Men’s Committee Newsletter
February 2019
Opening Day - 2nd February
The Opening Day Ambrose was limited to Irons, Hybrids and the Putter. (No Drivers or Woods).
After being rejected by his mates Neil Cavell responded by putting together a cunning team comprising; Rod Laurenson, Dave Cooke and Wayne Rees; who duly responded by posting a winning score of nett 50.62!
· Aussie Butcher Meat packs were awarded to the top twelve teams.
· We understand that some of the morning players were unable to enter a team as other members booked in at the same time as them did not want to enter the Ambrose. To get around this problem, on future Men’s Club Competition days, we will reserve morning Tee times for Ambrose only play.
Summer Cup Result
In a hard fought final Wayne Carter beat Peter Donaldson – well done to you both for getting through to the final.
How you can help improve the course
We hear plenty of complaints about the condition of the Greens and Bunkers but quite often most of the damage and poor presentation is down to us, the members, and as a result the Greenstaff are spending far too much time clearing up after our bad habits. We will, therefore, highlight a couple of easy fixes in this newsletter.
How to repair a Pitch mark – Properly
Yes, there is both a good way and a bad way to do it! Apart from pitch marks damaging the green if they are not repaired, damage can also be done by tearing the roots if not done properly (lifting). Please click on this link to see how to do it quickly, properly and professionally.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuYXMn4tA10
How to Rake a Bunker – Properly
One of the most frequent complaints we hear about is the state of the bunkers particularly when the claim is “there was no sand and my ball flew out of bounds!” The unfortunate truth is that there may well be plenty of sand in the bunker but due to bad or poor player raking it is simply in the wrong place. If all players were to rake the bunkers properly the ball would roll towards the centre of the bunker and we would all have a good sandy base to play off. Please take a look at this you tube link - it will clearly demonstrate how to do it properly.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KusuMdE2wLs
Practicing on the Course
No one minds members practicing on the Course but members are reminded that you are only allowed to use two practice balls. Members of the Committee have had to have ‘words’ with several people recently;
· One was seen to hit four balls off of the 1st Tee with an iron, taking large divots, which he then failed to sand.
· Another hit five high balls into the 10th green and made no effort to repair pitch marks, when challenged he responded by arguing.
· Another hit six high balls into the 6th Green again with no effort to repair pitch marks.
If you see such behaviour please do not be afraid to challenge the offenders or report them to the Pro-shop or a Committee member.
Men’s Competition Day
As you know Saturday is the only day of the week for Men’s Competition Golf. Regular Saturday morning players will also know that there is very keen competition for those prime morning slots. Increased booking pressure is also coming from the many new members who also want Saturday morning play due to, in many cases, their having young families. We have already had to stop Summer and Associate members playing on a Saturday but the Club does NOT want to go back to the old days when we had tiered membership - but we do have to do something. The Players Committee has,therefore, gone for the easier/intrim solution of:
1. Increasing the number of tee-off times by way of cutting the tee times from eight minute down to seven minute intervals. Players must respond to this by ensuring that everone is playing ready golf!
2. Making sure that on any official Men’s Club Competition Day any and all play can only be by way of entry into that day’s official competition. This, we trust, will stop the allegations of casual players, who want to do their own thing, blocking the prime tee-off times on our designated competition days. If players do not want to qualify for the Competition they can always take themselves out after their game.
Ball Out of Bounds or Lost Ball Rule
You still have the option of playing stroke and distance or hitting a provisional ball when you are unsure if your ball is OB or you suspect that your ball could be lost outside of a Penalty area.
Where Clubs, such as ours, have adopted the new Local Rule you will now have the option of using the Stroke and Distance Rule or the Club’s Local Rule – it will be your choice - However, if you do play a provisional ball and you then find the original, or the provisional ball, in play you can't then use the local rule. Full details can be found on our Local Rules board outside of the Pro-Shop.
This short You Tube clip will show you how to use the Local Rule option.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptafkz3XjYg
After much discussion; research and (sometimes heated) debate the Players Committee have also decided to allow the Local Rule for OOB and lost balls in all of our Club Competitions. BOP Golf have also decided to use it for all Pennants play.
In short, it seems that for now only the Elite and Professional players, whose handicaps are scratch or below, will have to use the established S & D Rule of Golf: – for the rest of us it will be optional, but only if the new local rule has been adopted where you are playing your round – So, as always, please do check the Local Rules board!
Upcoming Dates for your Diary
Bradmore, Nicol & Bathgate Cups
· These cups were amalgamated into one Eclectic competition to be played over two rounds in three divisions.
· Round 1 9th February
· Round 2 16th February
· Free entry
· This will be the Official Competition of the day
· Club vouchers for each divisional winner and runner-up
The Plumbing World Shootout
The Committee have agreed to change the Shootout Final date to the 17th November to accommodate a group of regular shootout players who will be away on tour.
This year we are targetting 80+ entries which will enable us to boost the prize fund to $1,000 for first prize and $500+ for second with an enhanced pay out down to 12th place.
· The Thursday field starts on 14th February
· The Saturday field starts on 16th February
· $1,000 first prize
· The entry fee will remain at $30 for the chosen day
· Players can enter for both days; 2 x $30
· The Shootout Final will now be held on Sunday17th November
· Committee members will take entries on Opening Day and every Thursday and Saturday until March 9th.
The Cameron, Waitemata and Junior Cups:
Round 1 23rd February.
Round 2 2nd March.
· These are handicap medal events over 36 holes in three grades; traditionally the player’s best round will be used as the qualifying round for the Aquila, Wilcox and Green matchplay series.
· The top 16 qualifiers in each of the three grades will then go forward to the Aquila, Wilcox and Green Cups.
· This will be the Official Competition of the day
· Free entry
· Club Vouchers for each divisional winner and runner-up.
The Aquila, Wilcox and Green Cups:
This is a handicapped Matchplay event with your qualification having been your best round in the Cameron, Waitemata or Junior Cups. The players who had the top 16 best scores will go into their divisional Matchplay draw.
· Round 1 16th March
· Round 2 23rd March
· Round 3 30th March
· The Final will be played on Finals Day.
Club’s Strokeplay Championships:-
After many requests, and a positive Clubhouse vote, it was decided to move away from the three round 52 hole format back to the traditional 72 Hole format. There was also a need to keep away from the Sunday Pennant Fixtures during February and March and for the five weeks after the April coring in renovation week. We have, therefore, scheduled the Strokeplay Championships for May on the following dates:
Round 1. Saturday 11th May
Round 2/3. Saturday 18th & Sunday 19th May
Round 4. Saturday 25th May - seeded round
· The Allen Ward Memorial Trophy will be awarded to the player who has the two best Nett totals, across the three grades, after the first two rounds of the Strokeplay.
· The James Mowatt Memorial Trophy will be awarded to the player who has the best three Nett totals, across the three grades, after Round 3 of the Strokeplay.
· Both the Allen Ward and James Mowatt Trophies are part of the Strokeplay Championships and cannot be entered into as stand alone competitions.
Pennants 2019
· As previously advised the Men’s Committee have decided to field Pennant teams in all of the following Divisions;
· 1. Championship: - Two seeded divisions of five teams playing 18 holes of Foursomes and 18 holes of Singles. The Team Manager will be Jelte Wieringa
· 2. Senior: - One Baywide competition with one round of Round Robin before play-offs, playing 18 Holes of Foursomes & 18 holes of Singles. The Team Manager will be Matt Wooten
· 3. Intermediate ‘Blue’: - Will play 18 Holes of Foursomes & 18 holes of Singles. The Team Manager will be Lindsay Klee
· 4. Intermediate ‘Gold’ will play just 18 holes of singles with a 4 Ball Better Ball included. The Team Manager will be Stu McFadyen
· 5. Junior ‘Blue’ Will play 18 Holes of Foursomes & 18 holes of Singles. The Team Manager will be Wayne Carter
· 6. Junior ‘Gold’ - Will play just 18 holes of singles with a 4 Ball Better Ball included. The Team Manager will be Barry Jones
· 7. Presidents Grade – Minimum Handicap 21.5 playing just 18 holes of singles and 4 Ball Better Ball included. Team Manager ‘Fridge’
· 8. Handicap Pennants – 9 holes of Foursome and then 18 Holes of Singles. Team Manager John Laing.
Results will be posted within the Clubhouse and on the Club’s Facebook page.
Men’s Committee
February 2019