I have received a few comments this week asking why greens maintenance is done at this time of year when our greens are fantastic. Main reason as far as I am concerned is the recovery time. When maintenance used to be done in October it took until early April before there was any real growth. Roughly 24 weeks. Doing it at this time of year whilst growing conditions are good it should recover in 2/3 weeks. For those of you that have not played your knockout matches it does disappoint me that some are complaining even though greens maintenance has been clearly in the fixture book, on the booking system, on the knockout entry form and emails have been sent out. You have all had since July 12th to play these matches. Greens maintenance has been programmed in for this time of year for a number of years now.
Please keep your eye on the board outside the shop which will hopefully keep you informed of what is roughly going on.
Last week I was lucky enough to see the new clubs that Callaway will be releasing in mid-September. A new Big Bertha driver and fairway wood and some new wedges. Very nice they look too. Only downside was that I wasn't able to hit one. I am currently trying to organise another demo day so hopefully you will all be able to have the chance to have a go and try the latest equipment and make sure you get fitted correctly by an expert. Click here to learn more.
Captain's charity - Last year's Captain Keith Marshall picked for his Captains charity The Daisy Appeal. Last week Professor Nick Stafford the Chair of the Trustees was invited to the club to collect a cheque for just over £1,700. It was very interesting listening to Nick and what The Daisy Appeal are requiring funds for. On behalf of Keith can I thank all who helped raise the money. It really is a great cause and if you have time please click on the link to learn more about the wonderful work they are doing and maybe ways in which you could help. www.daisyappeal.org .
AGM - Just a quick reminder to all members that the AGM and members meeting is on Thursday 20th August. It starts at 7.30. It would be nice to see a few more people attend.
Hull and District Winter Alliances - I can't say that I am too happy about this as it shows summer is nearly over but, I have put the sheets up this week for the Hull and District Winter Alliances.
Please put your name, handicap and email address on so I can contact you when the team is picked. The sheets are in the gent's locker room.
The handicap limit is 20 and all players must have a competition handicap.
Autumn Trophy Betterball Open - Saturday, 8 August
155 golfers came to Hornsea on Saturday August 8th from all over Yorkshire all with the hope of winning the much coveted Autumn Trophy. This event was one of the first ever open better-ball competitions and is still very popular today with the entry being limited in numbers. The only reason it was 155 was due to a last minute illness for one of the players leaving his partner on his own.
Having sat on the desk all day yet again I must say all the comments from all that played were very complimentary about the course we have at Hornsea which is fast becoming renowned as one of the best in Yorkshire. If you haven't entered for this event next year please do so as soon as possible as there are only a few times left even with 12 months to go.
The early starters today seemed to have the advantage as for a change, there was not a breath of wind at Hornsea and the sun was out leading too some great scores returned from them with 64 leading the way. The middle of the day saw a breeze pick up and most teams struggled even though all had really enjoyed the course. I was about to write the vouchers but as often happens the later starters changed the leader board.
A pair from Kirkbymoorside, S Cass and S Jackson in the end won with score of 64 and a better back 9 than the early starters, helped by an eagle 3 at the 16th, meaning that they lifted the trophy.
Can I give a big thanks to all that played and I shall look forward to seeing you all next year.
Final standings
1st - S Cass, S Jackson 64 £140 each
2nd - A Rosindale, C Pickersgill 64 £110 each
3rd - S Middleton, A Fox 64 £90 each
4th - J R Thackray, J R D Thackray 65 £80 each
5th - B Coggrave, P Sutton 65 £70 each
6th - M Guidry, P Burnley 65 £60 each
7th - M Cooke, S Branton 65 £40 each
Captains Am Am - Sunday, 9 August
19 teams played and I for one am pleased to see a ladies team win and push the gents into 2nd place who also played very well. I would like to thank all that played but it would be nice to see a few more teams supporting events like this in the future. £40 was raised for the Captains charity.
1st - H France, W Lockwood, A Hinch, C Barker - 91pts £35 each
2nd - D Roberts, D Jones, M Brooke, I Lewis - 89pts £25 each
3rd - M Champs, C Gawthorpe, A Dickinson, C Pickersgill - 89pts £15 each
4th - P Lockwood Jnr, I Lockwood, D Prescott, M Train - 89pts £10 each
Saturday, 15 August 2015 - Pro's Stableford
Tuesday, 18 August 2015 - Lady President's Day
Greens - It is a very busy two weeks for our greens staff with all the maintenance programme to do.
For those that have not had chance to see them just after they are hollow tined I have included a picture. They do look like a ploughed field!! The job of cleaning off is then done with a big sort of hoover.
What is left is cleaned off by hand before they receive a dressing of sand.
This then gets brushed in. Later this week they will receive a double pass with the disc seeder.
5th Hut - What a great job Colin Evans and his team of helpers have done at the 5th hut. At the time of me writing this there was still a little work to do but it really is much improved. If only more members could help with projects like this we really would improve our facility for all members and visitors.
What a fantastic day all the juniors had that came to play at Hornsea last Thursday in the East Riding Boys Junior Championship. I had the chance to pop out on the course and watch for a while.
The East Riding really does have some talented young golfers. It's a shame more members didn't come and watch. I guarantee you would have all learned something. The only thing that holds them all back from being better golfers is they are all trying too hard and most have short tempers!!
The main prize for the day is a trophy for best gross that has quite a few good names on it including Richard Finch. This was won this year by Matty Raybould from Bridlington with two gross scores of 75. Best nett was won by Alex France from Hull with 75, 69 nett. I would also like to mention Lewis Hunt who is a member at Burstwick but has also recently joined Hornsea. Lewis is only 14 and came 2nd in the gross with 78, 76. Two great scores.
The comments from all that played and parents that walked round where all very complimentary about our course. Most saying it is the best they had played by far this year.