In this week’s newsletter the Anniversary Scramble, Lombard Pro-Am and the men showcase the course to their guests. |
A word from the pro… On Tuesday, myself and Graham Snelgrove had the honour to represent Cottesmore in the Lombard National Pro-Am at Walton Heath. What a day we had. The weather was ideal for scoring and the course was tremendous. Even our golf was good for most parts. We finished with a betterball score of 68, four under which was good enough for tied 19th out of a possible 74 teams. There were some magical moments including a stellar back nine and an outrageous putt holed by Graham on the par three 11th for a two. It was at least 100ft, dead weight in the centre. Never in doubt. Although we finished a little off the pace we had a great day and it was a pleasure to be involved.
|
|
Shop sale If you haven’t visited the shop recently where have you been? We have a great sale on so many items, but fear not, there is still plenty to take your fancy including Under Armour, Titleist, FootJoy, PING and Odyssey. |
Anniversary Scramble - Sunday, 29 July
Entries for the Anniversary Scramble have increased, but we're still quite a long way from a full field for the day. We are very keen to get the number up for this event. It's a mixed event, with a random draw for your four-person scramble team. The competition is run by the club and is used to help raise funds for our junior's section - clearly this is working well considering the continuing success of our juniors. The section relies on donations each year as there is annual expenditure that can't be covered by just the entry fees for the junior competitions. These costs include county competition entries - Covey Cup (Cottesmore are current holders), Andy Beer Memorial and Parsons Trophy. In addition, as per our other sections there is the end of season trophy engravings and occasional trophy maintenance, plus match expenses. The section requires an annual pot of around £800. Last year we held a raffle at the event and we would like to do so again. We would be very grateful for your prize donations on the day and importantly, your ticket purchases. Our junior section is growing in strength and the academy is feeding new members in on a regular basis. They help to shape the future of our club and we hope you can show them your support. Sign-up for the scramble is open on the member's website, so please get your name down for what is always a great day's golf and an excellent social event for the club. As ever, you can always drop me a mail at cottesmore.captain@gmail.com and I will enter you in.
|
Insurance update A lot of positives to report on this week and we are in a much better place than we were a week ago! The most significant news is that the insurance company have finally admitted liability for the claim. Whilst the investigation is still to be completed (this coming Monday) the insurers have accepted a letter from the lead investigator with his findings to date. As they say, 'you're not insured until they say you're insured!' Anyway, that box has now been ticked and we are moving forward. Phew.
|
Temporary Clubhouse Facilities
As a result we have been able to put in the order for our temporary kitchen and clubhouse requirements. I am very pleased to say that our kitchen arrived yesterday and after a great team effort including branches being cut off driveway trees to allow the truck in, water pipes connected, drainage pipes fitted, we are up and running. The chefs are feeling their way into their new surroundings and our menu repertoire has expanded beyond the bacon/sausage baps and burgers we have survived off the last four weeks. A coffee machine will also be back in action next week. A till is also in place to enable use of levy cards once again. Thank you for your patience with the instant coffee!
|
The clubhouse buildings will start arriving w/c Monday, 30 July and the changing/toilet facilities w/c Monday, 6 August. The delivery has to be staged due to the 16 trucks required for delivery. The space we will be left with is actually larger than the Challis Suite and will be suitable for all of our golfing requirements. The vinyl wrap on the exterior will soften the initial look. The toilet facilities will replace the current porta-loos which admittedly aren't great in higher temperatures. |
Fitness classes
We also aim to divide the clubhouse space to also allow for the weekly timetable of fitness classes once the weather turns against us. For now the class timetable will continue to be advertised on a weekly basis and we hope to see as many of you here as possible. An array of dumbells, kettlebells and all sorts of class equipment arrived during the week to keep you on your toes and enhance the overall workouts.
|
Internet On Monday we were able to reinstate our 100mb leased line which has significantly improved IT capabilities. Our 150m extension lead from the owner's house and BT home hub (0.5mb at best) which allowed a temporary internet connection has been packed away hopefully not to be reused again. The knock on effect of this is that the online tee bookings for golf is back on.
|
WiFi
Now that we have our usual internet connection back and that the insurance company are playing ball we have a new WiFi system on order which should be installed this Friday, 20 July. This will provide excellent coverage to the golf shop, clubhouse, lodges and beauty salon.
|
Beauty Salon We re-opened the Salon in Troon Lodge on Wednesday. The beauty team have done a super job in setting it all up. It is set in a beautiful, quiet location overlooking the golf course offering the full range of treatments from before. This Friday, 20 July we will have the lodge reconnected to the rest of the business IT network which will enable online bookings, email access, phone systems, WiFi and card payments.
|
Sky TV It turns out a Sky box can withstand a raging fire and a heavy dowsing with water, really very impressed. The Sky box has been relocated to the pro shop for now and will then move to the clubhouse in due course. Just in time for the Tour de France and all the golf with the British Open this week. Well done Sky...#believeinbetter
|
Golf Competition Score Entry PC We have reinstated a score entry PC in the pro shop for now. Shortly, scores will be able to be entered again to make life easier for everyone.
|
Golf Course We have good news about our water supplies. The water in the lower reservoir has been tested by the Environment Agency and found not be contaminated due to its use in the fire fighting effort and can therefore be pumped over to the upper reservoir ready to go out on the course. We will also be pumping out the swimming pool next week and also use this water on the greens now that the chlorine content has dissipated. Surely it's got to rain soon though...
|
Refunds Thank you again for your patience with this procedure. We are now nearly complete having refunded weddings, accommodation bookings and health club memberships. We are still waiting on bank details from some annual health club memberships. Please forward your details onto Andy to enable your refund memberships@cottesmoregolf.co.uk. Next week is all about completing the fire investigation and getting on with the demolition process. We are already working with architects as we plan how to best re use our current space in the re-build. The potential end product we are looking at is very exciting...
|
Club Championships - Saturday, 11 August and Sunday, 12 August We're not far away from the big one. Entries are currently coming in at a steady rate, but the draw will close on Sunday, 29 July. After some discussion, the committee will be looking to run a two tee start on both Saturday and Sunday. A two tee start will allow us to get everyone round and Sunday's draw sorted much earlier in the day. We will be running a twos sweep over the two days for £5 which covers both days. In addition to the scratch and nett place winners, we are also awarding a prize for the best score for each day (for those not in the overall top three for the weekend). Sign-up via the member's website, or drop me a mail at cottesmore.captain@gmail.com.
|
On the course... On Sunday, 8 July the we played our Sam's Salver, which is a greensomes medal event run every year in aid of the Samartians. The Samaritans answer a call every six seconds to offer people a safe space to talk. They save people's lives, literally. Between the entry fees and the charity raffle on the day, we raised £440. This is a great effort, so on behalf of the charity, thank you to everyone who played, brought a raffle prize, and bought raffle tickets. Greensomes isn't as cruel as foursomes, you get two chances to get a good tee shot away on every hole. But, it's still alternate shots thereafter and that always requires a lot of concentration to put a good round together. Lots of people had a good day out because the top nine places were all nett under par. Jason Davey and I just missed out on the top places - I think it's fair to say that's more my fault than Jason's. Just ahead of us in third place with a nett 69 were our Daily Mail heroes Mark Waddell and Greg O'Connor. One shot ahead of them in second place were Jack Alexandar and Declan O'Reilly. |
The winners on the day were actually head-to-head against each other in their knockout day before. Peter Thomas and Graham Snelgrove miles ahead with a nett 65, which included an absolutely storming gross 30 front nine. Well played Peter and Graham, worthy winners. |
|
The Men's Invite to Guests is a chance for us to showcase our course. Despite being reined back to only 18 holes and more than a slight change to the usual catering provided, it did just that. It's been an effort for Ben and his team with the dry and hot weather, but the course was absolutely perfect. Guest comments were exemplary about the greens and approaches. I have to say it was such a nice day. Everyone I spoke to enjoyed the course and were very complimentary about what the club was still able to put on for us on the day.
Members and guests enjoy post round drinks at the Tap Inn. Even Clive Parker (pictured celebrating in lime green) was happy as he'd won one of the nearest the pins. The 18 holes was run as a fourball betterball stableford just to keep it a fun relaxed day. That meant big scores incoming... Ed Whiffin and guest John Stoner racked up 44 points to take third place. Andy and Martin Peate went a couple better with 46 points to secure second place. On a card with just one single pointer, amassing 47 points, first place went to Isaac Peate and his partner from Mannings Heath, Freddie Muggeridge. Well done Isaac and Freddie - great score!
|
My thanks to all the members for inviting their guests; you helped put on a day I had a lot of concerns over. Salute! The weather... no change. Hot and sunny, hot and sunny. |
On the course... Last Thursday our division three ladies fought all the way to the final putt on the 18th green at West Hove Golf Club to secure their well deserved place in the semi-finals. Fantastic, congratulations to Viv Lyons and her team through this season. Next up Penny Gaunt’s division one team in their quarter-finals at Mannings Heath on Thursday, 26 July, good luck. The ladies played in the Rosina Smith Trophy at the weekend, organised by Jenny Frei, a dancy score of 40 points by Penny Gaunt took first place. Brenda Williams won second place on countback from Irene Matheson. Ladies invite to men, still time to enter! Raffle donations greatly appreciated. This will be for both charities Heads On and Rockinghorse. Saturdays at 2:00pm Calum runs a taster session for juniors, please let friends and family know. This is FREE. Good luck to Jill and Catherine at Dale Hill on Wednesday representing Cottesmore in the Jardine Memorial Trophy.
|
If you haven’t used a push trolley for a while then it’s definitely worth trying one in the not too distant future. In years gone by they were made of metal and were heavy to use, but that couldn’t be further from the truth with today’s lightweight options. |
Nice and easy This BIG MAX IQ+ 360 push trolley is a great option and tips the scales at just 6.3kg, which makes it effortlessly easy to push so you remain full of energy to the end of your round. As well as its lightweight frame, it boasts a 360-degree front wheel so you can steer it to any spot with ease (watch our video to see for yourself), plus a handbrake and a spacious console that has room for all of your valuables and accessories. If the white frame in this photo isn't to your liking, the IQ+ 360 is also available in black as well as black and red. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|