There is no golf next Sunday (Christmas Day), but people are meeting as normal just before 10am on Wednesday 21st and 28th December to play (weather permitting). The game on New Year's Day will tee off at 11am - at the moment the thinking is to just turn up by 10:45 if you wish to take part.

Turkey Trot

Please arrive around 11.30am for a pre-game drink and remember to wear a Christmas jumper!! Bran tub prizes should be no more than £5 in value. If the course is closed we will meet at 2.30pm, the meal is at 3pm.

Hopefully, everyone has seen the details of the Woodham Waywards trip to Aldwark Manor (if not please see the Social Events page), please ensure that you let Linda Knight know if you wish to come and pay your £35 deposit to Liz Nelson by the Turkey Trot.

Please arrive at 11:30 for the Turkey Trot dressed in your best Christmas jumper!

Many thanks to all involved for organising a brilliant Presentation Evening, the tables containing all the trophies looked great, the food was very good and the company was excellent. I know a lot of time and effort went into making the evening a success - so many thanks to everyone who contributed.

Don't forget the AGM is on Tuesday (15th November) - the meeting will start at 7:30 and will take place in the committee room (next to the first tee).

Many congratulations to Deb Stone who got her first hole in one whilst on holiday this week.

Please do not forget to sign up for Presentation Evening which is being held on Friday 11th November. The cost of the meal is £12.95 per person and it would be helpful if everyone could pay Liz by the end of October. There is a list in the locker room for prize winners to say whether they would prefer a voucher or goblet and this also needs to be completed as soon as possible to help with the arrangements for the day.

The golf insurance is due for renewal and at £4 per year it appears to be a real bargain. Please sign the list in the locker room by October 24th to indicate whether you wish to be included in the policy.

Our thoughts are with Liz and her family at this sad time - no news yet on the funeral details but they will be posted here once we know them. Apparently a post mortem is planned for tomorrow (Monday).

Many congratulations to our new senior club champion - Linda Luke, congratulation are also due to the Matchplay winners - Barbara beat Margaret Russell in the final of the bronze division and Maggie beat Steph to claim the silver prize.

We are nearing the end of the season so it's time to return your trophies. Please give them directly to Linda and don't just leave them in the locker room in case they go missing. All trophies should be returned by the end of September to allow time for the engraving to be done so they are ready for presentation evening.

It is with great sadness that we learnt that Davey Nelson passed away this afternoon. Linda Luke spoke briefly to Liz's daughter who gave her the news but no other details at this point. We offer our heartfelt sympathies, love and support to Liz and her family at this difficult time.

What a lovely surprise to come into cake this afternoon after playing golf. Many congratulations to Norma who says that she has spent the last 4 weeks celebrating her "big birthday".

Well done to both the silver and bronze Thomlinson teams who played their matches on Thursday at Whickham. The silver team (Maggie & Anita) were up against a young pairing from Hartlepool. After going 4 down on the front 9 they managed to get it back to all square on the 16th and then were unlucky to lose the match on the 18th hole. The bronze team won their morning match against Beamish 2 & 1 so then had to play Blackwell Grange in the afternoon. Barbara and Margaret Russell did a great job and were one up at the turn. Despite their best efforts they lost a very close game on the 18th hole, but they did remarkably well to get round such a hilly course twice in one day. Many thanks to Pat who caddied for the silver team in the morning and then was a great support to the bronze team in the afternoon along with Maggie and Anita.

Over the last few weeks, the committee have been canvassing the opinion from members regarding which County teams to enter next year. It has been decided to abandon the Evening League and replace it with an afternoon Sivewright team. This will require that 3 bronze players are available to play in each match, but this appears to provide more flexibility than trying to run both the 7 and 5 player Anderson team.

Many thanks to Barbara for organising a great exchange trip to Dinsdale - the weather was perfect and everyone seemed to enjoy their day (especially Norma who was still celebrating her "big birthday"!!).

Good luck to both the silver and bronze Thomlinson teams who play their next matches on Thursday at Whickham. The silver team are playing Hartlepool whilst the bronze team are up against Beamish. If we get through round 2 then the third round is also being played on Thursday.

It was too wet to play 18 holes today so the decision was made before teeing off that we would come in after 9 holes. Congratulations to Steph who won for the second week running (I must look at her handicap!).

Many congratulations to both the silver and bronze Thomlinson teams who won their matches on Monday. Linda and Liz winning on the 19th hole against South Moor (after the South Moor team had a hole in one). Margaret Russell and Barbara had a more comfortable win (3&2) against Houghton-le-Spring. The next two rounds are at Whickham on 1st September. Also on Monday, Pat and I came 6th out of a field of 46 players at the Area final of the Coronation Foursomes at Whitley Bay. Finally this week, Chris Quinn ably represented Woodham in very tricky conditions at the May Lowery Final at South Moor on Friday.

A very successful Open was held on Wednesday with 19 teams taking part. The winning team were from Chester-le-Street with a great score of 100 points. Many thanks to Margaret Russell for all her organisation and to everyone else who helped on the day.

A busy week this week with the final two league matches of the year and the Club Championship. Many congratulations to Tracey Hahn who won the Club Championship, this was set up with a wonderful gross 72 on the first day - thus reducing her handicap to 5 and making her a category 1 player. A more steady 82 on day 2 still left her 10 shots clear of Janice who won the best net prize (and reduced her handicap to 9).

Good luck to the Thomlinson teams - Linda Luke and Liz Nelson (Silver) and Margaret Russell and Barbara Robinson (Bronze) who are playing at Blackwell Grange tomorrow and to Chris Quinn who is representing Woodham in the May Lowery Final at South Moor on Friday. Pat and I are playing in the Coronation Foursomes area final at Whitley Bay - so another busy week golfing wise with our Open to look forward to on Wednesday as well!

Many thanks to Margaret Nisbet (and all her helpers) who organised a great Woodham Waywards trip to Linden Hall. I know that Margaret was worried about the weather and indeed the heavens opened whilst we were having our coffee and bacon rolls. Undeterred, we went onto the first tee and some brave souls actually got as far as the second before we had to come back to the clubhouse because of thunder and lightning. After a short break we managed to get back out on the course and although there were a few "rain delays" during the round it was not as bad as Margaret had feared.

After the evening meal we had the presentation where everyone got prizes (too many to remember), but the top 4 places were as follows:-

On the second day the weather was much better and most players managed to improve their scores. The random team sweep was won by Pat Usher, Steph Storry, Margaret Nisbet and Tracey Hahn.

At the evening meal it was announced that Barbara Robinson had agreed to take on the captaincy for 2016/2017 and Linda Knight will be her vice captain taking over the reigns in November 2017. We are indebted to both Barbara and Linda for agreeing to take on these roles to ensure the future of the section.

KEY POINTS FROM MEETING WITH NEVILLE & SAM HALL, 5TH JULY 2016

Aim to relocate the compressor  as soon as practical-ongoing project.

The owners want to continue with the policy of no trolleys in the changing rooms. Would appreciate the area being smart for visitors. Hygeine and cleanliness improves and hot water available although taps/showers may have to be ran for a while.
 
Authorities have accepted increase in the numbers of both bars and Halls in discussion with John and Mandy to increase seating which will help to alleviate problem of overcrowding. Feedback at next meeting. Paperwork has not been completed to formalise increase in numbers. Neville to have meeting with all parties in due.
Action -SH/NH
 
Out of bound posts required around the putting green require painting white. Numerous minor issues discussed relating to the course discussed. Mick to detail points made and monitor progress .Further discussion at next meeting.

Sam to contact committee before reprint of score cards to enable minor adjustments to local rules on the reverse. May be early next year as plenty of cards in stock.

Outline planning permission approved for the housing development. Plantation given back to the council and discussions on whether bridle path required currently taking place with the council. Initial discussions taking place with developers but until these agreed very difficult to put any timescales on anything until contracts signed. This would be the trigger point to timescale the  development of surrounding infrastructure and access points, new practice ground etc. which would need completing before any housing developments commenced. Early indications are that no work will commence before Summer 2017 at the earliest. This could easily move to Spring 2018.We will be fully informed of developments. However once again Neville reiterated their long term commitment to Woodham Golf Club.
 
Membership at 4th July stands at 350 (Juniors-80,Adults 270).
Date of next meeting -Tuesday 6th September  2016,same venue 6pm

Notes for Minutes regarding Issues Raised by MK during meeting with Neville and Sam Hall on 5th July

Drop Zones on 12th hole.
MK raised the issue regarding the areas of GUR which used to be bunkers on the left hand side of the 12th green. He advised that it would be appropriate to provide two drop zones, one for each area of GUR, because in some circumstances, when taking relief from the GUR, the nearest point of relief is so close to the Out Of Bounds fence that the player would not have any room to play a stroke. Clearly unfair. (Ref Rules of Golf, Appendix 1-A-6.). It was agreed that Mark Hodgson would create two drop zones for use until the areas of GUR are withdrawn and the grassed areas come into play. MK will post a local rule advising members on the relief options and use of the drop zones, once they have been created.
Action: MK and MH.
 
Two Open Holes on Greens
The policy of leaving two open holes on the greens was discussed. It was agreed that the policy of having two cut holes was sensible and acceptable, however, it was also agreed that the hole that was not in use should be capped, as in previous years. MH agreed to ensure some form of cap would be fitted to holes that are not in use.
Action: MH.
 
Out Of Bounds Marking
On holes where Out Of Bounds areas are present, the policy of marking these areas with lines or ‘grips’ as well as white posts was discussed. This had been carried out on various areas in the past and was a very successful policy and a welcome improvement to the course. It was agreed that MH would ensure that lines marking OOB would be renewed or created, possibly via the use of weed killer.
Action: MH.
 
Water Hazard Marking
MK advised that the marking of some of the Water Hazards was inadequate, especially the defining of where  Water Hazards (yellow) and Lateral Water Hazards (red) start, finish or merge. It was agreed that MK and MH would, together, survey areas of the course to identify improvements in the marking/defining areas such as these, as well as GUR, OOB etc. Once agreed, work would be put in place to improve matters.
Action: MK and MH.
 
Local Rules on Scorecard
MK suggested that the local rule on the scorecard stating that relief MUST be taken from ALL areas of GUR was inappropriate and not necessarily in line with the Rules of Golf. It was agreed that this would be changed on the next re-print of the club scorecards.
In addition, a Local Rule regarding relief from Immovable Obstructions close to the putting green (e.g. Sprinklers), i.a.w. Rules of Golf Appendix 1-A-4.a, has already been re-introduced. This also needs to be included in the next re-print. MK will provide Sam Hall (SH) with draft new local rules prior to re-print.
Action: MK

Well done to everyone involved in running the Mixed Open. It was a very successful day and everyone was very complimentary about the course, the clubhouse and the catering. There were some very good scores with the winners from Bishop Auckland having 46 points along with another pair from Longhirst followed by 4 pairs on 45 points with Janice Blakey and her partner getting 3rd spot. It looks like the day will have raised over £650 for club funds.

There will be an evening buffet on Men's Captain's Day at a cost of £10 per head - please see Geoff or Terry to get a ticket.

Please sign up for invitation day which is being held on Thursday 18th August and the mixed match against Teesside (to be held at Woodham) on the 28th September. The format of this I believe will be an American Texas Scramble with a pair from Teesside playing with a pair from Woodham as a team.

It was with great sadness that we learnt that Sam Frost lost her partner Kay to stomach cancer on 14th June. Our thoughts are with Sam and Kay's family at such a sad time.

The winners were as follows:-

There were also prizes for birdies and chip-in's - too many for me to make a note of all the winners (sorry!). Many thanks to Linda and Deb for all their hard work in making the day such a success.

Please remember to bring a bottle in lieu of the entry fee for next Sunday's competiton.

Geoff Bowles has taken over a the Club Captain after Glyn's resignation. His Captain's Day is on Saturday 23rd July and it would be great if as many ladies as possible supported this event. Tee times for the ladies have been reserved - just sign the list on the main notice board

We had two winners at the rearranged DCLGA Spring Meeting held at Woodham today. Congratulations to Barbara Robinson who won the bronze division Coronation Medal for the best net score and also won the Burn and Kinsella trophy for the overall best net score with a 74. Cheryl McOwan won the Silver Coronation medal for the best net score with a 75.

Many congratulations to Margaret Russell and Kay Mott who beat Wynyard in the preliminary round of the Thomlinson Cup at Whitburn.

Next Sunday we are all looking forward to Captain's Day. Please arrive from 11:15 onwards to give yourself time to have some food before going out to play. The evening meal will be served at 18:30.

Feedback from Sam on queries raised by the Golf Section

1.Could you arrange for out of bound posts around the putting green as discussed at our meeting on the 9th May.
Discussed at smaller committee meeting, arranging posts.

2.The greens are quite slow, and although this may be deliberate for the time of year, is there any plans to quicken them up by taking more grass off/cutting more regularly ie every day or at least Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
We have been waiting for drier weather to go ahead with a few more mm 

3 Regularly mark GUR areas especially bunkers that are out of commission and ensure when markings washed away with rain they are replaced.
Spoken to Mark regarding this

4.The overall feedback from the new bunkers is that the sand is still too soft. Is there any way of speeding up the settling process or can that be compacted in any way. What are the timescales to complete the bunkers please?
There is nothing that can be done to speed the settling process, sand is sand – Glyn gave a very good explanation at the smaller meeting if he’d like to put that forward to the rest of the committee I’d be grateful. Bunkers are ongoing there is no time scale just as and when they can be fitted in around grass cutting and general maintenance etc. 

5.The ball washers never have water in them and it would be nice to have small towels in the same locations to clean golf balls.
Will be conversing with Geoff to ensure they’re filled weekly. No towels will be provided.

Message from Roz

I just have to say a VERY BIG THANKYOU to you all for your very kind wishes.
Both John and I are overwhelmed by your kindness.
It's great to be home and I was absolutely delighted to receive such a beautiful flower arrangement!
Hope the golf is going well - looking forward to seeing you all soon.
Over all many thanks again

Love

Roz

It was not a very nice morning when we got to the golf club and the rain looked set in for most of the day so it was agreed to postpone the Kath Golightly Salver. As the forecast does not look any better for tomorrow the Mixed has also been cancelled.

The first Get into Golf sessions are being held this week at Woodham. If there is anyone you know who may be interested in taking part I believe that there are still some spaces available - ring Ernie to book a place. Some of our lady members will be going up at the end of the hour long session to try to encourage the ladies to take up the follow-on offer of 5 lessons for £25. Hopefully we will get some new members out of this initiative.

Unfortunately the course was closed yesterday and therefore we had to play the Mail on Sunday match away at Brancepeth rather than at Woodham. This made what was already a difficult task even more so and I'm afraid we lost 4.5 - 0.5. Many congratulations to Maggie on getting a fighting half point to stop the whitewash.

The course was open this morning, but it really was very wet in places (especially the 9th) and therefore it was agreed to come in after playing 9 holes. This made working out the result very difficult for those on duty as there were 5 teams with 19 points! Well done to Barbara and Roz who were the eventual winners over the back 3 holes.

Many congratulations to Liz and Dave Nelson who celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary yesterday. It was lovely to finish the day with cake that Liz had brought in for us all.

Many thanks to Roz for organising the meal at the golf club to celebrate Woodham winning Division 6 of the Anderson League. What a great way to start the season - everyone thoroughly enjoyed the night and I think Roz and Kay secretly enjoyed doing the flower arrangements too (despite all their trials and tribulations) which made the tables look very smart. It was great to see so many members supporting the event.

Unfortunately the Mail on Sunday match against Brancepeth had to be postponed due the the wet weather and the course being closed - hopefully we will be able to play it next Saturday.

This information has been sent to all County Association Voting Members and Secretaries.

Today the LGU and R&A announced that an agreement has been reached to merge the two organisations in 2017. I attach the press release in case you have not seen it. I also attach a briefing note to help you understand the agreement made thus far. 
England Golf gave its approval in principle. The merger was felt to be in the best interests of women and girls’ golf. This is, however, subject to the England Golf Board seeing and approving the legal documents, which are now being prepared. 
Although the final decision on the merger is for the England Golf Board, we would be pleased to receive any views or questions from our County Associations. If these could be submitted to England Golf either in writing or to info@englandgolf.org for the attention of Rod Findlay by 31st March we will seek to answer these, possibly through a presentation at the next or a future General Meeting. 
We will also have an opportunity of discussing this at the County Secretaries Conference and the AGM but I wanted you to be aware before you possibly saw it in the press.
Yours faithfully

Please make sure that you have indicated your menu choices and paid Liz Nelson by 28th February for the Afternoon League Division 6 Celebratory Meal - Details are on the Social Events Page.

The course is still very wet but it now feels like the the season is about to start as we have our first Mail on Sunday fixture. This is at home against Brancepeth and we hope to be able to play it on Saturday March 5th.

Letter from Neville & Sam Hall - Owners - Halls Construction

The planning permission that was granted to the previous owners, which we modified and re submitted, was rejected prior to reaching the planning committee and the timescales expired at the end of November. Without going into too much details a major stumbling block was the building of a hotel. We are currently reviewing options and at some stage in the future would like to submit new planning applications for housing but at the moment no timescales have been attached to this. We will keep you informed of any progress in this area. At this point in time we do not envisage any housing development taking place until 2017 at the very  earliest. However, this will not diminish from the fact that we are totally committed to continually improve the golf course and make it an enjoyable experience for both members and visitors alike. Hopefully you will agree that improvements have been noticeable since our purchase in 2014.
 

The recent appalling weather has curtailed any work, however in 2016 we are committed to improving buggy paths and replacing sand in the bunkers.  We have also renewed for 2016 the consultancy of Robert Laycock, the agronomist who advised us on our improvement plan for greens last season. We will publish by the end of March a comprehensive timetable of course maintenance and development work that we be undertaking during 2016. 

Finally may we take this opportunity to thank all old members who returned to Woodham and new members who joined in 2015 and hopefully you will continue to enjoy your golf at Woodham in 2016. 

Thank you.

Neville and Sam Hall on behalf of Woodham Golf and Leisure Limited