“Reading the lines at The
Brooke”
This is
intended as a Newsletter dealing specifically with Golfing news from The Brooke – updates on what has been happening in the Club, the Golfing Calendar for the next four
weeks, Club social news, and all other Golf Club matters, including special
offers in the Pro Shop, and course news. The Brooke Newsletter will continue to
be produced for the benefit of Home Owners, and this is a supplementary
newsletter for those who love a ‘good walk ruined’.
Winter cometh
If you have not been able to get out and play a little golf in the past month, you are missing out on a fantastic experience. The Course is currently in extremely good condition, and now that winter is here during the early mornings the fairways are shrouded in mist
While in the evenings there is a glow to the course that is simply not there during the rest of the year
I have lost track of how many times during the past month I have been advised that the 'Brooke greens are way superior to Royal's at the moment'. Beefy and his crew have done a remarkable job repairing the damage from the floods, and right now conditions are close to perfect. For your
Planning, an attachment to this email lists all our current bookings up to the
end of June.
First Tee
News from
the Golf Club is that Simon Herring has come in, and is currently taking over
from Mark Brackley as Club Manager. Mark will be heading for England, where he
will join Marion who is already in UK. Simon has a
background in Hospitality in Zimbabwe, and has taken over most of the in-house
club functions, while he will spend time to familiarize himself with golfing
matters – upcoming tournaments, hosts, formats, and so on, over the next month.
If you have not met him, please introduce yourself to him, and bear in mind
that, including golfers, staff and Home Owners, he has roughly 1500 names to
learn – so may be a little slow on the uptake!
The Club will be hosting a 'Farewell Tournament' for Brackers on the afternoon of Saturday 10th June - we will waive Green Fees, but there will be a $10 per person Competition Fee. If you have had any dealings with Mark over the past few years and would like to participate, please try and get a four-ball together and make a booking with Sam. If you don't have any friends just put your name down and you will be slotted into a team! The format will be 4BBBS with 2 to count and all 4 on the shorts. Even if you are unable to participate, please come to the Clubhouse in the late afternoon or evening to join us for a couple of drinks.
Mark has
done a fantastic job with guiding the Club to where it is now, and we wish him
and his family all the very best in their new life abroad.
Office
bearers for 2017
The past 2
weeks has seen a lot of activity in the Clubhouse and on the course, the most
important from a Club perspective being the hosting of the Golf Annual AGM, and
the election of Officers for 2017. For those who missed it, the new Men’s
Captain is Francis Bwanya, with Vice-Captain Carl Varger, and for the Ladies
the new Captain is Annie Jones, with Colleen Morgan taking up the role of
Vice-Captain. This is a supremely capable team of Leaders, and we ask that you
give them your full support through the year ahead
Lastly we
also welcome Tricia Manuel into the fold as Golf Public Relations Officer. She
has been employed on a commission-basis to market Membership, Tournaments and
Functions, and we wish her all the very best. The position has never been
filled before and she will be breaking new ground, so any assistance or
suggestions relating to marketing the Golf Club should be directed to her.
In addition
– and of utmost importance from an administrative perspective is the formation
and inaugural meeting of The Golf Committee. This is a committee that has been
formed tasked solely with concerning itself with ‘matters pertaining to the
playing of golf at The Brooke Golf Club’. It is chaired by Mr D McComb, and
includes the Captains, Estates Manager, Club Manager, Caterer, Club Professional,
Golf PR (a new appointment),and Mr C Wilson.
Again we
would ask that any pertinent suggestions you may have regarding golf be
directed to any of the above members of the committee for consideration.
Club Championships
Among the
many tournaments hosted over the last fortnight, the most important from a
Club perspective was the Annual Club Championships held over the weekend of
the 6 & 7 of May. There had been some debate as to dates, and that weekend
was also the date of several weddings, so, all things considered, we had an
excellent turn-out, with 102 golfers putting their tees into the ground on the
opening Saturday. Our Estate manager – Beefy Campbell-Morrison, produced an
excellent tournament course, and we are still receiving accolades for the state
of the course well over a week later.
Our Club Champions
for 2017 are as follows:
Men – Chris
Manning, with a Gross score of 155
Ladies – B
Tilowakuti, with a Gross score of 163
Seniors –
Basil Brent with a Gross score of 165
Very
special thanks go to Harry Smith who was our Rules Official throughout the
weekend, and who ensured the Tournament was run to the highest standards.
One comment
received was that we do not play enough medal golf
throughout the year, and hence the Club Champs become a bit of a test. The
intention is to play at least one medal tournament per month - on the last
Wednesday of every month, so please try and make that a firm date in your
calendars if you can. We will then use the 2 months prior to Club Champs next
year to play off the gold markers, so we should all be ready, willing and able
by the time the first weekend in May rolls around in 2018!
For those
who missed the event, this is a picture of the Prize Table for Club Championships.
We have also, in the last 3 weeks, hosted major tournaments
for Maguires, FDGA, Salvation Army, Transerv, Bird Life Zimbabwe, Generals Day, as well
as hosting the usual Business Leagues, Shumbas, Wednesday Clubs, and Saturday Clubs. The General's day was the final tournament of the month, and the marquee was set up on the Driving Range, dominating the approach to the Club . . .
While the exterior of the marquee (designed to host 650 people seated with tables) was impressive, the interior was breath-taking. This year the post-tournament party was hugely successful, and general comment from the Brooke residents was that they hardly heard the music - so grateful thanks to the hosts for their consideration of the Home-Owners.
In addition to golf, the Club hosted a wedding for 80
people, and those regular members who have never seen the Club in full evening
dress, may be interested in the following picture – taken on the outside
veranda looking out over the first fairway . . . .
The Wedding meal was provided by Colleen and Sheree and
once again the ladies did the Club proud, with a magnificent spread for main
course, followed by a dessert buffet and a very comprehensive cheeseboard.
If any Members
have relatives announcing engagements – please consider the club as a venue? We
can put on a very decent and reasonable show, and Saturdays tend not to
conflict too much with tournaments. In either instance, the layout of the Club
enables us to divorce weddings and golfers (if that is the correct term to
use??!!?) as we will use the inside bar area for the wedding, and the outside
bar for golfers.
Ideally we
would prefer to host 80-100 people, but we can cope with larger numbers if
requested.
While on
Catering and social aspects, I would like to remind you all of the Sunday Lunch
that the ladies offer in the restaurant. Mother’s Day was a splendid spread,
and a lot of thought and effort goes into preparing for that particular meal,
so your support would be greatly appreciated. This is the spread on Sunday 14th
– a feature of which was pork fillet cooked in cider and then baked with pears
and sweet potatoes.
Every Sunday there is a Lunch, so please come down and support the Club.
Finally - on
to golfing matters. Saturday morning Junior Golf Clinic continues to attract a large
number of children, and we would love to welcome more. This is a truly
fantastic programme, and Stu Stovold must be congratulated on maintaining an
initiative which benefits the community. Again I would urge all Members (who
may not even be aware of the programme) to please try and get support from
family and friends, and get them to book and bring children along. Let’s get
the golfers of tomorrow going today!
The Pro Shop
Word is out that the Pro Shop is de-stocking 'Crocs' shoes, and they have all been reduced to $50.00. These are not the golf shoes, but the normal casual shoes, and Stu has a range for both men and ladies, so you don't even need to be a golfer to take advantage. Hugely comfortable and built to last, these are an ideal purchase - whether for yourself or for a friend, and this price certainly won't be matched in Harare. Again, your support of this vital aspect of the Club would be greatly appreciated.
Notes from the Rules Buff . . . .
One thing that did become apparent at Club
Champs was the fact that an awful lot of BBGC golfers are very careless with
their cards and record-keeping.
We had a
couple of cards which we had to return for signature, and several cards on the
final day on which Golfers had omitted to record their handicaps. All of these
omissions were corrected before the cards were ‘officially’ received, but when
visiting other Clubs you may well find yourself disqualified. We are going to
point out such omissions over June and July, and then will follow the same
course ourselves. We figure it is better for you to be embarrassed in front of
your mates than in front of a crowd of strangers! We may, of course, be wrong.
Handing in
correct scores and signing the card are simple requirements, but they are included
in the Official Rules, so please pay close attention to these aspects in
future. It also does not hurt to double-check the addition on scorecards, and
confirm with your marker what your actual score on each hole was if you
disagree. Just sayin’ . . . . . .
Public Speaking Seminar
Finally - I
have been asked to advise all Members that Mr Basil Brent (our current Seniors
Champion) has approached the Club and offered to host a seminar titled “Public
Speaking for formal occasions – the do’s and don’ts”.
His astonishing
performance with a microphone at Club Championships will, we are certain,
guarantee a packed hall, and we will advise a firm date when we have it. He has
assured us that he will cover the Don’ts section of the seminar, and
is looking for a co-host to cover the Do’s as he is a little shaky on those
aspects of public speaking.
He intends to follow up the first seminar with two sequels: "Multiple uses of the phrase 'ummmmm' in Public Speaking" followed by "The best volume to set your amplifier when using the 'f' word in public"
Have a
great month, and see you on the tee box!
Cheers
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