The new Putting Green will open for play on Thursday 8th May with the final of a new Putting Competition planned for Sunday 25th May
I, like many Members, have been eagerly anticipating the opening of the new Putting Green and it is a great pleasure to announce that it will open for play from Thursday 8th May at 9am.
The opening day will welcome Members to enjoy the green at their leisure as well as providing Members with the opportunity to talk putting techniques, styles and green reading methods with The Wisley’s PGA Professionals.
Additionally on the 8th, there will be an opportunity to trial a large range of different putters and this opportunity will be repeated regularly over the coming season.
The Wisley Putter
The new green provides us with an opportunity to introduce and play for a new trophy – The Wisley Putter – with a Putting Shoot Out planned for Sunday 25th May.
A putting competition has been talked about for a couple of years and the opening of the new practice green is the ideal catalyst. The Club would like to say a huge thank you to Lars Torpe Christoffersen who has very kindly agreed to sponsor a trophy for the event.
What is this year’s format and how do you make it to this year’s Final?
From Saturday 10th May to Thursday 22nd May (10am – 2pm) a member of the Golf Operations Team will be on hand at the Putting Green each day to help you register a qualifying score over a 12-hole “course”. This score along with a skills test will be registered as your qualifying score.
The top 36 players will then be announced and paired into one of six flights to compete on the 25th May leading to a Putting Shoot Out.
On the 25th, the final will include pre-, during and post-round refreshments. Competitors – choose your beverage with caution or maybe not, and for Members watching who doesn’t enjoy a glass of Pimm’s served on the putting green?
The format will be a round robin playing a head to head match against the five other Members in each flight with points being awarded in the usual manner. Then simply the winner of each flight will qualify for the Shootout.
The Putting Shoot Out
This will challenge all facets of putting, line, speed control and green reading as well as a bonus element thrown in for good measure.
All six flight winners as well as a seventh “Wild Card” player will progress to the first of a six-hole sudden death knockout. As play progresses, the highest score on each hole will be eliminated (settled by a closest to the hole if the score is tied) until the final two duel it out on the last hole to crown the winner.
Preferred Lies & Drop Zones
The courses good condition combined with the warmer temperatures means that the last day of preferred lies was Wednesday 30th April; so now please play the ball as it lies from Thursday, 1st May!
The drop zones on Church 3, Mill 7 and Garden 3 are no longer marked by a white line, please now drop your ball within two club lengths of the blue Drop Zone post. We are trialling this to see if this approach results in better conditioned Drop Zones.