Author: Richard Booth

Well sadly not much to report on the golf front is there? So instead let’s look forward to a time post lockdown!

This year’s Hale GC Pro-Am will take place on Saturday 10th July. Please let me know if you would like to enter and whether you would prefer a morning or an afternoon tee time. Please remember this event is open to all male, all female or mixed teams. The format is three amateurs and a Pro with the best two scores to count on each hole. The afternoon slots are always more popular. Consequently they will be allocated on a first come, first served basis so on your marks, get set, go…… 😀

Photos

During a walk over the course last week with our miniature dachshund Buddy, it was evident just how much rain we’ve had by the height of the Bollin adjacent to the third tee. The greenkeepers have continued to work hard whilst there have been no pesky golfers littering the course. Here’s a photo of Dave in action beside the new path by the third tee.

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Something to Read

I enjoyed an article which appeared in the online publication Global Golf Post recently about what attracts us to this brilliantly frustrating game. You can access it by clicking here. Enjoy!

Happy New Year everyone!

So the snow stopped us initially and now it’s lockdown 3.0…. meh!! We’ll battle through this and come the better weather and lighter nights, we’ll be back out stampeding down those lush fairways once again!

The main thing of course is that you and your families are keeping well. I wish you all the very best during these difficult times.

Kahla Trophy

We did get some golf after Christmas before the snow came in… incidentally I managed to sell a set of golf clubs whilst there was snow on the ground which I’m pretty proud of! We were able to make use of the Swing Room for the fitting.

Anyway back to the golf…. the Kahla Trophy was relaunched on Sunday 27th December with ten entrants. The format is a generational family foursomes competition. The winners with 15 points were Alex and Joe Mills. Second place went to the evergreen Munnerys, James and John, who also scored 15 points but were beaten on countback. The gentleman captain Jonny Yates was around to be able to do an impromptu presentation to the competitors.

Thanks to James Munnery for arranging the event and hopefully it will continue to grow in subsequent years.

Vouchers

I mentioned this previously in one of my December blog posts but it’s worth repeating – despite the inevitable down turn in retail over the next weeks and months.

I want you to be able to shop local and support your Pro Shop as much as possible. So with that in mind, should you have received any gift vouchers for American Golf as a Christmas present, we will accept them in the Pro Shop and give you their full face value. That way, there is no need for you to shop anywhere else 😃

These are the T&C’s:
(1) all vouchers redeemed must be valid for a minimum of 4 weeks before their expiry date
(2) any vouchers not redeemed in full with have the balance issued as HGC Pro Shop credit
(3) vouchers cannot be exchanged for cash.

Photos

Below are a selection of photos taken by myself and others from the holiday period. They’re broadly in chronological order.

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Well this will be my last missive of 2020 and of course, what a year it’s been. The course has been closed for approx 11 weeks out of the 52 and I can’t imagine that has ever happened before since the club was founded in 1903. Then when we did open in May, the course was consistently busy in a way that I haven’t seen in my eleven plus years at the club.

This wasn’t just at Hale as a golf boom gripped the nation. All was well unless you wanted to play a course as a non member or get hold of a golf trolley of any kind, as stocks were quickly depleted and still remain so even now to an extent.

My business predictably has been stop start but I just want to take this opportunity on behalf of Phil and I to thank both the club and the members for continuing to support the shop in such an emphatic way. Nationwide the call is to shop local and support small businesses so thank you for doing your bit here at HGC. So I’d like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and hope you have a fabulous and, more importantly, healthy 2021.

Pro Shop Christmas Draw

Talking of support, the Pro Shop Christmas draw sold over 600 numbers which is a fantastic effort so thank you once again! Our President, Barbara Grant, kindly agreed to draw the numbers out for me from the very high tech tombola that I bought online last year.

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So the winners and the amount of Pro Shop credit they each receive are listed below:

POSITION	AMOUNT	NUMBER	WINNER
1st	£250	586	Lee Bramley
2nd	£200	221	Cliff Wright
3rd	£150	72	Jonny Gray
4th	£100	445	Iain Carstairs
5th	£75	121	Alan Cannell
6th	£60	59	Howard Gill
7th	£50	215	John Book
8th	£40	512	Diana Hogben
9th	£30	395	Mandy Gilbert
10th	£25	38	Tiff Fielden

Saturday 9 Hole Stableford

We had a great turn out at the weekend for the 9 hole stableford. Well done to Richard Robinson for winning the men’s event with 21 points. Bill Dixon had the same score but was beaten into second place on countback. Alex Mills was third with 19 points.

In the ladies event, the ever reliable ladies competition secretary Sally Wright won with 18 points. Gwynneth Bramwell was second with 16 points beating Mandy Gilbert on a card play off.

Shop Christmas Opening Hours

The shop will open as normal until Wed 23rd and then the hours will be as follows:

Fri 25 – Mon 28 December	Closed
Tues 29 – Thu 31 December	0900 – 1400
Fri 1 Jan 2021	Closed
Sat 2 Jan	Normal opening hours resume

Photo File

In the world of professional golf, A-Lim Kim finished with three birdies to win the rain delayed ladies US Open on Monday by one shot with a cracking round of 67. This was her first professional victory outside of Korea.

In the men’s game the 47 year old Lee Westwood continued to roll back the years as he won the Race to Dubai for the third time, his first one being twenty years ago. Matthew Fitzpatrick won the actual tournament that finished on Sunday, the World DP Tour Championship with a 15 under par total.

Thursday Nine Hole Stableford

Back at HGC, the first competition after the latest lockdown took place last week. The ladies winner with 18 stableford points was Sally Wright. Congratulations Sally. Lynette Lodge finished second one point behind beating Gill Kay into third place on countback.

The men’s winner was Bill Dixon with a fine score of 21 points. Andrew Cowan was second with 18 points. Phil Long was third with 18 points – he too was beaten into third place via a card play off.

Well done also to Roger Sheen for recording the only two of the men’s competition for a bumper pay out 💰

Video Analysis

I’ve now done a few lessons in the swing room with the new high tech video cameras. I’ve still got a few things to learn about using the software to get the very most from it but I’m getting more knowledgeable every day. It’s a really great bit of kit. If you like to see for yourself and book a lesson, then please call the shop, email me or book online by clicking here.

The Gift of Better Golf

Still not sorted out that golfing loved one’s Christmas present? Why not get them a voucher for some golf lessons which can be taken in the freshly upgraded swing room or outdoors if they prefer? Denominations to suit every budget are available. If you can’t get down to the club, payment can be made online or via telephone and the voucher can be hand delivered through your letterbox if you live locally, posted or emailed. Please get in touch to arrange yours now.

Other Vouchers

While I’m on the subject of vouchers, I want you to be able to shop local and support your Pro Shop as much as possible. So with that in mind, should you currently have any gift vouchers for American Golf or indeed receive any over the Christmas period, we will accept them in the Pro Shop and give you their full face value. That way, there is no need for you to shop anywhere else.

These are the T&C’s:
(1) all vouchers redeemed must be valid for a minimum of 4 weeks before their expiry date
(2) any vouchers not redeemed in full with have the balance issued as HGC Pro Shop credit
(3) vouchers cannot be exchanged for cash.

Happily I started back at work on Monday and my foot seems to be doing ok at present so I’m really pleased. I will start coaching again in earnest from Monday 14th so if you’d like to get something booked in for that week then please get in touch.

I’m hoping to have my new video camera system in the swing room fully operational by then so fingers crossed. As soon as it is, more details will follow in my newsletter.

The greenkeepers are still working hard, currently laying turf in this horrible weather. Plus we remain hopeful that Ben and his team can spring back into action from the 16th December if Trafford moves into Tier 2.

Pro Shop Christmas Draw

Numbers are still available so please pop into the shop to get involved! They are £2 for one or £10 for six.

Christmas Gift Ideas

Special Offer on CBD products available in the Pro Shop from now until the 15th January 2021. Buy one product and get the second for 1p.

Hopefully everyone has remained fit and well over the last four weeks. Thankfully we can get back on the golf course on Wednesday for some exercise and camaraderie. With us remaining in Tier 3 there’s not much else we can do so fingers crossed the weather will be kind to us.

Upcoming Shop Hours

Unfortunately I can’t make it into work until next Tuesday at the earliest – I see my doctor about my foot on Monday so will know more then. In my absence, Phil will be manning the fort. He’ll be in as follows:

Wed 2 Dec	0900 – 1400
Thu 3 Dec	0815 – 1400
Fri 4 Dec	0900 – 1400
Sat 5 Dec	0900 – 1400
Mon 7 Dec	0900 – 1400

Last Call for Personalised Water Bottles

I will be placing the order for Christmas delivery on Friday so if you would like one of these mighty fine personalised water bottles for that special golfer in your life, please let me know before then. They are available in black, grey or navy and come up in a very nice presentation box. They cost £19 and you can have up to ten characters of personalisation.

Pro Shop Christmas Draw

There are still spaces available…. Please either reply to this email or pop into the Pro Shop from Wednesday to bag yours! Thanks so much to all of you that have already partaken 🤗

Well I don’t know about you but I really enjoyed watching Dustin Johnson romp home to win the Masters on Sunday. The finish time meant I didn’t fall asleep through the closing stages which was another personal bonus of staging the event in Autumn. 😆

DJ played practically flawlessly and plotted his way round the golf course beautifully. He has power in spades but was not afraid to lay up when necessary. It seems the game’s not that difficult when you hit the ball straight and hole a few putts!!

Also a word about Tiger. He scored a ten on the par three twelfth in the final round which shows that any golfer can have a terrible hole. What was staggeringly impressive though was that he then proceeded to birdie five of his remaining six holes. Hal Sutton on Twitter felt that this was one of the single best achievements of Tiger’s glittering career. To dig in and keep grinding with nothing at stake but his golfing pride should be a lesson to us all.

Lights, Camera(s), Action

Council agreed to allow me to install some hi-tech video capture analysis in the Swing Room a few weeks ago so during lockdown the installation process has started. I will be using the GASP software.

To stop “shaft blurring”, you need two things: a video camera with a high shutter speed and lots of lights. Consequently three powerful lights with barn doors have been fitted to the ceiling. I have also fitted two large TVs to the side wall. One will display the golf ball data and the other will display images of the pupil during their swing.

I’m really excited about being able to offer this service to the members and pupils. I hope it will be fully operational by early December.

Foot Op

One thing that is about to slow down the above installation is that I am going in for a foot operation on Saturday. I have a two Morton’s Neuromas in my left foot (apparently they are the scourge of top class athletes….😂) and so the consultant is removing the larger one. I will then need to rest for a time afterwards so understandably going up and down step ladders will need to go on the backburner for a while!

Pro Shop Christmas Draw

First of all, a huge thank you as I had a brilliant response to the launch of the Pro Shop Christmas Draw remotely last week with dozens of golfers emailing me asking me to put them down for some numbers.

The good news is that it’s not too late if you missed it! Numbers are £2 each or six for £10. So if you’d like to get involved, please send me an email.

Water Bottles

The Hale GC crested water bottles with free personalisation have also proved popular. They are 500 ml, are available in black, grey or navy and cost £19. You can have up to ten characters of personalisation on them (a space counts as a character btw) so please email me with your requirements if you’d like to snaffle one! Delivery will be just before Christmas.

And finally…

Thanks to Andrew Page for sending in this photo of Dr Tom (Earnshaw) gracing the fairways just prior to lockdown in matching trousers and cap. I’m sure the outfit would have made the rest of his group smile during their game 😎

Hope everyone is remaining fit and well during this first week of lockdown 2.0 There’s been some lovely days which would have been great for golf but I hope you’ve managed to get out for a walk and some fresh air instead.

I don’t know about you but I’m really looking forward to seeing an autumnal Masters. Let’s hope Rory can sneak up on the outside to bag his grand slam. Plus I wonder how Bryson will go on in his attempt to overpower Augusta with his incredible length.

With that in mind, for those of who who have entered the Masters Sweepstake back in March, I will be doing the random draw on Wednesday and will let you know who your players are shortly afterwards via email.

Pro Shop Christmas Draw

Well it’s certainly been a year of firsts so in that spirit, we are going to start the Pro Shop Christmas Draw remotely! Who knows what the take up will be so we’ll need to announce what the prizes will be nearer the day of the draw. Rest assured, we will pay out at least 80% of the takings to the winners in the form of Pro Shop credit. That way you can spend your ill gotten gains on whatever you please 😀

If you’d like to have a go, just email me explaining how many numbers you would like – if you have any favourite numbers you can even include those and I’ll try and bagsy them for you 🤞

The price will be £2 for one number or £10 for six numbers. You can pay by bank transfer (I’ll send you my details after you’ve emailed me) or I can just put it on your Pro Shop account and you can then settle up with me post lockdown.

Thanks as ever for your support and custom.

Srixon Free Christmas Ball Personalisation

Retail

During lockdown, we are still able to get many golf products and have indeed being doing so for some of the members. So if there is anything that you need or want to source as a Christmas present, please consider using the Pro Shop. All we ask is the opportunity to source products. If we can’t or can’t do it at a good enough price, we’ll let you know within 24 hours so that you know where you’re up to and you can then access the items from elsewhere.

Shopping local is important during these difficult Covid times. Plus remember should anything go wrong with one of your purchases, it is very straightforward to bring itback to to the shop and where possible we’ll try and lend you an alternative to tide you over until things get sorted out.

Give a Garmin…

It’s Thursday morning as I write and we’re just over ten hours into Lockdown 2.0. Such a shame that you the members can’t use the club’s excellent facilities for the next four weeks but hopefully when we return the health of the nation will be in much better shape.

Not surprisingly, it was a full start sheet yesterday in the autumn sunshine as many of the members tried to squeeze in their last rounds while they could.

I will keep in touch over the break with my weekly missives. I hope that during this time you all stay safe and well. One bit of good news though on the golf front is that the Masters starts next Thursday 😀⛳

Thursday Stableford

The inaugural Thursday 9 hole stableford for men and ladies took place last week. Yet again the weather was shocking so unfortunately the ladies comp was cancelled. Some of the men battled on and it was Brian Greenbank who ended up being the inner with 19 points. Martin Oldfield was beaten into second place on countback. Tom Sloan (who wouldn’t forgive me if I didn’t mention him 😉) finished in third place with 18 points.

Seniors 9 Hole Stableford

First of all, a big thank you must go to Chris Adams and Ian Hunt for all their hard work pulling together working handicaps for this first competition at Hale GC using the new World Handicap Scheme (WHS).

It was an excellent turnout on Wednesday with 42 seniors taking part. Roger Mattocks finished on top with an excellent score of 22 points. Second place went to Bob Cooke with 20 points and Martin Oldfield was third also with 20 points.

Christmas Present Ideas

These Hale GC crested water bottles can be personalised with up to 10 characters and are available in three colours: black, grey or navy. They come in a nice presentation box as you can see and keep drinks hot for 12 hours or cold for 24 hours. They have a leak proof, screw top lid and cost £19. Orders must be received by 4th December so that they’ll be ready to collect in time for Christmas. Please click on the link below to order yours….

Photo Round Up

Bogey 2

Well it was another awful day on Saturday for a Bogey! This time it was Bogey 2. Well done to Alex Mills for battling round in a tremendous five up to take top spot. . Peter Veitch was second with two up edging Roger Flint into third place via a card play off.

Use of Mats

Hopefully you saw the note which was sent out recently by the Greens Committee regarding the use of mats over the forthcoming winter months. If not here it is again for your perusal.

You may have seen that the club’s ‘Course Status’ bulletin has been updated to mandate the use of fairway mats in all forms of play with immediate effect. As in previous years, this measure has been brought in to help protect the course from excessive damage during the winter months.

The use of mats is compliant with CONGU guidance on ‘Qualifying Scores’ and the new WHS ‘Acceptable Scores’ rules which come into play on November 2nd. The following local rule is now in force:

“When a player’s ball lies in a part of the general area cut to fairway height or less and a putter is not being used for the stroke, the ball must be lifted, placed on and played from an Astroturf, or similar type of mat. The mat must be placed as near as possible to where the ball originally lay, and the ball must be placed on the mat. The ball may be cleaned when lifted.

If a ball when placed rolls off the mat, the player must try to place it a second time. If the ball again does not stay on the mat, the mat must be moved to the nearest spot, not nearer the hole, where the ball will come to rest on the mat when placed. If the player accidentally causes the ball on the mat to move before a stroke is made, there is no penalty and the ball must be placed again on the mat.

If a tee is used to secure the mat into the ground, the ball must not be placed on the tee.”

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

Mixed Foursomes Knockout

Congratulations to Tony Bray & Vicky Chamberlain for beating Eric & Gillian Healey on the 18th hole on Wednesday of last week to win the mixed foursomes knockout competition.

Ladies Stablefords

Well done to Helen Davies for winning the 18 hole ladies stableford last week with 30 points. Tracey Thompson was second with 28 points.

Thirty six ladies played in the nine hole stableford which was played over the back nine. Well done to Clare Withey for winning with her score of 18 points. Gwynneth Bramwell beat Pat Jefferies on a card play off to secure second spot with 15 points.

Online Top Ups

You can now top up your Hale GC swipe card online. Please click on the download button below to get instructions as to how to do this.

Drug Testing anyone?

Cannaray is now the PGA’s exclusive CBD partner and I have some of their products in stock.

What is CBD? CBD is an acronym for cannabidiol. The highest concentration of CBD can be found in the plant Cannabis sativa, which contains over 113 different types of phytocannabinoids, or plant-based cannabinoids. CBD is associated with the positive therapeutic properties of cannabis, and none of the more negative properties that can cause intoxicating or psychoactive effects.

Click here to read about some of CBD’s possible uses.

Volunteering on the 12th

Thanks to Sue Bryant for sending in these photos of some of our hardy members grafting on a Sunday morning. And of course thanks to them for putting in their valuable time to this project.