Gary Stubbington

Hello golfers,

Welcome to another edition of our weekly newsletter bringing you up to date with all the latest news and offers from Hockley Golf Club. Enjoy the read.

Staff news

A fond farewell...

Jack left us on Friday and somebody didn’t want him to leave! If you look closely at the picture, his car was cling-filmed. Who could this have been?

Staff and members got together last week to send him on his way and Captain Nick Goater presented him with his leaving cards and gifts. A thank you letter from Jack has been posted on the noticeboard in the foyer, but he has asked for me to include it in the newsletter should you not be at Hockley for a while:

“I would just like to say a massive thank you to all the staff and members for the support over my 14 years here and for making them so memorable and enjoyable. I can’t thank you all enough for the generosity you showed with my collection, I will keep in touch and keep you all updated on my journey as I go.

Thank you again I really appreciate everything you’ve all done for me”.

He will be greatly missed by us all, but I am sure you will join us in wishing him and Megan a safe and enjoyable trip. I am sure they will have a fantastic time travelling and hopefully will send us some pictures that we can share with you. Scott has settled in well and please introduce yourselves to him and I am sure you will make him feel very welcome at Hockley.

Club news

Your last chance to own a parking space for a year?

Well for only a £1 it’s well worth a go, all you need to do is guess the combined drives of all four incoming Captains; Damian Cain, June Glaspell, Geoff Roberts and Taylor Archer. The entry sheet is on the bar. The draw will take place this Saturday after the ‘Drive-in’ and all proceeds are going to the new Captain’s Charity, Naomi House and Jack’s Place, local to Winchester and a very worthy cause.

Good luck.

Shop news

Special offers

We have two great autumn offers for you this week, save £100 on Srixon iron sets, we won’t be beaten on this price.

Z155 men’s steel irons 5 – PW -Were £499, now £399.
Z355 men’s graphite irons 5 – PW - Were £549, now £449.

These irons offer more consistency with ‘Action Mass Technology’, which is a heavier head weight plus an ultra-high balance point shaft to deliver incredible consistency with maximum distance and forgiveness. We have demo clubs available and a fitting cart to offer different shaft options.

Click here to get in touch for more details.

New arrivals

Arriving this week, I am afraid to say, will be ‘Christmas’ packs of socks and logo'd windtops from Glenmuir with a FREE matching hat for both men and ladies. I will bring you more information next week, but keep an eye out in store for these two products.

Tip of the week

Back to basics - 5 Minute Clinic

Use these sticks to fix your swing... Plenty of teaching aids will help you groove your swing, but you won't find many that are as cheap or as easy to find as alignment sticks. These thin poles can do everything from lining you up to your target, to helping you make a better turn. A set of two only cost you £10 at our golf shop and are available in different colours!

1) Driver set-up - Tilt away from the ball. Getting lined up so you're square to the target is great, but leaving out one important alignment key will make it hard to launch your tee shots. You want to add some body tilt to your setup the right hip set slightly lower than the left. If you hold an alignment stick in line with the buttons on your shirt and tilt away from the target, the stick will point to the ball at an angle - not straight up and down.

That angle is also the shaft angle you want for a driver at address. The grip will be in line with the ball or leaning back slightly.

2) Power generator - Mix a shift with your turn. Do you need to turn your hips? You bet. But it's more than just spinning them back and through. Check out the third and fourth frames here (See below). On the downswing, the stick moves closer to the target first, a lateral shift, then turns with the hips to match the stick on the ground.

If you are still struggling with your game and would like more help and tips from our team, please click here to get in touch.

Senior news

Seniors' Captain and Vice Captain 2017/18

Congratulations to Seniors' Vice-Captain Geoff Roberts and Captain John Taylor who were appointed to each respective office unopposed at the annual meeting. We wish them all the best for the future and must thank Tony Crawford for all his hard work this year. Enjoy the rest now Tony!

Ladies news

Ladies Captain and Vice Captain 2017/18

June Glasspell has now taken over as Ladies Captain and Ann Younger the Ladies Vice Captain, we wish them all the best for the coming year and thanks to Wendy Evans for all her hard work this year.

Legg Bowl

The Hockley team of Lesley Milne, Pat Munro, June Glasspell and Polly Church played Southampton Ladies in the Legg Bowl and won by one hole. The weather was terrible, wind, rain and greens which had been spiked. They meet Wellow in the next round which will be played at Hockley.

Junior news

Roger Gaines Trophy

The Roger Gaines Trophy was played this weekend concluding the Junior Club Competitions for this year. The competition was a pairs greensomes and was won by Tom Chalk and Riley Miller with a handsome score of 43 points, they collected the trophy as pictured and received gift vouchers to be redeemed in the pro shop.

All participants wish to pass on their warmest thanks to Mrs Gaines who once again very generously donated funds to cover the prize table. Roger was much liked and now much missed Junior Organiser for many years and in this competition his legacy for enjoyable competition lives on.

Colin Field,
Junior Organiser.

Competition news

On the Course...

Some great scores were had this weekend with several members narrowly missing out on winner’s spots. Saturday's short course stableford results were as follows:

Division One winner - Mark Diaper with an amazing 44 points and beating Dave Gillespie on a countback.
Division Two winner - Steve Davis with 40 points beating Graham Taylor on a countback

Sunday's short course stableford results were as follows:

Division One winner - Scott Cook with 40 points.
Division Two winner - Josh Merluk also with 40 points.

Upcoming Events

We have a number of events coming up at Hockley, including:

Thursday, 19 October - Ladies Medal.
Friday, 20 October - The AGM, all details and information have been posted in the clubhouse.
Saturday, 21 October - Captain's drive-in competition, your starting tees have now been allocated. This will be followed by the ‘Putt Out’, the ‘Drive-in’, prize giving and drinks and a light lunch with the new Captains. Please note the course is closed until 2:00pm, there will be NO early morning play. Click here to view your starting holes.
Sunday, 22 October - Men’s short course stableford and a ladies stableford.
Tuesday, 24 October - The Kelly Salvers.
Details of a new Winter Knockout to replace the Winter League has now been posted in the foyer. This will be a 4BBB matchplay event played through the winter and is open to men, ladies and juniors. Please read the conditions of entry and enter on the psi in the usual way. Closing date is Friday, 27 October.

Hockley Winter Foursomes

The popular Hockley Winter Foursomes is now open for entry. We are very lucky at Hockley in being a free draining course resulting in us not having a single course closure last winter despite it being one of the worst for many years. So, in entering the Hockley Winter Foursomes, we offer you the opportunity for some excellent winter competitive golf! This is an ‘Open’ event so please tell your friends.

Full details are on the club website or in the foyer.