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Another busy week of competitive golf is summarised below along with a cautionary message from long standing member Mike Massey.

R & A 9 Holer

We ran the second mens and ladies R & A 9 hole stableford on Saturday. The scoring was very good in both sections.

Andrew Hay won the men’s event with 22 points (apologies Andrew for the pun-tastic headline – I couldn’t help myself!!) and John Kennedy was second with 20 points. Rookie Jo Egerton (Jo joined the club last year and I think we can safely say that she has got the golfing bug) won the ladies section with 21 points pipping Sharon Thorne into second place by a couple of points.

Seniors Stableford

Wednesday’s Seniors Stableford was won by a thrilled Graham Jones who did an excellent score of 22 points. Rob Manley was second with 20 points. Bill Harvey took some time away from working on the course to actually playing on it and in doing secured 19 points to finish in third spot.

Nine & Dine

The Nine & Dine took place on Friday and was organised by Jean Green. Jean did a great despite being understandably emotional as her first grandchild, a baby boy, had been born earlier that day. Congratulations grandma Jean!

The format was teams of four (two men and two ladies) and one stableford score counted on the first hole, two on the second, three on the third, back to one on the fourth and so on. The winners were Jennifer & Alan Bradley and Corinne & Andy Veitch with 44 points. Team Thompson / Dixon was was in second place with 42 points. The golf was of course followed by a lovely meal prepared by Peter, Danny and the rest of the team.

Ladies Spring Meeting

The ladies Spring Meeting took place last week and was a team event, again played in lovely sunny weather. Eighteen teams took part and the winners were Gwynneth Bramwell, Pam Dixon, Amanda Greaves & Jane Wilkinson with 44.75 points. Lady captain Irene Kirk, Nancy Fallows and Jo Bryant were pipped into second place by just 0.75 of a point!

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Golf Lesson or Club Fitting

If you would like me to help you improve your game then you can book an appointment with me online by clicking here. You can of course if you prefer just pop into the shop or call me on 0161 249 8427.

Wilson Cheshire & North Wales PGA Championship

I played in this event at Knutsford GC last week and am delighted to report that I was joint winner of the Seniors section with Tony Stevens and Alan Gibson. Rhodri Fieldhouse won the main event with an excellent 66. It’s been a while since I last played Knutsford and I really enjoyed going back there.

As you know with club and family commitments. playing golf for me has to come down the pecking order but given the opportunity, I still love to play and to secure a win was a great thrill. Turning 50 clearly has some advantages!

Mike Massey

Mike popped in to the shop on Wednesday to chat with Will and I. We had been completely unaware of his eye operation until he talked us through it. What a horrendous incident. Below is a message he typed out that he wanted to share with his fellow members of Hale GC.

Many of you probably know that I picked up a amoeba eye infection whilst gardening causing the loss of my eye. A twig scraped my eyeball and stupidly I scraped a soil covered gardening glove under my glasses.

My recommendation is to always wear goggles when doing something close to where your eyes could come into contact with anything. Even when a golf ball, with a mind of it’s own, veers off line and is lost in a thicket or bush, it should be left to it’s own devices – don’t poke around anything trying to find it. Think leylandii on the 7th / 16th.

I’m sure that we all send Mike our best wishes and hope to see him out on the golf course again very soon.

As you can see things are getting closer to normal with more and more competitions and events to report on.

This week, I also write about the distances on the practice ground and the HGC Pro Am which takes place in July. Enjoy!

Results Round Up

On Wednesday, the first nine hole Seniors Stableford of the 2021 campaign took place. There are two divisions and Cliff Wright won the under 75s with 20 points. Tom Sloan was one behind to finish second. In the 75 and overs, Roger Fielding finished in top spot having scored 19 points. Jay White was second with 18 points.

Well done to Alex Mills for winning Medal on Saturday with an excellent nett 66. Consequently his handicap has been felled to 14. Neil Thompson was second with a 68 and Simon Wallwork was third with a 69. Nine twos were recorded.

Congratulations to Jan Ravenscroft for winning the ladies 18 hole Par competition last Thursday with a fine score of one up. Louise Gerald was runner up with her score of one down. Jennifer Bradley won the nine hole stableford which was played over the back nine on the same day with 19 points and rookie member Jo Bryant finished second with 18 points.

Dan Turkington won the first junior competition of the 2021 campaign with 21 points. This was a nine hole event played over the front nine. Junior captain Charlie Hindle was second with 19 points. Ed Lythgoe had to borrow some clubs to take part due to a slight domestic logistical problem and so did very well to come in third with 16 points.

Previous Results

In my missive last week, I managed to omit some results so my apologies. David Wainwright won the Spring Stableford with 40 points. Another David, Mr Cockbain was one point behind in second place.

On the ladies side of things, Corrine Veitch won the 18 hole stableford which took place on the 8th April with 32 points. Tracey Thompson had the same score but was beaten on countback. Mary Cockbain won the nine hole stableford with a cracking points tally of 21. Noelle Morris was one point adrift to secure second place.

Pro Am 2021

Would you like to enter this great event which is now in it’s 10 year since it was reinstated into the club’s calendar in 2011? The date is Saturday 10th July 2021 and it’s open to ladies and men. The price to enter is £220 for a team of all Hale members or £250 if there are one or more guests in the team.

The ever popular afternoon spaces have all been taken but there are still five tee times available in the morning before the event is maxed out at 24 teams.

It’s a great day to be a part of, just ask anyone who’s played in previous year. If you like to enter, please contact me.

Range Distances

I sent this sketch of the range distances out last summer and as one or two people have been asking again, I thought it was time to include it again in the newsletter. It shows the distances to the seven flags on the range, measured from between the second and third mats on the lower tee. I hope my drawing makes sense!

Photo

Thanks to Bob Siddle for this photo of volunteer HGC members clearing debris from the site of the new 4th green. As is so often the case here at Hale, it was a great turn out of hard workers so thank you to you all.

Well as ever the Masters delivered with the first ever male Japanese Major winner, Hideki Matsuyama, claiming the green jacket. His ten under par total was enough to win by one shot from Will Zalatoris.

Hideki’s career has been an interesting journey. A few years ago, the 29 year old rose to number two in the world rankings but since then putting problems had prompted a tumble down the rankings. Ninety-two winless tournaments followed and he was 25th in the world heading into the Masters last week….. but what a way to put an end to that streak!

We had all high hopes for Justin Rose but after his magnificent first round he was always treading water or sliding backwards.

The big winner in the Pro Shop’s Masters Sweepstake was John Book who had Matsuyama and ended up bagging £97.50 of credit to spend. Thanks as always to everyone who entered.

New Recruit

Phil and I were delighted to welcome Will Lord to the Pro Shop team on Monday. He’s a 3 handicapper from Ringway (well you can’t win them all 😉) and turns 19 very shortly. Please pop in and say hello.

Now that the Pro Shop team has grown, we’re be running an experiment for the next 2 or 3 months and will open for seven days per week. Over the last few years we’ve been open six days per week but we’re going to try opening on Sundays until 2pm and see how it works out.

As I’m sure you’ll appreciate for a small business and especially in these Covid times, it has to make sense financially to do so. Consequently I’ll sit down and look at the figures in June or July and see if the shop has made enough profit to cover the staff costs and go from there.

I’m super keen for us to offer you the members the best service possible so please support us and help make the Sunday opening trial a big success.

Rules Reminder

It’s been over two years since the rules of golf modernisation came into operation. Since then we’ve had the new World Handicapping Scheme (WHS) and one or two other huge changes in everyday life. So the lady captain asked me to send her the handout that the Greens Committee created which details the “20 Most Important Changes” to enable her to share it with the ladies section as a bit of a reminder. It struck me as such a good idea that I have piggy backed on her idea and included it in this week’s newsletter. Please click here for a refresher.

Archie Preston

Well done to the 14 person Hale team that beat High Legh Golf Club away in their first match of the season. It comprises of seven matches of mixed foursomes and the overall score was 5:2. The draw for the next round will take pace at the end of April. Interestingly High Legh fielded two juniors, their captain and vice captain, so perhaps we could deepen our selection policy for future matches.

Blossom

Thanks to Jane Perks for sending in this lovely photo of the damson blossom by the fifth tee.

So it’s all happening now isn’t it? Golf courses have been back open now for around ten days. We had the first ladies major finish on Sunday with Patty Tavatanakit winning the ANA Inspiration in California by two shots. And now the Masters has catapulted into action with perhaps the best 11 holes of golf ever seen – Justin Rose was the man yesterday shooting a magnificent 65 to lead the field by a whopping four shots.

Pro Shop News

I’m excited as the next stage of lifting lockdown takes place on Monday with “non essential retail” being allowed to open. That means you’ll all be able to enter the Pro Shop (with face masks on of course) which is great news.

It also means that the swing studio can now be put back into action. if you recall I invested heavily in this pre Christmas by installing some super powerful lights and some cameras and software to help us seen your swing in glorious technicolour! This doesn’t means lessons will be more complicated – it just makes comparisons so much simpler and quicker to help golfers of all abilities improve.

The swing studio being back in action means that club fittings will be possible. As I’ve mentioned before, I have lots of demos of the latest Callaway and Ping products. To give you an idea, I’ve just had a quick count and I have 16 different irons heads and 31 interchangeable shafts from just those two brands. So please contact me to book a fitting and we’ll make sure you have the best equipment to improve your performance and enjoyment of the game.

Results Round Up

It’s great to actually have some club competition results to report on again! So here’s a quick round up.

Craig Rea won the men’s R & A qualifier on bank holiday Monday with 21 points. The ladies event was so close that even card play offs had trouble separating Jan Ravenscroft and Gwynneth Bramwell so they were declared joint winners with 17 points.

Yesterdays 18 hole ladies stableford was won by Corrine Veitch with 32 points. Tracey Thompson had the same score but was beaten on countack. The very popular nine hole event was won by Mary Cockbain with 21 points.

Congratulations to all you winners – clearly they’ve all been practicing in the garden during lockdown 😁

Ace

Peter Hindle beat Tommy Fleetwood to it on Thursday by getting a hole in one on the second hole. His good friend and next door neighbour Peter Turkington explained that it was a “perfectly struck 6 iron into the breeze, one bounce and in it went!” It was Peter H’s first ace so many congratulations.

Headwear

Conrad Nelstrop wanted me to show off Jonathan Foster’s extreme cold weather beating headwear. As you can see it was a beautifully bright and crisp day from earlier in the week.

Howard Gill, Tom Earnshaw and James Munnery were the first to tee off after the lockdown was lifted. Thanks to Howard for the photo. I’m told all three of their drives flew like arrows straight down the middle and were well over 300 yards in length. So it’s good to know that some things have remained unchanged over the past 12 months!!

It’s just been great to be back at the club. Golfers with big wide smiles on their faces, great weather and the course is taking shape nicely as we move into April.

From my perspective, it’s been nice to be coaching again and helping golfers of all abilities improve. The stock deliveries feel like they’ve been non stop. Below is a photo of the current (but temporary!) state of the swing room as I unpack all the new kit.

New Gear for the New Golf Season

Among the carnage above are more demos of the latest Ping and Callaway products than ever before so please contact me to book a complimentary club fitting. One or two of you have already shown interest in the previous couple of months so please rest assured I’ll be in touch shortly to arrange opportunities to get your hands on these fabulous new clubs.

And it’s not just clubs….. the super small folding Powakaddy electric trolley, the CT6, is back in stock as of Thursday. Click here to view more details.

Plus I have taken in stock of some close out Garmin GPS watches, the S10, which are now selling at £99.99. They’re very accurate and simple to use. Please check out the short video below for more information. Stocks are limited so please email me or pop in to grab yours.

Fancy a new putter grip? I have over fifteen SuperStrokes in all colours, shapes and sizes. This is the grip that Jordan Spieth first brought to our attention a few years ago and since then the brand has continue to grow and grow.

And finally…

Well thankfully we really are on the home straight now as the resumption of golf seems to have got here quite quickly in the end. The first to tee off will be at 0800 on the 29th March.

In this week’s newsletter, I include a reminder about the booking process, some more dates for your diary and news that the club has achieved SafeGolf status.

I look forward to seeing many of you on Monday!

Booking System

Below is a reminder of what was emailed out via the “News from Greens” newsletter to the membership ten days or so ago.

The long awaited re-opening of our golf course is now just a couple of weeks away. While many of England Golf’s “Play Safe, Stay Safe” restrictions still apply, we will be open for play with effect from Monday March 29th. Our Casual Booking system will be available for playing members to reserve tee-times two days in advance beginning on Saturday 27th at 7:00 am.

Given the anticipated demand, members will be limited to one 9-hole booking on each day. In the interests of speed of play and to avoid congestion on the course each tee-time will be restricted to 3-ball play except on Sunday mornings when 4-ball bookings will be accepted. These measures will be subject to regular review and the restrictions will be relaxed as soon as we are able to do so.

In addition, members guests are allowed from the 12th April onwards.

Adult Junior Competitions

Some more dates for your diary folks. If you don’t already know, the Adult Junior Competitions are fun events designed to get juniors onto the course for the first time. They’re such good fun though that many experienced juniors keep playing and help some of their adult family members round as they encounter the course for the first few times.

The format is 9 holes from the forward tees, playing alternate shots. You don’t necessarily need a handicap and only one of the pair needs to be a member (in these busy post lockdown times at least). If you are interested, please contact me for me information.

Fri 30 April – Rolling tee times. Tee reserved from 1730 – 1845.

Fri 21 May –  Rolling tee times. Tee reserved from 1730 – 1845.

Sat 19 June –  Rolling tee times. Tee reserved from 1545 – 1700.

Fri 30 July –  Shotgun start. Tee reserved from 1745 – 2000.

Fri 10 Sept  –  Shotgun start. Tee reserved from 1730 – 1945.

Sun 7 Nov – End of Year Junior Awards Match. Shotgun start.
Tee reserved from 1400 – 1615. Dinner from 1700 onwards.

SafeGolf

Good news, Hale Golf Club has now achieved England Golf’s SafeGolf status. The safe in this title is for once not Covid related but more about having good practices related to Safeguarding and much more at the club. The quote below from the England Golf website gives a little more background to the initiative.

We want everyone to have a safe, fun experience in golf. That’s why we’ve launched the SafeGolf accreditation for affiliated clubs and facilities.

The SafeGolf accreditation process is designed to enable clubs, through easily accessible documents and templates, to ensure they are delivering a safe environment for the sport to be played in.

Many thanks to Andrew Fishwick, Anne Webster and Peter Hindle for your help in getting this completed.

We’re inching ever closer to the start of golf again in England. Hopefully Lee Westwood’s fantastic performance in the Players Championship over the weekend has gotten you even more fired up.

In this week’s missive, I have details of booking golf lessons with me, some dates for your diary, some news from Chris Wood and an opportunity to look at some fabulous new ladies clothing without having to leave the house.

In case you missed it, last week I mentioned about some ladies beginner and junior coaching sessions which are starting shortly. Please click here for more information.

Also in last week’s newsletter, I told you about the 2021 Masters Sweepstake and I was overwhelmed by the response as I sold out of all spaces within twelve hours!! Thank you so very much for all of you who have taken part and my apologies to those of you who I couldn’t accommodate on this occasion.

Timetable of Opening Up Again

I am able to coach from Mon 29th March onwards. The Pro Shop will open from Monday 12th April. The 12th April is also the date that we will be able to use the indoor golf studio again.

From 29/3 to 12/4 I will be operating a click and collect service so you’ll be able to see me at the Pro Shop door and I can get you tees, balls etc and you’ll be able to pay without having to enter the shop. Alternatively tell me in advance what you need and we’ll arrange a way to get the item(s) to you.

Golf Lessons

If you’d like to book a golf lesson to kick start your restart, please click here to use my online booking system. You can book up to two weeks in advance.

Junior Competitions & Golf Access Events

Below are the dates of the junior competitions for 2021 and also for the Golf Access events. Both sets of events take place on Tuesdays and the tee times are from 1630 – 1730.

The former are for junior members of the club. The Golf Access events are for new junior or lady golfers and were well supported when we introduced them last year. They involve playing just three holes from the forward tees initially and then building up from there as your skill and confidence increase. Click here to find out more about Golf Access.

If you would like to enter any of the events, please reply to this email.

JUNIOR COMPETITIONS	GOLF ACCESS EVENTS
20th April	27th April
11th May	18th May
25th May	8th June
15th June	22nd June
29th June	6th July
13th July	20th July
27th July	17th August
24th August	31st August
7th September	14th September
21st September	28th September
5th October	12th October
19th October

A Message from the Club’s Historian, Chris Wood

Chris has been working hard behind the scenes during lockdown and here’s a message from him explaining what he’s been up to.

Past editions of Richard’s weekly blog are available from October 2019 on his website by clicking here. They are also now available in the much enlarged archives section of the Members part of the Club website where earlier editions can also be found. As well as Council and AGM minutes, News from Council, Accounts and Captains’ pre-Christmas letters members plus Bill Dixon’s Hale Golf and Country Club Newsletters.

Enjoy the read!

Ladies Golf Clothing for the New Season

As many of you know I have been working with Annastasia from Golfing Chix for several years now. She brings along some great clothing ranges to the shop and is able to mix them up regularly.

With retail not opening up until the 12th April, there is an opportunity to buy some of her brand new clothing on a click and collect basis from now onwards. Please note I’ll at the club from Monday 29th March when golf re-opens or I can drop items round at your house before that, assuming you live locally.

Please take a look at the photos below from Tail Golf, Green Lamb & Daily Sports. If there’s anything you like the look of, please click here to send me an email. If you can let me know which item(s) you are interested in and in what size, I will come back to you with a price and whether or not it is available. Happy shopping and thank you for looking.

Our 2021 Collections are now available. New in this year we have the fabulous Tail Golf  2021 Collections. These Collections are selling fast and we already have limited stock!  So don’t miss out order your new outfit today.   Tail Golf Pacific Blue Collection Available now but limited sizes  Tail Golf Electric Collection. Available now Tail Golf Peach & Blossom Collection Tail Golf Peach & Blossom Collection New collection from Green Lamb All items available in sizes 08 – 20. New collection from Green Lamb All items available in sizes 08 – 20. Daily Sports 2021 Collection Daily Sports 2021 Collection New collection from Green Lamb All items available in sizes 08 – 20. New collection from Green Lamb All items available in sizes 08 – 20. More from Tail Golf  Limited sizes available as the are selling fast More from the Tail Golf Collections Limited sizes available.   Daily Sports 2021 Collection Daily Sports 2021 Collection

Well since Boris’ announcement a couple of weeks ago, all concerned with the club have had to leap into planning and preparation mode for the coming golf season. It’s no different for the Pro Shop as I announce a few dates for your diary and things that (I hope) will be of interest.

Junior Group Coaching

Junior coaching is starting up again on Monday 19th April with a session from 1600 – 1645 and another from 1700 – 1745. The dates for this term (no sessions on bank holidays) will be as follows: 19/4, 26/4, 10/5, 17/5 & 24/5.

The cost for the five sessions is £40. Please contact me to sign up or should you require further information.

Ladies Beginner Coaching

The ladies beginner lessons are starting again in April. The format is six one hour lessons held over consecutive weeks in groups of two. It will involve four sessions on the practice ground and two on the golf course. We’ll start with the basics of the set up and swing building. We’ll also cover various aspects of the game and importantly, get you out on the golf course.

The price is at an introductory rate of £99 per person. This price is just for newbies. If you have done the course before and would like to do it again (or something similar as I can come up with bespoke coaching plans) then I would be delighted to do something but it would be a little more expensive.

If you know of anyone who would be interested, please ask them to contact me. We can then sort out the dates to suit the three of us.

In previous years we have offered a ladies temporary membership scheme. Unfortunately we are not able to do so this year but some full lady memberships are still available, which may be of interest down the line.

Masters Sweepstake 2021

Well it’s the shortest ever gap between one Masters tournament and the next (it takes place from Thursday 8th to Sunday 11th April) which means you can get your teeth into another Pro Shop Masters Sweepstake…. I bet you can’t believe your luck, can you??

The price will be £4 for one player or £10 for three. The players are drawn at random and prizes are awarded as credit to spend in the Pro Shop as follows:

Overall 1st	£75
Overall 2nd	£50
Best & Worst Score of Each Day*	£15

If you’d like to take part, please send me an email letting me know how many goes you would like and then I can explain about how payment can be made. Thank you.

* Players must post a score ie. withdrawals, NR’s etc don’t count. Other conditions apply. For further details, please contact me.

So on a personal level, the last few months have given me the opportunity to reflect on my business as I approach twelve years of happy employment at the club.

After the first lockdown, as we all experienced, golf really boomed. This was great for the game and good for my business; it certainly helped make up for some of the missed trade of the previous weeks.

Coaching was also very busy which I loved. However this is one of the difficulties that my business has faced – when I coach, it often requires me to lock the door of the Pro Shop and go up to the practice area. If you as a member require the shop during that period, it must be frustrating to find it closed. The other matter is that the shop is open six days per week (Monday to Saturday) and Sundays are getting increasingly busy on the course.

So I’d like to improve the level of service that I offer to the membership by recruiting a full time (30+ hours per week) member of staff. Not only is this more professional but it’s what the members of Hale GC deserve. The new member of the team will help Phil and I to cover the shop more regularly and allow us to open on Sundays.

I’ve done my homework financially and it looks viable but as with most business decisions, there is no guarantee. That said, the likely upsides for all concerned make it worth going for.

Please click here to view the job description and so here’s where you might be able to help… 😁. The role may suit a PGA professional, a PGA trainee or indeed someone who is not a golf professional but has an interest in golf. The search is more about finding the right person and building the role around him or her.

If you know of anyone who might be suitable, please ask them to apply. Many thanks for your assistance with this and for enabling me to continue to serve as Golf Professional at our fine club.

Xpos Caddie App

Exciting news, there’s now an app that you can get for your mobile which enables you to see your Pro Shop balance. There is also a “Reserve & Collect” feature plus many others. Please check out the video below for more information.

As this is a new initiative, I’d love your feedback as to what you think of it and if there’s anything that you need help with.

Well we hoped it might be a little sooner but at least we have some light at the end of the tunnel and a date to set our sights on to get back out on the golf course. So make sure you ink Monday 29th March into your calendar! Phil and I are really looking forward to welcoming you back to the club – let’s hope the weather will be kind to us 🤞

I was obviously shocked to hear the news about Tiger Woods following his car crash in Los Angeles on Tuesday. As I write this he is described as being “awake and responsive”. It looks like the recovery ahead will be a long one and we wish him well.

On the actual golf course, Rory McIlroy missed his first cut in 30 events at the weekend as Max Homa beat Tony Finau in a play off to win the the Genesis Invitational at Riviera on the PGA Tour. Thirty events pales into insignificance when compared with Tiger in his prime, who put together a magnificent run of 142 consecutive cuts made.

Regripping Service

Poor grips affect your ability to play your best golf. If they are worn and shiny, you’ll end up gripping the club too tightly which will affect wrist hinge and ultimately the distance and direction you are able to achieve.

During the last few weeks of lockdown, I am offering a collect and return service (within the Hale GC vicinity) to those of you who would like your clubs in tip top condition for the 29th March. Grip prices start from £8 and I offer a 10% discount if you get 8 or more clubs regripped in one go. I have putter grips too.

As you can see from the photos below, there are lots of options. I have samples in my car boot that I can show you and discuss when I pop round to collect them.

Please reply to this email or call me on 0161 249 8427 (if I’m not at the club it rings through to my mobile) to take action.

First Tee Progression

Here’s the latest update on how the first tee and practice net area is coming along. I even managed to capture it in some sunshine…

Videos

There are a couple of short video links below that might be of interest. The first demonstrates just how ridiculously talented the current world number one male golfer is and the second celebrates the 25th anniversary of Happy Gilmore and his infamous technique – there can’t be many of you who haven’t tried it?! Enjoy…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwDzi46x8vY