General Club Noticeboard

Golf courses must close

England Golf guidance

Following on from the Prime Minister’s statement tonight (23 March), golf clubs and golf courses in England must now close.

It is England Golf’s position that this deeply regrettable, but highly necessary and responsible course of action must be implemented with immediate effect and be maintained until further notice.

The government has identified an urgent need to introduce new restrictions on public life and on non-essential businesses opening their doors.

This has been done to limit the spread of the coronavirus and relieve the growing pressure on our National Health Service.

Keeping golf courses open is simply no longer compatible with the updated policy of government which is designed to save lives in a time of national emergency. 

The health and wellbeing of the nation is the only consideration that matters at this moment in our history.

These are incredibly testing times for the country. The golf industry cannot be shielded from the economic and social ramifications caused by this temporary shutdown of normal life.

We would like to assure the golfing community that England Golf staff will continue to work remotely with all affiliated golfers, clubs and counties to try and minimise the damage caused by this suspension of regular golf club life.

We will continue to signpost clubs and counties to the latest government advice and schemes designed to help the economy cope with the disruption caused by coronavirus.

COVID-19 didn't keep many players away from the Club over the weekend, on Sunday 59 entered the Rickard Cup, the first competition played under specific rules to protect against the risk of infection, meaning it was played as a non qualifier.

As many new rules and processes were in place for the first time, I made an exceptional allowance when 3 very seasoned and regular competitiors failed to sign their cards, I believe and accept this may have been confusion due to the various changes we made on the day, therefore they have not been disqualified. When we hopefully return to playing golf and regular competitions in a few weeks we may still be under numerous special restrictions and new processes, players with similar minor breaches will also be treated equitably whilst this beds in.

Best score on the day came from Richard Baker with a 77, nett 65, his trophy will be presented some time in the future, all prize winners should note that vouchers for this competition will not be delayed until the next Captain's Presentation Evening, but instead have already been credited to your accounts.

Winning scores :-

• Overall winner  :  Richard Baker  77 - 12  =  65
• Best gross  :  Ian Braime  74
• Division #1 (32 players)
• 1st place nett  :  Richard Baker  77 - 12  =  65
• 2nd place nett  :  Eddie Oswin  78 - 11  =  67
• 3rd place nett  :  James Footitt  77 - 8  =  69 (back 9 c/b)
• Division #2 (27 players)
• 1st place nett  :  Sam Marshall  84 - 15  =  69 (back 3 c/b)
• 2nd place nett  :  Dale South  85 - 16  =  69 
• 3rd place nett  :  Adrian Stannard  88 - 18  =  70 (back 9 c/b)

Full results can be seen here

The 2s club was shared by 16 players, although Harry Stannard receives a double share for his eagle on 13, value was £3.35 per share.

Obviously it will be some weeks before we get to play again, in the meantime please respect the guidance issued, stay safe and hopefully we can get back to some kind of normality soon.

During these challenging times SRGC still has many fixed costs, please pay subscriptions in good time to ensure financial issues are minimised.

Roger Green

Handicap & Competitions Chairman

Corona Virus – Update 23rd March 2020

Following the announcements of the Prime Minister this evening the Board has decided that it has no option but to close the course with immediate effect. We will be watching for further direction and operational guidance from the Government and the England Golf Union and will keep members informed should there be any relaxation of the directive. Members and visitors should therefore not access the facility until further notice.

 Mike Heath

Hon Secretary SRGC, on behalf of the Board

Corona Virus – Update 20th March 2020

Following the Government announcement this evening the Board’s emergency team held a conference call meeting to agree our actions for the Club to ensure that we comply with the new operating restrictions placed upon the hospitality business in particular. We have agreed to implement the following measures with immediate effect:

The Clubhouse will be shut until further notice with the exception of the toilets off the main lobby for both ladies and men. The toilets will be cleaned half hourly between 08.00 and 17.00 to provide the highest level of hygiene and sanitation that we believe is reasonable to protect users.Toilets can be accessed through the front door. All other areas of the Clubhouse are closed and members should not try to access them.

The stewards will offer a takeaway service from the patio doors for sandwiches and coffee and whilst stocks last beers and other drinks will be available for purchase and consumption on the patio. We will not be ordering any new time limited products so when current stocks are exhaustedwe will cease sales.

The halfway house will operate a takeaway service and orders can be placed over the phone so that they are ready for collection on arrival at the tenth green. The building itself apart from the toilets will be closed to members and a table will be used to restrict access. 

The Professional shop will likewise be open but with no access into the shop and a counter area at the door will be implemented to ensure that the whole shop area remains as safe as possible.

The course will remain open to members and guests but we would ask groups not to congregate at the first tee area or outside the Clubhouse and observe the pre-booked tee times.

Competitions will continue to take place but they will all be non-qualifiers and cards will be returned to a box outside the professional shop. They will not be processed until at least two days after the competition but as they are non-qualifiers this will not affect handicaps.

The changes to our operations that were announced in Wednesdays update remain in place apart from where superseded by this notice.

The Board recognise that this is a difficult time for everyone at the Club and are happy to receive any comments about the decisions that we have taken, or matters and opportunities that we may have inadvertently missed.

Mike Heath

Hon Secretary SRGC, on behalf of the Board

I am sorry to have to inform you that Judith Ramsden, former member and Lady President of the Club, passed away on 17th March following a recent illness.
Her funeral will take place on Tuesday 31st March at 4.30pm at Gedling Crematorium.

Pauline Haggerty

Ladies Secretary

Corona Virus – Covid 19 response

The Board held an emergency meeting along with the Stewards, the Professional and Head Greenkeeper on Tuesday 17th March to discuss our response to the implications of Corona virus.
The meeting noted the Government’s current advice to the public and the business community but will regularly review the Clubs position as new advice emerges.

Please read and note the document that can be found at the bottom of the page on this link

https://www.stokerochfordgolfclub.co.uk/coronavirus

and abide by the conditions requested so as to maintain golf and clubhouse activities.

Thank you
Mike Heath
Secretary
SRGC