"If you know of a better 'ole..."

As you know we usually resize the lawns in the winter. The purpose of this is to move the winter wear and tear to different parts of the lawn. It also moves the compaction due to foot traffic along the lines between hoops. (In the winter the additional moisture and softness of the ground really increases this compaction.)

However, resizing the lawns is a major exercise in measuring, remarking lines, and hoop-setting. Additionally, the exercise has to be repeated in the spring. The winter lawns are also smaller in size.

In the light of this, the committee has decided to trial repositioning of hoops without changing the lawn size. This has the advantage of keeping the majority of shots  at a full-scale length, at the expense of creating a slightly asymmetrical lawn setup.

Keith Toovey and I have created the first set of the new holes. These are on a different line from existing holes, so they are easy to spot as belonging to a new set. For the moment, members are welcome to use any of the existing sets of holes. We have all coped with rotating around the current four sets of holes using common sense, so I don’t anticipate anyone being unable to cope with the new layout!

Two additional points for your action please:

1) As in previous winters we are moving the starting point for GC games to the opposite corner (Corner II, at the North-West)

2) We have moved to winter rules. NO JUMPING. Players may play games with the no nestling rule If all agree. NB if players are finishing off matches in the club competitions then they may jump, but they should use a divot-repair tool (there are some in the clubhouse) to repair any damage from ball impact.  (You will of course remember the Fault rule about lawn damage caused by mallet impact!) 

I will keep members updated regarding the new hoop holes, as eventually we will be creating further sets of holes along the new line, and will then close the old holes.

Regards,

Raouf