Refreshing balance...
⛳️”And their back”.⛳️
⛳️ First off the tee this morning Michael Watt and Charlie Stephen First off the 9 holes are Andrew West and George Moir. Happy golfing guys .⛳️
Albeit on a members only basis to begin with, great to see both courses filled up and people enjoying their game whilst maintaining social distancing.
Dear Member,
I hope this letter finds you and your family in good health and managing well through the current difficulties.
Resumption of Golf
You will by now be aware that the Scottish Government has published a ‘roadmap’ that details a number of phases through which we will gradually move out of lockdown and return to relatively normal life. From this Friday (May 29th) and subject to final confirmation from the First Minister, the Golf Course will reopen for play.
I am writing to you now to set out the new rules and regulations which are largely determined for us by the Scottish Government and Scottish Golf
You will be able to book a game on either the CorbieHill or Rosehill Courses on the Scottish Golf App or by ringing the office from tomorrow (Wednesday) at 12 noon. Please do not try to book before this deadline. Preferred method of booking should be done via the App or Website as this will help guard against overwhelming the office staff. Only those with a confirmed booking in this way may play on the course. We cannot permit ‘walk-on’ games for now.
If you or anyone in your household has any symptoms of COVID 19 or you are ‘shielding’ as defined by the Scottish Government or if you have a cold or flu-like symptoms you should not play golf.
Before setting off to the course, please use your own bathroom facilities as the Clubhouse and the on-course toilets will be closed. You should bring a drink, some food, a small towel and some hand sanitiser.
If your clubs are still in the locker room, you must contact Debbie in the office to arrange a specific time on Friday at which she will provide access to you for this purpose only (please do not use the toilets during this visit as this would represent a significant infection risk).
When parking your car at the club house, please observe social distancing. You can change your shoes from your car boot. If you would otherwise be unable to play without an electric cart, please book one through the office. The putting green will be closed for now.
Please wait in the car park until you can see that the group ahead of you have cleared the first tee and during play, please ensure that you maintain a two metre distance from your playing partner at all times.
The Committee have decided that in order to avoid any confusion, for the time being play will only be permitted in two balls. Solo players are of course also welcome but there should not be any three or four ball play for now. This situation will be kept under constant review.
Play should proceed without delay but at all times staying well away from the group ahead if they are on the tee or the green. You should look for a lost ball on your own. Subject to the usual rules, if you cannot find it please do not return to the tee but rather drop at the nearest point of relief. Do not pick up ‘finds’.
There are no bunker rakes and you should sweep the sand with your feet or club. To avoid slow play, please take a preferred lie in bunkers by placing within one metre. You will find that the hole liners (cups) have been lagged to ensure your ball is easily retrieved.
There will be no competition play for the time being. If you are recording scores please mark only your own card during this time.
You will see during play that all ball washers have been removed and that all benches have been taped off. The on-course toilets will remain closed for now.
At the end of play, please do not shake hands. If you have taken out a buggy please return this to the store entrance and ensure you leave as you find it, taking your rubbish home with you. A volunteer will ensure it is deep cleaned before storage.
You should return to your car and leave the car park without undue delay.
If you follow these guidelines, we will all be able to enjoy our great game without interference.
MEMBER ACCOUNTS
We have also now achieved another significant milestone within the VMS system in that member accounts are now live after a successful final sign off with ScottishGolf yesterday.
This will prove a great help to the club in the current climate and in the future with no cash handling, no access required to clubhouse for closing competitions etc and a real time saving for all the volunteers who help administer the competitions. It will also allow us to take visitor fees up front and collect “open” competition monies prior to the event, again an area where the club has lost out on lots of income in the past.
With the above in mind can I ask members in readiness for the resumption of restarting competition golf currently penciled in for the 13th of June to commence the topping up of their accounts.
Topping up can be done in one of several ways:
1) Via the app and using a preferred credit/debit card
2) Via Calling the office and providing credit/debit card
3) Via the website in the Members Area
4) When the time allows, a Cash transaction at the office
We are currently assessing which is the most time and cost efficient method for top up moving forward and will communicate this is in due course but please be assured that options 1,2 & 3 are no different to providing details for any online purchase and is equally as safe. Our merchant services provider “Stripe” has PCI service provider level 1 credentials which is the highest grade of payment processing security available.
There is an element of credit built into each member’s account which will allow for one game with a zero balance but it is a members responsibility to ensure their account is topped up as required to ensure no disruption to their play.
There are several pre-determined top up amounts laid out which are £20, £25, £30, £35, & £100.
We intend to use the coming days & weeks to allow for a rescheduling of our fixture list and allows time for entry into VMS. This also allows a period of time for the membership to have their account topped up in readiness for the resumption of Competitions. All of the above timelines are subject to change.
Good luck on Friday with your game and I hope we get a great summer for golf.
Yours sincerely,
Stephen Thomson
Captain
On behalf of the Committee
These are the terms and conditions for players booking tee times for Fraserburgh Golf Club’s Open Competitions using the Club’s Internet booking facility. When making payments, members are transferred to an external authorised online merchant’s secure site using SSL technology where credit card details are entered, and payments are made on a secured page.
Payment: This is done by selecting which Open competition you wish to enter, You will then be prompted to enter your details. All payments will be taken at the time the booking is made.
Tee time Selection: This is currently done when payment is completed by contacting the club, this will be integrated into the booking process in the coming months.
Cancellation Policy: Open competition bookings must be cancelled by emailing the office at bookings@fraserburghgolfclub.org Cancellations made 7 days or more before the competition date will be refunded in full. Cancellations made between 3 and 6 days before the competition date will be subject to a 50% refund. No refund will be given for cancellations made 48hrs before the competition. Course Closed or Competition Cancelled: If the competition is cancelled at least one day or on the day of the competition a new date will be arranged if you are unable to attend the re-scheduled date a full refund will be issued.
Handicaps: Competitions are open to all players who have a recognised current CONGU/WHS handicap, with limits as defined on the entry form for any given competition.
We hope everyone is keeping well and continues to be in good health.
The latest update from the government on Monday has given us a glimmer of hope that we may be able to resume golf in some form in the next few weeks but again as it currently stands the advice from the Scottish Government remains the same, Stay at home, protect the NHS and save lives.
We saw the excitement build hoping to get back playing potentially this week and saw a few tee bookings being made but hopefully the first Minister will provide more clarity on Thursday as promised.
With the above in mind and all the current uncertainties it was agreed at last night’s committee meeting that all booking of tee times have been disabled until further notice and will be made active once we have a few more definitive answers from the government and governing bodies. This is true of the APP and the newly launched website. Details of the latest guidance can be found at the following links:
The time in the coming weeks will allow us to get a few things progressed. It will allow the green-keeping staff to continue to ready the course for play. We should all congratulate the green staff and Jim in particular for the current course condition as its looking immaculate and in first class order considering Jim has been on his own since the onset of the COVID-19 outbreak. This additional delay also provides them time to collate a plan on how we get back on the course in a safe and efficient manner.
It also gives us time to implement further enhancements off the course also, we have seen the launch of the new website which we believe will provide great benefit to the club and accelerate and grow our social media presence
We also plan to have the “Member Accounts” live soon which will assist us greatly in the post lockdown environment where if permission allows we can potentially be setup for competition play without the use of the clubhouse facilities which as I’m sure you would all agree may be closed for some time. This also benefits with the reduction of cash handling etc. Details of how to top-up etc. will follow in due course once they are active in the system.
The “Corbie Links lotto” is getting closer to launch after receiving the necessary licensing yesterday and are currently finalising the bank details and will announce more details in due course.
I’d like to finish on a more sombre note in that as has been previously mentioned in updates, the club stands to lose a substantial 5 figure sum this financial year due to the impact of COVID-19 despite the mitigations that we have already put in place. Those losses may continue into the next financial year if both the course and clubhouse facilities are not able to operate to normal capacity by the end of September.
We have applied for and been refused two grants that were potentially available to Golf clubs, one being the business grant from the government which we didn’t qualify for due to our rateable value and the latest one where an application was submitted for assistance from the Creative, Tourism & Hardship fund which again came to no avail.
It’s unfortunate in that when golf stops the bills and expenditure do not. We still have many costs to the club in terms of course maintenance, utility bills, wages for the 2 staff that have not been furloughed and several other areas which all require the money to be spent daily. It is likely that once the course re-opens we will need to bring back more of the greens staff but will generate little additional income if visitors are not able to travel or use the clubhouse facilities.
We are not in the fortunate enough position to have an endless supply of finance and as already described latest forecasting.
We had planned to make several improvements over the coming year, which have had to be placed on hold or cancelled entirely.
It is to this end we are reminding all members that donations are readily welcomed to help us with the potential deficit we face.
It’s possible with a decent level of support from the membership that we can potentially both lessen the deficit faced and make some improvements to the facility as a whole.
Stay safe & Stay healthy
Stephen Thomson
Captain
On behalf of the Committee
We hope everyone is keeping well and is in good health.
We are probably approaching the end of the initial part of lockdown and golf is likely to commence soon but we will continue to follow the SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT’S advice which at the time of writing is to “stay at home, protect the NHS and save lives”.
During this difficult lockdown period the committee, whilst focusing our main efforts to ensure a safe and secure future have also adopted a holistic approach to all areas of the club and thought it prudent to update you with some of the work that is being carried out.
The fantastic work Jim and his team have done over the last few years with the on-course experience it was felt necessary to try and progress the other side of the business to a level befitting the work already being done.
Obviously the COVID-19 outbreak and the consequent closure of the club brought finances into sharp focus and I wish to make special mention to our Treasurer Paul Dixon who has carried out a power of work in this regard to try and ensure we are as suitably protected as we can be.
All existing contracts that the club have been reviewed and mitigation been put in place where possible to try and protect our financial position. We have also made use of a free software program which has allowed us to collate all contracts and make them accessible in a central location thus reducing the endeavours moving forward with regards to renewals etc.
As you will be aware from previous updates we hope to have member accounts live on VMS soon and will forward details of how to top-up accounts in due course but again this was an area where we thought we had to progress as it provides many benefits including the potential for competition play even with the clubhouse closed and means no sums of money need be handled or kept at the club during times of closure.
Tee times are also an area of focus and will have to be adopted if we are to maintain a satisfactory level of social distancing once we can resume playing golf, this can be done on the App or contacting the office prior to arrival.
Another area where a lot of work has been done is the area of Marketing, Commercial activity and increasing our online presence. Part of the attraction in the VMS software system was the inclusion of a hosted integral website.
As our VMS focal point Eddie McDonald has been spending the last few weeks to try and get this new website up to a level where we can make it live. This new website is directly linked to VMS so any booking made via the website will directly link to the booking sheet and will allow us to receive payment online for both visitor bookings and our Open competitions which will greatly reduce the administration in these areas.
The website will also include a “Members Area” which can be used to access upcoming competitions and book tee times etc so in addition to the aforementioned options for booking a tee time there will also be an option to do via the new website also which in turn should capture members who do not make use of the App etc. All App users can access this content with their ScottishGolf logon details.
Obviously, the new website is still under construction but the web address to preview it is: https://fraserburghgolfclub.org/
you may have to copy and paste the link.
I would encourage all members to logon and preview the work Eddie has done up to this point. Options for content are under review but it will give a flavour for what’s on offer.
As part of his work for the website Eddie has also been researching the History of the Club and has included several interesting articles in the Club History page, A rich and varied history which we should all celebrate.
He has also amassed a great deal of press clippings from as far back to when the club moved from its original location at the links to our current location in 1891 and James Braid’s visit in 1922. The intention will be to integrate as much of this as possible onto the website.
I along with the rest of the Committee want to express a special word of thanks to Eddie for his work on this as building websites doesn’t form part of his day job!
Certain areas of the clubhouse has also seen a bit of a “freshen up” so thanks to Debbie and partner David in this regard also.
The new “Corbie Links” lottery is progressing, and we hope to share details on this very soon.
We appreciate your continued support, Stay safe, Stay Healthy.
Stephen Thomson
Captain
On behalf of the Committee
Below is a selection of reviews of the course.
https://www.top100golfcourses.com/golf-course/fraserburgh-corbie-hill
https://www.golfshake.com/course/view/14776/Fraserburgh_Golf_Club.html
https://www.golfempire.co.uk/golf-course-reviews/fraserburgh-golf-club.htm
https://www.golfdigest.com/story/dont-miss-fraserburgh-golf-clu
HEALTH AND SAFETY
1. GENERAL STATEMENT
The Health and Safety of all our employees, members, guest, clients, customers, patients, contractors, visitors and members of the public, etc. is of paramount importance to Fraserburgh Golf Club.
2. COMPANY RESPONSIBILITIES
Fraserburgh Golf Club will ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all employees. It will manage its business in such a way and so far is reasonably practicable that the safety and welfare of persons not employed by Fraserburgh Golf Club are not exposed to risk.
This policy document explains in broad terms, what must be done by everyone within Fraserburgh Golf Club to achieve these objectives.
3. OBJECTIVES AND COMMITMENT
3.1 Our objectives toward fulfilling this policy are to:
* Review and develop these standards continuously and when changes in Legislation, industry practice or technology occur, revise them accordingly.
* Concentrate on the elimination of risks to persons, as a first priority, then on risk reduction, prevention of injury and loss due to damage.
* Identify the health and safety hazards and manage those hazards so that the risks are effectively controlled, in accordance with this Fraserburgh Golf Club policy.
* Work to safety standards, which satisfy our statutory requirements and reflect good industry working practice.
3.2 We our committed to consult with employees on health, safety and welfare issues by:
* Ensuring that our employees are trained to understand and carry out their job responsibilities. This will involve, but will not be limited to, selection, training, re-training, supporting and continuous assessment of employee performance.
* Continually monitoring this policy by auditing and reviewing its effectiveness in the workplace.
4. LEGAL OBLIGATIONS
Fraserburgh Golf Club recognises the legal obligations placed on it by the Health & Safety at Work etc act 1974 and other Statutory Legislation, as may be applicable to our undertaking
Our Health and Safety documentation and records are kept in the Managers office and will be made freely accessible to our employees, members, guests, clients, customers, patients, contractors, visitors, members of the public and persons who may be affected by our operations.
Fraserburgh Golf Club is committed to providing an environment that is free of discrimination, harassment and intimidation for members, employees and guests.
Members, guests and visitors are all reminded that an acceptable standard of behaviour is expected in all areas of the Club and course, at all times and that upon payment of membership or green fees, all members, guests and visitors have given their consent to be bound by both the restrictions and penalties which may be imposed for any breach of the club’s standards or serious misconduct in failing to meet the standards set in this Code of Conduct.
Members will be liable for any breach committed whether by themselves or their guests.Fraserburgh Golf Club has adopted the following Code of Conduct as a Local Rule:
On the course, all Golfers must:
All players are expected to play in The Spirit of the Game.
Avoid slow play, apply Ready Golf principles and allow other golfers to play through as appropriate.
Maintain a speed of play by keeping up with the group in front.
Adhere to any applicable dress code and local rules of the course.
Demonstrate fair play both on and off the course.
Always follow established golf etiquette such as repairing pitch marks, replacing divots, raking bunkers.
Showing the necessary respect to fellow golfers at all times, which incorporates; no shouting on the course, no misuse of equipment (i.e. throwing clubs in frustration etc.), no aggressive behavior, or the taking of performance enhancing drugs.
Conduct yourself in a sportsmanlike manner and do not knowingly cheat, disrespect employees. Officials or fellow players.
In the clubhouse and/or the Grounds of Fraserburgh Golf Club:Members, guests and visitors are reminded that:
Any form of discrimination, harassment or intimidation is regarded as unacceptable behavior.
Consumption of excessive quantities of alcohol is not permitted by law. Please do not be offended if service is refused.
The use of foul or abusive language such as swearing has no place in the clubhouse and any member heard using unacceptable or offensive language will be asked to either stop or leave the premises.
Where someone is noticed to be consistently using bad language after being warned then their continued membership will be reviewed accordingly.
Smoking or the use of e-cigarettes is not permitted within any of the club buildings.
The taking of illegal substances will incur immediate suspension and loss of membership.
Be considerate towards others when using your Mobile phone in the clubhouse.
Whilst fully acknowledging that adult “banter” contributes to creating a healthy atmosphere among members, these rules are designed to safeguard others who find such banter offensive or intimidating.
This Code of Conduct is not intended to create a bureaucratic, regulatory environment, but rather to promote and enhance our Club’s values.
A person engaging in any behaviour that may be detrimental to the game of golf or Fraserburgh Golf Club is in breach of the code of conduct and should be reported to the Club Captain.
It is in the best interests of the game that such behavior is reported, and all players,members and members of the public are encouraged and have a duty to report such behavior.
