Well it's that time of the week again where I put fingers to the key board and go through what's all about Hornsea Golf Club.
What a difference a week makes in the weather. I'm all wrapped up in the shop in my winter gear at the moment compared to only a few days ago when it was short sleeves!! Funny old country we live in!! Might just be worth checking the bottoms of your golf shoes next time you are going out to play. This change in the weather makes the ground conditions much softer, and you need to take care in some places not to slip. I love soft spikes in the summer but always change to original spikes in the winter for that extra bit of grip. I changed mine before I last played and have done several other pairs too this last week. A good idea I'd say. If you do want your shoes re spiking please give us longer than 10 minutes before you go out to play. Some spikes are very difficult to remove.
Yvonne and I attended the Golf Trade Show in Harrogate last Wednesday and Thursday. Very interesting it was too looking at all the new clothing and equipment that will be available for next season and some even earlier. It is amazing how they all can keep improving the performance of the clubs and also produce clothing to not only keep you looking good but also help you play better. Just a quick warning to all that drink coffee in the Pro Shop though. After 15 years the trusty coffee machine is going to be changed for a much needed improvement. Freshly ground coffee will be available with many different options. Unfortunately the price will have to go up though. It has been 50p for 12 years though!! I still find it funny though that we went to a Golf Show and have ordered a coffee machine!!
Saturday 18th October 2014 - MacMillan Cancer Relief Stableford
Sunday 19th October 2014 - Individual Stableford inc Mark Hurn Trophy Qualifier
Tuesday 21st October 2014 - Ladies Golf, Daily Mail 4's
Wednesday 22nd October - Seniors Don White Trophy and AGM
Thursday 23rd October 2014 - Mid Week Stableford
Annual Winter Stableford Club
The Annual Saturday Winter Stableford Club begins on Sat 25th October and runs until Sat 18th April (26 weeks).
As usual, the entry fee is £10.
Two divisions 0-12 & 13-28.
Prizes at end of season for best ten completed rounds (1st, 2nd, 3rd) ; all eagles; best round; wooden spoon. All entry fees are returned in prizes. The more that enter, the bigger the prizes.
Scores must be entered each week in the book that will be kept in the Rolston Bar.
Rules:
Tee of the day (all players strongly encouraged to enter all club and Pro's comps)
Full Handicap
Must hole out
Must keep card (checked by playing partner)
We rely on players' honesty!
NB Exceptional scores may result in handicap adjustments at end of the comp.
Thursday 9th October 2014 - Mid Week Stableford
1st Ross Meggison 35points, 2nd Ian Pearson 33points, 3rd Lindsay Ward 32points.
2's Club - Two winners. £6.50 each. Alan Hood and Lindsay Ward
Saturday 11th October 2014 - Pros Stableford 76 entries. Prize fund £228
1st Darren Reeve 46points £45,
2nd Steve Carmichael 42points £40,
3rd Dave Egerton 42points £34,
4th George Hornsey 41points £29, 5th Sam Middleton 40points £24, 6th Ian Sizer 40points £21, 7th Mick Gilroy 40points £18, 8th Mel Marshall 39points £17.
Remember in Pros Stablefords all monies paid in gets paid out in credit in the Pro Shop. Great score from Darren Reeve. He spent a couple of hours practicing the day before so shows what a bit of practice can do.
Sunday 5th October 2014 - Individual Stableford inc. Mark Hurn
1st Tony Sproats 42points, 2nd Darren Stead 38 points, 3rd Connor Todd 36 points. 2's Club - Darren Stead, Alan Scarlet, Dave Rogerson, Kevin Bond, Neil Turner £4.75 each
HULL & DISTRICT GOLFING ASSOCIATION
Thursday 16th October sees the Association meet at Ganstead Park and we will need a good score. Our teams are;
8.00 P Sellers (8) & L Walby (10)
9.07 S Wright (0) & S Middleton (4), P Lockwood (8) & L Ward (14)
10.07 D Close (0) & T Close (12), M Train (10) & A Bird (12)
11.07 A Rosindale (2) & J Robinson (5), A Dickinson (13) & M Russell (16)
I shall report next week on how we get on.
EAST RIDING GOLF ALLIANCE
Hull Golf Club on Wednesday 6th October saw Hornsea perform quite well again. A 67 from Ady Rosindale and Sam Middleton was our best score. Mark Edgar partnering Chris Wilson and Steve Uzzell with Malc Train both shot 68's. This I think leaves Hornsea in 3rd place. The next event is to be held at Springhead on the 22nd October. Our team is;
8.40 1st tee S Uzzell (0) & S Middleton (4)
8.40 10th tee M Edgar (7) & C Wilson (13)
CAPTAINS CHALLENGE
The opponents this week where Nick Tudor and Kees VanBeelen. It was a little foggy to start with but the sun soon came out and it was a fantastic morning. Nick receiving 20 shots! made a fantastic 3 nett 2 on the second to take an early lead but birdies on 3, 4 and 5 soon saw the game heading in the right direction for myself and the Captain. It finished as a 2 and 1 win with 7 bits for us and another nice contribution to the captains fund.
There is no challenge this coming Sunday as I am attending the wedding of Richard Pace on the Saturday and staying over. I'm sure all the members of Hornsea would like to wish Richard and Gemma all the best for their wedding day and for the future.
CAPTAINS GOLF DAY
Wednesday 8th October saw Keith Marshall, Hornsea Captain 2014, host his postponed Invitation Day for other Captains and Vice Captains from the Hull and East Riding area. For once the rain did not feature at an event that is meant to showcase the best that Hornsea Golf Club has to offer.
In a close fought contest the event was won by the team of Steve Goodwin (Hessle VC), Eric Sologub (KP Captain) and Keith Marshall our own Captain.
What made the day extra special however, was the number of compliments about the condition of the course and in particular the greens. Several of the visitors said that the greens were the best they had played on this year. Gareth and his team rightfully deserve all of the praise for the condition of the course - it was certainly appreciated by all of the participants.
GREENS
As I am writing this at 10am on Tuesday I have just spoken to Gareth and he informs me that we have had nearly ½ an inch of rain in the last 24 hours! That's a lot of rain. At this time we are still open and on full greens. I have been told that Beverley and Ganstead are closed today as well as Driffield. How lucky we are to have a course that stands up so well in the bad weather. For those that played last Friday you might have noticed that Gareth had put some fertilizer on the greens. This is a turf hardener which will help us over the winter months. All approaches and winter tees have been spiked but the main daily job at the moment is the clearance of leaves.
PACE OF PLAY
Pace of play is an important issue all year round, but even more so in the winter months when hours of daylight are shortened. Here are a few pointers to help speed things up.
- All players are asked: To walk briskly between shots; To play a provisional ball when there is a doubt of finding the first; To 'pick up' if players cannot score when playing Stableford or match play comps.
- Players should only look for their own ball, and keep up with the game in front, not in front of the game behind.
- If a whole group decides to look for one or more players' ball, they should automatically call the following game through.
- Players in two balls are strongly encouraged to partner up with other pairs. The Shop Staff will try to help out in arranging this if you need help.
- Players in matches (gents and ladies) and competitions, playing off white tees have priority on the course and should be allowed to play through.
Charity Race Night
Huge thanks to everyone that supported the Charity Race Night at the clubhouse last Friday. It was great to see the Lounge full of members and their guests enjoying a brilliant atmosphere of fun and entertainment. Congratulations to all the winning owners!
The event raised just over £500 for Great Ormond Street Hospital children's charity.
I know it's not good but most of our winter stock is now in and going down well with everyone. We have even put hand warmers out on the counter this week! Great range of Callaway waterproofs in stock now ready for this changeable weather. Winter mitts and bobble hats will be out next!! As I'm writing this we have just had our first booking for next year's Pro Am which will be held on Friday 19th June. For anyone else that is interested the time sheet is now open and bookings taken in the Pro Shop. I have now got all the results from the annual equipment survey that quite a lot of you filled in. There is some quite interesting facts on it which will help me not only provide you all a better service but also gives me an indication of what I should be stocking. Many thanks to all who took the time to fill the survey in.
PAUL GIBSON - PGA TEACHING PROFESSIONAL
This week there has been an article on the internet about how far we hit with our various clubs. Based on the research that has been done, nearly all of us over exaggerate how far we hit with our clubs. Have you ever actually measured how far you hit with your driver or have you just subtracted the distance from the yardage marker in the middle of the fairway?
The research shows that the longer the club, the more the over estimation is, with an average of 29.9 yards between how far we think we hit with our driver and what we actually hit with it. People were closer to their estimated distance with a PW, but still over estimated how far they hit with their wedge...and let's be honest, how many holes at Hornsea require a drive and PW? I can maybe think of 4!
How can you expect to improve your golf if you are not being honest with yourself over how far you hit the ball?
Here are some of the other interesting stats:
Out of 200 shots, 116 (58%) were hit outside a 5 yard estimate
There is a definite correlation between handicap and knowing/hitting your distances
Here is the link to the full article - How far do you really hit your clubs?
http://www.mygolfspy.com/mygolfspy-labs-your-distance-reality-check/
If you want to have a Gap/Distance check with me then please contact me. I can help you find out how far you really hit each club, so that when you are out on the course you can get the ball up to the hole much more often. After having a Gap/Distance check session with me you will have confidence in your clubs about how far you hit with each one, a print out of your distances with each club and I will be able to highlight any gaps you may have in your set.
Gap/Distance check sessions cost £10 and last for 30 mins.
SAM MIDDLETON
It seems like a while ago but Sam Middleton collected the keys to his brand new car this week for his hole in one he had at Hessle in June. It was a prize given by Riverside Motors for the first person to get a hole in one at the 16th hole at Hessle in there Pro Am which was held on the 12th June. Sam who was playing with Mark Cooke, Stuart Branton and their Pro John Wells could not believe it when Sam holed out with his rescue club from 211 yards. There was quite a celebration after!! The car Sam won was originally a Volvo V40 but with his ever growing family he upgraded to a very nice XC60.
Well done Sam.
HUGO BOSS HOLE IN ONE WATCH
We have another prize winner of a hole in one too. Ian Newton aced the 7th hole here at Hornsea in the September Medal and has received his prize from Hugo Boss for doing so.
Well done Ian. Any member who is registered with 'How Did I Do' and manages to get a hole in one in an official club competition receives a very nice watch.
Rodger Ward should be receiving his shortly also I would think.
FRIENDLY MATCH AGAINST GANSTEAD
This event has been going for 7 years now and maybe I should not be called a friendly as it is highly competitive with neither team wanting to loose! The event varies between each club and this year saw it take place at Hornsea.
I would have had Hornsea as the out and out favourites as Mike Russell and Andy Dickinson had done a great job in picking a very strong squad of 16 Hornsea players. It was not to be for the home team though as they went down 4½ to 3½. This is the first time Hornsea had lost at home much to the delight of all the Ganstead team. I shall make sure that I am available next year to make sure we win the trophy back.
Pictured are all the players who took part, click to enlarge.