As I am writing this newsletter the clouds are looming over Bletchingley Golf Club and I for one am hoping that we receive a fair amount of rain in the next 24 hours. It has certainly been a very difficult summer and Paul's team have worked extremely hard in trying to preserve the playing conditions that we are accustomed too. 

We have currently used half of the reservoirs reserve and that is no surprise to me as 2 lads each day are hand watering the greens. Members have asked me why this is happening, is the irrigation system not working? My answer is always the irrigation system does work, but due to the firmness of the greens the water tends to run into the lower lying areas which in time may cause compaction. 

If we combine both the irrigation and manually treating the higher areas we can ensure all of each green gets the right amount of water to preserve the surface. Paul has also spiked the greens to ensure that the maximum amount of water goes into the root zone along with various applications of wetting agents to help hold the moisture in the ground. 

Wetting agent has also been applied to the reservoir so that it is in with any water that comes from the sprinkler heads each morning

We have replaced over the last month a number of sprinkler heads both on tees and greens:

- 8th white tee x2 
- 8th Ladies x1 
- 12th men's/ ladies tee x2 
- 3rd men's tee x1 
- 5th men's tee x2 
- 14th men's tee x3 

There will be another 4 heads to be fitted and this will be decided upon in the next week.

The greens sprinklers have also been replaced on the 12th green x2 and have been raised. 

One of the 16th green sprinklers has also been replaced and we are now looking to raise the sprinkler on the front right corner of the 11th. This has not been an inexpensive exercise especially with the replacement costs of sand for the bunkers, but to maintain a course that we can be proud of, a very necessary one. We have also sourced some new tee blocks which I think will certainly raise the aesthetic look of the course and with the new cups and flags that were put in this week will just prove that Wiseville want to maintain a standard and will continue to do so. 



Congratulations to Myles Carroll on winning the Captain's Day last weekend with 37 points. Myles won by a point from Roger Borer who shot 36 points.



Ladies Summer Invitation 

On Thursday, 23 July the Ladies had their Summer Invitation Day. It was a beautiful sunny day. Twenty one different clubs were present. The format was a team event, "A Rumble in The Jungle". 

Everyone purchased Mulligans and received balloons to display on their trollies, which were popped when their Mulligans were used. The winning team was Ros Tunbridge and Freda Millmore and their quests Rosemary Stern from Croham Hurst and Joan Amarnani from Coulsdon Court. 



Where do we even start? 

Where does that Open rank for you in terms of excitement? The tournament started on a bit of a downer with the news Rory McIlroy had withdrawn because of injury, and when the high winds forced this great championship into an extra day, we were left wondering whether we'd get that Open drama we all crave. Well, we did - and then some. 

True, Zach Johnson was probably not the winner many of us wanted, but he was a worthy champion and showed immense bottle, especially on the back nine, and real class in the play-off. What was so absorbing were the many subplots: Jordan Spieth's heroic effort to make it three Majors in a row on his quest for the Grand Slam, Marc Leishman's final-day charge following a rollercoaster year that nearly saw him quit the game after his wife was diagnosed with myopathy, and Sergio Garcia's pursuit for that elusive first Major. Oh yeah, the amateurs weren't bad either… 

The 144th Open Championship has provided enough talking points for the 19th hole for a good several months, that's for sure. Many of you will have been impressed by some of the shots that were pulled off by the world's elite players. Whether it's the bump-and-run, hybrid chip or punched 5-iron that you'd like to add to your locker, come and see us or click here. We're here to help. 

Roll on Royal Troon.