November News...

Dear TSGers, So after are rescheduled final, we have a new TSG MatchPlay Champion. In a superbly fought match and after a full summer of games, Mr.Andy King came out victorious - see video below. In the meantime, back at TSG HQ, we have been planning some changes to the Handicap system for 2020. The first being a new EXCEPTIONAL play cut that will be explained in more detail in next month's newsletter. In addition, we are also upgrading more pages on the site to work faster on the mobile. That's all for now! Ian & The TSG Team

TSG EVENT: The Social Golfer MatchPlay Final 2019 - WINNERS...

After a fabulous day at Addington Court GC in South London, where not a single drop of rain fell during our day, we can formally announce that our new TSG Matchplay Champion for 2019 is..... Mr.Andy King

Huge congratulations to Andy and commiserations to Roger Dickson (2103 winner), who took an early lead, lost it, fought back to all sq. on the 16th only to lose on the final hole!

The Official Result was King won by 1. Meanwhile, in the THIRD place play-off, John Barber was victorious over Steve Slater in a game that went to the 18th green as well! 

A BIG thank you to Brigitte Lockwood for her co-refereeing and for providing the blankets for the TSG team. It would have been a long cold day in the buggy without them.  Thanks to everyone that took part this year.

It all starts again in 2020!

NEW GOLF EVENT SERIES: Thank You TSGers...

It's always nice to be able to contribute to a charity and it's even nicer to get such a heartfelt thank you from those you've supported. As such, I wanted to share with you the letter I received from the guys at Community Golf last month - if you attended the day or contributed to the raffle/auction, take a bow. #GoTSGers

TSG EVENTS: Join us at Pine Ridge on 18th Dec for Xmas fun...

When you book your next golf day at a Crown Golf Venue we have introduced some neat little extras that make our packages, simply the best you will find!

Where else do you get 10% of the value of your golf day back in prizes, a free fourball to use for a return visit or warm-up game and the unique experience of everyone in your society, chipping for the chance to WIN your next day in our #thegolfdaychallange

Join in the Xmas festivities at Pine Ridge Golf Club in Surrey this December and have a 'cracking' day out!

Coffee/Bacon Rolls, 18 holes, Xmas Lunch - £30pp

TSG MEMBERS NEWS: Council settles out of court in discrimination case...

After three years of dodging the issue, Brentwood Borough council have settled the discrimination case brought by TSGer Paul Houghton. In 2016, Paul was refused entry to play at Hartswood Golf Club, who said he required a letter from his Doctor to prove his disability. 

Of course, anyone with eyes would know Paul only has one leg - but apparently they require written confirmation of this. Not sure what your GP would say if you did waste an appointment to establish this, but the council saw it differently?!

Having witnessed such prejudice at first-hand (the TSG Team were there the day it happened) we couldn't be more pleased for Paul. However, here's what he said on his victory...

"We won!! Unfortunately, as the case was settled out of court, no case law was created, which is a real shame. However, a win is a win. Many thanks to all the TSGers that supported me through the process!"

Read the back story by clicking on the link below...

TSG Player of the Month (sponsored by www.2fore1.co.uk)

Roland Avery - Risebridge GC in Essex with an EXCEPTIONAL Stableford score = 47. 

Well done to Roland, this is his SECOND win on the TSG Leaderboard, his first since August 2017 when he scored 51 Pts at the same course. Welcome to the 2020 TSG Masters Mr.Avery!

H'cap change: 17.6 to 14.9 ...now that's a big cut!     BUY YOUR OWN TSG TOWEL

Xmas is coming: It's the gift that keeps on giving all year round...

We believe that golfers should be able to play anywhere, at any time, whether they belong to a golf club or not. By joining The Social Golfer community, you can arrange games close to home or with over 6,000+ registered golfers in the UK and 10,000+ worldwide...

– Join Games and Societies in your area
– Track your Handicap
– Analyse & graph your game
– Get a Handicap Certificate
– Compete in the TSG league & win prizes
– Enter TSG Major Events
– Browse 25,000+ courses worldwide
– Read TSG members course reviews
– Get discounted green fees at 40+ clubs
– Join in chat and forum discussions
– Receive The TSG monthly Newsletter

+ FREE round of golf courtesy of official club partners Crown Golf (worth £30)

All for only £29.98 pa!

For further details email us at info@golf-escapes.com or click on the link below. Or CALL a member of the team on 01342 811 777

DONT FORGET EVERY TSG PRO MEMBER GETS A FREE £25 voucher with Golf Escapes!

(mention at time of booking to qualify!)

Course Review of the Month: Gerrards Cross GC, West London.

"A beautiful parkland/woodland style course..." 

Gerrards Cross GC is a members club! Now the home club of fellow TSGer Anna Guss! My thanks to Anna for the opportunity to play here. The course was founded in 1922, in the grounds of an ancient estate. It was officially opened in the spring of 1922 with a 36 hole exhibition match between 1920 Open Champion George Duncan and six times Open Champion Harry Vardon. The clubhouse has a very nice ambience, welcoming, spacious, plenty of seating, SKY TV, large dining areas. I had a pregame lunch which was very nice. There is a good view out from the lounge to the practice putting green and beyond to the 1st hole fairway! A positive outlook!

The course is a par 69 off the white and yellow men's tees and is a par 72 off the ladies red tees! The SSSs are 71, 70 and 73, ie tougher than the par of the course! The course comprises 4 par 3s, 13 par 4s and only 1 par 5. An unusual combination. The yardages are 6,243, 5,965 and 5,594 respectively!

The greens are generally large, undulating, multi-tiered, and difficult to read in terms of line and pace. Some were fast-ish, even uphill, whilst many were the opposite. They were generally well guarded by pot bunkers. Only 2 greens, ie the 4th and 18th, have no greenside bunkers.

The par 3s are a challenging mix! The 5th in particular, 176 yards, index 8, is a testing steep uphill tee shot to carry over bunkers to a multi-tiered green. Against the wind, Driver wasn't enough club! Bogey is good.

The 'apparent' imbalance of par 4's was not really a problematic factor. quite the contrary, the wide variety of uphill, downhill, left and right sloping doglegs, blind and semi-blind layups and approaches, dispelled any thoughts of sameness etc. N.B. Longer hitters off the tee will find clearer lines to the greens provided that they hit straight! Only 2 holes are significantly above 400 yards (off the yellows), ie the 4th and 18th. 

The only par 5 is the 513 yards 7th, index 4. This is a right to left dogleg! The tee shot length determines the chance of reaching the green in regulation. A genuine bogey hole! Bogey is good! My round! My score was 34pts, i.e. +15, or +2 over handicap! Pretty good playing a course for the first time. I nevertheless thought that I could have been 2 to 3 shots better but! My outturn putting stats was 37 putts, which included 3 triples!

Weekday summer visitors green fees are £60 (£45 winter). Members guests only play on weekends. The County Card rate is £40. However, thanks to Anna, our member's weekend guest rate was only £30, excellent VFM and overall this is a very enjoyable and challenging course to play.

All of Anna's guests, ie Alastair, Jonty and myself, were of the view that we would very much like to play it again, and can recommend it to our fellow TSGer's!  My only reservation, one which we probably all share about our clubs, is how playable is it going to be if winter is wetter than we'd like!

Michael Hanley - London (H'cap 12)