THAXTED PARK GOLF CLUB MEMBERS NEWSLETTER MAY 2017 Important Member Notice In recent times, our competition fields, in particular on Saturdays, have become very large and securing positions in the field has become a very popular process. In recent times, we have been averaging well over 200 bookings each Saturday however our field sizes have only reached a maximum of 195 once (whereby over 220 were booked). As you can appreciate, this can cause disappointment and angst among the membership base, in particular those who are keen to play in the morning field (whereby this is always booked out). To assist with providing clarity and guidance, the committee would like to re iterate the following etiquette and process for adherence when booking competition tee times. With online booking sheets every day it is imperative that all players take full responsibility for their tee time booking on any given day, regardless if others book on their behalf. Things to be mindful of: The booking sheet opens one day and one week before at 11am your desired day of play. The booking sheet closes at 6am on the morning of play If your booking is not cancelled, the spot cannot be filled on the day and as such is preventing another member from participating in that day s competition If you are unable to play and miss the 6am cut off please give the pro shop the courtesy of a phone call and cancel yourself out. Given recent feedback from the membership base, we have now implemented a policy for booked players who fail to meet a booked time and fail to provide notice: 1 st offence SMS/Email warning 2 nd offence SMS/Email reminder warning 3 rd offence Written warning detailing 4 th and final offence consequences
4 th & subsequent offences Playing rights immediately suspended for a period of 2 weeks on the specific day Repeat offenders will be referred to the Match Committee and appropriately disciplinary action may be taken in accordance with club protocol. Penalties will only apply per membership year. Whilst the penalties may seem harsh, it is imperative that we show respect to our fellow members and ensure we are using the booking sheets in the intended manner. At Thaxted Park we have become known as the family friendly golf club which we take great pride in. For group bookings feel free to book your group in but if someone cannot make it please make sure to cancel their name so that someone else can put their name down. Course The new 6 th hole (currently playing as the 5 th ) has been up and running for a couple of weeks now. The feedback has been very positive thus far, a reachable Par 5 but a very tricky green. Work will commence on removing the old 5 th green and more fairway bunkering as well as a new back tee further up the hill once the 3 rd hole and 4 th tee precinct has been completed. The new 3 rd hole is progressing nicely with the general shaping completed, irrigation and drainage work commenced this week and will continue for 2 more weeks before sand is applied and turfing of the surrounds area commences and the bent green will be grown and hopefully in play by late September early October depending on weather.
Club Foursomes Championships A larger field than normal contested the Club Foursomes Championships Sunday 7 th May, with the course set up at its most difficult being a monthly medal the day before. 2016 State Foursomes Champions Matt Rolton & Matt Hey took out the title with a very impressive 69 gross from Ben Ash & Shaun Tate who faltered late on after looking very solid in the late middle stages ending 6 shots back on 75. Three pairings scored joint 3 rd position with 76. In the B Grade category Tom Connor & Ciaran Cullen took out the division by a single shot with 88 followed closely by Alan Harrup & Brendan Baker on 89. The whole field saw 14 pairings compete which is a great result for one of the Clubs most established gold leaf events. Thank you to everyone that played and supported the day. House, Entertainment and Communications Committee Social Saturday 24 th June Greg Ritchie Mahatma Cote Live Save these upcoming & future dates: Saturday 20 th May Presidential Cup Round 2 Thursday 25 th May Ladies Gala Day Men members are invited to play Saturday 17 th June Presidential Cup Round 3 Saturday 15 th July Xmas in July dinner & dance featuring Groove brothers & soul sister Sunday 27 th August Moneyball 2 another $1000 cash on offer for this popular event Sunday 24 th September Boys v Girls event
2017 Presidential Cup The inaugural round of the 2017 presidential Cup took place on Saturday 22 nd of April which also coincided with the largest field we have had for many years. 196 players teed it up with over 90 entered in the Presidential Cup the field looked very colourful in the 8 team colours. After round one the team & individual positional team table (without scores) looks like this. Pos Team Leading Player 1 Hogan Malcolm Knight 2 Woods Gavin Rolton 3 Nicklaus Tom Hicks 4 Player Matt Rolton 5 Snead Warren Reynolds 6 Jones Matt Hey 7 Hagan Richard Mace 8 Palmer Robert Banks We will not be advertising these scores after every round in order to keep our champions under wraps until presentation evening. Needless to say though that all score were very tight so there is plenty of room for improvement across all teams. May s round of the Presidential Cup is scheduled for Saturday 20 th May. Good luck to all! Flex Your Ability! Flexibility plays a huge role in the golf swing. Not only will it allow a fuller swing and increased power, it will decrease pain and the likelihood of experiencing an injury while practicing or playing. In fact, the root cause of many golfing injuries is a lack of golf specific flexibility. One of the most common causes of reduced flexibility in our modern lifestyles is excessive sitting! Think about it, we are at a desk, computer, kitchen table, in the car or on the couch watching TV way more than we should be! This inactivity switches off your muscles and leads to tightening and adhesions in joints. Your golf swing uses nearly every joint in your body, especially your spine, hips and shoulders. These joints are all controlled to move in just the right amount at just the right time. Any limitation to this motion at any level can break this chain and shift the work load onto other joints and muscles, leading to dysfunction and ultimately less distance or poor shot quality. According to J. H Blanchard, golf professional and Author of the geometry of golf : The Chiropractor is the perfect choice to evaluate, educate, treat, condition and train those who choose to play golf. Along with Chiropractic care, regular stretching and activity is very important in order to maintain your flexibility.
Remember to make use of the driving/chipping range and practice nets prior to your game. Start slowly with about 50% of the power you would normally use in a game and gradually increase to 90%. This will help you get warmed up nicely and then always spend at least five minutes stretching before and after playing. Enjoy your game! Dr Harley Rusden TPGC Club Sponsor Morphett Vale Chiropractic & Well being Women s Sub Committee Report The golfing schedule continues to be a busy one for our ladies; Southern pennants had the finals on Monday 8 th May and the Div. 1 team played Willunga at Mt Compass, winning the shield for the 2 nd time. Thank you to those who came to support us and thanks to those who played in both divisions throughout the season. Both teams fielded 7 8 players with 5 playing each week. It has been wonderful to see one of our club legends back playing competitive golf thank you for your efforts Lyndall and well done, having won/squared all of your matches. Unfortunately the Div. 2 team missed out on a finals berth by 2 games but they had a very good season, using at least 8 players to ensure we had plenty qualified for the finals if needed. Three of our newer members played matches in both divisions Belinda Mason, Dee Stapleton and Chris Walker well done. Thank you to all team managers, players, caddies and supporters who helped throughout the pennant season. The Laurel Wreath competition is well underway, with the 1 st round now completed and the 2 nd round commencing when players make their arrangements this needs to be completed by 26 th May. Ladies Metro Pennant season began 8 th May, with our team entering in Division 4 and played their 1 st match at The Stirling (unfortunately losing) good luck for the season. Tops and jackets have been provided by the General Committee for both Pennants and Cleek and will match the men s uniform. There will be a presentation to the players on Friday 12 th around 7pm in the clubrooms and it would be pleasing to see as many members as possible to support our teams. The Cleek competition begins on the 22 nd May also at The Stirling. Our Gala Day is on 25 th May and is a mixed Canadian Foursomes so please sign up for this event; a sheet is on the notice board in the corridor. If you wish to invite someone from another club please do so; we are also advertising at metropolitan, southern and Riverland clubs and hope to have a good size field. The cost is $10.00 for members, $15.00 for non members and there will be a Mystery Bottle raffle. Our annual Gayle Botting day was held on the 4 th May; Gayle is a long time member of the club and every year she sponsors a competition day for the ladies. We held a coloured ball team event as well as our individual stableford competition. The team winners were Dee Stapleton, Sue Saunders and Belinda Mason with Agnes Roberts, Gail Harris and Chris Telfer the runner up team. The individual
winner was Belinda Mason with Chris Telfer runner up. (how pleasing to see so many newer members in the winning groups). We thank Gayle most sincerely for her continued support. Until next month, good golfing. Lyn Wilkeson Ladies Captain Pennant Update The 2017 Golf SA Pennant season is underway, and here's how our teams performed this week. We are looking for any members who would like to assist our teams by caddying. If this is of interest to you and you'd like to become part of team Thaxted Park, please inform Adam in the office or ring 8325 0046. Men's games are played on Sundays from around 11am and Ladies from 8am on Mondays. Simpson Cup Rd1 The Grange 4.5 beat Thaxted Park 2.5 Although it was a first round loss this match was tighter than the score indicates with our boys taking it to the losing finalists from last season. A fantastic effort putting the bottom five clubs from last season on high alert as to the strength they will encounter when playing TPGC this season. Men's B2 Rd1 Thaxted Park 4 beat Regency Park 3 A tight and hard fought, but non the less handy start from our B2's against last season losing finalists Ladies A4 Rd2 Thaxted Park 2.5 halved with Glenelg 2.5 A great result by our girls at Highercombe against strong opposition. Thank you for taking the time to read this House, Entertainment & Communications Committee Participants in the recent Primary School regional qualifying event held at Thaxted Park getting tips from our assistant Manager and PGA member Michael Moore.