Women’s President:
After a hectic start to the year and as we move into winter, it seems an opportune time to publicly acknowledge and thank Nick, our Course Superintendent and all the Green Staff: Shaun, Brendan, Hamish, Keelan and Warren.
Thank you for your persistence, against many difficult weather patterns and pressures of the many important events, to keep our beautiful course in top condition.
The past four months have been particularly busy with both Men and Women’s Pennants being the main focus. The Women hosted the WGI Club Committee Day with 91 players as well as two large Pennant Days. The demand on these days; Sundays & Mondays is difficult, involving not only the preparation of the course but also the removal of rubbish, branches & other debris and removal of leaves off the greens.
There have also been two major Charity Days:- The Ovarian Cancer and Drummond Golf (Lifeline) where, providing the table and chairs on the verandah, marking the straightest drives, etc added to a heavy demand of their time.
Nick and the team have been able to prioritise their course management procedures and have kept the playing conditions in the best possible state – despite being short-staffed.
Thanks also to Mitch Smee who is assisting the Green Staff by cleaning the carts.
Pam Middlebrook
Women’s President
Club President:
Just a brief update to go with Pam’s note of thanks to our greens staff which I and the Board whole heartedly endorse.
Firstly, Pam refers above to the efforts of our greens staff while short staffed. In that regard I will elaborate a little. Warren Duncan who has been with the club for 8 years has essentially resigned from his groundsman position but has indicated his availability on call as a casual. Warren, “Ding”, has been a wonderful asset to our club, a qualified electrical and mechanical fitter able to deal with machinery breakdowns, the electrical needs of our irrigation system, and all manner of similar needs as and when they arose.
Warren has been a wonderful employee whose contribution to our team will be sorely missed.
Keelan Healey our second year Apprentice Greenkeeper has also resigned to take on a position in the mines. Keelan hasn’t been with us long, but we wish him all the best in his new career path.
Shaun Langlands has been working half time while on workers compensation for a knee injury while awaiting surgery, so all the best with that Shaun and we look forward to your early return to normal duties.
So, Nick’s team has effectively been reduced from its usual 6 to 3.5. To help with our budget repair our Treasurer with Board support has elected to press ahead understaffed for the time being. The pressure on our greens staff will ease with less time spent on the mowers as we head into the cooler season. Accordingly, we ask our members to be understanding if there are issues on the course that haven’t been addressed such as the narrowing flight path off the 5th tee. We only have two chainsaw qualified staff left on deck (one being Shaun Langlands) and they have been flat out with mowing and other priority tasks.
As for other matters in general –
Membership numbers are continuing their slow but steady climb back towards the 565 we had at 31/5/22, 130 members did not renew in June but we are now back to 512.
We were successful in claiming insurance to replace the club house solar panels. Thanks to SolarBlu for replacing the panels and agreeing to maintain the system in the years ahead.
I also congratulate our ladies for their superb contribution to the Club. The Champagne 9 run at 12.30pm on Saturday afternoons is a rip-roaring success. These golf beginners have been a major factor in reviving our membership numbers, and several have now successfully transitioned into competition golf. In just two years since inception of the “Get Into Golf Program” along with our “Champagne 9” these initiatives have fed around 30 new members into our club with many others sure to follow. Many thanks to Pam Middlebrook, Geoff Wilson, Kim Oborn and other members who are mentoring this group.
The Women really are the heartbeat of our club. Members may not be aware but just in the last 12 months the Women have paid for: the purchase of a dishwasher $1,400; A new loud speaker system $200; and $2,000 to paint the club house. Additionally, they have raised $2,726 for charity. Also, the general tasks around the clubhouse should not be overlooked, with the cleaning and scrubbing of the verandah and kitchen, the food preparation and service all contribute to give our Club a good reputation and make the presentation of Special Days memorable for all.
As Dave announced in the Daily Cow recently the Board will be initiating a monthly volunteer working bee which will occur on the last Friday of each month commencing in June. Our club was built on the back of volunteers and volunteers remain a most important contributor to the ongoing success and running of our club. The volunteer working bee will provide our members with an opportunity to invest a few hours on a predetermined project (it could be painting signs, the club house, work on gardens, filling fairway divots etc.) At the end of each working bee session the board would provide a barbecue lunch and a couple of free drinks to each contributor. More on this initiative to follow closer to the date.
Phil Hahn
Club President
Great to have communication with members as to what is happening on and around the course. Well done Pam and Dave —- many many hours spent behind the the scenes organising great events. Lucky to have you both.
Dear Phil, just a quick note to commend the club , the board and all the volunteers who make this club the little jewel that it is. The course is in magnificent condition despite all that Mother Nature throw at it. The communication from yourself and David is sensational and you all should be proud of your efforts. I thank you all for the faculties you offer our community and to visitors ( who have also commented to me on the beauty of our course). It makes me proud to be a member, best regards Neil Lewis