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Tee Bookings
A number of you have been in touch regarding the recent email informing you that we were going to stop the ability to book into other people's tee times. Please rest assured we are not trying to take away the joy of Piltdown, and the ability for you all to mix with each other, but we were trying to alleviate a problem that has become quite common in recent months. I will give you 3 examples:
1) A married couple had booked a tee time one Sunday afternoon to play a 2 ball with each other, and at the last minute 2 x 16 year old lads added their names to the booking, and thus created a fourball. The couple just wanted a quiet game together, and understandably did not really want to play with the 2 lads, so ended up sacrificing their tee time, giving it to the lads to play, and then had to wait well over an hour to get themselves a new tee time.
2) Two relatively new lady golfers had booked in to play at around 11am one day. They then had 2 low handicap men join their booking to make up a four. Again, the ladies, who perhaps felt they weren't quite ready to be thrown into that environment, were not that keen to play with the 2 chaps. This then created an awkward situation on the 1st tee.
3) Two men had booked a tee time to play a knock-out match. It was a busy day, and two other members who were looking for a tee time last minute, added themselves to their booking, thus creating a fourball which is not really ideal for a knock-out match situation.
These are all real situations that have happened in recent months, and there are other similar ones I could list as well.
With the new experimental change, all we are asking is that members make contact in advance with the person whose tee time they want to join. 95% of the time, I am sure there will be no problem, but it at least gives the member who has booked the time the ability to say no.
Competition tee times will continue to be open for anyone to join another booking, so the above experiment only applies to general tee time bookings.
I hope that helps clarify what we are trying to do, but as always we are open for feedback. Please contact me directly, or pop in for a chat.
Finally, in the next few days, we'll be emailing you to ask you to participate in a survey to help us work out how we can improve our social calendar next year. Again, your feedback will be much appreciated.
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2025 Junior awards
Before this year’s Junior Awards Presentation got underway, our young golfers took part in a fun Flag Competition out on the course. The standard of play was excellent, with William Hart finishing closest to the pin, just three feet from the flag on the 9th hole. Hot on his heels was Poppy-Alice Ashby, only a foot further away. A fine effort from both, and a great way to start the afternoon’s celebrations.
Following the on-course action, everyone gathered for the presentation of prizes.
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The prestigious Glynne-Jones Trophy was awarded to William and Oliver Hart, who have both shown remarkable progress this year. Each has reduced their handicap by more than 20 shots, taken part in numerous club and external events, and earned well-deserved selection for the county development squad. A fantastic achievement and a credit to their dedication.
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Rounding off the day’s honours, Wilbur and Jemima Ashby took home the spoils in the Foursomes Flag Competition, showcasing great teamwork and skill.
Well done all, it's great to see that the future of the club looks very bright indeed!
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More Success for George
Congratulations to George Goddard who won the individual title in the recent overseas Pro Am in Portugal.
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George shot scores of 36, 38, 40 and 38 - total of 8 under par. His team were also victorious - here they are pictured on the first tee - Adrian Gander, Robert Kitchen & John Magrath. George claims he has been teaching them all - hence the success - well I had a lesson with him last week and I am definitely still waiting for the magic to start!!!
This team narrowly pipped the team led by his boss - our very own Jason. His team of Jan Nawrocki, peter Keith-Lucas & Rob Zijlstra were leading all week up to the last day.
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Unders Edge Overs in Thrilling Piltdown Classic
Saturday 8th November 2025
Piltdown Golf Club once again played host to one of its most cherished traditions — the annual Under 60s v Over 60s match. Sixty men took to the course in friendly yet fiercely contested foursomes, showcasing everything that makes Piltdown such a special place.
The day began in a soft autumn mist, and gave the opening holes a certain level of trepidation. But as the morning wore on, the fog lifted to reveal a crisp, glorious morning, in fact perfect golfing conditions for what turned into one of the tightest contests in recent years.
From the very first tee shot, it was evident that neither side would give an inch. The Overs, drawing on their guile and years of course knowledge, matched by the enthusiasm and energy of the Unders, with little to separate the two teams as the matches progressed.
When the final cards were tallied, incredibly the score stood delicately poised at 7.5 v 7.5 — a dead heat on paper. Yet, by the slimmest of margins, and the much awaited countback on holes won and by just two holes up overall — the Under 60s emerged as victors, reclaiming bragging rights in a finish that could not have been scripted better.
With the competitive edge settled, both sides came together for a well-earned lunch in the clubhouse, where laughter, storytelling, and most importantly friendly ribbing was the main theme.
This fixture remains one of Piltdown’s great occasions not merely for the golf, but for what it represents. The Under v Over match embodies the true spirit and ethos of the club.
Thanks to all who took part in making the day such a success.
Derek & Simon
Pro League Starts Tomorrow
The annual Pro League event starts tomorrow. There will be 72 hardy souls battling it out in the morning, and then enjoying brunch and a cheese board after the round. Who will take an early lead this year?
LegMedMarks are playing TransEdServices
PropEngCons are playing BanFinAccs
FoDriConsumers are playing InvInsuPens
Good luck to all players, especially those new members making a Pro League Debut!
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Fairway Mats
Mixed feedback so far, but the vast majority has been positive, especially for those of you who have tried or upgraded to the Spurk mats. I am delighted to say that Jason now has these in stock, so if you haven't treated yourself yet, now would be a good time. Pop into the Pro Shop at anytime.
Most of you are finding it much easier to strike the ball from the mat as opposed to the muddy or sandy fairways, and a number of you have said we should make them compulsory for all winter golf.
We didn't want to do that straight away, as we wanted to give you all the chance to get used to the mats and make your own mind up. If you haven't tried one yet, do please give it a go, and if you would like to try a Spurk mat to see how they perform in comparison with the free Club owned ones, do please let us know and we can arrange for you to borrow one.
As a reminder, the current rule relating to mats is as follows:
For all handicap qualifying competitions, and any time you are putting a score in for handicap, then you MUST use a fairway mat.
General Play - If you are playing a social game, or a non-qualifying competition, unless it is otherwise stipulated, then you can decide whether to use a mat or not.
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Course update
After saying that we were going to try and keep buggies on for as long as possible, unfortunately the 16mm of rain that we had on Monday put a stop to that plan as it just got a bit too wet and slippery out there. Having said that, we didn’t get as much rain as first forecast the following days, which was a nice surprise. Next week, it looks like the temperature will drop by quite a bit which will be very welcome as this will cause the disease pressure to drop.
We started our first tree clearance project of the Autumn with clearing the gorse, brambles and silver birch around the blue tee on the 2nd. This will enable us to make the blue tee bigger and more fit for purpose. It will also open up the view of the fairway from the yellow, red and white tees, making it easier to spot your ball which should help to speed up play on that hole.
Heather wise, the guys have continued their efforts with the turfing on the mounds, which is almost complete now.
 
The grillo has behaved itself since its return and has been out all week cutting areas on 1, 3, the area between 9,10 and 11, 12, the area between 14,15 and 16, the areas on 16 itself and the left hand side of 17.
 
The blowing of leaves has been a constant again this week. All the time the trees still have leaves on, this will be a daily task. Once they have finally shed everything, we can get them cleared totally.
We have cut the greens when we can this week and also given them a roll, but it’s been too wet to get on other areas. With next week being cold and dry, hopefully we will be able to get on those areas again. The cold weather will start to slow the growth a lot, which reduces the need for mowing anyway.
Many thanks
Chris Ahier
Deputy Course Manager
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