Vice President’s Roundup
Hello to my NRGC family,
As I prepared to write my update to you all today, I reflected on the last 12 months of the Board and Management initiatives, the decisions taken and the efforts of Management and Staff to achieve the successful outcomes of those initiatives.
This time 12 months ago Due to COVID 19 my message was filled with uncertainty for the Club, my fellow members and their families. Whilst the club was closed, we were very fortunate to have the Course largely open and more importantly our community remained and still remains for the most part healthy. Given the age of most members and their families we are very lucky indeed.
While the Club Committee of which I am the Chair takes great pride in our duties of club operations, maintaining the club, member services, marketing and revenue streams, one thing money can’t buy is seeing healthy smiling faces around the Course and Club, it’s the greatest reward of all.
Last Thursday the Board hosted an information evening, it was very well received and a big thankyou to the large number of members that attended. For those that couldn’t make it, there were several talking points based on four main areas. This is just a very short summary;
1. The Board it’s Governance and Duties
Mark covered the Board Structure, the strategic plan created by the board, the collection of reliable financial and non-financial information and the decision-making process. All decisions in this current environment based on need, not want, on fact and due diligence.
2. The Golf Committee
What is required to keep the course in top condition, the equipment needed, the cost of running the Course versus Member Contributions and the REAL need for public golfers to cover the revenue short falls. The increase in golf’s popularity has been a financial windfall, at least one positive that came out of COVID. Tee times a big talking point with members enquiring why they could not have more access to the course. Club records actually show that Public access accounts for only 32% of course usage across the year. It was also stressed our yearly subscriptions would need to rise from the current $2,150 to a minimum of $4,000 to remove public access.
3. The Club Committee
A report based on making the best use of the Club’s downtime and Government incentives to renew and replace non-compliant equipment. Most members are well aware of the improvements made to the bars, cool rooms etc. providing and improving member services with a view to improve revenue, which may lead to reducing the cost of running a Club and a Golf course. The fact which many members were unaware of is when adding member’s subscriptions and member purchases at the bar and restaurant, the club still has a short fall of $800,000 to $1 million each year.
Glenn Woodley, Chair of the Golf committee pointed out that we don’t have the luxury of spare land to sell to developers like Castle Hill, Strathfield or Muirfield, these clubs sold their land to survive. The Club Committee along with the Board is working at creating initiatives and opportunities to get the non-Golfing community to make the Club its affordable family friendly meeting place. In an expanding competitive market this will be a challenge over the next few years but vital in creating the revenue to cover the short fall without the golf course being put under further stress.
To be completely self-sufficient without the need for public golf or the community supporting our bars and restaurant the real subscription amount for every member would be $4,000 per annum, as confirmed by my own modelling based on Members non golfing purchases.
The board is completely committed to providing a High Quality Affordable Facility for Members and the community.
4. FTAA Committee (Finance Tech Admin Audit)
Tim spoke to the massive improvements in this area. With the efforts of Ben Brown and the employment of a Financial Accountant we now have clear and accurate financials. The Board can confidently budget and cost out initiatives and implement only those that make good financial sense.
These decisions based on fact and accurate financials are and will be a major factor in the viability and longevity of the Club.
This is really just a short summary, with a few varied questions from the members as well. These questions were most welcome as the Board likes to hear the diverse views of our members. If you have a question that wasn’t asked please feel free to come up to any of the Board Members after golf, not before as that’s a too hurried conversation. We will be more than happy to chat and explain or at least get back to you with details if we don’t have the answer on hand.
Finally, not that we needed justification for all the improvements outside of the Membership, this week the club had an unannounced visit / inspection from Ryde City Council Health and Building Department.
I am proud and pleased to say we received a Five Star Rating of compliance, the highest available. I can tell you our old equipment, old cool rooms, old halfway bars both inside and out would not have passed these stringent health and safety tests. Even the subfloor basement drain pits passed with flying colours. No doubt the strict COVID cleaning regime played a massive part in the presentation of all our areas.
SO a big thank you from the Board and members to the hard working staff and caterer for creating and maintaining a clean and safe place for all to enjoy each other’s company.
Head down and follow thru
Alex Cicchini – Vice President