The Captains went to The Wingate Centre to present charity cheque to Sarah Hampton from our members. £8,473.56 has been raised (to-date) providing the equivalent of 96 nights accommodation for the children.

The justgiving page will stay open until the AGM - 25th January 2021.

Twenty hardy souls turned out to play for Captain v Lady Captain on Saturday in absolutely dire weather.

As the greens were flooding only holes 1,2,3,9 & 10 were played. Format was 4 ball better ball, it was all square until the last team came in with a win for Mr Captain.

An ‘enjoyable’ day played with good humour and socially distanced drinks in the clubhouse afterwards. The gulls certainly enjoyed washing in the “lakes” on the greens!

As the season draws to a close it is imperative that as a business we continue to invest in our product and play our due diligence to keep the courses at Portal moving in the right direction, following a challenging year for the resort and the club.

I am keen to ensure we stay in line with the maintenance strategy set out at the start of the year so that we can continue to progress the playing conditions across the resort at Macdonald Portal, Golf & Spa.

The plan of action during October will be a combination of:

• Hollow coring
• Tining
• Sand slitting
• Further drainage
• Additional bunker renovation
• Path maintenance to worst affected areas
• Tree work/pruning

This work will be carried out by the ground staff and will require support from the members and visitors to be cautious of this.

Please give priority when needed, so works can be completed in an time efficient manner.

Thank you for your patience and co-operation at this important stage of the year.

Kind regards

Ross Astley
Director of Golf

Yes folks this is not a typo!

Just ahead of the commencement of 2020-21 Winter League the final of the 2019-2020 pairs took place on Sunday 27th September, on a beauty of a day.

Winners Rich Green and Rob Evans won 3 & 1
Runners Up Steve Houlston and Alan Gregory.

The match was played in great conditions on the Premier course, refereed by Mr Captain (Simon Harper), pictured below handing the trophy to the winning pair....before sanitizing again for the umpteenth time!

Initial works have begun for a full drainage program for the 4th hole at the Premier. Whilst the weather is remotely on our side it’s important we action now before the climate turns against us in Autumn, causing the movement of machinery to this affected area very hazardous..

Works that have recently been completed:

A full verti drain, roughly 8” deep, across the bottom of the hole to support the prevention of surface water. (images below). The French drain project is well underway with 3 drains also known as ‘spurs’ currently dug - these will be filled with piping and stone to again, help guide the surface water to the ‘central spine’ which ultimately take excess water into the mains. Another 5 of the spurs are planned to be dug, weather permitted, within the next 2 weeks.

Barry (Head Greenkeeper) and his teams aim is to Herringbone this full area. This is a best practise for spaces such as these with large surface areas of drainage to cover and also with less depth required for the installed drains to achieve their required purpose.

Additionally to the above project which is ongoing; the items below have also been completed, on top of the regular cutting regime;

• 4th fairway, 5th greenside & 8th greenside bunkers have been brought back into play after them being GUR following the recent weather.
• Deep scarification completed on practise green 2 weeks ago, which has nicely repaired after extensive thatch removal to complement the playing surface and drainage. The aim is first week in October to move onto the main greens for this aeration project.
• Length of the rough around the hazard lines has been actioned with parameter cuts now completed on 6th, 9th, RHS of 11th - this is ongoing with aim of completion being COP this week.
• Brambles/weeds/nettle boundary works - this is a huge job, but necessary. Work is progressing with this action point, currently completed as I hope you will notice is behind the 4th/ 8th green & 15th/ 18th tee beds which were clearly encroaching on the playing surface and hole viewpoints.
• Fairway widening - both golf ops team and greens have had a lot of feedback from both guests and members on fairway width. To support both the playability and enjoyment factor, 16th and 18th fairways have been widened which should also help speed of play.
• Work has begun on the new landing area/fairway on 17th - The team have lowered the height of cut in preparation for the fairway mower, this is a stepping stone process but hopefully will be in play by the COP this week.
• Outside furniture/seating capacity - capacity has been increased to 28 outside seats from the initial 12, spike bar has increased to 28 with the shop moving back to its initial placement, the trophy room is now open for seating, hosting 24 and the greens room is now available for up to 24. All inline with Macdonald Covid set guidelines with the correct social distancing measures in place.
• Catering - it’s a pleasure to announce that as of last Friday the kitchen reopened. Initially this will be focused on the mid to high peak operational time-frames but as a business we will assess on a weekly basis.
  
  Ross Astley
  Director of Golf

This year there was a joint Captains’ Day instead of the usual separate days. Unfortunately, due to the dreaded COVID-19, the festivities after the game were cancelled. Welcome drinks halfway round were provided by the Captains, Simon & Dot along with gifts on the first tee.

59 men & 15 ladies enjoyed the day with Chris Turner winning the men’s trophy with a magnificent nett 69 on a count back from Rob Cobain.

Amy Lester taking the ladies’ trophy with 35 points on a count back from Rhian Jones.

Congratulations to the winners and thanks to the Captains for a great day.

Twenty three of Portal’s past Captains had a very enjoyable day at Wilmslow Golf Club recently, and despite the dreaded virus regulations managed a few beers on the terrace after the game.

Rosemary Lilley and Ben McDyre respectively won the ladies’ & gent’s shields, congratulations to them both.

Many thanks to Rhian Jones & Judy Piper for organising the day, volunteers required for next year’s event :)

Many congratulations to Patti Vincent and Steve Bolton winning through the 1st round of the Mizuno Pairs Competition. Playing at home against 6 & 11 handicappers they battled through to win 2&1. Well played both and good luck in the next round. :)