News

As from 7.00am Wednesday 13 May Gathurst golf club will reopen.

THE FORMAT OF PLAY WILL BE 2-BALL WITH BOOKING ON THE BRS SYSTEM REQUIRED AND WILL BE FOR MEMBERS ONLY. This was communicated in the previous email outlining the rules for play.

Tee booking will be available the day before and accessible from 0900hrs and you may book for yourself and one other member.

Please be patient when booking, we anticipate a large number of members trying to book at once. If you can’t use BRS please ring the pro-shop or office to request a booking.

Access to the locker rooms will be limited. It is expected that they will be open from 0700hrs to 1800hrs however it is advisable that members take their golfing equipment home to ensure they are not compromised when they turn up for play.

Anyone not playing but wishing to collect their golf equipment from the club will be allowed to  do so.

Limited numbers of people in the locker rooms at any one time will be required to ensure correct social distancing.

Access will be via the rear door which, together with the doors to the locker rooms, will be propped open.

In the case of the Men’s locker room we would like to operate a one way system by entering via the rear door and exiting via the emergency exit at the back of the locker room.

The Ladies locker room only has one door. We ask the ladies to take care when entering and only have 2 people in the room at any one time.

While we do not want to have a system of booking for social golf, it is anticipated that the number of people wanting to play during the first days of opening will be such that demand will be greater than supply. It is therefore necessary for us to adopt BRS bookings for a period of time. This will ensure that we do not overload the car park and entrance to the first tee. Booking will be made available the day before starting at 0900hrs. We recognise that some of our members are not able to use the on-line booking unless it is done in the clubhouse. For these people they will be able to phone either the Professionals shop or the clubhouse to book a tee time.

We would ask that consideration is given to those members that are still working and can only access the course at the weekend.

Remember to remove your name from the booking sheet if you are unable to play at the time you have booked. This will allow someone else to take up that booking slot.

Our Greenstaff have, and still are, working on our course. When you are playing golf again, be mindful of their presence and maintain the appropriate social distancing.

The rules we have set out are in alignment with the recommendations from England golf. Please view these on their web site. https://www.englandgolf.org/

The first two weeks of golf will be for members only. NO visitors or guests will be allowed. The only exception to this rule is that we are contractually obliged to give BRS  2 bookings per day as payment for their systems, please be courteous to these visitors and extend a warm Gathurst welcome.

We will be extending the slots available on BRS to allow members to book tees into the evening. This means that there will be insufficient time to complete a full 18 holes for these later slots, the course will still be available for shorter rounds. The booking system flags up slots that are within 4 hours of sunset to indicate you may not have sufficient time to complete 18 holes.

Competition golf may be able to be started after the initial two week period, but will have to be a revised programme. We will be looking at this once the course has been re-opened.

Social golf rules – in force when the course reopens and until further notice

• Only 2 players per tee time.
• All games MUST start at the first hole.
• 10min intervals for teeing.
• All tee times to be pre-booked using BRS. (This is against our normal rules for social golf but is necessary to ensure social distancing at the first tee).
• Booking will be open one day in advance starting at 0900hrs. For those unable to book from home, either phone the professionals shop or the club office. Your booking will then be taken.
• Only arrive at the course 20 mins before your tee time.
• Change into golf shoes on the car park.
• There will be lines painted on the path to the first at 2m intervals to aid social distancing.
• The practice area, practice nets, practice putting green and chipping area will all remain closed.
• Only one person per ride-on buggy, even if it is a two seater.
• Leave flags in the hole, inserts will be added to the holes so that the ball can be retrieved without having to reach down into the hole.
• Bunkers GUR, all rakes have been removed.
• Do not pick up your partner’s golf ball.
• On course toilets will have soap and towels installed at all times.
• Ball washers and water fountain will be covered and must not be used.
• Divot boxes and benches will be removed from the course.
• A looped extension rope to be added to the bell on the second, use a club to hook this to ring the bell.
• Clubhouse and pros shop access – we await information from the government / England golf / R&A.
• On completion of the round, leave the car park as soon as possible.

 

“Radar” has been busy with his camera again.

Some things you will recognise, other features will be new to you, we hope you like them, Danny and his team have worked hard over the winter on these improvements.

Once lockdown has ended he will be able to complete the finishing touches on the paths and new winter tees. The work will improve course availability to those with buggies and trollies without winter wheels.

You can also catch some glimpses of new wild areas, these have been seeded with wild flowers, the areas will be spectacular when fully mature.

Steve has been out and about on the course today (17th April) and he’s kindly sent in a video – in two parts.

Thanks again “Radar”

Whilst the country remains on Lockdown we wanted to share with you some photos of the course taken over the last couple of weeks. Most of them have been posted on Facebook and Twitter, but we know there are members who don’t use these social media platforms, so we shared them here as well. We will post more when we can.

Thanks go to Scott Rigby, Steve Banks and Steve Norman for the pictures,  we hope you enjoy them, stay safe.

As mentioned in an earlier post, Steve Norman has been taking his self isolating exercising on the course – one of the joys of living in a house so close he can almost step out of his back gate into the clubhouse.

His exercise has been to do some jobs around the course. He’s already jet washed the patio, which now looks brand new. His current exercise to repaint the marker discs, he’s doing a fantastic job.

Many thanks Steve, we all look forward to seeing the fruits of your labour “in the flesh”. For now we will have to make do with some photos.

 

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the course and clubhouse are now closed for the safety of members and staff.

The office team, Keith and Nicola, have relocated to work from their homes. This has caused some disruption whilst I.T. systems were put in place, but everything should now be back to normal. Well almost, we only have a single telephone line, which Keith is manning, and the club systems are operating slower in remote mode. You can contact Keith on the usual number, 01257 255235, but there are no further options to listen to. Please be patient if you can’t get through first time.

Club has had to put Deborah and the bar staff on furlough (paid lay-off) whilst the clubhouse is closed. Dave McMullan’s cleaning contract is on temporary hold, and Dave, Mikey and the other kitchen team are not able to work. The pro-shop is also closed. This is hard on them, and we are aware that many of self-employed members find themselves in similar predicaments. Hopefully the government assistance for self-employed will kick-in soon. Even with this support, we all need to help each other along the way.

On the positive side, in line with England Golf and BIGGA guidelines, the greens staff are, for the moment, able to continue to work. Unencumbered by golfers, they are really getting to grips with the course which is looking better and better every day. Dan, Josh, Mike, and Scott are, of course, working with social distancing, cleaning protocols and other precautions in place.  You will see all the same familiar faces when the club reopens.

Some of you will have seen the video made by Steve Norman and posted to the club’s Facebook and Twitter pages. If you haven’t yet viewed it, you can do so by scrolling down to the end of this blog. The course is looking fantastic.

In the background the Directors are working hard with Keith and Nicola to ensure we keep all expenses to minimum, ranging from simple thing like putting Sky TV on hold, to speaking to our bank about securing finance over the shutdown. We are also planning to apply for help with the wage bill for those staff who are laid off. Unfortunately, we have no such help with the staff who have to work. This includes Dan and his team, if they were laid-off to take advantage of the wage support we would rapidly lose the greens and fairways. The damage would take months to rectify. The upkeep of the course comes second only to the safety and welfare of our staff and members.

With the clubhouse now closed members can’t read the noticeboards or speak to the staff and other members, communication via email and social media has become very important.

If the club doesn’t have your email, or has an old email for you, we can’t keep you fully informed.

If you want to stay in touch please ensure we have your current email address. If you know members who don’t have email or access to social media, we ask you to give them a call from time to time to keep them updated. The club will try to ring round members without email addresses, but you can all help us by doing this as well.

As you will understand, we don’t know how long the emergency will last. This means the social and golf calendar will be constantly changing. We will try to reschedule what we can, but invariably we will have to cancel some things. We already know that this year’s Victory Trophy has been postponed until next year.

We may also have to cancel/rearrange some of the Opens and Invitation days, but it will be a challenge to fit everything in.

Things WILL return to normal, Gathurst Golf Club WILL survive and THRIVE again, but we will need your continued support.

Stay Safe.

Now here’s the video we promised. Thanks go to our very own Steve Norman who is doing a great impression of Sky Sport’s Ken Brown.

 

 

 

Click below to Download your copy of the March edition of the Grapevine

Grapevine_2020_03

Dear Members,

I am now one month into my year as the Captain of Gathurst Golf Club. On Wednesday the 5^th February 2020 I along with my wife Pauline attended “The Society of Liverpool Captains”, Introductory evening ay Huyton & Prescott Golf Club. This is where we met for the first time all the 27 member clubs of the Liverpool Society 2020 captains and their wives/partners. The meal and speeches were followed by a meeting where we agreed on our Captains year name which is:

The Visionaries (2020 Vision)

It was a great honour to be part of this on behalf of Gathurst Golf Club, I am greatly looking forward to visiting and getting to know all the 27 clubs. Sharing thoughts and ideas with my fellow Captains to help all golf clubs in the Liverpool Society, prosper and grow. Not forgetting I’ll be playing lots of Golf….!!!!!!

I am also really chuffed that the club have agreed to move the Captains day to Saturday 27^th June 2020. Over the next three months I will be working with Mark Schofield (Vice Captain) along with the Golf, Social and House committees to finalise the arrangements for the day/evening.

The Lady Captain Elaine King and I have chosen “Breast Cancer Now” for our charity and your support would be greatly appreciated.

Breast Cancer Care and Breast Cancer Now merged in 2019. They united to create one charity for everyone affected by breast cancer and are the UK’s first comprehensive breast cancer charity.

How your support helps!

1 in 7 women in the UK will develop breast cancer

Your donation will help to make sure the world-class research taking place in their labs, and the life-changing care and support they provide to those who so desperately need it, continues. If we act now, we can create a future where everyone who develops breast cancer lives – and is supported to live well.

As we approach the start of the golf season with the Captains opening dinner dance Saturday 14^th March, followed by the Captains drive in Sunday 15^th March. I would like to ask if you haven’t already, to consider sponsoring one of the Seventy-Two Competitions scheduled for this season. This gives me the opportunity to have a bacon barm (On me) and a round of golf with lots of different members. Helping me achieve my goal of playing with as many of our 491 golf members as possible in 2020.

For those of you especially the new members, who are unsure what sponsoring a competition entails please see below:

There are two prizes for each of the competitions 1^st Division & 2nd Division so the norm is for two people to put their names on the club prize donors list on the notice board. Obviously one person can sponsor if they wish. The prizes normally take the form of a Clarkes golf voucher usually between £30 to £40 or golf merchandise. Although the sponsors can clearly choose any prize they wish. The tee off time is the sponsor choice and Ian White (Chair of Golf) and I will ensure you get the tee off time you want.

Thank you for all your support

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ben Johnson

Gathurst Golf Club Captain 2020