Windlesham Golf Club Annual Review 2015

A N N U A L R E V I E W A N D U P D A T E T O T H E W I N D L E S H A M M E M B E R S H I P

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• O U R P R I N C I PA L A I M A N D C O R E V A L U E S

• R E V I E W C O U R S E I M P R O V E M E N T S

• I N T E R E S T I N G C L U B T R E N D S

• F U T U R E C O U R S E D E V E L O P M E N T S

• T H E W I N D L E S H A M E X P E R I E N C E

I N T R O D U C T I O N

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OUR PRINCIPAL AIM‘ T O D E L I V E R C O N T I N U O U S I M P R O V E M E N T I N O U R D E S I R E F O R O B S E S S I V E P E R F E C T I O N ’

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CORE VALUES AND FRAMEWORKC O U R T E S Y

T R U S T A N D R E S P E C T

I N T E G R I T Y

C O N T I N U O U S I M P R O V E M E N T

P R I D E A N D A P P E A R A N C E

E N J O Y M E N T

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W E C O N T I N U E T O R E F I N E A N D D E V E L O P T H E S T R AT E G I C C O U R S E P O L I C Y D O C U M E N T T O E N S U R E T H E L E A D E R S H I P A N D M A N A G E M E N T O F T H E C O U R S E I S A G R E E D A N D C O N S I S T E N T. W E A R E K E E N T O C O N T I N U E A R E G I M E F O R H A N D M O W I N G T E E S , G R E E N S A N D A P P R O A C H E S A N D E N S U R E W E D E V E L O P T H E G R E E N K E E P I N G T E A M T R O U G H Q U A L I F I C AT I O N A N D T R A I N I N G . W E R E G U L A R LY R E V I E W :

• Roles and Responsibilities

• Course management objectives

• Course management policy and set up

• Environmental plan

• Resources

• Course development

• Course usage

• Health and safety

• Recording and monitoring

• Professional advice

• Communication and complaints procedure. To make sure we can offer a consistent and quality golf course

T H E S T R A T E G I C P O L I C Y F R A M E W O R K

6T H E S T R A T E G I C P O L I C Y F R A M E W O R K

7T H E S T R A T E G I C P O L I C Y F R A M E W O R K

8R E V I E W C O U R S E I M P R O V E M E N T S

O U R G U I D I N G P R I N C I P L E O F C O N T I N U O U S I M P R O V E M E N T H A S O N C E A G A I N B E E N E V I D E N T O N T H E C O U R S E A N D T H I S Y E A R H A S B E E N N O E X C E P T I O N W I T H I M P R O V E M E N T S O N T H E :

• 18th white and red tee box

• 18th fairway and greenside bunkers

• 16th fairway bunkers

• Tree planting and shrub clearance

• Improved rough management – enjoyment

• Practice range area

• General improvements around the course

• New equipment

9R E V I E W C O U R S E I M P R O V E M E N T S

1 8 T H W H I T E A N D R E D T E E B O X

1 0R E V I E W C O U R S E I M P R O V E M E N T S





1 8 T H FA I R W AY B U N K E R S


1 8 T H G R E E N S I D E B U N K E R S


1 6 T H FA I R W AY B U N K E R S

Over 150 new trees planted in Spring 2015


T R E E P L A N T I N G A N D S H R U B C L E A R A N C E

Continue with the strategy of chemical control, together with an increased cut and collect programme using our Amazone Machine – Micro management of key areas where required and further investment to over-seed rough with fescue grass will accelerate this long-term strategy. Constructive feedback has adjusted our cut and collect programme for 2015 and we will adapt this accordingly going forwards to enhance your enjoyment of the course.


I M P R O V E D R O U G H M A N A G E M E N T – E N J O Y M E N T


P R A C T I C E R A N G E A R E A

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G E N E R A L I M P R O V E M E N T S A R O U N D T H E C O U R S E

R E V I E W C O U R S E I M P R O V E M E N T S

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N E W E Q U I P M E N T

Our commitment to invest in the best equipment resources has continued with improvements to our irrigation system and the purchase of aeration equipment and state of the art greens mowers in 2015.

R E V I E W C O U R S E I M P R O V E M E N T S

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I N T E R E S T I N G C L U B T R E N D S

400

500

600

2014/20152013/20142012/20132011/20122010/20112009/20102008/20092007/20082006/20072005/2006

580

560

540

520

480

460

440

420

2 1A T T R A C T I N G M O R E M E M B E R S

M E M B E R S

“ S u c c e s s i s w h e r e p r e p a r a t i o n a n d o p p o r t u n i t y m e e t . ”

B o b b y U n s e r

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O V E R 100 D O W N L O A D S P E R M O N T H

1,806 L I K E S

G R O W I N G D I G I T A L A W A R E N E S S

3,241 F O L L O W E R S 46,254 V I E W S

101,231 PA G E V I S I T S

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2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Visitors 41,737 56,172 67,571 77,490 95,331 101,231

Pages Visited 149,737 188,528 191,819 212,323 225,925 218,304

Mobile 1,308 4,733 11,372 26,148 34,681 48,292 (48% of visits now mobile driven)

Online Bookings Nil 1,071 (3% online bookings)

4,584(15% online bookings)



19,084 (63% of bookings now completed online)

Number of Pages 103 272 Over 350 45 (+Blog) 180 (+Blog) 50 + 760 new posts

Twitter WGC 223 592 1,066 1,270 2,041 2,389

Twitter Greenkeeping 116 403 852

Facebook Likes 30 545 1,078 1,753 1,806

Newsletter Recipients 500 680 768 836 1,753 2,000+

YouTube Views 4,000+ 12,000+ 27,863 46,254

A D A P T C O M M U N I C A T I O N S Y S T E M S T O M E E T C H A N G I N G N E E D S

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JUN 15MAY 15APR 15MAR 15FEB 15JAN 15DEC 14NOV 14 OCT 14SEP 14AUG 14JUL 14

W I N D L E S H A M G O L F N AT I O N A L A V E R A G E 2 0 1 4 / 2 0 1 5

2 4Y E A R LY R O U N D S O F G O L F AT W I N D L E S H A M C O M PA R E D T O N AT I O N A L AV E R A G E

2012 2013 2014 2015

4,243 of which 3,078 are members golf days

3,841 of which 2380 are members golf days

3,615 of which 1684 are members golf day

3,015 of which 1,040 are members golf days. (A conscious effort to reduce the golf day impact on our members).

• 30,202 rounds of golf at Windlesham Golf Club - in line with national average.

• Down 4% on last year.

• 90% of rounds played are member related. (79% member, 7% member guests and 4% member golf day).

6% is visiting golf days and 4% visitor green fee (only 1% of which are played at the weekend).

G O L F D AY R O U N D S

2 5R A I N F A L L

0JAN MAR APR JUL AUG SEPT

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FEB MAY JUN OCT NOV DEC

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“ W h e n I ’ m o n a g o l f c o u r s e a n d i t s t a r t s t o r a i n a n d l i g h t n i n g , I h o l d u p m y o n e i r o n , ‘ c a u s I k n o w e v e n G o d c a n ’ t h i t a o n e i r o n . ”

L e e Tr e v i n o

2014 20152013

LONG TERM AVERAGE

4 T E E O P T I O N S

Our long-term vision is to develop a four tee system to provide a fair test of golf for the varying golfing ability within our membership. This will include additional teeing options to shorten some of our carries/holes and longer-term a number of new teeing positions will be added to lengthen the course in certain areas.

For this autumn and following the trial in the spring; a number of new tee locations will be constructed and this will see new forward tees on holes 5, 6, 7 & 9. These works will go some way to provide a number of shorter options that will enhance the course for the ladies and some of our shorter hitters, especially during the winter months. These works will commence shortly and will finish by the end of September with the intention to bring them in to play ready for this winter. This is clearly weather dependent and we will keep you updated on progress.

2 6A U T U M N / W I N T E R W O R K S 2 0 1 5 / 1 6


1 7 T H H O L E I M P R O V E M E N T S

Fill in the first ditch - The 17th hole is probably one of the most challenging holes on the course and the current ditch location only penalises the shorter hitters. We will be filling the first cross ditch, which currently forces some golfers to lay-up and therefore unnecessarily lengthens the hole. This will be maintained as fairway and it will improve the maintenance with the removal of the two pinch points at the current bridge locations.

Improve Drainage - Works have already started to tackle the low spot on the left hand side of the 2nd part of the fairway. This new drainage network runs into the new open ditch to the left of the fairway which will then provide a quick exit route for the water from this troublesome area.

This new ditch will be developed to improve the visual impact and an upright sleeper wall facing the tee will be constructed with a sloping gradient in to the ditch. The aim is to have this water hazard visible from the tee and it will narrow the landing area for the longer hitters, adding to the strategy of the hole. The ditch will then turn in to a lateral hazard from the rough moving towards the tee and in to the existing waterway and out to New Road. Some remedial works have already taken place, however we will improve the aesthetics so that the new ditch provides an enhanced visual impact.

Existing level New Ditch

Existing level

New level

New level

Sleeper Wall

Line of Play Tee


A N U M B E R O F I M P R O V E M E N T S W I L L A L S O B E TA K I N G P L A C E O V E R T H E W I N T E R W I T H A V I E W T O I M P R O V I N G A N D E N H A N C I N G T H E C O U R S E A S F O L L O W S :

• 3rd Green and Right Hand Swale – Works will be taking place to improve the drainage at the back of the 3rd green and at the same time we will making some remedial works to improve the quality and presentation of the swale to the right of the green. This will not only improve the winter drainage but at the same time will enable us to present the swale in the same hand-mown style as the approach to the 18th green during the summer months.

• 12th Swale to the right of the green – Due to a lack of irrigation and some remnants of the previous greenside bunker, the swale on the right of the 12th green always suffers during the summer months and a lack of grass coverage makes it difficult to maintain this area as we would ordinarily like. This winter we will address these issues and we will re-mound, irrigate and re-turf this area so that we can maintain this swale with an improved grass coverage and a hand-mown finish in-keeping with other high profile areas of the course.

• Woodland Management and Tree Planting – Our continued management of the shrub clearance to promote the growth of our prominent tree species will be recommencing this winter together with our commitment plant more trees following last winter’s successful addition of over 150 new trees around the 11th, 12th, 16th and 17th holes.

A full communication regarding the woodland management and tree planting will come out ahead of any commencement and this will follow in due course.

HOLE FRONT SIDE GREENDEPTH HOLE FRONT SIDE GREEN

DEPTH HOLE FRONT SIDE GREENDEPTH HOLE FRONT SIDE GREEN

DEPTH

HOLE FRONT SIDE GREENDEPTH HOLE FRONT SIDE GREEN

DEPTH HOLE FRONT SIDE GREENDEPTH HOLE FRONT SIDE GREEN

DEPTH

Provided by pinpointgolf.co.uk

Captains' Drive In - Sunday

WindleshamYARDS

Fri 27 September 2013



WindleshamYARDS




WindleshamYARDS




WindleshamYARDS


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6th October 2013

6th October 2013

6th October 2013

6th October 2013

P I N P O S I T I O N S

2 9T H E W I N D L E S H A M G O L F C L U B E X P E R I E N C E

3 0A C H I E V E M E N T S D U R I N G T H E PA S T 1 2 M O N T H S

Windlesham Golf Club in April won the top England Golf award GolfMark for recognition for its outstanding contribution to developing the game through a range of activities and great work to get juniors and beginners into the game. This prestigious GolfMark Club of the Year award was presented at the England Golf 7th Annual Awards dinner. To be recognised by our contemporaries for the strategic importance that we place on developing new golfers by creating initiatives to encourage an inclusive approach include academy memberships, Tuesday coffee mornings for ladies, a structured programme for under-10s, school links and a junior order of merit competition with a scholarship for the winner is a great tribute to the whole club and most heartening. Cobra Puma Golf presented the award and told us: “They were delighted to recognise Windlesham Golf Club for their work to bring juniors and new players into the game and to make it both fun and enjoyable.”

J U N I O R C A P TA I N B E C O M E S T H E M E N ’ S C L U B C H A M P I O N

A sign of how the club is developing the next generation of golfers was demonstrated at this year’s club Championship weekend in July when the Junior Captain, Sam Storey took the Men’s Gold Medal with a gross score of 153 over the two days just 4 shots ahead of Dan Ryan. It was a great weekend which had a genuine happy and inclusive feel.


S C H O L A R S H I P P R O G R A M M E D E V E L O P M E N T S

The vision for the Scholarship Junior is to ensure we have a structured coaching for all levels enabling the keenest golfer the means to go on to play at County and National level. This is being achieved through the commitment of the whole club with Lee Mucklow leading this as Junior Organiser with a team of Peter Millham, Lee Wood, Andrew Rudkin and Jo Pitkin to assist. The year culminated for the Juniors when Paul McGinley presented the 2015 Scholarships winners with their awards and certificates at the clubhouse, an evening that was inspirational for all who were lucky enough to be present. Paul unexpectedly came with the Ryder Cup which gave everyone a tremendous opportunity for photos and happy pictures for family albums, Facebook et al. He also gave a very encouraging talk of support and leadership to the juniors. We now have 9 Juniors representing the County in 2015 which is only possible because of the Junior Organisers Team and the Fund raising by all members of the club. We thank everyone on behalf of the juniors who are benefiting from this commitment of time and money.


We are currently piloting England Golf Women’s Golf Study which is being carried out to understand the difference approaches learning and what are the drivers to encourage more woman into golf at all levels. We are endeavouring to demonstrate that golf is inclusive, and offers a good exercise option for all and can be for the whole family and ages.

Windlesham Golf Club was chosen by Surrey Union and England Golf as they see us as progressive, inclusive and innovative and part of the future of Golf direction for golf clubs.

WEBSITE OF THE YEAR AND R E F U R B I S H M E N T C L U B

At the 23rd annual Club Awards in front of 400 fellow industry professionals Windlesham Golf Club won two prestigious Club Awards Website of the Year and Refurbishment Club in November. This was not only recognition for colleagues and members but also shows the professionalism relative to our peers in the industry. We will continue to extend both the website and clubhouse activities to ensure we remain in the top quartile of clubs in the UK.

W I N D L E S H A M T R U S T F U N D A U G U S TA R A F F L E

The excitedly awaited Augusta Draw took place on New Year’s Eve following the gala dinner. The lucky winner for the trip for two to Augusta was Dalene Ashworth.

The first prize was very generously donated by Henry & Sheena Lumley therefore enabling us to raise over £11,000 for Disability Initiative our Captains charity & the Junior Scholarship fund. Total Funds Raised by Club in 2014 was £50,000.

P R O G R E S S W I T H L A D I E S C O M M I T T E E

Under Hillary Ashby’s Leadership this year, for the first time, the quest to discover the Men’s Club Champion and the Ladies’ Club Champion was held over the same weekend. It was a thrilling last day, with a fluctuating leaderboard in all competitions offering a challenging but fair test for the 140 golfers involved. A great turnout of over 100 people were in attendance for the announcement of winners and the presentation of trophies and prizes. The ceremony was followed by a hog roast buffet. Congratulations for everyone involved.

3 3T H A N K Y O U C A P T A I N S

left to right:

L A D I E S C A P TA I NHilary Ashby

C A P TA I NAndy Fielding

J U N I O R S C A P TA I NSam Storey with Paul McGinley

T H A N K Y O U

Documents

Windlesham Golf Club Annual Review 2015