Happy ‘Official Golf Season’ and welcome to the latest edition of the Bondhay Newsletter. April has got off to a great start so far, with both courses and the range seeing good usage and the weather being reasonably kind, although a bit up and down in terms of temperature. The clocks have gone forward, giving us much-welcomed extra daylight and more time for golf.
As this is being written, Rory McIlroy has just secured a consecutive victory at the Masters, so a huge congratulations to him!
The greenkeeping team have made some excellent progress over the off-season, with many updates taking place to improve the course and facilities. One such project was the removal of more trees, and the filling of a handful of bunkers. At the time of writing, the conditions have sat favourably to get the turf down on the bunkers, so that’s been landscaped and hopefully starting to get some roots down. All new turfed areas are Ground Under Repair (GUR) and marked with white paint – please do not play any shots off these areas and take relief no nearer the hole.
Our plans for improvements and renovations across the courses, facilities and clubhouse will continue over this spring and summer. We will report on these as-and-when progress is made, but it is hoped that a near-term win will be a new patio area at the front of the clubhouse to allow for more people to be able to sit outside during the warmer months, and thus increase the seated capacity of the bar and restaurant. This will vastly improve the area, making it more visually appealing and a more welcoming space for members and visitors.
Pro Shop Updates
The Pro Shop team have done a fantastic job in curating an excellent product offering for the new season, bringing new lines from the likes of Adidas, Puma and Callaway, plus the latest from favourites Under Armour, PING and TaylorMade. Whether you’re after a jazzy new shirt, an affordable pair of shoes, or the best selection of golf balls, visit the Pro Shop to browse the Spring offering.
Trackman Range
As of 1st April, the Range’s weekend opening was extended back to 7pm, offering more time to practice in the daylight on Saturdays and Sundays. We’ll keep all opening hours under review over the coming weeks and months (in line with demand) and extend again on certain days if necessary.
Don’t forget to take advantage of our Happy Hour and Loyalty Pack programmes. Happy Hours run every day of the week between certain times, giving you 25% off baskets of balls, whereas the Loyalty Packs are available via YourGolfBooking and give you extra free credit when you add money to your account. There’s also the new Loyalty Cards available in the Pro Shop, which offer a free basket of balls when you collect 8 stamps.
BRS & Booking
As members will know well, BRS is available for you to book your own tee times up to 10 days in advance. Where possible, please ensure you are adding all of your group’s names to the tee times, as this allows us to effectively manage the clubhouse and course based on the number of people expected.
We’re also seeing an up-tick in people adding generic reservations or guests to tee times and then removing them at the very last minute in order to avoid anyone else being added to their time. This is not something actively done by Club staff, so proves rather unnecessary. That being said, the Club is made up of a wide range of people who can offer a lot in terms of networking and friendship, so please consider ‘buddying up’ with other players from time-to-time.
A reminder that you must check-in at the Pro Shop before you head out on the course.
Opens
The 2026 Opens at the Club are fast-approaching, as competitions take place in May, June and July. All members and visitors with a valid handicap are invited to take part. More information and entry can be found at www.bondhaygolfclub.com or in the Pro Shop.
Car Park
We’re increasingly aware of the limited capacity of the car park as weekends continue to get busier, so have started work on trying to maximise the current space, whilst exploring ways to add more parking. One such avenue is the clearing of some spare land off the back of the current car park, which is being landscaped to create a grassed overflow area for use in the busier summer months. This will take a bit of time to come online as it needs to be seeded and allow time to grow, but hopefully shouldn’t be too long. Please be as considerate with your parking in the meantime, with cars as close together as possible (within reason) and not placing vehicles in a way that occupies too many ‘bays’.
Containers
Due to some recent vacancies, we have some space available for storage containers on the land off of the car park. The area is already prepped and ready to take a unit of any size. Contact Mackenzie in the Office on 01909 723608 for more information.
Food Trucks
You may or may not be aware of our sister business, JOMAC Events, which offers a range of food trucks and mobile bars via two converted horseboxes. If you or your business have any requirements for food and beverages at events such as a parties, weddings, corporate days, or even food nights at your local pub, contact me by email on hey@jomacevents.com or reach me via Bondhay channels.
Emergency Contacts
The membership account system now has the facility to add an emergency contact for each member. This is now included on our membership forms, but current members are invited to add an emergency contact if they so wish. You can do this by emailing memberships@bondhaygolfclub.com with their full name, contact number and email address.
Membership Terms & Conditions
I know everyone loves to talk about T&Cs (not), but the Club’s terms of membership are currently being updated to reflect changes in operations such as the offering of direct debit payments and to improve clarity. The new document will be uploaded to the website once complete and communicated to the membership. All current members are bound by the T&Cs and ED&I policy, as is outlined and accepted on sign-up.
To conclude, a huge thank you to every single member who has chosen Bondhay as their home club for another year, or to those who call it home for the first time. Please ensure you’re patronising the bar, Halfway House, Range etc. if you’re able. As the saying goes, “use it or lose it”.
Here’s to warmer weather, longer days and a great season of golf. As always, our door is always open if you have any comments, feedback or suggestions, or you can get in touch via the usual channels.
Josh Clarke - Operations Director
Firstly, congratulations to Andrew Richards on winning the winter merit and the Taskers Team on getting through the first round beating Chesterfield 5-2 (thanks to Ellis and the team for setting the course up as far back on the yellows). Congratulations also to the Vice Captain’s team on victory in the Captain v Vice Captain match – don’t forget your free drink! Unfortunately the Captain’s team had myself in it… Thanks to Barry and the Pro Shop for organising.
White tees are back which means it’s golf season. I’d just like to take this opportunity to wish you all a good season, for the new members check out the dates for the ALFRA Trophy and The Hardisty Trophy these are top events with great prize tables.
Captain's Charity Day is Friday 17th July on 1pm shotgun start. My chosen charity is The Tom Henson Charity which is a local charity supplying defibrillators along with CPR training to local clubs and groups. If anyone has any prizes they would like to donate for the day please see myself or drop them into the Pro Shop, it would be much appreciated. Many thanks already to Ronnie Hunt who had a kitchen clear out and donated 10 bottles of spirits.
Good luck to all teams playing in various competitions this year. If you’re interested in getting involved in a Bondhay team, please ask in the Pro Shop.
That’s it for this edition… Happy golfing!
Shane Turner - Club Captain
The golf season has now begun and it’s great to see the white pots back out across the Devonshire course!
Please take 5 minutes to scan through the 2026 fixture calendar online. We have an abundance of singles and team competitions this year, including many planned board events and great opens throughout the season.
Bondhay Team Activity
Taskers - The Gents over 50’s team have already played their first match taking on a strong Chesterfield side. The format is match play with 7 players in each team. This is a straight knock out competition, so win, or the season has finished! The event is across numerous counties and a great accolade to win. Bondhay completed a successful afternoon with a 5-2 victory.
The Scratch team will begin the season on the 13th May at home against Lees Hall in division 5. The competition is match play with all 4 players representing the club playing off scratch, so always fun to watch. If you fancy enjoying some quality golf please come along, first tee off is 5pm.
The 6-18 league also kicks off within the next month. Club teams consist of 8 players who play as 4 pairs in a match play foursome format. The Bondhay team narrowly missed promotion to division 1 last year so hopefully this season will see another push for the top division.
The Notts Alliance winter/spring league is now in full flow with 8 out of the 13 fixtures completed. This competition is an individual stableford format with a mixture of Pros and Amateurs across 12 different courses. Teams consist of between 4-8 players depending on the month and of course daylight! Bondhay sits in second position out of 22 Nottinghamshire teams just 4 points behind Oakmere, so all to play for in the next few months.
We have a super section playing lots of competitive golf. If you are interested in getting involved have a word with our Pros and they can point you in the right direction.
Mark Highfield - Secretary
