Hi everyone,
Welcome everyone to Decembers Newsletter. I can’t quite believe where the autumn went and now as a big freeze hit us, we are virtually into Christmas!
I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone on behalf of myself and the team here at Wycombe Heights a very Merry Christmas and a prosperous and healthy New year.
A big Welcome to our new Men’s Club Captain Jagdev Singh Khatkar and our Senior’s Captain, Mike Clarke Good luck to you both and I really look forward to working with you both over the next 12 months
Thank you to our outgoing Captains, Keith Sonley and Roy Wood who did such a great job this year Also, a special mention to Janet Crookes who has been the Ladies secretary for a number of years now and leaves behind a very successful ladies section.
I’d also like to thank everyone who have served on the various committees this year. You’ve all done an amazing job and I thank you for all your support. I’ve said it many times before, but Wycombe Heights really is one of the friendliest and welcoming clubs I have been involved with. Every section of the club runs a very busy programme of competitions and events across the year. This doesn’t just happen and takes a lot of commitment and hard work to pull this all together, thank you.
Since Joining in July, we have done an incredible amount of work out on the course and still have much to do over the coming months to ensure that we move into the spring in the best possible place. Unfortunately, with the amount of rain we had in Late October and early November this certainly hampered and put back our plans to complete everything we wanted regarding the new tee boxes Work will progress to finishing these in the New year however we will need some warmer temperatures to encourage some growth and allow us to seed where required. With the weather on our side our aim is to have the new tees in play for the beginning of the spring season.
Wormcasts were the big talking point for October based on the experiences last year. By November 2021 the 2nd, 3rd and 4th hole were closed to play due to the amount of mud caused by the worms. With the banning of the Pesticide that used to be used to rid the surfaces of worms completely we invested heavily (£10k) in a new soil conditioner used to suppress and deter worm activity. Whilst there was no guarantee that this would work, I certainly think by applying it once the rains came, it certainly has helped control the level of activity. With the addition of new pathways around the course we seem so far to have stopped any mud being spread from hole to hole around the course.
This week we have been hit by a cold snap from the East with temperatures not getting above freezing for the last 7 days. With luck we should see a thaw this weekend however please be reminded that if there is a prolonged period of frost and frozen ground, we will require that anybody using a trolley will need to have hedgehog wheels. We would like to encourage carrying wherever possible as this causes the minimum amount of damage to the course. If you don’t have any Hedgehog wheels, they are available to purchase from the shop or alternatively you can hire one
of our pull trollies. Please keep an eye on the website as we will ensure that the course status is updated with this information.
Once again, I’d like to wish everyone a Happy Christmas. Hopefully most of you have a little time off to celebrate, relax and have fun with friends and family. Enjoy your festive golf and I look forward to seeing everyone in the Christmas week competitions or in the New Year.
Seasons
Wishes, Chris Chris Sharp – Head Greenkeeper‘Twas the night before the roll up when all through the course, not a creature was stirring, not even a Muntjac. So, old St Nick thought this is my chance and delivered something special to the Greens Team at last!’
We have FINALLY taken delivery of our Toro 3370 Electric Greens Mower. A massive investment from BGL not only towards maintaining the courses, but to improving our sustainability as well. I managed to take the machine out on its maiden voyage earlier this week and it is quite a surreal feeling. After many years of sitting on mowers being rattled about and having the need to wear ear defenders, it was a pleasure to drive around being able to hear the wildlife we’re so lucky to have.
The quality of cut this machine produces is second to none, combine this with the lack of serviceable parts it is phenomenal. All we need to do is remember to plug it back in! I know what some of you are thinking, surely with the cost of electricity is it worth it. The answer is 100% worth it. Without boring you too much these are the elements of a typical diesel greens mower needs to run:
Diesel fuel
Engine oil
Hydraulic oil
Engine coolant
Fuel filter
Oil filter
Hydraulic oil filter
Air filter
Compared to the electric greens mower:
6 x batteries (4-year guarantee)
Electric supply
Wheel hub oil
Although electricity is expensive at the moment, it’s pretty much all we need to run this machine for its lifetime. Whereas most of the diesel mower elements above need to be changed once a year.
Unfortunately, we still don’t have a delivery date for our Toro Pro Core, which is the pedestrian aerator. When it does arrive, this will also be a great addition to our fleet of machinery.
Onto the golf course and those of you who braved the AGM would have been lucky enough to enjoy (some might say endure) my presentation on rainfall/current standards. I think it is really important for those that missed the AGM to understand just how wet we have been and what knock-on effects we had during October through November.
The chart below shows just how much wetter November was this year compared to last. In fact, 54% of 2022’s rainfall so far has fallen from September through to the end of November. A massive amount of rain in just 3 months, 403mm or just under 16inches. It isn’t just the rainfall amounts that have caused us issues, it is how and when the rain fell. We had just 7 dry days throughout November and most days had more than 10mm of rainfall.
How did this effect the course and essentially the standards we could generate. At points we couldn’t even get the utility vehicles around the course as it was so wet, which meant some set ups were carried out by the team on foot. Bunkers would wash down and need reinstating, taking the team a couple of days to complete. Only to be washed down again once the heavy rain started. In some cases, we would have to leave doing anything to bunkers, as the rain wouldn’t allow us too. Allowing weeds to ingress.
Thankfully, since then all bunkers have been edged and a total kill applied to the weeds that are present. All bunkers have also been reinstated and are improving with every rake. The plan was to add more sand to the low problem areas before Christmas, unfortunately there is a supply issue and we can’t source the Bucbricks sand we use. This will have to be revisited as soon as the sand becomes available, so please remain patient in the meantime.
Definition has been lacking as we couldn’t get the fairway mower, semi rough mower or the rough mower out onto the course. The top brush however is doing a great job of dispersing worm casts, as well as providing some definition. I’m relieved to tell you that we have been able to get out with the fairway mower this week and definition is coming.
Regarding fairways, if you compare where we were this time last year to where we are currently as well as the rainfall amounts. We are much, much more better off. We have acted proactively throughout the year in order to get to this stage; aeration of all fairways was carried out for the first time EVER, soil conditioner has been applied and the top brush utilised where possible. The removal of hedgehog wheels has also been very beneficial.
I have said this before, but I’ll say it again: we will never get complete control of worm casts with the control measures currently available to the industry. What we can do is control worm populations, so that they’re at a level not detrimental to the turf. We will keep working towards this goal for the foreseeable future.
As many of you will have seen the construction works have been completed around the course. The majority of the pathways have now been addressed and there are some finishing touches to be completed by the team regarding the new tees. We have some tweaks to the new 2nd white and yellow tee to make and will be doing so over the coming months. With a target of the 3 new sets of tees opening for the new golfing season.
As the cold weather sets in, please be sure to have your hedgehog wheels on standby. If we enter a prolonged period of ground frosts, it may be necessary to implement their use. Of course, if the weather changes we will not being asking for them to be used.
I wanted to finish by thanking the greens team for all their efforts throughout 2022, the weather made sure it wasn’t the easiest of years. However, the team have always strived to deliver the standards everyone at Wycombe Heights is beginning to expect. Thank you Tom, Mick, Matt, John F, John W and Blake.
From all the Greens Team, we wish you a very Merry Christmas and a New Year filled with birdies. See you on the course.
Festive greetings to all. It has been wonderful to see so many of you these past few weeks. Hopefully the weather is kind, and we have fewer delayed openings, or even worse, course closures. Credit to Chris Sharp and his team for maintaining the course in very good condition at these brutally difficult weather conditions.
I would like to take this opportunity to welcome in the new Captain of the Men’s Club, Mr. Jagdev Khatkar, as well as new Senior’s Club Captain, Mr. Michael Clarke. I look forward to working closely with both this year in the Executive Committee. Thank you to the outgoing Men’s Captain, Mr. Roy Wood and Senior’s Captain, Mr. Keith Sonley, who both served the club honourably this season.
As it is Christmas, our Christmas Sale has started, with discounts on clubs, clothing, shoes and more. Please come and support us here at the Centre for all your golfing and golf-gift needs this year.
Chris Sharp
Duncan Purcell – Head PGA Professional
We also have the Christmas raffle open, with some fantastic prizes so please support this, with the chance to win some lovely prizes.
We will be selling off the ex-demo clubs shortly as well, which will offer good value on quality golf equipment. On Monday, December 19th, I will be hosting a roll-up to try and buy Trackman Custom Fit Event for the remaining demo items. This will be held between 12:00 – 16:30 with tea/coffee provided as well.
As we experience these cold winter days, it is important to keep warm. We have warm weather clothing in the shop to satisfy your needs. Handwarmers will be available in store as well. Good waterproof clothing is also important, and we are fully stocked for all your needs this winter, with offers on at present. The other factor that people do not consider is hydration. It is still vitally important to keep hydrated in these cold temperatures, so please make sure you all have a few bottles of water or sports drink in your golf bag for use for each round.
I would like to thank my team here in the Professional Shop and Course Marshals for all their efforts this season. It truly is a team effort and I hope that we have all made your experiences here at Wycombe Heights more pleasurable this year.
Duncan Jack McDonagh – Driving Range Manager
To all our members, have a wonderful Christmas and we look forward to the 2023 season.
Hi all, firstly I would like to say a huge thank you to all of you for your support over peak golfing season. It has been great seeing so many of you using the driving range and supporting the centre in a way that you may not have done before. I have been particularly impressed with the main sections commitment to using the range in the early mornings on Saturday and Sunday. We opened the range up earlier than we ever have this summer, as I wanted to listen to the feedback, I received last year from you all. Moving forward, this is definitely something we can do on an annual basis. I have already had some positive suggestions for
next year on how we can get more members involved on the range, and I’d love to hear any suggestions you have on how we can improve! As the winter rolls in, and days get shorter, we are going to have to return to 9am opens every day of the week except Monday which will remain at 11am. This is to allow us time to hand pick balls in the morning, as the ball picking robots do not work in the cold, wet and icy conditions.
We sadly had to say goodbye to two of our long serving range team members, Liam McDonagh, and Ben McCann. Liam and Ben have both gone onto university and I wish them the best of luck with their futures.
I wanted to give a huge shoutout to one member of my team. Mark Henley! Most of you will know Mark by now, whether that be from his constant enthusiasm serving people over on the driving range, to eating an egg bap in the club house or just running about all over the centre and course. Mark is a real asset to the centre and it’s safe to say I couldn’t do my job without him. You will often see Mark serving balls, but it’s the work before many of us are out of bed in the morning that Mark does that is so crucial to our operation. Mark is often here at 5/5:30am running around the outfield picking golf balls so that every day we are well stocked for you all to come and use the driving range. Thank you for all you do Mark, you are a machine!
