Firstly, I want to congratulate Josh (Marketing Director) and his partner Louise on the birth of their daughter, Hallie Eliza, who was born on Friday 27th September. Josh will be on paternity leave for the next couple of weeks at the time of publication.
This month we say goodbye to Lewis and Alan on our Greens team and Jayden from the bar team. We wish them all well for the future.
I want to welcome Archie Wilson and Jake West to the Greens. Archie has been working for us for the last 12 months and will move from the Kitchen team. Archie will start his apprenticeship in October 2024 and Jake will be working a couple of days a week while he attends college.
Travellers
I am sure that many of you are aware that we were visited by a group of travellers in September. A couple of days before this, we had been made aware that a group of travellers complete with cars and caravans had descended onto the car park of Rother Valley Golf Club. The same travellers left Rother Valley and arrived at Bondhay around 4pm on the Saturday afternoon. It happened to be a busy day on the course and the range.
We contacted the Police who attended on site. The spokesperson(s) for the group refused to speak to me due to my gender but spoke to my husband. He demanded £10,000 to leave the car park and were intimidating and threatening. We were forced to close down the Clubhouse and the Trackman Range to prevent any further unruly behaviour, the safety of our staff, and in order to protect our property.
The Police were powerless to act. They were aware of the demand for money but suggested that it would take them around 28 days to be in a position to move them on. A Bailiff who had been at Rother Valley, attended on site and suggested that we pay them to move on before they caused any damage to our property. After much negotiating, we begrudgingly paid them £6250 to leave the premises. The travellers remained on site for just over 2 hours before leaving.
Our priority is and always will be the safety of our staff and customers. This was at the forefront of our mind when agreeing to pay for them to leave.
Since this event we have tightened up our security measures on site. We will now be closing and padlocking our gates when the last member of staff leaves in an evening. The gates are situated at the top of the drive, the access road to the green shed, and the gate which allows access to the lane off the car park.
A telescopic security bollard has been installed on the driveway leading down to the 9th green and Halfway House. Two telescopic security bollards have been placed in the entrance to the greenshed.
A height barrier has been commissioned and will be installed at the top of the driveway. This will prevent larger vehicles and caravans from accessing the premises. Staff will have a key to open the barrier. I appreciate that this may inconvenience some of our members and visitors however the safety of the course and clubhouse is paramount.
Christmas & New Year Golf
We have opened up the diary for members to book their Christmas and New Year golf. We will be opening up the diary for visitors and societies from Tuesday 8th October. We are asking for all bookings to be reserved with a deposit payment of £10 per person. You can cancel your tee time and receive a refund of your £10 any time up to the 15th December. You will get your £10 refunded if you play your attend on your tee time.
I am aware that a number of members are unhappy with this arrangement. Last year we opened our Christmas diary to our members before booking any visitors or societies onto the course. A number of members cancelled their tee time at short notice. This means that we are left with prime tee times that could have been booked by visitors or societies which, in short, means a loss of revenue for the Club.
We have had a similar problem with the cancellation of Alliances/Charity/Memorial cup days. We will no longer be taking bookings for these types of events unless they are secured with a non-refundable deposit and all bookings will be managed through the office. This will be reviewed along with the fixtures for 2025. A short notice cancellation results in a day of lost business for the Club. The only way that we can hope to claw any of this money back is to advertise a much cheaper green fee. I have heard members complaining that a reduced green fee offer undervalues the membership fees. I would rather offer a reduced green fee to bring in some revenue, than lose a day altogether. Little or no thought is given to the loss of revenue and custom for the club and neither option is ideal, given that this is a privately owned golf club. Looking a bit wider, losing this income reduces the amount we can continue to invest in the course and facilities for you as members.
Booking Tee Times
The above brings me nicely onto the booking of multiple tee times. Members are reminded that the booking of block tee times is allowed however they MUST contain the name of all of the golfers who are due to play otherwise they risk being deleted from the system.
Lake Balls
I am sure that many of you will have lost balls in one of our lakes on the Devonshire Course. Our lakes are cleared of balls, 2 or 3 times a year. The balls are cleaned, returned to the club and then sold in the Pro Shop.
I have noticed that a handful of people are coming onto the course with the sole intention of fishing balls out of the lakes. This is a potential health and safety issue and is not allowed. You risk being asked to leave the course by a member of staff.
And finally… We have had our planning application for our two caravans refused by Bolsover Council. We have now submitted an appeal to the council. We hope that our appeal will succeed as this will allow us to continue to care for my Dad on site. Our only other option would be for him to go into care. I would prefer to make this decision for myself based on the needs of my Dad and not be forced into this decision by the council.
I look forward to seeing many of you at the AGM.
Lisa Hardisty - Managing Director
Vice Captain's Update
I hope you have all enjoyed a competitive and fun season of golf at Bondhay, but also wherever golf has taken you! As we approach the winter we still have several events on the calendar for you and your families.
The Christmas Dinner Dance and presentation evening will be Friday 6th December. I think it’s only fitting that teams and honours boards winners are recognised for their achievements in 2024. I would also like to introduce your Team Captains for the 2025 season.
Christmas dinner with all the trimmings will be served followed by mince pies! The committee will be paying for the disco, so the price per ticket will be a fantastic £13 per person, including food. I really hope you can put this event in your diaries now so get those taxis booked! The previous years have proven to be a super night for members, families and friends alike so hopefully this year will be even better.
The AGM will be 6pm Tuesday 15th October. Please come along with your questions to put to the management and committee. This is a great opportunity to have your say and help shape the club.
Shortly we will be pulling together the fixture calendar for 2025. It would advantageous to listen to the membership ideas and thoughts before the work begins. The suggestion box is there for all members so please utilise.
Mark Highfield - Vice Captain & Secretary
Course Manager’s Update
As the summer season has now ended, a number of changes are in place for golfers. If you play during the first few weeks of October, you will see the greenkeepers conducting a number of course maintenance tasks such as hollow coring and much more, as we work to treat disease, improve the surfaces and ensure the course is in top condition to see us through winter and come out strongly in the spring season. The drops in temperature, increase in rainfall, possible frosts (and dare I say snow) may see the introduction of temporary greens to protect and preserve the main greens – that I must say have been in fantastic condition over the summer. Greens will always be reviewed first thing in a morning and kept under review throughout each day. Updates will be provided by the Pro Shop and on Facebook each morning.
From 1st October, the Lift, Clean and Place rule will be in place on closely mown playing surfaces. Depending on how the weather is through the winter, England Golf could bring in, change or extend the Winter Rules, so please look on the notice boards and in the Pro Shop for changes.
Take relief from Winter/Temporary greens. No chipping. Take relief from white posts and blue rope. Two club lengths and no nearer the hole.
Anyone using using a buggy/ride on either hired or privately owned MUST check for the daily rules in the Pro Shop before play. Wet or adverse weather may see varying rulings to protect the playing surfaces such as ‘the 90 degree rule’ or for buggies to stick to the paths only. In the most extreme of circumstances, buggies and ride-ons may be restricted, but this is very very rare.
Please keep trolleys off tees and greens surrounds.
Please repair pitch marks. The mowers or greens irons don’t repair a pitch mark – you do. A pitch mark not repaired properly, especially in winter, will just leave a hole for you to putt over next time you play. Bunkers should be raked at all times. It is only fair for the golfers following you.
Course length will be dependent on weather and conditions. For now we will leave the White Tees in play.
Ellis Wilson - Course Manager
Marketing Director's Update
As we come to the end of the main golf season, I’ve been reflecting on a busy five or six months packed full of competitions, events and some consistently decent weather. I don’t like to jinx anything, but let’s hope that continues and we don’t find ourselves a six month wash-out like last year. October, November and December are prepped to host some fantastic golf and social events. Captain’s Charity Day is being held on Saturday 19th October as a shotgun start at 08:30, and the Christmas Mixed Open is taking place on 1st December.
A huge congratulations to everyone who placed or won a Club Competition or Open this year. A special shout out to Mark Highfield for being crowned the Champion of Champions earlier in September.
Our partnership with Milestone Entertainment continues with the ABBA Tribute night on Friday 11th October, which includes a three course meal, tribute act entertainment and disco until midnight for a killer price of just £34.95 per person. A good ol’ whodunnit visits us in November with Milestone’s Murder Mystery Night on Friday 8th November. Again at £34.95 per person, which includes meal and the evening’s interactive entertainment. If you’re looking ahead to Christmas, Dancing Through The Decades is the perfect festive celebration. Choose from events on 7th or 21st December with the price including three course festive meal and entertainment until midnight. Tickets for all events are available from Bondhay’s or Milestone’s website for both events.
I’m pleased to say that Ladies Coaching is returning for a six week program following a well-received session hosted by guest PGA Pro Natalie Haywood back in September. The sessions will take place out on the Trackman Range and be limited to six people to ensure everyone gets focused time with Natalie. Book now for just £12.50 a session including hot drink, or book all six at once for £10 per session (first session will have taken place at time of publication). Find out more and secure your place via the Events section of our website.
I am finally starting to make some further progress with the renovation of the Clubhouse bar and restaurant. You may well have noticed by now that we have introduced the ‘Bondhay Blue’ colour scheme and started adding some feature panelling. Work will continue as soon as I’m back from paternity leave! Once the decorating is complete, we hope to introduce some well-needed new furniture for greater comfort and aesthetics.
I finally got back out on both courses over the last couple of months and must commend the Greens team on the excellent work that they have done in providing us all with a stunning facility and backdrop on which to play. It does however lead me to touch on some housekeeping. Most of my rounds were interrupted by continuously having to repair others’ pitch marks, replace divots and rake bunker after bunker. Some of the pitch marks found on the 11th and 18th were particularly severe. I ask that you take the time to ensure you are repairing all pitch marks and replacing divots where you can. A correctly-repaired pitch mark will recover in 24 hours, while an unrepaired one left for two hours will take up to two months to recover. Raking the bunkers ensures all players get an equal and fair chance at playing their shot without worrying about unpredictable conditions or obstructions. Please ensure that you have a pitch repair tool in your bag. They are available to purchase in the Pro Shop if you require one, or if you find yourself without one on the course, a tee can be used to great effect.
Please take your litter home or put it in the bins provided around the clubhouse and courses. The time that our teams spend collecting waste could be better spent on other essential tasks, not to mention the damage that litter can do to some of the machinery. Where you can, please take away any broken tees from the tee boxes.
All visitors – of both courses – should report to the Pro Shop before play to check in for your round. This allows our team to account for everyone that is on-site in the interests of safety and course management.
As the seasons change, new ranges of Druids clothing are available in the Pro Shop. A selection of midlayers, rain jackets and golf hooded jumpers are now in stock, alongside some classic polo shirts.
The Academy Course has been exceptionally busy over the summer and got a further mini flourish mid-September with a spell of warmer weather. This did bring to our attention the amount of people that take their chance at not paying to play. With pay and play in operation and large flow of people at peak times, I will be looking to reintroduce tickets/receipts for the Academy Course that will allow our team to check who has paid the correct fee during spot checks. We will also need to re-look at bag tags or ID cards for members.
After a long, eager wait, I’m excited to say that the digital render of Bondhay’s Devonshire Course is now live and available to play out on the Trackman Driving Range! The quality is fantastic and gives anyone the change to play the course from the comfort of the range, whether you’re testing the water, or looking to improve certain areas of your game across the course. I have uploaded the digital flyover videos to our YouTube channel if you fancy a preview. Search ‘Bondhay Golf Club’ on YouTube and they should pop up.
As always, if you have any suggestions, queries or comments, please reach out to me via the usual channels. I look forward to seeing some of your at the AGM on 15th October. And finally, a huge thank you to everyone who has sent their wishes and kind words for the birth of my daughter. I’m looking forward to having some time with her before getting back to the important work to be done in pushing this great golf club forward. See you on the other side…
Josh Clarke - Marketing Director