As I am sure you all know, the Scottish Government has announced further lockdown restrictions for the whole country and this will affect access to the golf course. The good news is that the course CAN remain open for members and guests. These are very challenging times for everyone and there could be even more demand for golf , but the light is short at this time of year and of course there are further restrictions being implemented, to try and suppress the virus. We hope that all members of Broomieknowe will understand the challenges that we face in the coming months and we would ask you all to be as supportive of all members as possible during these challenging times.

To help manage the challenges we face, tonight I held a meeting of council and have agreed to implement the following changes from midnight tonight (Monday 4th January):

• Course closed until Friday 8th January at least – due to frost/waterlogging, the course will remain closed from Tuesday to Thursday 7th
• 13 holes only – the bottom field is likely to remain closed until the end of January
• 2 balls from up to 2 households – golf can only be played in 2-balls
• Current Tee times booked have all been removed – all times booked have been removed to adhere to the 2-ball rule
• Tee sheet – it will re-open at 18:30 hrs on Wednesday 6th January for the booking of 2-balls from Friday 8th January. No bookings will be accepted before 18:30 and any member booking before will have their names removed.
• 8.15am to 8.45am – we are talking to BRS about amending the system to create 2-3 more tee times “from 1st light”
• Visitors are NOT permitted to play
• Guests are still welcome to play with a member
• Names of both players MUST be added to the BRS system – for Track and Trace purposes

Frequency of play – consider your fellow members
The Council would also like to try and allow as many members as possible the opportunity to play the course at least once per week. Therefore, we would respectfully ask those members that can play anytime to play during the week (weather permitting) and avoid booking times for Saturday and Sunday mornings. Of course, it tee times are still available within say 48hrs of the week-end, then feel free to full up those available tee times. We have discussed restricting members to only being able to play twice a week, to allow all members the opportunity to play, and if members are not being considerate this will be considered.

The Council may consider other options as the pandemic develops including operating a ballot of tee times, especially at the week-ends, but this adds considerable amount of additional administration, which we would prefer to avoid.

And please remember its fastest finger first and those members with a strong Wi-Fi connection seem to be the most successful at booking times.

Please remember to adhere to Covid-19 guidelines, when attending, playing and leaving the golf course.

Happy golfing – when the course re-opens!!

George Clark
Captain

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Following discussion with Hamish, Council agree mats should be introduced from Tuesday 3rd November.

They should be used from fairway, through the green and from rough. They must be used on all par 3 tees and I encourage members to use them from any tee where using an iron.

Can I also ask members to check the morning notification issued by the team. Those with trolleys and sit on buggies should avoid areas around greens and any visibly worn parts of the course. Under no circumstance should sit on buggies be used in the bottom field when the team have confirmed earlier that they should not be.

Many thanks,

Ross Fisher
Greens Convenor