Club news

From Albert Sinfield, General Manager: It has been great to see all our Members back at Redlibbets over the past month and we hope that you are enjoying being back out on the golf course. From us all at the club it has been great seeing the familiar faces come back to the game playing alongside new faces that chose to join in recent weeks.  

Pace of Play: With the golf course filling up on most days, we are making a conscious effort to look at the pace of play. Since joining the club, it has been the main topic of conversation on and off the golf course, so we are going to tackle it in a slightly different way now we are back.  

Firstly, we have a new member of the starter / marshalling team to help us have better cover across the week.  

Secondly, we will now marshal the golf course using a tracking sheet. This document will allow us to track certain groups throughout the day with a time to play each hole. We have set a time of 4:27 hours to play the golf course as a 4–ball and each group no matter what the size of time of play will be asked and marshalled to complete their round in this time.  

Thirdly, we have asked the marshals to approach and interact with groups to better educate them on their pace and to tell them if at any point they need to walk slightly quicker between shots. We will be moving away from using the word “slow”, as this doesn’t give golfers much to work with and will tell you, “You are either ahead or behind the pace of play by X minutes”.  

I am confident by implementing this new approach to pace of play it will result in a more enjoyable round of golf for everyone walking onto the 1st tee. For this to work, we need your backing and support, but I know your passion for the club will be the driving force to help us combat the pace of play issue.  

10 simple ways to help the pace of play:  

1. Arrive at the tee 8 minutes before your time to avoid any delays in starting.  
2. Golf should be fun; play from the tee box that you feel most comfortable playing from.  
3. Play ready golf.  
4. Do your best to keep up with the group in front of you.  
5. If you do fall behind, call the group behind through.  
6. Spend no longer than 3 minutes looking for your ball, in line with the rules of golf.  
7. If in doubt, play a provisional.  
8. If you can’t score on the hole, please pick up and prepare for the next hole.  
9. Leave your bag/trolley in an appropriate position so you can walk straight to the next tee.  
10. Mark your scorecard away from the green or on the next tee. 

Buggy usage: We are soon to take delivery of six new Yamaha GPS buggies at the club. These are the forerunners of a bigger fleet that will arrive later this year. The buggies are a new type of vehicle offering on course GPS and will bring our fleet back up to 24 vehicles.  

Those of you who have recently rented a buggy may have seen a new sign–out procedure. This has been implemented to allow the golf check–in team to have better control of the vehicles throughout the day. We now ask all drivers to sign a disclaimer for the use of the vehicle during their round of golf and ask for a Debit / Credit card to be held at the golf check–in as a deposit. Each driver is handed a card–safe key that is to be handed back in upon the vehicle being returned. This deposit rule will be enforced because, in previous years, we found a high number of drivers leaving buggies in the car park and not returning the keys.  

Recently the team have been faced with some disgruntled drivers but please be mindful the deposit is taken to cover the driver and the club. We ask for everyone’s understanding when hiring a buggy and hope, with the new ones arriving, there will be more of you out using the service. We also ask that, until the pathways are finished, please refrain from using a buggy on them.  

Finally, on Friday, April 2nd, we braved the cold windy conditions to welcome our 2021 / 2022 Captain and Lady Captain to the tee. Both Darren and Lynn stuck their golf balls with a passion that no doubt they wish to maintain in their captaincy year!

The Drive In was a much smaller event this year but I know they both enjoyed getting their first drive under their belts as Captain and Lady Captain. It was a pleasure to stand on the 1st tee alongside them and I hope to see more, long, straight drives this year. From us all at Redlibbets we look forward to working alongside you to make a year to remember.

Clubhouse news

We now have a small scattering of tables and chairs in and around the putting green allowing members to sit outside to enjoy a beer or two. As we work towards the next stage of the government guidelines to reopen the clubhouse, we will continue to offer outdoor seating and try our best to separate groups. On days when we may have a society group on site, we will place them on tables on the terrace upstairs, whilst the downstairs area will remain for Member and general play golf. We hope by doing this it will make for a nicer experience to enjoy a well-deserved pint or even some lunch. It also allows the staff to keep the club compliant with the government guidelines.  

Course news

April has been a challenging month, with unusually low temperatures, continued frosts and next to no rain. These combined elements have slowed expected growth and recovery to an abnormally laborious rate.

Our greens renovations were finally completed with an over-seeding programme, using a tractor-mounted GKB CS120 Combiseeder. This piece of equipment has two spiked rollers forward and aft, along with two brushes positioned behind each roller. The method of seeding is for the front roller to insert holes into the surface, the seed then falls through and is swept into the holes, then the second roller pushes the seed into the holes, which is again followed by another brush. The first pass was made with Egmont Browntop Bentgrass at a rate of 4gm/m2 and then followed by a mix of cultivars of an Ultra Fine Rye.

Even though temperatures have been down, we are beginning to see the first signs of germination. The reason for using these two grass species is to improve coverage, quality, density and disease resistance. This should hopefully improve conditions over the winter months and reduce scaring from Fusarium (Microdochium nivale).

The irrigation system has been receiving a lot of attention, two new pumps have been installed and the sprinkler audit has almost been completed. We are replacing or repairing all faulty Hunter heads in an effort to improve moisture levels within the greens, tees and approaches. As the summers are turning increasingly warmer and drier it is essential to preserve an efficient system to maintain a healthy sward on all playing surfaces.

Captains’ updates 

From Darren Read, Club Captain, 2021: After 20 years of being a Member of Redlibbets, I finally agreed to become Club Captain. It will be an honour to represent the Members and Get Golfing in 2021 and I hope the club continues to be successful both on and off the course. I could not ask for a more wonderful Ladies’ Captain in Lynn Craven and Vice Captain in Martin Provost to share my journey.  

This year my charity will be Parkinson’s UK. My dad had Parkinson’s for more than 15 years and the support he was given was greatly appreciated. During this year, he was going to support my events but, unfortunately, in January he contracted Covid and sadly passed away. So, I am hoping to raise as many funds as I can in his honour. 

Ladies 

From Lynn Craven, Lady Captain 2021: It has been a very strange year but when I was asked to take over the position of Ladies’ Vice Captain, it was with the love and support of the great ladies’ section and my own enthusiasm to make a difference that I agreed to the role. I am now looking forward to my year of captaincy, working alongside Club Captain Darren Read, my Vice Captain Jayne Garfield-Field, Get Golfing and representing Redlibbets as it moves forward into a successful future for the club.

Competition news  

In the first few weeks of opening there has been plenty of competitive golf played with some fantastic scoring. Congratulations to all our winners, we look forward to seeing you keep it up!  

We had two board competitions played with the Acorn Cup taking place on Saturday 17th April, with 152 entrants. Congratulations to our winning pair Shaun McMurray and Jon Barker-Gray (47 points)  

Our first Race to Le Touquet event of the year, The St Georges Day Cup, took place on Saturday, April 24th, with 125 players taking part and all making their move towards that Le Touquet prize up for grabs later this year. We would like to thank all participants and we hope you all had an enjoyable day. Congratulations go to all the prize winners: 

Men’s  

• 1st: Jon Ward (nett 64) 
• 2nd: Paul McAllister (nett 65) 
• 3rd: Kevin Hambridge (nett 66)  

Ladies  

• 1st: Jane Gibbs (nett 71 on count back) 
• 2nd: Karen Taylor (nett 71 on count back)  
• 3rd: Louisa Cluett (nett 71 on count back)  

When you are next at the club, please be sure to look at the Race To Le Touquet leader board, with the top 10 men and ladies being awarded points towards the overall competition.  

Don’t forget to visit Intelligent golf to see all the up-and-coming competitions in the diary.  

Staff news 

It is with great pleasure to welcome several new members of staff to the Redlibbets team. Please join me in welcoming them to our club when you next see them around the clubhouse and golf course.  

Simon Harris joined the golf ops team earlier this month as a starter / marshal on the golf course. Simon has experience working at Upchurch golf club previously in the golf shop. Simon’s most recent roles have been outside of the golf industry, but he is excited to be back in the game and helping to marshal the course, ensuring everyone has an enjoyable round.  

Bryoni Peek has now joined the food and beverage team. Bryoni has previously worked at the London Golf Club as part of the front–of–house team in the clubhouse bar.  

Jenny Wills has also joined our food and beverage team. Jenny has a catering background working front of house at Dartford Football Club.  

Pro news

From George Lings, PGA Pro: New Driver vs New Swing: I am opening two more spaces on this programme as it has been extremely popular. The Members/ clients who took up this offer in April have already seen some fantastic results so far! A three-month programme to decrease your handicap or £100 back! Contact myself via [email protected] to book yourself in to start in May. 

WHS news 

We thought you might be interested in this information about your World Handicap System Index and Course Handicap — they are not the same thing! 

In the new world of WHS you have two numbers you need to remember:  

• The first is your Handicap Index, which is the exact calculation of your handicap. This is equivalent to what was your CONGU handicap. This number — usually expressed to a decimal point — is the average of the best eight of your last 20 scores — in terms of the score differential. So, if you are asked, ‘what’s your handicap?’ That is your Handicap Index and that is how we compare each other now. 
• The second is your Course Handicap. Whenever you play on a golf course, wherever you are, your index willchange, and you will have a different Course Handicap. It looks at the difficulty of that golf course for the scratch and bogey player and works out what your Course Handicap is based on the slope rating of the golf course you are playing. Your Course Handicap can change depending on the course, or even the tees from which you are playing. As we mentioned above, your Course Handicap could be vastly different to your actual WHS Handicap Index depending on the course you are playing. For example, say you are playing your home golf course: the white tees have a slope rating of 145, the yellow tees are 125, and the red tees are rated at 95. You are going to have three quite different Course Handicaps over those golf courses. You are going to lose shots on the red colour, you aregoing to gain a few on the yellow and you are going to gain quite a lot on the whites. 

It is all about the difficulty for the two players – scratch and bogey – playing that golf course. We are not comparing Course A to Course B. We are comparing the same golf course but for two players of different ability. 

Course Handicap 

Your handicap is no longer based on playing one single course. It is recalculated and that is why we call it a Course Handicap. It can change for every course you play. 

There are many ways you can check what your Course Handicap is going to be on any course. You can do it via the My England Golf app, IG Member app, via the club boards, or you even manually work it out if you know the calculations.Your Course Handicap is of primary importance because that is how we work out where you are going to get your strokes. 

So, if you know what your Handicap Index is, you will choose the right tee for your game on that day, work out your Course Handicap, and go out and enjoy your round of golf. 

Playing Handicap 

You receive a Playing Handicap during club competitions, but it does not affect the score that goes forward for handicap purposes. The playing handicap is purely for competition purposes. You may find the score you record — because that score is based on your Course Handicap — will be different to that shown on the results sheet. 

That is to be expected. It is going to be slightly less if you play a medal, for example, because that format comes with a 95% allowance. Do not worry too much about the Playing Handicap, it is purely for competition results purposes. If you are recording your gross score, we will use your Course Handicap to work out your new Handicap Index. 

Social Rounds 

The idea of WHS is you have more opportunity to return scores for handicap purposes. It is not limited to competition scores or to scores played at your home golf club, as it was with supplementary scores. 

You can now return a score in general play whenever you wish, either home or away. So long as you play a measured golf course and pre-register your intent to score before you go out to play, you can return a score from anywhere. 

My England Golf App and IG Member App 

These useful apps have a range of features – primarily the ability to look at your handicap record. You have full access toyour scores and they highlight which scores are included in your handicap calculations. 

They also show your handicap trends. They have a Course Handicap Calculator, which allows you to select the golf course you are going to play, the relevant tees, and will do the calculation for you. They tell you what the Course and Slope ratings are and reveal, based on your Handicap Index, what your Course Handicap is. 

Pro Shop news 

We have had a great start for the new Pro Shop, with well over 600 Members across the sites, logging in to see what we have to offer.  

We would like to encourage all of you to sign into your exclusive Pro Shop and get your special Member discount on a variety of new products, such as the current golf ball promotions we are running. 

1. Buy 2 dozen Srixon AD333 for only £34.99 less your discount.

We can also announce that you are now able to top up your Club Card via the Pro Shop without having to purchase anything — i.e. you can add (beer) funds to your account from the comfort of your own home!