Club Newsletter: April 2023

Update From The Board

Our New BRS System

It is with great pleasure that we are pleased to announce the launch of our new online tee time booking system (BRS) went live on the 23rd April for members – for tee time bookings from 1st May. The Visitors booking successfully went live 3 days later, also for 1st May.

As mentioned in our xmas comms it was a business decision by the Directors to engage with BRS to provide a tee time booking system that will improve both the “marketing” and the sale of available tee times and thus improve income. It is also hoped that this will further reduce tee time booking administration.

You can now access / make your SMGC BRS casual golf tee time bookings via your:

– PC; Laptop, Tablet or Mobile Phone

– Our SMGC Website now hosts Members, Visitors Tee times booking and also our Club Opens (currently a link to Club V1) – simply click Book a Tee Time on the Home Page to view. –  GolfNow is also now marketing our available tee times.

–  Your Club V1 app will soon be modified to include a BRS casual golf booking link.

– Members can now also book online tee times for themselves and their guests.

– Advance booking for Members (8 days) & Visitors (5 days).

– Trials have also commenced, with the support of the Ladies section, on the use of the Competition purse, again feedback from them, to date, has been positive on its ease of use.

– We are also hoping to create / enhance a “Club House” PC whereby members who do not have direct online access can book their tee times via this terminal. Trials will commence soon.

There is now a change freeze on the BRS system as it settles down, so we can observe booking patterns etc.

Overall feedback from you (the members) to date has been very positive and supportive of this initiative. The vast majority of those registering with SMGC BRS found it a quick and simple process. Those of you that have used it to make bookings have further commented on how easy it is to use.

Again we thank you, the members, for supporting us.

Welcome to our new Financial Director

On behalf of the board, we would like to welcome Greg Element as our new Financial Director.

Greg has been a member of our club for 3 years and previously acted as Honorary Treasurer of Cardiff Golf Club. Greg has already demonstrated to the management board  a wealth of knowledge of fund raising and financial planning which will fit in well with our short and long term objectives of continuing improvements  to our great club.

A Message From Our Captains

From Our Ladies’ Captain

Dear Members

The 2023 season swung into action with a well-supported Captains’ Drive In on Sunday 2 nd April. Our
prayers for a dry day were answered and everyone had a lovely day. Congratulations to Jules and her
partner for winning the best mixed pair in the competition. Our Easter competition was well
supported and our Easter raffle was a great success thanks to the hard work of our Senior Ladies
Section.

The ladies’ office has recently been decorated and our new signage is ready to be displayed. Our
thanks must go to Andrew, Rosanne and Jane for enabling our office to look refreshed for the new
season.

Our weekly competitions are well under way but unfortunately have still been weather dependent.
Well done to our weekly winners: Rosanne, Ann, Bev and Kay who battled hard to survive the
elements. We have received notification that our first round opponents for the Welsh Team
Championships will be Southerndown Golf Club. Good luck to our ladies team and may the balls
bounce in our favour! The new Eagle Series, which is available to all members, has commenced and I
am sure we will all enjoy some fun moments playing golf with a difference. Well done to Kaye for
winning the ladies longest drive in the first event, the Texas Scramble.

The New 2 Golf ladies have been playing regularly to complete their 100 holes and have now applied
to become members of our section. We warmly welcome our new ladies and I am sure they will
continue to enjoy and improve their golf and make new friendships throughout their golfing journey
at St Mellons.

The new BRS booking system is now in place for us to book our competition and casual golf. If you
request any help or advice then please ask a committee member to enable you to book a tee time.
My thanks must go to Ann for working extremely hard to enable our booking system runs smoothly
and that our weekly competitions continue to be a success.

Looking forward, we have a very busy May! Our weekly competitions include the Coronation
Stableford, Championship qualifier and Members and Guests and our weekends will be busy with
The Flirtation Cup and the Spring Mixed Open. Also, our team matches will be under way so good
luck to the seniors and ladies team.

Finally, our 59th Anniversary Dinner Dance was a huge success with everyone thoroughly enjoying the
evening. Our thanks must go to Lizzie and Gill for the table settings and photographs which will
inspire us to make our 60 th Anniversary an even more special occasion.

Thank you
Sally Madsen

From Our Mens’ Captain

Fellow Members,

As I write today the new golfing season is underway, this year we have a programme of competitions and events throughout the year which we hope will be attractive to you all. I look forward to seeing you both on the course and in the Clubhouse over the next 12 months and wish each of you a successful golfing season. Let us hope the sun will shine upon us.

Best Wishes,
Robert Cook, Captain

Updates From The Pro Shop

NEW 2 GOLF COACHING 2023

New2Golf returns next month with group classes for Ladies, Juniors and for the first time this year, Men!

There will be a free taster session for each group, where new or returning players are welcomed to the club for a free 1 hour group coaching session where they will also be invited to sign up to the six week “New2Golf” coaching block (starting the following week)

Dates for the free taster sessions are as follows. 

Mens: Tuesday 16th May 6.00pm

Juniors: Monday 22nd May 4.30pm

Ladies: Monday 5th June 6.00pm

If you know anyone who would be interested in giving a golf a go, or returning to the game, please pass this on or contact Tom in the Pro shop for more information on 07746489151 or email tombenjamingolf@gmail.com

PING DEMO DAY

Our next demo day is on Tuesday 30^th May 2023 between 13.00-17.00 where an expert Ping custom fitter will be available to fit members for the latest Ping G430 products. Appointments are FREE to members and will take around 40 minutes.

If you’d like to book a slot, please contact the pro shop on 01633680408 option 4 or email us at proshop@stmellonsgolfclub.co.uk

From The Proshop

ACCOUNT CREDIT

We still have 153 members with money on their account in the pro shop.
A reminder, THIS MUST BE USED BY 24/12/23.
Any outstanding credit passed this date, cannot be claimed with either myself or the incoming professional.
It’s time to use it or lose it!

EX DEMO EQUIPMENT

As the date for ordering equipment has now passed, we can now sell our ex-demo clubs and rental trolleys.

Drivers available from £300:
Ping G430 SFT
Titleist TSR2 & TSR3
Callaway Paradym 3D, Standard & X

Fairways available from £200:
Ping G430 MAX & SFT
Taylormade Stealth 2 HD
Callaway Paradym X

Hybrids available from £200:
Ping G430

We have a variety of shafts available and the Professional Team will be happy to advise which is best for you.

We have 2x Powakaddy FX5 GPS ex rental trolleys for sale @ £300 each.
Both have been recently serviced, are hired out regularly, come with a lithium XL battery, three prong charger and GPS with thousands of golf courses preloaded.

If you’re interested in a brand-new trolley with a long warranty, we have Powakaddy and Motocaddy trolleys now available from £599

April Course Update From The Head Green Keeper

Lots of progress has been made on the course throughout April with the course now starting to take shape for the season ahead. The greens have received a fair amount of work this month which has consisted of light scarification to improve surface firmness and ball roll and to further remove any organic matter build up and lateral growth. At the end of the month all greens were double dyna spiked, overseeded with Bentgrass and top dressed with 20 tonne of sand. The greens will stay at a slightly higher height of cut following this work to ensure that the new Bentgrass seedlings germinate and establish. With ground conditions now improving the greens are now receiving fortnightly sprays of nutrition and bio stimulants consisting primarily of seaweed extract, molasses and amino acids to keep the plant healthy and aid in disease resistance caused by climatic stress.

The tees and approaches have improved significantly throughout April with aeration and a granular fertilizer being applied at the end of march. Since then, the tees and approaches have been regularly cut and are now down to summer mowing heights and have excellent grass coverage. Towards the end of April, they were sprayed with a product called primo maxx which is a plant growth regulator. This product reduces top growth of the plant but in turn sends all energy to the rhizomes which results in better rooting and the area thickening up significantly. Iron and selective weedkiller have also been applied to further boost health and colour and to eradicate any weeds present.

As many of you would have noticed growth accelerated considerably this month with the greenstaff working very hard to keep growth under control particularly on the fairways. After extensive mowing throughout the month taking every opportunity available to cut in the dry, the golf course is now looking very presentable and growth levels are under control. In the coming weeks a spray identical to that of which was applied to the tees and approaches will be applied to the fairways and green surrounds to further thicken the sward, boost colour and appearance and eradicate any weeds present.

Now the growing season is upon us, most of the greenkeeper’s time is being spent mowing and presenting the golf course. Other tasks we have planned this month include further aeration, seeding and topdressing of bare areas. Carrying out irrigation repairs and improving the flower bed behind the 1^st tee. Weedkiller application to the car park and patio area is also scheduled with all trees throughout the course following later in the month.