August Woodpecker 2026
August Woodpecker 2026
Celebrating Longstanding Membership
A warm congratulations to those members who have recently reached the remarkable milestone of over 50 years of playing membership at West Byfleet Golf Club.
Between them they have given West Byfleet half a century of loyal support, through droughts, downpours and no small amount of change. We are delighted to recognise:
- Martin Baker
- Brian Marshall
- Terry Christy
- Derek Petters
- David Crowder
- Colin Harding
- Alan Gwynn
How Times Have Changed
Fifty years of membership also means fifty years of subscription renewals. The letter below, sent from the Secretary's Office on 15th April 1975, confirmed a new Restricted member's election to the club and set out what it cost to join.
Our Champions for 2026
Congratulations to all four of our club champions, crowned across a busy summer of championship golf.
Club Champion
Ladies Club Champion
Junior Champion
Nick Flynn took the Doresa Challenge Cup over the weekend of 4th and 5th July with rounds of 72 and 69 for a winning total of 141.
Rachel Higgins retained the Ladies Club Championship in June, winning the trophy for a third time in testing conditions across the two days.
Peter Coote won the Seniors Championship on Friday 10th July with 43 points.
Alex Mowbray claimed the Junior Club Championship on Friday 24th July, posting 79 and 74 for a total of 153.
Congratulations to all four, and to everyone who competed across the championship season.
Inaugural Gay Long Trophy
The inaugural Gay Long Trophy was played this month, providing members with an excellent and competitive day's golf in memory of Gay Long.
Congratulations to Keith Waters and Margaret Hankey, who were the winners of this first staging of the event. We look forward to seeing the trophy become a popular fixture in the club calendar for many years to come.
Past Ladies' Captains Golf and Lunch
It was lovely to see 21 of our 23 Past Ladies' Captains come together for lunch, after most of the group played golf in very warm, fast conditions.
The trophy was won by Sue Austin with 41 points.
MacKenzie Bowl Success
Congratulations to Golf Group Chair Richard Watkins and Golf Operations Manager Calum Gordon, who represented West Byfleet in the MacKenzie Bowl at Hadley Wood Golf Club.
The MacKenzie Bowl is named in honour of Dr Alister MacKenzie, the golf course architect who laid out Hadley Wood in 1922 and whose other work includes Augusta National, Cypress Point and Royal Melbourne.
Competing in a fourball better ball format, Richard and Calum produced an outstanding score of 42 points to secure victory.
Charity Day: A Message of Thanks
West Byfleet Golf Club's charity golf day was a fantastic success, bringing together members, guests, sponsors and volunteers for a memorable day of fundraising in support of Sensory Services by Sight for Surrey.
Blessed with beautiful weather, golfers enjoyed a range of activities throughout the day, including the popular "Beat the Pro" challenge, a Scotty Cameron putter fitting experience and an ultrasonic club cleaning service.
The evening featured a sold-out tombola, a lively auction and an excellent meal, all made possible by the hard work of staff, volunteers and generous supporters.
A highlight of the evening was hearing from Jay Bastable, the charity's partially sighted Golf Ambassador. Jay shared his personal story, speaking about how the charity helped transform his life after sight loss and the difference its services make to people across Surrey every day.
Charity Day continued
Lisa Fletcher, Head of Fundraising and Engagement, said: "A special thank you to West Byfleet Golf Club for choosing Sensory Services by Sight for Surrey as this year's charity. It was an incredible day and everyone had a great time."
Thank You to Our Sponsors
Our thanks go to all our sponsors, whose support made the day possible:
- Pro Shop at West Byfleet Golf Club
- Lodge Brothers
- Pilgrims Sales & Lettings
- Natta
- Richard State Estate Agents
- Alan Whatling
Thank you also to Today's Golfer magazine, De Vere Horsley Estate and Woodlands Park Hotel for the raffle prizes they donated.
Finally, congratulations to the winning team from West Byfleet, Roy Coxon, Findlay McClymont, Andrew Freeman and David Phillpot, who achieved an excellent score of 92 points.
Rules Corner: Dropping at the 13th
Dropping at the 13th hole, and at any yellow penalty area, is covered by Rule 17.
Scenario A
Your tee shot (red line) lands in the penalty area. You have two relief options, each under penalty of one shot. Firstly, stroke and distance: replay the tee shot, playing three off the tee.
Secondly, go back on the line from the flag through the point where the ball last crossed the penalty area (dotted line) and drop under penalty. That is the only place you can drop: not to the side of the pond, and not on the greenside of it.
Rules Corner continued
Scenario B
Your tee shot (red line) crosses the penalty area, hits one of the fir trees and bounces back into the penalty area. You still have the same two relief options under penalty of one shot.
Back-on-the-line relief is again taken along a line from the flag through the point where the ball last crossed the penalty area (dotted line), dropping under penalty.
With the layout of the 13th, the only practical option is stroke and distance, as 99.9% of the time going back on that line will take you into the jungle.
Remember that the ball must be dropped on the line. The spot where the ball first touches the ground then creates a relief area of one club-length in any direction from that point. This also applies to all back-on-the-line procedures, such as an unplayable ball.
Course Report: August 2026
This summer has certainly been an experience and, in all honesty, not one I wish to repeat. However, with this year's drought following on from last year's, it is likely to be a scenario we face with increasing regularity. Consequently, we are already considering how we can adapt our operations to better manage such conditions in the future.
There are no rainfall figures to share with you this month (I will save those for autumn and winter!). The last measurable rainfall recorded on site was on 10th June.
By now, I am sure many of you will be aware that we are no longer permitted to use mains water on the course. As a result, only water from the borehole and our existing reservoir reserves is being used. Irrigation is currently limited to greens and tees, with tees watered on alternate days only.
Greens
Due to the Graden scarification machine we hired arriving with a fault, we had to amend our renovation plans for the greens. We used large 15mm hollow tines to a depth of five inches, removing a significant amount of thatch, and the team worked exceptionally hard to complete the process within just two days.
Following coring, an initial 40 tonnes of sand dressing was applied. The sand worked into the cores extremely well, allowing us to apply a further 25 tonnes the following Tuesday. Being able to apply 65 tonnes of sand to the greens in a single operation is a significant achievement and will greatly benefit us as we move into autumn.
Recovery from the work has generally been very good, particularly considering the severity of the treatment. However, it has highlighted the importance of providing the greens with as much sunlight as possible.
The photographs below of the 9th green were taken ten days after treatment. The first shows an area that receives good sunlight from early morning; the second shows an area that remains shaded until the afternoon.
As you can see, the first area recovered fully in under ten days. The second still has some way to go due to the lack of sunlight it receives, a reminder of how limited light levels are on some of our greens even in early August.
These shaded sections remain cold and damp overnight and well into the day, and are likely to experience the first outbreaks of fusarium patch as we move into September. We will continue to do everything we can to minimise any damage, but ultimately we remain at the mercy of the weather.
Course Report: August 2026
Divot Bottles
Please could members have another look through their homes and bags and see if they have any spare divot bottles they can return to the bins provided. Over 650 bottles have been put out in total, and we now only seem to have around 30 in circulation.
Fish in the Pond
With water levels in the pond on the 13th hole dropping significantly during the recent hot weather, it was felt important to act in the best interests of the fish by relocating them to the amenity lake. The amenity lake provides a larger and more stable environment, and we are confident that this move will give the fish a much better opportunity to thrive in the months ahead.
Jon Hutton, Course Manager
