BROCTON HALL GOLF CLUB

Three off the Tee - 17 December '24 Newsletter

Hello there

• Eleven Water Hazards
• Ten Leather Golf Gloves
• Nine perfect greens
• Eight sandy bunkers
• Seven caddies carrying
• Six practice swings
• Five holes in one
• Four buggies idling 
• Three fairways
• Two under par
• And a shiny set of new golf clubs

Yes, It is getting close to the end of 2024 and I hope you have had a good and happy year both personally and on the golf course.

As we celebrate the festive season we are all reminded of what matters most: family, friends, and the places we love, near and far. It is in this same spirit of gratitude and fellowship that the Management Committee and all the staff extend our warmest wishes to you, our amazing members.

I will be away over Christmas and New Year. The next newsletter will be on the 14th January 2025.

Merry Christmas & Prosperous 2025 to all.

Competitions

Congratulations to Sunday's Christmas Mixed Winners. A great day of golf was enjoyed, followed by a delicious Christmas Dinner and, dare I say, the sound of angels singing Christmas Carols 🙂

• 1st -  Jo Mears & John Bell with a fantastic 44 points 
• 2nd - Julia & Tim Nichols with 44 points just pipped on countback 
• 3rd - Vibber Johnstone & Harvey Hall with 42 points 
• 4th - Jenny Bell & Steve Metcalfe with 41 points 

The nearest to the pin winners were:

• Nicki Bowen on the 3rd and Rob Mills on the 9th 

Thank you to all our players, diners, bakers and halfway house helpers for a fantastic day. 

Ladies

Congratulations to our Christmas Cracker winners.

• Front 9 - Sue Turner, Carol Webster, Jenny Bulman, Genine Riley (Bloxwich).
• Back 9 - Jenny Bell, Ali Webb, Mary Osborne (Stafford Castle), Jeanne Penn (Mold).

An enjoyable event!

Seniors

Brocton Hall Seniors celebrated their season on Monday 9th December with the traditional Christmas Stableford and lunch. 64 players took part with a further 6 players attending the lunch. The Captain, Merv Richards thanked Roger Prenter-Jones and the green keeping team for preparing the course after the adverse weekend weather. As always the food and catering staff were excellent.

The competition for the Norman Griffith Trophy was won by Paul Weetman with 39 points, Paul also won the Hunt trophy for the best aggregate score over the three Senior Competitions.

• The Spring Cup was won by Chris Horobin
• The Felthouse Cup was won by Chris Bulman
• The Seniors pairs knockout was won by Dave Moodie and Brian Rotchel.

Over the season they have played 30 matches, won 17, lost 12 and drew 1 with two matches cancelled. A total of 81 players played in the matches. A testament to the support given by the Seniors section.

The Captain thanked everyone for their support in particular Ian Graham (Treasurer), Paul Dunlavey (Match Secretary), Jerry McKay (Competitions Secretary) and Vice Captain Julian Gibbon. They look forward to the 2025 season and supporting the new Seniors Captain, Julian Gibbon. 

Juniors

A huge thank you to everyone who supported the Junior/Adult Charity Christmas competition on Saturday, and for all your kind donations. Over £800 has been raised for the Birmingham Children's Hospital in honour of Charlie Mears. It was a great day and 48 players took part.

Results

• Best Dressed Adult : Sue Turner
• Best Dressed Junior : Taryn Davis
• NTP 3rd Adult : Grant Guffog - NTP 3rd Junior : Tafara Jerera
• NTP 9th Adult : Nicki Bowen - NTP 9th Junior : Jack Youlden
• 1st Place Team and Winners of the Charley Mears Trophy : Sue Turner, Jude Holmes, Jo Mears & Jack Marshall.
• 2nd Place Team : Gareth, Jack Youlden , Andy, Molly McMurray
• 3rd Place Team : David, Myia, Dylan Chard & Delia Fowler

A special prize of golf balls also went to Ashley & Abbigail Pountney for playing as a 2 ball and scoring such high points

On behalf of The Junior Section, Nicki and the Junior Subcommittee would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas & Thank you for your support this year.

Earlier this month we hosted the annual Acton Trussell and Bednall Golf Bash. This great competition celebrated its 24th anniversary this year with a wonderful meal. Simon Hake received the Millenium Shield from Bednall’s captain Rob Whiston.

Clubhouse

It's the Members & Guests Christmas Party Night on Friday and I wish you all a fabulous time of great friendship and food and loads of dad dancing 🙂

Join us on Wednesday, 8th January 2025, for a night of electrifying jazz, soul, and swing that will have you dancing, tapping your feet, and banishing those winter blues!

What’s in store:
🎶 A high-energy performance featuring a sensational quintet of talented musicians
🎷 Swinging rhythms and soulful tunes to light up your evening
🎉 A vibrant atmosphere filled with festive cheer and great vibes
🍴 A delicious pre-show meal to make the evening even more special (this will be updated asap)

And yes, it’s Nick Milward on drums—don’t miss this incredible line-up!

Start the year on a high note. Get your tickets now and join us for a night of great music, amazing company, and memories to last a lifetime!

To book jazz tickets (£18pp) benandsophsjazz@yahoo.com or www.ticketsource.co.uk/bsjazz or 07515 275655. Please note that you can book through Sophie-Jayne directly

Notices

Please remember to read the documents for the EGM, Proposed Governance changes - Information/Governance 2025. Effective governance involves a focussed, nominated Board of Directors collaborating to shape the club's direction and future. 

All of us at Brocton Hall wish our many members and staff with a birthday in the coming weeks a very Happy Birthday! Happy Birthday to  Ian Callaghan, Tonia Klimas, Barnaby Parr, Ian Price, Reace Payton-Hulse, David Silvester, Simon Worth, Matthew Hewett, Joseph McCandless, Simon Bright, Taryn Davis, Chris Shields, Karl Horvath, David Berks, Ann Moore, Jessica Bagshaw-Ray, Albie Griffin, John Charles, Logan Birch, Steph Burgin, Melvyn Wilton, Mary Robertson, Max Beaumont, Tim Furnell, Anthony Buchanan, Barbara Osubu, Stefan Skibicki, Shaun Hunt, George Pickup, David Pickering, Robbie Moir, Colin Lovatt, Harry Buchanan, Harold Bould and Peter Heath. In 2025, Happy Birthday to John Smith, Nicholas Emery, Ian Partington, David Cowan, Hannah Golding, Steve Lucas, Paul Reid, Christine Davies, Andrew Edwards, Ben Porter, John Peak, Nick Perrin, Andy Smith, Mr FJ Vaughan, Leo Berks, Oli Hayward, Chris Leonard, John Shaw, David Thurgarland, Clive Griffiths, Gillian Owen, David Boote, Miles Johnson, Terry Perrin, Adam Cunningham, John Hall, Colin Rowe, Patrick Turner and Adam Dennison. 

May your birthday sparkle as much as the Christmas lights! Wishing you joy, laughter, and a beautiful year ahead

Members Question

You are invited to send any questions in that you would like one of the Management Committee members to answer. Often a committee member is approached on the putting green with a question that might not relate to their area of knowledge. This is a way for you to ask those questions.

Q. Could I please ask that the Tee Booking Policy rule 4.2 ‘The Wednesday morning exclusive booking rule will be maintained for Ladies’ competitions’ be reviewed?

Looking back over the past few Wednesday booking sheets, with one exception, it seems that those ladies playing in the competitions have all teed off by 11 am. As men are unable to tee off until 12 on these days it is not always possible to complete a full round due to failing light. On those (winter) days where the last competition tee off times are 11am can I ask that free play be brought forward to 11.30 in line with other weekdays? The half hour competition buffer would still remain.

As the wording of the rule currently stands, no member is permitted to play at any time on a Wednesday morning (including ladies) if not playing in the ladies’ competition, which I doubt was what was intended.

Clarification and amendment would be much appreciated.

A. This is a good point as we don't want wasted tee times, particularly in the winter months. There is no problem with free play commencing at 11.30 on a Wednesday in the winter. However, there are a few events in the winter when a 9 hole competition with a two tee start from the 1st and 10th could continue after 11.30am. These events are: Christmas Cracker, Ladies Golf and Lunch, Swansong, Drive In and Spring Fling. All these dates are in the diary and all tee times needed for those days will already have been allocated prior to the 8 day booking window. 

Yes, rule 4.2 needs amending as play is permissible for those ladies not entering the competition.

Q. Following booking a pairs or team competition, Is it possible to set up the system so the fees are debited to each individual player and not have all the money taken from the one person who does the booking? I’ve just booked the Canadian Greensomes competition (pairs) and paid for 4 people.

A. Waiting for IG to reply. 

Hole in One

I am not sure if I have shared this story. A few years ago, while playing in drenching rain at Bigbury Golf Club (one of our favourite), I duffed my drive on the par three 10th. Not something I generally do. Soaked to the bone, I told David that I was going to take another shot. It was an air shot! Now playing four of the tee, it went straight in the hole! He counted every shot on that hole 🙂 A Hole in One still eludes me. 

Happy golfing everyone and Merry Christmas,

Karen