Welcome to the September edition of the newsletter and the launch of Trackman at Bondhay Golf Club.
After weeks of preparation and renovation, Trackman is finally installed and ready to use. The Trackman range is open to Members and Visitors of all ages and capabilities. It is the Gold Standard for golf simulators and is all about exciting, easy to use applications that provide the ultimate range experience for every golfer at every level including Practice, Games and Virtual Golf. New features are added every season. Play golf on some of the best courses in the world, work on any aspect of your game and get insightful reports. Play alone or challenge your friends to earn bragging rights. The days of aimlessly hitting range balls are over. Practice with feedback and purpose. All players are given 8 actionable data points that they use to improve their game. Trackman comes with a sophisticated ball conversion feature, which makes it possible to convert limited distance range balls into a premium ball under clinical conditions giving everyone tour-proven accuracy and numbers they can trust.
The system has some brilliant games installed including closest to the pin, Bullseye, Hit it!, and capture the flag, that are fun, interactive and a great way of improving your game. It doesn’t matter whether you are a seasoned pro or a complete beginner. We hope that this new addition will attract new members, visitors and families to the range.
We have 8 Trackman bays on the driving range which are available for 25 mins and 55 min sessions as standard, or you can take up a longer session of 85 or 115 mins. These can be booked in advance using our new booking system, by telephone, email, social media or in person. You should have already received an email with details of the bookings system. The T&Cs and Rules for the Range can be found on the booking system or the Driving Range page of our website.
Our new “Drive Thru” café should open during the week commencing 2nd October. This is situated at the entrance to the Trackman Range and will be open during the evening or when ever the Clubhouse is closed. The café will serve refreshments including alcohol and food from a new menu.
I have personally financed the renovation and installation of the Driving Range and Trackman. This is a huge financial commitment however I feel that this is the first step towards future proofing the club and enhancing the services that we provide/offer our members. The club will now be able to remain open throughout the year, regardless of the weather (only closing on Christmas Day). We will also be open until late into the evening (see Trackman opening times). I hope that you will use and enjoy the new facility.
I am continuing to review processes and procedures at the Club that have been in place for many years. I have had to make a number of difficult decisions, some of which have impacted on certain individuals more than others. Any decisions I make are fair and balanced and are to benefit the club and its membership as a whole. I ask for your patience and understanding while I navigate this process.
After a considerate review, the membership fees will NOT be increasing for the 2023/24 season. I will, however, be increasing our Society and Visitor Tariffs. We will continue to publish offers to societies and visitors such as our Winter Special and our exclusive afternoon rates.
In other news, you may have seen an increased Police presence at Bondhay over the last few weeks. We received a few reports of a male who was acting suspiciously on the course. This male was with his dog and was accessing the course via Whitwell Wood. He was believed to have caused damage to a number of our tee markers and was, on a couple of occasions, abusive to our members. We reported the incidents to the Police and the male in question has now been identified and spoken to about his anti-social behaviour and trespassing on private property. We have not received any further reports.
We have installed three trail cameras on the course, on and around the 13th, 14th and 15th hole. The content of these cameras will only be viewed if we identify any further damage or get any further reports of anti-social behaviour.
I would like to publicly thank the Police from Whitwell Safer Neighbourhood Police for their swift response and for continuing to pay passing attention to the Clubhouse and Course.
We are expecting the delivery of our new coffee machine in the next few days. We have taken the decision to change from Rijo to Lavazza coffee. The machine will allow you to pay for your coffee with your payment card or cash and offers a bean to cup drink.
Melvin is continuing to Marshal the course at a weekend and on days during the week when the course is busy. Can I please remind everyone to be at the first tee 10 minutes before your actual tee off time. Can I also remind everyone that there is a dress code on the 18-hole course. The dress code must be adhered to otherwise you may be asked to leave the course or visit our shop prior to play. Can I also ask that you continue to replace your divots, repair your pitch marks and rake your bunkers.
I would like to thank everyone who took part in our Golfer/Non Golfer events and the Alan Hardisty Trophy. Both were a great success. We intend to run a further Golfer/Non Golfer event in the near future. It is nice to see family and friends of our members taking part in events at the club.
The Alan Hardisty Trophy will now take place on or as near to the 21st June every year, which is my Dad’s birthday. The event was created to honour him and to recognise the commitment and dedication he has shown to the Club over the last 27 years. Bondhay Golf Club is his lifetime work and will forever be his legacy.
Lisa Hardisty
Managing Director
Well, I am not sure where the time has gone, but I am nearly at the end of my Captaincy year and this will be my final report. To say that we haven’t had much of a summer, the ladies have been lucky and managed to play all of the trophy competitions as planned.
It was Lady Captain’s Day at Bondhay on the 20th August. The weather was lovely and I would like to thank all of the ladies who attended for making it a fantastic day. I was lucky enough to win on the day.
The results from the YLCGA competitions were the White Rose team finished 9th and the Weekend League finished 7th. This is a great achievement due to the size of the section. A big thank you to both captains and all who played in them.
I am sad to report that from 1st November the Ladies Section will no longer have a Captain or Committee. In agreement with the Club and the Professional, the Ladies will continue to hold their competitions on a Sunday. Hopefully in the future, if the number of ladies increases, we could re-introduce the Committee positions.
Mel Clark
Lady Captain
Champion of Champions
As we approach the end of the summer we have the pinnacle of the golf calendar namely the Champion of Champions competition on Saturday 7th October. The competition is a singles medal format with a meal provided for all players afterwards. All team winners from 2023 are also invited to the meal followed by the presentation for all honours board winners. The Committee will be paying for the meal so if possible please attend.
Bondhay Gents Teams
Scratch Team - The season finished a little disappointing for the scratch team as we finished third in division 5 and narrowly missed promotion, but as always we gave it our all and will regroup for next year’s season.
The 6-18 league team- finished mid table in division 2 under the leadership of Greg Masters. A fine season was enjoyed by all of the squad.
Taskers over 50s - under the captaincy of Welsh wizard Mick Yead the team was defending our regional victory from 2022 after a brilliant win in the final at Beeston Golf Club, but alas we fell short in round two narrowly taking a rare home defeat 4 matches to 3.
Notts Alliance
A superb performance in the 2022-23 winter season saw Bondhay keep hold of the trophy completing the double. Bondhay Golf Club order of merit win saw the club victorious against 25 other Nottinghamshire Clubs. Reece Samson came 4th in the professional order of merit with Mark Highfield and Carl Hough(Captain) finishing the OOM a credible 2nd and 3rd respectfully.
Club and Gents Captains 2024 Season - we are currently finalising positions for all captains, these will be presented at the AGM.
AGM
The annual general meeting will take place at Bondhay 5.30pm Wednesday 11th October. All members are welcome to attend and contribute with your ideas and thoughts. Committee members will communicate an appraisal of where we are now and ideas/plans for the future development of the club.
Christmas Party
The big bash will be Saturday 9th December. The dinner and dance was a fantastic evening last year and we are looking to get more attending this December so please support. The meal will be pie, chips and peas followed by a disco. More details will be out shortly. Please save the date.
Mark Highfield
Secretary
As my year as Captain is approaching in November I believe it would be inappropriate to hold the Handicap Secretary role at the same time, so from the 1st October I will be standing down. I would like to thank everyone for your support during my time in the position.
Phil Bonewell is my successor, he will be in touch soon with contact details, all I could ask is you offer the same support as I have received from the members at Bondhay Golf Club.
Just a few notes worthy of a mention before my captaincy begins:
I will be supporting the Ashgate Hospice as my charity. I believe our golf club should support local causes not to mention a dear friend of mine spent his last few days there. They did a brilliant job supporting him and his family through such a difficult time, so when I rattle the collection bucket please be as generous as you can, there will be numerous raffles and I will be nominating the pond on the 18th as the Captain’s Charity Pond.
I hope to see you all at my drive in on the 4th November and around the course over the next yea
Roy Cullis
Handicap Secretary
As others have mentioned, the introduction of Trackman is a really exciting time for the Club and I hope that you will get plenty of value and fun from the system. The technology allows us to introduce sponsorship opportunities to businesses and partners, so keep an eye out on the monitors for special offers. If you would like to find out more about Sponsorship, get in touch with me via the usual channels.
Congratulations goes to Andy Hunt who got a hole in one on the 11th on 23rd September, and also to Giles Boot on the 7th hole on 26th September. Both received their official HIO Club certificate and bottle of whiskey.
The Bondhay Golf Club AGM is taking place from 5:30pm on Wednesday 11th October 2023. All members are invited to attend, giving you the opportunity to not only hear from the Committee and Management, but also be given chance to voice your opinions and suggestions. The Committee is keen to hear from members from all sections to feed into the continued development of the Club as a place for everyone.
The new Bondhay website is now live, with work continuing to launch more features and pages as we go. On there you can find updates on the status of the course and facilities (click the green or red icon in the menu bar for more information), the latest news and blogs, the month’s fixtures, seasonal food menus, and event listings.
Another date for your diary is the Members’ Christmas Party (it’s not too early to mention the ‘C word’ now we are in October, right?). This will be on Saturday 9th December 2023 and tickets will include a pie, chips and peas supper and dance-the-night-away disco! There might even be a few festive surprises… Partners and friends are welcome. Tickets are available in person from the office or from our website on the Events page.
We hope to continue attracting a number of visitors to the Club over the winter season, showcasing the fantastic Devonshire Course (and hoping that the weather holds up and we can rely on our notoriously good drainage!). With this in mind, the Winter Special deal is back — perfect for visiting groups and socieities of all shapes and sizes. From just £35 per player, you start with a bacon cob and coffee, followed by a round on the Devonshire Course and back for a hearty meat and poato pie, chips and mushy peas. Contact us through the usual channels to book.
Josh Clarke
Marketing Manager
Hello everyone! Many of you may know me already, but I wanted to take a moment to introduce myself as the new Bar Manager at Bondhay Golf Club. My name is Joel and I’m excited to be taking on this role and ensuring that all members and visitors receive a warm, welcoming experience when visiting our club.
Whether you’re stopping by for a post-game drink, a delicious meal or a post-round chat, I’m here to ensure your experience is nothing short of exceptional. I hope to implement positive adjustments, of which I’m sure both members and visitors will appreciate, to further enhance the ‘19th Hole’.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions, suggestions, or simply want to say hello. I’m looking forward to seeing you all more often!
Joel Wright
Bar Manager
