I hope you have all had a good week and those of you that have managed a game have enjoyed it. I don't get chance to play much competitive golf these days but last Friday I played in the Ladies Pro Am at Brough Golf Club and had a really enjoyable day with good company and the golf wasn't too bad either. The team consisted of our Lady Captain Wendy Lockwood, Jan Elder and Nicky Salzl. They all played really well but unfortunately our score of 140 just missed out on a prize by 2 shots. I personally shot a gross 70 which I was quite happy with as Brough has never really been a course that suits me. That gave me a tie for 5th place in the overall Professionals beating quite a few golfers that play full time. Maybe I should get my clubs out more often!! Thanks girls for a great day. I really enjoyed it.
Preferred lies will be coming off on May the 1st so please make sure you take care not to pick up your ball and place it. I know it's hard for the first few games not to after a long period of placing your ball on a nice lie.
With Paul Gibson away, I took the junior lesson on Saturday morning. It was great to see so many there- 20 in total. We even had a good showing of girls this week. To keep all these kids interested it would be nice to see a few members helping out to get them on the course etc. If you have any time to spare please have a word with either myself or Paul.
I know this might upset a few people but I have been out on the course this week looking at each hole to see which one has been looked after the best. I must say those of you that are taking divot bags really are making a big difference as it is becoming quite hard to find a hole with a divot now. Well done and keep up the good work. Pitch marks on some greens still continue to be a problem and if it's your hole please have a look and try and repair a few. If a bunker needs a quick rake, take 30 seconds to do it. Now back to the best hole. It was hard but all those with the letter B that are looking after the 2nd well done. If you are not sure which hole is yours, click here to view the list again.
Sunday is the Tomlinson Family Cup. This is an event that has been poorly supported in the last few years. A few years ago the rules were changed to try and get more people playing in it. The competition is a Better Ball and is open to pairings from any family unit, other than those comprising of both spouses/partners. Pairing may comprise of one or two generations, who will not necessarily be living in the same household.
COMPETITION RESULTS
Thursday 23rd April 2015 - Mid Week Stableford
1st Stuart Branton 42pts £25, 2nd Darrell Slingsby 38pts £15, 3rd Steve Carmichael 38pts £10.
2's Club - Phil Kitchen and Charlie Betts £7.50 each.
Saturday 25th April 2015 - Ford Crystal Bowl
1st John Smallwood 39pts £25, 2nd David Hickson 38pts £15, 3rd Keith Marshall 37pts £10.
2's Club - David Prescott, Tony Hood & Leigh Gawley £24 each
Sunday 26th April 2015 - Hornsea Lions Trophy
1st Tom Walker 38pts £25, 2nd Neil Turner 38pts £15, 3rd Craig Pickersgill 37pts £10.
2's Club - Craig Pickersgill was the only one, £17
Tuesday 28th April 2015 - MacMillan Spoon
1st Sharon Cane 37pts, 2nd Cath Caley 34pts, 3rd Maggie Gee 32pts, 4th Anne Merritt 32pts.
UPCOMING COMPETITIONS
Saturday 2nd May 2015 - Hornsea 2nd & 3rd Division Open.
Sunday 3rd May 2015 - Tomlinson Family Cup
Monday 4th May 2015 - Mixed Invitational Open
Tuesday 5th May 2015 - Medal and Carol Yonge Salver (Ladies)
Wednesday 6th May 2015 - Over 50's Open Am Am
Thursday 7th May 2015 - Mid Week Stableford
Friday 8th May 2015 - The Hornsea Gutty (Yorkshire order of merit event)
The sheet is also up outside the shop for the Texas Scramble on Monday May 11th 5pm tee off. It would be great to see a full turn out for a format many enjoy.
MAIL ON SUNDAY
On Saturday our team went to Pike Hills to play in the 3rd round. A strong performance saw Hornsea win 4-1. Rees Brown won 5&4, Mark Cooke won 2&1, Sam Middleton won 2 up, Jonny Fisher won 3&2 and the only defeat was Paul Harland who went down 4&3. Well played boys and for those that follow Twitter thanks Rees for all the updates. Not sure who we play next but it could be into Lincolnshire or the Scarborough area.
KNOCKOUT COMPETITIONS
There are still quite a few games that need to be played in the first round of some of the knockouts. Closing date is Sunday 3rd May. All the draws are up in the clubhouse or on the members section of the Hornsea Golf Club website.
TUESDAY CLUB
Another good turnout for the Tuesday club and it was good to see another winner instead of Willem! This week Shaun Smith was the man on form scoring a very impressive 42 points in tough conditions. Barry Peasgood was the runner up with 39 points. I bet he thought that would have had a chance. Hitting a very good shot into the 18th and winning nearest to the pin this week was Graham Markham.
OPEN AFTERNOON
Don't forget this Sunday 3rd May between 1pm and 4pm, we are holding an open afternoon for anyone interested in what we have to offer here at Hornsea. I shall be around to show people round the clubhouse and course and Paul Gibson will be available to give some tips on how to play. We shall have some membership offers on so it will be a great opportunity to join. Please if you know anyone that is interested encourage them to come.
GREENS
Spring 2015 has been a difficult period with the weather playing a crucial role. The greens a month ago were fantastic, quick, smooth and true. This was due in part to limited growth, the grass plant in effect was dormant. Therefore with varying temperatures, high winds and low rainfall growth has been sporadic at best. The fescues and bents have thrived in the drier conditions, so to unfortunately have the ryegrass, which is very visible with its coarse dark green leaf. This will require subsequent applications of the selective herbicide 'Rescue' to kill off this invasive plant. However, quite understandably the annual meadowgrass or poa is struggling, a plant that flourishes in wet, warm and high nutrient conditions. The combination of which has made the greens a little uneven, hence a light dressing has been applied to improve the surface smoothness. This time of year does illustrate the importance of overseeding. The clubs desire and pursuit of having a uniform sward will improve the greens for the years to come.
So far we have fertilised twice with a granular base feed and since maintenance week top dressed only once (as above). With limited growth it is difficult to 'loose' the sand into the sward. For the rest of the growing season we will be applying dressings and liquid feeds on a monthly basis.
To conclude we are waiting for some warmer weather for consistent and even growth.
As well as the regular cutting and course set up that goes on at this time of year bunker banks have all been cut and tidied, pond banks will be cut and other areas strimmed. The rough has also been cut this week and the height of cut is approximately 60mm when first cut. If the weather is right, a wetting agent will be applied to the greens. Click here to find out what wetting agents do.
QUIZ NIGHT
Tonight sees another chance for you all to test your grey matter as it is time for the monthly quiz again. There was a great turn out last month for what for some found a challenging but interesting test.
Click here to see the poster for the event.
PAUL GIBSON - PGA TEACHING PROFESSIONAL
A BUSY 2 WEEKS, PERFECT POSTURE, HORNSEA 100 & AFTER WORK CLUB STARTS UP AGAIN.
Click here to read more