Club news
From Paul Fileman, Golf Manager: So November has been a sad month with the lockdown 2.0 having been enforced. We can only hope that the new vaccines mean this will be the final time we are closed for a prolonged period and Covid will be a long-forgotten nightmare.
The Masters was the highlight of the golfing month and our Fantasy League was a great success with many of you taking part. Our overall winner Was Lisa Chapman who took the bottle of bubbly with an incredible score of -44. The wooden spoon goes to Suzanne Benmore with a score of 60. I will look to run more fantasy league games for some of the majors through 2021 so stay posted.
A really, really short survey
Communication is really important to us, which is why we want to ask for your help. We have created a very short survey online to find out about what aspects of the club interest you. Would you please fill it in, it takes about 30 seconds, and will help us deliver timely and relevant information to your phone via text.
WHS news
The WHS was launched in November and, with the transfer of 15 million handicaps, there were always going to be a few teething problems. We have a few of these and are in contact with England Golf support, so please bear with us while we work them out and rest assured all will be in order very soon.
England Golf has released a great new app (click here). It’s well worth downloading and will help you stay up to date with your handicap index.
As a reminder, the club’s data privacy policy has been set to require consent from all Members before any data is sent and to send placeholder data for any Members who do not have an email address or who have not provided consent.
Members are able to set their privacy preference but please before doing that, within your Member log-in, go to My Golf and then Preferences and verify your email address and tick all the appropriate boxes that allow you to receive communications.
Only then go to My Golf, My Rounds and click on the WHS Privacy Link.
Competition news
We have our final Open of the year which will be held on December 21st. The Santa Swing will be a 4-ball Texas scramble, with 09:00 Shotgun start. Tea/Coffee Bacon baguette will be available on arrival and mince pies with mulled wine out on the course.
There will also be a prize for the best Christmas jumper on the day. It would be great to see as many of you taking part as possible and getting into the Christmas spirit. Entry is now open.
The golf office move is now complete, so when we return you will find me in the big blue box by the first tee. I am looking forward to welcoming you all back in the new surroundings on December 2nd.
As this is the last newsletter before Christmas I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a happy, Covid-free New Year.
Course news
From Dominic Rodgers, Course Manager: Even with unlimited budgets and resources, The Masters at Augusta National highlighted some of the problems we face in trying to prepare courses in November.
As you all are aware, last month was very wet! We received more than double the average rainfall for this time of year but the new ditches and our now-annual roping off of the greens and aprons meant the course was able to cope well with the high volume of play just before the second lockdown.
That said, the latest enforced rest for the course has worked wonders. I am not sure I have ever seen it so green and lush at this time of year. Of course, the rest alone is not the only reason for the grass growth; we have taken the opportunity to aerate as many parts of the course without interrupting play.
We have deep slitted all the fairways and semi-rough to a depth of 12 inches and have Verti-drained all the greens to a depth of 10 inches.
At the time of writing, we are now in the process of Verti-draining the tees and approaches. This aeration work, alongside the mild and wet conditions, has allowed air and water to pass through the surface to give stronger and deeper root growth and, therefore, a better, thicker sward to play on.
On the days that have been too wet to carry out aeration work, we have undertaken a few smaller projects:
- We have created a new decking area in front of the new starter’s hut and we will be installing a new path to access this area.
- At the 8th teeing grounds, the steps, which had become dangerous, have been removed and some drainage work has been installed to take away the underground water source. We will be replacing the steps with a solid pathway material to create a firm but gentle slope up to the teeing grounds.
- Finally we have also undertaken a few projects for UK Power Networks to enable them to install new electrical boxes in readiness for the new maintenance buildings.
While we miss seeing you here, we have been busy on the course preparing it for your return!
Pro news
Both Wayne and Russ are looking forward to getting back to work and are really looking forward to getting their lessons back up and running.
If you are stuck for ideas for your budding little golfer how about this one (Junior Christmas gift lesson voucher 9 hole playing lesson with buggy £30).
Get ready to start playing again with 10% off any re-grips.
Food and drinks
Once again, all front-of-house, kitchen and office staff were put on furlough during lockdown and they were looking forward to seeing everyone back in the clubhouse as soon as it was possible to do so.
However, after much discussion regarding the new tier system, we have taken the difficult decision to keep the clubhouse closed for the duration of December.
Tier 2 restrictions do not allow us to serve alcohol without a “substantial” meal and, with no household mixing inside, we have very limited space for one person per table in the spike bar. Tier 3 is also a very likely scenario and we would have no choice but to close.
In addition, building work in the Lakesview room means we are unable to make use of the function room as we did previously.
It has been a trying time for Muhib since he took over in April but he is committed to making the Warley Park clubhouse a welcoming, friendly atmosphere for all golfers and their families to enjoy. During lockdown, he got the builders in again and they began work on the old pro shop and the Lakesview room. New and exciting work is being carried out.
The weddings and functions facility along with the outside pier area are going to be the best in Essex. If you are interested in holding a function of any description please contact us at [email protected]
We want to start 2021 with a fresh new approach and we are all very much looking forward to opening up our new venue for you all to enjoy. We will be in contact with anyone that has a lunch or evening function booked, should you have any queries please email [email protected]
During this closed period, you will be able to access the disabled toilet facility in the foyer but the clubhouse toilets and changing rooms will be inaccessible. We hope you all remain safe and well, and looking forward to getting back to the golf course.
Covid-19
As ever, please follow the latest government guidelines regarding Coronavirus as they apply to your area. We would appreciate everyone taking personal responsibility for maintaining the correct physical distance while they are at the club. Wear your mask when it is required and wash your hands whenever you can.