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

Club Captain's Update

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

Secretary’s Update

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

Welcome to the Bondhay Newsletter for February and March 2026. After all of this recent wet weather, we’re sure you’re looking forward to spring and summer as much as we are!

During the prolonged inclement weather, it’s not surprising that the Devonshire Course is having a bit of a hard time with plenty of boggy and waterlogged areas. Some damage to the course in unavoidable, but please ensure you are playing your part by repairing pitch marks, replacing divots (where it’s possible to do so) and raking the bunkers that haven’t turned into a duck pond. Trolleys must remain off of tees, greens and their banks, as well as away from areas that have been roped off. The use of fairway mats is encouraged, but not mandatory.

Our thanks go to member Andy Hunt for taking time out his schedule recently to go out on the course to fill and repair hundreds of divots.

The Greenkeeping team have been working hard on course updates and maintenance over the past month or so, removing a handful of bunkers and removing problematic trees on the 17th to open up the area on the righthandside. Once again due to the persistent rainfall, the filled bunkers remain un-turfed as it is currently too wet for us to lay it. After the removal of a substantial amount of trees course-wide last year, they’ll be focusing on smaller areas this year to ensure that trees are felled and stumps removed in good time.

Opens

We have a fantastic range of Open Competitions throughout 2026, starting in May. For a full list of events and entry, visit the Opens page of our website.

Trackman Range

The driving range continues to be busy through the winter with many using it to keep on top of their game while conditions on the grass aren’t great. Our revised Winter Opening Times are still in effect and will be reviewed at the end of February:

• Monday to Tuesday 07:00 - 19:00
• Wednesday to Friday 07:00 - 20:00
• Saturday to Sunday 07:00 - 18:00

Happy Hours have since been introduced, giving you 25% off all sessions/baskets during the following times:

• Monday 10:00 - 13:00
• Tuesday 10:00 - 13:00
• Wednesday 10:00 - 12:00
• Thursday 15:00 - 17:00
• Friday 15:00 - 17:00
• Saturday 16:00 - 18:00
• Sunday 16:00 - 18:00

As always, all sessions come with full use of the Trackman Range software, giving you access to live ball tracking data, world golf courses, games, challenges and more.

An Evening With Ryan Rhodes

Sheffield’s four-time British and European boxing champion will be hosting an initimate evening at Bondhay Golf Club on Saturday 11 April 2026. This is an excellent opportunity to get up close and personal with Ryan Rhodes as he talks about what it took to climb the ladder in boxing and his time now training the next generation of talent. He’ll also dive in to what it was like at the famous Ingle Gym under world-famous coach Brendan Ingle MBE, known for crafting stars such as Johnny Nelson, “Prince” Naseem Hamed, Junior Witter, Kell Brook, and Kid Galahad.

Tickets are available now at www.bondhaygolfclub.co.uk. Standard entry is at an early bird rate of £50 per person until 28th Feb, and includes a pie, chips and peas supper.

Meet & Greet tickets are available and include time with Ryan, drinks reception, signed memorabilia and printed photograph with Ryan. You’ll also get prime table seating in front of the stage for just £99pp.

Members can get 20% off tickets with the code BONDHAY20.

Tickets available here.

Voucher System

As many of your will be familiar, monies won in competitions is placed on a voucher system in the Pro Shop. The voucher system carries as a huge liability against the business that has been building year-on-year. A review has been conducted and the following changes will be made:

As of the 1st February 2026, voucher monies on inactive accounts will only remain on the system for one calendar year. You will need to actively use your voucher system within the last period of 12 months to ensure that your monies remain available. Accounts that have remained inactive for 12 months or longer will be removed from the system. Expired members will have one month from their renewal/expiry date to use any monies.

We will no longer be providing credit in the Shop. You will need to pay for an item in full – either through the usual payment methods, or available vouchers – before removing this item from the Shop. You will also need to pay for an item in full if we have to order this item from our suppliers. Please do not ask for credit as this will be refused.

Clubhouse - Eating and Drinking

We have reviewed the opening hours of our Clubhouse during the winter months. We are in the continued process of refurbishing our clubhouse and updating our drink and food menus. We still have some work to do but I think you can agree that this space is now more comfortable than ever before. Heating has always been a problem at the Club and we’ll be looking to add some more sources of heat in the coming weeks to work alongside the log burner and radiators. As with everything, these refurbishments come at a cost.

The Clubhouse bar and kitchen is barely used by our members and our visitors during the week. This is extremely disappointing. We have therefore taken the decision to reduce our hours of opening during the week other than when we have member groups such as the seniors or societies. These hours will be increased again as we get back into prime golf season.

As a management team, we are going to be taking action to ensure the offering in the bar and from the kitchen is appropriate and effective, as well as providing consistent quality. This is getting increasingly difficult due to the ever-increasing operating costs and rising price of goods, versus the very high percentage of ‘car park golfers’.

Whilst we appreciate that Bondhay is a long course and you have your lives to get back to, even popping in to grab a coffee once a week makes the world of difference in ensuring that you’ve got a clubhouse to use in the future.

Trollies and Buggies

Each morning the Greens team review the condition of the course and make a decision on whether buggies can be used on the fairways or whether they need to remain on the paths. This decision applies to private and Bondhay Buggies and there are no exceptions to the daily rule. The paths allow for the use of the course by players of all capabilities and capacity throughout the year. This rule is in place to protect the course from unnecessary damage; damage that will take months to repair. Please respect this decision and report any members or visitors not abiding by this rule to the Pro Shop or Office.

Sponsorship

Many of our hole sponsorships have now been allocated, but we have a couple remaining if anyone is interested in showcasing their business to thousands of golfers that visit us every year. Placements are also available throughout the clubhouse and on the Trackman Range. You’ll also see the addition of a TV in the Pro Shop corridor displaying adverts and notices, which is available for placement. Contact Josh on marketing@bondhaygolfclub.com to find out more.

Other than that, thank you to everyone for their continued membership and/or custom and we wish you a fantastic 2026.

Lisa, Josh & Mackenzie - Senior Management Team

Course Manager's Update

Not long untill spring now and I can’t wait. Can you please do everything you can to help protect the course especially through the bad weather, this will make recovery quicker when we get into spring Repair pitch marks, replace divots and keep trolleys out of the roped areas, off tees and greens surrounds.

Winter work is still ongoing some bunkers have been shaped up into what will be grass bunkers. Please take relief from these areas untill further notice. G.U.R. As soon as the areas are suitable to work on they will be prepped and turfed.

Bunkers are: 5th green bunker, 8th fairway bunker, 9th fairway bunker, 12th fairway bunker, 2 fairway bunkers on 13th, 17th fairway bunker, Trees have been removed on 17 - all stumps will be ground and areas seeded.

Greens Maintenance will start March 2nd. This could change depending on the weather, if so a we’ll update through the usual channels. Greens will be Hollow cored, top dressed with sand, spiked and seeded. Tees will be spiked seeded and fetilized to fix the wear from winter.

Ellis Wilson - Course Manager

Club Captain’s Update

A massive thank you to all members and visiting golfers who have supported the three raffles held in aid of The Tom Henson Charity. Thanks to your generosity, we have raised £960.00 so far. Both the charity and I are truly grateful for your continued support.

As we look ahead to the 2026 season, here are some key dates to add to your diaries:

• Saturday 4th April – Easter Stableford
• Saturday 30th May – Alfra Trophy
• Saturday 20th June – Alan Hardisty Trophy
• Saturday 27th June Club Championships round 1
• Sunday 28th June Club Championships round 2
• Friday 17th July – Captain’s Charity Day
• Friday 25th September – Captain’s Away Day (Retford GC)

Unfortunately, so far the weather has disrupted a lot of golf being played this year.

The winter merit is coming to the latter stages the winner of which becomes the first name into the Champion of Champions keep an eye on the leader board as I write this Andrew Richards is playing really well and top of the leader board.

Wishing you all a fantastic year of golf and great company.

Shane Tuner - Club Captain

Pro Shop’s Update

The 2026 golf season is nearly upon us and the start of the first golfing major of the season The Masters. This coming year in the Pro Shop, we will be stocking 3 leading brands in the market, TaylorMade, PING and now Callaway. In Stock will be their hardware such as, Drivers, Fairway Woods and Rescue clubs. They will be landing any time soon and we will have demo clubs for you to book in a free fitting with either Myself or Tom.

TaylorMade are launching their new Qi4D Range, Ping are launching their new G440K Range and Callaway launch their new Quantum Range. Also landing soon will be TaylorMade, Ping and Odyssey Putters.

Our golf ball range remains the same with the new edition of Callaway golf balls.
March time sees our new Apparel range from Puma Golf and ADIDAS Golf coming into stock soon. Unfortunately, we couldn’t stock all golfing brands due to so many on the market but don’t let this discard you from making an enquiry as we might be able to accommodate you.
27th of February sees our first of many demo days booked in throughout the golfing season with Ping and places are limited so early booking is recommended.

Myself and Tom are available for lessons throughout the golfing season either on our trackman range or on course tuition, as an extra perk you can now use ProShop credit to purchase lessons so feel free to get in touch with us.

Why not take advantage of our free loft and Lie check along with advice on your grip conditions before the start of the 2026 golfing season.

Trackman has been a great addition to your golf club, so look out for weekly and monthly competitions we are running on trackman through out the season and see if you can beat the scores set by one of the pro-shop team for bragging rights and a special prize, also I’ve set up a 9 hole Stableford competition to play the back 9 at Bondhay along with other courses to so let’s see if you can top the leaderboard.

Thank you to everyone who took part in our Xmas and New Year Raffle and congratulations to all the prize winners, if you didn’t see the live draw then check it out on our Facebook Page.

Entries for the Summer Singles and Doubles Knockouts are now open so enter through the Pro Shop as usual Closing Dates for the last entry is 29th of March.

Next year’s fixtures are finalised with a packed 2026 season ahead and the new format changes to our opens seem to be very popular so we will be running the same again for 2026 with the addition of two senior midweek opens, bookings will be taken in January so don’t delay get your tee time booked.

Dates for your Diary

• Saturday 13th June All Sections B/Ball Pairs Open
• Wednesday 17th June Senior B/Ball Pairs Open (over 55)
• Saturday 4th July All Sections Open (6,6,5,1 Format)
• Wednesday 19th August Senior B/Ball Pairs Open (over 55)
• Saturday 5th December Any Combination Xmas Pairs Open

Upcoming Events

• Golfer Non-Golfer on the Par 3 Dates to TBC
• Summer Pro-shop Raffle with even Bigger Prizes TBA
• Golfing Majors Sweepstake Starting with the Masters

Myself, Tom, Clive and Tony would also like to thank every member that has supported the Pro Shop throughout last year and long may it continue. We wish every member a successful golfing 2026.

Barry Hurt - Head PGA Pro

Secretary’s Update

Preparation is now well under way for the new golf season 2026. The Honours Boards have now been updated so well done to the winners in 2025, I’m sure the competition this year will be even stronger with you all seeking to get your name “immortalised forever on the Honours Boards!”

Once again this year’s affiliation will be with Sheffield Union of Golf. This decision gives the club the opportunity to enter teams in the Scratch League and 6-18 League. Sheffield Union also runs many competitions throughout the season and these can be entered by Bondhay members subject to handicap stipulations. The committee as always will be paying for this affiliation through the members fund.

Another competition which we have entered again this forthcoming season will be the Taskers over 50s knockout tournament across 8 counties. The club has been successful once but definitely a hard one to win!

On a positive note the Notts Alliance team has made a strong start to this year’s winter league. We are currently sitting top of the league but chased closely by some serious competition.
The fixture calendar for 2026 is now live on the web site featuring many internal competitions but also external competitions such as our Bondhay Opens. (Always worth booking early for the Opens to get your preferred tee times, please see the Pro Shop to book).

And finally a big thank you to Club Captain Shane Turner and his wife for their hard work running numerous raffles throughout the winter for their chosen charity.

Mark Highfield - Club Secretary

Welcome to the final edition of the Bondhay newsletter for 2025, as we take a look towards the festive season and into the new year.

The Management Team and Course Manager will be firming up our plans for 2026 as the weeks go on, building on the hard work and investment of the past year. We will be looking to keep making improvements to both courses, practice facilities and clubhouse as we can. As always, please stick with us and be patient — we’re doing so as quickly and effectively as we be possibly can. I remain optimistic and excited to see where 2026 takes us and hope that it proves to be as popular a year for golf as this.

Festive Rates & Booking

Golf and hospitality packages are available to book now over the Christmas and New Year period, for both members and visitors. Members can book for dates between 20th December and 4th January now (no deposits required) and visitors, societies and corporates can do the same (deposit or payment required). Green fees are reduced for all dates in the aforementioned period, offering fantastic value on something to do over the break. To book tee times or packages, members and societies should contact the Pro Shop via the usual channels. Visitors can book using BRS or GolfNow.

The Bar, Pro Shop and Trackman Range will be closing no later than 5pm on Christmas Eve and Boxing Day. The Shop will open at the usual 7am and the Bar/Restaurant currently scheduled for 8am openings unless bookings require an earlier start. All facilities will be closed on Christmas Day. Please note that playing of either course is not permitted on Christmas Day.

Trackman Range

The Range has seen really positive amounts of use of the summer and autumn, particularly from local residents and people getting into golf for the first time. This usage naturally reduces as the temperature drops, the rain comes down and the days get shorter, so we’ve had a slight change to the opening times over the winter, coming into effect from Monday 08 December:

• Monday to Tuesday 07:00 - 19:00
• Wednesday to Friday 07:00 - 20:00
• Saturday to Sunday 07:00 - 18:00

A brand new Loyalty Scheme has been launched via our online booking system, offering Range Users the opportunity to get free credit when you top up an account. Tiers start at £25 (+£5 free credit) and go up to £100 (+£40 free credit).

I am currently exploring introducing Trackman Range memberships and Happy Hours, more information of which will be published if it’s something we decide to roll out.
A reminder that all range balls must be paid for and should not be collected from the range grass or chipping area.

Winter Golf

It feels like winter has slapped us in the face over the early stages of the off-season, with incredible amounts of rain mixed in with some frosty mornings. This has meant a swift change from the scorched conditions of the summer to a very wet course in places. Please give some extra consideration when playing on areas of the course particularly susceptible to damage and wear.

The greens team have roped off many areas of the course, particularly on the approach to the greens or high traffic areas, so please do not remove stakes and ropes and take relief where necessary. Trolleys should not be taken into roped areas.

Preferred Lies are in effect across the course and fairway mats are permitted and ecouraged, but not mandatory.

Temporary greens may be brought into play as conditions dictate. Temps are used in the best interest of the course and allow us to work towards ensuring that the greens are as good as can be come the spring. We aim to have full greens in play as much as possible in the off-season. Please ensure any rules of the day are followed, including for buggies.

Please note that opening times for the Shop, Range and Bar may be subject to change during the winter months as we respond to changes in visitor numbers and daylight hours.

As always, please ensure that you a repairing pitch marks and raking bunkers where required. You should not be heading on to the course without a pitch repair tool. We encourage players to carry a divot bag if possible.

Buggies

Despite regular reminders and updates, we are having frequent issues with users of buggies adhering to the daily rules, often causing damage to the surfaces. This is across both members and visitors. Due to another very wet November we have had to enforce ‘paths only’, but regularly find tracks on the fairways and receive reports from other golfers of vehicles all over the fairways. We generally enforce these rules:

• Paths Only - All hired and private buggies and ride-ons must keep to the buggy paths and are not permitted on the fairways or other surfaces at any time.
• 90 Degree Rule - Buggies should use the paths to move around the course, going on the fairways at ninety degrees only to take a shot. After the shot, the vehicle should return to the path.
• No Rules, All Permitted - No restrictions to use on grass surfaces other than greens, tees and fringes.
• No Buggies Permitted - No buggies or ride-ons anywhere in the course. This is very rarely needed.

The course rules for buggies and ride-ons — whether hired from us or private — are reviewed, updated and published every morning and MUST be adhered to. The rule of the day should be verbally given to you in the Pro Shop, plus there are notices on the Shop desk, in each of our buggies, and on the blackboard in the entrance foyer. These are in place for the protection of the playing surfaces and for safety reasons. Our Shop team and Greens team will be instructed to carry out more checks each day. Failure to follow the rule(s) of the day may result in removal from the course and/or revoking of the right to use a personal buggy or ride-on where applicable.

Signage

Finally! After many gruelling months of trying to get this project going, the new hole signage is now all in place – it’s refreshing to have modern signs, not to mention it having the correct measurements! The posts are in place for some directional signage in areas, so the face plates will be rolled out as soon as possible. You may notice the first few sponsors have taken up position, so our thanks goes to ALFRA, JOMAC Events and MBM Electrical. A third party company will be taking on sponsorship sales and management for a number of holes, but we have a few held back for any interested parties.

My intention is to introduce similar totem-style signage to the Academy Course in 2026, as well as review furniture and accessories for both courses.

Further Renovations

We’re continuing to push forward with much needed improvements to the facilities at the Club, most recently installing new radiators to the bar and finally getting the new front doors hung after the original ones were clinging on for dear life. The new doors are custom made oak from a joinery company down the road in Shireoaks, and provide a statement welcome at the front entrance.

It’s fair to say that we occupy a relatively inefficient building, so work is being conducted to make improvements in this area. Some lighting in the building was previously on around the clock, so an electrician was instructed to carry out work to reduce the number of lights through the corridors and Pro Shop, remove those that were on permanently, and install energy efficient LED spotlights. The first phase of this formed part of remedial work following January’s leak damage, but the project was extended further.

Memberships

We had intended to freeze membership prices for 2026. However, increases on fees from the Yorkshire Union and England Golf; another increase of wages scheduled for April after the recent government budget; and the ever-increasing costs of other utilities and supplies, have forced our hand in implementing a minimal rise on some memberships. Certain categories have either been frozen in price, had their subscription reduced or had new tiers added. Key notes are:

The Full 7 Day Membership rate has been frozen for another year

• Associate Membership prices are unchanged
• The price of Junior Memberships have been reduced and the age banding updated, with a new 6-10yrs band introduced
• The cost of Joint Membership has been reduced
• The popular Ladies Pathway has been continued for another year, with all price bands frozen
• Playing restriction reduced from the OAP 7 Day Membership, allowing members of this category to now play from 11am at weekends (previously 12pm)
• I totally appreciate that money is feeling tighter than ever, and many people cannot comfortably pay for their membership up front. That’s why our Pay In 3 scheme was introduced back in 2024 for 7 Day, 5 Day and OAP 7 Day memberships. We’re pleased to be extending this to include all 5 Day, 5 Day OAP, Young Adult and Ladies Pathway categories, as well as Joint and Family memberships. T&Cs and suitability checks apply.

And finally, on behalf of me and my colleagues at Bondhay, we wish you and your loved ones a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Josh Clarke - Operations Director

Course Manager's Update

Hopefully everyone has had a good year and got plenty of golf days in. Spring and Summer was a dry one for a change – good for golf but stressful on the turf, bringing more challenges in trying to keep playing surfaces alive and healthy and the irrigation system fully working.

I think we’ve fixed more pipes, pop ups and pumps than ever before, including removing and reinstalling our bore hole pump which left us without water for the greens and tees for a week. But we got there in the end. I’ve got to admit that the turf wasn’t the only stressing!. Apart from that I think it was a good season for golf.

Autumn and Winter

Being a heavily tree-lined parkland course, leaves are always going to be a problem at this time of year. The team spend hours on hours clearing leaves even though sometimes you might not think so. The course is a big area to clear and very time consuming and they fall quicker than they can be picked up. Also some days its too wet to get machinery around the course so please be patient.

Turf Disease

Disease pressure has been high through most of autumn into winter, and with turf already stressed from the summer into autumn, outbreaks of turf disease are common. Having said that, so far we seem to be doing ok and hopefully we can get through the winter with very little scarring.
I’ve been trialling new products to help combat microdochium but nothing is 100% preventative or curative. Also if spray windows aren’t available we can get caught out.

Winter Work

Along with daily maintenance, and once we’re on top of the leaves, more trees will be felled and stumps ground in certain areas of the course. The 8th fairway bunker will be filled and shaped up and drainage installed. If it’s only filled it will cause the 8th fairway to flood and, in extreme circumstances, the green too.

Ropes and posts are now out around the greens. Can I ask that you don’t remove them and take relief. The roped areas are there to protect the main playing areas around the greens from wear making recovery quicker going into spring.

Rules of the day and buggy rules are displayed in the Pro Shop. Please check before going out on to the course. Please don’t chip on the temporary greens and take relief. We’ve also put out signs on the putting green for this to be putting only. No chipping and pitching. Pitch marks are a big problem still especially this time of year. Please repair them and they will recover quicker than if left, making putting surfaces better for you.

Hopefully the rest of the winter isn’t too harsh and spring will be here before we know it. From the Greenstaff hope you all have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

As always any questions please contact us through the office.

Ellis Wilson - Course Manager

Pro Shop's Update

As the calendar year is drawing close and the official golfing season has concluded, I would like to take this opportunity in congratulating all winners throughout 2025 and wish every member a successful golfing 2026.

Tom, Clive, Tony and I would also like to thank every member that has supported the Pro Shop throughout this year and long may it continue.

This year in the Pro Shop we stocked both TaylorMade and PING hardware such as Drivers, Fairway Woods and Putters. Alongside these products, we will be adding Callaway golf balls, putters and the New Driver for 2026.

We still have a fully stocked Pro Shop, so pop in and see one of us for a fitting or just general enquiries. Unfortunately we couldn’t stock all golfing brands due to so many on the market but don’t let this discard you from making an enquiry as we might be able to accommodate you.

The Christmas Raffle is in full flow now at £5 a Square with lots of prizes to be won including the top prize of a TaylorMade Qi35 Driver.

Myself and Tom are available for lessons throughout the winter on our Trackman Range with lots of special offers to suit every golfer’s needs, so feel free to get in touch with us.

Trackman has been a great addition to your golf club so don’t be afraid to ask one of the Pro Shop team to advise and help with all the data on there – we all have a good knowledge on how it works. Also look out for weekly and monthly competitions we are running on Trackman and see if you can beat the scores set by one of the Pro Shop team for bragging rights and a special prize. I’ve set up a 9 hole Stableford competition to play the back 9 at Bondhay so lets see if you can top the leaderboard.

Next year’s fixtures are finalised with a packed 2026 season ahead and the new format changes to our Opens seamed to be very popular so we will be running the same again for 2026. Bookings will be open from January so don’t delay get your tee time booked.

From Tom, Clive, Tony and I, we wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Barry Hurt - Head PGA Pro

Club Captain's Update

As we approach the festive season, I’d like to take a moment to thank all those who make our golfing year so enjoyable.

To the captains of the Taskers, Notts Alliance, 6–18 League, Scratch Team and the Senior Section organisers your leadership and dedication have been outstanding.

A special thanks to the golfers who organise the mid-week and weekend fiddles, your enthusiasm allows us to just turn up and play.

To all the staff—Pro Shop, Catering, Greens Team, and Management—and to both old and new members: Christmas is the perfect time to pause, reflect, and tee up for the year ahead.

Whether you’re enjoying a crisp winter round or simply putting your feet up at home, I hope this season brings you joy and plenty of birdies in the New Year.

Let’s drive into 2026 with confidence, keep our swings smooth, and remember—it’s not just about the scorecard, it’s about the great company on the course.

Wishing you and your loved ones a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Shane Turner - Club Captain

Secretary's Update

Firstly, thank you to all who attended the AGM. This is the members meeting and the aim is to be open and honest giving members the opportunity to ask Directors, Club Captain and Committee any questions relevant to the Club.

The AGM is one vehicle of communication, the others are through the Club Captain Shane Turner, or the final option is to visit the office and speak directly with the Bondhay Directors.

The Committee and Bondhay Director communicated an outline of “what’s happening” in their area and then the members had the floor to ask any questions they felt appropriate.

The Club Committee is represented as follows: Secretary/Treasurer, Handicap Secretary, Club Captain, Vice Club Captain, Senior representative, and Club Professional. Over the 2026 golf season there will be 2 meetings and an AGM. All sections will be invited to the meetings. As always, we are looking for individuals to join the team from the membership. Areas we need representation are Competition Secretary and Junior Section.

Last year we made fundamental decisions to reshape the fixture calendar in respect of Honours Board events, Memorial Tournaments, types of competitions (doubles/team events etc). Also, we instigated one of England Golfs major strategic initiatives promoting a culture of mixed sex competitions. Over the next month we will be building the fixture calendar for next year led by Club Pro and Committee. Final decision re the “fixture calendar 2026” will be agreed with Bondhay Directors.

Captains for 2026

We have agreed the captain’s for the 2026 season:

• Club Captain - Shane Turner
• Vice Club Captain - Chris Bowler
• Senior Captain - Neil Highfield
• Taskers Captain - Mick Yeend
• 6-18 Captains - Greg Masters
• Scratch Team Captain - Andy Hunt
• Notts Alliance Captain - Mark Highfield

Mark Highfield - Secretary

Everyone at Bondhay is incredibly proud to congratulate our Clubhouse Manager, Mackenzie Clarke, on being awarded 'Young Ambassador of the Year' at the 2026 Club Awards!

Bondhay itself was nominated for Golf Club of the Year, Website of the Year, and Social Media Club of the Year, but this personal accolade is a particularly tremendous accolade for a member of the team to pick up.

The ceremony took place at the Athena in Leicester on Wednesday 26 November 2025, bringing together clubs of all kinds together from across the country. The Club Awards applaud UK clubs of all shapes and sizes, from Rugby Clubs and Cricket Clubs to Social Clubs and Community Clubs. All elements of club life are recognised at the Awards, as people and businesses join together to celebrate all that’s great about Clubs across the UK and throw a spotlight on the vital role that clubs play in their communities.

Josh Clarke, Operations Director, said:

"We've been very fortunate to win at the Club Awards before, but for Mackenzie to pick up this personal award is an incredible achievement and a testament to her work and commitment in delivering for our members, wider customer base, and our team, every day. Much of the work that Mackenzie does is unseen and many of our day-to-day operations would simply not go ahead without her putting in the hours. It's a pleasure to have worked alongside her for the last three years – and here's to many more."

Learn more about the Club Awards at https://www.clubawards.co.uk/

Following our win at the 2023 event and shortlisting at the 2024 edition, Bondhay Golf Club has again been shortlisted by the judges and will appear as finalists at the Club Awards for a third consecutive year.

We were honoured to be recognised as Turnaround Club of the Year two years ago, which recognised the achievements made in modernising and improving the business.

Once again, Bondhay is nominated for the title of Golf Club of the Year, with all entrants from the main categories also being considered for Social Media Club of the Year and Website of the Year.

This year's ceremony will take place on November 26th at the usual Athena venue in Leicester. The Club Awards applaud UK clubs of all shapes and sizes, from Rugby Clubs and Cricket Clubs to Social Clubs and Community Clubs. All elements of club life are recognised at the Awards, as people and businesses join together to celebrate all that’s great about Clubs across the UK and throw a spotlight on the vital role that clubs play in their communities.

Following the shortlisting, the competition judges evaluate which clubs go through in which categories before being tasked appointing a winner for each category, who are announced on the night at the awards presentation.

Find out more about the Club Awards at https://www.clubawards.co.uk/

Captain's Handover is always a tale of two halves as the Club transitions from one Captain to another, but it was once again made a memorable event by the participation of our members.

The sold-out competition saw a later-than-usual 10am shotgun start, as over 100 partipants tested their golfing wares in a classic singles stableford format. The top five scores were honoured at the presentation, with the overall winner also becoming the holder of the trophy and having their name etched in honours board history. Here are the official results:

• 1st: Adam Powell | 38 pts | £70
• 2nd: Greg Masters | 38 pts | £60
• 3rd: Daniel Ball | 37 pts | £50
• 4th: Steve Mould | 37 pts | £40
• 5th: Jack Morris | 36 pts | £30

A full list of individual results can be found on the Club Competitions notice board or in the BRS Scoring / Golf Genius apps.

Members gathered in the club's Devonshire Suite at the conclusion of play to not only enjoy the kindly-bought free tipple, but for inauguration of the 2026 Club Captain. Outgoing Captain Mark Highfield opened proceedings with warming words about the year's achievements, thanking the members, the staff and — most importantly — his wife Diane for their support over the past year, before officially introducing Shane Turner. Shane steps into the role having served as Vice Captain under Mark. Longstanding member Chris Bowler will be Vice Captain for 2026.

Josh Clarke, Operations Director at Bondhay Golf Club, said:

"Mark brought a refreshing presence during his time as Club Captain, really grabbing the bull by the horns and exhibiting what it takes to spearhead the golf club. Diane and Mark's fundraising for Thornberry and Rain Rescue is commendable – nearly £4000 raised for two great causes. On behalf of the Management Team and the wider Bondhay family, I'd like to thank Mark for his passion over the past year, and for often being the face of Bondhay welcoming members and guests at competitions and events. Congratulations on a great year and I'm certain we'll see each other plenty still as he continues in the position of Secretary.

An incredibly warm welcome and congratulations to our new Club Captain, Shane Turner, who I know will step into the role with ease, and to Chris on his appointment as VC. I look forward to sitting down soon to start finalising their plans for the next year."

Welcome to the Bondhay Golf Club Newsletter for October and November 2025. As this is published, we’ve entered the autumn maintenance week for the Devonshire Course with coring and plenty more going on. It has been a busy summer at the Club with plenty going on across the golf, hospitality and events aspects of the business, so thank you.

Membership numbers continue to grow, particularly across the Full 7 Day and Associate categories, with plenty of new faces calling Bondhay their home. We’re proud to offer a number of different memberships to suit everyone’s individual requirements and we are always happy to discuss bespoke or flexible membership — including corporate if you’re part of a business or organisation. If you’re thinking about joining, a reminder that we do not charge a joining fee, so the rate you see is the rate you pay with no hidden charges. Selected membership types are also eligible to split their membership into three equal instalments to spread the cost (terms and conditions, and admin fee applies).

Thank you to everyone that has chosen to renew their membership over the last couple of months and those that intend to do so over the coming months. At the time of writing, October renewals have gone out and November’s will follow shortly.

As touched on in our last update, the Trackman Range is also busier this year with greater usage particularly by visiting golfers and people that live in the local communities. We are currently exploring a loyalty scheme for pay-and-play range sessions and also the possibility of introducing a driving range membership, either purely for this facility and/or as a course membership add-on. More details will be communicated as-and-when-and-if they’re decided.

The courses and Club in general seem to be getting some really good feedback at the moment which is a testament to the greens team out on the grass, and the Pro Shop and Bar teams inside — the rain and colder temps have to take some credit, too. Any less-positive feedback or constructive criticism is always taken on board and actioned where necessary, but please go about in the right way. Whilst we may not always agree, you will always be listened to.

Rumours

It has been brought to our attention that a number of people are circulating speculation that Bondhay is entering administration. For the avoidance of doubt, this IS NOT the case and we are continuing to invest in the future of the business.

Bondhay Golf Club has been operated by Bondhay Golf Club Ltd since 2023 and still remains in the family that has had the Club for the last 30+ years. The previous operating company, Nationwide Leisure Ltd, is indeed being wound down following the forced retirement of our unwell father and grandfather Alan. This could well be what is causing some confusion. The Club will always remain his legacy.

The false information is incredibly damaging and no doubt casts uncertainty in the minds of our colleagues, members, and those who have future bookings with us either for societies, weddings or other events.

We’re here to stay and always striving to make Bondhay the best it has ever been – and we’ll hope you’ll join us for the journey.

Christmas & New Year

The festive season is less than three months away and always proves a popular time for winter golf amongst our members and visitors. Christmas and New Year rates and offers will be published in the coming week or two. Last year we asked for a small full refundable deposit on just two keys dates, which was met with some ambiguity. We are so often met with moans and groans about people taking up times and cancelling tee times at short notice, so if we do enforce this again, it is entirely with the intention of keeping booking fair on some of the busiest and most sought after days of the year.

Theft & Security

In September, we had a number of items stolen from our Greenkeeping shed. The incident happened during the limited time that our driveway height barrier was out of action for repair (again), so allowed the perpetrators to enter the premises with a high-sided van. This was reported to the police with some footage of the suspects, but as yet there’s been no results.

We had a already put a number of additional security measures around the site anyway following the visit by travellers last year, but this has meant a further tightening of procedures and investment in security. Additional CCTV has been installed in and around the Greenkeeping Shed and kitchen/bar delivery area. Access gates and bollards will be locked more regularly throughout the day, and access codes have been changed on the lock to the height barrier. A number of members had previously been issued with the height barrier code, but this will no longer be permitted and people in high-sided vehicles will need to seek access by calling the Pro Shop on arrival and departure. Whilst we understand it’s not always possible, please try and come in an access-friendly vehicle to avoid delays. The lift barrier to the car park will see the departure code changed more frequently.

Memberships & Green Fees

As we approach 2026, we naturally have to review all aspects of the business, including green fee rates, membership tariffs, range prices and everything in between. It is our intention to freeze rates at current prices, but it will be reviewed properly by the Management team in the coming weeks.

Opening & Operations

The shorter days sadly mean less daylight for golf through the winter. The Pro Shop and Range are currently unaffected, but weekend opening will likely move back to 7am instead of 6am late October or early November. The bar and kitchen has always had quite flexible times, shifting with the demand of customers – and with that, it’ll naturally close earlier during the winter as darkness often means no golfers or other customers. Unless for matches or societies demanding earlier, we’ll be opening the bar at 10am on Mondays and Tuesdays (and Wednesdays from November) and the usual 7am at weekends.

Our aim is to utilise the Range-side bar during the winter months to be able to offer greater access to refreshments and snacks. This will likely see the Pro Shop ‘move’ in there from a certain time each day. The logisitics are yet to be figured out and we’ll communicate any changes in due course.

Clubhouse

If you’re a regular user or visitor of the clubhouse bar and restaurant, you’ll have likely noticed by now that our new blue chairs has thinned out significantly. This is owing to a defect with the chairs and a long-running standoff with the supplier. They have finally admitted fault and agreed to replace them with something less likely to find you in a bundle on the floor. We’re finalising details with them on that and then hopefully taking delivery of new seats as soon as possible.

Private Buggy Hire

Owing to the ever-increasing number of private buggy breakdowns on the course over the past year, we have had to bring in a new charge of £75 for the recovery of private vehicles from the course. The use of private buggies on the course is free of charge, but breakdown and recovery often takes multiple greenkeepers (or Shop staff) away from their jobs for various periods of time, with an expectation of recovery. There is no charge for the recovery of Bondhay’s own buggies as they have had a hire fee paid.

Events

A number of fantastic charity days and private events have taken place at the Club over the summer, including the first ‘Chappies Golf’ event which took on a LIV Golf-inspired approach. They even got Red Bull to sponsor the event – a great achievement! We endeavour to source courtesy rounds at other clubs for members when private events are taking place at Bondhay that result in a course closure. Courtesies are usually available on a first-come first-served basis, but please speak to the Pro Shop if you’re looking for a round and they may be able to help. We’re also more than happy for any members to utilise the Academy Course at no extra cost when these type of events are on.

Signage & Sponsorship

Despite many updates and promises in the past half-year (I’m fed up of talking about it myself), the new hole signage is in the process of being installed. This is a great time for businesses of all shapes and sizes to sponsor a hole. Prices are very competitive and include artwork, print and a number of free rounds of golf. Your advertising will be seen by thousands of visitors every year (and sometimes a month) and the thousands of visitors each month on the partners page of our website. Contact Josh on marketing@bondhaygolfclub.com for more.

Pro Shop Voucher System

Anyone that’s got a voucher account at the Club knows that the system needs an overhaul. We know that a handful of members would like the use of their voucher account across both the Pro Shop and Bar, but the financial and time investment needed to upgrade the system unfortunately isn’t a priority at this time. That being said, we’re working with BRS Golf to explore their POS system for the Shop which may bring that a step closer with integration in your BRS Golf App via Wallets. Sticking with vouchers, we’re currently reviewing policy around their use. Many courses allow for vouchers to remain on the system for a period of 12 months otherwise they are removed. The amount of accounts that sit untouched or accruing ever-greater totals increases the debt burden on the Club..

Booking Rights

A reminder that Members of all types get 10 day booking rights for both weekdays and weekends, ahead of visitors who get 7 days. Bookings can be made via your BRSGolf App or via the Pro Shop. As has been communicated numerous times in the past, block bookings are not permitted unless you are able to populate the tee-times with names of all playing members. Times populated without names will be removed from the system. This is to ensure fairness for all members to have a chance at playing key times, particularly weekends. Unused tee-times can be used by visitors. Tee times lost at short notice mean lost revenue for the Club, opportunities for which reduce as we go into the winter months with shorter days.

Other Updates

Due to a number of failed payments, cheques are no longer accepted as payment for memberships, societies or events. We do not offer cash back on credit/debit card payments either.

The addition of barista coffee in the bar is proving ever-popular, particularly as the weather starts to turn. The team are keeping us fuelled with all manner of seasonal drinks, most recently the introduction of matcha and pumpkin spice. We’re looking to introduce a loyalty card for barista drinks, giving regular users the opportunity to get a bit back in free caffeine.

With this edition of the newsletter covering November, it comes the time to say a huge thank you to our outgoing Club Captain Mark Highfield. Mark, alongside his wife Diane and many others, have put a huge amount of effort into making his captaincy year a memorable one, including fundraising for two great local charities. We look forward to continuing seeing Mark around the Club as he enjoys his ‘retirement’. And with one coming to the end of their reign, another must take their place. As of November 1st, we welcome current Vice Captain Shane Turner to the position of Club Captain. Shane will be joined by new Vice Captain Chris Bowler. Best of luck to both gentlemen and we look forward to working with them closely.

Recently, a couple of discriminatory comments were directed towards a member of our bar team. All members must accept our Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Guidelines on applying for or renewing a membership, so we’d kindly remind you to ensure you are being respectful to all of our colleagues. The ED&I Policy can be viewed on our website.

As always, thank you for continued custom at Bondhay. Our door is always open to any feedback, questions and suggestions.

Josh Clarke - Operations Director

Club Captain's Update

Firstly well done to all the players who qualified, competed and attended the Champions of Champions presentation. As always this is a tough one to win but Richard Ellin dug deep and showed great endeavour. Congratulations on a great performance. I will ensure the honours boards are updated in due course for all Champions.

The 2025 golf season has now come to an end and we look forward to the winter merit competitions and other planned events. The winter spell gives the Committee the opportunity to plan for next year and agree the Fixture Calendar for 2026.

We will also arrange an AGM in November thus giving all members a chance to ask questions and contribute ideas towards the club.

Captain’s Away Day

Thank you to all 36 golfers who travelled to Springwater Golf Club for the event. It’s was a day of fine hospitality and enjoyable golf on an excellent course.

Team Captains

On a personal note thank you to Greg Masters, Andy Hunt and Mick Yeend as the team captains and their players during my captaincy. As always at Bondhay we strive “to be the best we can be” and 2025 was no exception. On a further note we are looking for a scratch team captain for 2026 to run the squad, so if you are interested please speak to Barry or myself.

Captain’s Charity

I can honestly say Diane and I have put our hearts into raising money for our chosen charities of Rain Rescue and Thornberry Animal Sanctuary. We expect to raise over £3,500 in total. This unbelievable amount of money is down to every single member, Bondhay management and friends who attended and contributed towards these fantastic charities at various events. Thank you so much, you are all generous, kind people.

Captain’s Handover

On the first of November Shane Turner will take over the Club Captaincy assisted by his Vice Captain Chris Bowler. I have had the pleasure of knowing both gentlemen for the last 15 years and I couldn’t think of two more worthy Club Captains at Bondhay. Good luck to you both.

To conclude a big thank you to everybody at Bondhay Golf Club including members, management and staff for your support over the last year. I have thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to be Club Captain of Bondhay Golf Club. It’s been an honour.

Mark Highfield - 2025 Club Captain

Vice Captain's Update

Firstly, I’d like to extend a big thank you to our outgoing captain, Mark Highfield, for his outstanding leadership and dedication to Bondhay Golf Club. A special mention also goes to his wife, Diane, whose tireless support at numerous events helped raise funds for their chosen charities—your efforts have truly made a difference.

For those who don’t know me, I’m a local lad—born in Whitwell and now living in Clowne. Married to Debbie, two children one granddaughter and two step grandchildren along with two grand dogs. I took up golf around 32 years ago, originally thinking I’d retire from football at 35… that plan got delayed until I was 52! My first set of left-handed clubs came from the Bondhay Pro Shop for just £27, and I spent countless hours honing my game on the par 3 course. I even remember the day the trees were delivered—though in hindsight, I should’ve pinched a few to slow down the planting!

My chosen charity for the year is a deeply meaningful one: The Tom Henson Charity.
Tom Henson, from Bolsover, tragically passed away at just 23 while playing football with work colleagues at Gosforth Fields in Dronfield on July 31st, 2018. A passionate Sheffield United supporter and keen gym-goer, Tom suffered a cardiac arrest due to an undiagnosed congenital heart condition. Despite the heroic efforts of his friends, coaches, first responders, ambulance crews, and the A&E team at Sheffield Northern General Hospital, Tom sadly passed away.

In his memory, Tom’s family and friends launched a campaign to install defibrillators across Bolsover and surrounding areas—giving others the best possible chance of survival. I hope that through my captaincy, we can raise funds to support this vital cause and help protect lives in our community.
I’m also proud to announce my Vice Captain, Chris Bowler—a true Bondhay stalwart who’s been with the club since its inception. Chris has played in every team over the years and genuinely has Bondhay at heart.

I’m looking forward to the year ahead, supporting our members and teams to the best of my ability. If you have any suggestions or ideas and can’t reach the management team, I’ll be more than happy to take them forward on your behalf.

Here’s to a fantastic year together—on and off the course.

Shane Turner - Current Vice Captain & Incoming Club Captain

Following a meeting of the members' committee, the Club and Team captains have been decided for the upcoming 2026 golf season.

Club Captain	Shane Tuner
Vice Captain	Chris Bowler
Senior Captain	Neil Highfield
Scratch Team Captain	Vacant
6-18 Team Captain	Greg Masters
Notts Alliance Captain	Mark Highfield
Taskers Captain	Mick Yeend

Anyone interested in the vacant Scratch team position should contact Mark Highfield via the Bondhay Pro Shop.

In the meeting's minutes, Shane Turner, current Vice Captain, said:

"My Captaincy year begins in November for the 2026 season, and I would like to introduce my Vice Captain Chris Bowler. Chris has been a loyal member since 1998 at Bondhay and represents the club in several teams. Chris is well known to many members, and I look forward to working with him playing our part in helping drive Bondhay Golf Club forward."

Club tradition sets that Carl will move into the Club Captain's role in 2026, with a new VC being appointed. Thank you to all current captains and those who have decided to take up the mantle for next year.

Welcome to the Bondhay Newsletter for August and September. It has been an exceptionally busy couple of months since our last update, with both courses and the Trackman Range seeing good member and visitor numbers. It has also been a busy summer season of competitions and matches, with the teams going at it across the county and plenty of club and private events taking place. Thank you to everyone who has joined us over the summer, and to each an every member that has either renewed or decided to join us.

Following the ALFRA Trophy at the very end of May, attention turned to the first of our Opens which saw C Bowler and R Smith take the top spot, before the Alan Hardisty Trophy the week after. This trophy means a lot to the Bondhay team, so it was fantastic to have such a well-attended event and a notably vibrant atmosphere. Congratulations to Stuart Sanderson on 1st place, winning a VIP experience to the Catterall vs. Eubank boxing match courtesy of Matchroom Boxing. Congratulations also to our All Sections Open winning team of W Tidy, C Fletcher, K Thompson and J Hayward. See the full results for all on the news page of our website.

This year's Captain's Charity Day was a roaring success as Mark Highfield hosted another well-attended day in aid of Rain Rescue and Thornberry Animal Sanctuary, this year's club charities. In an unusual move for shotgun starts, a Friday 1pm tee off was chosen to allow for an 'early weekend' competition – something that worked brilliantly. It was a brilliant day which was kind with equally brilliant weather. A big thank you to the 104 golfers and even more guests that contributed to raising over £2400 for these two charities.

The first of two shout outs goes to the US Kids Golf Tour who held one of their events with us recently. We're incredibly passionate about making golf fun and inclusive for everyone, so it was a great honour to see so many enjoying the course using the longleaf tee system. The kids very kindly signed and presented the Club with a commemorative flag. The second shout is to Luke and Joe who held a private charity event with us in aid of Alzheimer's Society. They did an amazing job of organising their first golf day, which unsurprisingly was well-attended and raised plenty of money for another good cause.

Coaching

It is fantastic to see the growth of Junior Coaching over recent weeks and months, with many new faces starting to join the fun. Hats off to Barry and Tom who put on varied sessions each week for the next generation of golfers. For those who aren't aware, Junior Coaching takes places every Saturday from 11:30 to 12:30 on the Trackman Range, and sometimes out on the Academy Course. It's just £5 per person for 4 to 16 year olds, with all abilities welcome.

Open Coaching — our adult sessions — are also proving popular with those who are looking to work on their game or get into golf. Much like the Junior sessions this is open to all abilities, whether picking up a club for the first time or mastering a particular area of your existing technique.

Trackman Range

The driving range is proving very popular recently, which is great to see. The Pro Shop team adds monthly challenges for you to take part in for an extra bit of fun, alongside the standard Trackman features such as Course of the Month.

Sadly we're not blessed with the longest driving range, so suffer from a lot of lost balls from big hitters clearing the netting and fencing. We have to take this on the chin, but we're now asking that woods, including drivers, are not used on the uncovered grass bays. The nature of them clearing the fence means that they pose an increased risk to people playing on the Academy Course because of the direction in which those bays face. Wood clubs can continue to be used on the covered bays.

We have seen an increase in people going on the range to collect baskets of balls to avoid paying. Under no circumstances should anyone go out on to the range to do so. Not only is it wrong to not pay for your range balls, it's a massive safety risk when others are hitting balls.

Academy Course

The Academy Course has been a hit over the spring and summer months and looks to continue in that vein with it now being the school summer holidays. It's always nice to see families taking each other on, or it provides people with a platform to test the water with the sport.

An increase in popularity comes with a few people trying to circumvent the rules – primarily in the form of not paying to play. A reminder that the Academy Course is not free to use and you must have a valid membership or pay the applicable green fee. In both instances, you should check in at the Pro Shop before play so we know who is on the course in the event of an emergency (the same should be said for the Devonshire Course).

We will be increasing random checks on the Academy Course to ensure memberships are valid or green fees have been paid. Please be polite with the team when they do – they're just doing their job.

Signage

We had intended for the new course signage to be in place by the time that this edition of the newsletter is published, but ground conditions have not been ideal during the last couple of months, having been incredibly dry. Now that we've had some rain to soften up the land, our intention is to start installation in the coming week at the time of writing.

In a positive move for signage, the new entrance signs have been erected at the end of the drive. They're a huge step up compared to what was there before and feature the revised club branding. Once the old posts have been cut out, we'll look to landscape the rockery that was underneath.

Renovations

Renovations and upgrades of the clubhouse continue to edge forward as-and-when it's possible to do so. You will have likely seen or sat on/at the new bar furniture which is miles above the previous cafeteria-looking furniture of before. Alongside that, the bar has had a full run of new panelling on the front and around the fireplace which adds modern contrast and texture. The old side unit has been removed (that housed the bin, sugars etc) and replaced with a standalone modern bin. We have the painting and flooring to finish and touch up, but that'll be done very soon.

The intention is to have the rear of the bar rebuilt to provide a better working space for the bar team, but also to be a better display and storage area in general. We're hopeful this may be done this year, but it depends on course budget requirements for the winter months. The Devonshire Suite (function room) bar is another one to look at when we can.

You may recall a severe burst pipe caused quite a lot of damage to the function room and corridor back in January. After much negotiation, the insurance company has finally allowed us to instruct repairs. If all goes to plan, a new function room floor, corridor carpet, plastering and electrics should be underway late August and into September. This may see some last minute access restrictions through certain external doors or mean that toilets have to become unisex whilst certain works are conducted.

A specialist joinery company has been instructed to create some new main entrance doors. Despite being long overdue for an upgrade anyway, the doors have suffered some damage of late and are hanging on by a thread, so it turned into a job that we couldn't put off any longer. Internal doors will be replaced in the future.

Bunkers

Despite spending more time and money than ever on the bunkers, we're getting a few comments about their condition. We can assure you that they are meticulously attended to, particularly going into a weekend, but observations have shown that players are not keeping the condition in many places. Please ensure you are adhering to course etiquette with bunkers, in particular raking them after use – moving the sand from back to front, rather than front to back.

Litter

The amount of litter being dropped and left around both courses is growing exponentially. And despite some opinions, our team spends quite a lot of time collecting rubbish. Please put your litter in the bins around the course and clubhouse or take it home with you.

Trespassing & Non-Payers

Thanks to some new cameras installed in remote players, it has come to our attention that quite a number of people are trespassing on the course, regularly late into the evening, presumably to either not pay for a green fee or to go hunting for golf balls on the course. We also grow concerned about the swift depletion of balls on the range, which may also be down to theft – the cameras have been repositioned to keep an eye on this.

We ask our members and regular customers to notify us if you notice anyone intentionally avoiding the Pro Shop and paying a green fee. Every non-payer reduces the opportunity for reinvestment into the Club for your benefit.

Autumn & Winter Society Special

As is customary for Bondhay, our Autumn seasonal special is out and available to book now for societies and other golfing groups. For as little as £35 per person, get breakfast, 18 holes of golf and a meal of homemade pie. The offer is available 7 days a week from 1st September until 31st October 2025. For those looking for a package between November and March, details of our Winter Special will be published very soon. Get in touch by

Sponsorship & Corporate Memberships

As our new signage rolls out, it's the perfect time to remind you that hole sponsorship is available – a great outlet to reach thousands of golfers for local businesses and organisations. Prices start from just £500 for the year and include full design and print of the sponsor board, listing on the sponsors page of our website, and two complimentary four balls (worth up to £320). Discounts are available to anyone taking out a corporate membership and to existing corporate members. We also have placements available on the next print run of scorecards, the website (seen by over 5,000 new visitors every month), the Trackman Range and more.

Corporate Memberships are making a return to popularity as businesses realise the pros of taking one out, including offsetting against your tax bill (the best one), entertaining clients and socialising with your team. Each business is different, so we work with our corporate partners to build a bespoke membership package that works for you. They can be made up of a number of rounds per month/year, much like our Associate Membership, or on an uncapped basis like a standard membership.

To find out more about Sponsorship or Corporate Memberships, get in touch.

And finally, we have the sad news to share of the passing of Mick Regester on Thursday 7th August following an illness. Mick was a well-loved member at the Club and leading figure of the Senior Section. He will be sorely missed by many. We will issue any further information in accordance with the family in due course.

I wish you a very pleasant remainder of summer and hope you enjoy your golf as much as possible. As always, if you have any questions, comments or feedback, our door is always open to everyone.

Bondhay Management Team

Club Captain's Update

The last few months have been hectic with some great Board Event competitions, Bondhay Team games and my Captains Charity day! At the moment we have Board events taking place most weekends so please enter the comps and take your chance, your name could be immortalised forever! We have benefitted from some super greens over the last few months even with the lack of rain so well done to all the green keepers throughout this dry period.

Taskers Over 50s

The team moved into the inter-county tournament 3rd round away at Chatsworth Golf Course but unfortunately after drawing the match we went into a play off and lost. Well done to all and looking forward to next year.

6-18 League

The team is currently sitting third in Division 2 with our latest result a superb win 7-1 at home against Wortley. Only two teams can get promoted to Division 1 so the chance is still there.

Scratch Team

A great effort by all who have been involved in the Scratch Team this year. Although we struggled in Division 5 the spirit and endeavour of the players was excellent.

Nottinghamshire Golf Alliance

Our defence of the Alliance Shield begins in late August after holding onto the Shield for the fourth year on the trot! Hopefully we can play well throughout the winter and compete again for this prestigious award.

Captains Charity

It was an absolute honour to host the day with my wife Diane. The weather couldn’t have been any hotter and we had 103 golfers who took part. The generosity by all was overwhelming with the day raising £2400, split between my two charities Rain Rescue and Thornberry Animal Sanctuary. The representatives from both Charities couldn’t believe how we pulled together as a golf club and made the day a fantastic success. Well done to our very own superstar Clive Ardron taking first prize and the smart TV.

Last but not least is the Captains Away Day at Spring water on Friday 26th September. The cost is £45, this includes breakfast, golf and a two course meal followed by presentation/ prizes. I hope you can have a look at your diaries and squeeze this event in. Please put your name down in the Pro shop if you can make it you will not be disappointed.

Mark Highfield | Club Captain