Please refer to the following information
WEST BERKSHIRE GOLF CLUB
RELAXATION OF GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS
You will be aware of the relaxation of Government regulations such that as of the 29th March we will be able to play in 4 balls.
Although the days are getting longer and we are able to allow more members to play it will still be necessary to impose some restrictions to ensure that as many members as possible can play. We do not expect this to last for more than a week or two but with many people taking the week off from 29th March the course is likely to be busy. Upon resumption of play we will operate at 9-minute tee intervals. Members will be restricted to 3 rounds per week , but not on consecutive days to allow all members to play. This restriction will be continually monitored and as the days get longer more tee times will become available allowing more members to play.If there are available tee times 3 days prior to the day being booked then these restrictions will not apply allowing us to make good use of all the tee times. Note: The booking system cannot police this and we would appreciate members following these restrictions in the short term. Only members and associate members will be able to book and play, which means members will not be able to invite guests. As with the restriction on consecutive days and number of bookings per week, this will be under review. If we find there are gaps in the Tee Sheet then these slots will be opened up to non-members and members guests 2 days before the date being booked. It is assumed these will be later in the day with prime bookings being taken by members
Before the current lockdown was implemented it was highlighted that a number of membership fallen into old habits and we would remind everyone of the social distancing rules.
- Players should not arrive at the course until 20 minutes before their tee time.
- Driving Range will remain closed initially ( We understand under Government restrictions this is allowed to open, but we wish to reduce groups of people congregating )
- Players should not arrive on the putting green until 10 minutes before their tee time.
- Only 1 group should arrive at the first tee at a time.
- No groups of members should congregate the half-way hut, car park or patio.
- Pro-shop will be closed for sale of non-essential items.
It was highlighted that a number of members were congregating around the notice board outside of the Pro-shop mainly to determine their new handicap based on WHS. To avoid this we are planning to remove the non-essential notices from the notice board and have created individual handicap allowance sheets which will be located near the scorecards. You can also see your Handicap Index via HowDidIDo.
Please see attached EGU “Play Safe Stay Safe” Graphic
RESTARTING COMPETITIONS
Advance notice
Notice of the timing and full details of the competitions will be provided to the pro shop and members at least eight days before the competition date and will be advertised with a notice at the club and/or email and TTNB. There will be some differences to the published dates in the diary, but we will try to follow this as best we can.
The qualification for the Liddiard will remain 9 holes played on Wednesday. There will be no entry fee to enter a qualifying card and no prize for the best card on any Wednesday. A card can be submitted for the first 9 holes of a full round. The final will be played as normal. The Herbie Sternberg trophy is unchanged.
COMPETITION GUIDELINES
Notice to members re temporary arrangements for competitions.
- Competitions will be advertised at the club house and via Tee Times. Any member not receiving Tee Times should advise either Sandy Miller (sandy.miller@live.co.uk) or Nick Jones (nickjones55@btinternet.com) of their email address so this can be added to our system. The plan is to follow the structure of competitions as per the diary going forward.
- For competitions where a block of tee times has been allocated (usually Sunday for men and Saturday for ladies), booking a tee time would be down to the members to telephone the pro shop. Members, if they wish, can book other named members for the same tee time. For midweek and Saturday competitions, the member will have to book a tee time in the normal way. There will be a sign in sheet in the foyer for the member to sign into the competition if they wish. The foyer will be restricted to one person at a time – one in one out. Card completion is then as below.
- Members would turn up for their tee time, say up to 20 minutes before, to allow time to pay their entry fee (see below) and organise who is marking which card.
- Completion of Scorecards
There appears to have been some confusion regarding completion of cards for competitions. Accordingly, we have decided to have just one way for cards to be completed, until Covid restrictions are eased to allow exchange of cards. For now, each player entering a competition should, before starting the competition, complete the top of his/her own card. The name of the competition, the date, the tee the competition is being played from, the players full name (printed with no nicknames please) as player A and their handicap should all be completed. Please print legibly. In addition, the player should agree with his playing group which other player he will record as marker, and that name goes in the player D line.
During the round the player records his own gross score in column A and the markers score in column D. Ideally each 9 hole score should be totalled with the two halves added together to get a final gross score. The player should sign the card in the players signature area and a stamp should be attached to the card so that it does not obscure any critical information. The bottom right hand corner is suggested. For stableford competitions, the player has the option of putting in the stableford points but the entry of the gross score into the computer will calculate this anyway. To help the competition team, as many players as possible should enter their scores via the Howdidido app/web site (Today’s Golf) before putting their card in the large box, which will be situated usually in the clubhouse foyer or the pro shop. A specimen card is attached.
Signing in Sheet
Because there are no stamp sheets, the competition team are having difficulty reconciling entries to competitions. In addition, signing in will be a feature of future changes to competition procedures, so this is being introduced immediately. A signing in sheet will be posted on the notice board in the foyer for each competition. This may be a few days before the competition but is not to be used until the day of the competition. On the day of the competition, ALL entrants must put their name on the signing in sheet. Please print legibly. This will allow the competition team to reconcile the cards they receive with the entrants. ALL players should submit their cards even if this results in an NR, as all scores affect the standard scratch for the competition. A specimen signing in sheet is attached.
Please note tee booking is NOT affected by this and should be organised in the usual way, separately from signing in.
The card is placed in the competition box in the lobby of the clubhouse.
- There are no rakes in bunkers: Best endeavours should be made to smooth bunkers using shoes or clubs. If a player suffers a bad lie caused as a result of the lack of rakes, a FREE placement of the ball, can be allowed within 6 inches. No smoothing of the bunker is allowed before the placement or the playing of the shot.
- As a result of the rule changes in 2019 the new rule is that players can search for only up to three minutes before their ball is deemed lost.
- Putting out is required.
PAYMENT
When competitions restart after 29/3/21, initial entry fee will be by attaching a stamp to the card, as was the case last year. We will however be announcing fairly quickly the switch to electronic payment of entry fee which will be triggered by signing into the competition. If you don’t sign in you will not be entered. We will give notice of the change by way of a members update, but it makes sense to get some funds into your competition account as soon as possible so you are ready to go. The instructions for how to do this were sent out in a members update on 22/1/21, the details of which are below:
We have been looking at ways to integrate the payment of entry fees for competitions with the system used for recording the results of competitions and thus eliminate the need for stamps. This has now been set up. Each member who wants to enter competitions, and thus maintain their handicap, will have a competition account with the club. Money will be transferred into this account by the member. This money will be used to pay the entry fee (and other optional costs such as 2’s) for competitions. The system will automatically take the fee from the competition account when the member signs into the competition. The system will not allow entry unless the member has enough funds in the account.
We already use electronic sign in for competitions, so once you have put money into your competition account, the only other change will be that you will not need to put a stamp on the card.
The easiest way to put funds into a competition account is via the Club V1 members hub app, which we previously used for online tee booking. Once logged in, scroll down the page to see the competition balance. Tap this to see entries on your competition account. Click on ‘top up’, select the amount you wish to put into the account (minimum is £10), click ‘pay using card’ and fill in card details. The club’s preference is debit card as the club is charged for the service and debit cards are cheaper. Please transfer an amount appropriate to the frequency of competition entry as each transaction incurs a charge. One transfer of £20 by debit card is cheaper for the club that 2 transfers of £10.
If you do not have access to the members hub, but are registered with Howdidido, you can proceed using this link https://westberks.hub.clubv1.com/ . Log in using your Howdidido details and follow the process detailed above.
There may be a few members who do not have internet access. They can organise funds being added to their competition account by providing the club treasurer, Nick Jones, with a cheque or cash in an envelope and he will put the money into the competition account.
When we change from stamps to online competition fees, there will inevitably be members who still have stamps. These can be returned to the treasurer and credited to the members competition account. Please make sure it is clear which member the stamps belong to.
We will advise the timing of moving to this system of payment for competition entry fees in due course, but the system is up and running now so you can transfer money into your competition account as soon as you want.
REMINDERS
1. “Roll-ups” in terms of congregating before and after play are still not permitted and
arrival/departure timings as previously advised should be adhered to as far as possible
2. The 9 minute tee interval time should be fully respected so preventing groups congregating on the first tee and causing congestion on the course.
The owners wish it to be brought to member’s attention that anyone who has not renewed their membership for 2020/2021 are not permitted to use the course.
CARD COMPLETION, SIGNING IN AND KNOCKOUT COMPETITIONS
Completion of Scorecards
There appears to have been some confusion regarding completion of cards for competitions. Accordingly, we have decided to have just one way for cards to be completed, until Covid restrictions are eased to allow exchange of cards. For now, each player entering a competition should, before starting the competition, complete the top of his/her own card. The name of the competition, the date, the tee the competition is being played from, the players full name (printed with no nicknames please) as player A and their handicap should all be completed. Please print legibly. In addition, the player should agree with his playing group which other player he will record as marker, and that name goes in the player D line.
During the round the player records his own gross score in column A and the markers score in column D. Ideally each 9 hole score should be totalled with the two halves added together to get a final gross score. The player should sign the card in the players signature area and a stamp should be attached to the card so that it does not obscure any critical information. The bottom right hand corner is suggested. For stableford competitions, the player has the option of putting in the stableford points but the entry of the gross score into the computer will calculate this anyway. To help the competition team, as many players as possible should enter their scores via the Howdidido app/web site (Today’s Golf) before putting their card in the large box, which will be situated usually in the clubhouse foyer or the pro shop. A specimen card is attached.
Signing in Sheet
Because there are no stamp sheets, the competition team are having difficulty reconciling entries to competitions. In addition, signing in will be a feature of future changes to competition procedures, so this is being introduced immediately. A signing in sheet will be posted on the notice board in the foyer for each competition. This may be a few days before the competition but is not to be used until the day of the competition. On the day of the competition, ALL entrants must put their name on the signing in sheet. Please print legibly. This will allow the competition team to reconcile the cards they receive with the entrants. ALL players should submit their cards even if this results in an NR, as all scores affect the standard scratch for the competition. A specimen signing in sheet is attached.
Please remember that it is a requirement that you sign in for a competition on the competition signing in sheet BEFORE you play your round. Failure to do so will result in disqualification.
Please note tee booking is NOT affected by this and should be organised in the usual way, separately from signing in.