At last week's annual British and International Golf Greenkeepers Association (BIGGA) event in Harrogate, sponsored by STRI, Hockley GC were very proud to win the award for "Outstanding Environmental Project of the Year". In our category we had the company of the St Andrews Links Trust, Royal Jersey and Prestbury.
Here at Hockley we have a remarkable wealth of biodiversity and historic interest - much of which has been lost elsewhere to ploughing, road construction and housing development. The Chalk downland habitat at Hockley is considered one of the richest in Western Europe, supporting a rich variety of wildflowers, grasses & shrub species, which in turn supports many insects, butterflies, birds & mammals. A staggering 98% of Hampshire's Chalk grassland has been lost in the last 60 years.
Whilst the playability and quality of the golf course is our number one priority we know how important it is that the landscape and the golf course should integrate with each other.
Over the last 2 years we've built some really strong working relationships with Natural England, English Heritage, South Downs National Park, Hants and IOW wildlife trust and our consultant Debbie Miller which has helped us to acquire the correct grants and advice to ensure this program could happen.
Winning this award is a great achievement for the club, recognising the membership's attitude to environmentally sound management practices, input from environmental specialists and the hours of work put in by the team and volunteers to make this plan a reality. It's incredibly satisfying to receive this recognition particularly as we have only completed year one of our five year plan.
The Golf Environment Awards were originally launched in 1997, the awards are managed and administered by the Sports Turf Research Institute with support from Justin Rose, the US Open Championship 2013 winner and official ambassador of the Golf Environment Awards. Glenn will now join the other two winners from Royal St Davids and Royal Birkdale on a trip of a lifetime visiting environmental projects in Europe.
Click on the links below to read the landscape plan executive summary and 5yr landscape plan.
Link 1 - Click here
Link 2 - Click here
We are still looking for volunteers to help the South Downs National Park team continue our scrub management programme on
Wednesday, 4 February. If interested please contact Elaina on 02392 572616, 07557 923842 or let Glenn know.
The new trophy cabinet has arrived and is displaying some of the new glass trophies already.
Bar News
Although the "food buggy" serving hot and cold drinks, bacon and sausage rolls and fruit is not operational at the moment, snacks will be still be available at the 11th tee at weekends.
I am very proud to announce the arrival of twins to Reza Sotoudeh and Patricia. Babies Lila and Liam were born on 20th January, they weighed 2.1kg and 2.7kg, mum is happy and doing well. Perfect Reza, one of each, hope to see them both soon.
Ladies are required for the Ladies/Juniors match on Tuesday, 17 February, please sign up in the Ladies locker room.
Juniors are required for the Ladies/Juniors match on Tuesday, 17 February. If you haven't had an e mail or phone call from Junior Captain George Hoarton please contact Jack or Chris in the Pro Shop.
Click here to view the results so far of the Seniors Wessex league, confirming Hockley are tied with SWGC on 15 points.
Bit like the general election - too close to call!
RESULTS
Short Course stableford - Saturday, 25 January:
Due to a low entry and a number of temporary greens this competition was processed as one division and was a non-qualifier. The winner was Jonathan Russell with 40 points, he wins £14.50 to spend in the Pro Shop.
Stubby Stableford - Sunday, 25 January:
Division 1 winner was Shane Rose with 41 points
Runner Up Murray Carter with 39 points.
Division 2 winner was Martin McIntyre with 39 points
Runner Up was Darren Ahmet with 38 points.
Members Satisfaction Survey
The survey is representative of the membership and accurately reflects their satisfaction levels.
The results are largely in line with those from 2013
The members are very satisfied with overall progress being made with the Course, the new Pro Shop and the Club Professional and his team.
The majority of members would recommend Hockley Golf Club to a friend or colleague based on the course, the ability to play all year and the Professional and his team.
Thank you to those that completed the survey, I am very pleased with our results and will certainly be striving to keep this level of customer service and satisfaction up.
Gapping
One of the most important questions you can ask of your game is - how far do I hit the ball? Do you know the answer? Knowing what distance you hit the ball and how far each club carries can help you plan your way round the golf course and lower your score. A distance gap exercise could be one of the most important hours of your season.
What is Distance Gapping?
This is where a golfer measures how far they hit the ball with each club. Once a golfer knows each club's yardage they can then asses the 'gaps' in distance between each club.
Why is Distance Gapping important?
For most amateurs distance gapping helps in two ways. It sets a benchmark for how far you hit the golf ball and more importantly it highlights distance gaps in your game that none of your clubs cover.
Some golfers may have big gaps in club distances between 190-240 yards and find it difficult reaching greens with long irons, finding themselves reaching for the fairway wood or hybrid a lot.
For others it could be measuring the distances with wedges closer to the green. This is the scoring zone in golf and a player might use a PW for a variety of distances rather than a SW or gap wedge to help control distance better.
Book a gap fitting session today, using our new GC2 Launch monitor we will give you detailed analysis on how far you hit your clubs and provide you with written data to keep in your bag. £25 per gapping session.
New Coaching Structure
From the 1st February my lesson prices and structure will be changing. The cost will be £30, but the lessons will now be 40 minutes long, this will give us time to discuss your needs, work on them and give you a way forward.
Individual Lesson 40 minutes = £30
3 x 40 minute lesson package = £70
9 Hole Playing lesson = £50
Junior Lesson 30 minutes = £20
GC2 Launch Monitor
A new lesson option is to use the GC2 launch monitor, my passion for teaching is very strong and with my latest investment I am confident that every pupil who comes my way will get the very best service. The GC2 launch monitor is the most advanced piece of technology in golf today. Used by all of the top professionals in the world, this impressive system delivers some of the most accurate golf ball statistics. These stats help both myself and the pupil understand their golf swing more clearly and helps speed up the learning process.
At the heart of the GC2 is a stereoscopic camera system that precisely captures and analyses ball characteristics at the most critical point of measurement - club impact - to deliver the most accurate values of ball performance available today. The system allows me to provide the most precise custom fitting in the area and also provide the complete teaching solution in golf lessons.
A one hour lesson will be just £45. Come and speak to one of us for more information, or click here to get in touch.
Saturday and Sunday morning Junior lessons return on
Saturday, 7 and
Sunday, 8 February at 9.30am. The cost for 6 x 1 hour lessons is
£48. Please contact the pro team for more information, or
click here to get in touch.
Think about the shaft, not the ball
This can be a difficult concept for amateurs to grasp, but if you want to use the club properly and hit the ball flush, the bottom of your swing has to be in front of the ball. Your shaft should be leaning toward the target at impact, and the divot should start after you strike the ball.
But if you're focusing too hard on hitting the ball, your wrists can break down as you try to scoop it into the air. It's much easier to hit solid shots if you focus on the shaft: You want it pointing ahead of your body at impact (above). To help ingrain this move, stick a pencil into the butt end of the club (inset) and practice chipping and pitching with the pencil pointing ahead of your body through impact. Once that becomes easy, move up to full swings with the same goal.
Stubby Stableford Saturday, 31 January and Sunday, 1 February
Ladies medal Sunday, 1 February
Winter Foursomes Final and Plate competition - Please note the course will be CLOSED until 10am on Sunday.
Ladies Mail on Sunday match v Alresford Sunday, 1 February Tee reserved 12 - 1pm
John Charles Salver Tuesday, 3 February Tee reserved 11.45 - 12.45pm.
Mystery Matchplay
This popular event returns on Sunday, 15 February and entry can now be made on the psi in either Changing room. The entry fee of £12.50 will include coffee from 11am, a one course meal after play and prizes. The format is a shotgun start from holes 1 - 6 at 12 noon, play 18 holes medal in a drawn fourball. Whilst you are out playing a 'Matchplay' draw will be produced, when you come in from playing you will be able to eat and also find who you have been drawn against, play a matchplay round from your card with that person and so on until we reach the semi final stage. The semi final and final are played 'out loud' in front of the other competitors. I will be on hand to help.
The PGA in Hampshire Dinner
The PGA in Hampshire's 64th Annual Dinner & Golf Tournament will take place at Rowlands Castle Golf Club on Friday, 20 February 2015.
Tickets for Golf & Dinner Tickets cost £55.00.
Tickets for the Dinner only are £40.00 to include guest speakers.
Please contact me or a member of my team by February 6th if you would like to attend. Full details are on the notice board in the foyer.
