Club Charity

In October Edward Richardson met with your Vice Captain’s, Competition and Handicap Secretaries from each section. At the meeting Ed explained that it is Get Golfing’s wish to support the coming together of charitable fundraising at each club. Currently, each section raises funds for the Captain’s chosen charity independently of Get Golfing and each of the other sections. The Captain’s have to work tirelessly and without support to raise these funds. While the charities are grateful for the hardwork and endeavours of the respective Captains, the actual sums raised vary considerably year to year.

Ed was proposing that we collectively adopt a different strategy for 2022 where the Club as a whole dedicate its support to one local charity. Get Golfing have hired a designated member of staff who would work with the Captain’s and the chosen charity to promote the following:

• Fundraising within the member and visitors for the local charity.
• Support the charity by creating greater awareness within the club and the local community of the charity’s hardwork.
• Use of club facilities at no cost.

What Get Golfing are bringing to the table is a dedicated member of staff to work with the Club and the charity to ensure they get the most out of the opportunity. In addition to the staff member, the initiative has the full support of the Get Golfing back office with sales and marketing which will further enhance the initiative.

Get Golfing would fund the dedicated member of staff, Faydra and train that member in the specialist field of fund raising. Get Golfing would not be charging a levy for these services. Having looked closely at this change in the structure of fundraising at Club level we believe that the following will take place:

By coming together as a club with the support of Faydra,

1. We believe we can raise more funds for the chosen charity without having to constantly chase members for greater contributions.
2. We believe we can enhance the awareness that the charity’s good work.
3. We believe that it change the perception of the immediate community and bring us closer together.
4. We believe we can help improve the performance of the chosen charity through the support of the club and the use of our facilities.

This proposal has been left with the Vice Captains to discuss amongst themselves and with other members of the Club as a principle, and if they are in agreement, then collectively decide on a couple of suitable candidates as our Club Charity. Having drawn up a short list, they would then work with Faydra to assess the suitability of the charity. While we all recognise the good work of charities, we believe that not all charities would be suitable partners that would enable them, and the club, to maximise the opportunity. It is proposed, that once a charity is selected, that the Club will commit all their charitable endeavours to that charity for a fixed period of three years to enable the Club and the charity to properly develop the relationship.

The decision making panel at Redlibbets will be Martin Provost, Jayne Garfield and John Postlethwaite along with Faydra and Albert. If you have any suggestions or thoughts on this proposal, may we ask that you come back to Faydra by email [email protected] so that he can collate and report the feedback.

Club News

From Albert Sinfield, Golf Manager: Welcome to the Team:  

I am pleased to welcome Clive Carrick to the team. Clive has recently joined us and will hold the position of Head Chef within the kitchen. Clive has worked in the golf industry for most of his professional career starting at St Andrews Old Course hotel in 1997 as commis chef. Clive was lucky enough to cook for the heads of state including Nelson Mandella and work during numerous Dunhill Links tournaments and the 2000 Open Championship, when Tiger Woods lifted the claret jug. During Clive’s journey back to Kent he held a position at Stoke Park cooking for their fine dining restaurant kitchen. Since Clive’s return to the county, he has held Head Chef roles at golf clubs such as Birchwood Park, Nizles and Ingrebourne. Clive’s most recent position was as Executive Chef for Relish outside caterers which was cooking in manor houses to parties at people’s homes. Clive is very excited to see what he can bring to Redlibbets and about the challenge ahead. Please join me in welcoming Clive to the club as and when you see him in the clubhouse.  

Redlibbets is home to BNI Brands Hatch. This is a fun and friendly business networking group that meets weekly at Redlibbits Golf Club on a Friday morning to pass business between its members and in the last year passed in excess of £1.2m. BNI Brands Hatch is also a big presence in the local community helping local groups and charities.  

Could your business benefit from connecting with other local business owners? Contact BNI Brands Hatch today ([email protected]) or Kevin Burroughs 07976-279582 ([email protected]) and arrange your free visit. 

With the weather turning, we have relaunched our Sunday Lunch at the club. They can be found on our club house specials board every Sunday between 11.30 – 16.00. We are taking table bookings but feel free to stop by after your round to order straight from the menu. Alongside the Sunday Lunch we have also launched the “Golfers take away roast for the course” This delicious sandwich is roast beef slices with roast dinner sides in a ciabatta allowing you to enjoy a lunch on the course. Feel free to ask a member of the golf check in team when you check in for your round for this takeaway option. It’s not something to miss on your next weekend visit to the club. Make a reservation in the restaurant here!

Save the Date: 

We are pleased to inform you that the annual Presentation evening for 2020 will be held on Saturday, 27th November. This is normally a well-supported event, and we want this year to be no different. Please see below a breakdown of the event to give you an idea what to expect:  

• Arrival drink 18.30 – 19.00  
• A three-course set menu meal  
• Entertainment throughout the evening with a DJ  
• Tea & coffee to follow the meal  
• The evening will draw to a close at midnight  

Tickets are available for £50 per person. We welcome all members to the evening, and it would be fantastic to see some new faces from around the club. If you wish to attend, please contact Albert on [email protected] 

Subscriptions. 

The trading at Redlibbets continues to improve. This should not be lost on the membership, as it is through the generation of new members and visitor income that we have been able to invest significant sums back into the Club. The primary goal of Get Golfing is to deliver a quality experience to our members with excellent value for money. As we all know, inflation has started to raise it head and we have been advised that we should expect an increase in operational costs of between 5 and 7.5% due to increased staffing costs, energy, supplier pricing, etc. We are very keen to resist increasing subscriptions, but have to act with an air of caution. We are therefore going to increase subscriptions across all categories (except junior members who are free), by £2.50 to £5.00 per month depending on the category. This amounts to an increase on a full or five day membership of 4% and 5% respectively. A separate email with a detailed breakdown will follow shortly. These increases only kick in when your membership renews.

Course News

From Damon Kirk, Course Manager:  

Proshop News

From Nicholas Darby, Golf Retail Sales & Operations Manager: The Proshop yet again has three fantastic offers for you this month! We’ll beat all major retailers on price!

Just a quick reminder, the Mumba Charity Buy Back scheme ends on November 30th, so make sure to get any more old logo’d gear in for £10 off your new club apparel.

Pro News

From Jerri Sewell, PGA Professional:  

To contact Jerri, please email: [email protected] 

Community Outreach

The team this month have been focusing on working with our 8 sites to adapt the Club’s charitable role within their communities.

As you’ve read, Ed our CEO would like all sections of the club to work together to support one local charity for the next three years and really embed them into our sites with awareness, fundraising and use of our amazing environments.

The aim will be to have one Group charity across all Get Golfing and then one local charity at each site that can receive great support over a sustained period of time. This should maximise fundraising and allow charities to plan and budget more effectively over a 3-year period.

We also hope that with all sections of the club working together it will integrate sections, create great social interactions, and create an inclusive and exciting program of social and fundraising events.

Captains and vice captains are currently in discussion to select the Club’s local charity and we aim to announce group and local charity partners with a January launch. We are supporting this process and will have designated resources to help sites make a real difference to the local charity of their choice.

The team are also currently

• Selecting our partner primary and special schools for 2022 that will receive an amazing package of support over the next 3 years.
• Organising our TAP/SEN program cohorts for 2022.
• Setting up our This Girl Can Get Golfing calendar.
• Developing partnerships with a wide variety of clubs and providers to broaden activities offered on our sites.

We look forward to supporting your club and if you have any ideas or links to local groups who could benefit from our support please get in touch with the team.

[email protected]

[email protected]  (East)

[email protected]  (West)