September News...

Dear TSGers, As we approach the end of another great year of golf (did we really think back in April, that we'd get as many rounds in as we have?) our thoughts now turn to our TSG MatchPlay Championship (details below). Why not come and join us this Sunday at Farleigh GC in Surrey and watch our new champion crowned (at the special rate of £25 pp). If the game is full, join the standby list and we'll try to get more tee times. Meanwhile, with golf currently enjoying a boom time, we can confirm that TSG had more than 500 new golfers register with the site in the last ninety days alone. Please give all our new members a very warm TSG welcome!

#KeepYourDistance... Ian & The TSG Team

TSG EVENT: The Social Golfer MatchPlay Championship 2020...

So, after all the ties have been completed and the matches verified, we have our finalists! Firstly, let's start by thanking everyone that has taken part in this year's TSG Matchplay competition in 2020 (now in its 8th year!). It's been a great summer of close matches but as the 'Race to Farleigh' reaches its conclusion, we have our two finalists and third-place play-off competitors confirmed...

THE GRAND FINAL

Andy King (10) Vs Tony Moss (12)

THIRD PLACE PLAY-OFF

Roger Dickson (17) Vs Pete Hammond (12)

All players will meet on Sunday 27th September at 11am at Farleigh GC.
(Don't forget your masks and the social distance rules)

JOIN US AT FARLEIGH THIS SUNDAY >>

TSG EVENT NEWS: The Anniversary Cup...

We left England expecting the true Welsh experience but, low and behold, the sun came out and we FINALLY held a TSG event in 2020!

12 TSGers gather to play the Celtic Manor TWENTY-TEN course - 10 Polo Shirt competition winners and two of the TSG Team - plus our Host, Mike Jones, Celtic Manor Ambassador, and his two guests... and oh, how we were looked after by Mike!

The first thing to point out is you CAN'T get on the Twenty-Ten course before 10 am without booking through Mike. In addition, Mike couldn't have done any more for us, with the day/night including:

• Celtic Manor Goodie Bag for ALL, incl. PRO v1's, Course Guide, Shoe bag and Tees

• One or two-night accommodation with a free upgrade to Deluxe Room

• Mike organised ALL our dinner reservations

• Photo on the first tee in front of Ryder Cup sign presented in a display sleeve after your round

• Celtic Manor branded Metal Bag tag with your name engraved on it

• Entry into Nearest Pin to win free round, or 10 years membership for a hole-in-one. Two of our group won free rounds (Damian Benstead & Dave Stevens)

TSG supplied the white Trilbys and TSG branded scorecards for everyone, and TSG goodie bags for Mike's guests.

After much debate (in the car on the way down) we separated the players into four 4-balls. The teams in order of teeing off were...

Group 1 - The Gatecrashers - Not strictly comp winners but they were very welcome (Mark Crane, Richard the Great,  Rob Appleby and Mark Davis - two Guests of Mike Jones)

Group 2 -  The Originals - Those that joined TSG before the official launch pre-2010 (Steve Goss, John Barber and Matt Coffey, plus Dave Stevens who joined June 2020)

Group 3 - The Diehards - Those that joined after 2010 but before 2012 (Gary Wilson, Ruth Brand, Pete Mayo and Tuan Nguyen)

Group 4 - The Management - The organisers (Ian Mullins, Paul Houghton, Damian Benstead and Mike Jones)

We deliberately chose not to have an individual competition, so that everyone could just enjoy the course in its full splendour!

However, we had a team event to win the inaugural TSG 'Anniversary Cup'.

After all the cards had been verified by Mr. Crane, he announced the winners. Who else but... THE GATECRASHERS!

Nearest Pin's were won by No-One (8th hole), Dave Stevens (10th Hole) and Tuan Nguyen (17th hole).

The Wooden Spoon was picked up by Ian M, who scored a total of 7 pts (TOTAL!)

This two-day 'Birthday party' was not about scores, but about spending time with a great team of people, and to thank some of those that have helped us to make The Social Golfer what it is today.

We cannot thank Mike Jones enough for his support and commitment to this event. If you want to play Celtic Manor, contact Mike directly and invite him to play on your day.

We couldn't have enjoyed the iconic course any more and his knowledge of the fairways and greens, and his Ryder Cup anecdotes, only make you enjoy this track even more.

Here's some of the feedback that we have received since our return...

"Just had a wonderful couple of days, which would never have happened without TSG. Thank you. Not just for Celtic Manor, but for the last ten years and everything you do to keep the site up, running and relevant. It brings a lot of pleasure to a great many people"

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"I'd like to thank you so much TSG, for not only organising a great night/day out, with goodie bags and other assorted TSG & Celtic Manor merchandise, a fantastic venue to celebrate our 10 years of social golfing... since having a PC, joining TSG has been the best decision I ever made. Here's to the next 10 years"

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"Having had time to catch my breath again at the end of an amazing week, I just wanted to say thank you again for an exceptional experience that will live with me to the grave. For me it’s all about the experience and everything about the Celtic Manor trip was perfect: The course (exceptional!), The weather (utterly un-welsh!) but more than anything it was the company. So thank you again from the bottom of my heart and here’s to the next 10 successful years of TSG"

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"Thank you TSG for organising such a fun event which I’m so happy to have been a part of... joining TSG was one of the best decisions I have made and I have met the loveliest people. Here’s to another ten years!"

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Celtic Manor 'The Movie' to follow...

HAPPY 10th BIRTHDAY TSG!

INDUSTRY NEWS: The UK has seen the biggest spike in Golf participation in the world...

New data analysing golf activity around the world has found growth everywhere in recent weeks – with the UK leading the way.  Shot Scope, the company that manufactures GPS and shot tracking technology used in watches that golfers wear, analysed the activities of 50,000 golfers around the world this July and compared this with data it had from 2017, 2018 and 2019.

It found that golf rounds in the UK were up by just under 40% (39.7%) compared with pre COVID levels, the biggest growth in the world.

The USA saw an increase of 34.9% of rounds played and Canada 12.7%,
Europe was 27.9% and the rest of the world at 7.5%

“On the heels of the Covid-19 lockdowns and closed courses around the world, golfers everywhere jumped at the opportunity to play in 2020, and among our more than 50,000 golfers, July rounds sky rocketed!” said David Hunter, CEO, Shot Scope. “With the UK and US markets recording nearly 40 and 35% growth respectively, and as golf is the perfect outdoor social distancing activity, it is clear that the game is thriving right now.”

By Alistair Dunsmuir September 1, 2020, Story courtesy of The Golf Business Magazine

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

John Adams at Gatton Manor GC with an EXCEPTIONAL score = 46 pts. 

Well done to John, his first win since joining the site in December 2011. 

Welcome to the 2021 TSG Masters Mr.Adams!

Congratulations! The TSG GREEN towel is on its way to you!

H'cap change: 12.7 to 8.6! (Ouchie!)   

BUY YOUR OWN NAVY TSG TOWEL

TSG PARTNER CLUB: South Essex...

We are incredibly pleased to confirm that next year's curtain raiser to the season sees us return to our first-ever host venue, South Essex Golf Club, Host of The Social Golfer 2011 OPEN Championship. Back then, we had only just launched the website, but we still saw around 30 golfers attend. The championship was won by long time member Paul Smith. A decade later, as we celebrate our 10th Birthday, the site has seen many changes and now boasts 10K+ registered users worldwide.

So, why return to South Essex Golf Club now?

South Essex Golf Club - The History...

The club as it is today first started life when landowner Russell Barlett decided to create a 27-hole golf facility in 1992. Back then, it was named Stonyhill Golf club and was a welcome addition to the area. South Essex Golf Club was designed by Reg Plumridge in 1994 and presents three nine-hole loops with superb panoramic views over the Thames Valley and into Kent.

• The Heron - 3,176 yards
• The Hawk - 3,165 yards
• The Vixen - 2,896 yards

*Yardages shown from Yellow tees.

The Clubhouse is a unique barn-like structure with a terrace view over-looking the 18th Hole. The course was renamed South Essex in 1998 and was subsequently leased to Crown Golf in 2006. Since that time, South Essex has mainly been known as a Pay and Play facility, with a 14-bay Floodlit Driving range on-site too. Footgolf was introduced on The Vixen course in 2015 but this has since been removed.

Fast-forward to 2020 and the course has recently seen ownership pass back to the Barlett family with Ed Barlett (son of Russell) taking over the day-to-day running of the business.

South Essex Golf Club - Present Day...

First Golf Limited took over from Crown Golf in March 2020 and the new management team have ambitious plans to turn the club into one of Essex's leading golf facilities. Ed is actively involved with the program of improvements currently underway.

Already, we have seen the road into the course resurfaced and a new undercover golf cleaning area built. In addition, a new fleet of buggies with built-in GPS arrived in April, there is a newly refurbished upstairs bar and dining area AND a new outside decking area.

All this in three months!

Ed and the company also have plans to add a Gym and Fishing lakes to its portfolio, catering to a wider audience.

Ed is also supported by an experienced team, who all come with a fantastic pedigree and who all have great ambitions for the club!

We look forward to seeing them succeed.

Course Review of the Month: Toot Hill GC, Toot Hill, Ongar, Essex

"A change of mindset..."

Not that long ago Toot Hill was a pure members course and accepted visitors on a visitors green fee basis. It has now changed to a Pay and Play . . Indeed the website banner's message is "The best pay and play in Essex".

And with green fees set at £22 Mon-Thu (senior £18) with Fri £25 and Weekend £35 it is a bargain. In addition, there is nothing to suggest that the quality of the course has suffered detrimentally with the change. It has a great course layout, quite wide fairways and fast greens. It's a course where numerous greenkeeping staff are pottering around keeping it in good shape. The signature hole is the 12th with an island green and although you can't see the water from the tee, you know it is there . . not long 125yards from the yellows, but the water seems to frequently catch the poor tee shot.

What has changed is the Clubhouse. I remember going there for society meals. It is now closed. There is no 19th hole anymore, and whilst it might be possible to get a post-game can of coke from the pro shop, it's not the same. So it is a 'back to basics' course, where the course is more important than the Clubhouse.

This may change in the future, as they are losing a revenue stream. Be aware that they take online bookings two weeks ahead, and it gets booked quickly. I think the tees are released early hours - 1 am or so - so set your alarm clocks and enjoy!

Ian Archer - Essex (H'cap 20)