Steven Cookson

Hello Golfers,

Welcome to another exciting edition to Bletchingley Golf Club's weekly newsletter. We hope that you're having a good week on and off the golf course.

Enjoy the read.

Club news

Clarke Cup Final

After a dreadful morning which decimated the field for the Autumn Meeting, the sun came out in the afternoon as Neil Tunbridge and Phil Rhodes played Eddie Parsonage and Andrew Rumble in the Clarke Cup final (Summer Pairs KO). Thanks to some fantastic clutch putting by both teams, the match was extremely close; there was never more than one hole in it and the lead changed hands several times but was never being held for long.

It was no surprise when the match went to the 19th, where Phil used his shot expertly to close out this epic encounter in favour of Phil and Neil.

Winter Knockout Draw

The draw for the Winter Knockouts will take place on Saturday 6th October. If you haven’t already entered and you wish to do so, then please add your name to the lists before the closing date. The lists can be found on the main noticeboard in the hallway.

Captain's news

Men’s Captains' Blog – Par Date September 24th2018

It seems a long time ago that too much water on the course was something to write about, but after a character-building round on Sunday morning in the Autumn Meeting, I can definitely say that the course has plenty of water for now.

I must extend my thanks to Carol & Richard Crutchfield for being great company in such dreadful conditions. It was almost the round that never was due to a misunderstanding that saw me chasing them down the first only to discover on the green that the two ball was Andy Hemmett & Steve Samson. Cue the long walk back to the clubhouse to find Carol & Richard driving out of the car park after being told that I made up an earlier group (as if!)

Course news

It was refreshing to see Steve hold up his hands at the AGM and admit that it has been a poor summer for our lovely course. It’s fair to say that a lot went against the green-keeping staff, but Steve accepted that the tees & greens simply weren’t good enough. Hopefully, we will have a sympathetic winter, can fill the reservoir to the brim and hope for better next spring & summer.

Amongst the planned work between now & then, are new sprinklers on the 2nd, 4th, 5th & 17th, raised paths behind the 6th green and 17th tees, refurbishment of the practice nets and new winter mats on three of the par-3’s. There is also the intention to convert the bunker at the back of the 2nd to a grass bunker.

As I said at the AGM, I can see the covered bays at the range really coming into their own over the winter. The astro-turf green will enable short game practice to go on irrespective of the weather.

25th Weekend

Well, what a terrific weekend we all enjoyed for the 25th. The Borer Anniversary Trophy was played in glorious sunshine with Roger & Veronica Borer kindly providing us with bacon rolls & drinks from the halfway hut. Well done to the following people on their wins in a very large & competitive field.

Ladies Winner in the Borer – Debbie Rose 36 points.
Men’s Winner in the Borer – Ian McGowan 38 points.
Fun Competition Winner – Jeff Knott 36 points.

I must also commend Hilary Rankin who really got it in the neck from her husband Andy (literally), as you can see from the photos below.

Hilary certainly got quite a whack from the ball and Andy looks suitably remorseful. I did hear one cynical member claiming that Andy had spent months perfecting that shot.

After a shower, a change of clothes and, for some members, a quick snooze, it was on to the evening do where we were greeted by a beautifully presented bar area & function room courtesy of Viv and her team of ladies ably assisted by a few of the men who had found themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time on Friday.

Out on the lawn, the bubbly was flowing as members wound down on a temperate September evening. I do remember thinking that Mike Everton and Nick Mabbutt were setting an impressive early pace and, as you can see from the photos below, not much changed over dinner. It looks like someone is attempting to remove Nick’s batteries!

I have to say that I thought the meal was terrific and John and his band absolutely nailed the music. Certainly Tim & Claire Burke thought so…

Bob McDonnell also seemed to be enjoying himself, although he clearly took exception to a first-rate rendition of “I can’t get no satisfaction” which he thought was aimed at his golf, resulting in him accidentally demolishing most of the band’s equipment.

On Sunday, there was a terrific turn out for Kevin’s brunch, presumably to ensure a high enough calorie intake for the weekend. The ensuing scramble (golf competition as opposed to the end result of the brunch) was great fun and closely contested. Congratulations to Viv, Peter Ross, Judith Ross and, oh, me for a robust performance.

Competitions

In addition to the 25th weekend winners, many congratulations the following people for fine performances in September:

September medal Division 1 Winner – Myles Carroll 70 points.

September medal Division 2 Winner – Bob Besley 72 points.

Jackson Rosebowl Winner – Sarah Hussey 68 points.

Autumn Meeting - Phil Morgan 32 points.

Van Loocke Winner – Andy Hemmett.

Founder Captain’s – Ian McGowan.

Midweek Stableford – Alan Cotttle 35 points.

Clarke Cup (Men’s Summer Pairs) - Phil Rhodes & Neil Tunbridge.

Humour

All I can say here is, where do I start? The AGM prize-giving started off with the self-named Clumsy Cuff Carroll smashing the first winner’s memento into hundreds of small pieces. Determined not to be outdone, Adrian decide to award trophies to the winners before last. That said, it was another great club evening possibly aided by the left-over bubbly from the weekend.

It was encouraging to see a snail finding it’s was into a photo from the Spirit of Bletchingley competition played on Friday. For the eagle-eyed amongst you, here is the photo in question.

One amusing moment for me came in the September medal, where I played with Adrian Bourne & Duncan Cunningham. Unfortunately, Duncan found himself in a bit if a tight spot on the 10th.

As he was about to play his rather challenging shot, a rambler called out this name & walked across from the path to say hello. I subsequently asked Duncan who the rambler was to which he said, “I haven’t a clue!”

No blog would be complete without some tree shots of my playing partners. These are included below. I hasten to point out that they all got there under their own steam.

Particularly, applause has to go to Viv for her bunker shot. Please note the position of the ball after the shot…

Whilst mentioning snails above, I have to applaud Sarah Hussey for locating this beauty on the South Coast. What I would give to be able to have a monster like this on the course.

My last mention is the “Little & Large” section which shows Ian McGowan posing alongside one of our rivals in the away match at Sweetwoods.

The new rules

Once again, thanks to Tim Burke for the following offering for September.

The first thing to mention this month is that the R&A and USGA have launched a pocket-sized Players Edition of the Rules for Golf effective January 2019. This handy and easy to use abridged version of the rules is available from the Proshop (rumour has it these are going like hot cakes) and will easily fit into any golf bag, even for those hardy souls who carry! In addition, for those fully sign up for the 21st century, there is a new rule book app that can be downloaded for free from the Apple App Store or Google Play for iPhone, iPad and Android devices.

Rule 2 covers the basic things you should know about the course and there are some new definitions that make this rule worth mentioning in this month’s blog;

First there are 5 defined areas of the course
The general area, which covers the entire course except for the 4 specific areas below
The teeing area of the hole you are playing (covered in rule 6-2)
All penalty areas (covered in rule 17 and generally defined by red or yellow stakes or lines)
All bunkers (covered in rule 12)
The putting green of the hole you are playing (rule 13)

It is important to know the area of the course where your ball lies as this affects the rules that apply to playing your ball or taking relief.

For example, free relief may be taken from loose impediments and movable obstructions in any area of the course and from abnormal course conditions such as; standing water except when your ball is in a penalty area or in what must be fairly extreme cases the abnormal condition is out of bounds and interferes with your stance to strike a ball that is inbounds!

Next month Tim will cover relief options from unplayable lies which again sees some small changes in the rules.

New irons to improve your game

Buying a set of clubs is exciting, but can be a tricky decision - you might love the look of the short irons, but feel a bit daunted by the longer clubs further up the set. However, you can always mix and match your clubs so that your long irons are more forgiving and your short irons are more workable, allowing you to strike approach shots from any distance with confidence.

Mix & match with Callaway

Why not try combining the short irons of Callaway's Rogue series with the longer irons from its Rogue X? The Rogue X's extra forgiveness makes it a perfect choice for golfers who are struggling to hit their long irons consistently, whilst its wide sole helps to launch the ball higher with longer carry - ideal for shots off the tee. The Rogue's short irons have a higher centre of gravity, giving you added control and workability, meaning you'll have a variety of shots available further down the set. Could mixing sets be the answer for you?

explore Callaway's range >

Layer up, autumn's here

Normally when you watch golf on TV, you see the world’s best showing off their golfer’s tan in their polos. When the Ryder Cup gets underway this week in Paris however, things will be a lot colder, and we’ll see golfers on both teams ditching the short sleeves and going for a golf-specific mid-layer to help them stay warm.

The middle man
One mid-layer which catches the eye is FootJoy’s Chill-Out Xtreme Hybrid pullover. What we love most about this garment is that it does exactly what it says on the tin – keeps the chill out - making it the perfect option on a colder day. One way in which it achieves this is through strategically placed fleece lining, providing added warmth for maximum comfort.

explore FootJoy's range >

Video of the Week

Thomas Bjorn chats to Foremost TV about captaining Team Europe in this week's Ryder Cup and how he's planning on regaining the trophy come Sunday evening.

I hope you have enjoyed this week's update.
We hope to see you soon
Steve

Bletchingley Golf Club
Church Lane
Bletchingley
RH1 4LP

Phone: 01883 744848

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