Welcome to this week's newsletter in which disaster strikes! |
A word from the pro… I am sure the majority of you know by now, but if you don’t, Cottesmore suffered a terrible fire on Monday evening. Thankfully nobody was injured which is the main thing, but the main building has suffered a huge amount of damage. These last few days have been horrific to say the least. The fire broke out around 5pm Monday evening and within minutes was flying through the clubhouse. The firefighters on hand were exceptional and did the upmost to preserve as much as possible. A special mention has to go to the staff who have gone above and beyond since the fire took hold of our beloved club. However horrific the fire has been, it will not dampen our spirits and we will work tirelessly to give our members and visitors a club they will be proud of and what they can call home. We have been overwhelmed with messages of support which we are ever so grateful for. As I said, the last few days have been horrific but one thing that has shone through all of the doom and gloom is how special a club we have. We truly are a special place. Members, visitors, staff, all of you make this club what it is. Thank you!
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A temporary new home...
We have a temporary shop in the sales office, but we hope to return to the pro shop within the next two to three weeks. |
Tough to write...
This is the first newsletter of the year I haven't wanted to write. I've found it very difficult to find any words which describe how I feel about Monday's events. As sad and devastating as the news is, it's been incredible to see how everyone has reacted - it's said that life is 10% what is what happens to us and 90% how we react to it. Johnny and Matthew have shown an amazing level of pragmatism under the circumstances. The positivity I've witnessed from management, past and present staff, members, and the general public has been remarkable. I know everyone has worked so hard to get the golf course back up and running in such a short space of time and the whole team deserve a huge amount of thanks and respect for it. I think we've always been rightly proud of our club, but it's more than just the bricks and mortar. It's the people and the spirit therein that really makes it what it is. I'll echo my message to Johnny earlier this week; we are committed, this is our home.
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Captain's Day Many people have convinced me that I should still produce a report on my Captain's Day, so I'll try my best to do so with an upbeat lilt. The usual suspects were there at 0600 to help put up the gazebos. It was a bit chilly at that time of day, but it would appear I have shaken the rain-monkey off my back as the weather throughout the day was truly gorgeous. Andy Peate could see I was already fretting, so he sent me out on the buggy to go and put all the spot prize markers out for the day. Driving around the course, scaring a few rabbits here and there, I could see Ben and the boys had set the course up beautifully. I was already gutted I wasn't playing. Few registration processes are as hectic as that last 20 minutes on Captain's Day. Luckily, I had two old hands helping me out, Trevor and Donald. Money collected, cards handed out, raffle tickets sold, buggies distributed. At 08:00 I got to parp my horn and 94 players began the morning 4BBB. Malcolm Holmes and Nigel Gray did a sterling job running the chip-in challenge on the practice area by the 9th tee. Incredible that only Daniel Watson-Jones managed it, and he gracefully didn't take his £10! Meanwhile, over on the 17th, Sarah and Amanda ran their mini-event as they do every year. I have to apologise to them for not getting the fizz sorted out at the start, but hopefully the accompanying cake that I did eventually bring with it helped. They did an amazing job for me in the morning, I hope everyone didn't feel too threatened! Things at the welly-wang weren't going so well. Clearly many people have never done it before and most were struggling to throw it straight, and some at all. Still, even those with a big 'snap-hook' did better than Imran Dar who managed to put his attempt in the tree next to the tee. OK, down to three wellies, then. A few groups later and Ady Darker decides the welly must be lonely up there, so proceeds to re-unite the left and right boot by hurling his attempt up in the tree too. Who'd have thought welly attrition would be such a problem? Thankfully, with some careful marshalling, we didn't suffer any more welly based losses. One man was absolutely determined to be crowned the best wanger (careful, spellcheck) on the day and that evening I gave the bottle of fizz and the wellies to Earnie Cloete. The morning really whizzed by for me and everyone got back in around the expected time. Lunch it was. Malcolm and I got busy putting the scores in to the spreadsheet and noticed that one pair had put in 47pts! It was great to have a guest speaker from the charity. Hollie articulated the work the charity performs far better than I ever have. Thank you all for your attention during her talk. I think it really gave some gravity to what we're supporting this year and that the money you so generously give has a real impact on so many children's lives. At this stage it was over to our resident auctioneer (we really should get him a gavel), my VC, Martin Bolton-Smith. It was actually Martin's handling of the auction last year that made me realise he'd make a great club captain! Another solid performance again this year. Everything sold and some bargains as well.
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Item Winner Amount
Grand Tour, Adrian Verbeeten, £800 Portugal, Alex Burton, £300 Headphones, Alex Wilson, £150 Spa Day, Marc Vincent, £125 Crowborough, Marc Vincent, £120 Ham Manor, Bob Miller, £110 Dragon, Barry Peate, £100 Copthorne, Daniel Watson-Jones, £100 West Hove, Paul Field, £71 Dyke, Alex Burton, £70 Pyecombe, Grant Moyse, £70 Autographs, David Kirk, £60 Haywards Heath, Robin Fillion, £60 Hill Barn, Donald Day, £55 East Brighton, Donald Day, £40
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Huge thanks to everyone who took part in the auction; everyone who bid, and those that won. The total raised by the auction was a staggering £2,231. On schedule the greensomes started at 14:15. Everyone was look a bit weary coming round the last 18. I'm so sorry we ran out of waters, the heat really kicked in during the afternoon. There were loads of beers! I thought the afternoon should run quickly, the mini-events were done, no spot prizes to worry about, so I guess the heat really was a killer. Eventually though, we had everyone back in. Malcolm and I bashed the scores in to the spreadsheet and then I handed over to Donald to work out who was in the prizes. Not in the overall top 3 for the day, but with a massive 46 points, Dave Kirk and Lee Rich picked up the prize for the morning. Similarly, winning the afternoon prize with a score of 41 points were Alex Wilson and Nigel Powell. In third place and only beaten on countback, with 83 points were Anthony Claydon and Imran Dar; obviously Imran did better with his clubs than he did with the welly. Taking second place from them were Steve Allen and Martin Cook. The overall winners on the day are a pair that rather bookend the club, Barry Peate andJake Peate. Their 47 points in the morning round and a solid 40 points in the afternoon meant they were the winners of the 'Axe on a bit of Wood' trophy. I'm very happy for them both. Barry has been around the club for years and has always been very supportive and Jake is a quality golfer who's thrown himself in to the club 100%. I have not yet fully completed the finances for the day. I hope everyone enjoyed the mini-events and the fact that they were just £1 a go. I know Niamh enjoyed running (shouting?) her 'guess how many sweets are in the jar?' as you all came round by the first tee. I'd like you to know that she raised £68 on her own and Steve Brice won a jar of melted chocolate! The girls had a great afternoon, thank you for entertaining them. My initial estimates on how much we raised were a little off though. After having a proper chance to count up the money from the various areas we now are a touch over... £4,000! Jo and I cannot believe it. The generosity shown by you all leaves me lost for words. So, again, my thanks to you all for supporting my day and the charity. It's a day I'll never forget. |
100 Holes Andy Peate and I will be out there tomorrow from about 04:30. If you're around during the day and want to come and walk a loop with us, you'd be welcome and it'd be great to see you.
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Team news
We have two teams in action at home this weekend and one team away. Dig deep guys, let's do it for the club.
Annodata: The team have a home draw on Saturday against Worthing. I shall be up at the club on Saturday to see you all off. B Team: The team are at home on Saturday, following the Annodata team out. The visiting side are Pyecombe and the Bees really need a win this weekend to get them back up the league table. Crown League: The team are playing at Oak Park this coming Sunday. Good luck guys.
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Final words
Storms make trees take deeper roots.
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The latest news...
Our thanks to the men for a great day on Sunday, I had a great time with Paul my partner and Margaret Swatman and Mike Frei, the winners. Well done! Ladies invite to men is in 5/8, please sign up if you would like to play. Our Captain’s vice-Captain’s Challenge is now all square, thanks to my team for a great win on Monday! The division matches are all very tight at the moment, check on SCLGA web site. Our ladies invite is this Thursday, and it’s great that quite a few golflite ladies are joining us. Good luck to all division teams as all have matches this week, to the team for the Katherine Ryder at Copthorne on Monday! Morrice Fours away at Goodwood on 16/6, busy week at Cottesmore! Thursday 21/6 is the Myra Shipton.
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Final words…
“Life doesn’t get easier or more forgiving, we get stronger and more resilient.”
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We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: the key to unlocking lower scores lies in improving your short game. Having the correct technique is one part of the journey to achieving this. The other is making sure your wedges are the correct grind and bounce for your swing, as well as having a set of wedges that are evenly gapped to cater for any distance. |
| Poorly gapped wedge system |
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| Correctly gapped wedge system |
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50% of you are like the first graphic If you’re working hard to get your handicap down, it really will pay off to dedicate more of your practice time to your short game and the shots you need to improve in the scoring zone. As you can see with the graphics above, the wrong wedge set-up can lead to an awkward 35-yard gap and more difficult half shots, which is why we always recommend a gapping session or fitting.
With Lynx you have plenty of options, including this popular Prowler wedge, which comes in four different lofts between 48° and 60°. It means whether you’re looking for a two, three or four wedge set-up in your bag, we can get your yardages gapped perfectly. |
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