A bit of a change this week, as Stretton is still recovering I (Nathan) am going to be doing the newsletter so don't any of you be criticising my spelling and grammar. As most of you will probably be aware Stretton has had his heart procedure and is now recovering from this. He will need to have another 24 hour heart monitor test in the near future but if the results of that are ok that will be it for the time being. As for now he has been told to take 1 to 2 weeks' time off to recover from the procedure so it may be another few days before you see him about at the club. 

So as most of you that played on Saturday are aware the weather has taken a turn for the worse. The cold air along with the wind made keeping warm very tricky. Perfect for this weather would be the new ProQuip Wind Jackets with the Hornsea Golf Club logo have just arrived in stock. Another bit of stock that has just arrived in is our Titleist hats as modelled by Paul, you can get these in either black or red.

   

BUNKERS 

So last week poorly raked bunkers was mentioned so this week I am going to show instead of what a poorly raked bunker looks like, I am going to show how a bunker should look after being raked. The main issue most people have with raking bunkers is they pull the sand back towards them. This then means all of the sand gets built up at the back of the bunker so when your ball rolls into the bunker it doesn't go into the middle because of the build-up of sand. To stop this from happening, although it does require a little more effort the key is to push the sand away from you thus stopping the build-up of sand and leaving the bunker in much better condition. Another complaint people make is that there isn't enough sand in the bunkers. If you find this usually all that has happened is the sand has compacted together meaning you just need to push down firm on the rake and this will then release some of the sand. 

   

EAST RIDING ALLIANCE 

Last week's alliance took us to Withernsea for a nice early 7:45 shotgun start in the cold and the wind. Going into the event Hornsea tied 1 shot behind both Hessle and Heworth. Malcolm Train and I were off the third tee and Steve Uzzell and Mark Cooke from the eight tee. Malcolm and I struggled on the front 9 turning in level but rallied on the back 9 to finish 5 under, 67. Steve with the a little help from Mark managed to score 68. This was enough to overturn a deficit to Hessle and move in front of them by 1. However in the afternoon shotgun Heworth managed a 67 to match ours but there other pair turned out to be the winning pair with a 62. This now leaves us 7 shots behind Heworth which in the East Riding Alliance isn't to many with both pairs scores to count. The next East Riding Alliance takes us to Beverley with myself, Steve, Mark and Sam Middleton trying to gain a few strokes back on Heworth.

STARTING TO FEEL SLIPPY UNDER FOOT 

It is starting to get to that time of the year again when the ground gets a little softer and we start seeing a few men down. I am fairly sure that if you haven't gone down before you will have seen someone do so. One way to help prevent this is to get your shoes respiked from the soft spike that comes in your shoe to the winter spikes. These will not only give you more grip when walking it will also give you more grip to the floor when swinging meaning it decreases the chance of any of you slipping. We charge 50p per spike so it really could be a worthwhile investment as you don't want any pictures appearing in this newsletter with you on the floor after falling over!

 

A NOTE FROM THE CHAIRMAN 

Growing the Club Together. 

We are very pleased to report that 2016 has been an excellent year for developing our playing membership numbers. 

So far in this calendar year, we have welcomed 36 new adult members including 5 new female members, as well as 10 more juniors. 

We are committed to growing the game in our community and have set ourselves challenging targets to attract new members including efforts to double the number of Ladies playing the game at Hornsea by 2020. 

Promotion for the Ladies' scratch team into Yorkshire Div 1 provides an added attraction to some of the region's best players to be able to play on one of Yorkshire's best courses. The Men's teams have also enjoyed great success over the recent past and we regularly provide players for East Riding and Yorkshire representative teams. 

We continue to develop our coaching links with local schools, and hope to develop our role in encouraging adults and juniors to take up the game as part of a 'healthy lifestyle'. The secret is now out - 'golfers stay fitter and live longer' (BBC research). Our thriving and successful Senior Section is the living proof of that! 

With our recent additions, our target of 500 members is now not too far away, and you can do your bit to get us there in the next year. 

There are some great deals available to new members at the moment, and of course the added incentive of £50 off next year's subs for every full playing adult you introduce; or if you become a 'super-recruiter' and introduce 5 or more new full playing adults before 31st March 2017, you could be playing next year free! Don't forget, as an adult member, your children or grandchildren (up to 13 yrs) automatically become junior members absolutely free, gaining access to Paul Gibson's excellent coaching sessions, a handicap and a lifetime of activity and friendship outdoors in the fresh air. It beats sitting watching TV or computer gaming! 

With Christmas coming soon, membership at Hornsea GC would make a great gift. 

So let's Grow the Game at Hornsea together.

 

Thursday 3rd November - Mid Week Stableford 

1st £25 Mark Cooke 41pts, 2nd £15 Stephen Hawkins 41pts, 3rd £10 Neil Jordan 40pts.

2's Comp- 4, 2's this week, but only 3 of those entered so £10 each to Peter Wills, Alistair Pearson and Darren Reeve. Unlucky David Turner you'll have to enter next time.

Saturday 5th November - November Stableford 

Division 1 
1st £25 Andy Fox 38pts, 2nd £15 Dave Rogerson 32pts, 3rd £10 Malc Train 32pts. 

Division 2 
1st £25 John Thackray Snr 37pts, 2nd £15 Stu Pearson 35pts, 3rd £10 Jon Mitchell 34pts. 

Division 3 
1st £25 Paul Brummitt 35pts, 2nd £15 Phil Newton 35pts, 3rd £10 Tom Elder 34pts.

2's Comp- All 7 people who got 2's were in the 2's comp so Mark Cooke, Andy Fox, Craig Pickersgill, Baz Marson, Dave Rogerson, Allan Scarlett and Jon Mitchell each won £7.71.

Sunday 6th November - Individual Stableford inc Mark Hurn Qualifier 

1st £25 Lee Guest 33pts, 2nd £15 Max Clark 31pts, 3rd £10 Dave Blanchard Snr 30pts. 

2's Comp - Dave Blanchard Snr was the only one winning £17.

Sunday 6th November - Junior November Stableford 

1st Albert Anderson 37pts, 2nd Will Marshall 30pts.

Monday 7th November - Mixed Christmas Shotgun Open 10am 

The Christmas Mixed Open Shotgun Am Am was played on the morning of Monday 7th November, with players relieved that the forecasts of a downpour failed to materialise. With a brisk northerly wind and the occasional shower, conditions were difficult for scoring. However, the course was in fantastic order with greens freshly ironed and rolling beautifully, and bunkers raked and well-presented. It certainly looked a picture, with many visiting golfers commenting on how well it was looking for November! (Hence one definite newcomer and a number of other polite enquiries about membership on the day!) 

Congratulations were sent by all present to Gareth and his team. 

So apart from the additional layers of clothing, bobble hats, and the glorious, changing colours of the leaves, it was hard to recognise the inevitable onset of Winter golf. 

An excellent effort by the winners, led by Christine Gregory, at -8, managed to see off the eventual runners-up, the Atkin family, and regular visitors the Duggleby - Brown combination in third place, by just one shot! 

Everyone gathered for soup and sandwiches, and a presentation in the Clubhouse afterwards, when 12 team prizes of Christmas gifts were handed out, heralding the first mentions of the 'Season of Goodwill!' 

Special thanks to our resident 'Little Helpers' Barry Gregory and Pete Mounfield who looked after the mince pies and mulled wine at halfway house! 

An excellent atmosphere and another great day at Hornsea! 

Paul Lockwood

1st: C Gregory, N Salzl, M Bird, C Holmes: 80pts

2nd: R Atkin, L Atkin, T Atkin, G Atkin: 79pts (Back nine 41) 

3rd: L Duggleby, B Brown, C Duggleby, M Brown 79pts (back nine 40)

UPCOMING COMPETITIONS 

Saturday 12th November - Pro's Stableford 
Sunday 13th November - Individual Stableford inc Mark Hurn Winter Trophy Qualifier 
Thursday 17th November - Midweek Stableford 

Christmas and New Year's Eve Am Am 

The time sheet for this year's festive am am's go up tomorrow so for those wanting to get their teams in make sure you get your names down to avoid disappointment. The Christmas Am Am is on Friday 23rd December, 10am shotgun start. The New Year's Eve Am Am is on Saturday 31st December again 10am shotgun start.

PICS FROM THE COURSE 

No pictures from Hornsea this week but I have got a group picture from Paul Duckworth, Martin Rowbotham, Mick France and Darrell Slingsby who are in The Algarve this week playing golf. 

This is them at Quintana do Lago Laranjal. Mick and Paul did come across a slight issue though as they managed to leave their shoes in the hotel, maybe a few too many the night before! 

 

GREENS 
FAIRWAY AERATION 

The aeration of all surfaces on the golf course is vital to maintain good quality turf. Compaction exists within the soil when it has been forced together; causing the air pockets to close. Consequently the micro environment within the soil begins to decline causing anaerobic conditions and eventually loss of turf cover. 

Rather than our usual solid tine or slitting, we have hired an alternative form of aeration to improve surface drainage. This attachment is called a vertiquake. The theory behind it is similar to the graden by creating a continuous slit through the soil profile. Decompaction of the soil takes place via offset blades. Their rotary motion combined with the forward speed creates a shattering effect laterally through the soil. Unfortunately we were unable to operate at its full working depth of 250mm (10"). With the ground conditions being very hard we were able to achieve a depth of 150mm (6") with very little surface disruption. 

This machine has been designed to supersede the verti drain which punches holes and uses heave to create fractures allowing surface moisture to drain away. However if conditions are not ideal then they can act as test tubes holding water at the surface. Hence the vertiquakes 6 rows of blades can move water away from the playing surface. So far I am very pleased with the results. We have been able to complete all the fairways in a week, a process which can take a month with the verti drain. 

Gareth Williams
Course Director

   

 

   

 

PAUL GIBSON - PGA TEACHING PROFESSIONAL 

In this week's blog: a Japanese adventure, prepare yourself for winter, winter offers and what's coming up.

Please click here to read.