Newsletter December / January 2024
AN UPDATE FROM... Sarah Blunden General Manager Hi everyone, This year has gone very quickly and there are so many highlights to look back on. At the end of November, we got together for our Presentation Evening to celebrate 2023 and to present all of this year’s golfing winners with their trophies. Congratulations to all who took part and especially to those of you who walked away with a trophy, including this year’s Club Champions: Mens Club Champion 2023 – Rod Gallagher Ladies Club Champion 2023 – Kim Price Shey Club Champion 2023 – John Hort Junior Club Champion 2023 – Rhys Hughes divots.
The Presentation Evening is not just about celebrating our winners, but it is about celebrating all of you and the efforts that you always put into fundraising across the year. Your generosity never ceases to amaze me and this year was no different. Together you managed to raise a whopping £19,454.78 for local mental health charity ‘Oakleaf’. Oakleaf, based in Guilford, supports the local community in managing mental health through the provision of programmes such as work-related training, employment support, Counselling, wellbeing activities and offering safe havens. From speaking with those who helped to run Continued On The Next Page
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From speaking with those who helped to run Oakleaf that night, I know how much of a difference this money will make. As we begin a new year, we also move forward with a new Captain’s Charity. Our 2024 Captains will be fundraising across the year for ‘Silver Friends’. Silver Friends is a charity dedicated to providing support and companionship to lonely and isolated elderly citizens in the Woking area.
Whilst Summer is our busiest time out on the golf course, December is our busiest time in the clubhouse, where we welcome thousands of people through our doors. Our Christmas parties are in full swing and it has been fantastic to see so many of our members attending our events this year. We do love seeing familiar faces at our Parties and Events and love celebrating with you all. Unfortunately, our Mens Christmas Match was called off after six holes due to very thick
and unexpected fog. However, everyone was still able to enjoy their Festive three-course meal, with some complimentary balls on the driving range to pass the time whilst they waited for lunch to be served. Fortunately, both our Shey and Ladies Christmas Lunches were able to go ahead as planned, with some after-dinner entertainment in the form of our one and only F&B Supervisor Gionny!
Barry (Course Manager) and I will always look to inform you as to how the current weather conditions are impacting us, including what we are doing to mitigate the effects and why. Further on in this newsletter, Barry explains just how much rain we have had over the last 3 months and how saturated the ground has in turn become. Whilst we cannot control the weather, we can control our ongoing project work, and it is great to see the 5th and 10th bunker renovations now underway. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the Hoebridge Team for their hard work and efforts throughout the year. 2023 has not been an easy year. Inflation has caused considerable cost increases in nearly every area of our operation, and the weather has made managing the Courses even harder than usual.
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We have all done our best to manage and steer Hoebridge to the best of our ability, and to offer you all a fantastic venue to spend your time at. We are very lucky to have such a brilliant team of people working for us and I want to thank every one of them. Together, we will continue working to move Hoebridge forward in the best possible way, improving standards, our offerings, and sustainable ways of working, both now and many years to come. Have a fantastic Christmas and a very happy 2024! Sarah
WHAT’S TO COME IN 2024 Sales Manager Tommy Culm This year saw the return of our Tribute Nights which have been a roaring success. From ABBA, Tina Turner, Freddie Mercury, and Michael Jackson, we have had some amazing tribute nights paired with delicious two-course dinners. We have just finalised our calendar for 2024, with a return of some old favourites and some brand-new acts we have never seen before, so be sure to keep your eyes peeled around the club and online. We are also pleased to announce that as part of your “member benefits”, all our golf & gym members will be entitled to 10% off all our tribute nights and quiz nights! All our 2024 event dates and information will be on display early in the new year. We look forward to seeing you there. Tommy
COURSE UPDATE Barry Gardner Course Manager You can tell winter is officially here, the leaves are falling and so is the rain! It seems like every newsletter I mention, or more likely moan, about the weather, so let’s keep with the trend as it is very pertinent at this time of year. At the time of writing in mid-December, it’s been hard to remember a day without rainfall of some description in the last couple of months. In fact we have only had 15 days without rain in the last 40 days and we have received 229.6mm of rain in that period, which averages out to be 5.74mm per day!! At this time of year, we are losing the help from evapotranspiration (ET), so it doesn’t take too long before soils can reach field capacity, this means the soil is not able to receive any more water in its profile. Using the data from our weather station I can see exactly how much ET we lose each day and this along with the rainfall data gives me a soil moisture surplus (SMS) or soil moisture deficit (SMD) reading. The table below shows the last 3 months’ worth of data.
SEPT OCT NOV
RAINFALL TOTAL (mm) 71.8 122 114.2
ET TOTAL (mm) 59.82 27.66 11.25
SMS (+)/ SMD(-) (mm) +12 +94.3 +102.9
As you can see the last two months have left us with a very high soil moisture surplus, hence why the ground remains saturated, let’s hope for some dry cold weather very soon!
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Winter Projects This winter, we are renovating the 5th and 10th greenside bunkers on the main course and will be trialling a new bunker liner in both, called Bunker Shield which will give the effect of sand always being up the faces of the bunkers despite heavy rainfall, this picture shows Michael, the designer and owner installing a sample section in our 5th bunker.
CUSTOM FITTING As Custom Fit technicians, Jonny and Andy make sure they stay up to date with all the latest clubs. We asked them to pick out their ‘iron of choice’ for 2023 and their reasons why. Here’s what they said:
Custom Fit Technician Jonny Cobra Forged TEC – 9.5/10
These bunkers will remain out of play until the spring to allow turf to knit and everything to settle. You should notice a difference as you enter the Driveway with the roadside verge having had a makeover. This area has been turned from a weedy verge into a grassed verge that will be easier to maintain and aesthetically will be much improved. Back on the golf course we will looking to improve some of the pathways, with new edging, drainage channels and filling of potholes over the remainder of the Winter period. Well, that’s all for this year apart from wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year Regards, Barry and the greens team
This is the hardest category choice for me as there are so many incredible irons on the market right now. As most of you know I am a huge Titleist fan and it was very difficult for me not to choose the T150 as it’s a super product. However, the Cobra Forged Tec has been hugely popular for a large number of people that have come in for fittings throughout the year, and so this iron gets my vote as best on the market 2023.
Pro’s: • Sleeker and refined design – Thinner top line and less offset • Player preferred feel but super forgiving • Stronger loft option with forged Tec X • Acoustics are amazing • Yardage gainer • Lots of shaft options • Black finish available Con’s: • No SW availability
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Custom Fit Technician Andy
RETAIL UPDATE
Taylormade Stealth HD – 9/10
Merry Christmas Everybody!
I recommend the Stealth HD range as it has consistently produced high flying and soft-landing shots. The HD (High Draw) model helps golfers who slice the ball to straighten up their ball flight. Although these irons may not suit the eye of a better player who prefers a more traditional looking set, it is hard to argue with how consistently the Stealth HD irons have helped produce longer, straighter shots for the vast majority!
The Christmas sale has now begun and there are plenty of bargains to be had!! With big savings on leading hardware brands such as Taylormade, Cobra, PING, Titleist and Yonex, could this be the time to freshen up your golf equipment for 2024? New Year, new grooves! In addition to the savings on hardware, we have savings on clothing, footwear and much more! Why not pop into the shop and treat yourself today? For all of you who are still struggling to find that perfect gift for friends and family, perhaps Hoebridge vouchers could be an option. With vouchers available for everything from Golf lessons to Pirate Golf, you need not worry about venturing out into the cold to spoil those closest to you this year. All you need to do is follow the link below and decide how much you like them!
Pro’s: • A large profile inspires confidence • A low Centre of gravity helps produce a higher ball flight • Draw bias reduces sliced shots • Huge range of custom-fitting options
Gift Vouchers – Old Woking, Surrey | Hoebridge Golf Centre (ibookedonline.com)
Con’s: • There are better options for players who struggle with hooking the ball • Large club head size may deter some people who prefer the look of traditional irons Ian
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HEALTH & FITNESS UPDATE
Windscreen Wipers dynamic stretch: This exercise is great for improving hip and lower back mobility, an ideal dynamic stretch for those prone to lower back stiffness. Perform this side to side stretch with slow and controlled movements.
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I am delighted to announce the return of Rob McMurray to Hoebridge. The members are already benefiting from his wealth of experience in training clients of all ages and abilities. Well known for his Bootcamp locally, it is also great to have Rob back delivering his very popular and challenging group fitness sessions.
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Strength Training for Golf Vipr Drive: A full body exercise perfect for improving your golf swing! This forward lunge movement with rotation is ideal for conditioning your legs, hips, core and shoulders.
If you are interested in a bespoke training plan from one of our trainers please come and see us in the Health Club.
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Personal Training Gift Vouchers 2
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**£199 FOR 5 SESSIONS** Here at Gym at Hoebridge we pride ourselves on having some of the best personal trainers in Surrey. If you’re looking to lose weight, improve your shape, train for an event or generally improve your health and wellbeing, we have a trainer to suit you. Each trainer has a different approach to living a healthier lifestyle be sure to check out their individual profiles to see which trainer suits you best.
Scan the QR code to buy online>>>
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Thank you for reading the latest Members News. Please feel free to contact us on
01483 722611
HOEBRIDGE GOLF CENTRE Old Woking Road Old Woking Surrey GU22 8JH