So some of you may be thinking that the newsletter will be back to normal this week and Stretton will have done it. Well its Nathan again, don't worry this is nothing to do with his health this is because apparently some of you thought I had done it quite well. In future tell me and not him then I won't have to do it every week! 

In the last week there has just been some more ProQuip clothing come in. This includes the lined sweaters and thermo gilets. 

Both are very good items for keeping you warm on the cold, windy days we are now having more regularly.

ROPES 

As many of you will already have realised the ropes around the greens have now gone out. This is to keep the ground conditions around the greens in a good state. 

With this happening it will reduce the chance of you getting them nasty muddy lies to chip off. If you don't like walking all the way around the ropes you could try and carry your clubs to reduce the distance you have to walk. It may be difficult the first couple of times but once you get into it, it is good for the body and keeps you nice and toasty.

HULL & DISTRICT ALLIANCE 

Last Thursday took us to Cottingham for the Hull and District Alliance. After heavy rain on the Wednesday the course struggled to hold up making conditions rather muddy and the greens well paddled for the later starters. Heading into the event we were in second 3 shots behind Hessle. Our first pairings out were Ady Rosindale and Paul Sellers with Sam Middleton and Mick Russell who scored 66 and 68 respectively. 66 would prove to be our best score with myself and Malcolm Train scoring 69, Stu Branton and Mark Cooke 67, Lindsay Ward and Dave Whitton 72 and our final pair Gareth Williams and Paul Lockwood ended up with a 70. Given the conditions I thought we may lose a couple of shots but nothing to damaging. How wrong could I be with Hessle pair, Brian Drake and Steve Fairbank coming in with a 60. This now leaves us 9 behind with 5 events left which when it is only one pairs score to count means we may need a bit of a miracle to catch this deficit up. Unbelievably 60 wasn't good enough to take first prize with home course knowledge paying off for the Cottingham pairing of A Birch and W North scoring 59.

For the full results please click here.

EUROPEAN TOUR FINAL EVENT 

Well today marked the start of the season ending event for the European Tour season and what a season it has been. It started way back at the end of November last year in South Africa where in the first 5 events there was 3 winners from South Africa and 2 Australians. The next event on the schedule was the EurAsia Cup where the Europeans were successful was this good preparation for the Ryder Cup. Following this was the Middle East swing were 3 highly ranked players were successful, Rickie Fowler, Brendan Grace and Danny Willett. This would just be the start for the Yorkshireman. After this would be a few minor events before the tours main players headed for 3 big events across the pond. The first was the WGC Cadillac Championship which was won by Adam Scott. Then came the WGC Dell Matchplay Championship which was won by fellow Aussie and World Number 1, Jason Day. The final event of the 3 would be the first Major of the year, The Masters. This as I'm sure you are all aware was won by Danny Willett who played some unbelievable golf down the stretch. Next on the schedule was the Spanish Open and this was won by Andrew Johnston or as he is very well known for now, Beef. Following a quiet few weeks came 3 British winners in a row. Rory McIlroy at the Irish Open, Chris Wood at Wentworth and another Yorkshireman was successful in Matt Fitzpatrick at the Nordea Masters. The players then headed for the US Open were Dustin Johnson finally broke his major problems. Henrik Stenson was the winner a week later in Germany would this help kick-start his season. The players then headed for Scotland for the Scottish Open and then the Open Championship at Royal Troon. Alex Noren the winner of the former and then Henrik Stenson produced a phenomenal final round to win The Open and become another first time Major winner. 

Following this came the final Major, The USPGA Championship were Jimmy Walker would make it 4 first time Major winners in a row. The Olympics followed with Golf being participated for the first time in decades. Justin Rose was the man winning the gold which I'm sure if you follow him on Twitter you will be well aware of! A few quiet weeks followed were Thomas Peiters won to claim a place in The Ryder Cup Team and Alex Noren would win the week later to become a 2 time winner for the year. Then The Ryder Cup arrived and although it was a disappointment for the Europeans it was still a well contested event. Tyrell Hatton and Alex Noren were the next 2 winners with Noren winning for the third time this year could he win another before the season closes. The final World Golf Championship came around and was dominated by Hideki Matsuyama. Then the Final Series arrived Throbjorn Olesen winning the first event in Turkey followed by another win for Alex Noren last week in South Africa. This season leads us until the final event this week in Dubai with 4 players still able to win the Race to Dubai. Henrik Stenson, Danny Willett, Alex Noren and Rory McIlroy. For me Stenson is the favourite with course form and having a lead but don't count out Noren who is on a real hot streak. Unfortunately it will probably be out of reach for Rory and Willett is very badly out of form. There we are my season in review!

A NOTE FROM THE CHAIRMAN 

Please Support your Captains 

Owing to a few last minute cancellations there is still a chance to reserve a place at the Captains' Finale Dinner, when our Captains for 2016 Craig and Caroline, celebrate their year in office. 

Profits from the night will go to the Captains' Fund, which is supporting CRY UK and also providing funds for course improvements. 

There's a great 3 course menu, and entertainment for the night is provided by the fantastic Atlantic 45 who will play a range of great music from the 70s up to the present day.

Please support your Captains - They have worked hard for your club! Its not too late to book. 

Contact Paul Nelson at the Club, or leave a message at the office/shop for Vice Captain and organiser Allan Scarlett, who will get back to you. 01964 532020 or 534989. 

Hope to see you there!

Congratulations to Caroline Barker who completes her year as Lady Captain next week. Caroline has worked hard all year particularly in raising awareness and funds for CRY UK - peaking with a great performance in the London Marathon and a super night at the Summer Ball! On Tuesday 22nd November, Caroline will be handing the reins to Sarah Stonier, who I hope has a fabulous year as Lady Captain, continuing the great successes of the Ladies Section. Let's all give her our support.

 

Course Thoughts and Out & About 

Despite the difficult conditions, our course compares extremely well with others that I have played recently! Or so my shoes and the bottom 18 inches of my trousers would suggest! Teeing up at another local course last Thursday was a test of balance and agility, and I haven't seen mud like it since I last played football on the back pitch at Hornsea Rec in mid-Winter (A few years ago now!). I felt sorry for the greenkeepers who must have had an impossible job on their hands. I can only imagine that the temporary tee mats would have been on their way out onto the course as soon as we had left!

Coming across a grazing mini-horse on the side of a tee a little later in the round was also a moment of interest!

It all adds to our experiences and makes us even more grateful for what we have! 

The ladies played at Fulford last week and reported back on the huge amount of bunker work that was being carried out there by FineTurf, the same company that we are expecting in the first week of December. They carry out excellent bunker refurbishment work with highly skilled technicians at all the best courses in the country. I'm looking forward to seeing our work on 16th and 17th completed. 

It was also interesting when playing recently to see that the second green at Hessle has been completely removed and replaced. And more work to be done on other parts of the course too! A very expensive job! An interesting little temporary par 3 on the practice area next to the car park though! A long walk out at Hessle for a shotgun start on the 6th!

For members' information, after some well-intentioned feedback from members in response to our request, and following lengthy discussion, some amendments to the course set-up will be recommended to the Board of Directors at the November Meeting. The proposals will include a reduction of the carry to some of the fairways, more regular tending of the mounds in the fairways, and a reduction of some areas of long grass in the range of some tee shots. Also recommended will be the cutting of grass where there is no sight of the landing areas from the tee, eg over the gorse and bushes from the men's Summer tee on the 3rd hole. There will also be some re-shaping of mounds as part of the winter course refurbishments.

A small group of members has also been invited to look at the upkeep of the ponds on the course. 

Unfortunately, owing to delays caused by equipment breakdown, the works that had been planned to transplant trees around the seventh tee has had to be postponed. This is because the ground conditions are much softer after significant rainfall. Damage caused by a tree-spade and the transporting of trees between the 7th and 10th would now be far more than had the work gone ahead in October as intended. Alternatives are currently being reviewed.

As you will have seen - the ropes are out around the greens. For new members, this signifies that buggies and trolleys should NOT be taken onto areas within the ropes. Please consider carrying. It is much quicker and is good for your fitness too! 

Thanks to all those that are doing a great job in repairing pitch marks and divots. The shadows created by the low sun (when we do get to see it), offer a tell-tale sign of where pitch-marks haven't been repaired. However, I have to admit that everyone I play with looks for, and repairs, as many as they can on every green! I assume that everyone else does too! The same goes for bunker raking. As most players work so hard to maintain the quality of our course, when it does occur, an un-raked bunker stands out like a 'sore thumb'. Most of us don't just point at it and moan when we see footprints in the sand; we point at it, moan and then get on and rake it for those that follow!

If you're playing with anyone that is inexperienced or does forget (it does happen I know) to do the right thing, just think of it as a learning opportunity and politely let them know.

I reckon it's time to stop moaning about the few that don't and celebrate the efforts of the many that do! Well done you! Give yourselves a pat on the back! 

Finally, keep your eyes peeled for the family of deer that are inhabiting the areas around the course at the moment. Reports of 4 or 5 together often seen around the copse to the right of the fairway after the corner on the third.

Happy Golfing.

 

Thursday 10th November - Mid Week Stableford 

1st £25 Tony Hood 38pts, 2nd £15 Darren Reeve 36pts, 3rd £10 Nev Cook 36pts. 

2's Comp- Tony Hood, Pat Slaven and Mark Edger all had a 2 which won them £9 each.

Saturday 12th November - Pro's Stableford 

1st £22 Matt Boyes 40pts, 2nd £18 Wendy Lockwood 40pts, 3rd £14 Norman Hinch 35pts, 4th £9 Tom Walker 35pts, 5th £6 Stu Pearson 35pts.

Sunday 13th November - Individual Stableford inc Mark Hurn Qualifier 

1st £25 Will Jordan 40pts, 2nd £15 Simon Wedge 39pts, 3rd £10 Joe Palmer 36pts. 

2's Comp- Neil Jordan and Kevin Taylor were the only 2s winning them £19 each.

LADIES AGM & PRESENTATION 

Tuesday welcomed the majority of our Lady members for their Annual General Meeting and Prize Presentation. The formal proceedings for the Ladies also took place with sincere thanks given to the outgoing Lady President; Julie Wright and outgoing Lady Captain; Caroline Barker. Both ladies have given their time and support to many events throughout the year, for which the Ladies Section and Club are most grateful. Congratulations to the new Lady President, Jo Roach and Lady Captain, Sarah Stonier. Sarah will be 'Driving In' on Tuesday from 9am, come along and give her your support if you are available.

   

 

Saturday 19th November - Club Stableford 
Sunday 20th November - Individual Stableford inc Mark Hurn Winter Trophy Qualifier 
Sunday 20th November - Junior October Stableford (rescheduled) 
Thursday 24th November - Midweek Stableford

 

Christmas and New Year's Eve Am Am 

The time sheet for this year's festive am am's has gone up in the Rolston Bar so for those wanting to get their teams in make sure you get your names down to avoid disappointment, both of the sheets are already filling up. 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.

Please click here for the start sheets.

GREENS 

Works have been completed with the digger. Ditches have been cleaned out as well as the out fall around "Twin Acres". This will aid drainage once the council cleans out the culvert under Hull Road at the end of the month. On the 2nd an area just over the winter bridge has been raised which should help it remain dryer. At the moment sharp sand will be put towards the top of the slope to try and keep this area better also. 

We have had a new member of staff start this week, a junior member here, Charlie Duckworth. He has begun a two year apprenticeship course with a day release at Bishop Burton College.

   

   

CLUBHOUSE FUNCTIONS

   

MESSAGE FROM STRET 

Firstly can I just thank Nathan for his hard work in putting the newsletter together for the last couple of weeks. Secondly to everyone who has wished me well thankyou it means a lot. As I write this I have just come from seeing my own Dr and I thought you might like a quick update. The procedure all went well and my heart will take 2/3 months to fully settle down but I am no longer having the bad flutters that used to occur. My resting heart rate is still quite high though so the Dr has put me on a small tablet to help with this. I shall be having another 24 hour heart monitor on in the next few months but hopefully all will now be ok. It could be a while before you see me out playing Stret.