OFF THE TEE PRESIDENTS NOTE. In This Issue

Transcription

1 OFF THE TEE January 2018 PRESIDENTS NOTE Welcome to the 2018 golf season at Mount Coolum Golf Club. I hope you all had a great Christmas break. This year promises to be interesting in that there are a number of upgrading projects on the books which will further enhance the aesthetic and playing aspects of the golf course. At times I hear members complain and whinge about various aspects of the golf course conditions. However I hasten to say that for the membership fees charged, member numbers and number of groundkeeping staff employed, we are doing alright. In fact I am informed by the Vice President that we are rated number 18 best value for money golf course in Australia, so it can t be all bad. Let s be positive of where we are at and what our future will be. Speaking of our future, another initiative that will be happening this financial year is establishing the status of the golf course re-development project. It is anticipated that we will know where we are heading with this early this calendar year. Anyway, happy golfing and good luck in your challenges to the various events scheduled. Regards George Koziol President A new fogging machine (for mosquito control) has now been purchased and is in use and performing well from all reports. After the recent rains it may get a lot more use. In This Issue Course Redevelopment Entrance Driveway Course Renovations New Fogging Machine Golf Etiquette Drinks Cart Dead Trees Course Facilities Supporting Your Club Rules of the Association Wash Down Bay Dress Standards New Members

2 ON THE COURSE Course Re-Development Further to the comments made in the President s Note on the previous page, arrangements are being made to meet with the Developers to discuss progress to date, status of Contract conditions and proposed future actions. From previous discussions before Christmas, it was anticipated that the issue of re-zoning Lot 152 was to be called up at a Council meeting in December To date the Club has received no feedback on this issue. I will keep you informed. Entrance Driveway Course Renovations Uniform Course Playing Conditions Around the Green: This initiative has been a great success and I am sure you have noticed that the green surrounds have improved and are continuing to improve. Thank you for your cooperation in keeping carts outside the marked lines. For those who aren t, please be considerate. I am sure your fellow golfers will soon let you know if you are a serial offender. Rehabilitation of 14 th Hole: Another successful initiative thanks to Rob Kerr and his gang. The surrounds are looking great and it will make the hole so much better to play. Tree Root Removal Program: This is an ongoing initiative which will take time to (Continued on page 3) Consideration was given to installing kerb and channelling along the new fence-line by Club members as a way of saving money however quotes from sub Contractors will now be finalised and the job completed as soon as possible. Some friendly wildlife enjoying a bit of shade on the 6th fairway over the hot January period. Photo: Darryl Hicks

3 (Continued from page 2) 2) Smoking On the Course Drinks Cart complete. Area will be marked GUR as required. New Fogging Machine A new fogging machine has now been purchased and is in use and performing well from all reports. After the recent rains it may get a lot more use. Golf Etiquette A few golf course etiquette issues have presented themselves recently, so I will take the opportunity to remind you of these for future reference whilst on the Course: 1) Slow Play. If a Member reminds you that your group is well behind the group in front AND this is indeed true, don t get aggressive to that Member. Aggression never solved anything. If your Group is lagging, accept the fact and make an effort to speed up play. You will be more respected as a person (s) accepting the truth rather than becoming an angry, aggressive Member. The Club has a smoking policy which should be adhered to so as a reminder, If you wish to smoke on the course, please do so down the left hand side of fairways - NO SMOKING on the TEES or GREENS. 3) Hitting Up For obvious reasons (ie SAFETY) please do not hit up on the group in front of you. If you are a big hitter, please make sure you wait until the group in front is well out of range. From time to time a player may get onto one which carries further than expected. After apologising to the Group in front please remember that this can happen and give yourself a bit more space just in case. The last thing we want is: a. An injured player; and b. Increased insurance premiums because of claims 4) Car Parks Whether you agree with car park allocations or not, please respect nominated Club positions and their allocated parking spaces. Do not park in them. The Drinks Cart has been operating for quite some time now and is being used regularly. After taking into consideration cart wages and overheads, the total takings from the cart plus the Halfway House vs the Halfway House alone, are approximately the same. On this basis the Management Committee have decided to continue operation of the drinks cart during hot weather conditions thus providing an additional service to players. Dead Trees 12 th Hole Many Members will have noticed dying/dead trees on both sides of the 12 th fairway. It is not yet clear what has caused this (human involvement of natural event) but the Course Director is presently investigating the matter and will report back soon. I will provide further feedback when the investigation has been completed.

4 ON THE COURSE (CONT) Course Facilities If you think that the on-course facilities at Mt Coolum are poor, you should think again. I believe they are second to none. Take a look at what is available to you: s/taps 1st Tee - 2nd Tee/8th Tee/18th Tee - Tap at Pro shop 3rd Green/12th Green/4th Tee/13th Tee - - Tap at Halfway House 5th Tee - 7th Tee - 9th Green/10th Tee - 14th Tee - 16th Tee - - Tap at Halfway House - Tap at Toilet Block More Drinking Facilities Halfway House Drinks Cart (in hot weather) Clubroom Toilets Clubroom 10th Tee Toilet Block 5th Tee Toilet Block Not much to complain about really.

5 GENERAL Supporting Your Club Apart from membership fees and green fees, other peripheral activities contribute to the financial health of the Mt Coolum Golf Club. These include raffles, dinners and social events. The House Director will soon be presenting a social calendar of events, dinners are served every Friday night and raffles are an ongoing activity. Don t forget that the healthier the Club s bank balance, the better services and facilities are able to be provided to the Members. To help support the Club in this area, I am suggesting the following: If you don t participate in any of the above, make a commitment to nominate ONE of the initiatives (raffle/ social event/ dinner) and participate as a Club member just ONCE during the Calendar year. If you are already a participant in any of the above, thanks for your patronage and make a commitment to be involved in ONE EXTRA activity over the calendar year. This should not be a great burden to you but will be of great benefit to the Club (and ultimately yourself as a member) Rules of Association Development and review of the Rules of Association and the Club s Management Manual is still in progress. Wash-down Bay Our wash-down bay located east of the workshop, is in need of updating and rehabilitation. Quotes are presently being sought for this work so that it can be programmed into our financial plans. Dress Standards One of the Agenda items at the January 2018 Management Meeting was dress standards particularly in relation to the wearing of thongs. Presently thongs are not permitted to be worn in the Clubhouse even though they can be regularly seen at the end of many sets of legs. (Continued on page 6)

6 GENERAL (Continued from page 5) This means that under the present standards, there needs to be an increase in monitoring and policing of the rule. However excluding people wearing thongs from the Clubhouse could and has resulted in a loss of business. In summary this standard required review for the following reasons: 1. Queensland summers are or can be extremely hot and open footwear is sensible. 2. As long as the rest of the attire worn is neat and tidy (eg no footy shorts, t- shirts, dirty work shirts, hi -viz work attire etc), thongs do not necessarily drag down the standards 3. Thongs are presently being worn but the policing is minimal 4. Other Clubs in Queensland are moving with the times and allow wearing of thongs 5. It is detrimental to the Club to lose business over the issue. Consequently the Management Committee has decided at the January Board meeting that the most sensible approach to this issue is to allow thongs to be worn in the Clubhouse. Appropriate changes will be made to the written policy, web site and signage. Information by GEORGE KOZIOL President Mount Coolum Golf Club New Members Welcome new members to the Mount Coolum Golf Club. I hope you enjoy the challenges the course can provide. FULL MEMBER Simon Vellnagel Dunn Paul Fraser Barbara Waters Matt Harding INTERMEDIATE 25 Curtis Allen JUNIOR Jake Harding SOCIAL Eve Ayres Maxine Ayres Marisa Fraser Anne Lawrence Graham Lawrence Nathan Rogers