Blog

Well it’s a busy newsletter this week and what a few days of sunshine we’ve had – everyone seems to have a bit more of a spring in their step as we move towards the golf season!

First of all, a couple of admin items. Just a reminder that we accept American golf vouchers (and potentially other big golf retailers, please ask in store for more details). So if you have say a £50 AG voucher, we will credit your HGC Pro Shop account with £50 for you to spend at your leisure on golf equipment or coaching

Also I have a new EPOS (Electronic Point of Sale) till system which is very similar to my last one but thankfully less expensive to run. One of the few downsides to this is that the Xpos Caddie app which a few of you use to see what the balance of your Pro Shop account is no longer functional.

However my new system will automaticaly email out a statement to any customer at the beginning of the month (starting in April) who has credit, is in debt or has made a transaction in the Pro Shop over the last 30 days… or at least that is the theory!! One or two accounts do not have an email address against them so obviously that would prevent it from being sent out.

If this is a service that you would enjoy, please check that we have your email address on our EPOS system when you are next at the club. Additionally, any time you’d like to know what your balance is, please ask in the shop or drop me an email.

Captains’ Drive In Sweep

The three Captains to be are running a sweep on the day of their drive ins (Sat 23rd March). The idea is to guess the cumulative length of the gentleman, lady and junior captains drives (in yards). The price is £5 to enter.

Half of the proceeds are going to Gill Kay’s charity, Prevent Breast Cancer, that she has nominated for her year. The other half is going into the pot and the winner will take all, in the form of Pro Shop credit. Your support would be much appreciated.

Please enter in the Pro Shop, by replying to this newsletter or on the day.

Trackman Nearest the Pin Comp and Nine Hole Stableford

The nearest the pin prize was played on the 17th hole at Hualalai Resort GC in Hawaii. Brian Greenbank put it to 12’5″ to win three Titleist Pro V1s golf balls. Second went to lady captain Jan Ravenscroft (15’2″) with who wins a sleeve of Callaway SuperSoft golf balls.

The nine hole stableford played over the back nine at the Olympic Club in California was won by junior Ollie Grieves with a whopping 25 points. He wins a sleeve of Srixon SoftFeel golf balls. Thanks to everyone who has supported these comps ao far.

The next events are already underway….. This time there are two nearest the pin prizes. One is on the 8th hole at Royal Troon, the venue for this year’s Open Championship – you might know it better by it’s name, the Postage Stamp. It’s just 114 yards but it requires a flighted shot to a tricky green. The other one is the 11th hole at the Old Course at St Andrews which is longer at 147 yards but the ball can be run onto the putting surface. The price is £1 per go or you can have six goes for £5.

The nine hole stableford is over the back nine at the Playa Grande Golf & Ocean Club in the Dominican Republic. It’s a spectacular course located by the ocean. It is £2 to enter (this is on top of your hire fee to use the room). There are five sets of tees that you can play from ranging from yards to yards and you can choose which ever set you’d like to play from because the further back the tees, the more shots you’ll be getting. You can enter it by yourself or as part of a two, three or fourball.

All these events run until Masters Sunday (the 14th April) so please get in touch to book. Please note that it might be possible to have a go in the Nearest the Pin competition when you are passing if the room is not already been used for coaching or hasn’t been hired by someone else.

Bogey 5

Danny Fox shot a truly extraordinary score on Saturday of 7 up to win this event. He was playing in the afternoon when the hail pelted the course and the greens were practically flooded. Young Olly Mills’ score of 4 up was also incredible and that secured his the runner up spot. Jonny Gray battled round for a very good score of one up to finish third. Bogey 6, all being well, will be taking place this weekend.

Ping Glide 4.0 Ex Demo Wedges For Sale

Now that the Ping S159 wedges have just been launched, I have four RH Ping Glide 4.0 ex demo wedges for sale in the following specs:

54 S 12
58 S 10
58 W 14 (great for getting out of bunkers)
60 S 10

The first number is the loft, the letter referes to the sole type (S is standard and W is wide) and final number refers to the degrees of bounce. They are priced at £79 each. They are in good condition and they won’t stick around for long!!

Gentleman Captain’s Dinner

What a fabulous evening Friday was! I was very lucky to attend. The photos below show the future, current and immediate past captains (the duck tape was a “gift” from Ben to Roger!!) and also a great panaromaic shot of the dining room, courtesy of Tom Sloan.

Ex Rental Motocaddy M1 Electric Trolley For Sale

In good condition. Was serviced at the end of November in 2023. It comes with an umbrella holder, accessory station, 18 hole lithium battery & charger are included in the price. The winter wheels are not icluded. The price is £379.

Sold as seen but with the added security of knowing that if there are issues that are pre existing and warrant a repair within three months of the purchase date, I will cover the cost. I’m keen to make the transaction fair and reasonable for both parties.

Seniors

We have two events to report on. Most recently a three player Texas Scramble played from the red tees over the front nine took place yesterday. The winners by four points with a truly excpetional 27 points were Ian Hunt, Andrew Fishwick and Andy Veitch. Three teams then tied with 23 points. Following a card play off there was nothing between Graham Jones, Lee Bramley, & Tarik Rashid and Roger Spark, Dave Swale & Alan Bradley so those two teams were declared joint runners up.

Last week Bradley 6 took place and Glyn Isaac was the winner with 19 stableford points. Bob Siddle finished second with 17 points and Roger Fielding was third having lost out to Bob on a card play off.

Masters Sweepstake

Don’t miss out on your chance to get involved! Details below.

Ladies Three Clubs and a Putter

Congrats to Kairen Seaton for scoring 19 stableford points over the front nine to win this competition last Thursday. Second place went to Diana Harris with 18 points.

Well it’s been a while since my last missive, purely because there’s really not been much golf and so not much to report on. We’re hoping to get the seniors’ Bradley 6, the ladies Thursday comp and the men’s Bogey 5 played this week… the latter at the third attempt!

Trackman Competitions

The Nearest the Pin competition has been really well supported and we’ll announce the winner in next week’s newsletter. We’ve also had a few enter the 9 hole competition over the Olympic Club in California. There are still a couple of days left to come in and have a go…..

Thank you to all who have entered so far and to Jan Ravenscroft who has brought lots of new recruits into the swing room for the first time during some of her recent lady captain’s challenges.

Look out for more news on further challenges in the following weeks.

Hold the Date!

We have secured a Ping demo day here at Hale GC from 10.00 – 14.00 on Friday 10/5/24. If you would like to book a spot, please send me an email or pop into the shop.

Quiz Night

Here’s a report of this event from the Social Team.

The first social event of 2024 was a quiz night. The evening saw over ninety club members in attendance, enjoying a light supper prepared by Peter and Victoria and served by Ben, Charlotte and the house team.

The quiz master for the evening was Phil who is the regular host of Quiz Night at the Greyhound in Ashley. Fifteen teams answered the questions on a range of topics including a photo round, music, popular comedians and many more. Spot prizes were awarded throughout the evening and after a hard fought battle the team of Clare and Guy Withey, Emma and Mark Danes and Clare and Al Makin were the victors beating Johnny’s Angels by 1 point.

Many thanks to all members who supported the event and helped make the evening a huge success.

GIR

Probably the most important stat in golf… how do you fare?

Standing Water

These photos are from last week. There was a huge puddle behind the 9th green and the greenstaff are hard at work pumping out the impromptu pond by the road on the 1st!

We’ve had a few enter the Nearest the Pin Trackman competition but uptake has been limited for the nine hole stableford. Both are running throughout February. Please contact us in the Pro Shop to book or for more information.

Competitions

Unfortunately the ladies comp this Thursday and the previous Thursday were cancelled due to the weather.

The seniors have been more fortunatwe though managing to stage a competition this Wednesday and the previous one.

Yesterday a Texas Scramble was played from the red tees frover the back nine. The winners were Bob Siddle, Chris Ravenscroft and Richard Dyson with a very tidy 2 over par gross to score 23 points. Martin Oldfield, Roger Da Forno & Jonathan Foster came second with 22 points and Bill Wrigley, Phil Long and Colin Broadbent were 3rd with 21 points.

38 seniors got out the day before to play in Bradley 5 on the 31st January, which is a nine hole stableford competition. That man Bill Dixon finished top of the pile again with 20 points. Chris ravenscroft was beaten into second place following a card play off. Adam Hyde finished thgird with 19 points.

Don’t Forget…

If you’d like some Hale GC crested Glenmuir men’s or ladies golf clothing, click on the logo below to check out some options. Let me know the garment, size and colour and we’ll get on the case!

Please note delivery always takes a little while when ordering crested clothing as it has to wait it’s turn to be put through the embroidery machines. It invariably takes 2-3 weeks.

Photo

This week, we start with a reminder about the Trackman nine hole stableford competition that’s running in the studio until the end of February. There’s also the option of the Nearest the Pin prize. Please pop into the shop or give us a call for more details.

The week’s missive also includes details of how to order some Hale GC crested clothing from Glenmuir.

Weather permitting, we’re hoping to run a seniors competition on Wednesday and a ladies competition on Thursday this week.

Bogey 4

Lee Bramley was the winner of Friday / Saturday’s 15 hole Bogey 4 with a cracking score of 6 up. Chris Wood scored 5 up and can probably feel hard done by as most times that would have been good enough to win. Third place went to Adam Hyde with 4 up. Four twos were recorded.

Glenmuir Crested Clothing

Please click on the Glenmuir logo below to see some of the ladies and gents clothing options that you can order, resplendent with the Hale GC crest. If there’s something you like the look of, please pop into the shop or drop me an email with the details.

Ladies Front Nine Stableford

Mandy Gilbert was the winner of last Thursday’s competition with 18 points. Second place went to Sally Budd with 17 points. Min Fishwick was third following a card play off.

Bogey 4 was cancelled on Saturday and rearranged for this Saturday so fingers crossed that can go ahead. Thursday’s ladies competition was cancelled because of the snow and frost.

As I write this storm Jocelyn is making it’s way across the country so let’s hope that passes through without too much carnage. I guess that will have a significant bearing on this week’s ladies comp.

Below please read about a couple of exciting Trackman competitions we have lined up for you and news of the 2024 HGC pro AM.

Trackman 9 Hole Comp and Nearest the Pin

From now until the end of February, we are running not one but two indoor golf competitions for the membership.

The first one is going to be a nine hole stableford challenge. We’ve decided to use the back nine of the Olympic Club Lake Course in California. This course has hosted six US Open Championships and the womens US Open in 2021. This fun competition is open to any members that have a WHS handicap. We’ll be playing from tees that make it just over 3,000 yards but remember handicaps will be involved so this should ensure a level playing field, whatever your ability.

Just book some time in the studio and you can enter. You can play as a single or as a two, three or fourball. Will or I will advise you as to how much time we think you’ll need.

There will be an additional £2 per player added to the room hire fee to go into the prize pot for the winner. Simulator hire charges are £22 per hour for one player and £26 per hour for two or more players (so that’s £6.50 each if there are four of you).

The second one is just a Nearest the Pin competition. That will be £2 for three goes and it is going to be played over the 17th hole at Hualalai Resort in Hawaii. The hole will be 135 yards. I have chosen this hole as it’s not too long, it’s looks great and also because there is a chance to run the ball on the green for those golfers that don’t carry their pitching wedge over 130 yards… which most definitely includes me!!

For this one just pop into the shop and have a go! It should only take a couple of minutes. If the room is already in use, we’ll tell you when a good time to pop back might be or alternatively just try us again when you’re next at the club!

Hopefully we can get a few of you to try these initiatives and hat tip to James Munnery for helping me set this up. Thank you.

Pro Am 2024

We have finalised this year’s Hale GC Pro Am date and it’s taking place on Saturday 13th July. The event as always is open to gents and ladies. The price to enter is £240 per team if all three amateurs are HGC members and it’s £270 if one or more of the amateurs are not HGC members.

This is a great event in the club’s calendar so don’t miss out! If you’ve not played before don’t take my word for it, just speak to anyone that has played previously and they’ll tell what a fun day it is!

If you require any further information, please just pop into the shop or send us an email.

Well the recent dry spell has enabled us to get back to some competitive golf last week and the results are below. However the snow fell last night so it’s a different type of precipitation that’s caused the course to close today!

This is the first newsletter of 2024 and we’ve got lots of photos for you to have a look at so please enjoy…

Ladies Front Nine Yellow ball Competition

Well done to Kairen Seaton, Clare Withey & Sally Budd for winning last Thursday’s comp with 37 points. The runners up were Louise Gerald, Mandy Gilbert & Gillian Brogdon with 33 points.

Bradley 4

Congrats to John Moss for winning last Wednesday’s nine hole Bradley 4 with 20 points. Martin Oldfield was beaten on a card play off and so finished as the runner up. Dave Madeley was third with 19 points. Three twos were recorded.

Bradley 5 is scheduled to take place on Wed 24th January over the front nine.

Ping Stand Bags

How about a limited-edition GB & IRE Hooferlite stand bag? The price is £220 and orders must be received by the 30th January for delivery in August 2024. As you can see there are four options to choose from and they look great…

Using a Golf Simulator

Please click here to read about the benefits of practicing in a simulator, as written by top US golf coach Michael Breed.

Photos

Here are a selection of photos from the last couple of weeks. Two of them were taken by Andrew Page so thanks for sharing.

I’m posting more on Facebook and Instagram at the moment and am working on keeping the momentum going. Please click here to find me on Facebook and here to find me on Insta. Please send me a friend request or follow me.

On Thursday 4th January there was no golf but several of the ladies still got together for coffee. Thanks to Irene Kirk for the photo.

Only two sleeps left until the big day! Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and the most fabulous 2024. Thank you for your custom in the previous 12 months and Will, Phil and I look forward to doing our very best to look after you over the coming year.

Pro Shop Christmas Draw

Well done to Peter Veitch for winning the main prize of £250 in Pro Shop credit. Although incredibly Chris Ravenscroft and Bill Harvey won twice and so they also won £250. Even more bizarrely Chris had consecutive numbers drawn…. thankfully we had witnesses!! All the winners are listed below.

Position	Amount	Number	Winner
1st	£250	248	Peter Veitch
2nd	£200	60	Bill Harvey
3rd	£150	181	Chris Ravenscroft
4th	£100	182	Chris Ravenscroft
5th	£75	231	Paul Simpson
6th	£60	318	Mike Massey
7th	£50	46	Bill Harvey
8th	£40	69	Rob Manley
9th	£30	353	David Rodwell
10th	£25	350	Ian Williamson

Thanks to Diane Harris, Vicky Chamberlain, Robin Russell-Fisher, David Swale, Tony Bray, Roger Fielding, Chris Ravenscroft, Richard Jenkins, Kerry Gill and Cliff Wright for their help in drawing the numbers. And of course thanks to so many of you for taking part once again!

Christmas Opening Hours

The Pro Shop will be open as follows over the Christmas period: 

DATE	HOURS
Sat 23rd December	9am – 2pm
Sun 24th – Tues 26th December	Closed
Wed 27th – Sat 30th December	9am – 2pm
Sun 31st Dec – Mon 1st Jan 2024	Closed
Tues 2nd January onwards	Normal hours resume

Ladies Christmas Indoor Frolic

The rubbish weather last Thursday didn’t stop the ladies from having a great time with some indoor golf. We ran a putting comp, a chipping com and a Nearest the Pin comp in the swing room. Vanessa Veitch was the winner of that one and there were other winners too. I manage to sneak into the photo montage after a well placed chip shot! And finally we have a video of the lady caprtain Jan Ravenscroft knocking it in close…

Christmas Lunch

Here are some more excellent photos from the Christmas lunch which took place on the 10th December.

Awkward Lies

Joe Boyd and Chris Wood’s ball finished in this tricky spot during their recent winter men’s foursomes knockout match… I’m not at liberty to say who actually hit it there!!

Start ’em Young

Poppy Appeal

Below is the thank you note we recently received from the Royal British Legion following our fund raising efforts. Well done to everyone who took part in the competitions.

Well the rotten weather and course closures continue so it’s a bit of a quiet one this week.

Please remember we still have tickets available for the Pro Shop Christmas Draw. Plus we are open for Christmas presents for that special golfer in your life. Another Christmas present idea is a voucher for golf lessons to help improve their game and ultmately their enjoyment of the game.

As ever please pop in, call us on 0161 249 8427 or email me at richardsboothuk@gmail.com for more information or to make a purchase.

Christmas Lunch

Thanks to Irene Kirk for sending through these photos from the member’s Christmas lunch which took place on Sunday.

Grab a Bargain – Powakaddy Cart Bag

The used golf club trade in event went really well on Tuesday and so thank you to all who took part and now have liberated some of their old golf clubs (and garage space..!!) Thanks also to Elliot from GC4C for all his help.

We still have lots of great Christmas present ideas for you in the shop so please pop in and take a look. Trade hasn’t been easy with this rubbish weather of late so your custom is really appreciated.

SPECIAL OFFER – Callaway Reva Ladies Set – JUST £849

The Callaway 11 piece set is designed with premium performance in mind. This complete offering is engineered for women of all skill levels who want to increase their distance, hit great shots, and enjoy the game more than ever before. This set includes: Driver, 3 Wood, 5 & 6 Hybrids, 7 through 9 Irons, Pitching and Sand Wedge, Putter, Cart Bag, and (5) Headcovers.

This set would make the perfect Christmas present but please hurry as we only have one set available. Original price £1099, now only £849…. that’s a huge £250 saving!!!

Lady Captain’s Fun Competition

Over to lady captain Jan Ravenscroft for a round up of proceedings from last Thursday’s event…..

All proceeds from the competition (including mulligans and nearest the pin entries) went to the Guide Dog Charity and Russell had set up some additional challenging features on some of the greens.

It was indeed like playing crazy golf but none the less the worthy winners were Ceri Hyde in first place and Val Nelstrop a close second. Vicky Chamberlain won nearest the pin on the 4th.

The fun continued on into the evening where our generous ladies entered the”Name a Guide Dog Puppy” competition and participated in our “Blind Date with a Book” sale. The winning names chosen by our guests Sara-Jane and Mary from Guide Dogs were “Teapot” (suggested by new member Lucy Leonard) and “Birdie” (a 3-way tie between Noelle Morris, Sally Budd and Vicki Wells).

Heartfelt thanks from Lady Captain to everyone who took part and help to raise a tidy sum for the charity.

The winners of the golf and puppy naming are displayed above plus a photo of the future LC Gill Kay getting to grips with the frosty conditions.

Golf Mats

We have four different types for you in store at different price points and delivering different performances. The Spurk mat has sold really well since it was launched about a year ago and here’s a reminder video of why it has been so popular. It’s available with a cleverly designed carry bag so that you don’t drop it or mislay it inbetween shots!

Bradley 3

Congratulations to Peter Veitch for taking the honours in the latest senior nine hole competition with 18 points. Chris Ravenscroft was in second place with 15 points and the ever reliable Bill Dixon was third with 14 points. Scoring was tricky and as a result no twos were recorded.

Photos

We have a round up of photos from HGC from the last week or so. First up are Tom Sloan and Nick Horrocks installing the Christmas lights at the front of the clubhouse (Tom’s big into delegation!), a dusk snap looking over the clubhouse and 9th green and finally two photos of Ollie Grieves playing in the sunny but frosty (and bitter cold according to grandfather John Book) conditions last weekend.

Don’t forget GolfClubs4Cash are visiting HGC on Tuesday (the 5th December) from 10am – 1pm so if you have some used golf clubs gathering dust bring them in and get money to spend in the Pro Shop for them.

If you can’t make that date and time, you can leave your clubs with us here in the shop beforehand.

Open 9 Hole Stableford

This took place last Thursday and was played over the back nine. The winner with 19 points was Mandy Gilbert. Brian Greenbank also scored 19 points but was beaten on a card play off and so finished as runer up. Third spot went to Steve Bates with 18 points.

Hale GC Crested Travel Cover

I’m going to have a go at doing a few more of my own videos (yikes!!) so please check out the one below. It gives details of a really nice Christmas gift idea.

Bradley 2

Om Wednesday, 30 seniors took part in their nine hole competition. The winner with 17 points was Bill Dixon. Robert Spark was second with 16 points and Peter Wolfenden was third, also with 16 points. The consolation for Peter was that he was the only player to record a two.

DIARY DATE: Tuesday 5th December

Bring in your old clubs and turn them into Pro Shop credit. The trade in event runs from 10am – 1pm on Tuesday 5th December (next week!)

Ladies Medal Final

This was finally presented to Helen Davies last week. Well done Helen!

Photos

This week, we have a couple of contrasting photos of the course that have been sent in. Thanks to Howard Gill for the sunrise photo with some low lying fog and to Phil Long for the abundance of leaves snap.