladies that Lunch’ to a Car as a Hole in One prize, you guys really know how to make the best members & throw great events.Congratulations to Roy Wood for raising £6.5k for The Stroke Association on his Captains Charity Day! A great day run by Roy & his Committee, you guys should be very proud.
