Catering
What a difference a year makes…It has been very noticeable the change of mood within the club from both members and staff. For me personally coming to work every day has once again become a pleasurable experience and I arrive very much looking forward to the day ahead. The change that occurred last December stemming from Baldwin Catering deciding to move on to pastures new, was the catalyst for the turn around that has been seen. I must say it has been a real pleasure working with Kevin and his staff over the period. I would like to thank the membership for their support of Kevin thus far and I would like to think you have all come to realise his calm, professional, approachable manner as well as the quality and consistency of the food has really helped take this club forward. Appointing Tracy Herbert as our Functions Coordinator has also been a positive step. Tracy and Kevin have built up a good working relationship and their knowledge, attention to detail and understanding of what the customer expects is crucial to improving what we offer to both member and visitor. Over the last ten months great strides have been taken and the reviews posted on various online sites suggests how we are perceived is changing for the better. Range Ben Daniels has now been with us for nearly three years and in that time, has gained a fantastic reputation with both members and visitors for his coaching practices. Some months back, Ben and I discussed various issues with the facility and the hurdles we face going forward. The first item on the agenda was the refurbishment of the facility. The chipping green was limited and the bunkers required much attention. The lack of cover for golfers who wanted to practice through the winter. A sheltered area that can be used all year round and help Ben sustain his volume of coaching through the winter months would be a great asset for him and the membership. With the range facilities we currently have, Ben could not see a long-term future at the club and felt the coaching side of things could only be taken so far with the practice area as it stood, so discussions began as to what and how things could be improved… To revamp the practice area was going to take substantial investment, an investment that the club would not have the finances to fund on its own. The Directors gave the green light to the project in principle, however this was on the proviso that a substantial part of the funds needed could be recouped by way of some sort of third party funding/sponsorship. I believed that if we could find a suitable partner/sponsor with the right package for them to see enough added value from the deal to make it work for both parties, I believed we could turn this dream in to a reality. To give you some background as to how our partnership with Mercedes Benz has come about. I was introduced by one of our 7-day members to the Servicing Manager at Mercedes Benz of Caterham who I found out very much enjoys playing our course and is a regular visitor to the club. Through general discussions with him about the golf club I thought it may be an opportunity to find out if a project such as ours would be something that Mercedes would be interested in getting involved with. I put a proposal together after which I had further meetings with both the General Manager and Marketing Manager of Mercedes Benz of Caterham to pitch our pipe dream and to discuss the proposal that had been put together. To cut a long story short, a mutually beneficial agreement was reached between both parties. As part of this agreement it has been agreed to lease Mercedes a proportion of our Car Park up to a maximum number of vehicles, which for them helps ease their overcrowded forecourt which is limited for space. The car parking area in which we have agreed they can use generally lays dormant for the most part of the year. We have made Mercedes aware that there are a few occasions during the year that part or all of this section of the car park may be needed by us which they fully understand and on these occasions, we will give Mercedes advanced notice in order for them to remove some or all of the cars for the period that we need to use it ourselves. Our relationship with Richard and Juliette Miles allows us to also still use their field as an overflow if necessary. With sizeable funding now secured we were then able to ‘push the button’ on our plans. Phase 1 was the installation of an all-weather short game area, designed by Huxley golf and for anybody that hasn’t spent time in this area then I would highly recommend it. This new facility certainly makes practicing fun as the ball will react the same as if you were chipping on a normal surface. The practice tee that three golfers can use at any one time, will be open in the spring and so to the newly created bunker. Phase 2 is to be a brick built shelter which would be positioned where the astro turf mat is currently. Ben will have his own secured coaching area with mains power for the use of any electrical equipment. There will be room for a further six bays for members and guests to use outside of the coaching area. Huxley will also be laying an all-weather strip in the shelter rather than the use of mats.
We have applied for planning permission for a 20-meter-wide and three-metre-high shelter. A pre-application meeting with Tandridge Planning has already occurred and they have also visited the site and we are hopeful that planning should be granted for the erection of the new shelter. If planning was agreed then this project would commence before next Spring. Once the refurbishment has been completed, through discussions with Ben and ourselves he has made it clear of his ambition to grow his coaching by way of running his own Academy and we are pleased to say that once refurbishment has been completed. Ben will be running his own Academy from Bletchingley Golf Club and at the same time taking on the responsibility of running the range, which means that golfers will no longer be able to use their own balls on the range and would need to purchase range balls from the machine that will be housed over on the practice area. Ben is extremely passionate about his coaching and our aim is to create an academy that will be the best in the area. For the dedicated golfers who like to practice, we will be offering range memberships which will allow you a limited number of baskets per week. More details will follow in the coming months. Course As the founder members in this room may know, when Wiseville & Co Ltd purchased the club back in 2002, some small sections of the course that we use today are not and never have been owned by the company but by the Miles family. In recent months, Christopher Miles’ son, Richard contacted the club to discuss re-confirming the boundaries between their land and that of Wiseville’s that sits behind the 6th and 9th greens. According to the drawings the course boundary runs slightly closer to the 6th and 9th greens than the boundary fence would currently suggest and with Richard Miles wishing to clear up the boundary within this little ‘grey area’, The fence will now have to be re-positioned and will run all the way down to the competition tee on the 7th. Landscape changes will be required on the banks and surrounding areas behind the 6th green, so that the hole remains fair. The bunkers to the left of the green will be filled in and a semi-circular bank very much in the style of the bank to the left of the 8th green will be created to stop balls rolling through and out of bounds. We are mindful that the hole doesn’t become unfair to the golfer especially with the green rolling from front to back. Please note none of this project will affect the green or the irrigation system. This work will be carried out by an outside company who specialise in this type of sports project. Bushes will be planted to cover the fence and we are planning to carry out this work in the Spring. We would normally carry out course projects in the winter but the lack of grass growth in October will not allow enough time to create a decent coverage of grass on the newly designed banks and is not a project we want to rush. The other area that will be discussed is a slither of land to the right-hand side of the practice ground. This will have zero impact on golfers as it is far enough away from the cut and prepared practice ground. The work that is being carried out over the road will not stop us from continuing to improve our current product. Paul and myself have earmarked certain projects that we feel will enhance the course further. There are three tees that will undergo refurbishment and improved irrigation. The Men’s 18th yellow tee will be widened on the left-hand side of the current tee with the path will then be re-routed. In the region of 8-10 sprinkler heads will be installed and the current tee will be skimmed and a layer of decent soil will be placed to ensure that tee does not dry out as quickly through the summer months. The trees and scrub to the right of the 14th competition tee will be cleared to make way for a wider teeing area. The bunker on the back of the 2nd will be skimmed and turned into a grass bunker. We realise that this area does tend to flood and a drain will be dug to alleviate any puddling through the winter. We have also four winter tees on the 4th, 9th and 13th that require repositioning for various reasons. Over time the growth of the trees has impeded the view of the hole and we have no option but to re-locate their position. The 18th will have to be moved due to the new tee. The more regular use of the mats in the winter in recent years means that yardages on certain holes needs to be increased to comply with the yellow tee SSS. Membership update At the last AGM, I stated that we had 295 members in the five and seven-day categories. This year we have recruited more five and seven-day members and our current total is 301. This also considers the resignations in March. The only downside is the numbers of members who are entering competitions has dramatically dropped but hopefully a solution can be found this year to help reverse that trend. Finally, I would like to thank our Captains this year. It has been a privilege to work alongside both Mark Pauline and Andrew. I am very much looking forward to working with Dave, Viv and Roger next year and wish them a successful, memorable year as the respective captain’s. Thank you. | 
