Hi everyone,

I hope you are all enjoying the menfolk writing the last few editions of our newsletter! This week it’s back to me for the latest B&C News.

Enjoy the read.

The Blue Course Stableford last weekend was won by Martin Jennings with 37 points, with Ewan Davidson in second place also with 37 points and new member Jon Pritchard in third place with 34 points. Very well played guys!

What's coming next?

• Seniors’ Stableford Friday, 9th February - no need to book.
• Ladies’ Scotch Foursomes Tuesday, 13th February - booking on intelligentgolf.
• February Stableford Saturday, 17th February - booking on intelligentgolf. 
  

I would like to take the time to say what a nice read the ‘In the Clubhouse newsletter’ was this week. Thank you to Clive and Tom for their kind words, it’s really nice to be appreciated! We will do all we can to help and support our Club Captains.

So now we move to the Pro Shop to see what’s happening there!

So the big news for Paul and I is that we have decided to take on another employee to work in the Pro Shop with our existing bunch of merry men (and Lady!). We have some interviews to do this week, so we are busy planning and deciding who will be the best person for the job. All will be revealed, most likely in April. I had fully intended to be back by now but Monaghan has had other ideas!

He is starting at nursery in September, so I will be back twice a week from then but until then we need an extra pair of hands and it has to be someone with the ability to coach due to the many commitments we have with junior, school and inclusion. I’m excited to see who it will be!

Last month, lovely Nick took on the awesome might of an inclusion course, to give him some extra tips on how to coach when the person you are coaching has limitations. He will be doing more inclusion, Junior and coaching work with Paul and Andy this year on completion of his level 2/3 coaching qualification which is awesome for everyone!

Andy had his first Gloucestershire Ladies’ County Golf Association coaching session here at the club on Sunday. Over to Andy for his run down of the day:

This Sunday I had my first session with the GLCGA squad here at Bristol & Clifton. We were lucky with the weather and were able to get out and use the course and practice facilities for the whole day.

We started the day with a fitness session, which we also turned into a bit of a competition between everyone. Some of the girls are very athletic and can really generate some impressive power! After some recovery time and a feed we were treated to an impromptu Q&A with Chris Wood. He spoke about his preparation at big tournaments, how he practices between tournaments and gave some advice on team golf using examples from his time in the county setup as well as the Ryder Cup.

The afternoon was focused on distance control using the practice ground behind the 1st green and its many targets. Then on the course we played a game with some penalties for approach shots that missed the green in certain places. For example on 13 the flag was cut at the back left of the green so any approach shot that missed the green long or left had to be placed in a drop zone which left the player facing an even tougher chip or pitch. This is a great way to introduce course management into your game. Understanding where the acceptable and unacceptable misses are around a golf course can really help to save you shots.

For some of the squad, it was their first taste of county golf as they had been promoted into the squad due to their progress from the last year. There is big potential to make this squad even better if these girls continue to work hard on their games, and with the talented players already representing Gloucestershire in the squad I'm looking forward to a big year ahead.

Andy.

How fantastic is that? Well done to all of you boys. In my absence you have kept the plates spinning and I’m really grateful to you all. But you will have my bossiness back in September! (Sorry!)

On that note, have a great week,

Caren, Paul, Andy and Nick.