On Friday 16th May - Subject to the right weather conditions (dry and little wind) - we will be taking measures to prevent "Rook damage" in the future. However, to carry out this work efficiently it will be necessary to close the course until 10.30am.
On the same day, please note due to the Centenary Dinner the Clubhouse, whilst remaining open, will only be serving sandwiches and drinks.
Pro Shop Opening
On Saturday 24th May Air Chief Marshal Sir Patrick Hine, GCB, GBE, a former Hockley member, is opening the new Pro Shop, Clubhouse extension and unveiling the glass engraving of the "Trustee Servant" donated by our President Derek Sheppard at 1pm. Light refreshments will follow. All those closely associated with the project, together with past Lady and Club Captains and Life and Honorary members, have been invited, but we would like to extend the invitation to other members who would like to attend. We are thinking particularly of long serving members who have supported the Club over many years. Because of the need to monitor attendance numbers we ask you to email, admin@hockleygolfclub.com, as soon as possible if you would like to be there.
Centenary Matters Of Interest - Club History
The original plan was to publish our Centenary Club history/celebration in conjunction with the centenary week in June. However, your committee has had a rethink and has decided that the publication would be more contemporary and fun if we could include photographs and news of the various special events taking place this summer. It is therefore our intention to publish in the autumn - so please take photographs and share exciting moments from this year.
Hockley Matches Against Visiting Clubs + More
Come and join in the matches with our various visitors who are joining us during the year to help celebrate our Centenary. Our intention is to include as many members as possible in these events, so please sign up for the ones you like the look of, and a team selection will be made as soon as we can. The sign-up sheet is on the main notice board now so early application would be most helpful. Do not be put off by the numbers for each match - just put your names down - there should be good golf, and fun in abundance.
Hockley Victory In The Gales Match Away At Corhampton
Steve Elliott was a late 'Pull out' so the in-form John Fisher was drafted in who returned a victory on his Gales debut. All in all the weather was appalling! At one stage the wind and rain came together which made the event impossible, but the team soldiered on, and our 'Stars' came good in the end. They all had a great 'Team Spirit' and the guys all appeared to enjoy themselves. For the first two matches the batting order was right, although it was bound to be tough for our first couple of guys as the opposition tend to play their 'In form' guys at the top of the list.
It was nice to have 'Royalty' there to cheer the team on (Steve Moore, Doug Peacock & Derek Sheppard) which was much appreciated, especially in such horrid conditions.
The only point of real fun, but could have been very controversial, was Mr Carpenter. On finishing the 18th hole he asked Robin Webb how close was the match, on responding 'Very' he said well we better go up the extra hole then as we are all square. Chippy's opponent thanked him for the game and stated 'Hard luck'. Chippy thought it was all square, but their guy thought he was 1 up! Alas our 'Banker' player cannot count and indeed he did lose 1 down!!
The course and greens were in great condition and the sarnies and chips were fantastic. Credit to Corhampton they really did look after us, which Robin did praise during my 'Winners Speech', we now await to see who our opponents are for the next home round.
Hockley's Mixed Team's Winning Streak Comes To An End
On a windy, but dry Thursday afternoon a strong Basingstoke mixed team overcame us; but it is not the winning, it is the taking part which is most important! We are now looking forward to our next match away against Alresford on June 4th. Thanks go to all who took part in this match, the score 5-2 to Basingstoke is only a number.
The winner of Division 1 in the 1st round of the Ladies Habin Cup was Julie Moss with a nett 75, and Division 2 was won by Susie Dryden with a nett 82. Well done Ladies in difficult conditions.
We Would Like You To Enjoy Your Round More
By way of an update, the "Drive it Out" - Eliminate Slow Play Program is showing positive results already! The introduction of waiting for the group in front to reach the 1st green before teeing off, has seen a significant reduction in round times and better flow around the course as a result. Thank you for observing this request, it's certainly paying off! However, there's still much more we can all do to further improve our enjoyment of our golf, please click here to read the full document on 'how to enjoy your golf more'.
Jack and I started our Pro Am season with a solid 5th place finish at Barton on Sea, on 4 over par. Although 4 over doesn't sound great, boy was it brutal on top of the cliffs. My team of Neil (Stingray) Cutmore, Phil (Tom Daley) Rowlands and Mike Simister battled away all day to have a top 6 finish and keep a good record of finishing well up the leaderboard in the last 3 Pro Ams at Barton.
Although Jack's team of Ollie James, Declan Fahy and Jon Davies beat us the day before in the practice round for a little wager, they finished 3 shots behind us in the event so had to give the wager back! Better luck next year.
Pro Am
The Captain would be most grateful for donations of prizes to the raffle. The Parkinson's UK charity will be holding this on Pro Am day for him, please drop off your donations to the Pro Shop. He is also very kindly offering to pay for a Hockley team to play in this event. Please see Tracy or I if you wish to play in the Pro Am, if oversubscribed a random draw will take place. We would appreciate some Lady volunteers to help with the refreshments on the 11th for the day. Probably starting about 10.30am through to 4.30pm, on a rota basis. Please sign up in the Ladies locker room or let Tracy know if you are able to help. Thank you.
Senior Captain/ Pro Challenge
Stuart and I are still awaiting some challengers, remember the prize is a FREE place in the Pro Am on Friday 30th May, whilst also supporting the Captain's Charity.
I am giving away a FREE Limited Edition adizero 1 cap when you pair any pair of adizero shoes, and we also have the last few Nike hats to give away if you spend over £35 on any Nike Golf product.
On Sunday 18th May we have The Dreadnought Trophy, a Men's Medal and the Ladies Tank Cup, enter on the day in the Pro shop.
Tuesday 20th May the Ladies Centenary Foursomes, enter as a pair on the day in the Pro shop.
The Satterthwaite Salvers on Bank Holiday Monday 26th May is now open for entry on the psi in each changing room, click here for more information.
The County Championship
This event will take place at Hockley from Friday 6th - Sunday 8th June and is open to Hockley Members. To date the county have not received any Hockley entries. Friday entry is open to players with a handicap of 6 or less, Saturday is open to the 'higher' handicaps, 26 combined for foursomes on Saturday and 12 for the individual medal on Sunday.
Entry forms are available in the foyer or from the Hampshire County website. Closing date is Sunday 18th May.
Tee Closures
The course will be closed until 19.00 for the Delhi Cup this Saturday 17th May.
Pro Am day Friday 30th May, the course will be closed until at least 14.30. You are of course more than welcome to play in this event. Tee closures are available on the 'club diary' section of the website or on the PSI machines in the changing rooms and Pro Shop.