Newsletter October/November 2023
AN UPDATE FROM... Sarah Blunden General Manager Hi everyone, As Summer draws to a close we can look back over a brilliant few months of competitions. From Club Champs, Charity Day, Mens Captains Day, Lady Captains Day and the Junior Club Champs we have seen some great events. Thank you to everyone who has taken part in these Club Competitions and who has helped them to be such a great success. A huge well done to Rhys Hughes who won our inaugural Junior Club Championships held at the end of September - the day welcomed over 40 junior golfers who played across the Shey and Maybury. It was fantastic to see so many of our Junior Members heading out together. The day wouldn’t have happened without the hard work of our Junior Committee Organisers. A special mention and thank you to John and Louise who worked so hard to organise this very successful event. Also at the end of September was our Mens Captains Day, followed by our Lady Captains Day at the start of October. Both of these events mark the end of the season and what a way to finish. I want to take this opportunity to thank this year’s Captains Adrian and Sally. I have really enjoyed working alongside both of you and you have both done such a great job in providing all of our members with a full calendar of events. On behalf of everyone at Hoebridge – Thank you! With this being a newsletter of ‘thank yous’ I would also like to extend my thanks to all who have supported us with raking bunkers, repairing pitch marks and filling in your
divots. These small acts of repair have such a big impact on the overall condition of the Courses for everyone else who is following your round. The divot bags have been a new addition this Summer. Barry moves the bag pick-up points around the course to the areas where they are needed, with the final collection point for the used bags now on the 18th of the Main Course. Or, if you prefer, you can hand your bags into the Wardens or Pro Shop. Every sprinkle of divot mix put down using these bags helps. However, we have sadly had a lot of our divot bags go missing over the past month. Can I ask, that if any of you have accidentally taken one home in your golf bag you return it to the collection point for others to be able to use?
We are now turning our gaze to the months ahead and preparing for Autumn (and dare I say it Christmas!). As I write this, it is a beautiful October day. However, the leaves on the Beech Trees are already starting to fall and the other trees won’t be far behind. Our Greenkeeping team are preparing themselves for the thankless task of blowing and collecting the leaves from the Courses. They will do their absolute best to keep the tees, fairways and especially the greens as clear as possible for you over the coming months. But please bear a thought for them as each gust of wind brings down more leaves on the areas they have just cleared! Continued On The Next Page
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One good thing about heading into Autumn is the beautiful sunrises that we are starting to see. Our Mechanic Ian captured these beautiful shots first thing on an October morning.
It’s not just the Golf Courses that we’re preparing for Autumn. Around the Clubhouse we are upping our path-blowing regime and are completing regular checks on the drains and gutters for leaves blocking them. Our Summer hanging baskets have been replaced with some fresh ones for Autumn. Plus you will soon see us planting hundreds of bulbs in the expectation that next Spring we will have a blooming marvellous display around our paths and driveway. I mentioned above that we are also preparing for Christmas. Each year we hold several party nights and lunches across the month of December, hosting friends, family and work colleagues who are looking to celebrate together. Over 70% of our Christmas Parties are already sold out, so if you’re thinking of booking then make sure you contact us quickly to guarantee space. We really do love seeing our Members at these events and being able to share in the celebrations with familiar faces. Tommy and his Sales Team will be able to help with all your questions and get you booked in. Simply pop them an email at info@hoebridgegc. co.uk.
The Greenkeeping team have also been busy ensuring the grass is as healthy as possible and ready for Winter. Overseeding of the fairways was completed at the end of September, and Barry has been ensuring the Greens are fed regularly in order to minimise the risk of disease developing.
Finally, I hope you are all enjoying trying our new menu options in the bar and restaurant. I’ve been working my way through the various new items since the menu launch on 2nd October. I’m a cheese lover so the goats cheese and caramelised onion panini is one of my favourite lunch choices at the moment. I look forward to seeing you all around the Clubhouse soon. Sarah
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working, I like to read, play piano, and crochet. The Driving Range is a good place to come to for people of all ages because it has a wide variety of activities on the Trackman screens. My favourite way to use the Trackman is the many games it offers like Capture the Flag which I enjoy playing with my friends. Hope to see you there! Megan:
MEET THE TEAM Throughout 2023 we have seen our Driving Range Team grow, and in this newsletter, we want to introduce you to 4 new members of the team: George, Grace, Megan, and Matt. Along with our Driving Range Manager Sam, and the other 2 members of the team Adam and Luke, these 4 new team members make up a brilliant group of people who are there to welcome all our Members and Guests to the range. Plus, not forgetting the wonderful Ed who works so hard to ensure the Range is clean, tidy and ready for the day. Here is a little bit about our new Team members and their thoughts on our TrackMan Driving Range. George: Hi, my name is George, and I am a Driving Range Assistant. In my free time, I enjoy playing golf and watching The Arsenal. You should come to Hoebridge Driving Range to work through your golf bag and find your distances on Trackman, It’s helpful to know your distances and I even use it myself on the course. I look forward to seeing you down there!
Hi, I’m Megan and I am a Driving Range Assistant at Hoebridge. When I’m not at the range I enjoy making my own art and sewing my own clothing. My latest piece of art I created is a range of different landscapes across London. The Driving Range is a good place to come as we have many different competitions and tournaments throughout the month which you should come and try out for a prize. I look forward to meeting you all! Matt: Hi, I’m Matt, I am a Driving Range Assistant at Hoebridge, I am currently on a gap year and the time that I spend not working is focused on achieving my dream to play golf at the professional level. When I am not playing golf, I enjoy watching my football team Man United and spending time with family and friends. If you are like me and enjoy socialising but also want some private time to yourself then the driving range is perfect for you, as you can go in a bay and practice by yourself or bring family or friends along and enjoy the games which Trackman provides while enjoying the food and drinks on offer from our range bar.
Grace: Hi, I’m Grace and I work on the Driving Range here at Hoebridge. When I’m not
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COURSE UPDATE Barry Gardner Course Manager As we are fasttracking away from summer, we enter the time of year when mother nature can make things very difficult for us as well as giving us plenty more work to do.
This Autumn/Winter we will be looking at replacing some of the damaged sleeper path edging and turfing some worn areas. The fairways have been over-seeded again which now forms part of our yearly maintenance plan. By overseeding regularly, we not only replenish bare areas, but we can also begin introducing better grasses such as Dwarf Rye Grass which is better at withstanding drought and recovers better than some of the weaker grasses we currently have growing.
We are already seeing plenty of leaves falling, mainly due to dry summer periods putting some of the trees under stress and some recent gusty weather. Clearing leaves will now be a constant and thankless task for us, which at times can seem neverending, so please bear with us. Autumn weather also brings mushrooms and fungal activity, which you will notice if you go on woodland walks, but you will also notice this activity on the greens and tees as the most common turf grass diseases we get are fungal in nature. The battle we face is trying to keep the grass plant as healthy as possible when naturally the plant is not growing at its strongest, so we use such products as chemical fungicides as a preventative measure, bio-stimulants, phosphites, calcium and more acidic products such as Iron sulphate. All these will help keep the plant as strong as it can be and in turn, hopefully prevent the fungal diseases from finding a way into the leaf and as such the whole plant.
You may well see but might not hear the latest investment into Hoebridge, which comes in the shape of our brand-new Toro fully electric greens mower. This machine takes greens mowing to a whole different level, a different noise level that is! The Team have enjoyed hearing the birds sing when cutting the greens in the morning. It is also another step towards helping with our aim for net zero aspirations. Happy golfing from the greens team Regards, Barry and the Greens team
We will also be raising the height of cut on the playing areas as this gives the plant a bit more leaf surface to try and catch as much of the reduced sunlight to allow as much photosynthesis to take place as possible, whilst giving the plant a bit more protection from winter foot/wheel traffic.
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CUSTOM FITTING Custom Fit Technician Jonny Hi everyone, a little bit about myself, I’m Jonny, a Custom Fit Technician here at Hoebridge GC. I have been with the company for 4 and 1/2 years and have been a professional golfer for 10 years. I have also obtained Trackman certification levels 1 and 2 whilst working with the company. I just wanted to let everyone know about the Custom Fitting Service we offer here at Hoebridge what the service entails and why it’s vitally important when thinking about getting clubs. Buying a club which isn’t perfectly fit for you could leave you struggling to reach your potential, and no matter what level of experience, we would always recommend being custom-fit before committing to buying anything.
The best part about this process is that it is 100% free, yes, free.
So, what does a fitting entail?
Don’t waste your money on ‘off the shelf’ equipment. Let us find the correct equipment for you.
Firstly, we measure golfers’ physical characteristics often called a static fitting. Secondly, using our state-of-the-art Trackman system, we capture all important swing data to bring you the correct equipment. The process to finding the correct club: 1) finding the correct length 2) lie angle 3) head type 4) shaft flex and type 5) grip.
I hope to see you all soon.
Did you know that 87% of golfers who are custom fit are able to reduce their handicap by at least 10%? So, 1 hour of your time can literally change your golf.
Jonny
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RETAIL UPDATE We’re clinging onto the summer………. but only just!! With twilight golf coming to an end be sure to hit the virtual golf on the Trackman range to keep the swing in check!! On the plus side, you’ll be able to keep warm in those winter months with the new autumn/winter range from Oscar Jacobson, Ping, Puma and more. We also have a bigger range of ladies’ clothing this year from both Ping and JRB along with winter boots from FootJoy.
The custom fit offerings continue to grow with more shaft options now available for the Titleist T Series irons. The new Taylormade MG4 wedges have also arrived with various bounce and grind options, perfect for those soft winter conditions!! Challenge both Jonny and Andy to find you 15 yards of extra carry with a custom fit driver experience, vital for low scoring without the firm summer fairways!
Employee of the Quarter Dominic Wilcox A huge well done and congratulations to our Employee of the 3rd Quarter Dominic!
We have a large range of Motocaddy accessories including winter wheels for both the S series and M series. The use of these will be beneficial in helping us maintain the course throughout the winter, particularly during those frosty mornings.
Dom is our Events Supervisor and works extremely hard to ensure that all of our events run smoothly and efficiently. Whether he is looking after one of your member’s matches, one of our weekly meetings, a birthday party or a formal meal, Dom goes out of his way to make sure everyone has a brilliant time. Thank you very much Dom!
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HEALTH & FITNESS UPDATE Ryan Stonehouse Gym Manager
Strength Training for Golf The front squat exercise is essential for any golf strength development programme and can be performed with a barbell for advanced performers and learned with a kettlebell. The lift requires good overall flexibility and develops core strength and highly transferable skills to a golf swing! If you would like to find out more, please come and ask a member of the Personal Training team.
Hello from the Health Club, Our new half rack and weights are finally here, it has been a bit of a wait but well worth it! Our members have been taking full advantage of our now bigger weights area since we have changed our gym floor layout.
We also have a new member of the Personal Training team - Zac Martin joins us from Nuffield who brings a wealth of coaching experience to Hoebridge. Zac’s gymnastics background has already proven useful in our Supple strength classes and his passion for fitness will benefit our members greatly going forward. Zac has a limited number of PT taster sessions remaining, so please get in touch soon if you wish to book a session to find out how Zac can help you!
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OUR MEMBER OF THE MONTH Sally Griffiths Allow us to introduce, Sally Griffiths Sally re-joined Hoebridge 4 months ago & in that time has been very consistent and has put in a great deal of effort, particularly in building her stamina back up to be able to jog more comfortably. Sally has shifted over TWO STONES!!! (that’s 29 lbs or 13 kg). Like all of us, she lost access to the gym during Covid times, so is a testament to never giving up & proof that you can shift that Covid weight! By losing a considerable amount of body fat, Sally is feeling happier & more energized. Sally enters the gym full of energy, such positive energy doesn’t go unnoticed! Improved mobility is another benefit Sally has achieved, particularly in her shoulders where she suffers from joint issues and has seen a real improvement.
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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