Good afternoon to all my readers. As I sit down this week to start the newsletter it is a very very wet Saturday again with only a handful of brave golfers going out this morning. By 2 o'clock there was not one car in the car park!! Such a shame as the course had really started to dry up nicely which gave the greens staff chance last week to finish all the turf work on the new bunkers. More about that in Gareth's report later.
Some of you might have noticed this week that the entrance signs have been removed. This is to enable the frames to be strengthened and re painted. We have then got some new signs that have been paid for from money raised by last year's Captains Wendy Lockwood and Alan Barker.
I had a quick look at the Captains challenge sheet earlier today and I guess everyone is worried about playing against Craig and myself as there are still plenty of spare dates. The sheet is in the gent's locker room. You can't all be scared of us are you? All money raised with go to the Captains Charity.
Yvonne and I are taking a few days off next week so the newsletter will just be a generic one without any content from myself. The following week it will be back to normal though with all competition results and information.
STRANGE PLACE TO HIT IT AT HORNSEA
Last week's picture of trying to guess which hole on the course was Graham Winship playing the 10th!! He was in the pine trees near the 7th tee. I had a few people taking guesses this week. It only took Joe Palmer 16 attempts to get it correct!!!
Now this week I not only want you to guess the hole but also name the golfer.
KNOCKOUT COMPETITIONS
As I mentioned last week the knockout entries are now open and you can either print of a form from the link here or use one of the sheets in the clubhouse. It's good to see a steady flow of entries already. Closing date for entries is the 18th March. Click here to see rules and entry form.
GENTS HULL AND DISTRICT ASSOCIATION
Well I have some great news if you have not heard. The Gents Hull and District that was held at Hainsworth Park last Thursday saw a great result for Hornsea. Malcom Train and Nathan Wright won the event with a fantastic score of 63. I played with them and it was a great team effort with both playing their part. This was good enough to win by a clear shot from a pair from Hessle. Hornsea who started the day 1 shot behind Hull in the overall standings now hold a 3 shot lead with 3 events remaining. This means that Hornsea are now leading the Hull and District and the East Riding winter alliances. Let's see if we can do the double.
EAST RIDING ALLIANCE
Yesterday saw two fantastic scores from the Hornsea team playing at Ganton. Steve Uzzell and Mark Cooke managed 5 under and Ady Rossindale and Sam Middleton 3 under. These scores are good enough to leave Hornsea with a ten shot lead with two events remaining. As mentioned above it would be great if we could do the Alliance double.
LONDON MARATHON
Did you all know that Caroline Barker our Lady Captain is running in the London Marathon this year on the 24th April. She is raising money for this year's Captains Charity CRY. She is going to write me a full report which I shall put in the newsletter when I have it in the next few weeks. Sponsor forms will be available in the shop and behind the bar. www.c-r-y.org.uk
Thursday 4th February - Mid Week Stableford
1st Peter Mounfield 35pts £25, 2nd Alan Barker 33pts £15 & 3rd Chris Wilson 30pts £10
2's Comp - No 2's
Saturday 6th February - Club Stableford
1st Nick Tudor 37pts £25, 2nd David Prescott 34pts £15 & 3rd Ian Sizer 32pts £10
2's Comp - No 2's
Can I just say well done to all that played today. Nick Tudors score of 37pts is fantastic as they played 18 holes all in the rain. Well done. Please note this was made into a Club Stableford and the February Stableford will now be played on the 20th February.
Sunday 7th February - Individual Stableford inc Mark Hurn Qualifier
1st Dave Blanchard Jnr 37pts £25, 2nd Mick France 35pts £15, 3rd Ian Lockwood 34pts £10
2's Comp - Chris Raw & Ian Lockwood £13.50 each
Dave had a lesson with Paul Gibson on Friday. Shows they pay off.
Sunday 7th February - Junior February Stableford
1st Alfred Anderson 43pts, 2nd Harry Anderson 39pts, 3rd Albert Anderson 36pts
After today's scores all three of the Anderson boys are now able to play in the gent's competitions as well as Matt McDonnell and Will Marshall. However to enter the gent's competitions they need an adult to mark their card until they are down to 18 handicap. Please bare this in mind if you are ever short or it would be great if some of you might volunteer to play with them.
As you can see above, Alfie's Dad put a picture on Facebook of him as he was leaving the club in his car. I think he was quite happy!!!
Saturday 13th - Pro's Stableford
Sunday 14th February - Individual Stableford inc Mark Hurn Qualifier & Junior December Stableford
Tuesday 16th February - Ladies 5 club competition
Thursday 18th February - Mid Week Stableford
HANDICAP REVIEW
I do find it quite amusing how many people have been into the shop asking why they have not received any shots back in the handicap review. If the evidence is not there how can any adjustments be made? Playing in only a couple of competitions a year does not help; some none at all. Remember you must play in at least 3 competitions per year to maintain a competition handicap. This also helps to pick up on golfers who are struggling. Obviously if you play in more competitions there would be even more evidence. We hold well over 100 individual qualifying competitions through the year so you all have plenty of opportunity to get your handicap to where it should be. Not playing in competitions because you can't play to your handicap is not the answer. Funny how those that play in competitions on a regular basis have not complained as they are off the correct handicap. Some of these players have played in up to 50 competitions last year.
Congu who look after all handicaps in England have made some changes for 2016. One which might interest those who feel they should have shots back as long as they enter competitions.
Continuous Handicap Review: The introduction of a process to flag players with seven consecutive 0.1 handicap increases so that Handicap Committees can review and apply an immediate handicap increase if required.
GREENS
It has been a very unusual winter with very few cold days to speak of. Consequently grass growth hasn't stopped and many areas of the course require attention. With steady rain softening the course it has been impossible to work these areas. Therefore we have limited our work to out of play areas to reduce wear and tear. Due to the conditions it was necessary to close the course for a week and lately restrict the use of buggies. We are also looking into options for improving the path up the hill on the 2nd.
More recently with the drying winds we have been able to complete the bunker alterations. Please be advised that the new turf will require time to heal, so please avoid walking on these areas. I anticipate that they will be in play be the end of April possibly May depending on weather conditions. The bunkers look fantastic and credit to the green staff for completing the works. Thanks again to Fineturf for the landscaping. The new locations will increase the challenge of the course.
During the recent high winds there has been further damage to Leylandii in the copse near cross bunkers on the 16th. We have therefore removed the damaged trees and also carried out some thinning of weaker pines. Further tree work has been done at the left of the 5th hole. It is very important that tree management is ongoing to allow light and air across vital turfed areas.
Rainfall January 2016- 77.5mm
Gareth Williams, Course Director
All bunkers this week have had quite a bit of work done to them with them all been edged and given a really good rake by hand with a large tooth rake. They now all look much better. Work has also started on the thinning of the trees between the 9th and 13th.When I popped out on Tuesday afternoon it was amazing how much dead wood was been removed from the lower limbs of the pine trees. This should help to get more air and light to the 13th fairway which is really struggling at the moment.
I also need to mention where a couple of members on Tuesday had taken their trolley on the 9th hole. Just because there was "just" enough room between the hoops it does not mean you can take your trolley there. Very disappointing to see that members do this sort of thing. Hoops are put out to keep people away from areas that need protecting.
CLUBHOUSE FUNCTIONS
Starting from this Friday Paul the chef is doing a Fish and Chip special. It is available from 5pm to 9pm and only costs £6. If you fancy it please give him a ring to book. Click here to see the poster.
On 4th March we are having an Indian night at the Golf Club. Please book behind the bar. Click here to see the poster.
The Club Dinner Dance this year will be held this year on 12th March. Please book behind the bar. Click here to see the poster.
PAUL GIBSON - PGA TEACHING PROFESSIONAL
PAUL GIBSON GOLF LESSON SUCCESS, GREAT SPECIAL OFFER, WATCH OUT - HERE COME THE JUNIORS & NEW TOY
Click here to read more.
