Competition news
Over the last few weeks, the Competition Secretary has been working hard to produce the active calendar for 2021. One of the major features for the 2021 competitions calendar is the Members’ Race To Le Touquet, which will include seven inclusive events and operate via an order-of-merit points system. These events will include the inaugural Club Championship in addition to six other historic competitions at Sherfield Oaks Golf Club.
To view the selected events, please view the Competitions Page on the website and then mark them into your diaries. At Redlibbets Golf and Country Club these events have been very successful in creating an enticing competitive environment, which makes heart beat just a little bit faster.
Competitions are an integral part of the membership experience at Sherfield Oaks and a lot of emphasis has been placed in organising them to improve upon previous years. Please note that the closing date for all competitions and roll ups is moving to four days in advance of the competition date.
Captain’s update for 2021
From Guy Wright, Club Captain: Merry Christmas and a happy New Year! I would usually use this platform to announce plans and aspirations for my captaincy year but, after what can only be described as a very unique and challenging 2020, I would like to instead express my gratitude to the following people who have made a real difference to our club.
I would like to start by putting on record our thanks and gratitude to Dan Goddard for his efforts and hard work as Club Captain. A special mention also to Lee Hannington and Sheila Garfoot for their excellent work and contribution as Seniors and Ladies Captains throughout a turbulent 2020. Keith Lockett, our club treasurer, who has worked hard balancing the books as well as dealing with the transfer of Member’s vouchers from Crown Golf, which has not been an easy task.
The Covid pandemic had a major impact on our golfing schedule last year, I am sure all the Members appreciate all the hard work of the CSC team. A special mention goes to both Simon Hargrave and Chris Conquest who spent an enormous amount of time and effort to provide us all with a competition programme in testing conditions.
We are indebted and extremely grateful to John Taylor, Gill Fowler and Chris Conquest. The Handicap committee had the incredible task of changing all the handicaps from CONGU to the WHS. The logistical headache of getting all the Members’ details and their authority to comply with GDPR, coupled with learning a new scoring system, was a major achievement and our thanks go to all involved. We are looking for a couple of new members to join the team, so if you are interested, please get in contact.
I am looking forward to working with Luke and the rest of the Get Golfing team. I have been impressed, like so many, with the investment in our club already. New machinery for the greenkeepers and, of course, the redevelopment of the clubhouse.
My final thank you is to Ross and the greenkeeping team. The courses throughout 2020 have been in magnificent condition and we can all see the improvements and effort that is being put in by Ross and the whole team.
It is an honour to be Club Captain in 2021, we have an excellent Seniors Captain in Lewis Frost and Ladies Captain in Norah McPhail. I am especially excited and looking forward to hosting some great events throughout 2021 including all board events, Captain’s Day and, of course, Presentation Night. This year Get Golfing will introduce the Race to Le Touquet, which I am sure will be keenly contested and will be a real highlight of the golfing calendar.
We have three fantastic charities for 2021, Parkinson’s UK, Naomi House and Jack’s Place and The Salvation Army. I look forward to raising as much money as possible for all these wonderful causes.
I also look forward to serving all the Sherfield Members. If you want to contact me, my email address is [email protected] and my mobile is 07739 073428.
Sponsorship Boards
As you will have seen by the investment made so far this year, we believe there is a very bright future for Sherfield Oaks and we are keen to ensure that it is put on a stable financial footing.
We are also keen to offer Members the opportunity to promote their businesses via some sponsorship boards on the golf courses as we have done at other Get Golfing clubs such as at Warley Park in Essex (see picture below).
Our tee boards are 3m x 1m in size and are an incredible way to get noticed on the course, with prices starting from as little as £1000 + VAT per year, they are amazingly cost effective as well.
On average our tee boards reach more than 50,000 views per annum. We have a limited number of spaces available on our driveway, which reach a significantly larger audience of golfers and non-golfers visiting for events or social gatherings.
If you are interested in one of these sponsorship boards or you would like to see some more examples of what they could look like, please call Luke on 01256884100 or email [email protected]
Course news
From Ross Cook, Courses Manager: November seemed dry compared to October but we still saw 66mm of rainfall, which is about average. This meant, unfortunately, it was not the drying month we wanted. Although there were plenty of dry days, they usually came with fog and little wind, which is not good for drying the ground. Due to the excessively high rainfall in October and average rainfall in November, the ground is still at saturation point, so a small amount of rain feels like a lot more.
In the first weeks of December, we had 34mm of rain, which, again, is fairly average but it is a constant top up with very few sunny/windy or frosty days in between to help dry out the ground. We will be having discussions about moving onto the Trafalgar course to enhance the playability and enjoyment of the game.
We welcomed golf back for the second time this year on December 2nd and it has been great for me and the guys to catch up with you all.
Before play resumed we got all the fairways cut with the Wessex mower along with tees and approaches.
The return of golf also coincided with the highest level of sustained disease pressure for a long time, many clubs including ourselves got hit with an outbreak. The mixture of constant fog, 98% humidity and high temperatures exploded the pathogen overnight and even with fungicide control, outbreaks were still happening.
Fortunately we had a clear dry day on December 1st, so we managed to get some iron sprayed, which stopped the disease spreading, then we followed this up with a fungicide application that cleared the remaining pathogen.
If you want to know what the greens would be like without the use of fungicides have a look at my trial area on the back left of the putting green, it’s quite shocking!
This week we have taken delivery of a 3-tonne digger, which is another key bit of investment from GetGolfing. This will allow us to dig out the entire ditch network back to how it was originally designed, so that when we install drainage we have a clear route away from the golf course. It also means we can improve and install pathways to help access around the courses in wet conditions.
Heading into the new year works on the golf course will be determined on a weekly basis by the weather but the plan is to continue with the tree work on the 10th on the Waterloo and pathwork renovations.
I hope you all have a very happy and safe Christmas and New Year. As always if you have a question for me or one of the team don’t hesitate to ask.
Pro News
From Adam Glass, PGA Pro: Do you need a last-minute present? Why not give the gift of improved golf with Christmas Lesson E-Gift Vouchers for those last-minute stocking fillers.
- One-hour session with Adam Glass (including Trackman where required) for £60;
- Wedge matrix short-game session. A three-hour, half-day session covering, chipping, pitching, bunker play and putting for £150;
- Get your clubs freshened up with brand new grips sized to your individual requirements:
- — Golf pride tour velvet (the most popular grip worldwide) for £12 fully fitted
- — Iomic sticky 2.3 (the most advanced, lowest torque and consistent grip ever produced) for £15 fully fitted
- — Golf Pride New Decade multi Compound (no.1 grip on the PGA Tour) for £14.25 fully fitted.
Luke Welham conducted a five-minute interview with PGA professionals Adam Glass and Barney Whytchard regarding their roles at the golf club in addition to tips on how to improve your round at Sherfield Oaks Golf Club. Please go to our Sherfield Oaks Facebook page to watch the video and, you never know, you may be hitting it like Bryson DeChambeau in only a matter of months.
New pro: Sherfield Oaks would also like to introduce its latest PGA Pro —Barney Wytchard. Barney says, “I am extremely excited to be joining the team at Sherfield and I cannot wait to meet all of you in the coming weeks and months. Having worked in golf from the age of 16, I have experienced golf from every single side of the industry working as a greenkeeper, food & veverage assistant, golf manager and teaching professional. My passion for golf has left me with a desire to understand my industry as much as I possibly can. I qualified as a PGA professional in 2019 and I have been fortunate to spend my training with some fantastic coaches. I have also added qualifications such as Leadbetter Kids Certified Instructor, and Titleist Performance Institute Certified Instructor since qualifying with the PGA. I will continue to add to my knowledge base as I strive to provide the best service I can with my tuition. Those who teach must never cease to learn!”
“Having coached people of all ages and abilities I understand that everyone plays golf with different objectives as to what they want to achieve. The most important part is that they enjoy their golf and, ultimately, if we play well, we enjoy it more. My ambition as a coach is to improve your golfing ability to improve your golfing experience.
“As well as iIndividual tuition, I will be heading up the Junior Academy to provide as many youngsters as I can with a platform to experience the game and provide them a pathway into the sport. The academy will be a Leadbetter Kids Academy as the programme is unrivalled with its focus on the holistic development and keeping kids in the game for life. This will begin in 2021 and more information about the dates for this will be announced soon!
“If you see me around the golf club please do come and say hello, and if you want more information with regards to anything please feel free to contact me: [email protected].”
WHS news
Submitting a General Play score: General Play scores under the World Handicapping System (WHS) are similar to the Supplementary Scores that were permitted under WHS’s predecessor, the CONGU Unified Handicapping System.
General Play scores, so long as they comply with the requirements of WHS’s “Acceptable Scores”, will be included in the player’s scoring record used for calculation of their Handicap Index.
The following procedure is for General Play scores. If you wish to enter a General Play score at an “away” club, please contact the Club Handicap Committee.
Procedure for General Play Scores at the Club during Covid-19:
Rather than picking up a scorecard from the golf reception desk, you may wish to print your own scorecard. You can find a PDF file for the course on the Club’s webpage.
Play with another Member as your marker, while observing no-contact, social distancing guidelines. Rather than exchange cards, record your gross hole scores on your own card and ask your marker to record your scores separately, so that you can cross-check during and, especially, after the round. Your marker must verbally authorise your gross scores, instead of signing your card physically. It is useful for you and your marker to keep totals, as this can help to identify any discrepancies, during the post-round authorisation check. However, under the Rules of Golf, it is the individual gross hole score, which is authorised by both player and marker, not the totals or points.
You MUST register to submit a General Play round BEFORE you begin playing the round. This can be done via the Intelligent Golf App. When you press “begin scoring”, (found at the bottom of the SETUP screen), your round is then registered, with a timestamp. You can do this at any time on the day of the round, so long as it is before your booked tee time and before you tee off to start the round. The registration time stamp is verified as preceding your tee time booking.
Once you have pressed “begin scoring”, you can enter your gross hole scores on the App, as you play the round. Alternatively, you can just leave the App in that state on your mobile and enter the hole scores after your round. If you make no score on a hole then mark with a zero. If you do not complete the round then mark any holes not played with NS. You must enter your scores before leaving the club. The App will not permit scores to be entered if you are not within the vicinity of the club.
After you have finished the round, ensure that your card has all the essential information, otherwise it will be rejected:
a) The date and time you played your round
b) Your full name, in the header, with your signature at the bottom of the card
c) Indication of which tees you played from
d) Your marker’s full name, written legibly, to indicate who authorised your score
e) In the box for “COMPETITION” write “General Play”
f) The gross scores for each hole.
To avoid physical contact with your marker, or exchanging scorecards, take a photo/scan of the completed card and email it to the handicap secretary. Make sure that the image has the full card, so that no information is cut off. Your card must be emailed, no later than 10pm on the day of the round, even if you did not complete the round or did not hole out at every hole. If a card is not returned by the deadline, a “No Return” will be recorded. Do not put your card in the handicap cards box. Keep it with you for reference, until your score has been confirmed in your handicap record.