Club news
Covid-19: The introduction of the three tier local alert system introduces certain additional restrictions on coming to the golf club and what can be done once you are at the Club.
We will keep the clubhouse open while we are in Tier 1 but we will have to close the clubhouse should Tier 2 occur.
The courses will stay open throughout and we are working on contingency plans that will enable us to provide food and drinks to Members and visitors both on and off the course.
It is the responsibility of Members, their guests and those playing in golf events to comply with the government regulations as befits their personal circumstances. We would urge all staff, Members and visitors to report any Covid 19 symptoms to the appropriate bodies.
We ask Members to respect the latest government guidance, which seems to be increasingly complex.
We recognise that these restrictions will have a negative impact on a number of events and those who might participate in them. This is deeply regretted, but we are obliged to follow the regulations and to adapt as they change.
Course news
From Dave Taylor, Courses Manager: Work has continued on dredging out many of our lakes with the excavator. They were neglected for many years and became badly overgrown with bulrushes, which meant that their water holding capacity was drastically reduced. Hence why last winter they broke their banks during heavy rain.
With work carried out on the 2nd, 6th, 15th and 16th lakes, you will now see that they are able to hold more water from our newly dug ditches and so relieve the pressure on the overflow piping.
During the stormy weekend at the start of October, we had more than 70mm of rain over two days but it was great to see all the newly dug out ditches running water into their respective lakes.
It was only a few days after this that The Bristol held the first of the GetGolfing Masters Society days.
We didn’t have the best start to the day as during morning set-up we were hit with 15mm of rain within the first hour and a half.
Thankfully it soon cleared up and I was very pleased with what the team were able to produce on the course all things considered. What was great for me was that the team received lots of personal thanks and praise from many players on the day, along with a really nice speech made by Ed Richardson to thank them all for the hard work we have been putting in.
Days like the Society Masters really shows what we as a team can now produce with all the investments we have had from Get Golfing.
Having a good team for me is not just about how many staff you have but more about who your staff are and how they respectively feel about their positions. My whole team has a great attitude to the work they are producing and we are all very excited about the future development of the club as a whole.
Elsewhere, in addition to the work on the lakes, we have also been carrying out an aeration programme on the fairways using a Shockwave machine (for a more detailed view of how Shockwave works click here).
The tractor-mounted Shockwave is designed to revitalise heavy wear areas by relieving soil compaction. It will be used to open up the top seven inches of soil by slicing through on a linear path and vibrating between each blade. This causes fracturing within the soil to allow moisture and air to move within it and keep the fairways as dry as possible. Through the year the fairways are subjected to lots of traffic from ourselves and golfers, so it’s very important to relieve this compaction at the end of the season and ensure they are in the best state of recovery in the spring after the winter wear.
As we move forward in the future with our fairway drainage plans, work like this will be crucial every year to ensure we are not capping off the drainage lines that we already have, along with any future installed lines. Opening up these areas will dramatically improve the playability of the fairways.
Finally, we have at last taken delivery of two new pieces of machinery: a brand new Kubota tractor, which was put straight to work on day one with the Shockwave aerator, and will be carrying out a multitude of jobs ranging from greens aeration, heavy rough cutting and collections to drainage trenching etc.
Along with the tractor, we have a new ATV vehicle for the driving range collection, which will now ensure we can collect balls through the day safely and also act as another transportation vehicle for around the site.
Competition & event news
This month we held our Captains’ Charity Day. Both Tony Crook and Olwen Simpson did an amazing job and the members helped raise £ 2,393.08 for their chosen charity – Bristol Mind.
The results of a closely contested competition are below:
- 1st: Mandy Wookey, Dave Wookey, Rich Panes and Paul Rugman on 89 points (Countback)
- 2nd: Paul Thompson, James Adcock, Mark Morgan and Wayne Pearce on 89 points
- 3rd: Adam Davies, Michael Phillips, George Rae and Anthony Hepplestone on 87 points
- Winning Ladies team: Tracey Turri, Corrina Best, Racheal Paul andHelen Bradley on 82 points.
We also had this year’s club inter-section event, which saw the Men, Women, Seniors and Stags teams all compete against each other. Before the day started nobody would have dreamed of the outcome that saw all teams tied on the same score, which was determined after a recount. This meant the Men retained their title for another year.
This month we also had our Society Masters event, which saw 36 teams compete for a chance to win an all-expenses-paid trip to Le Touquet in France. The day was a big success and showcased what a great club we have.
Society groups are hugely important to the continued development and improvement of the Club’s facilities and the revenue generated from these groups helps support the exciting plans for the clubhouse and further course development.
We are also finalising the competition schedule for next year, which will feature an Order of Merit competition for the membership where the winners will represent The Bristol and compete against the other Get Golfing venues at the Le Touquet resort in France next October.
Member news
Membership migration: Some Members, who renewed just prior to the takeover, currently remain in their old chosen Crown category until their renewal next year. We appreciate, however, that Get Golfing’s new membership terms, including the booking window, are much more attractive than previous offers, so we can migrate a Member across to a newer category if they so want.
There are, however, some implications in doing this. Legally it is a new contract — so we cannot just migrate you over at the touch of a button. Also, because the previous owner’s rates included VAT that we cannot recover, there is a cost implication, which may affect your decision to change over. Please contact your General Manager to discuss ways in which we can tailor a solution most suited to your golfing needs.
We would also like to highlight the fact that we are committed to keeping your subscription flat in 2021, while at the same time continuing to invest significantly in delivering a high-quality course and great customer service.
Winter rates: Members should be aware that we put into effect a new points matrix on October 26th for the winter golf season to March 31st to reflect the new playing conditions in terms of light etc.
This will offer both Member guests and Flexible Members a much more economic rate when playing over the winter season. Details can be found here.
Freedom Play Members: Those Members still operating under the old Freedom Play membership category should all have been contacted by the General Manager about our new better-value points system created in line with the wider Get Golfing group. If you are not in the process of moving across to this improved offer, please contact the office so you don’t miss out! See here for more details.
Join the Golf Passport: If you are an existing Member of a Get Golfing club, you can play UNLIMITED golf at our other venues for just £25 a month or £300 a year (with a 7-day lead time for booking your tee time). Why not organise a 4-ball with your friends and enjoy an away day at another course near you? Remember you can use your Club Card across all Get Golfing sites as well! Please note that flexible members have their points deducted based on the time and day of play. Click here for more.
Golf news
World Handicap System update: As a golf club, we are the data controller for any data stored in IntelligentGolf about the membership. Members may be interested to know that, as part of the WHS license agreement with England Golf, certain fields of your member data are requested to be uploaded to the WHS.
The club’s data privacy policy has been set to require consent from all Members before any data is sent — and to send placeholder data for any Members who do not have an email address or who have not provided consent.
Members are able to set their privacy preference but please before doing that, within your Member log-in, go to My Golf and then Preferences and verify your email address and tick all the appropriate boxes that allow you to receive communications.
Only then go to My Golf, My Rounds and click on the WHS Privacy Link.
FYI: If you click on the link below you will be able to view the latest communication sent out from England Golf to help golfers understand the new WHS system which comes into action from November 2nd.
Please remember that Intelligent Golf and all golf support companies have no access to anyone’s handicaps or playing records until November 2nd so any discrepancies or problems with any uploads cannot be resolved until after this date. The last upload from England Golf to the WHS takes place at 8.00pm on the 1st of November so things are constantly changing on a daily basis until this time.
https://www.englandgolf.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/WHS_070_Golfers_Toolkit_FINAL.pdf
Pro news
From Ryan Haskell, PGA Pro: It was great meeting a large number of you at the Captain’s Charity Day and wonderful to see so much money being raised for a worthy cause. Congratulations also to Seamus on winning the “Beat-the-Pro” challenge!
I hope to see you all around the golf club soon and please be aware that I am available seven days a week for golf lessons and club repairs.
Lesson prices are as follows:
- 1 Hour Lesson: £40
- 30 Minute Lesson: £30
- 3×1 Hour Lesson: £100
I am also hosting free group golf tuition at 6pm on a Tuesday. Spaces will be limited to five per group due to the Covid-19 restrictions. The coaching will cover a variety of different aspects from long game to short game, all aimed at helping you lower your scores. Bookings will be available on a week-by-week basis.
A wide variety of club repairs are also available upon request. Please contact me on 07834737425 or via [email protected].