Limestone and Gill Christie Trophies played for

Posted by Fred Aspin, Press Officer on August 14, 2012

The Limestone Trophy is a medal competition played off white tees for players with a handicap of 0 – 18. Rutland was sweltering under very humid and sticky weather conditions when Andy Queen got off to a bit of a nightmare start by bogeying the first three holes on the Lakes course. Ten handicapper Andy had enough confidence in his golf abilities to be able to put it all behind him and start again on the 4th. He parred eight of the next ten holes and birdied the other two to put himself on just one over. After a visit to the pond on the par three 14th resulted in a double bogie it was time to regroup again. Two birdies followed on the next two tough par five holes and a par on hole 17 were enough to get him back to one over. A slight miscalculation cost him dearly on the 18th when he dropped another shot. Andy finished two over gross and won the competition with a net 64. He said that the silly mistakes on the 14th and 18th were regrettable but if anybody had offered him a score of two over at the start of the game he would have snapped their hands off. Andy was cut to 9. 

Gary Graham, playing off 15, took second place with a hard fought net 66 and was cut to 14. Five handicapper Ryan Tarrant was in the bridesmaid spot for the second week running, after being pushed back to third on count back last week, he finished in the same place, again on count back, with a fantastic 71, net 66. He took the lowest gross and was cut to 4.

Greetham Valley’s ladies lined up to compete for the Gill Christie Trophy on the Lakes course inbetween the men’s competition. The wind had started to gust a little to add to the hot and sticky conditions. Former Ladies’ President Beryl Crosland off 17 came in with terrific net 73 to win the trophy on count back. She was 9 over for the front nine but got her round going again on the back nine. An error on the par four 18th cost her a triple bogie and this meant that it would have to go to count back. Beryl took the win courtesy of a better back nine. Lesley Young off 19 is improving week on week and had yet another strong showing. Lesley lost out on count back but she was otherwise very pleased with the way that she played and planned her way around the course; she is still on target to get her handicap down to 18 by the end of the year. Ladies’ Captain Eileen Pare was third with a net 74.

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Job vacancy at Greetham Valley Hotel in Rutland

Posted by Sharon Walpole, HR Manager on August 2, 2012

Greetham Valley Hotel, Golf and Conference Centre has a vacancy for a Full Time Deputy Head Housekeeper.

Reporting to the Head Housekeeper, the successful candidate will work a 5 day rostered week. Hours worked will be as required to meet the needs of the business.

You will support the Head Housekeeper in ensuring the finest attention to detail in relation to the daily cleanliness standards of the 35 bedrooms at Greetham Valley, along with the Lodges, holiday cottage, Lounge Bar, conference and function rooms and all public areas. You will be required to deputise in the absence of the Head Housekeeper.

All applications in writing please by 31st  August 2012 to: Sharon Walpole, HR Manager, Greetham Valley Hotel, Golf and Conference Centre, Wood Lane, Greetham, Oakham, Rutland LE15 7SN or sharon@greethamvalley.co.uk

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Huge field for Greetham Valley’s Captains’ Weekend

Posted by Fred Aspin, Press Officer on July 31, 2012

Greetham Valley’s Captains’ Weekend stableford competition was played off white tees on the Lakes course last Saturday with a great field of over a hundred and thirty in the men’s competition. Scotty Stevenson had a great round to win it, dropping only three shots on the front nine. In the back nine, he had a double bogey on the twelfth and a bogey on the fourteenth, he did however make up for them with birdies on the thirteenth and the last two holes. This gave Scotty the win with forty two points and saw him cut to seven. Paul Clegg off seven dropped only two shots to finish on forty one points for second place and earned a cut to six.

Third place wasn’t so clear cut, as four players came in with thirty eight points; Leon Wych took third on count back, Trevor Smith was fourth and was cut to one and Neil Lowndes was cut to seven and took fifth, Peter Smith was awarded sixth. Tim Rhys Williams was the best junior on the day. 

In the Ladies’ Competition, Sophie Beardsall dropped a shot on the par five second but that was the only mistake on an otherwise faultless round. It was pars all the way until she birdied the eleventh, a further par followed on the next hole then it was a birdie fest for the next four holes, a par three and two par fives. Sophie finished with two solid pars to record a score of forty one points and was rewarded with a cut to scratch. 

Emma Tipping was second with thirty nine points and was cut to 1.6. Ladies’ Vice Captain Sheila Douty was cut to fifteen after finishing third with thirty eight points.

On the Sunday, the second day of the captains’ weekend, a team multiplier was played over twelve holes. This fun format competition was won by Gary Graham, Kevin Burdall and Peter McCall with 121 points. Peter Zimmer Smith, Bill Skinner and Jo Morris were second with 101 and the team of Ian Bain, Dave Morgan and Neil Crees were third with 100 points.

The grand sum of £335 was raised over the weekend to go into the Junior funds, which Junior organiser Pat Jones said would be very welcome and would be put to good use.    

Father and son Shaun and Fraser Denholm had to be separated on count back in the midweek stableford. Both players came in with forty one points but Fraser took the win thanks to a birdie on the seventeenth. Shaun said that he had mixed emotions, pleased that Fraser had won but irritated that he had messed a couple of holes up. Fraser was cut to eight and Shaun to thirteen. Matthew Asher was also cut to thirteen after coming third with thirty nine points.

Neil Harris, who was involved in a collision with a motorcycle in Greetham village on Sunday morning whilst driving to play golf, is now out of hospital albeit bruised and shaken. The motorbike rider remains in a serious condition in hospital and we wish both a speedy recovery.

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Fred and Dave win Seniors Invitation in fine style

Posted by Fred Aspin, Press Officer on July 31, 2012

Members from over twenty five different golf clubs were invited to play as guests in the Greetham Valley Seniors’ Invitation held on a fine sunny Rutland day with hardly a breath of wind on a well prepared Lakes course.  

Fred Aspin and playing partner David Jackson from Burghley Park Golf Club got off to a great start by parring the first and birdieing the second; the pair went on to par the next six holes and birdie the ninth to give themselves twenty four points for the front nine. The pair kept up the momentum and parred the next six holes to put themselves into contention for the win. It all went a little wrong on the par five sixteenth when both players three putted after both hit good shots to get on the green in regulation, this was the first bogie of the day. This was quickly followed by another on the par four seventeenth after one of them landed in the rough fringe at the back of the green and the other landed in the very deep right hand bunker.

They needed to par or birdie on the tough par four eighteenth to be in with a chance of winning, they just missed the putt for the birdie but a simple tap in secured the par to give them a solid score of forty four points.

After sitting down to one of Greetham Valley’s famous carveries, the pair had to wait for the final five team scores to come in to see if the two rather silly bogies had cost them the trophy, luckily they hadn’t, as they were informed that they had won by two clear points.

Dave Jackson said that they had fitted in well together, when one was out of the hole, the other was in it. The two birdies and fourteen pars were great but the mistakes that led to the bogies were irritating lapses in concentration.      

Neil Harris and his partner Geoff Hacket from Ruddington Grange, who were the long time club house leaders, were second with forty two points. Paul Hipwell and partner Rod Wright from Burghley Park were third on count back with forty one points from Keith Godwin and his brother from Hallows Golf Club.

Neil Lowndes won the longest drive and Terry McNulty took the nearest the pin prize. Sponsor Les Dickinson and Seniors Captain Peter Macdonald Pearce presented the trophy. John Dowding had a fantastic hole in one on the tough par three fourteenth.

 Mike Churchill, who was at his registration desk from 8am, organised the competitors in his usual calm manner and suggested that competitors bought raffle tickets. £130 was raised for the Air Ambulance from the Raffle. Well done gents and thank you for your generosity.

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Neil qualifies for English Captains Union finals

Posted by Fred Aspin, Press Officer on July 24, 2012

Former Greetham Valley Men’s Captain Neil Crees came fourth in the eighty eight strong field in the English Captains Union Regional Qualifier last week at Longcliffe with a score of 35 points. Neil has now qualified for the three day National finals in August at Alwoodley. Neil also Qualified for the finals in his Captain’s year in 2010 and won it; the Greetham Valley management, staff and members all wish him the very best of luck for this year.  

Peter Giblett won division one of the July Seniors Medal and the lowest gross with a 79 net 67 and was cut to eleven. David Aldred off eighteen was second with 90, net 72 and fourteen handicapper Keith Godwin was third, he shot a gross 88, net 74.

In the second division, eighty three year old Les Dickinson off twenty took the win and the lowest gross with an 87 net 67 and was cut to eighteen. Roy Foster was second with 92 net 69 and was cut to 22. Seniors’ Captain Peter Macdonald Pearce was third with 97 net 72.

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Ladies’ Club Championships and Medal

Posted by Fred Aspin, Press Officer on July 24, 2012

On the hottest day of the year so far, the Ladies took to the Lakes course to compete in the Ladies 0-24 Handicap Championships. Unlike the men, who play theirs over two days with a cut after the first, the Ladies play the first round in the morning and the second in the afternoon. Defending champion Sophie Beardsall, who has won for the past seven years, felt that the competition was tougher this year than in any other.

After the first round Sophie, who had started out well with a couple of birdies, had a poor finish to end her round with a gross 72. Fellow County team member Emma Tipping was in second place with 76 and Bev Dolman off  11 shot 85 to take third.

The course saw a big change in the second round, when the cooling breeze, which had been very welcome in the morning, suddenly started to blow until it was easily a two club wind and made scoring that much more difficult. Sophie, uncharacteristically, had a couple of three putts on the back nine and came home with a gross 81. Emma shot the lowest gross of the afternoon with 79 and Kay Ropson came into the frame with an 88. Sophie heaved a huge sigh of relief as the final score came in, she thought that she had blown her chances this year. In the end she managed to win the Waycot Bowl for a record eighth year on the trot with 152. Emma finished second with 155 and Kay Ropson managed to push Bev Dolman into fourth place, beating her by one shot with 172. Sophie said that she was extremely pleased to have won but for a while it was touch and go.   

For the past few years Sophie has also won the Dryden Salver for the best net score; this year that honour went to Sue Ker. Sue, who had already dropped three shots in the past week, had two very consistent rounds of 73 and 74 to take the trophy and the title with a splendid 147, she also saw another shot taken off her handicap. Sophie was second on 150 and Emma Tipping was third with 151 on count back from the luckless Bev Dolman who was pushed back to fourth again. Sue said that winning the medal last week had really given her a greater confidence in her abilities and hopes that she can carry this on through the year.

Lesley Young, who was second in the Ladies Landover Trophy last week, didn’t manage to get into the prizes in the championship but she did have the best net round of the day when everybody else struggled in the high wind. She had a fantastic round of 71, including a hole in one on the tough par three fourteenth, unfortunately her morning round of 83, which included several putts that just lipped out, took her out of contention. Lesley was cut by another shot, this takes her to nineteen, just one short of her target for the year of eighteen.  

The Ladies Bunny Cup competition for 25 plus handicappers took place on the same afternoon. Long hitting Jo Morris had a birdie on the tough par four seventeenth to help her complete a round of 34 points to take the trophy and lose a shot off her handicap. Bryony Batch was third with 29 and Christine Slattery who scored 28 points was third.

Kay Ropson won the Ladies mid week medal with a splendid 84, net 76. Gillian Upton was second with 106, net 79 and former Ladies President Beryl Crosland off seventeen was third with a gross 98, net 81.

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Ladies’ competitions and Club Professional

Posted by Fred Aspin, Press Officer on July 19, 2012

Greetham Valley’s Ladies have just enjoyed two days of competition over the weekend. The first day was the July Weekend Medal played on the Lakes course. Despite the changeable conditions twenty five handicapper Sue Ker shot a gross 96, net 71 to win the medal and earn herself a cut to twenty three. Sue said that it was very difficult conditions but that she was very pleased that she kept concentrating on her golf game instead of on the weather. Nine handicapper Heather Morgan was second with a net 78 and took the lowest gross with 81. Kay Ropson came in with an 81 to take the third spot. 

The Ladies were back on the Lakes course on the Sunday to compete for the Lady Landover Trophy which is a stableford competition, and to everyone’s relief, was played in much better weather conditions. Vice Captain Sheila Douty had a great round to come in with forty one points to take the win. She said that she was disappointed with only coming fourth in the medal the previous day but she was pleased with her game especially the birdie on the difficult par four eighteenth. She added that was great to win one of the most sought after trophies in the Ladies calender. Sheila had her handicap cut to sixteen. Lesley Young was second with thirty nine points and was cut to twenty. Sue Ker was third with thirty six and was dropped another shot to take her to twenty two, she was pleased with her consistency and to get a three shot drop over the two days.

The Ladies’ focus is now on next Sunday when their Club Championships take place: can anybody unseat the awesome Sophie Beardsall over the two rounds? is the question they are all asking.  The Ladies Bunny Cup for higher handicappers will also be played for on the same day.

For anyone wanting to improve their game and their chances in being in the top spots in Club competitions comes the news that Jim Hetherington, who has been working as head teaching Pro at Greetham Valley for N1 Golf, has now decided to leave N1 and join Greetham as Club Professional with immediate effect. Jim has been a PGA Professional for almost forty years and has specialised in coaching for the past twelve. He said that he is really looking forward to the different challenges that being a Club Pro will bring and his decision to stay at Greetham Valley is in great part due to the warm welcome and support he has received from many members. Jim is now able to structure the timings of his lessons to group and individual requirements and is very open to suggestions and requests from members. He looks forward to meeting many more of the membership over the summer – thank goodness for covered driving range bays!

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Vice Captain Trevor storms 0 – 18 Club Championship

Posted by Fred Aspin, Press Officer on July 19, 2012

The first day of Greetham Valley’s Men’s two day Club Championship got under way on the Lakes course in changeable Rutland weather conditions, rain followed by sun followed by yet even more rain. Ho hum. The early starters had the worst of it as the intermittent conditions played havoc with the hard work of the green keeping staff by making the greens slower than intended. The persistent breeze finally pushed the rain away and the sun came out to dry things up a little after 1pm and suddenly, the greens were back to their normal quick and true speed. 

One of the early starters was two handicapper, multiple winner and men’s Vice Captain Trevor Smith who shot a gross 75 to leave him in fifth place overall. This was five shots behind one handicapper Jordan Burdall who shot the lowest gross of the day with a fine seventy. Ali McNaughton off eleven had a fantastic round to finish with a gross seventy five, net sixty four to lead the chase for the net championship.

After the first day, the top three in the gross competition were; Jordan Burdall 70, Adam Clegg 72 and Chris Billows 74.  The net was led by Ali McNaughton  64, Adam Clegg in second 67. Chris Billows, Jordan Burdall and Steve Wilkinson all 69, tie for third.

The weather on day two was very different, the sun was out early with just a hint of a breeze giving the competitors a perfect golfing day. The nerves were jangling with most all of the remaining forty four competitors who had made the cut. Chris Billows shot a seventy five to finish third on the day and third overall in the championship. Nick Cunnington recovered from a bit of a shaky start on the Saturday to shoot seventy four to give him second on the day but this combined with Saturday’s seventy seven wasn’t enough to get him into the placings. Adam Clegg shot for him, a disappointing seventy six to finish second overall. 

The really big score of the day went to a very determined Trevor Smith, he knew that in order to win again he would have to really dig deep and play his very best golf. He got off to a great start by birdieing the first three holes and parring the fourth. He had a slight slip on the fifth when he dropped a shot but soon got it back with a birdie on the sixth. After parring the next two holes Trevor was back on track but another dropped shot on the ninth gave him cause for concern. A slight wait on the par three tenth gave him chance to breath and gather himself, he was still two under but knew that he would have to push himself, he has never been one to hope that other competitors fall by the way side and set himself the task of dropping no further shots on the back nine. Trevor parred the next four holes and birdied the sixth, two pars on fifteenth and sixteen were followed by birdies on the final two holes to give him a fantastic score of sixty seven. 

Trevor was very happy with the way that he had stuck to his game plan and while they were disappointing, he didn’t let the two dropped shots worry him. He was however a little gutted when he thought back to the putts that had lipped out on the thirteenth and sixteenth, just one of them would have meant that he would have broken the course record, he said that in a strange way he was disappointed to have only equalled it on a day when he was playing so well. Trevor shot 142 over the two days, to win the President’s Trophy.  

Thanks to his determination to shoot a great score on the second day, Trevor also won the Cunningham Cup for the best net score. He took it on count back from Adam Clegg who took second place; a disappointed Ali McNaughton who shot a net 74 was third, they all had 138 points. Chris Billows was fourth just a point behind on 139. Trevor said that winning the gross was brilliant but to win the net as well was a great bonus. His challenge for 2013 is to win in his Captain’s year, something no other Captain has managed to do.

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Olympic torch visits Greetham Valley

Posted by Dee Hinch, Business & Marketing Director on July 4, 2012

Olympic torch with Victoria Ganley at Greetham ValleyFollowing her Olympic torch relay run in Bourne today, Victoria Ganley from Lincoln refuelled with lunch at Greetham Valley and very kindly posed proudly on our patio for a commemorative photo!

She had been nominated by friends to be a torch bearer due to having had the fortitude to cope with a debilitating illness which has so far required 11 operations.

Victoria said it was an absolutely amazing experience and was delighted to have been selected to be a part of the Olympic story.

Well done Victoria and thank you for coming to visit us as Greetham Valley!

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Ann & Tony win tickets for the Blues Brothers Tribute Night!

Posted by Dee Hinch, Business & Marketing Director on July 4, 2012

All the guests at the fabulous Bee Gees Night at Greetham Valley last Friday were invited to fill in a competition form to win two tickets to the next Greetham Valley Great Night Out – and we received over 200 entries! The lucky winners, drawn today, were Ann and Tony Jones from Melton Mowbray who win two tickets to attend the Blues Brothers Tribute Night on Saturday 8th September!

This promises to be another excellent night of fine food and great entertainment at Greetham Valley - reserve your tickets NOW to avoid disappointment! Phone Hotel Reception on 01780 460444 – tickets are £20pp for a two course meal and live entertainment.

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