Winter League round one and report from Mike Healey

Before the Winter League result, can I remind everyone about the Texas Scramble next Tuesday, followed by the Seniors AGM immediately afterwards. Our Winter League has unfortunately had a delayed start this year, with the recent inclement weather prevailing and the result was a number of postponements. Although somewhat chilly, the sun came out and Round 1 began with a bang this morning when 35 members entered the tally draw. The December calendar has a number of specific events and competitions, so further Winter League rounds will take place in January / February. For any newcomers, the first / best 10 cards are allocated 1 - 10 points towards the Winter League final prize. It is also a kitty comp and there were 7 prizes on offer today - please find all 10 winners below. Winter League - Round 1 Results: First: Wyn Jenkins 32 points (c/b) (10 WL pts) Second: Bill Kelleher 32 points (c/b) (9 WL pts) Third: Richard Collier 31 points (c/b) (8 WL pts) Fourth: Ernie Williams 31 points (c/b) (7 WL pts) Fifth: Andy Mitchell 29 points (c/b) (6 WL pts) Sixth: Barry Dare 29 points (c/b) (5 WL pts) Seventh: Alan Barnsdale 28 points (c/b) (4 WL pts) Eighth: Gareth Thomas 28 points (c/b) (3 WL pts) Ninth: Don Wraight 28 points (c/b) (2 WL pts) Tenth: Peter Taylor 28 points (c/b) (1 WL pt)

November 24th 2022. Putting Competition with photos kindly supplied by Don Wraight Club Captain and report from Mike Healey

The overnight rain, once again, put the dampener on outdoor golf. A hastily arranged indoor putting session saw 11 Seniors at their best in this part of the game. Before the results - an update on the state of play. Mark has reported that the course is not too bad and very little standing water. They are hoping to open this weekend with possibly a few hole closures but we can't hold him to that promise. As always, they are doing their best to get the course back in play. If open - next Tuesday reverts to what will be Round 1 of the Senior Winter League, followed by the December Medal on Thursday. Your December calendar will be e-mailed soon. If the course is closed on Tuesday, there will be another putting session but this time played on a league basis???😋 Watch this space. Today we played 18 holes - average 36 putts. So who won? - a litle embarrassing - Yours Truly!! 1st: Mike Healey 31 putts 2nd: Barry Evans 33 putts (after play-off) 3rd Peter Taylor 33 putts. Two more seniors joined us latterday and we all retired upstairs afterwards for breakfast baps and coffee prepared by Hayley. See you all next week.

November 22nd 2022. Update from Mike Healey

I hope you are all completing household chores - well some of you at least. We were looking at indoor putting for this morning and some breakfast with Hayley but she rang to say she was having the morning off, so that piece of organisation went by the wayside. I am sticking with Pairs Betterball for Thursday, if the course is open after today's dry weather. The forecast is not great for tomorrow though, so please look out for the ig message for Thursday morning. If the course is closed, Josh has given the go ahead for the use of the indoor putting area (a small comp) and for those in the mood - breakfast baps with Hayley. See you on Thursday morning.

Course closed November 19th and 20th

We are sorry to inform you that after a course inspection this afternoon, Mark (Head Greenkeeper) has informed us that the golf course condition is still very much unplayable, and it will remain CLOSED this weekend; Saturday 19th & Sunday 20th November. A further course inspection will be carried out on Monday morning. The Driving Range will be open as normal from 8am - 5pm, with last balls at 4.15pm. Best regards, Clays Golf Team

Course update news via Mike Healey. November 18th 2022

Seniors - Most of you will have noticed that the course is once again closed today (4 days to date). The purpose of this communication is twofold. Diary wise - should we have access to playing next week - Tuesday 22nd will be the re-scheduled Round 1 of our Senior Winter League (no matter how many holes are open). Thursday 24th - I am re-scheduling a Pairs Betterball. Let us all keep our fingers crossed that we can get some golf in. Before the inclement weather, both general club members and Senior members had complained at length about the leaves on the course, not to mention the time taken in searching and overall length of rounds. You will have seen that Josh has put out an extension to the club's winter rules by inserting a clause on leaves. It is vitally important that all seniors familiarise themselves with the fundamentals of the new ruling and all abide by it. As a playing group, we all need to observe each other's shots and conduct an initial search if the ball is amongst the leaves. We must be able to identify the immediate area where the next shot should be played, if the initial ball cannot be found. The introduction of a substitute ball can only happen with the agreement of the rest of the group and all/any disputes must be settled before the end of the round and signing of cards. Hopefully, if we get it right, we will be able to speed up our rounds. Weather permitting - we shall do battle in the Winter League next Tuesday

Course closure update from Mike Healey November 15th 2022

The groundstaff worked a long shift yesterday, to get the fairways cut where they were able. They foresaw the inclement weather coming in but alas nobody could do anything to stop it and hence today's closure. Unfortunately, there is further rain forecast for the next 48 hours also, so keep a "weather" eye on the course opening on Thursday. If it is open, we will play the Waltz as planned on the calendar and the Winter League Round 1 will be re-scheduled for Tuesday 22nd. If we lose Rounds 1 and 2 before Xmas, there is always time to squeeze them into February and March. Flexibility in dates was mentioned a couple of weeks ago and it looks like we have now moved into that part of the season. I hope you found plenty of winter garden clearing to fill your day or simply read a book.

Ken Lawrence Memorial Trophy November 10th 2022. Report via Mike Healey

Another good day in our calendar. The Ken Lawrence Memorial Trophy is held every year for the above named man and indeed, a member who was a stalwart, general organiser within the section and ex-senior Captain. Not only is Ken remembered but it is also a great opportunity for seniors to honour the 11th November and donations are invited and made to the Royal British Legion in lieu of a competition fee. On this occasion the senior section not only competed for the Trophy but also very generously raised the sum of £382.00. A big thank you to all. If you didn't play today and would still like to donate to this very worthy cause, you can leave donations in reception (in an envelope) F. A. O. Steve Monk with DONATION TO ROYAL BRITISH LEGION written on it. He will collect any/all donations next week. And so to the competition itself and result. 34 seniors entered the tally draw, which was essentially an individual stableford. The second hole was still closed due to maintenance and despite being quite warm throughout, we all fought a howling gale, which definitely influenced the scores. There were 10 cards with 30 - 36 points but we only ever have one winner for this event. With the top score of 37 points the recipient of the K.L. Memorial Trophy plus a bottle of Auchentoshan malt whisky was the aforesaid man above - Steve Monk himself. Well done Steve. Photo courtesy of Don Wraight Club Captain

Captains Newsletter November 2022

Captain's Newsletter: November 2022 Hi everyone hope that you are as excited as me with the introduction to Intelligent Golf. Clays have now fully migrated to IG from HDID, if you still have the HDID app on your phone, tablet or any other device then please remove as it is no longer in use for our club. Having a complete guide to the IG system, I and the rest of the council can see how well we can progress with the running of competitions in the future. There may well be blips to start with as we get used to inputting comps and scores but these will be ironed out and by the time the 2023 season starts all members should see the benefits, and be comfortable with the system. Players will now be able to sign-up online to play in competitions and knock-outs without the need to enter on noticeboards. They can see the draws in the regards to knock-outs and when the various rounds need to be played by, best of all their progress in the knock-outs. I will update you on how payments for entering these competitions next month, so keep a lookout. In quoting Michael Buble’ “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas” Turkey trots are commencing and the Ladies tinsel trails are starting too. Good luck to all those taking part On the 9th December we have a Members Christmas Party in the club house; tickets are on sale with Hayley. There will be a buffet and a disco with a variety of music for all ages, young and old, all for the price of £10 per person. Get your tickets quick as there will be a limit on catering for this event. We had lots of fun last year and I for one am looking forward to get my dancing shoes on once again. Let’s get this place rocking!!! Our course is holding up pretty well with all the rain that’s been put upon us, something I suppose we had to expect after such a long dry spell. Please be mindful with the green staff, they are doing a great job. Help them out by repairing your pitch marks on the green and raking bunkers after use. Be aware too by keeping away from the greens and tees with trollies. Happy golfing Don

Texas scrambe November 8th 2022. Report via Mike Healey

There was a minor change to the calendar today in that we played a straightforward Texas Scramble instead of the Shamble that was previously advertised. The weather forecast had a slight influence on the decision but Shambles can sometimes become protracted so we aimed for a more expedient format. 26 troops turned out for the draw so we played 2 x threeballs (1 prize) and 5 x fourballs (2 prizes). The top three cards in the fourballs were very tight in their scoring. All seven groups played through the sunshine and occasional early showers but we were all hit by the downpour just before mid-day. We all survived and the results are as follows: Texas Scramble Threeball: First: Don Wraight, Mike Healey and Steve Monk 60.9 Texas Scramble Fourball: First:Chris Jacques, Gareth Thomas, Alan Barnsdale and Mick Carnell 52.8 Second: Richard Collier, Bill Kelleher, Peter Lord and Peter Taylor 52.9

November medal results from November 3rd 2022

Division One Results Points Switch to Gross Points x 1st Ernie Williams(18)33points 33 2nd Nigel Davies(16)32points 32 3rd Malcolm Williams(20)32points 32 Division Two Results x 1st Tom McGrady(23)34points 2nd Bill Kelleher(23)34points 3rd Michael Carnell(21)31points Division Three Results Points Switch to Gross Points x 1st David A Jones(29)34points 34 2nd Steve Monk(27)29points 29 3rd Alan Pocklington(33)28points 28

Three ball two to count November 1st 2022, Report via Mike Healey

Threeball - Two to Count Report. The rain held today but again there was ball searching because of the leaves. The greenkeepers are doing a great job in blowing and shredding but some groups still experienced lengthy searches on certain parts of the course. The returning scores were not great today but all the cards came within close range of each other. There were 24 tallies in the draw so eight threeballs competed for the two prizes on offer. Threeball - Two to Count: First: Andy Mitchell, Reg Peacock and Mick Carnell 72 points Second: Dave Jones, Liam Roddis and Mike Healey 67 points Peter Taylor, John Kelty and Stan Roberts just missed out on 65 points