The golfing season is well under way with a number of honour board events played and won and other major events progressing. It is again timely to bring to the attention of members some important items at the Club. As always, I’m happy to receive any feedback and address any questions or concerns of members.
Strategic Plan Update
We continue to progress the development of our new Strategic Plan for the Club. There are many matters and member comments to consider and formulate into an effective and responsible plan. There is no question the Club is facing some significant challenges. We are endeavouring to come back to members with some recommendations for the future in the last quarter of this financial year.
Financial Update
Our Treasurer Geoff Moore recently brought members up to date with the 2017/18 trading at the Club. It is pleasing to see we are running ahead of budget for the first half but there is lots of work for our General Manager Geoff Kuehner and his team to attend to in the second half to make this a successful trading year.
Anzac Day Service
The Club’s Anzac Day commemoration was once again well attended this year. Vice-captain Alistair McNee addressed the gathering and spoke of the significance of the Battle of Villiers-Bretonneux 100 years earlier, the sacrifice at Gallipoli and on the Western Front and the contribution of our members recognised on the honour roll in the Club. Alistair remembered in particular Raymond Shirley, 21 years old who never returned from Gallipoli and is remembered on the Lone Pine Memorial. Lest We Forget.
Mother’s Day Breakfast
Our Mothers’ Day breakfast was once again well attended and enjoyed by the Club’s mothers and families. Over 150 took advantage of a tailored breakfast prepared by Chef Frederick’s supporting team. Many then went on to enjoy golf on a beautiful May Sunday. Frederick was unable to attend the breakfast on this occasion as he was welcoming the safe arrival of his new baby Anthony. Congratulations to Frederick and his partner, Natalie.
New Members
Once again, I am pleased to welcome new members to our Club, a total of 26 since my last report. An evening was held recently to introduce new members to the Committee and other senior members who have expressed interest in helping the new members to feel welcome. Other similar evenings will be held regularly through the year.
Saturday Timesheet Management
These last few months the Committee has been considering a range of practices to address the management of golf on Saturdays with a view to getting as many members into the field as possible. It remains our busiest day of the week and with shorter winter days the time sheet can get congested when first released. Our experience is that the waitlist has been effective in getting members a game before the day but we appreciate more members would like improved access to the time sheet and have more certainty about their tee time.
After consultation with the Ladies’ Committee the Committee has evaluated options and is progressing with a new approach to Saturday play encompassing the following:
- An open time sheet throughout the day providing access to allmembers with Saturday playing rights throughout the day.
- A dedicated allocation of four groups for the ladies’ competition out of the total available for the day (54 groups in the smallest field of the winter) to preserve the social experience of the ladies on a Saturday morning. Any vacant spots in these allocated groups will revert to open slots two days after the time sheet is opened.
- Members in the ladies’ competition wishing to play in the morning field should utilise these dedicated groups first.
- All other groups (minimum of 50 groups) available to all players in both men’s and ladies’ competitions.
- Access to the time sheet for junior members will be provided at 1pm on the Friday before the day of play.
These changes will be implemented from Saturday, 23 June (timesheet opening Saturday, 9 June). We believe this approach will be the most effective in increasing access to the Saturday time sheet.
Management of Other Golf Days
The Committee has also considered and is progressing to an open time sheet for play on Thursdays. In this instance there will not be any dedicated allocation of groups to either a men’s or ladies’ competition. All groups will be accessible for all members eligible to play on Thursdays. This is consistent with Mondays, Fridays and Sundays. At this time there is no move to change the playing of dedicated ladies’ and men’s competitions on Tuesdays and Wednesdays respectively. These days are very popular with the competitors on those days and the Committee feels with access open on more days of the week there is a reasonable balance of access and dedicated competitions. The change to the Thursday time sheet will be implemented from Thursday, 28 June (timesheet opening Thursday, 14 June). Based on the success of changes on Saturdays and Thursdays further access to the weekday time sheets may be considered.
Club Championships
The race to becoming the next men’s Champion of the Club and across all of the men’s grades has commenced. Congratulations to all those who have qualified for the match play phase. I’m sure all those players would welcome the support of the wider membership during the remaining match play rounds which commence on Sunday, 3 June.
Food and Beverage Pricing
As indicated in my note following the member survey the Club has reviewed the pricing of a range of food and beverage products offered to members. New pricing will be effective from Friday, June 1 and will be highlighted at serving points. I am confident that members will see the changes as significant and support the Club with future purchases. The price changes coincide with our battle of the beverages evening at the Club.
New Key Tags and Opening of Locker Rooms
The Club is introducing new key fobs for use within the Club. These fobs will be available to members to collect from the Office from Monday, 2 July. The current Club cards will continue to work with the key fobs an option for those members interested. At the same time access to the locker rooms will no longer be restricted to Members with a Club card. This will enable easy access for guests to the Club. Members wishing to keep items secure in the locker rooms should avail themselves of the lockers in each locker room.
Minute Books Missing
The Club’s historian Bruce Richter has advised that the Club’s Minute Books numbered 12 and 13 covering the period from April 1954 to December 1969 are missing from the Archive Cabinets. It is expected these were borrowed by a member at some time and not yet returned. We would appreciate the return of these books as soon as possible to enable further research by a member. If you are holding these please contact either Bruce or Geoff Kuehner.
Pennant Update
At the time of writing this report our Gold 1, Gold 2 and Weekend ladies pennant teams were positioned well on their respective tables as they approached the final rounds of the BDLGA competition. I take this opportunity to wish all teams including Silver 1 the very best this week. The defence of our Division 1 BDGA Pennant will commence in mid July.
Golf Software
Whilst we remain disappointed with the golf module launched last year we are pleased there has been progress in addressing some challenges faced by the Club and members. The large majority of issues have now been addressed and we are now focused on finalising the return of the one 4BBB scorecard. If you are experiencing any problems with the new software please don’t hesitate to ask for assistance from our office or the Golf Shop.
Charity Year
The wonderful fundraising efforts of the Ladies Committee continue with a Trivia Night to support our charity, the Friends of HEAL Foundation, to be held on Friday, 15 June. Members are encouraged to get together a team of up to 10 and enjoy the fun with great prizes to be won.
Clubhouse Events
Our first Nine and Dine events of the year were an outstanding success enjoyed by record numbers. Whilst some members and guests were unable to enjoy the “Nine” they did partake in the “Dine”. Wonderful fare was provided by Frederick and his team and we were pleased to receive appreciative comments from our members, many of whom had brought guests to celebrate special occasions. Our next Nine & Dine will feature a Christmas in July theme and will be held on Friday, 6 July.
As always, I look forward to seeing you on and off the course at our great Club.
Phil Wikman, President
Upcoming Events
- Battle of the Beverages – Friday, 1 June
- Steak of Origin – Wednesday, 6 June
- Trivia Night – Friday, 15 June
- US Open Breakfast – Monday, 18 June
- Nine & Dine – Friday, 6 July