June News...

Dear TSGers, it has been a funny old' couple of months hasn't it! Firstly, no golf at all, then two balls with 3hr rounds not uncommon. And now back to three and four balls but some courses still only allowing members (fair enough!). As such, we have moved quickly to re-instate the 2020 TSG Matchplay Championship - see below. Also in this month's newsletter, we'd like to welcome our newly registered members - 114 new joiners in May - a new record. You are all very welcome! In addition, with England Golf recently announcing the return to competitive golf, our next task is to relaunch the 2020 TSG OPEN Championship and hopefully, we can celebrate our 10th Birthday with you all, face to face. 

#KeepYourDistance... The TSG Team

The TSG Matchplay Championship 2020: The Redraw...

So, after much consideration and discussion, we've concluded that as long as all participants adhere to a set of 'Social Distancing' guidelines, we think we can, and should do it!  See some additional rules for this year's TSG MatchPlay Championship competition below...

• There are NO home ties, choose a venue equal distance from both players

• Scorecard should be marked by both players 

• After your round, photograph the card and confirm result verbally

• At NO TIME should you swap cards, shake hands or exchange tees, balls etc

• At ALL times, players should stay 2m metres apart

THE DRAW >>

PS; Venue and date for final still to be confirmed

...It's ON!

We are very proud to have relaunched the TSG HOME page on 9th June following a complete overhaul by our talented TSG Developer, Adam!

The new look not only features a video player (which will host our Event films) but it has been designed to load pages faster and be more mobile-friendly.

In addition, we have redesigned the Menu layout with ALL parts of the site now directly reachable from here.

Some of the changes we have previously made to the site this year have already resulted in an increased number of site visitors, with 11.5k unique visitors in May 2020 - nearly a 90% increase year on year! Furthermore, we have now gone from appearing in 3K Google searches a day to 33k!

(N.B. All figures independently verified and provided by Google Analytics).

The same overhaul has now been completed on the Members 'dashboard', the scorecard pages, and our next focus will be on refreshing the Group pages.

If you have any suggestions on how to make the site better, faster and more useful, please contact us at theteam@thesocialgolfer.com

We told you last month that we were upgrading the TSG Putting Game!

This is only the first draft of the new game, so please note, this is primarily a desktop game, although it does work on some tablets and newer mobiles.

In addition, the game is only for fun right now, but we will be adding a LEADERBOARD to the page in due course and hope to run monthly competitions, whereby Prizes will be won!

GIVE IT A GO!

#TestYourPuttingSkills

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

Simon Bawden - Farleigh GC in Kent with an EXCEPTIONAL score = 44 pts. 

Well done to Simon. This is his first win on the TSG Leaderboard - his first since joining TSG in February 2018. Welcome to the 2020 TSG Masters Mr.Bawden!

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

H'cap change: 4.9 to 3.6!   

BUY YOUR OWN TSG TOWEL

TSG BLOG Feature: Golf Games to play for fun (or money)

Whether it is a friendly two-ball with your mate after work, a game against a relative or that weekend four-ball, it isn’t always about just playing well. It is also about beating the guys you’ve just spent four hours in the company of. Golf lends itself to make the most of the competitiveness between you and your playing partners.

So much so, you can even set up a little wager before anyone has struck their opening tee shot. There are a few ways you can spice up a round and have something at stake to keep the interest throughout the 18 holes.

Strokeplay/Medalplay

The simplest and most widely played golf game to play is just you versus your opponent. It’s the least number of shots taken over the course of 9 or 18 holes. No handicaps are taken into account. It's just a straight forward test - who takes the fewest shots, wins.

Matchplay

Arguably the most fun to play, with Matchplay you score based on holes won. Each player earns a point for each hole in which they have taken fewer shots than their opponents. You’re playing against one playing partner, in pairs. The format varies, depending on whether you are using your Gross score. Or after your handicap has been taken into account. If you score early, the match could end early e.g. Dave won by seven holes, as there were only six left to play. However, if the two playing partners are playing off the correct handicaps, the game should last until the last few holes.

Skins

Skins is the ultimate cash wager for golfers. It doesn’t matter whether you are a two-ball, three-ball or four-ball for this format. You just need to decide an amount per hole for the “Skins” before teeing off. Skins works with the “skin” bet amount for each hole going to the winner of that hole. If no player wins the hole outright, the money rolls onto the next one. It makes for some serious testing putts when a 5 or 6 rollover is at stake! By the end of the match, each player may have won some money from their playing partners…but there can only be one outright winner!

Animals

Another favourite golf game to play and one that is not played as much as it perhaps should be is ‘Animals’. You collect an animal for various incidents or shots on the course – a duck for a hook or slice finding the wrong fairway, a frog for finding water, a woodpecker for hitting a tree. Or a camel for finding the sand and so on. The winner of a game of animals is the player with the fewest ticked off. Prepare for some arguments with your playing partners though!

For more golf games including Texas Scramble, keep reading by clicking on the link below... 

Official Site Partners: Golf Escapes - Special message...

Dear TSGers,

It has been a while since we communicated directly with you and we trust some of you have been able to enjoy some golf once more.

Due to the COVID pandemic and everything that has gone with it, we have refunded over £1.5 million to our clients over the last few months. Something that, unfortunately, hasn't been the case with other operators.

However, I'm sure that like us, you're ready and waiting to dust-off your passports and get back out playing some golf in the sun once again.

With some increasing positivity and light at the end of the tunnel, we thought you may like some inspiration for your next golf holiday, and what better than the Lisbon Golf Coast where life is returning to some sort of beautiful normality once again.

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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

DON'T FORGET EVERY TSG PRO MEMBER GETS A FREE £25 voucher with Golf Escapes!

(mention at time of booking to qualify!)

New TSG merchandise supplier!

In May, we received this box of goodies from our new partners at Portlantis.

As such, we are expecting our first FULL order in a few days, when we will share a link with you all so you can purchase any of the items shown above.

In the meantime, if you would like any shirts, sweaters, caps or bags with your own society logo OR TSG's please call 01769 550856 and ask for Trudy!

Get 10% off your first order using this code: GSNG3

Course Review of the Month: Redbourn GC, St Albans, Hertfordshire, UK.

"Well worth a visit..."

Played this for the first time and I was very impressed, albeit on a gorgeous afternoon at the end of May which always helps. The course was in fantastic condition and it has some lovely holes.

Typical parkland course with interesting Par 3's and not too long, yet very testing. There is not a lot of water on the course but enough for a challenge and also the bunkers make you think about your shots. Not being a big hitter it was nice to hit par 4's in two, with most a driver and a mid-iron.

Can't wait for my next visit, which I'm sure will be just as enjoyable.

If you get a chance to play here give it a go - you won't be disappointed! 

Rob Burnell - Norfolk (H'cap 21)