Hello and happy new year from everyone here at CMGC…
I trust you all had a great festive period and enjoyed some much needed rest, food and drink. As you can probably guess like the rest of the UK the weather has not been that kind to us. However as normal we have stayed positive and the greenkeepers have worked really hard to get the course open. Yes it is wet in the rough and high traffic areas like paths etc but the tee boxes, fairways and greens look fantastic for the time of year.
Going forward over the next couple of weeks (Monday to Friday) we are trying to keep nine holes a day closed to give it time to recover. We never close at Cleobury and never have temporary greens if you fancy a game always think of us.
After the Christmas break we have plenty to report….. Enjoy.
The picture above was taken just after Christmas.
CMGC Members On Tour
Season greetings to everyone from your Handicap League Captain Guy Taylor from my winter training camp in Jamaica!
As you all probably know it was my first year last year as League Captain and in a very competitive division we finished a couple of points short of reaching the semi finals. It was a big learning curve for me trying to pick a winning team for each match but a massive thank you to everyone who played for the team and thanks to my Vice Captain Gordon Moraity for all his hard work.
The AGM took place on 9th December with 2 major changes being announced for the 2016 season. Two new teams applied to join, The Vale and Droitwich which takes the number of teams to 15 so a decision was made to run 3 divisions of 5 with the winner of each division going straight into the semi finals and the runners up of each division playing off in a round robin format for the remaining semi final spot. Cleobury were drawn in division one along with Wharton Park, Bewdley Pines, Churchill and Blakedown and last year's winners Bransford.
The second major change is that the league is to adopt the new 9/10 handicap difference instead of ¾ so this will obviously benefit higher handicap players who will receive more shots. With matches to start in March I'm already looking forward to next season.
Guy is pictured on the 11th green at Cinnamon Hill Golf Club, Montego Bay.
Fuerteventura Trip for Captain John Gaskell
Club Captain John Gaskell is seen here at Fuerteventura Golf Club with Elbe Palace Golf Head Matre'de Alfredo Mediaceja Duany proudly wearing his Cleobury Mortimer FootJoy Team shirt presented to him by our Club Captain and his wife Ang.
John had this to say, "Alfredo is an excellent golfer and say's he will wear it with pride".
A sad day here at CMGC.
We have to report that our beloved German Shepard, Tiger has passed away.
He did really well getting past the 12 year mark.
Pretty much part of the furniture he was.
Kitchen Refurb In 2016
Please note that on the week commencing Monday January 11th the kitchen will be closed for a refurbishment. It will be closed on the Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and scheduled to re-open on Friday 15th January . Limited food will be available such as pasties but actual cooked meals for those day will be unavailable.
Any questions please speak to Dave, Graham or Rose.
BRS Coming To CMGC
Over the next few months CMGC will be introducing the BRS Online Booking System, the online booking system will allow members to book online through the club website for casual tee times and competitions from the comfort of their own home or office. This will allow members to book 24 hours a day, outside of normal business hours over the Internet and get instant on-screen and email confirmation of their booking. The BRS system is a tried and tested module being used weekly by over 440,000+ members across 1100+ clubs (April 2015).
CMGC intend to roll this out during the quieter winter months with the aim of holding a members evening in the spring to show the system and how to operate it. So far the feedback we have received has been positive and we look forward to getting the system up and running.
Sweep Winner
Big thank you to everyone that purchased a go in our annual sweep. The draw has been done with the help of Stuburt golfs very own Steve Grant.
5 awesome prizes were up for grabs all winners please speak to Dave to claim their prizes.
Watch the video of the draw taking by clicking or the image or alternatively by clicking here.
Short Game Area
The development of the short game has really started to take shape with the green extension marked out and is developing nicely. With the help of Sam and Rob Grier along with Dave and Amy we set about making the area not just bigger but to be an area where the golfer could practice a variety of shots from and at various yardages.
From a practicing point of view we wanted to try and create more realistic on course situations which we feel we have done as we will now have areas you can practice chip and runs, bunker shots and the 40-60 yard pitch shot as well a host of other shots.
Every shot in golf is just as important as the next one in golf but if you can get the ball up and down on a more consistent basis you will keep the momentum in your round going and you will notice a big improvement in your scores throughout the year.
Going forward once it dries up we will be using some of the excess soil from the lodge development site to build a 4 hole short course on the short game area.
Dave and Tom have marked out an area which will be specific to develop beginner golf and get more people into our great sport.
More Success From Stone
2015 was a huge year for CMGC and Stone Driving Range, the members and associates of the club really got behind the partnership with many going over for club fittings.
Literally every single person who has a fitting commented on how good the experience was.
Professional service a great selection of products at a great price.
Just before the new year Ian and Phil went over for a driver fitting and as the screen shot shows they loved the experience we organised for them.
If you are serious about your golf please speak to Dave and he will get you booked in for a fitting to play better golf in 2016.