Membership Update

December 28th 2020

Dear Members,

The flooding over the last few days has caused a considerable amount of damage and disruption and as a result the course is, regrettably, unplayable and remain so for a number of days.

There is a lot of debris littering the course as well as lying water which, we hope, with the help of some pumps will drain by the weekend and allow the course to dry out to some degree. The more significant disruption is due to the grounds building being flooded which will need a concerted effort by the grounds team and any volunteers willing to help to clear the building, check all machinery, tools, stock and equipment for damage and clear debris from the course. This will take a number of days as will the lying water to drain away so the course is not expected to be playable for at least a week.

If any members can volunteer please contact our Club Captain, Alan Mawhinney, on alanboro@sky.com who is co-ordinating the course volunteers with Neil Barber.

The next formal course inspection is scheduled for next Monday, January 4th, and members will be updated early next week.

As and when the course is re-opened for play it has to be in line with government guidelines and, as members will be aware, we are now in tier 4 where the rules, as detailed on the England Golf website, are :

Golf can only be played in the following formats :

• Individual play
• Two-balls from same or different households/bubbles
• Three or fourballs involving people from the same household/bubble

By way of clarification,the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Golf – of which England Golf is a member – has issued the following statement addressing issues of play, retail, coaching and travel:

“The All-Party Parliamentary Group for Golf is happy to confirm that golf courses will be able to remain open when the new Tier 4 restrictions become effective in parts of England from 06:00 GMT on Sunday 20th December.

“In Tier 4 areas, golf courses can remain open for individuals playing with members of their own household or support bubble, or with one person from another household.

“As usual, social distancing is to be observed and all necessary steps are to be taken to ensure a COVID-19 secure environment.

“Under Tier 4 restrictions, non-essential retail – including Pro Shops and golf retailers – must close. Click and Collect will, however, be permitted.

“Outdoor coaching will be allowed on an individual basis or for multiple members of the same household or support bubble. Indoor coaching will be not be permitted.

“There are exceptions for indoor disability sport, sport for educational purposes, and supervised sport and physical activity for under-18s, which can take place with larger groups mixing.

“Custom fitting can take place outside on a one-to-one basis but is not permitted indoors.

As more information is released I will send out further updates and Stuart will open the booking system as soon as we can but as is clear from the tier 4 guidelines the pro shop will not be open as a shop but it can still provide golf items on a “click and collect” basis so please email Stuart in advance for any items you need. Stuart will be on-site on most days to maintain the booking system, providing phone cover, opening the toilets, offering lessons etc etc but probably working shorter hours.

Once we are able to re-open the course and Stuart opens up the BRS booking system we will be limiting all initial bookings to members only for the first few days until we are in a better position to determine membership demand at which time we will then start opening up play to visitors. In all likelihood we will adopt the same procedures to those following the first lockdown, ie giving members an extended booking window and visitors only a couple of days so as to maintain fairness and priority to members.

Best wishes to all and happy new year !!!!!

Richard Coles

Chairman, Ramsey Golf and Bowls Club