Since Get Golfing took over Warley Park on June 30th, demand for the course has been unprecedented, which has been challenging for everyone involved. 

Hopefully, however, you will have seen improvements in the course and its presentation. Across the group we have invested circa £300,000 in new course machinery. When the clocks change we will be working with the course maintenance and golf services teams on training so that by the start of next season (Covid allowing), you will have a far better playing experience. 

Club news

We would like to offer Members the opportunity to sponsor one of our holes via our new tee boards. These are 3m x 1m in size and are an incredible way to get noticed on the course, prices are very competitive and are amazingly cost effective as well as on average they generate more than 50,000 views a year.

We also have a limited number of spaces available on our driveway, where our boards reach a significantly larger audience, including non golfers visiting for events or social gatherings. If you would like to find out more, pop in for a chat.

Covid-19

The good news is that the new government regulations do not impact golf as we play in fours, rather than eights! As a result, we do not see any effect on matches, competitions or society days. 

It is important, however, to remember that the government is currently being pretty lenient with golf, particularly in terms of numbers on the course, let’s not give them a reason to change!

In the meantime here are some things you could do to limit your exposure — and the continued spread of the Covid-19 virus:

• Sanitise golf clubs and golf bag before setting out
• Keep your distance from others (6 feet +)
• Leave the flagstick in
• Use your gloved hand to handle items or the PPE gloves provided at check-in
• Do not share golf clubs
• Use the elbow bump

Check in at the front desk is mandatory and there are no “anonymous” tee allocations allowed, this is to enable us to comply with the government’s track and trace policy.

England Golf guidelines can be found here Play Safe Stay Safe

Course news

From Dominic Rodgers, Course Manager: Wow! What a busy month September has turned out to be!

The month began in earnest with the annual greens renovations taking place during the first week. This saw the greens scarified to a depth of 15mm to remove the thatch that accumulates during the year. We then overseeded the greens with a dwarf ryegrass that is not susceptible to any of the common grass diseases and finally top dressed with approximately 30 tons of sand. 

While this work may seem aggressive, it is vital to allow the air and water movement that ensures the root development and sustainable health of the plant, which in turn provides a true, fast and firm green.

We also had some drainage ditches constructed to allow the course to remain playable for longer during the winter months. To help you navigate these new ditches we have re-shaped a number of the fairways. The landing areas of the aprons/approaches have been doubled in size to give a bigger receptive area to the greens.

At the time of writing, we have made and painted all the new hazard markers for the ditches and finished the crossings/bridges with sandbags filled with sand and cement. Once these are set, the bridges will be completely solid. We then add some soil and turf the crossing area. Our plan was to have the ditches in play by the beginning of October. 

You will also have noticed we have begun the annual cut of the very long rough. This stops the long areas of grass being invaded with unsightly weeds and will provide the long grass next summer, which not only gives the course definition but offers some lovely vistas of grass gently moving against the backdrop of the lakes and hills. 

In addition to all this activity, we have kept the course manicured to a high standard with plenty of stripes and diamond cutting despite the fact that the grass enjoyed a surge in growth thanks to perfect growing conditions at the end of August and early September.

As part of Get Golfing’s continuing investment in the course, this month has seen us take possession of a new Kawasaki mule to help us maintain the course and pick up the balls on the driving range on a regular basis. 

We have also purchased contactless hole cup ball retrievers and if they are not already out on the course by the time you read this, they will be very shortly.

The plans for the new irrigation system have been received from the designers along with the bill of quantities. So watch this space for further updates on this exciting project

Even after a very busy month, we won’t be slowing down in October with many small projects planned to go alongside the start of some of our major maintenance programmes (weather permitting). These will include the verti-draining of the fairways, tees and greens and spraying a worm suppressant to the tees, aprons and greens.

Competition & event news

Our ladies hosted two successful “Ladies get into golf day” on September 8th and 15th. Both events had an incredible turn out even though we had to implement some last-minute restrictions on the second date with the introduction of “The Rule of Six”.

The Wonderful Warley Women

The Race to Le Touquet competitions have now been agreed and are below, keep your eye open for the posters that will be appearing in and around the clubhouse very soon.

• Sunday, April 25th: Bobby Locke Cup
• Saturday, May 8th: Vize Cup
• Sunday, May 30th: B51 Trophy
• Saturday, June 19th: David Moore Trophy
• Sunday, July 18th: Ford Laidlaw Cup
• Saturday, July 31st: Raynor Cup
• Sunday, August 22nd: Freddie Sunderland Trophy
• Saturday, September 4th: Autumn Cup

The Race to Le Touquet will be replacing the Golfer of the Year here at Warley Park.

Members should note that the club will be holding a Society Masters event this year on October 22nd as a way of thanking organisers for booking the club for their society. The event will consist of 18-holes, lunch and prize giving afterwards. As a result the Warley course will be closed on the day but the Childerditch Course will be available. It may be worthwhile to note that alongside this fantastic incentive, all members will be credited for 5% of the total price for a society they introduce.

For a full list of upcoming competitions, click here.

Member news

The Members Committee met for the first time since lockdown, in attendance were: 

• Nick Pulham (Captain 2020)
• Liz Brown (Ladies Captain 2020)
• Dave Datson (Captain  2021)
• Dave Handley (Vice Captain 2021)
• Jesse Roast (Immediate Past Captain 2020)
• Steve Abbott (Seniors Captain 2020)
• Michael Cursons (Colts Rep)
• Paul Fileman (Get Golfing Club Manager)
• Peter Clayden (Members Treasurer 2020)
• Keith Regan ( Competitions Secretary )

If you have any questions or just want to have a chat about what is going on at the club please feel free to contact all of the committee members or myself, we will all be happy to help.

Golf news

With the WHS about to take effect this coming November, I know that many of you will be wondering how it will affect you?

The first thing you need to know is that the WHS will produce a Handicap Index for each player and this is not your playing or Competition Handicap.

Your handicap index will ultimately depend on your best 8 scores taken from your last 20 scores that are on your current handicap record since 2018.

How it calculates your initial Handicap Index, how that will change as you put in scores, and how you know what your Playing and Competition Handicaps are will be advised to you in as simple terms as possible in the near future.

In General terms

• If your current handicap is 6 and below it is likely to go down by one or stay the same
• If your current handicap is between 6 and 12 it is likely to go up or down by one but could stay the same
• If your current handicap is between 12 and 18 it is likely to stay the same or go up by one
• If your current handicap is between 18 and 24 it is likely to go up by one or two strokes
• If your current handicap is 24 or higher, it is likely to go up by two or three strokes

So the lower you are, and therefore the more consistent, the more likely it is you will trim some more fat off your handicap index when the new golf handicap system starts.

And the higher your current handicap, the more likely it is you’ll have some extra shots with which to play.

One thing is for sure, we will all be glued to that touchscreen when those figures finally appear.

If you need any help on understanding the WHS contact Keith Regan who will be more than happy to explain this or answer any questions you may have.

Food & Drink news

From Jayne Lewin, Front of House Manager: Although 2020 has been a trying year, we have also seen plenty of sunshine and enjoyed seeing many familiar faces and lots of new individuals who have joined the club. 

The summer BBQs were a huge success and although the restrictions have limited groups to four or six, we are grateful that everybody has adhered to the rules and respected our amazing staff.

I would like to personally say a BIG thank you to our front of house staff Sophie, Olivia, Emily, Amanda and Lloyd, who have worked tirelessly to make the club a “COVID-safe” and friendly environment for all of you to enjoy. Also to the kitchen team, Olivia, Yuliya and Hannah for bringing some lovely new dishes to our menu, which have been a big hit with members and guests alike.

As the days will soon be getting shorter, why not treat yourself to Afternoon Tea & Fizz and receive 20% throughout October with the code 20OFF. *No other discounts apply.

With Coronavirus cases rising, we would like to remind you of the following:

• Please fill out a track and trace form on every day you visit the Spike Bar
• We kindly ask you to make use of the sanitising stations located at entrance and exit
• Stay in your four ball groups when eating or drinking – please do not move the furniture
• Make use of the queuing system and stand in front of the screen when ordering at the bar
• HANDS  –  FACE  –  SPACE 

Pro news

Russell and Wayne have now started the free Members group lessons. Group size is limited to five people only at present due to the current restrictions but don’t panic if you can’t get your name down for a lesson as we will be keeping a reserve list. 

These sessions will be running every Monday at 13:00 with the Men’s and ladies’ lessons being run on alternate weeks. If you would like to find out more please contact Russell on 07919 186499. 

Wayne is now available for all club repairs. So if you need to get your clubs regripped, want any clubs lengthened or shortened drop in and have a chat.

Staff news

As you know we have had a few staff changes over the month, Warley Park Golf Club’s Golf Manager Luke Welham will be leaving the Club to take up an interim role at another of its clubs, Sherfield Oaks, near Basingstoke in Hampshire. 

Luke will be replaced in the meantime at Warley Park by Paul Fileman. Luke would like to thank everybody for their support and warm welcome that you have given him and hope that you will offer Paul the same levels of support.

We would also like you to welcome Jonathan Noon, who has joined our Golf Sales team. Jonny has recently completed University after studying at the University of East Anglia, he is a keen golfer and is looking forward to getting to know all of the members.