2019 NEWSLETTERS
NEWSLETTER - 26th February 2019
LADY CAPTAIN’S REPORT
Welcome back to our season of golf to all the ladies. It started well, with a great Gala Day and I would like to thank everyone who helped to make this a special day. It was a full field and those who contributed a great deal of time and effort to make the day run smoothly are too many to mention individually. We raised over $800 for Palliative Care with our raffle and we hope to raise more money for this very worthy local cause during the year.
Congratulations to Barbara Frost who had a Hole in One at Wakehurst Golf Club during Barrenjoey Week of Golf.
I would like to remind everyone to be mindful of the new rules, including new local rules. It will take some adjusting after years of doing things a certain way, but it will come in time. Dropping from the knee seems to be a particular problem for a lot of us (me included), but I’m sure it will become second nature in time. If anyone is unsure of a rule, please feel free to come and ask me or another committee member after your game and we will do our best to clarify any ruling for you.
Our first medal round has been played, but if there is anyone who still hasn’t paid their $8 medal money it is not too late for all the other rounds. Please see Fran Giudes or myself if you wish to pay your money.
The pace of play is always an issue, particularly on stroke days, so please be mindful that your position in the field is behind the group in front of you and not in front of the group behind you!
QUALIFIERS FOR THE CAPTAIN’S TROPHY
These are the 16 qualifiers over the field for the Captain’s Trophy.
The dates that the matches are to be played are as follows:
1st Round Tuesday 12th March 2nd Round Tuesday 16th April 3rd Round Tuesday 7th May Final Tuesday 11th June
Please ensure that you are able to play in all these rounds. If not, please call me as soon as possible so someone else can take your place. The draw will be posted on the Ladies’ notice board in the next few days. 1. Julie Partridge 2. Fran Giudes 3. Rhonda Shaw 4. Heather Atkins 5. Maureen Wheatley 6. Linda Drake 7. Bernice Ticehurst 8. Barbara Frost 9. Margaret Stalgis 10. Robyn Kennett 11. Marg Reimer 12. Ann Turner 13. Joanne White 14. Margaret Harding 15. Jenny Frost 16. Pam Norman
Enjoy the slightly cooler weather and good golfing to everyone.
Peri Kennedy, Ladies Captain
Now for my bit.
The Fixtures Book for 2019 is now available to all players. Please look carefully at the back end of the year as it is crammed full with fixtures.
Alan Daubaras, the team manager for the Masters Pennants squad, has asked me to remind all men over 50 that they are eligible to play in the club’s Masters Pennant team. The season begins on 28th April and we will have home and away matches against Kurri Kurri, Morisset and Waratah. All matches are on Sundays with an 11:00am tee off. Such is the competition for a place in the squad, it is unlikely that anyone with a handicap of 10 or over will be selected. If you are interested and keen to play then contact Alan on 4984 1501 or me via Reception.
On Sunday 24th Feb we had 98 players registered for this year’s first L&Z Sunday 4BBB + Singles comp. Despite some challenges set by the competition software, the Match Committee announced the winners of the L&Z comp (ie Mixed Pairs only) as follows:-
1st Laurie Wilson and Arja Levonpera 5 pts
2nd Graham and Glenda Hendricks 4 pts
3rd John and Pam Townsend 3 pts
4th Gary and Julie Walker 2 pts
5th Roger and Denise Ball 1 pt
These pairs will go into the league table for the very first L&Z Chalmers Perpetual Trophy which will be awarded at the end of the 2019 season.
The video about the New Rules of Golf that has been playing in the Sports Lounge has been taken off as some members have been watching it without hearing the sound and have not heard that the optional Rule E-5 about playing a ball that is lost on the course or OOB and can then be played from the adjacent fairway for a 2 shot penalty, has NOT been adopted by our Match Committee. Anyone doing this has broken Rule 18.2b here at NBGC and incurs a General Penalty ie 2 shots in stroke play and loss of hole in Matchplay.
This coming Saturday is the Mens Monthly Medal and the Q round for the Handicap Matchplay Championships. Best 8 qualifiers in each grade to play off. The Wine Down event scheduled for Sunday 10th has been cancelled by the organisers. It will be replaced by a Stableford Medley with the usual running start.
As I am often asked about the new rules of golf, I have started a new feature called the “NEW RULES FAQs” Q: What do I do when my ball is trapped between the flagstick and the edge of the hole? A: According to Rule 13.2c, providing some part of your ball is below the green’s surface, the ball is deemed to have been holed. Q: Are the post (and sometimes rope) systems delineating the edge of pathways Movable or Immovable objects? A: Immovable objects. Please refer to Rule 16.
Happy golfing!
David Rann
Captain
NEWSLETTER - 11th February 2019
Dear Members & Guests, This time last year we were all asking for some much needed rain and not much has changed. Our dam is as low as the greens staff have seen it. We are conscious of the fact that we do not waste water and Greg Stynes is doing a great job managing this and presenting the Golf Course in very good condition. The continued heat places a lot of stress on the greens, a recorded ground temperature was taken on the 5th green last week at 55C. Autumn can’t come quick enough for Greg and his staff. Kate Washington MP Member for Port Stephens, has again acknowledged our club in the NSW Parliament via a community recognition statement, this highlights the continued contribution the Nelson Bay Golf Club provides to the Port Stephens area. The 2019 Golf Fixtures booklet is now available for viewing on the opening page of the Club’s website and also under golf events. www.nelsonbaygolf.com Hats in the clubhouse – the board has authorised that hats can be worn only if there is a valid medical reason.
MEMBER INFORMATION PORTAL
Members access to other members contact details. Members now have the ability to allow other members to view their Phone and Email details through the Club websites Member login. If they choose to allow access, however, it will be visible to all other members. This is the members own decision to allow this access. If a member wishes to allow their details to be visible 1. Go to the Club website - www.nelsonbaygolf.com 2. Login to the Members portal 3. Go to My Profile
4. Go to the bottom of the page
5. Click on drop down box and choose Visible or Hidden. 6. Then hit Save Changes on bottom right hand of screen. 7. If you have chosen your mobile number and email address are now visible to all club members.
FINANCE
On recommendation of the Finance Committee the Board has agreed to repay contributing members the principal and any outstanding interest on the unsecured notes issued in January 2015. With their financial assistance and the Board’s prudent financial management, the Club is now debt free, excluding equipment under lease or finance. On behalf of the Board and Members I would sincerely like to thank the members who assisted the Club in the purchase of the land adjoining the clubhouse and car parks. December was not a good trading month for the club with revenue down in all sectors and we recorded a loss of $26,162.00 giving the club a YTD profit of $9,202.00. This is not an unusual result for the Club as December has traditionally been a quieter month for the Club. The profit was also affected by 5 pay days in the month and public holidays. The Club’s cash flow (cash is king) is very good, with current cash on hand and in the bank at 6/02/19 is $409,040 after paying back the unsecured notes.
The Board will conduct the annual review of the club’s strategic plan on Monday 18th February this will also include the Course Masterplan.
FROM THE MANAGER’S DESK – TREVOR HARRISON Staff I would like to congratulate the staff and contractors in all departments of the club for their efforts over the Christmas and New Year period. At least the house staff had Christmas Day off, but not all the green staff. The green staff have done a wonderful job keeping the playing surfaces green and lush in some very oppressive conditions plus working overtime when their families were on holidays. Lockers There are still a few lockers available for members in the locker rooms. Please contact reception for allocation, key issue and annual payment. Course Maintenance The green staff and volunteers work extremely hard to ensure the golf course is kept in the best possible condition, but we need your help with bunker raking, repairing pitch marks and filling divots. If everybody repaired one other pitch mark and filled an additional divot, this would be very much appreciated. Please see the attached video which highlights the best practices that will repair the damage in the shortest possible time. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1UWnpv3woU Members’ Badge Draw & Joker Poker Jackpot
The members’ badge draws are held in the clubhouse at 6pm each Tuesday, Thursday & Sunday. The current jackpot is $5,300. You must be in the clubhouse at the time of the draw. Joker Poker held in conjunction with the Friday Raffles has a jackpot of $3,200.
EVENTS Newcastle Knights Corporate Day - Friday, 8th February 2019 We have negotiated with the NIB Newcastle Knights to be their home golf club in 2019. Traditionally they have been using the Newcastle Golf Club for their corporate use and corporate sponsors day. They held their Corporate Sponsors Day with us on Friday, 8th February 2019. This was a massive event for the Club with some fantastic exposure to companies such as McDonald Jones Homes, Ronald McDonald House, NIB, Healthe Care, Maxim Accounting, Tooheys, Coca- Cola, Red Energy, Kelly Suzuki Cardiff, Aurizon to name a few. There were 22 teams of 4 playing an ambrose on the day with Knights players in each of the teams hosting their sponsors. The day started with egg and bacon rolls for registration with Warren Moses giving them a welcome and a run down of the day. They had nearest the pin and longest drive prizes as well as net and scratch. The players all had bets on Sam Stone winning the day, the quote was "whoever has Stonie has won the lottery today!" Even with Kalyn Ponga being the under 14's golf champion for New Zealand! There were some pretty impressive scores that came in on that day. The players came in for a two course lunch and a grazing table that would make any mouth water that Tanya put together. The room was decorated by A Beautiful Occasion and Peter Power gave his address to the room inviting these companies to come back and host more events at the Club. With logos sprayed on the course, box signage on the 18th tee, the course looking amazing, the staff doing a superb job in hosting this event and the feedback of “WOW” from the players, corporate sponsors and the Newcastle Knights staff... it is an event the Club can be incredibly proud of.
World Bank Conference – May The World Bank Conference seeing 150 delegates from all parts of the globe will be here for 3 days and 2 nights. This is an incredible win for the Club with them conferencing in our function room each day and having all meals at the Club. The deposit alone that we banked this week was over $42,000.00! This event will see the Club bank over $85,000.00 not including bar sales.
Yin Yang Consulting Ladies Gala Day - Tuesday, 12th February 2019 This event will be held tomorrow at the Club seeing 196 lady members and visitors participate in a teams event and come in for a 2 course meal. Natalie was able to secure them with a sponsor for this year from an exceptional, young and up and coming local business Yin Yang Consulting. This is Kathy Rimmer and her team who will attend on the day. Kathy is an amazing woman who won Port Stephen's local business of the year at the 2018 awards. The Ladies Committee do an amazing job on this event every year and we think this year it will be no different. Wishing the Committee and the Players all the best for tomorrow.
I look forward to seeing you on the Course and in the Clubhouse.
Peter Power President
NEWSLETTER – 29TH JANUARY 2019
Firstly from the Vets Captain, David Diemar: Our summer comp is near its end with very good numbers and also some very good scores. The normal comp will commence on Monday 4th February.
We will start at 12.00 noon off two tees so if you are over 55 please come along and join in, it’s just a fun 9 holes with a presentation and meat raffle after golf.
The official opening day will be on the 11th February with some great prizes from our opening day sponsor Moses Golf and I thank them for their continued support. Thursday comp commences on 7th February also at 12.00 noon off one tee. We look forward to a very good year of Golf.
Next we have Peri Kennedy’s update: Gala Day is nearly upon us and the start of a new golfing year. Gala Day is full, we’ve even fitted a couple of extras in. Thank you so much to the catering staff for accommodating those latecomers. We hope everyone enjoys Gala Day, it is always a fun event to kick off the year. The following Tuesday is the start of our major competitions and I would urge any ladies who want to enter for medal rounds and have not paid their fees for this ($8) to contact a member of the committee in order to be eligible for the medal competitions both at our club and in the district events.
This may be a too late reminder, but David Rann will be running a Q & A session on the new rules of golf and our revised local rules on Tuesday 29th at 2.30pm. Lots of questions are coming up every week regarding different rules and the interpretations. Please try to get there and learn for yourselves.
Congratulations to Diane McClean who had a terrific hole in one on 25th hole last week. The special part of this was that the hole is sponsored by Nikki Ireland and Di and Nikki were playing together that day. Nikki was as excited as Di!
Peri Kennedy, Lady Captain
And now here is my bit to finish with…. On Thursday last, 24th January, a small party comprising of Joan Frost, Brian Diemar, Phil Murray and myself went to the Regis to see Zelma Chalmers regarding the reformatting of the L&Z annual trophy to become a perpetual trophy from this year forward. Zelma has very generously donated $5,000 to the club to be held in a special account to initially purchase a significant trophy that will be awarded every year in perpetuity. The club regards this as a public statement of great thanks to Lofty and Zelma Chalmers for all their hard work and generosity over the decades as Foundation members. The residual funding will pay for the engraving of the names of the annual winners into the future. This special trophy will only be awarded to the best Mixed Pair in any one year after the season of 7 matches is completed. The competition of the day will be a 4BBB open to any pairings with its own prizes but the points for the “L&Z” will only be awarded to the Mixed Pairs competing ie 5 points to the best Mixed Pair score, 4 to the next best down to 1 point for the 5th placed Mixed Pair. This is how Zelma wants it to be held from now onwards. The trophy has not been purchased yet but will be on show in the Clubhouse as soon as we receive it.
This coming Friday sees the annual Pennant Teams awards dinner just before the men’s A grade pennant season starts on Sunday 3rd at Newcastle GC. All supporters will be most welcome at Newcastle and have a great chance to cheer our team on one of the best courses in Australia.
For all the new members who have joined us in the last few months, there will be another “Meet and Greet” evening to be finalised soon. Look out for the invitation! The Fixtures Book final draft has gone to the printers and should be available before the end of February. The fixtures list for February has been posted on the Notice Boards.
Finally, please remember Rule No.1 of golf is “Play the course as you find it and play the ball as it lies.”
Happy golfing!
David Rann
Captain
NEWSLETTER – 18TH JANUARY 2019
Dear Members & Guests,
Welcome to another year I trust that all your wishes and aspirations were fulfilled.
Sunday, 13th January was Opening Day for our competitive season which was well received by members who played. I, for one, had a great day with playing partners Margo & Stuart Phegan & Bob Kew; we even made it onto the winners list, however not without some controversy, enough said.
Thank you to Captain - David Rann, Ladies Captain - Peri Kennedy and the Match Committee for their efforts on the day.
To all the 2018 competition winners’ congratulations and well done. Good luck to all our competitors for 2019.
During the current heatwave players need to keep hydrated in this constant hot weather. It is important that you keep up your water intake; if you’re not sweating you’re in trouble and heatstroke comes on very fast. We have had a number of members succumb to this.
Director Casual Vacancy The Board has deliberated long and hard over this position. A number of members were approached to consider submitting a resume, of those that were asked, only two accepted being Stuart Phegan and Niel Bowling. Upon considering both applicants resume and an interview process with the full board, Niel Bowling has been selected to join the board. Niel has a number of tertiary qualifications, a Bachelor of Business, Certificate in Marketing and is a Certified Practicing Accountant. He has held senior management roles leading to the role of General Manager in two organisations. Niel was also the finance director at Fox Hills Golf Club for 2 years. Niel is a passionate member of NBGC, a pennant player and will bring a skill set which will complement other directors.
Stronger Community Programme The Club’s submission for a $5,000 Stronger Community Programme Grant was successful for the application of “Dirt Glue” to the paths around the halfway house and 10thtee. We would like to thank Meryl Swanson for her assistance with this grant.
Volunteers and Sponsors Day The Volunteers and Sponsors Day will be held on the 28th February with a shotgun start at 12:30pm. To avoid any confusion invitations for the day will go to sponsors who provide in excess of $500 worth of goods or cash plus regular volunteers i.e. ladies committee, match desk, course and garden and kangaroo volunteers.
Hearing Checks will be available at the Club in the Boardroom on 31st January from 10am – 2pm. Please contact Reception to make a booking.
Captain David Rann has asked me to include this link to the new rules of golf it is very informative; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpH4yJmIwl0&index=17&list=PLjpG5PJMpCpTS0xRP2y P2YYCc-BIYMB8c
A reminder we have a video on the new rules playing on the TV adjacent the sports bar.
Kangaroo Research – Email received from Maquel Brandimarti - Researcher I am one of the researchers working with the kangaroos at the golf club. We have been remotely administering a drug to them this week using darts. As the drug is not a sedative, the kangaroos have been hopping away before the dart has fallen out. Usually the animal will either groom the dart out or it just falls out, but it means we may not be present when it does fall out.
If golfers find a dart on the course, please return it to the clubhouse.
From the Manager’s Desk Welcome to 2019. The Club has been busy, but with the hot weather understandably we have seen a reduction in golfers.
Trivia is back with 170 people attending the first two nights and our functions kick off this weekend with a Sailing Presentation and the Wedding Expo.
It is hard to believe with 850 pieces of furniture in the clubhouse there has been a shortage of chairs during the holiday period; mainly on Tuesday nights with Trivia.
As predicted in the last newsletter the 80,000th visitor signed into the clubhouse through the holidays. Membership has now reached 7,139 members with 1,149 adult golfing members, 66 juniors plus 5,860 social members. In the past 4 weeks the club has signed up 23 adult and 7 junior golfing members.
New Staff To fill vacancies new staff have been employed in the bar, reception and on the course. The new bar staff are John Moffett, Isla O’Doherty and Samantha Bailey with Sarah Assabgy starting in Reception this week. Additions to the green staff include Chris Sharpe employed as a groundsman and Drew Fletcher commencing as a 1st year apprentice. With regret we are losing Mitch Bellingham from the green staff as he has accepted a green keeping position in the UK.
Congratulations to Tully Jennings who has completed his Horticulture Apprenticeship and is now a qualified green keeper. Relief on the 21st Hole The area marked by white stakes on the right hand side of the 21st hole has been reduced in size. If your ball now comes to rest on the bark chips outside the white pegs your ball is in play.
I apologise for missing Opening Day, but I had a small procedure on my left knee that put me out of action for 4 days. Thank you to the members and staff for their well wishes.
Trevor Harrison General Manager
For those members who at the moment cannot be with us because of ill health I would like to take this opportunity to wish you a speedy recovery.
To all our members and visitors happy golfing, have a great year and I look forward to seeing you on the golf course and around the clubhouse.
Peter Power President
NEWSLETTER – 16TH JANUARY 2019
The First Golfing Newsletter for 2019
Welcome to 2019 and what a year it promises to be!
Firstly, some news from the Vets Captain David Diemar: The vets are now over halfway through the summer comp and our numbers have been very good both Mondays and Thursdays. Scoring has also been good with a good number of 23 stableford points winning the day. Don’t forget if you are over 55 and would like a game, put your name on the sheets outside the Pro Shop, you would be most welcome.
Next, from the Ladies Captain Peri Kennedy: Happy New Year to everyone and all the best for our upcoming year of golf.
I would like to start by apologising for giving out some information in an earlier report that has had to be corrected. We had wanted to play our Club Championships in November close to the Men’s Championships and also following the Ladies Senior Amateur Championships to be held this year at our club. This proved impossible when we discovered that the District Champion of Champions Tournament was to be held on 4th of November. We were only made aware of this recently. Our Ladies Championship dates will now be on 13th, 20th and 27th August. The Foursomes will be held on 19th November.
As we look forward to Gala Day, we have an almost full field, but at the time of writing this repot there are still a few more team spots and also room for individuals to be accommodated.
There have been a lot of questions asked regarding the new rules and also the new local rules specifically to Nelson Bay. David Rann has very kindly offered to run a Q & A presentation on all that is relevant. This will be held following golf at 2.30pm on Tuesday 29th January. I do hope as many ladies as possible will be able to attend and this of course includes Thursday or Monday ladies. It is definitely in all our own interests to know the rules and a lot has changed as of January 1st.
Congratulations to Jenny Frost who has been playing golf in Tasmania and excelled at The Senior Women’s Match Play Championship of Tasmania, reaching the final and coming runner up. Well done Jenny.
Once again, all the best for 2019 and here’s hoping it will be a great year of golf for us as individuals and as a club.
Peri Kennedy Lady Captain
Now for my bit: Following the very well supported Opening Day Teams Event on Sunday 13th January, we held the annual Prize Presentations for 2018. This was also very well attended by over 100 people. James Marshall was crowned as our Club Champion after a very successful season that also included being the scratch winner in our Monthly Medals and a Men’s Foursomes scratch winner with Will Semmens. One of our juniors, Harry Cleare, won the Commonwealth Junior Classic in Melbourne last weekend. It will be great to have Harry back on our A grade pennants team this year. Well done Harry! As mentioned above by the Ladies Captain, I will be presenting another New Rules Seminar on Tuesday 29th January from 2:30pm. All are welcome. The New Rules have definitely increased the speed of play by most players, mainly by putting with the flagstick in the hole. The new Local Rules have been carefully drafted and approved by Golf NSW. Please read them carefully as it will benefit your game. Please note that the “No play Zone” around the green keepers area is now marked by red posts with white tops and the main reason it is in place is to discourage players from cutting the corner with stray golf balls becoming a WH&S issue. I also point out that if you break a Local Rule, for instance by hitting out of the No Play Zone, you will suffer a 2 shot penalty in stroke play or loss of hole in match play (see Local Rule 14).
Another important event will be held on Friday 1st February. This is the annual prize giving dinner for all the Club’s Pennant Teams including the Juniors, the Ladies’ and the Men’s teams. All members of these squads are invited to attend along with their friends, family and supporters. The most valued players in each squad will be rewarded and the overall best players in both the men’s and the ladies’ teams will also be recognised. Max Pride has kindly agreed to MC the evening and a good time is guaranteed! Please book and pay at Reception. $50pp for adults and $20pp for juniors.
The Fixtures Book is being finalised now and should be available in hard copy by the end of February. As an interim measure there will a soft copy on our website before the end of January. Following remarks of too much stableford from quite a few members, you will see a few changes to last year’s list including some team and pairs events on some Sundays. I expect a mixed reception to this move, but I hope that those people who asked for the changes, support them.
Happy golfing! David Rann Captain
2018 NEWSLETTERS NEWSLETTER – 22nd DECEMBER 2018
Dear Members & Guests,
What a great year it has been for our golf club, many accolades, nominated as a finalist for Best Regional Golf Club and Trevor nominated as a finalist for General Manager of the Year by Golf NSW. Port Stephens Examiner Business Awards winner “Best Club” importantly our members and guests voted for your club to receive this award. Little wonder we attract golfers from all over Australia and the world to play our great course. A member recently commented to me “I have been a member of a few clubs and without exception this is the best club I have been a member of” thanks Eric.
We applied for and received the following grant from the stronger communities’ programme, on behalf of our members & guests I would like to thank Meryl Swanson MP a great supporter of our club and community.
“On behalf of Meryl Swanson MP, congratulations on your successful Stronger Communities Grant (Round 4) application for Nelson Bay Golf Club Ltd. The grant has been approved for the amount of $5,000 towards the supply and Installation of dirt glue product to red rock cart paths”.
The works will be carried out on the paths adjacent the 10th tee and halfway house.
Leeca Higgins Administration and Electorate Diary Manager
Congratulations to our 2018 Club Champion James Marshall a well-deserved win.
At this time of year our thoughts turn to family and friends and for most of us a special time where we share their company and a bond developed over many years. We should also spare a thought for those who are less fortunate than some for whatever circumstance.
To all our management, staff & volunteers on behalf of the Board of Directors thank you for your efforts over the previous 12 months.
To Maurie, Maria, Warren & staff thank you on behalf of the Board, Management, and Membership for all your work over the last year.
To Tanya and Will & staff a big year and a big effort, good food good service always. Thank you from the Board, Management and Membership.
To all our members many thanks for your support, our club is only as strong as the members who back it in both word and deed.
To everybody associated with the Nelson Bay Golf Club please look after yourselves, drive safely and enjoy your golf. Have a Merry Christmas and Happy and Prosperous New Year.
I look forward seeing you on the course and in the clubhouse.
Peter Power - President
From the Ladies Committee
Another year has flown by, with lots of great events happening at our lovely new Club.
I would like to congratulate all of our winners for 2018, our weekly winners, and our winners on Presentation night, well done ladies!
I would also like to thank all of our sponsors for this year, our lady members, and local businesses who support our weekly competitions, and our sponsors for Presentation Night, your support is greatly appreciated. Also like to say a big thank you to Maria & Maurie, and Warren Moses, and the Pro shop staff, who have been wonderful , and thank you to Greg Stynes and his merry green men, for keeping our course so beautiful, and also our volunteers, who do an amazing job, thank you all!!
Our Ladies Christmas Lunch was on the 6th December, and it was a fun day, 9 holes of golf and then lunch, but we had a “gobble off” happening before the lunch, with two of our lady members competing, our Patroness Joan Frost, and Heather Atkins. The winner of the play off was Heather, who received the prestigious “Turkey (gobbler) Trophy”, and also a ham voucher! The day was really great, with everyone getting into the Christmas spirit, and competing for the best dressed! But, I think everyone looked terrific in their outfits, well done ladies! Also like to congratulate Tanya and Will and their staff, for their great work with their restaurant, The Bluewater Grill, one of the best restaurants in the Bay, as all our members and visitors would know, thanks for being there!
Thank you to our outgoing Ladies Committee for all their work throughout the year, and also to our great Social Committee, who are always there for us, and I look forward to working with our new Committee in 2019. Also, a big thank you to our Club President, Peter Power, Club Manager, Trevor Harrison, and Natalie Kelly, for all their help, and our Admin Staff, who have been terrific this year, and our bar staff, who are also there when we need them! Thank you all.
Wishing you all a happy and peaceful Christmas, and all the best for 2019.
Norma Hocking – Ladies President.
From the Managers’ Desk
On behalf of all the staff I would also like to wish all members a Merry Christmas and good golfing in 2019.
2018 has been a learning experience for us all as we settle into the second year of operations in the new clubhouse.
The good news is we continue to attract new golfing and social members and by the New Year the Club will have in excess of 7,000 members, which is a great effort considering in July 2017 there were 2,500 members. We will also welcome our 80,000th guest before the New Year.
In the finance report from this week’s board meeting our comparative figures from July 1st to November 30th were excellent with growth in most departments. Green fees from members was the only area of decline, but this was mainly due to the two weeks of bad weather in early October. Expenses are also down and we can report a year to date profit of $32,993 compared to $8,280 for the same time as year.
It was with regret I accepted Simonne Irvine’s resignation after almost 9 years’ service at the Club. Simmi had been our one constant bar supervisor over the last 3 years of change. As Simmi said in her resignation letter. “I have enjoyed the opportunities NBGC has given me, my interaction with members and also working with many different people in three different clubhouses over my time at the Club.” After a break you will see Simmi back on the golf course and have a chance to wish her well.
Please be advised that the halfway house will not be open on Boxing Day, but sandwiches, pies, sausage rolls & refreshments will be available in the clubhouse from 10am.
Dowling Street Shed Cart Users With Christmas holidays fast approaching and many visitors in town, please remember it is the responsibility of the last cart user to secure the double gates when leaving. Your assistance is appreciated.
Trevor Harrison – General Manager
CAPTAIN’S REPORT – 18th December 2018
VET’S CAPTAIN
The Vets Golfers have now completed their normal year and have now commenced our summer comp. The highlight of the year was the Vets and Ladies day with about 90 players on the day. Our final day and Presentation were also a highlight. Numbers playing this year were down but some growth was seen towards the end of the year. Any players over 55 looking for a game just put your name down on our starting sheet outside the Pro Shop and come along and join us. Play commences at 9.30am on Monday and Thursday until the end of January when we go back to our normal comps.
David Diemar, Vets Captain
LADIES CAPTAIN
Hi Ladies,
This will be my final report for the year and I would just like to fill everyone in on the format for the coming holiday weeks.
As numbers of players are low at this time of year and very few ladies stay for presentation, we will still be running Stableford competitions each Tuesday and Thursday with voucher prizes, but there will be no presentations. Vouchers can be collected from reception. The divisions will be adjusted according to the number of players and that may mean only one division or at the most, two. This means the prizes will be worth
Winning! There will be no NTP’s as this will leave very little money for vouchers for those who excel...there were certainly a few this week! On Thursday 27th December the ladies will play the same 9 holes twice. Our options were to follow a very large social group or play the other option. There will obviously be no handicapping for this day.
The fixture book has been finalised and if anyone would like to know any important dates prior to the books coming out, they are most welcome to contact me and I can fill you in on dates. The Ladies Championships will be played at the end of the year in 2019. This is when the course will be in tip top condition following the Women’s Senior Amateur Championships to be held at Nelson Bay and also to coincide with the Men’s Championships. I think this will be a very fitting end to our golfing year. It has also been decided by the Ladies Match Committee that our Championships in 2019 will be held over 3 consecutive Tuesdays. Were we to play 4 rounds, they would have to be spread over 5 weeks with Melbourne Cup Day falling on one of the Tuesdays. I did some extensive research and many golf clubs are now playing only 3 rounds. I hope that this might encourage more ladies to participate as our numbers have been falling over the past few years.
Please may I take this opportunity to wish you all the best for the festive season and good luck for your golf in 2019.
Peri Kennedy, Lady Captain
CLUB CAPTAIN
Only 7 members showed any interest in my offer to carry out a second presentation about the new Rules of Golf, so it did not take place. There is one copy of the Players Edition of the New Rules available to all playing members from Reception. Good luck to all who think they know these New Rules which come into force on 1st January 2019. As we want to use the old cards until they are all gone, to avoid wasting money, the new Local Rules, from 1st January, will be available on paper slips until the new printed cards are available. These new Local Rules will be available from Reception shortly, as will the new Temporary Local Rules. Both these sets of Rules have been reviewed and edited by NSW Golf. Please read them carefully before you play after 31st December as there are some significant differences to the current rules. They will also be posted on the Notice Boards around the clubhouse.
Following discussions with Greg Stynes, our Course Superintendent, Preferred Lies will not be reintroduced in the near future as golf is intended to be played “as it lies”. Every player can make a difference by repairing all divots with the sand buckets provided as well as pitch marks on the greens. I know that I seem to have to repair at least 3 pitch marks on every green when my ball has only caused one of them.
An idea from two of our members is to start a mid-week 9 hole reportable comp (ie the results go to Golf LInk) from late January to the end of Daylight Saving. It would start at 4:00pm and is intended to attract people who work but who would like to get a serious game in mid-week, possibly followed by a drink or two. If you are interested, please let me or Peter Gibson or James Marshall know. Again, this depends upon the level of interest for it to happen. The new Fixtures list for 2019 will be published on-line before the printed version is available.
Please remember that our wonderful Clubhouse is only closed on one day a year and it is Christmas Day, so there will be no ballot there then or on Tuesday 1st January. The booking website will be open from 5:00pm on both those Tuesdays. I hope that you have a great Christmas and a wonderful New Year, playing to all the New Rules of Golf!!.
Good golfing!
David Rann
Captain
CAPTAIN’S REPORT – 7th December 2018
Following the introduction of the Seniors net results and the Super Seniors to the recent Championships, there have been some difficulties in finalising the results. The incorrect publications in the local press were unfortunate but after reviews by the President, the Past President, the GM and Warren Moses we have agreed that the following is in line with the historic precedents of NBGC in that no one player can win both the Scratch prize and Net prize in the same Grade. Furthermore, please do not compare these results with the aggregate Net scores shown on the Club’s website because those are not derived from the Aggregate Net scores based on frozen handicaps.
1st Place Score Scratch
A Grade JAMES MARSHALL 306
B Grade GRAEME LUKE 332
C Grade PHILIP GEE KEE 382
D Grade CHRISTOPHER DUNN 397
Senior SCOTT QUINN 321
Super 325 Senior GRAEME ALLEN
2nd Place
Scratch
A Grade SCOTT QUINN 321
B Grade RAY WRIGHT 339
C Grade SAM COCKBURN 384
D Grade BRENTON BRADFORD 404
Senior STUART PHEGAN 335
Super 331 Senior PETER MURRAY
1st Place Net FROZEN HANDICAP A Grade PETER GIBSON 293
B Grade JOHN MUDIE 290
C Grade MICHAEL PENMAN 291
D Grade GARY MCCANN 289
Senior MARK WOODS 292
Super 293 Senior LLOYD GOODWIN
2nd Place Net FROZEN HANDICAP A Grade WILL SEMMENS 298
B Grade DAVID OWENS 294
C Grade JOHN MCDONALD 297
D Grade KAYE PORTER 295
Senior CHRIS MAWSON 298
Super 295 Senior RODNEY DUNN
I would also like to remind all those A Graders out there that the A Grade pennants squad is being managed by Mike Harris this year and that everyone with a handicap of 10 or less is welcome to trial for the pennants squad as the first match next year is on Sunday 3rd February and Mike wants to see everyone play a few practice matches well before then. Please contact Mike on 0424 983 108.
Good golfing!
David Rann
Captain
CAPTAIN’S REPORT – 3rd December 2018
Dear Members
In conjunction with the Ladies Captain, Peri Kennedy our intention is that Golfing Newsletters will be issued every 2 weeks or so. There will be one more before the end of the year.
From the Ladies Captain
I hope everyone has enjoyed their golfing year and I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a very Happy and safe Xmas.
We have had a great season for golf with mostly beautiful weather and our course has continued to improve week by week. The greens are running well and no one should have any excuses for their bad golf! I would like to thank the outgoing committee for their work over the past year in organising our golf. Special thanks to our social committee for organising some lovely social events. Numbers were down a little at our Presentation Night last week, and for those who didn’t go, you missed out on a fun evening. Personally I thoroughly enjoyed myself, maybe danced a little too much and could hardly walk the next morning! I think we have a great team on the new committee, and will all do our best to ensure the smooth running of our golf and events for next year. We have some interesting events at the club to look forward to including hosting the Australian Women’s Senior Amateur tournament. Some help will be needed with that I am sure. Winners of all our major events have been congratulated and prizes presented, so I won’t go into it all again, but well done to all those who participated and especially to all the winners. Once again all the best for the festive season and I look forward to seeing everyone next year for what I hope will be a great year of golf.
Last week many ladies broke their handicap with the following standouts; -
Tuesday November 27th Madeleine Luchsinger 40pts Robyn Hermberg 38pts Chris Ledingham 38pts Rita Fitzgerald 38pts Annette Jones 37pts Peri Kennedy 37pts Friday November 30th Judy Fisher 37pts
Peri Kennedy, Ladies Captain
From the Captain
The last few weeks after the club elections have been truly hectic. I have been working long hours on next year’s Fixtures Book and on the introduction of the New Rules of Golf which will happen on the 1st January 2019 and completely redrafting our Local Rules to match the changes to the Rules and new terminology. This is a massive task but will be finalised soon. The full set of Local Rules is too long to fit on the back of a card, so will be published on the two Notice Boards on the Lower level near the Pro Shop. One inside and the other one outside. Copies of the summary card version will be available from Reception when it is finalised. Maurie, Warren and I conducted a New Rules information presentation on 8th November which was supported by 35 members. If sufficient people were interested, we are prepared to do this again. Please let Reception know if you would like this to happen, one evening before Christmas, possibly Thursday 13th December at 6:00pm.
The recent Club Championships were well supported and the introduction of a D Grade and Super Senior’s (i.e. over 65) division were intended to give the higher handicaps more interest in playing in our premier event. Unfortunately I did not make it clear that the Seniors and Super Seniors were also intended to become net events, again to give the higher handicaps a chance to win something. With the wisdom of hindsight there should be both scratch and net winners for both the Seniors and the Super Seniors. I apologise for my mistake. In addition to the already announced net winners, the Scratch winner for the Seniors is Stuart Phegan and for the Super Seniors is Peter Murray.
The Handiskins Final was held last Saturday and Mark Galloway came out best with a win of $720, James Bowles won $280, Max Stocker won $140 and Josh Rimmer $60.
Yesterday was the Club’s Closing Day with a good field of 80 playing a team event with the team of Ralph Carstairs, Gail Holdforth, Martyn & Tina Jeggo winning. Many thanks to Moses Golf for donating the shirts as 1st Prize.
The good scores continued last week with the following players recording scores of 40 and above: -
Wednesday November 28th Jamie Keating 42pts Vince Northwood 41pts Wayne Cleaver 41pts Friday November 30th Craig Tucker 41pts Saturday December 1st Phillippe Donoso 43pts Penton Sutcliffe 43pts Jim Ingleton 42pts Darren Hancock 41pts Michael Sproule 40pts Scott Quinn 40pts
Happy golfing!
David Rann, Captain
GOLF NEWSLETTER - 29th November 2018
Dear Members & Guests,
What a big few weeks we have had at the Club with more to come leading up to Christmas. How good was it to see so many visitors here during the Australian Veterans Golf Championships? What a great job Dave Flatt and his volunteers did that week. We can’t thank the staff, Bluewater Grill and Moses Golf enough, everyone did an amazing job. There has been some great feedback on Trip Advisor about the Port Stephens area, the event, course, Clubhouse and our service levels. Well done all those involved.
Fixture Book 2018 -2019 Captain David Rann is currently putting next years fixtures together and we are looking for continued sponsorship and new sponsors for our daily competitions, Keith Campbell will be contacting current daily competition sponsors (members) and is looking for new sponsors, for those interested please contact Keith on 0418 600 498 or at [email protected]. The Ladies Committee will be contacting lady members for their daily competitions as well to see if you would like to sponsor again next year. For those who have businesses or would like to take advantage of our advertising opportunities on the course, around the Club or on the website/social media platforms please contact Natalie Kelly. If you sponsored last year Natalie will be in contact with you in the next week with the 2019 packages.
Member’s Competition Fees. The Board has resolved that the following increases will apply from 1st January 2019:
Competition Fees will go from $18-$20 (Inc. $2 Course Improvement fund) Members subscriptions have not increased since 1st July 2015. And yes, whilst we are trading reasonably well our day to day costs have increased. The Board over the coming months will undertake a full review of all our annual fees. The need for the proposed general meeting in April-May regarding annual subscriptions for 2019-20 will be reviewed closer to the time.
Directors Mandatory Training All directors have now completed the training modules as laid out by the Clubs NSW Act with the exception of newly appointed director Chris Mawson.
Committees
Match: D Rann chair, C Mawson, E Kidd, D Birss, Peri Kennedy, M Moses & T Harrison Course: T Harrison chair, D Rann, N Hocking, C Mawson & G Stynes Marketing: N Kelly, J White, R Knuppe & T Harrison. Finance: K Campbell chair, M Pride, P Power & T Harrison. Entertainment-Social: C Mawson to chair with J White also involved. Other members to be sought.
From the Captain
Club Championships This year’s Club Championships were played under varying conditions from 36 degree heat, very windy conditions and one day was perfect. The course was in fabulous condition with the greens rolling well. This year’s Champions are: - Club Champion James Marshall 306 B Grade Champion Graeme Luke 332 C Grade Champion Philip Gee Kee 382 D Grade Champion Chris Dunn 397
Net Champions are: - A Grade Peter Gibson 293 B Grade John Mudie 290 C Grade Michael Penman 294 D Grade Lloyd Goodwin 291 Senior Stuart Phegan 301 Super Senior Eric Kidd 297
Well done to the winners and all the other members who participated.
Congratulations to Ray Carruthers who won the 2018 C Grade District Championship with 93 gross and Neil Bowling was third in B Grade with 84 gross. Both competitions were played at Horizons.
Rules of Golf effective from the 1st January 2019 The Players Edition of the Rules of Golf effective from the 1st January 2019 are available now from Reception for all playing members. The new Local Rules also effective from 1st January 2019 are currently being drafted and will be published before Christmas. A lot more information, including quite a few short videos, about the new Rules is available on line at https://www.golf.org.au/newrules The pennant teams’ annual presentation dinner will be held at the club on Friday 1st February 2019. This special event is for all the Clubs pennant players plus their partners and family including the Ladies’, the Men’s and the Juniors’ squads. So put that in your calendar now and more details will be provided later.
AGM Questions & Action Kath Allen requested the board reconsider including members’ names and contact details in the annual handbook. Peter Power replied this cannot be done under the new Government Privacy Legislation, but he was looking at M-Power system that could be available through the Club’s website members’ portal.
Graham Allen’s correspondence related to the costs associated with Marketing Function income of $133,000. GM, T Harrison gave a detailed response to Mr Allen’s question that was followed up with a meeting with Graham, Keith Campbell (Director of Finance) & Trevor Harrison.
Bruce Scott asked with David Rann being elected as Captain there was a casual vacancy on the Board and he asked how this casual vacancy will be filled. John Edmunds the Club’s Honorary Solicitor advised under Clause 16.3 of the Club’s Constitution the casual vacancy on the board will be decided by the new board.
Peter Murray advised a Developer had contacted the Club re sponsorship and was advised that the Club does not accept that type of sponsorship. A meeting has been held with the Developer and NBGC is their preferred golf club.
Bryan Gibson requested details on the Club’s 2018/19 Budget. Director of Finance Keith Campbell has provided a copy of the budget summary to Mr Gibson and a copy has been posted on the main notice board.
David Flatt asked members to enjoy the wonderful course and clubhouse they have been provided with. He will continue to support the Club were ever he can.
Margaret Harding asked if the Fore Magazine can be reintroduced. Due to the costs associated with producing a Fore Magazine (approx. $10 per copy) the board will continue to send our newsletters by email with hard copies available at reception.
Ian Pfennigwerth commented on the Board’s role and they are elected by the members to for fill a charter (Strategic Plan). Mr Pfennigwerth will be provided with a copy of the Clubs NSW document on Board Operations.
Ray Carruthers requested better communications from the Board on golf events and not just last minute SMS to promote events. Members will continued to receive golf events information through the annual programme, newsletters and emails. SMS’s are sent when numbers are only sent when bookings are slow for upcoming events.
Jenny Frost requested additional details be published in Club Newsletters on women’s golf events and results. The Captain and Ladies Captain will prepare a golf newsletter that will be emailed twice a month with hard copies available at reception.
Staffing Sarah Alexander started with us in mid-September as our full time Events Coordinator. Sarah’s role is to manage the functions/golf events that have been booked into the Club. This will free Natalie up to chase and book new business and sponsorship, manage our website/social media and grow our other business streams in corporate golf, conferencing and weddings.
In line of our strategic plan we have increased our Green Staff by one. We have a few new faces in Greg’s team – Andrew Fletcher our new first year apprentice who has just completed his HSC and Chris Sharpe is a new casual groundsman.
Bar staff has been increased to accommodate the summer with Mitchell Smith, Brad Fletcher, Brad French and Bryce Wittaker coming on board. Make sure you say g’day and welcome all of these new staff members to the Club.
Functions and Events It has been a BIG 15 months at the Club. We have serviced 213 groups seeing an additional 12,639 people through our door from 1st August 2017 – 31st July 2018. The year ahead already has this booked and more with over 8 months to go so it will be a busy time for the Club and Bluewater Grill ahead.
Another growth area is our kangaroo tours which have been nominated on Trip Advisor as the number 1 activity to do in Nelson Bay. The volunteers do an amazing job and full credit goes to them for this. Well done to all of those involved.
The potential for growth in our conference market is considerable in collaboration with other Port Stephens providers for accommodation, activities and other services. We have struck up a business partnership with the Newcastle Knights who will be having their sponsor’s day with us in February 2019.
Other Items TOMAREE BREAST CANCER FUND RAISER Well done to Bar Attendant, Jordon Harding-Frame for raising $1,310 by shaving his beard off in support for the Tomaree Breast Cancer Group.
THE LONGEST DAY 2018 SPONSORS WANTED! Help Marc Pisani, Tim Chaplin, Neil Hodges and Ryan Connor make a difference. They're playing 72 holes, 4 rounds of golf in one day! This is all in the name of the Cancer Council Charity. NBGC and Moses Golf for providing free access to the course and the free use of carts to get them through a very long day. ALL donations are welcome. For more information and to donate please go to: https://longestdaynsw2018.everydayhero.com/au/marc-s-golfing-rage-against- cancer?fbclid=IwAR3m182fhgva6p8YZZogu3poaBH_Y_L47177IGR_qMenV6wTPPC29uBUdU c
Practice Fairway Members & guests are reminded the maximum club that can be used on the practice fairway is a seven (7) iron. Also if the lower grass tee is roped off that means the tee is closed.
Be mindful that we will be closed on Christmas Day, however the course and Clubhouse will reopen on Boxing Day.
Peter Power President
GOLF NEWSLETTER – 2ND NOVEMBER 2018
Dear Members & Guests,
The club championships are upon us, another year for some of us of great expectations. Good luck to all those entered.
With the weather warming I would like to remind all to keep the fluids up. Last summer we had a number of members suffering from dehydration and required medical assistance.
The suggestion box will be reintroduced from next week. There will be a pro forma suggestion card with space available for comments.
AGM 108 members attended the AGM last Monday night the following members were elected to the Board. David Rann Captain 1 year term Joanne White Director 3 year term Chris Mawson Director 3 year term With David Rann being elected Captain that has created a casual vacancy for a Director for a one year term. The Board will fill the casual vacancy when they next meet. There were a few questions on men’s and women’s golf, club finances and member communications that will be addressed by the new Board.
New Reciprocal Club – Geraldton Golf Club. WA The Board has agreed to a Reciprocal Playing Agreement with Geraldton Golf Club is located 450 kms North of Perth in the heart of the Coral Coast area of WA, home to spectacular wildflowers, Abrolhos Islands and Monkey Mia to name a few tourist hotspots as well as home to the WA Rock Lobster industry. Members intending to travel West can obtain reciprocal playing rights conditions from reception. For more information on Geraldton Golf Club visit their website www.geraldtongolfclub.com.au
Greens Last weekend our greens show signs of stress which happens in warmer weather. Greg Stynes our Course Superintendent identified the problem as Argentine Stem Weevil which attacks the root system of the greens. Last Monday a spray application was applied and follow up on Friday morning. Greg is pleased with the current health of the greens, however this has prevented the green staff from carrying out their normal surface preparation to the greens not to mention heatwave condition over the weekend. The greens will still be prepared in the morning for round one of the Club Championships with cutting and rolling practises, however they will not be as fast as they normally are for these events.
20th Path The new surface has been completed and the path is now open. It was decided to revert back to the old style rubber compound down the centre of the path. This option was the most expensive costing $14,330 but will be the safest and long lasting.
22nd Green Repairs For those of you who were not aware the 22nd green was damaged by an irrigation break last weekend. The damage has affected some two thirds of the putting surface. The greens staff have carried out repairs, however, GUR of the green is still in play. The surface will not be perfect for some time as ongoing works to restore the surface will take time, this involves top dressing and rolling.
Practice Nets The new practice nets are now open and are in the same area as the old nets. It is recommended by the manufacturer that these nets are designed as warm up nets and are best suited for irons. They are not designed for extended practice sessions. The cost for the new concrete pad, grass carpet and the nets were just short of $20,000.
Australian Veterans Tournament Due to the Australian Veterans Tournament, there will be no Ladies Comps on Tuesday 13th or Thursday 15th November or the usual Medley comps on Friday 16th November. Instead, there has been a change to the published event on Wednesday 14th November. There will not be a Black and White Stableford competition or Social play on Wednesday 14th November, but there will be Medley Stableford Competitions for both Men and Ladies on Wednesday 14th November on both Xmas Bush and Brush Box. There will be no ballot held on Tuesday 6th November because of the Melbourne Cup event the same afternoon. On-line booking and from the various clubhouse terminals will be available from 5:00pm on Tuesday 6th November. Saturday and Sunday members competitions are not affected.
Medal of Medallist’s The winner of the Medal of Medals on Saturday 27th October was John Long who defeated Rob Fitzgerald on count back. Congratulations to John for this significant win.
Rules Night There will be a presentation and discussion, in the Function rooms, on the new Rules of Golf on Thursday 8th November at 6:00pm after the ballot. Both Maurie and Warren Moses will be there so the Q&A will be most interesting. The new rules come into effect 1st January 2019, the players edition on new rules of golf booklet is available at the match desk. The Match Committee
Tomaree Breast Cancer Fundraiser Jordan who has very kindly offered to shave off his beard for Tomaree Breast Cancer Charity. There is a donation box on the Bar and the big day for the BEARD OFF is Tuesday 27th November after golf.
All proceeds will be donated to The Tomaree Breast Cancer Support Group's "In the Pink" Golf Day which will be held of 26th March 2019.
Peter Power PRESIDENT GOLF NEWSLETTER – 19TH OCTOBER 2018
Dear Golfing Members,
Please see the following information from the Match Committee;
The Match Committee was concerned about the falling level of participation in the Club Championships, so we have come up with the following changes, this is our premier event for the year and look forward to greater involvement.
The Match Committee discussed the possibility of changing a few things to freshen up the interest in our club’s premier members event, the Club Championships. We came up with the following recommendations:-
1. GRADE GA HANDICAP PLAYING HCP RANGE NO. OF MEMBERS RANGE INC. IN RANGE A UP TO 9.6 UP TO 11 34 B 9.7-15.6 12-18 114 C 15.7- 20.6 19-24 122 D 20.7-36 25-36 150
The rationale behind this is that:- • The Club Champion will almost certainly play off 11 or less • The current A graders in the range 12 – 15 have little chance of winning scratch or net, so deserve a chance in a lower grade • The vast bulk of our members play in the current B and C grades. The lower handicappers will remain in B grade and the higher handicappers will have a better chance of winning scratch or net in the lower D grade. • To boost the interest in the regular C graders, we have introduced this new (or rather revived) D grade playing off the Blue markers.
2. We want to acknowledge the fact that we have some very good golfers over the age of 65 that would not stand a chance against the “Senior” golfers who would be just over the age of 55. We have Super Senior pennants so why not also have a Super Senior category i.e. over 65, in the Club Championships?
On Saturday 13th October the finals of the Club Scratch Matchplay Championships were played out. Remarkably all matches went down to the wire with A & C grades decided on the 18th green and the B grade went on two more holes to eventually decide the winner. The results were as follows:- GRADE WINNER RUNNER-UP A JAMES MARSHALL GRAHAM ALLEN B ROD COX DAVE OWENS C RICHARD GRAYSTONE PAUL CALE
Regarding the District Championships, the A grades play at Charlestown on Sunday 18th Nov and the B&C grades play at Horizons on the same day, all as noted in our Fixtures book. The entry forms are not available on-line yet, but I have asked the NDGA when they will be. When they are available we will then advertise these events for our membership. Players of all grades especially our pennant players are encouraged to enter this District Competition as we need them to pre-qualify the club for next year’s pennants series.
Last Sunday C grade pennants had a 3-3 Draw with Tanilba Bay so have now dropped out of the finals. The winners today were John Wainwright 1 Up, Ray Carruthers 4-2, Barry Elliott 2 up, the other games were extremely close with 5 matches going to the 18th hole Darren Hancock 1 down, Brian Pobje 1 Down and John McDonald 2 down. So near yet so far!!
B grade won 4 ½ to 1 ½ but this was also not quite enough to go through to the finals. The details were:-
Mark Galloway won 5/4.
Murray Atkins lost 1 down
Leigh Messner squared his match
Chris Mawson won 4/3
Brett Allman won 6/4
Neil Lembcke won 6/5.
Very well done to all involved with this year’s campaigns especially the team managers who put so much time and effort into supporting the players. Let’s hope we can do just that little bit better next year. The end of year Pennants dinner will likely take place in late January/early Feb. Details will be issued as and when available.
Match Committee
GOLF NEWSLETTER – 10th OCTOBER 2018
Dear Members,
We have a number of club golf events coming up in October/November with each having their own individual importance. On Friday 12th we have the annual Rotary Day charity event.
On Saturday 13th we have the Annual Presidents vs the Captains teams challenge and also the finals of the Scratch Matchplay (sponsored by Moses Golf) across all 3 grades taking place. Follow them around from about 12:00 or watch them come down the 18th from the balcony, if they are still unresolved.
The Battle of The Sexes takes place on Sunday 14th October.
Saturday 20th sees the last round of the Handiskins comp prior to the Club Final on 1st December when $1,200 is up for grabs by any of the 4 finalists. If you missed out this year make sure you put your name down next year.
Medal of Medals – Saturday 27th October sponsored by SS & LM Johnson Earthmoving (monthly mug).
The Men’s 2018 Club Championships, four rounds commencing 3rd through 10th, 17th and 24th November. Entry forms will be available at reception from Friday 12th October. I urge you to support this major club event. Some have commented on why this year’s event is held over 4 Saturdays, this is so we can accommodate the Australian Veterans Golf Championships.
Melbourne Cup Tuesday 6th November – places are filling up so get your team together this is always a good fun day for all.
Australian Veterans Golf Championships – 12th, 13th, 15, and 16th November, whilst this is not a club event it is none the less important as we will have golfing and non-golfing visitors from around Australia. This will allow us to showcase our Course and Clubhouse to approximately 560 players and guests. A reminder that there are no member competitions on these days.
Men’s Pennants – B & C grade continue to be competitive and again are in the mix for a possible finals birth, well done to all involved. Last Sunday B grade won 6 zip against Tanilba Bay Mark Galloway 1UP Leigh Messner 3/2 Chris Mawson 4/3 Neil Lembcke 5/4 Brett Allman 9/7 Murray Atkins 4/3
The team manager Mike Harris was visibly overwhelmed with emotion! C Grade had a bye.
Existing practice nets are being demolished. A brand new practice net facility will be completed by the end of October.
As you can see a very busy November for our club, enjoy your golf and good luck.
Peter Power President
GOLFING NEWSLETTER - 4th OCTOBER 2018
Dear Members & Guests, Spring is upon us, some much needed rain, temperatures in the low 20C’s, great golfing weather. October is golf month so let’s get out and enjoy our wonderful golf course. Our nominations for club directors has closed and voting will commence at 10am on Monday, 8th October and close at 5pm on Friday, 26th October. As for last year voting will be done online or at the club for those who do not have access to a computer. Each member will be provided a voters ID number to vote. I am currently working on our club’s memorabilia. This includes documents, trophies and foundation members list so if any members have anything of interest, please let me know via reception. The Board continues to work on our Corporate Governance attending seminars and ensuring our documentation is up to date with current ASIC legislation. There is considerable onus on directors and management to comply with legislation. We have introduced a WH&S system app with EPAR, our WH&S compliance partner, to ensure all staff are aware and maintain safety standards both in the clubhouse and on the course. We have applied for a grant under the NSW Governments Infrastructure Regional Grants programme for delivery of a practice area and water catchment from the clubhouse roof to our dam. The grant is for $245,000.00. We have also applied for a grant and have been invited by our Federal Member of Parliament Ms Meryl Swanson MP to apply for a grant under the Stronger Communities Programme. Project Title: Supply and Installation of dirt glue product to red rock cart paths Total Project Amount: $16,500.00 Grant amount sought: $5,000.00.
Directors and senior staff will be attending The NSW Golf Industry Awards to be held at Curzon Hall for the first time on Monday, October 22nd, 2018. Nelson Bay Golf Club Ltd is a finalist for regional club of the year and our GM Trevor Harrison is a finalist for Manager of the Year. These are great achievements for our Club.
Farmer’s Drought Relief The Clubs and members of most clubs in Nelson Bay contributed $44,000 to the Farmer’s Drought Relief Fund with most fundraising conducted over the weekend of September 8th – 9th. NBGC contributed $8,471.10 thanks to the generous support of our members, guests and our suppliers. Well done everyone.
Well done to Col Clifton on his HIO on the 8th that day. A rare feat on the 8th.
Golf Month October is Golf Month with events being held through Australia during October to promote golf.
NBGC has committed to 3 Play 9 Events over the next week that could get you into the Australian Open Play 9 National Final played in conjunction with the Australian Open. 24 lucky golfers from around the country will be selected from all entrants and they will travel to Sydney on Friday, 16th November, stay two nights, receive a gift pack, play in the final and attend the Play 9 Event presentation dinner as well as attending the Australian Open champion’s cocktail party on the Sunday evening.
For full details go to: https://www.golf.org.au/play9
Our events are being played on the following dates: - Friday, 5th October from 2pm Tuesday, 9th October from 12pm in conjunction with the Skins Golf Club Thursday, 11th October a twilight event with a 4pm shot gun start
To enter book through the website as normal. Competition fee $12.
Finance August Trading After 13 months of trading in the new clubhouse we now have comparative month by month trading figures. It was uncanny that August 2018 almost mirrored August 2017 with total income of $308,939 only up by $334 on August 2017 and expenditure was $564 less than 2017. Course and clubhouse expenses were up, but staff expenses were down by $32,168 in August 2018 mainly due to all the opening events. We all know August 2017 was our opening month and incurred one off payments plus additional income through the opening period. It will be interesting to see the month by month comparisons as the year progresses. In 2017/18 the club was cash positive by over $560,000, but depreciation of $456,000 left the club with a trading result of $104,783 compared with $84,702 in 2016/17.
In terms of income bar trade for August was healthy - up 15% to $136,737 compared to July. The industry-wide benchmarks for bar turnover are 60% (gross profit) and 30% (wages) and the club performance is similar to the bench marks. Gaming continues to grow especially poker machines with income up almost 10% to $74,453 for the month. On the course income was up almost 10% to $83,447 with members green fees dipping about 6% the only negative, however visitor green fees for August this year were up about 30% on July. In terms of costs one of the big jumps was on the course where expenditure almost doubled compared to July. This was largely due to bulk purchases of chemicals and fertilizer at good rates, which will be reflected in lower costs over coming months.
Reciprocal Clubs NBGC has reciprocal agreements with 23 golf clubs around Australia plus 2 International clubs. Reciprocal Clubs are listed on the club’s website or page 63 of the Golf Fixtures book. If travelling check with reception as there are different agreements for each club for example at Bribie Island Golf Club members receive a 50% reduction in green fees. This also applies to their members when they visit Nelson Bay. NB. A member is only entitled to the equivalent playing rights as you have at NBGC when you visit reciprocal clubs.
The 2018 Nelson Bay Pro-Am - Will Semmens – Tournament Director Day 1 greeted us with overcast conditions at 7am for the first shotgun start. After a heavy overnight shower, the course was still in a fast condition, posting a good score would be difficult, on the tough layout. The best of the morning players was Scott Arnold who shot a 71 (1 under). Just as the 12pm shotgun was about to get underway, a few showers had come across the course, and was starting to set in. Then about 25 minutes later the heavens opened up and down she came, where play was suspended for about 30-40 minutes. Play resumed at 1.10pm and with this rain it also softened the course up and made scoring a little easier, with Matt Millar and Hayden Webb both shooting 69 (3 under) to lead the pack on Day 1. Conditions were still tough with only 6 players breaking Par with scoring average of 76. Day 2 was picture perfect, we were met with sun shining and calm conditions. Bradley Doherty 69 and Nathan Green 71 had the best morning scores, The afternoon seeded groups were then out at 12pm, with Matt Millar and Hayden Webb in the featured group. At the end of the day it was a 1 shot victory to Matt Millar who backed up his first round 69 with another 69 on Friday. Scoring was hot with Darren Beck and Jamie Hook (Pacific Dunes Pro) both shooting a course record 66 (6 under) with Darren finishing R/Up to Matt and Jamie in 3rd position. With the greens a little softer due to the previous day’s rain, scoring was a little better, however only 11 players broke par on day 2 with scoring average of 75. The Amateur prize was hotly contested with around 80-90 players playing both days, it was Vito Massioli winning with an aggregate score of 72 points, R/Up was Chris Tongon on 71 and Brett Allman on 69 points. In the ladies section it was Charmaine Elliott winning on 67 points with Karen Flatt R/Up on 65 points. Congratulations to all. There were Day 1 and Day 2 prizes in each grade, with over $3,000 worth of prizes given out. This year we had the Calcutta and Cocktail Party on the Thursday Night, with over $700 worth of tickets sold. It was the featured group that got up with Jamie Hooks 66 with 1 Hcp that resulted in a Nett 65 to win by 1 from Darren Beck Nett 66. Peter Miers was the lucky person who won the Calcutta, and I heard he kindly donated it to the 2 Pro’s he had billeting with him in Hayden Webb and Brad Doherty. There was also a few interviews done by leading players, Hayden Webb and Matt Millar and touring Pro Andre Stolz who had some funny stories to tell of their times on Tour. We also had the privilege of having Kurt Gidley speak about his time as Knights, NSW & Australia player.
JUNIORS Nelson Bay Golf Club Junior Tournament 2018
BOYS JUNIOR CHAMPION PRIZE NAME SCRATCH WINNER $150 Thomas Hunt [Mona Vale GC] NET WINNER $100 Jake Riley [Toronto CC] 15-17 YEARS WINNER $70 Christopher Fisher [Charlestown] RUNNER-UP $40 Harry Cleare [NBGC] 14 & UNDER WINNER $70 Yashwant Pillay [NBGC] RUNNER-UP $40 Ethan Van Zyl [Singleton] HANDICAP OF 28 + (S/FORD) WINNER $70 Zac Rimmer [NBGC] RUNNER-UP $40 Angus McClellan [Cessnock] NEAREST TO PIN – 5th HOLE $20 Thomas Hunt [Mona Vale] 340 cm NEAREST TO PIN – 14th HOLE $20 Harris Preece [HVCC] 800 cm BOYS CADET CHAMPION $50 Kayden WINNER Leeson [NBGC] RUNNER-UP $30 Riley Leeson [NBGC]
I look forward to seeing on the course or in the clubhouse. Peter Power President
GOLFING NEWSLETTER – 9th SEPTEMBER 2018
Dear Members & Guests,
Spring is upon us, warmer weather and a great time of year to be playing golf. For those members who do not play and have been considering taking up the game, now is the time. Golf offers many benefits - it keeps you reasonably fit, it is a game for life, the social aspect is good, meeting new friends and of course enjoying a tipple in the clubhouse or on the balcony enjoying the view over the golf course. It doesn’t get much better than that.
2018 ELECTION OF DIRECTORS Nominations will open 14th September and close Friday 28th September, as you are aware the Board of Directors is elected under the triennial rule. Nominations this year – Captain for 1 year and two (2) Directors for 3 years. Voting will be as per last year and will be carried out electronically, if required. The voting period, if required, will be from 8th October to 26th October.
Dave Flatt’s resignation is effective from the 13th September, Director and Match Committee member David Rann will become the interim Captain for the remaining period.
I feel we have a strong Board and they have served the members well.
FINANCE The Club’s auditors are in and we expect to have the audit finalised shortly and post the last 3 months results on the notice board.
You may have noticed the increase in bar prices, this is due to an increase in government excise and a gazetted increase in award wages.
PRO AM 20th & 21st SEPTEMBER 2018 We have had plenty of interest in this event and it is filling up fast. As I write we have 62 professionals entered which include Nathan Green, Nick Flanagan and Leigh McKechnie.
Billeting – Some of the Professionals are looking for accommodation, so if any members are interested in billeting a young up and coming professional golfer could you please contact reception. You never know you may meet the next Jason Day or Cameron Smith. Thank you in advance for your help.
JUNIORS The Nelson Bay Junior Tournament will be held on Sunday, 23rd September. Come and watch some of the districts junior golfers. I can tell you from experience they are entertaining and great to watch and have no fear.
Harry Cleare recently competed and won the JNJG South Coast Junior Masters Tournament from a very strong field, well done Harry.
Harry Cleare Overall Winner JNJG South Coast Junior Masters Tournament
We should be very proud of our juniors as not only do we have the largest representation at most junior events, but our juniors are well behaved and a credit to the Club.
OTHER EVENTS I would like to extend a warm welcome to our visitors to the Nelson Bay Ladies Classic being held on 10th, 11th and 13th September, we have 180 players from 31 different clubs including Russell Vale & Bayview Golf Clubs.
I recently visited the Gaming Expo at Darling Harbour with GM Trevor Harrison and Operations Manager Terry Hall to keep abreast of the club industry and the technological advances to date. We were particularly interested in the clubhouse signage, note counting and weighing machines which can result in timesaving for our staff. Now this may not sound too exciting, but it is a fascinating event showcasing an extraordinary amount of equipment to the club industry.
Trevor Harrison and I also attended the Port Stephens Business Leaders Lunch 2018 on Saturday 25th August, the guest speaker NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian outlined her government’s plans for Port Stephens and The Hunter.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian, Peter Power, Trevor Harrison and Councillor Jaimie Abbott
Trevor and I also had an informal lunch with Port Stephens Councillor Jaimie Abbott and Catherine Cusack MLC Parliamentary Secretary for Digital Inclusion, they were both impressed by our new club.
NSW Government, Application for Infrastructure Grants opened 3rd of September and we will be applying for grants on various projects for our club. Funding under this round is available for Sport and Recreation and Emergency Preparedness, Infrastructure Grants are funded through the Club Grants Category 3 Fund which reinvests 0.4% of clubs' gaming machine profits over $1 million, back into community projects. CLUB RECOGNITION This year the Golf Industry has combined to hold the first Golf Industry Awards Night to be held at Curzon House on Monday, 22nd October, 2018. Golf NSW, the PGA (NSW), Jack Newton Junior Golf, Golf Management Australia (NSW) and the Golf Course Superintendent’s Association (NSW) will be presenting awards on the night. The Board at Nelson Bay Golf Club have nominated General Manager Trevor Harrison for the GMA NSW Manager of the Year and he has strong opposition from five other GM’s. The Club has also been nominated as Country (Regional) Golf Club of the Year, but we will have to wait until later this month to see if the Club is one of the finalist. This is great recognition for Nelson Bay Golf Club and Trevor for what, not only has been achieved over the past 12 months, but also the three years since the fire. COURSE INDICES The introduction of the revised course indices seems to have gone smoothly, with no reported problems with the Men’s competition on Wednesday or Ladies on Thursday.
GUR MARKINGS There has been a slight change to the GUR markings on the left side of the 4th fairway, adjacent to the Greens shed. That GUR line now extends back down the fairway to include a large mound and sand bins. Members are advised to check these changes so you are familiar with the boundaries of this GUR area. Just a reminder to members that GUR areas are marked by plain white posts, a white line, or both. Out of Bounds markers always have a black top.
EAGLES In Wednesday’s competition James Marshall and Steve Conrades both had an Eagle on the 18th hole, but they were playing in different competitions. Easy game!
PLACE PROPERTY MANAGEMENT LADIES CLASSIC Good luck to our Ladies and their visitors for the Ladies Classic commencing this Monday 10 September. The Men traditionally help out as spotters and bunker rakers for this event, and we still need to fill a number of gaps in the roster. If you can help for 2 hours on Monday, Tuesday or Thursday 10, 11 and 13 September please see Dave Flatt or put your name on the roster at Reception.
NRL FOOTY TIPPING COMPETITION Well done to the winners of our Annual NRL Footy Tipping Competition. 1st Peter Power 127 pts 2nd Neil Lembcke 125 pts 3rd Dallas Cowboys 124 pts 4th Chris Drake & Simonne Irvine 123 pts
NB. Peter’s strategy was to save one of his two jokers to the final round. Look forward to seeing you on the Course and in the Clubhouse. Peter Power PRESIDENT GOLFING NEWSLETTER 31st AUGUST 2018
Dear Golfing members, From time to time it is necessary to review the stroke index for each hole on each course. Fortunately, the Micropower system has a Report that is able to provide a statistical analysis of the scores achieved by players on each hole over a large number of rounds. The review process was carried out by David Rann, and then the Match Committee held a number of meetings to fine tune the final indices for each course. I have asked David to provide a more detailed explanation of the whole process below. The members of the Ladies Match Committee were given a similar statistical analysis, and they then carried out their own amendments to the Ladies indices. Changing the indices in the system is quite an involved process so our aim is for the amended indices to come into effect from about Tuesday, 4th September 2018. From that time the new indices will be automatically printed on all score cards. I would like to thank David Rann and the members of both Match Committees for all their work in carrying out this long-overdue review.
Dave Flatt CAPTAIN
EXPLANATION OF THE REVIEW PROCESS BY DAVID RANN The procedures we followed were in complete compliance with those recommended by Golf NSW and Golf Australia. In fact, the results were reviewed by Golf NSW. A total of nearly 9,000 rounds of men’s A grade competitions from 2015 to early 2018 were analysed by the computer system and put into the ascending order of difficulty for each course. In compliance with Golf Australia’s procedures, which require a balance between the front nine and the back nine of each course, we identified 3 of the hardest holes plus 3 of the next hardest holes plus 3 of the easiest holes for each half of each course. This sequence was then replicated for indices 19-36 but with manual adjustments on the par 3 holes so that these 4 holes are now rated as indices 33-36 for each course. A similar exercise was carried out for the Ladies’ courses by the Ladies Match Committee for their indices from 1-54. Our Pro Shop will carry out the changes to the documentation on the cards and the amended indices will come into effect from Tuesday, 4th September 2018 for the Ladies and from Wednesday, 5th September for the Men, providing the MicroPower system responds as expected. There are no changes to the Matchplay indices. If you have any queries please direct them to Dave Flatt or myself, or any member of the Ladies or Club Match Committees.
David Rann DIRECTOR
GOLFING NEWSLETTER 15TH AUGUST 2018
Dear Members & Guests,
For those of you who have not attended the club on Friday nights you have missed some excitement, after 52 weeks the Joker Poker Jackpot of $10,000.00 finally went off. How exciting for the winner from Anna Bay, Dylan Fenwick who said he will use the money to reduce his mortgage. Congratulations!!
This week we welcome the Place Property Management Port Stephens Classic players and guests to our club, Horizons and Pacific Dunes. We trust you have an enjoyable stay in the Port Stephens area. Our sincere thanks go to Michael Aylmer from Place Property Management for sponsoring this popular event.
We will be placing a suggestion box for all members at the Match Desk I encourage you to keep your comments constructive and positive. All suggestions will require your name and member number and will be kept confidential.
GOLF Congratulations goes to our C grade players who played in the OC Colley Cup event at Toronto Country Club winning the L W Clark Cup. The team consisted of Brian Pobje, Mark Twomey, Garry Johnson and Darren Hancock. Garry Johnson was 3rd overall with a Nett 68.
Congratulations to Rhondda Shaw and Will Semmens on winning the Club Mixed Foursomes event. Runners up were Fran Giudes and Chris Mawson. Nett winners were Judy and Barry Schultz, with Carol Gilmour and Emile Billet Runners up.
Congratulations to Robyn Kennett & Mary Reisch winners of the Ladies 27 holes Foursomes Championships and Division 2 winners Janice Ingleton & Norma Hocking.
Jill Rowland hit the jackpot recently with her Hole in One on the 14th. Jill won $200 from David Schmarr from PRD Real Estate as well as $100 from our member sponsor Carmen Rigon.
Congratulations to 4bbb Knockout winners Division 1 Sharon Dunn & Jeanette McClymont, Division 2 winners Diedre Haxton & Heather Atkins and Division 3 winners Pat Harrold & Ruth Buchanan.
The link to the new golf rules as of 2019 has been put on our website. If you go to www.nelsonbaygolf.com/news/new-golf-rules-1st-january-2019 you can find them there or go direct to www.golf.org.au/newrules.
Happy Birthday to us – Sunday 19th August is the reopening anniversary golf day. The time sheet is filling up fast so get your entry/team in for this special teams Ambrose event. There will be a shotgun start at 12.15pm, finger food and presentations in the function room after the round. The entry fee is $25 pp, payable online or at Reception.
Last year we had a number of members’ groups playing in the Social Clubs Challenge, and we hope to have the same for this year’s event on Friday 19 and Sunday 21 October. This fun event involves 2BBB on the Friday and 2 Person Ambrose on the Sunday. The Ambrose in particular should suit pairs with one sensible player and one with a bit of bravado. Why not get your friends together (non-handicappers included) and form a team. Entry online or through Reception.
For information and entry for any of our events just go to the Club’s website of www.nelsonbaygolf.com, click on PLAYING A ROUND then GOLF EVENTS.
NBGC in conjunction with the local sporting community will be holding a number of benefit events to raise funds for our farmers on September 8th & 9th. Keep a look out for event information in the local papers and on the notice board for our Farmers Relief Port Stephens Charity Weekend Golf Day on Sunday, 9th September. This is a 4 person Ambrose, 18 hole event with betting holes, gold coin donation opportunities and raffles. Proceeds from your entry fees and halfway house will go towards this worthy cause.
NBGC Ladies Golf Classic – 10th, 11th & 13th September again will be a big event and always popular with our members and visitors, good golfing to all.
NBGC Pro – Am 20th & 21st September we have quite a few professionals entered, and the event is shaping up to be bigger and better than last year. Please get your team and entries in as we are now going to open entries up to non-members with a GA handicap. There is still a possibility that Peter Lonard will play and again we will draw two entries to play with him on separate days. How good is that? You get to play with one of the greats.
NBGC Junior Tournament – 23rd September 2018 is on again as it was such a success last year. We have such a strong junior contingent that we want to encourage with their golf that we’d like to see this event continue. Entries are now open and can be done through our website at www.nelsonbaygolf.com.
Report by Chris Mawson – Junior Coordinator Eric Kidd and myself took 9 boys and 1 girl to Singleton Golf Course for the Singleton Junior Open. It was a very successful day for our juniors and was enjoyed by all. There were over 60 juniors attending and overall was very well run - Becky Montgomery was runner-up in the Girl’s 9 Hole grouping - Felix Kaluski was runner up in the 18 hole junior section - Harry Cleare was overall winner with a wonderful score of 2 over par
A big thank you to Trevor Harrison for approving the bus on short notice and David Rann for arranging the entry fee.
Warren Moses should also be thanked for doing most of the organising. I am sure he is a very proud man. He is to be commended for his hard work and dedication to the coaching and mentoring of our Juniors.
One last thank you to Eric Kidd, whose help was amazing. I certainly could not have done it on my own.
Super Senior Pennants 2018 – Report by Allan Daubaras Nelson Bay started the season off in fine style with a 5 ½ to 2 ½ win over Taree at a very difficult Tuncurry Golf Course. Stars for the Bay were: - Peter Fulton - Peter Murray - Max Pride - Peter Burgess - Paul Kennedy Our number one, Mike Harris, had a fighting draw. A promising result which bodes well for the remaining matches.
The next match is against lower North Coast at Port Macquarie Golf Club on Monday, 20th August 2018. Spectators and supporters are welcome.
COURSE Heading into Spring the Course is looking at its best (some rain would be welcome) the greens staff have done a tremendous job. The removal of the 8th bunker left looks good now that it has been turfed, still doesn’t look easy though.
The 6th was in play and now out of play. It needs a little more time so we are now looking at opening for the September monthly medal. Some canopy removal has been carried out on the 6th, 12th and 21st to improve play and we have removed the unsafe dead tree adjacent to the men’s blue tee on the 6th.
The greens staff have put a lot of effort into improving the bunkers, this was one of the key findings of our recent member survey.
Cart paths continue to be maintained and repaired with the replacement of kick boards as necessary.
The long awaited repair to the 12th bore sleeve has been completed and the pump should be reinstalled shortly. This has been a long process as it is specialised work and drillers are reluctant to leave mining sites for a small contract. The good news is the club saved $5,000 from our initial quotation. FINANCE With our first year of trading under our belt the club turned a profit $127,057 based on total income of $4.6million. Considering the new business in the new clubhouse and the uncertainty involved the profit is more than acceptable. Some comparisons with trading in 2014-15 the last full financial year before the fire and the year just completed. 2014-15 2017-18 Total income $3.3m $4.6m Bar $1.1m $1.67m Gaming $316,000 $676,000 Green fees members $488,000 $589,000 Green fees visitors $468,000 $546,000 Based on the full-year just completed the new budget provides for a profit of $115,000. In its framing expenses have been in most cases held at 2017-18 levels with some adjustments.
AINSWORTH GAMING 2018 G2E STUDY TOUR – LAS VEGAS Our General Manager, Trevor Harrison along with other Port Stephens & Hunter Club Managers have been invited to attend the 2018 G2E Study Tour in Las Vegas from 8th – 15th October 2018. The tour is being sponsored by Ainsworth Gaming. The tour includes attending the Global Gaming Expo for three days, going behind the scenes of some of the largest Casinos in the world and visiting the Ainsworth office & showroom in their Las Vegas facility. Dean McCarthy (Secretary/Manager – NB Bowling Club) attended last year’s Global Gaming Expo and is attending again this year and recommends it would be beneficial for the NBGC for Trevor to attend.
As gaming is the club’s third highest income stream, it is important the gaming area is up to date with the latest equipment. The Board unanimously agreed for Trevor to attend the 2018 Global Gaming Expo representing NBGC.
MARKETING & EVENTS Last financial year we did a staggering 213 events which saw 12,639 people attend. This was a mixture of functions, golf events, conferences, weddings, social golf groups and inbound breakfasts/lunches with Korean groups. For the upcoming 2018/19 the girls have already managed to secure 119 future events with an expected 6,814 people in attendance. Over half of what we had last year and we’re essentially 6 weeks in. Well done!
We attended another Hunter Wedding Expo at the Newcastle Showground on the weekend which saw some great enquiry come through. We will also look at doing some radio advertising for weddings in the spring - September/October to keep getting our name out there as a wedding venue.
Don’t forget – we are hosting FREE hearing checks with Hearing Australia on Thursday, 23rd August 2018 from 10am-2pm. To register for these please see the girls at reception.
Father’s Day this year will be a FREE drink to all father’s/grandfather’s that are booked into Bluewater Grill for either lunch or dinner.
We will be doing another giveaway promotion for members/visitors that will be drawn just before Christmas. Watch this space!
Look forward to seeing you in the club and on the golf course.
Peter Power PRESIDENT
GOLFING NEWSLETTER - 17th JULY 2018
Dear Members & Guests, Our Club Captain, Dave Flatt has submitted a letter of resignation of his Captaincy to the Board which will be effective upon the announcement of the next election of Directors which is likely to be in October. The Board of Directors would like to thank Dave for his contribution to the club and wishes him well in his future endeavours including the Australian Veteran Golf Championships to be played at Port Stephens Golf Clubs during November 2018. Quite a few milestones coming up for our Club over the next few months. Almost 12 months trading in the new club premises, completion of the defects liability period with our builder, Club Projects, and the opening of the new 6th green in August. The finance committee, Board and Management are currently working on the annual reports which will be presented to the membership later this year. We now have financial trends that we can reflect on to assist in the management of the Club going forward. After recording 400mm, or 16 inches in the old language, of rain in June, a run of poker machine major jackpot payouts and the members’ badge draw being won by Frank Future (Imagine Cruises), June trading was not as badly affected as first thought. Preliminary figures indicate the Club will return a profit for 2017/18 of approximately $120,000 subject to audit. It is pleasing to report that visitors to the club continue to grow with 55,985 passing through the doors since opening to 30th June 2018. Member numbers continue to grow with 158 new members accepted in June including growth in golfing memberships. The new clubhouse is proving to be a popular golfing and social destination. The Board has approved the renewal of the Club’s general insurance with ANSVAR our current insurer. A number of quotes were sought and ANSVAR our proved to be very competitive. Considering their 12 million dollar material damages and business claim for the 2015 fire the Board is pleased to have ANSVAR as our insurer. The survey committee report, submissions and response by the Board have been placed on the Club’s website for your perusal. The Board wishes to thank all members who participated and the committee of Bob Justice, Barry Elliott, Graham Hendricks and Pam Townsend for their time. In due course a suggestion box will be placed at the Match Desk for members comments, you must include your name and member number with your suggestion. Several of the members’ suggestions have been instigated by the Board to date with the Board approving the engagement of Muller Acoustic Engineers to carry out an appraisal of the noise levels in the members’ lounge and adjacent restaurant.
EJE AWARD The Newcastle Division of the Australian Institute of Architects Annual Awards recognise the best in local architecture across the region. This year EJE submitted the Nelson Bay Golf Club for consideration in the commercial architecture category. This is a wide ranging category incorporating a host of different commercial building typologies. This diversity of applications generally means the category is well contested and as a result, saw the Nelson Bay Golf Club pitted against some huge budget commercial architecture. Judging was undertaken in two stages, a submission outlining how the project responds to key criteria, and a visit from a jury of Architects. One key criteria for judging included the community engagement with the project, a particular strength of this rebuild which may not have been possible without the strength of community spirit evident from the time of the fire right through to the opening of the doors. On the night, the golf club was one of two buildings awarded in the commercial architecture category, gaining a commendation along with the Newcastle Private Hospital. The early briefings for this rebuild included the fact that the club was ‘not chasing architectural awards’ with this building, but a functional and efficient clubhouse that would position the Club strongly for the future. This award demonstrates that both were possible in one package.
Club President Peter Power receiving the Commendation for Commercial Architecture Award from Doug White of EJE Architecture
Rumour of The Month – this is a new addition to my newsletter (not that we have too many rumours, lol): “The Practice fairway is being sold off for development” No, we lease this parcel of land and it is Crown Land.
GOLF On Sunday 1st July we hosted the inaugural Place Property Management Nelson Bay Cup. As part of the NCGA Order of Merit series, it attracted players from all over the district. The winner was Brian Carmichael from Waratah with a scratch score of 74. The runner-up on countback was Chris Turnbull from Newcastle. Nelson Bay members dominated the remaining categories. NBGC winners in their respective divisions were: Cliff Fallan - A Grade Nett; Graham Allen - B Grade Scratch; Jim Ingleton - C Grade Scratch; Mark Barden - B grade Nett; Danny Marmo - C Grade Nett. Runners-up were: Chris Drake - B Grade Scratch; Steve Parrott - C Grade Scratch; James Marshall - A Grade Nett. Our members have great opportunities to play in our hosted tournaments in coming months. The Place Property Management Port Stephens Classic, a popular tournament for visitors which will be held from Monday 13th to Friday 17th August, has now been opened to our members. The Members’ entry fee of $295 covers a registration function on Sunday, 12th August followed by four days of golf at Nelson Bay (twice), Horizons and Pacific Dunes. The entry fee also covers a dinner and trivia night on the Monday night, the Gala Presentation night on the Friday, and a wealth of prizes. Enter via the club website or through Reception. As usual, our Place Property Management Ladies Classic is filling fast with visitors which is great to see! However, lady members don’t be shy in getting your entries in as you’ll miss out. This event is one of our biggest with this year being open to 220 women. Entry forms are on the website or available from reception. The other terrific tournament opportunity will be the Nelson Bay Pro Am on Thursday 20th and Friday 21st September. Members and visitors can enter and play with a Pro golfer on one or both days. The entry fee is $60 for one day or $100 for two days. Entry forms are available from the Match Desk or Reception, and they should be returned with payment to Reception. Closely following on from the Pro Am is our second annual Nelson Bay Junior Tournament on Sunday 23rd September. So we can make this a great event for our own juniors and visitors, we need contributions from individuals and groups of members to finance the prizes and give- aways to the players. If you can help, please contact Reception. In other competition news, the Men’s Foursomes Championships were held on 24th June, with Will Semmens and James Marshall running out winners with a Scratch 121 from Runners up Phillipe Donoso and Ricky O’Shannessy. Nett winners were Tim and Shane Maher with Nett 101.75 from Jack Rowland and Brenton Bradford on 108. The Ladies Foursomes Championships will be held this Tuesday, 17th July and the Mixed Foursomes Championships will be held on Sunday, 29th July. The time sheet for this event will open from 5.00pm on Monday 16 July. There will be three pairs per group on the time sheet. The Ladies Singles Knockout was completed on Tuesday, 10th July. Congratulations to the winners and runners-up. Div 1: Di Johnson df Jenny Frost; Div 2: Charmaine Pattison df Glenda McCaw; Div 3: Judy Fisher df Margot Phegan. The highlight of recent results is the performance of new member Steve Conrades who scored 45 points and a Hole in One on the 25th hole on Friday, 6th July. Russ Finnerty also scored a Hole in One on the 14th on Wednesday, 4th July. The flood of Eagles seems to have abated, but we did miss one way back on 16th May when Dave Christensen holed his 2nd shot on the 1st hole.
PACE OF PLAY Thank you to members for continuing to monitor their pace of play by recording their times on score cards. We also have a Pace of Play Report available through the Micropower system. However this report records the elapsed time between each groups scheduled tee time until cards are scanned. We will run a report on all competitions in the week commencing Tuesday, 17th July, but it is important that players scan their cards as soon as possible after completing their rounds. The results of these Pace of Play Reports will be posted in the clubhouse.
MEN’S PENNANTS Intending Men’s B and C Grade Pennants players are reminded that the qualifying event for those teams is the OC Colley Cup to be held on Sunday 5th August. B Grade will be at Tanilba and C Grade will be at Toronto. Entry forms are available from the counter in the Pro shop corridor. The Pennants Coordinator is David Rann, the B Grade Manager is Mike Harris, and the C Grade Manager is Gary Troon.
8th Hole Drop Zone A drop zone has been marked on the back left hand side of the 8th green. This is for players when their golf ball finished in the back section of the GUR. Players in the front bunker take relief as per GUR.
FROM THE MANAGER’S DESK NEW CLUBHOUSE On Friday, 27th July, Peter Power and I have been asked to conduct a presentation on the Nelson Bay Golf Club rebuild to the Board and Senior Management Team of Tweed Heads Twin Towns Services Club. They will also be conducting a Strategic Planning meeting here that day. It is quite a feather in Club’s cap as Twin Towns Services is one of Australia’s largest clubs.
Since opening the new clubhouse we have had representatives for many Newcastle, Hunter and Sydney clubs meet with us to discuss the Club’s process, goals and objectives on the rebuild.
Peter & I also presented a seminar to a group of Managers who are members of Golf Management Australia NSW.
CLUBHOUSE & SURROUNDS MASTERPLAN When designing the new clubhouse 200 sqm of space was removed from the original plan as a cost saving. The areas that were most affected by this was administration and back of house including storage. Now the Club has been open for almost a year we are looking at areas where the functionality can be improved. In the downstairs area originally marked as future space we are looking at:
Additional admin space – 1 open plan office with 2 work stations plus a stand-alone office Additional function space for 20 – 30 person capability Toilet & kitchenette facility for use by both areas Additional cart storage for possible use by Landmark Cart Users Remove Landmark shed to create additional car parking Rework Landmark parking bays to maximise car parking Practice Areas including putting green(s), bunker, chipping area and driving range Clubhouse storm water retention Battery storage for solar system Front Entrance (existing plan provided by Terras Landscape Architects) External signage main clubhouse wall (northern wall) 19th tee cart parking bay and turn around area Brighten back entrance from Landmark Hotel
MEMBER’S GOLF CARTS Recently there have been members wanting to use private golf vehicles (motorised golf carts, quad bikes and small motorbikes) without seeking Board approval for their use. In 2014, the Board set new registration guidelines for stored carts, trailered carts and private dwelling entry onto the golf course.
We currently have 133 vehicles registered for use on the course plus 42 joint venture golf carts with Moses Golf. Another 30 members have their name on a golf cart waiting list. This year one space became available due to a member resigning from the Club, so as you can see it can be a long process coming off the waiting list.
The Club can provide an alternative in conjunction with Moses Golf by purchasing a Member’s bulk buy cart hire. There are three different levels, but the most attractive is the 30 prepaid pass for $660 which equates to $22 per round or $11 per player. This will provide you with a reserved cart (subject to you pre booking) that is modern, safe, clean and insured without any additional fees.
If you do the sums by the time you purchase a golf cart, pay annual registration and storage charges, plus insurance, this it is a very viable option and you will still have your money in the bank. Contact Maurie or Warren in the Pro Shop for further details.
MARKETING AND EVENTS The series of 3 State of Origin games saw approximately 50 people attend each one. It created a lot of fun and camaraderie during the season… until next year.
The Club will be attending another wedding expo in Newcastle this time on Sunday, 12th August 2018. We will be going to this one with Landmark to get our name out there in the wedding market.
Have. You. Seen. The Joker Poker jackpot?! $10,000 and only 4 cards to go! The odds are amazing. What will you be doing this Friday night? I’d probably recommend going to the Club and trying your luck!
The Club will be hosting a 1st Birthday Golf Day to celebrate the opening of the new Clubhouse in August last year. It will be held on Sunday, 19th August 2018. The cost of this $25 including competition fees, additional prizes, a standard drink and finger food at presentation.
Bookings are open for corporate Christmas parties. If you would like to book your business or social group in for December this year it is probably better to do it sooner rather than later as dates are starting to fill fast.
Natalie and Mandy have been extremely busy with functions of late with Natalie booking approximately 8 – 10 functions per week, not including the new Inbound business. The biggest feather in her cap is winning the Cessnock Council Picnic Day lunch booking for 300 people in October.
Natalie has been working with our web-designers on our website to ensure the SEO management is as effective as it can be. In layman’s terms – so people can find us easily on the internet when they’re searching for things like function venues in Nelson Bay, golf in Nelson Bay etc. The website and digital marketing for the Club is the main contributor for the increase in function/conference enquiry and the girls are doing a great job in converting it into business for us. It’s a big difference from just putting an ad in the paper and hoping for the best like we used to do! We’ll leave this up to the tech savvy…
It looks like word has gotten out about the Club! We have now started to see some of the Chinese and Korean tour groups coming here for lunch. The good thing about these groups growing is that they’re in buses, aren’t taking available car parks and are in and out quickly.
Peter Power PRESIDENT
GOLFING NEWSLETTER – 23rd JUNE 2018
IMPORTANT NOTICE FOR GOLFING MEMBERS
In the years since we introduced the Micropower system we have continued to stress the importance to members that BEFORE SAVING YOUR SCORE IN THE SYSTEM YOU MUST ENSURE THAT THE SCORE IS EXACTLY THE SAME AS THE SCORE YOU HAVE SIGNED FOR ON YOUR CARD. If the scores don’t match you then need to press the ‘EDIT” button and correct the error. The system ALWAYS displays the correct points for the scores entered so it is a simple matter of checking that your strokes for each hole are recorded correctly.
FROM NEXT SATURDAY 30 JUNE, ANY SCORE SAVED INTO THE SYSTEM THAT IS BETTER THAN THE SCORE FOR WHICH YOU HAVE SIGNED WILL BE DISQUALIFIED. If a SAVED SCORE is worse than the score for which you have signed, it will stand as your score for the competition.
If you have a problem with your score or score card that you can’t correct yourself, PLEASE HIGHLIGHT THE ERROR WITH THE MARKER PEN PROVIDED. You should also highlight Holes in One and Eagles with this marker pen.
We have some important competitions coming up in the next month:
1. The 2018 HANDISKINS competition commences Saturday 16 June. Detailed information follows in this email, but the basic concept is that your BEST THREE SCORES OUT OF THE FIVE DESIGNATED EVENTS will be taken for your final score for the competition. There is a one-off fee of $39 to enter the competition, and the TOP FOUR PLAY SKINS FOR $1200 IN THE FINAL ON 1ST DECEMBER. Late starters accepted this weekend.
2. The MEN’S FOURSOMES CHAMPIONSHIPS will be Played on SATURDAY 23 JUNE. This is a 27-hole event, with 3 pairs in each group on the time sheet. The timesheet will be open from the normal time at the ballot at 5.15 pm THURSDAY 14 JUNE.
3. Men’s members are welcome to enter the NELSON BAY CUP ON SUNDAY 1STJULY. Entries are taken online through the club’s website. There are divisions in A. B and C Grades, and it is the first time we have hosted, this event.
4. The LADIES FOURSOMES CHAMPIONSHIPS will be played on TUESDAY 17 JULY, and the MIXED FOURSOMES CHAMPIONSHIPS will be played on SUNDAY 29 JULY.
5. The Newcastle District Final of the KENO NSW MEN’S 4BBB CHAMPIONSHIPSwill be held at Merewether Golf Club on SUNDAY 15 JULY. Each club is entitled to enter 4 PAIRS. ENTRIES CLOSE ON 30 JUNE. If you wish to enter a pair, please inform Captain Dave Flatt by 23 JUNE . If a selection is required, we will take each pairs BEST SCORE IN ANY 2BBB COMPETITION HELD SO FAR THIS YEAR.
6. The club is hosting the 2nd annual Nelson Bay Junior Tournament on Sunday 23rd September. We are looking for sponsors to provide prizes for this tournament. Individuals and groups are encouraged to considering sponsorship. The Early Birds group has already committed to sponsoring $200. See David Rann if you or your group are interested in sponsoring.
The Club is looking to recruit as many players as possible who would like to trial for the following Pennant teams: - 1. Super Seniors aged 65 and above with a GA handicap of about 10 or less and are available on Mondays from mid-August through to late October; 2. B & C Grade players who available to play on 5th August in the OC Colley Cup, the pre- qualifying tournament, then from early September through to early November. Please contact Alan Daubaras for the Super Seniors, Gary Troon for the C Grade or David Rann via Reception for any of these 3 teams. All grades of members, men only, are welcome to enter the first ever Nelson Bay Cup being held on Sunday 1st July. Entry forms are on our website. We are looking for sponsors for the second annual Juniors Tournament to be held on Sunday 23rd September. Last year was a great success but we want to give out as many prizes as possible to encourage as many entrants as possible. Maybe our own internal social groups would consider putting up $200 or so? The Early Birds will. As you know the Australian Vets Championship is at Port Stephens from Nov 11-16 and Dave Flatt is the overall organiser with Rhonda Murray. Julie Walker and myself are Nelson Bay co- ordinators. Julie has already sent a preliminary note to members regarding her role (inside hospitality) and asking for helpers. My role is outside co-ordinator and I would be grateful if the following note could be placed in the next newsletter. Cheers Geoff Cousins
Australian Veterans Championship- Nov 11- 16 540 golfers –1 shotgun start Monday -2 shotgun starts per day- Tue/Th/Fri
Nelson Bay will be hosting this event with Horizons, Pacific Dunes and Muree. My role is to co-ordinate the golfers and parking outside the club. As you can imagine we will need many volunteers to assist in order for this event to run as smoothly as possible. Some of the volunteering duties will be:
Car park guides Mon – Fri Spotters on holes 6 ,12 ,13 –Tue, Th, Fri 24 per day- 4 sessions and 2-3 hours per session Course Guides- to lead the competitors to their starting hole(s) – AM and/or PM session. - *Probably required for an hour max per session – 4 guides per session
** If any member with their own cart is willing to help as a course guide it would be greatly appreciated as all club carts are in use for the tournament. Also, if anyone would be happy to loan their carts for these days for use by volunteers (club members) it would be very useful.
This is a huge event with over 500 competitors on 3 courses for 3 days with 2 shotgun starts/ day. Nelson Bay Golf Club will be the focus of after golf get togethers for many visitors and it is a great opportunity to showcase our Golf Club and Course and, indeed, the beautiful Nelson Bay Region.
If you could set aside some time to assist during this week it would be very much appreciated. Please contact me (Geoff Cousins) by email or phone or Club Captain Dave Flatt via the Club if you can help. More specific details at a later date.
From Outside Golf Co-ordinator AVC- Geoff Cousins [email protected] 0414527831
Happy golfing!
Match Committee NEWSLETTER 21st JUNE 2018
Dear Members & Guests, Coming up to the end of the financial year the Board is now looking to the new financial year and planning for the club’s future. Rain interruptions to golf and loss of revenue over the last few weeks make business difficult. Notwithstanding, this we are optimistic about our future. We have a good new clubhouse and the golf course is in superb condition. Our membership is very supportive and we appreciate the positive comments. We recorded 450mm (14in) in June to date and BOM are saying we have more to come, we could have done with the rain on the Course through summer. I’m told that we should now look forward to more stable and dryer weather conditions ahead, according to our Course Super Greg Stynes. This has a major effect on the Club’s profitability with over $60,000 income lost so far this month. What we have noticed is when members cancel golf we may not see them until the next sunny day. To assist the Club including Moses Golf and Bluewater Grill, why not get your playing group and partners together for a coffee, lunch or dinner or have a look at your grips and have them replaced if required. The Club has ordered some indoor bowls and cards are available at the bar for these rainy days. Recently it was good to see the Café Latte Group on a rainy Wednesday get a table together for lunch and follow up with a game of euchre. The Drew McAlister evening was enjoyed by all who attended. He had the crowd on their feet and singing along, the mosh pit was jumping.
The “Mosh Pit” during the Drew McAlister Concert
2018/19 SUBSCRIPTIONS Members are reminded the 2018/19 subscriptions are due and payable by Saturday, June 30th, 2018. Payment by electronic transfer is preferred, but can be completed by any other payment method listed with your subscription notice. Remember a 1% surcharge applies to Credit Card/Eftpos transactions at Reception. Member wishing to transfer to another category of membership should advise the General Manager in writing/email of their intention. Currently there is a waiting list of members wishing to transfer to a Flexi Member as the category limit of 220 is at capacity. DEBT REDUCTION BANK ACCOUNT With a new financial year about to commence and the Club having no debt other than finance on course machinery, solar panels, golf carts and office equipment, the Board has agreed to transfer the funds from the debt reduction account to a new capital purchase account. The funds will continue to be drawn from the members’ annual levy and competition fees and used to fund future capital purchases. MEMBER’S PRIVATE GOLF CART BREAKDOWNS As always our staff and contractors endeavour to assist members with private cart breakdowns where possible. If a breakdown occurs after the green staff have left for the day or if the Pro Shop staff are busy starting competitions, etc. they will do their best to assist members when time permits. It is the responsibility of members with private golf carts to have regular maintenance on their cart. MEN OF LEAGUE The Port Stephens Branch of the Men of League held another successful weekend at the Club late last month. Through their annual dinner and golf day they raised $15,000 for their worthwhile cause. This event saw a dinner on the Saturday night with Ashley Gordon, Mitchell Pearce and John Quayle speaking followed by The Hummingbirds Band for entertainment. On the Sunday there were over 170 people who played golf.
The Men of League event is held on the last weekend of May each year. This event is open to both Men AND Women to participate in... whether it be the dinner or the golf. The name of the charity would make you think otherwise, however the main purpose of the charity is to raise funds for rugby league families not just players. This organisation does an amazing job in their welfare department for people suffering with depression and anxiety, modifying people's homes for disability, arranging specialised cars for families, transport for medical procedures or just company for those in need.
FROM THE MANAGER’S DESK BUNKER MAINTENANCE One of the frequent comments from the members’ suggestions were in relation to bunker maintenance. Bunker maintenance is the most contentious issue at nearly every golf club. Our comments range from “our bunkers are as good as any on the Melbourne Sand Belt” to “we have the worst bunkers”. I think we sit somewhere in between those comments. With our Kangaroos and recent weather the green staff do a fantastic job with limited resources maintaining the Club’s 57 bunkers. A couple of things members can do to assist staff with bunker maintenance is: -
1. to enter and leave the bunker from the lowest point. 2. after playing your shot when you rake the bunker push the sand back towards the face of the bunker instead of away from the green and gently rake the bunker to remove your foot prints.
If you have time to view the attached link this will show you the best way to do this. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgVyzlVsZp0 FREE HEARING TESTS
Australian Hearing will be at the Club on Thursday 23 August from 10.00am to 2.00pm to conduct free hearing checks.
Having a hearing check is an easy way to learn about your hearing health, and if you have any concerns you can discuss your options with their expert team.
We will be taking bookings in early August so look out for the posters that will be around the Club in August.
COURTESY BUS When working on the 2018/19 Budget the cost of operating the Club’s Courtesy Bus was reviewed. The main days the bus is used are Tuesdays, Fridays & Saturdays and additional staff are rostered on to operate the service. It has been agreed during the winter months the Courtesy Bus will not operate on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and a limited service on Sunday. The Courtesy Bus will operate for special events like State of Origin or if you have a group of four or more coming to the Club and staff are available we will operate the Courtesy Bus.
COURSE STAFF Greg (Jaffa) Stynes – Course Superintendent We are very fortunate to have Greg as our Course Superintendent as Greg has spent his whole green keeping experience in the Port Stephens area. Greg commenced his green keeping career as an apprentice at Horizons Golf Club and after 18 years at Horizons applied for the Assistant Superintendents position at NBGC in 2009. Greg was appointed as the Course Superintendent in June 2014 and on what I have heard and seen since commencing here in early 2015 the course has gone from strength to strength. Greg has a very good understanding of Nematodes, a Root Knot Nematode is a plant parasite that attacks grass roots on all grass surfaces, but in particular greens. After the deregistration of Nemocure an insecticide used to control the parasite, Greg in conjunction with other suppliers have developed new practices that have helped keep our greens in the best possible condition. Nelson Bay is known as the Nematode capital of the world with a count as high 2000 nematodes in 200gms of soil. Normally 700 nematodes per 200gms of soil is considered high. Andrew Dolesko – Assistant Course Superintendent Andrew commenced with the Club in March 2016 as a Senior Green Keeper leaving Sydney where he was the Course Manager at Palm Beach GC on the Northern Beaches. Andrew accepted the position at NBGC as Port Stephens provided a better life for his partner and young family. In February 2017 Andrew was promoted to Assistant Course Superintendent when Duncan Begley moved to Horizons. In conversations with Andrew over the past two years he is still amazed at the micro climates within the course and how well the course drains after heavy rain. Trevor Harrison GENERAL MANAGER
GOLFING MATTERS Well done to Rob Fitzgerald 45 points playing off a handicap of 7 with a wipe on 12, a fantastic round of golf. Pro – Am September 20th & 21st – club members are invited to enter now with entry forms available at reception. This was a very popular event last year so be quick, get your mates together and play 1 ($60) or both days for $100. Course – wet, wet, wet, but dries out pretty quickly and looks terrific, greens are holding up well and getting quicker. The 6th green is coming along nicely and is expected to be open for play around August. Greens Staff are in full swing with winter maintenance and making changes to the course as indicated in the Course Masterplan. You can’t miss the work on the 8th green left bunker this will improve the playability of the hole, however, won’t make it any easier and reduce maintenance. We have harvested the sand from this bunker and have used it to top up the right-hand bunker and both greenside bunkers on the 13th hole. The 5th green left-hand side has also been topped up. Director David Rann is currently working on the Course ratings to identify any discrepancies. He will provide a report on his findings and suggestions to the Match Committee for review and then onto the Board for their consideration. Trophies – Replacement trophies have been ordered from Purnell and they are also refurbishing a couple of others that managed to survive the fire, these should be ready for display by the end of the month.
MARKETING AND EVENTS
WEDDING EXPOS The Club has collaborated with Landmark and have committed to a series of 3 x wedding expos with Hunter Weddings. The first one was held on the 3rd June 2018 where Natalie Kelly and April (from Landmark) were in attendance. We had a number of people fill out an enquiry form to go in our draw to win a prize and the girls did a great job in gathering this enquiry. The exposure for the Club is fantastic. STATE OF ORIGIN We are hosting 3 x events for this year’s series where for just $12.00 you can watch the game on the BIG screen in the function room, dinner is included, receive half price Carlton Dry beer until the first try and there are sweeps and giveaways on the night. It doesn’t get much better than this! $12.00 it’s a steal! The first event saw the room erupt with 53 people attending. The next event will be on this Sunday, 24th June 2018. Tickets MUST be pre- purchased and shown on the night to receive your dinner and half price beer.
NELSON BAY CUP
This is an Order of Merit event which is OPEN TO EVERYONE in A, B and C grade! Only if you’re participating in the Order of Merit series do you need to worry about additional registrations. This is another inaugural event for the Club. Come along and have some fun! There will be prizes for Nett 1st and 2nd in each grade. Your entries can be done online at www.nelsonbaygolf.com and registering through your member login. Your entry fee includes a sausage sandwich and finger-food at presentation and your golf fees. Get your entry in TODAY!
See you on the course or at the Club! Peter Power PRESIDENT
NEWSLETTER MAY 31st 2018
Dear Members & Guests, What fantastic weather we are having, but a change is coming. The golf course is in tiptop shape I encourage you to take advantage of the conditions with friends and family followed by lunch or dinner… doesn’t get much better than this. Connor Benjamin our club champion is returning to his homeland Seattle USA on the 4th June, his last round of golf with us will be on the 2nd of June this Saturday, for those of you who wish to say farewell, Connor will be at a small luncheon at approximately 1pm in the Bluewater Grill after his round of golf. Connor has been a credit to our club representing us in both junior and senior pennants and NDGA pennants since joining the club some 7 years ago. On behalf of the membership we wish Connor and his family a fond farewell and trust they enjoy their return to the states. PRIVACY New laws have recently been introduced under the privacy act (Privacy Amendment (Notifiable Data Breaches) Bill 2016) which effect how the club disseminates members information. This means the Club or its personnel CANNOT give out your contact details without your permission. Approval can be given to release your contact details to other members by signing an approval release form at reception.
FINANCE The nett profit for April is $5481.00 with all major sectors Bar, Course and Gaming falling. Again this points to the unpredictability of the golf club as a new business, our costs in these areas have been kept under control. Cash flow continues to hold up. The draft budget for 2018-2019 is almost complete. Subscription Breakdown Each subscription received from a golfing member is subject to GST, 3 x affiliation fees and a GolfLink fee and the club receives the following:-
Membership Sub GST Golf Aust GolfNSW NDGA GolfLink Club Full Golfing $850 $77.30 $18 $22.15 $8.50 $3.05 $721 Flexi /Country $450 $40.90 $18 $22.15 $8.50 $3.05 $357.40
With our current number of Full, Flexi & Country Members these fees produce less than $500,000 for a course budget of $1,040,000 and an overall budget of $4,725,000 for 2018/19.
Next month I will provide information on how the other $4,000,000 revenue is generated.
COURSE The Board has approved the installation of a new rubberised compound to be installed on the 20th hole pathway at a cost of $13,000.00, it is expected that this will be a suitable long term membrane solution for the path.
Dirt glue has been applied to the start of the path adjacent the 10th green. This compound basically solidifies the existing aggregate applied to the path providing a solid concrete type surface. The trial will be carried out over the next few months to see how reliable the product is.
Quotations for the practice nets have been received and are being reviewed by the Board with the approximate cost being $35K.
The recovery work carried out by our greens staff after the recent hale damage is to be commended they have done a remarkable job.
The small walkway to the 7th green has been completed.
SURVEY The survey has been completed and the committee have provided a report to the Board, which is currently under review. The Board would like to thank members for their contribution to the survey and thank the committee of Bob Justice (Chair), Pam Townsend, Barry Elliott and Graham Hendricks for their work on members behalf, very much appreciated.
Part of the brief given to the Survey Committee consisting of Barry Elliott, Pam Townsend, Graham Hendricks & myself was to make a recommendation on the need to rerun a survey similar to the 2013 Survey. It is the opinion of the committee that at this time a full survey is not justified. Our reasons are:- (1) There are sufficient worthwhile suggestions to initiate an action plan that will address member concerns. (2) A full survey will require a substantial amount of preparation to develop & check member details to ensure it gets required audience. (3) The cost will be substantial and not justified at this time
On Behalf of the Committee: Bob Justice: Chairman.
CAPTAIN’S REPORT
Frank Ward has achieved the rare feat of “shooting his age”. Frank, who turned 89 in April, had 88 strokes in a recent Saturday competition. When questioned however, Frank revealed that this was the fifth time he has done it, previously achieving the feat at age 80, 82, 83 and 88. Frank said he almost did it at age 75 as well, when he missed a 3 foot putt on the last hole! This time he needed a 5 on par 5 18th hole, and he confidently rolled in the putt. PACE OF PLAY We have observed some very encouraging results since members have been recording their times on their score cards. Spot checks of some recent sets of cards have revealed the following results
DATE SAMPLE UNDER 4 HR 4 TO 4.5 HR OVER 4.5 HR WED 18 APR 44 12 31 1 MEN SAT 21 APR 81 9 65 2 MEN TUES 29 MAY 15 2 12 1 LADIES SUN 1 APR 13 1 9 3
HOLE IN ONE Congratulations to Robert Henderson, a relatively new member, who scored a Hole in One on the 25th hole last Wednesday 30 May. With that Robert wins $500 from CENTURY 21, thanks to our generous sponsor Tony Short, David Rann also had an Eagle 2 several weeks ago on the 15th hole. FROM THE MANAGER’S DESK This edition of the newsletter I will continue to provide information that has been brought to my attention.
The Club appoints staff without going through the proper recruiting process. All senior staff positions have been advertised through local papers and industry websites with suitable applicants interviewed and the successful applicant is appointed after reference checks have been completed.
The Board approves all senior manager appointments.
The Club often receives applicants outside of the local & Newcastle area and more often than not they withdraw their application, as their current salary package is higher than our offer for a position with less responsibilities.
We have been successful with appointments as they can see the Port Stephens life style benefits.
Natalie Kelly the Sales & Marketing Manager was originally appointed on a contract basis, but after 3 months the then President Max Pride & I made a recommendation to the board that it would be cost effective to the Club if Natalie became a club employee.
We are very fortunate that we have good staff in all areas of the Club including the course, bar, administration, plus with our catering and pro shop contractors.
Terry Hall – Operations Manager As we advised members through a newsletter in October 2017 and in the December edition of the Fore Magazine this is what was reported.
Terry Hall has spent the last 10 years dealing with the club industry from behind the scenes, now he is front and centre as Nelson Bay Golf Club’s new operations manager.
For the past decade Terry worked with Sharp Electronics based in Newcastle developing and installing point of sale systems in clubs around the Hunter - including our golf club - as well as other parts of NSW. It was while working on systems for the new club he became aware of the big changes taking place at the Bay.
Terry lives on the Tilligerry Peninsula with his wife Carol and adult sons so the chance to cut back on travelling time as well as get back into the hospitality industry were lures. He has a solid background in the club industry working in Sydney at Cabramatta Leagues Club, eight years at Cessnock Supporters Club and six years with Lemon Tree Passage Bowling Club.
He said the opportunity to join Nelson Bay as the new clubhouse was being bedded in was another attraction with the new job.
With Terry’s IT background, past management record and his hands on approach, he has saved the Club thousands of dollars with technical issues, repairs and maintenance around the clubhouse.
Trevor Harrison General Manager
MARKETING & EVENTS There has been a lot going on at the Club lately and quite a few events coming up: - THE LADIES CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS Congratulations to Rhonnie Shaw who became our A grade champion and Ladies Club champion; runner up Robyn Kennett. B grade Champion for 2018 is Karen Flatt; runner up Nola Brown. C grade champion is now Doreen Suttcliffe; runner up Pat Harold. Well done to all of those who played.
WINE MAKER’S DINNER Well, what a marvellous evening, good company, good wine and good food. Winemaker Malcolm Stopp introduced the wines accompanying the food and did an outstanding job, very informative. I highly recommend your attendance at the next winemaker’s event which will be on Friday, 2nd November 2018 as part of the Taste at the Bay event. Grant Burge will be the winery for this event.
MEN OF LEAGUE The Men of League, dinner I am told was very enjoyable with guest speakers John Quayle, Ashley Gordon and Mitchell Pearce entertaining the large audience. John did a wonderful presentation on the Super League era of rugby league and the story of the Tina Turner campaigns and his involvement. Charlie Haggett did a great job on interviewing Ashley and Mitchell. Golf was enjoyed by 172 players with good feedback on the condition of the Course and the event itself. Congratulations to the committee and volunteers.
STATE OF ORIGIN – GAME 1 Wednesday, 6th June 2018 We have started a promotion this week in the lead-up for this event where if you purchase 2x Carlton Dry beers you will receive a ticket to potentially a Steadfast Ball, Cap or Schooner of beer. On Game night come and watch the game on the BIG screens in the function room. Tickets are just $12.00 and include a Burger and Chips and half price beers from 7.30pm until the first try is scored. There will be a sweeps run on the night to WIN a NSW State of Origin jersey. Tickets for these will be just $5.00. There will be other giveaways on the night as well. Tickets can be purchased from reception. You will need to show your ticket on the night to receive the discounted beer and burger.
DREW McALISTER IS PERFORMING HERE! Saturday, 9th June 2018 I am looking forward to this evening as are a number of our Skins group and partners, dinner, perhaps a drink or two and a good show. Get a group together, see you there.
Doors open at 8pm. Tickets are just $22.50 for Members and $25.00 for Visitors. Drew McAlister has built solid career that has seen him nominated for an ARIA Award, win 4 Golden Guitars and a CMC OZ Artist Award. Drew is at the forefront of contemporary Australian country music and as we head into 2018 McAlister delivers formidable energy with his new show and album. The Coming your Way Tour is a collection of songs from Drew’s two Solo Albums Black Sky and Coming Your Way with a few surprises along the way. This is a get up from your seat kind of show, it leaves you with a feel good feeling in your heart and a tune in your head long after the song is through. Drew is a master of the live show and his vocal ability and high energy will leave the audience breathless. The album COMING YOUR WAY, was recently released and then nominated for Best Contemporary Album at the Golden Guitars in January 2018.
OTHER UPCOMING EVENTS 1. Water Wonderland, 9th and 10th June 2018 – Has now booked out and a waitlist is being collected by reception 2. Place Property Management Golf Classic, 13th – 17th August 2018; is a visitor’s event; these events bring many visitors to the club and provide revenue to the local economy. 3. Place Property Management Nelson Bay Cup - NDGA Order of Merit on Sunday, 1st July which is open to ALL members and grades 4. Place Property Management Ladies Classic, 10th – 13th September 2018 5. NBGC Junior Tournament, 23rd September 2018 6. Social Clubs Challenge, 19th & 21st October 2018 Please note all of the above events have their entries open on the Club’s website.
7. NBGC Pro Am, 20th-21st September 2018 – Entry forms for MEMBERS ONLY will be available from Tuesday, 5th June on the Club’s website or at reception.
Peter Power PRESIDENT
NBGC Newsletter – 12th May 2018
Sorry for the delay in this newsletter as I have been interstate this week. A General Meeting was held on 23rd April to vote on a resolution put to the full paying members to increase subscriptions for 2018 – 2019 financial year by The Board. This resolution was defeated. The Board will now rework the 2018/19 budget and look at options to continue the improvement of the golf course. FINANCE There is still confusion over the club’s financial position despite the information provided in past newsletters, so I will attempt to explain it differently.
1. NBGC debt is currently – Nil 2. Our cash position in the bank is approximately $200,000 3. Current Leases – monthly repayments approximately $20,000 for course machinery, solar equipment, Point of Sale units & office equipment. 4. Net profit for March $59,000.00 5. Net profit YTD $134,000.00 6. Losses in July, August and January totalled $70,000.00 7. Expected Profit for this financial year $170,000.
50,000th Visitor Last night at 5.55pm the Club welcomed Emma Spencer of Anna Bay as the 50,000th visitor to the new clubhouse since opening in August 2017. This is quite a milestone for the Club as on average we have welcome around 1,300 visitors per week since opening. THE COURSE Kangaroos Over the past two months we have had Kangaroos attack or chase two members. Both members have used either an air horn or cart horn to try to move a Kangaroo. This has made the Kangaroos extremely aggressive knocking over a member and chasing another. After the first incident we published a Kangaroo Users Guide that had four tips on how to safely move Kangaroos prepared by Phil Murray aka Kangaroo Phil. Copies of this document have been displayed on notice boards around the club, on the Club’s website or available from Reception. Please make yourself familiar with these tips. Under no circumstance should you sound you cart horn or use an air horn to move Kangaroos. Kookaburras Over recent weeks Kookaburras have been active around the course. There have been several incidents were Kookaburras have taken food out of golfers’ hands and startled the golfers. Ask Shorty about the Kookaburra that thought his finger was a sausage!! They are most active around the halfway house, 17th & 22nd tees, but be aware all around the course. Greens Damage The greens continue to recover from the hail damage suffered on April 14th storm. The green staff have done a wonderful job repairing the greens and that includes mini tyning and light top dressing greens more than usual. These applications are normally applied earlier in the working week, but due the Ladies Club Championships the procedure have been completed on Thursdays. We apologise for any inconvenience, but the growing season is almost over. Dirt Glue A new product Dirt Glue has been applied to the start of the red rock cart path from the 10th green to the 11th tee. If the trial is successful this process will be 80% cheaper than concrete paths and retain the natural beauty of the course.
Dirt glue trial patch Dowling Street Cart Shed Cart Just a reminder that is the responsibility of the last cart user on each day to secure the Dowling Street Cart Shed gate when leaving. Your assistance is appreciated. EVENTS The Club and Support Groups are holding a number of functions outside of the Club’s weekly Trivia, Raffles, Joker Poker and Members’ Badge Draw. The success of these events relies on members’ support and we ask you consider attending one or more of these events or make up a table. Wine Maker’s Dinner – Thursday, 17th May 2018 starting at 5.30pm. This will be a fantastic night… a 4 course meal with 10 wines to taste. With a theme of New v’s Old, Malcolm Stropp, Brand Ambassador and Educator for Peter Lehman wines with 38 years’ experience in the wine making industry, a 5th generation wine merchant will be your fascinating host for the evening. There will be prizes and giveaways on the night. Members are $75.00, Visitors are $90.00 Men of League – Saturday, 26th May 2018 Charity Dinner. Port Stephens Men of League Branch are hosting their annual charity dinner to raise funds to assist those in need in our local community. This is a 2 course meal with wine on the table with an MC, 3x guest speakers including Mitchell Pearce, live entertainment with The Hummingbirds, auctions and raffles. It’s a really entertaining night and one not to be missed. Great value for just $60.00 per person Sunday, 27th May 2018 Golf – 4 person team ambrose event. Registration is from 9am with bacon and egg rolls, t-shirt, cap and ball, 18 holes of golf, sausage sandwich on the course and presentations. This day is almost booked out so you will need to get it quick! $90.00 for the day.
Drew McAllister is performing here! Saturday, 9th May 2018 Doors open at 8pm. Tickets are just $22.50 for Members and $25.00 for Visitors. Drew McAlister has built solid career that has seen him nominated for an ARIA Award, win 4 Golden Guitars and a CMC OZ Artist Award. Drew is at the forefront of contemporary Australian country music and as we head into 2018 McAlister delivers formidable energy with his new show and album. The Coming your Way Tour is a collection of songs from Drew’s two Solo Albums Black Sky and Coming Your Way with a few surprises along the way. This is a get up from your seat kind of show, it leaves you with a feel good feeling in your heart and a tune in your head long after the song is through. Drew is a master of the live show and his vocal ability and high energy will leave the audience breathless. The album COMING YOUR WAY, was recently released and then nominated for Best Contemporary Album at the Golden Guitars in January 2018.
From the Managers Desk – Trevor Harrison From the General Meeting and in general discussion with members there seems to be some misconceptions regarding club operations. Firstly the Directors are responsible for the Corporate Governance of the Club with Management responsible for the day to day club operations reporting directly to the Board. Members have said that the function area(s) are underutilised and we don’t hold as many weddings/functions as prior to the fire.
The table below lists functions held at the Club since 2013:
Function Type 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 from 2018 3/8/17 Weddings 8 9 5 0 2 3 Functions 40 38 24 0 109 84 up to 1/5/18 Conferences 0 0 0 0 4 2 Inbound 0 0 0 0 0 53 Breakfast
As you can see by the above all function types have grown quickly with the exception of weddings. Weddings are booked well in advance with a lead time between 1 – 2 years and it was very difficult to get people to commit to NBGC when only sketches and plans were available prior to opening the clubhouse. We also had very low enquiry for weddings during the temporary clubhouse period. The Club is currently holding deposits of 6 weddings later this year and in in early 2019. Management are confident there are more to come. Inbound breakfast are Chinese tourist groups who have breakfast at the Club prior to going on one of Port Stephens many outdoor activities. They are in and out of the clubhouse in around 30 minutes. We have also introduced a new service for Social Golfing groups where we look after all of their requirements from golf bookings to food to accommodation. Taking a percentage of the room rates booked at the resort. So far we have assisted 4 groups. Kangaroo tours have now been taken over by the marketing and events team to manage and look after with the help of reception and volunteers running the tours. Since 31st March 2018 we have had 133 people participate in them and book through the new website. In each newsletter I will include staff member profiles so you are aware of their experience and skills.
Marketing and Function Staff As part of the Club’s Management Team, the Club is very fortunate to have Natalie Kelly and Mandy Robinson as employees. Both ladies have a wealth of experience in marketing and hospitality. Natalie Kelly – Sales & Marketing Manager Natalie has 20 years’ experience in marketing, sales, conference and event management. Natalie has worked for Star City Casino, Peppers Manor House, Macquarie Bank, Butler Events, Raffertys Resort and had her own business for 5 years. Natalie has a Double Diploma in Management & Human Resources and a Bachelor of Business in Tourism. Natalie has also been a committee member of the Newcastle Tourism Industry Group and the Lake Macquarie Business Chamber. Natalie & I are also actively involved with Destination Port Stephens and the Tomaree Business Chamber. Mandy Robinson – Part Time Events Co-ordinator (50% of Mandy’s wages are paid by Bluewater Grill) Mandy has more than 20 years in events, corporate hospitality and conferencing industry including three Olympic Games and two Commonwealth Games. Clients Mandy has worked with include Telstra, Toyota, BMW, NAB & Lend Lease. Mandy has also been responsible for sponsorship and corporate hospitality for the Women’s Australian Open at Yarra Yarra Golf Club, Victoria. The Ladies Masters at Royal Pines Golf Club, Queensland. I have also heard that I have worked in around 30 clubs. Below is an overview of my resume` which should clear up any misunderstandings. General Manager – Nelson Bay Golf Club February 2015 - present Director – Club Management Solutions – Sole Trader November 2002 – March 2015 Providing contract consulting and locum management services to the Club Industry. Long Term Clients Included: - Golf Management Australia (NSW Division) - 8 years part time position as Executive Officer Middle Harbour 16ft Skiff Club – 6 years - General Manager Chatswood Golf Club Ltd – 4 years - General Manager Position North Manly Bowling & Recreation Club Ltd - 18 months Locum Club Manager Balgowlah Golf Club – 8 months Locum General Manager
General Manager – Manly Golf Club Ltd. (NSW) April 2001 – November 2002 General Manager – Blackwood Golf Club Inc. (SA) August 1991 – April 2001 Secretary Manager - Marion Sports Club (SA) August 1983 - April 2001 Bar Manager - South Adelaide Football Club (SA) 1980 - 1983 Royal Australian Navy 1973 - 1979 As you can see I have worked in the Club Industry for nearly four decades and have been a member of Golf Management Australia for 27 years. Vale Loy Carroll passed away late February 2018, but was not listed in an earlier newsletter. Apologies go to Loy’s wife Carol and family for this oversite. Kaye Barnes & Peter J Collins Both members of the Club for 14 years. Ian Perkins Club member of 50 year Geoff Scobie Passed away on May 4th after a two year battle with cancer. Club member for 14 years. Maeve Naughton Passed away on May 6th. Club member for 29 years Barbara Smith – Former Lady President Passed away on May 7th. Club member for 44 years. Life Member of NDLGA Dennis Jones Passed away 8th May. Club member for 15 years Sydney Taplin Club Member for 30 years Our thoughts go out to the families and friends of the above members.
Peter Power PRESIDENT
NEWSLETTER 2nd MAY 2018
Dear Members & Guests,
This newsletter covers course and golf matters and I will forward a general email covering finances, marketing, events and gaming to all members by the end of the week.
COURSE
Hail Damage
Most of you would be aware by now that we had to close the Golf Course due to the severe hailstorm on Sunday 15th April; all 27 greens were badly damaged.
Greg Stynes and the green staff did a remarkable job repairing the greens.
It will take some time before they are back to their best, fortunately we are still in the growing season and this will help the greens recover.
I would also like to thank our hard working volunteers for their efforts in assisting the green staff to bring the course back into play after the storm.
New 6th Green
As a result of the storm, the 6th green had to be reseeded but follow up heavy rain again washed away some of the seed.
After consultation with Greg Stynes and the Course Committee, the Board has agreed to use existing turf from the nursery (next to the 11th hole) to turf out the green. This nursery was planted with A4 bent grass 12 months ago and the grass is now mature enough to be rolled and laid. A4 bent was the seed originally planted on the new 6th green. (If we had purchased the A4 turf it would have cost approximately $11,000.)
12th Bore
The irrigation bore on the 12th fairway is still out of action. We are waiting on a contractor to inspect the bore with a camera as the base may have partially collapsed. We need to see what the problem is before returning the pump into the bore.
GOLF
Congratulations to Peter Gibson for his Eagle on the 3rd hole recently. We often hear of Eagles on the 18th and 27th but on the 3rd it is comparatively rare. Congratulations also to Tony Short who had an Eagle on the 16th. Unfortunately, Tony achieved this feat during a Par round so he didn’t really get full value for the achievement.
Also congratulations to Bob Justice who scored a 2 a 5 on the 6th during a recent Skins game. I don’t think Les Williams was so impresses as he had a 4 a 4 to loss the hole!!
Good luck to the Ladies in their Club Championships which commenced this week. Although we had a set back with the recent hail storm, the greens staff have been working hard to have the course in the best shape possible. We’re sure the ladies will find the greens in particular to be right up to Championship standard. It was great to hear feedback after their first round that the greens have come back well for them. Good luck also to Josh Rimmer, Peter Henry and Max Stocker who will be competing in the National Handiskins Finals at RACV Royal Pines from 3rd – 5th May.
Twenty one of our Junior players have been playing in the NDGA Junior Pennant series during the school holidays. The Nelson Bay team was the largest of all clubs in the region. Congratulations to all players and their families, as well as Warren Moses, our Junior Coordinator Chris Mawson, and the large number of club members who have given up their time to assist with the Junior program. You will see the report from Junior Coordinator Chris Mawson further down in this newsletter.
Since we have reintroduced spaces on score cards to record the starting 9 holes and finish times, there has been a terrific response from members. The majority of members have been recording the times and it has achieved the desired result of making players more aware of the times they are taking.
We have been going through the cards to gauge the overall pace of play. However, once we have completed the Ladies Championships we will be holding a week-long time trial to collect data on the pace of play in all competitions and on each of the courses. We will publish those results at the completion of the trial.
Members may also notice new signs before the 9th, 18th and 27th tees, advising players that they should have passed those points within two hours of the starting hole for that nine holes. Through these various measures, including the presence of volunteer Marshals, we are very pleased with the improvement on the pace of play in all competitions.
RULES
1. The Match Committee recently introduced a new Temporary Local Rule to provide relief from tyre tracks on the fairways only. Such tyre tracks are comparatively rare, but the rule is there if required. 2. Members will have noticed a roped-off GUR section in the middle of the 12th fairway. This is to provide relief from timber covers over the bore hole. Unfortunately, there have been delays on having the bore repaired so we appreciate the patience of members. The GUR markings have recently been widened to allow players to drop their ball to a position where they don’t have to hit over the roped-off area. It is also possible to lie the stakes and ropes down while you play your shot, as long as they are replaced to the same position. For the Ladies Championships, players may take “line of sight” relief from this area. 3. Under our Local Rules, hazard stakes are considered to be immovable obstructions. Relief is provided under Rule 24.2 (P 106) if your ball is not in the hazard. However, no relief is provided from an immovable obstruction if your ball is in the hazard. The hazard stakes on the 15th and 22nd fairways were checked and adjusted last week in preparation for the Ladies Club Championships. To follow the rules precisely, the line of the hazard is determined by the outside (fairway side) of the stake at ground level. In the case of either a painted line or a stake, the ball is deemed to be in the hazard if any part of the ball touches the line of the hazard. 4. There still seems to be some confusion regarding relief from cart paths. It is important however to realise the difference between a worn track and a constructed cart path. There are many tracks of compacted earth around the course, in the rough and through the bushes. No relief is provided from these worn tracks. Cart paths covered in an artificial material do count as obstructions, so relief is provided if your stance or ball are on such a path. However, a complication arises when some of the artificial material (gravel) spills out of the path as the result of traffic or heavy rainfall. It should also be noted that a number of the paths don’t have borders, so it is difficult to determine the boundaries of the path. The ruling we have come up with after consultation with Golf NSW is that you can take relief if your ball is resting on a surface that is predominantly (i.e. greater than 50%) artificial. There is no other way to make this more clear-cut. However, a rule of thumb should be that if there is any doubt you should consider the surface to be simply a worn track, for which relief is not provided.
Dave Flatt - Chairman, Match Committee.
Juniors
Firstly, I would like to say how proud I was of the way every one of these young people behaved and played every match down to the last hole. Nelson Bay Golf Club should be very proud. The NDGA made mention during the presentation of how well we had done, not only with the numbers that we had, but also with the results. The entire team of 21 members showed up with 13 wins and 8 losses. Amy Squires was the overall winner. Jack Lawson had the best aggregate score over the three and won outright on Day 2 and Day 3. The individual results for Thursday 26th April are as follows:
Results Connor Benjamin +7, Harry Cleare -3, Harry Devine +1, Yashwant +1, Zac Rimmer +6, Zac Semmens +3, Xavier Smith -8, Amy Squires +5, Felix Kaluski -5, Nikhil Pillay +3, Max Caligone -3, Jazper Lawson +9, Jack Lawson +4, Lachlan Lawson -3, Oliver McLean +1, Des Thompson -1, Fraser Thompson -7, Adrian Wong +2, Charlie Cottam -5, Mitchell White +5, Lleyton Phillips +6.
Chris Mawson - Junior Golf Coordinator
Ladies Championship’s 1st May – to all the competitors have a great championship. We hope that the weather is kind to you and hit them straight.
Peter Power PRESIDENT
NEWSLETTER PROPOSED SUBSCRIPTIONS INCREASE
Dear Full Paying Members,
As you are aware The Board of Directors has proposed an ordinary resolution for the increase in subscriptions of $80.00. We have received several enquiries regarding the NBGC current and future financial status. The purpose of this newsletter is to assist you in making an informed decision.
The board considers the modest $80 rise a prudent and necessary move. Or to put it another way the rise we are seeking represents $1.54 a week over the next financial year.
How much will the $80 increase raise? Depending on membership categories and how the numbers pan out the rise is expected to raise around $80,000
What does the club plan to do with the funds raised? If we are asking members to pay more to be part of their club the commitment from the board is that the extra subs raised will be spent on and around the course. Capital works worth a minimum of $195,000 are being budgeted in the new financial year another new green valued at $70,000 new and upgraded tees worth $40,000 Dowling street car park works worth $35,000 Cart paths $50,000.
As well, we aim to take on another full-time course employee at a cost of approximately $50,000 That represents almost $245,000 worth of extra expenditure aimed at giving members the best possible course with the resources we have available.
In our projections there is also an assumption our new income streams from the new clubhouse will continue. We can only make educated estimates about those because we are still a new business and have yet to complete a full year operating in the new clubhouse.
As you can see from the proposed figures the NBGC is in a healthy trading position and the weather has been very kind to us with little or no rain and unseasonal warm weather, giving rise to good golfing conditions.
These conditions have assisted in increased income across all sectors;
1. Bar $1.3 million to date. 2. Green fees members and social (including subs) $1.5 million. 3. Gaming and functions $580K 4. Total income to date $3.5 million with a nett profit YTD of $134K
This Financial year expectations are we should turn a profit of approx. $220,000 and $240,000 the year following. Notwithstanding the above we have had to withdraw money ($75K) from the NAB debt reduction account to pay bills and assist with cashflow. This of course avoids borrowing funds from NAB loan facility and paying interest on borrowed funds.
It may be that in the future the debt reduction fund may become redundant and the $50 redirected to a Course Improvement fund.
The $80 subs increase the Board is asking for is insurance for our financial future and required so that we have adequate funds to assist in the lean times. The last rise was in 2014-15 nearly three years ago. The proposed increase represents less than $30 a year over that time - in that time costs have risen substantially. Power costs have increased, and clubhouse and Course insurance are expected to increase to $100K having more than tripled. These increases are way beyond the CPI changes.
BUT what if there is a major hit to costs or revenue? We only need to have a couple of rained out weekends or months and this would affect our cashflow dramatically. Our approximate monthly operating costs are near $300K per month. To give you an idea every day the course is rained out costs at least $8,000 in foregone green fees and clubhouse takings. Ten or 20 wet days and the budget soon takes a big hit. No irrigation system failures. Bore failures three months ago cost $25,000. Replacing our irrigation system will cost more than $1 million.
In our Strategic Plan we identified that we would like to become the best regional golf club in NSW. This can only be done with members continued support of the Board and a resounding approval of our proposed subscription increase.
Peter Power Keith Campbell PRESIDENT FINANCE DIRECTOR
NOTICE OF 2018 GENERAL MEETING
NOTICE is hereby given that a General Meeting of the Nelson Bay Golf Club will be held at Nelson Bay Golf Club at Dowling Street Nelson Bay on Monday 23th April 2018 commencing at 7.00pm.
AGENDA
1. ORDINARY RESOLUTION - 2018/19 Annual Subscriptions
Moved: D Rann Seconded: J Ingleton “That the annual subscriptions for full Playing Members for the 2018-2019 financial year be increased by $80.00 from $850.00 to $930.00 with the existing $50.00 debt reduction fee retained and allocated to the NAB Debt Reduction account.”
Explanation: The Board believes that after two years grace on Annual Subscriptions due to the clubhouse fire and with substantial increases in general insurance, utility charges and CPI the increase is fair and reasonable.
The Board recommends the above Ordinary Resolution be passed.
Clause 6.1 of the Club’s Constitution provides:
6. Entrance Fees, Annual Subscriptions & Other Payments 6.1 Setting fees, subscriptions and other payments
6.1.1 Except as specified in clause 6.1.2, the entrance fees, annual subscriptions and any fees or other payments payable by members shall be determined by the Board.
6.1.2 Annual subscriptions for Full Playing Members shall be determined by the members voting at a General Meeting after receiving a recommendation from the Board.
ORDINARY RESOLUTION – to be passed by a simple majority.
BY ORDER OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS Peter Power PRESIDENT 23rd March 2018
NEWSLETTER 26TH MARCH 2018
FINANCE In my previous newsletter I stated we had saved $500,000 in interest it should have read $52,000 in principal payments with 6 payments accounting for the $320,000 this being a cash flow saving. The interest paid on our 1-million-dollar loan per annum was $62,000 and this would have given us a saving of approximately $120,000 to date.
GOLF 1. PACE OF PLAY Members will now find that on the score cards there are now spaces for you to record your START TIME, 9 HOLE TIME and FINISHING TIME. This is firstly so you can keep your own check on your pace of play but also in preparation for another tie trial in the weeks to come. It is not compulsory at this time, but we hope you get in the habit of filling in your times.
2. BUNKERS The most common comment we have from members is the hardness of the sand. The greens staff are continually working on this, but the sand quickly compacts after rain. Unfortunately, it is a bit like “painting the harbour bridge”, but the bunkers are softened as often as possible. The photo below is the “Sand Pro” in operation after the recent storms. The staff will continue working on this problem. They are also investigating some re-modelling to make it easier to get in and out of the deeper bunkers.
Still on bunkers, the person who left this rake recently on the edge of the bunker on the 13th obviously doesn’t understand the rules of golf. Under the rules, the affected player would have to remove the rake, and if the ball rolls down it must be replaced. If the ball won’t remain at rest in that position he/she must then find the closest similar position that is no nearer the hole. In the example pictured, the ball would not remain in such a position so the player’s only option would be to drop the ball out of the bunker under penalty of one stroke! That is why it is our policy to leave the rake in the flat section of the bunker. I am happy to discuss this policy with anyone who doesn’t understand it or would like to comment. D Flatt.
6th Green – well they say it never rains it pours and this is exactly what happened in the early hours of last Wednesday with 105mm of heavy rain over a short period washing away the recently seeded top layer. Greg Stynes and staff have done a great job in repairing the damage and the green will be re- seeded in the next few days. This will add about 2 weeks to the opening which is expected to be late June.
VETS The Month of March has been a busy month with a good variety of games played. We have had Stroke, Ambrose and Stableford with lots of fun had by all. The Vets play every Monday and Thursdays at 12.00 noon with Monday being our main day. On Mondays we have a presentation of prizes and a meat raffle so if you are over 55 come along and join us you don’t need to be a good golfer as the aim is the friendship and a bit of fun. Contact John Stuhmcke on 4981 1681 or David Diemar on 4982 5006 for more information.
2018 NEWCASTLE ARCHITECTURE AWARDS NBGC received a High Commendation (commercial architecture) for the new clubhouse this is a very sought-after award in a very competitive field. The Australian Institute of Architects announced the award on Friday 23rd March. On behalf of our membership I would like to thank our architects EJE, builder Club Projects, project managers coffey and our Project Control Group. Website architectureau.com
MARKETING AND EVENTS WEBSITE – Our new website is up and running and was very popular Sunday night with that many people having a look at it, it crashed! This has been rectified, we have enlarged the bandwidth and this will be monitored so it doesn't happen again. Thank you to those who have contacted me and the Club with positive comments, I think it looks great also. The teething problems we have experienced are quite small and to be expected with such a big change. The website will always be a work in progress as it is our main marketing tool. The new look and feel of the member’s login is what seems to be causing the most feedback. It is different, so you will need to spend some time having a look and getting used to it as the response so far hasn’t been for any technical problems to be addressed. The good thing with this version is the writing is bigger, it's clearer and easier to read!
JOKER POKER & FRIDAY NIGHT RAFFLES - The Nelson Bay Marlins Joker Poker jackpot now stands at $7,800.00. Come along buy some raffle tickets, WIN some meat, chicken or seafood and Club vouchers and you just maybe the jackpot! This week’s raffles have been super-sized for Easter and will include more seafood vouchers, extra Club vouchers and Easter hampers.
MEMBER BADGE DRAW - Have you seen how high this is getting?! It is up the $4,300! You have to be here to claim it when it goes off. It is drawn every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday at 6pm. Good luck!
UPCOMING EVENTS – Our ticketed events have started to be released on the website for you to get your entries in. Your entries can now be done in the comfort of your own home purchasing them on the website (should you have any trouble doing this or not have access to a computer, the girls at reception will be able to help you). The only one that is different is the US Masters Breakfast where you purchase your ticket at reception. The upcoming events are: US Masters Breakfast – Monday, 9th April 2018 (entries will close on Wednesday, 4th April so you’ll need to get in quick to register) Ladies Club Championships - The Championships will be held over a series of Tuesdays ONLY in May - 1st, 8th, 15th and 22nd with a presentation/nibbles on the last day. Entries are NOW open on the website. Through our Eyes Art Exhibition – Friday, 4th – Monday, 7th May 2018. FREE entry. Opening night will be on the Friday where you can meet the artists and discuss their work Wine Maker’s Dinner – Thursday, 17th May 2018. Tickets are on sale NOW through the website for a 4 course meal and tasting 10 different wines. It is the New V’s Old of Peter Lehman. It will be a great night Men of League Charity Dinner and Golf Day – Saturday, 26th May and Sunday, 27th May 2018. Tickets are on sale NOW through the website. You don’t have to play golf to attend the dinner and vice versa… you can make a weekend of it or pick and choose. Get your entries in and support a very worthy cause. Water Wonderland – Saturday, 9th and Sunday, 10th June 2018. Entries are on sale NOW through the website.
BLUEWATER COUNTRY MUSIC FESTIVAL Our Water Wonderland Golf Event is on the June Long Weekend. This coincides with the Bluewater Country Music Festival held in Nelson Bay. This year we will be a part of this festival and hosting our own ticketed event on the Saturday night, 9th June 2018. We have a very talented artist performing who is a Multiple Golden Guitar Winner, was one half of Australian Country Music's leading Duo - McAlister Kemp and writes music in Nashville, Drew McAlister. More information and ticket sales will be available next week. This will be a great night and one not to be missed!
Drew McAlister has built solid career that has seen him nominated for an ARIA Award, win 4 Golden Guitars and a CMC OZ Artist Award. Drew is at the forefront of contemporary Australian country music and as we head into 2018 McAlister delivers formidable energy with his new show and album.
The Coming Your Way Tour is a collection of songs from Drew’s two Solo Albums Black Sky and Coming Your Way with a few surprises along the way. This is a get up from your seat kind of show, it leaves you with a feel good feeling in your heart and a tune in your head long after the song is through. Drew is a master of the live show and his vocal ability and high energy will leave the audience breathless. The album COMING YOUR WAY, was recently released and then nominated for Best Contemporary Album at the Golden Guitars in January 2018. His latest single Australian Heartbeat is another anthem rousing hit. As Drew describes it, “Australian Heartbeat is a reflection on the people who make the wheels turn every day of the year in Australia. It’s my family, it’s my friends, it’s me, it’s you.
MEMBERS SURVEY We still have sometime before the completion of the survey and look forward to any constructive comments from members. The survey boxes and forms are located at the Match Desk, Bar and Reception.
I hope you have a Happy Easter with your friends and family and the Easter Bunny is good to you. If you’re travelling, be safe and I look forward to seeing you at the Club soon.
Peter Power PRESIDENT
NEWSLETTER - 22ND MARCH 2018
Dear Members & Guests,
In my earlier newsletter this month I said we need more rain, as I sit and write we are receiving welcome rain and possibly flooding rain. Good old Oz and Dorothea McKellar.
FINANCE A pleasing turnaround in our February P&L with a profit of $43,898.00 giving a year to date profit of $76,399.00. Revenue streams from all departments Golf Members and Social Golfers, Carts, Bar and Gaming were good.
Cash flow forecasts still predict a shortfall in April and is not unexpected. This will mean we will have to draw down funds from our debt reduction account. Let’s put this into perspective, prior to the 2015 fire NBGC carried a debt of $1 Million with a quarterly interest bill of $52,000.00. Presently we have a facility in place to draw down funds when required. Since the fire and the material damages claim we have saved on our interest bill $500,000 and managed to earn $150,000 in interest on our investment account with the funds provided by the damages claim.
Keith Campbell (Finance Director), Trevor Harrison (General Manager) and Peter Power (Club President) met with our bankers NAB earlier this month. Apart from discussing our current trading and clubs finance position moving forward, we discussed renewing our $1 million loan facility. We are considering our options on the loan facility and NAB will come back to us with different choices which may be more favourable in terms of savings and costs to the club. NAB are very pleased with the clubs trading situation.
MARKETING & EVENTS Our new website is up and running and I am sure all those who have checked it out agree it is a vast improvement. Our Sales and Marketing Manager, Natalie Kelly, has personally put in many hours managing this project, the concept and design, its creation, checked and uploaded the entire content required.
One major gain with the new website is allowing us to better market and promote the Club and its events especially via social media and direct marketing. A focus can now be on the corporate market with conferences and corporate golf days. The new website, which now matches the Club’s facilities features: - Flyovers and instruction on how to play each hole on the course - Purchase tickets to golf events, social events, kangaroo tours - “News” section for us to brag on - Links to our function kit, conference kit, wedding kit, corporate golf kit requiring contact details of those enquiring - Detailed Club history with photo displays from each era - Testimonial space - Ability to advertise positions in the Club when they become available - A facility for social golf to be booked by the public - Bluewater Grill menus and ability to make a table reservation - Sponsorship totals for this year are now past the $50,000-mark in cash and $8,000 in product– again due to the efforts of Natalie. In terms of weddings, the Club has picked up another – for May next year - following on from the two weddings plus an engagement party which came from the wedding expo we held in January. Suppliers have already booked for our next January expo. We are also attending wedding expos with three planned across the Hunter this year. Our partner there will be the Landmark Resort to sell it as a “one-stop” total solution for destination weddings. In total we have 6 weddings booked in so far with a few quotes outstanding.
Upcoming Events: - US Masters Breakfast – Monday, 9th April 2018 (entry forms are on the website and registration can be made with reception) - Through Our Eyes Art Exhibition – Friday, 4th – Monday, 7th May 2018. A FREE event showcasing the works of Nada Yonge, Nikki Waters and Robyn Killen - Peter Lehman Wine Maker’s Dinner – Thursday, 17th May 2018. Information and tickets can be purchased on our new website - Men of League Charity Weekend – Saturday, 26th – Sunday, 27th May 2018
GOLF Men’s A grade pennants division 2 were very competitive with 3 wins, 1 loss and a draw. They just missed out on the finals with their last match against Shortland Waters at Toronto. Again, a great effort from the team.
FRI 30 MAR, SAT 31 MAR, SUN 1 APR: Normal comps even though it is Easter. MON 2 APR: Limited Stableford Medley from 8.30 – 10.15. Vets off one tee from 10.00 am.
WED 4 APRIL: Taylor Made 2
SUN 8 APRIL: L & Z Chalmers 3. Sponsors Max & Sandra Pride. No plans to have Keno Mixed 4BBB qualifying at this stage.
SAT 14 APRIL: Handicap Matchplay Finals. Finalists to be placed in last 2 groups of the day.
Ballots – some members have allegedly accessed the timesheets at the kiosk adjacent the Pro-Shop prior to ballot times, please be advised if any member is found entered prior to the ballot time they will be withdrawn from the competition.
Slow play – members are reminded that a well-paced game is a good game; please keep up with the group in front. Thank you to our volunteer marshals.
Divots & Pitch Marks – its part of the game fix them, enough said.
With the introduction of our new website you will notice changes to the Login page, the same process applies to booking your golf click on the desired competition day and enter your name. The page advises when the timesheet will open in hours and days and is easy to navigate.
KANGAROOS – A USER’S GUIDE
How do you move an 80kg kangaroo? Well, surprisingly, the answer is ... quite easily.
Having worked as a volunteer for over three years with the Researchers from the University of Sydney, there are a few ‘tricks of the trade’ that all members should know.
Trick No.1: Use your umbrella for more than just rain.
Opening and closing an umbrella quickly, whilst moving towards a single or mob of kangaroos is the best technique for moving animals safely and effectively. The animals are startled by the sound and rapid movement. It also puts a protective barrier between you and the animals. Once one bolts, the whole mob is likely to follow.
Trick No.2: Do not approach animals from the front.
Always approach kangaroos from the rear or the opposite side from the direction you would like the mob to move. e.g. off the fairway and into the bushes. If you would like the animals to move to your right, approach them from your left. Kangaroos cannot walk backwards. (If you see one moon walking backwards, take a video. It’ll be a first and you’ll make a fortune on YouTube).
Throwing sticks or clubs or thumping the ground at animals is ineffective and can injure animals and should not be done. If a golf cart is used to move animals, please do so at slow speed. Oh ... by the way, shouting “shoo” only makes your partners, and the kangaroos, laugh.
Be aware that a frontal approach can leave a kangaroo no escape route and can also be misinterpreted by the animal as mimicking the confrontational behaviour of another male kangaroo. Remember, as far as kangaroos go: “Side is safe, rear is recommended”.
Trick No.3 Please move animals before you play your shot.
It’s easy to avoid injuring kangaroos on our course. It takes only a minute or two of your time but can save hours of work by the Pro Shop staff, animal wildlife rescuers, Police and the time and expense of vets in having to euthanise struggling, injured and frightened animals.
If there is a single kangaroo or a mob twenty or even thirty metres directly in front of you, please take the time to move them prior to playing your golf shot. If you think it is even possible you might hit a kangaroo with a forceful ball, please flush the animals using the umbrella technique. You will find that if you are using an umbrella you do not have to walk all the way to the mob before they move. And this simple act helps following groups as well.
Despite their size and strength, kangaroo’s legs and the bones are quite vulnerable to golf ball strike. A fractured skull or a broken leg means an animal must be captured (if possible), transported to a vet and euthanized. Volunteers do this work - National Parks do not assist. Large, immobile and injured animals necessitate Police being withdrawn from normal duties and are then required to shoot the animal on site. It’s dangerous, time consuming work that can be avoided by a minute or two of simple ‘umbrella work’ by a thoughtful group of golfers.
Trick No.4: A Final Tip:
A ‘growling’ kangaroo, rather than being interpreted as an aggressive animal, is in effect simply warning a golfer that the kangaroo is feeling threatened by the golfer’s close presence. My experience has been that they are often injured, old animals or arthritic and cannot move quickly - or are in pain when forced to move. I’m sure some of our members will empathise. Clearly, it is best to move away from the animal in this instance.
The Eastern Grey kangaroos on our course are wild animals. With wild animals weighing up to 80kgs, there is always a potential danger and all animals should be treated with caution and all golfers should proceed in a safe manner.
Safety is paramount. And now you know the ‘tricks of the kangaroo trade’.
One thing has always puzzled me though. Whenever I play golf why do the kangaroos always seem to move into the centre of the fairway or near the pin? My mates reckon it’s for their own safety!
Written by: Phil Murray
Members are advised that there are still small & large lockers available and plenty of spots available for golf club and push buggies, please contact the office if you are interested.
Members and Guests are advised that all Club Staff are there to assist you with any of your enquiries and have set guidelines on their day to day work methods they are courteous and respectful - I expect that they are treated in the same manner by the membership.
Vale – Lenny Plimer and Daniel Ward. Our condolences go out to their families and loved ones.
Peter Power PRESIDENT
NEWSLETTER – 2nd MARCH 2018
Dear Members & Guests,
Autumn is upon us with milder weather and good conditions for our golf. The late February rain was welcome with the Course receiving more than 150mm. We do, however, require more.
FINANCE It is a sobering thought that after four straight months of reporting profits in the new Clubhouse a loss of $8,682 is the result for January. Bar and Course revenue were down. Cash flow estimates show the Club will need to dip into the bank loan facility early to mid-April and probably again in September-October. Please Note: The Club is a new business; every month is a new month and comparisons with the club figures pre-fire mean very little. Profit for the year to date is $33,000 with an estimated end of financial year profit of $108,000.
DIRECTOR – Casual Vacancy I am pleased to advise, after receiving several resumes from members, Joanne White (Ladies President) has been appointed to the Board. Joanne has a background in sales & marketing and we look forward to working with Joanne and what she will bring to the Board Room. Joanne’s appointment is until the 2018 AGM.
KANGAROO ENCOUNTERS After two years of successfully co-ordinating Kangaroo Encounters, Phil “Kangaroo” Murray is heading off for a well deserved holiday. To assist the Club continuing the Kangaroo Encounters we require some additional volunteers for 2 – 3 hours per week. Please contact Phil, the office or myself if you are prepared to assist. Phil is happy to train new volunteers on the Nelson Bay GC Kangaroo population. If you go to Trip Advisor and search Kangaroo Encounters Guided Tours you will see out of 178 posts, 173 were excellent and 4 were very good and one was terrible!! You can’t please everyone, 177 out 178 is fantastic. We would like to thank Phil and his small team of volunteers on enhancing NBGC offerings through the Kangaroo Encounters.
MARKETING TRACEL GIVEAWAY WINNER – Mike Selmo was the lucky winner of the “Nelson Bay Golf Club Member Holiday World $5,000.00 Giveaway”. Many thanks to our partners in this competition, Doug and Narelle Melhuish of Holiday World, Salamander Bay.
WEBSITE - Our new website will be launched by the end of the month with a number of new features. We hope you'll be pleasantly surprised.
UPCOMING GOLF EVENTS: 1. In the Pink - Tomaree Breast Cancer Charity Day - Tuesday, 20th March 2018. Hurry and get your entries in so you don't miss out! 2. US Masters Breakfast and Golf - Monday, 9th April 2018. Entry forms are available from reception. Come and watch the nail biting finish on the big screens in the function room whilst enjoying a hot plated breakfast with 9 holes of golf afterwards. 3. Men of League Charity Event - Saturday, 26th May for the Dinner with guest speakers, entertainment, auctions, raffles, prizes and more! Followed by 18 holes on Sunday, 27th May 2018. Further details of ticket prices etc will be released shortly.
UPCOMING SOCIAL EVENTS: 1. Nelson Bay Art Centre Art Exhibition - Friday, 4th May 2018 to Sunday, 6th May 2018 2. Peter Lehman Wine Maker's Dinner - Thursday, 17th May 2018. This is a 4 course dinner accompanied by 10 various wines to try and test! Members tickets are $75.00. Non-Members are $90.00. A competition to WIN a magnum and other prizes on the night
GOLF 1. Fixture Books - Have arrived and each Playing Member may request one copy from Reception. The Fixtures is available to view online www.nelsonbaygolf.com 2. Card Processing - Members are reminded of the Club’s policy that “Each player is responsible for ensuring that his/her card has been scanned through the Club’s card reader system and saved”. Match Committee representatives can help where possible, but please note that it is not their job to scan a person’s card for them. 3. Temporary 6th Green - Work has begun on the replacement of the 6th green. A temporary green is in place 40 m short of the original green. It may take 4 - 5 months before the green is back in play, so the temporary green will remain in use for that period. Please note that the Men’s and Ladies Monthly Medals will be played on Xmas Bush (Holes 10 – 27) throughout this period. 4. Tee Bookings - Following the Board’s decision in November, members may now enter all competitions either through the terminals in the Clubhouse from 5.00 pm on the nominated day, or online from 7.00 pm on the same day. See the Fixture Book for the opening times of timesheets for the various competitions.
Please Note: NO person, from the Club Captain down, may move a player on a timesheet without their expressed permission.
The Tuesday Competition can be set up in Divisions. Members have the right to choose what time they play regardless of divisions or grade. It is the member’s prerogative to choose the timeslot they wish to play and can only be altered by them. 5. Tournaments - Notices about Tournaments and Open Days at other Clubs are now displayed in a notice board to the right of the Pro shop entrance. Entry forms are also available from a display holder beside the scanners in the Clubhouse. Our ladies are particularly good supporters of Open Days at other Clubs, but the Men may not realise that all NDGA Clubs offer an Order of Merit event. Two such events in the immediate future are at Charlestown on Saturday, 10th March 2018 and the Tanilba Cup on Saturday, 7th April 2018. For the first time this year we will be hosting our own NDGA Order of Merit tournament, the Nelson Bay Cup, on Sunday, 1st July 2018. 6. Despite some false starts, the Twilight competitions commenced on Thursday, 1st March 2018 and they are offered each Thursday afternoon throughout March. These events have a shotgun start at 4.00 pm, and they are open to all members (including Social) and the public. An official golf handicap is not required.
The remaining Twilight events are: a. Thursday 8 March: “Tennis Rules” - one “second serve” per hole. b. Thursday 15 March: “Big as a Bucket”, with holes twice the normal size. c. Thursday 22 March: the ever-popular Cross-Country event. d. Thursday 29 March: 3 and 4-person Ambrose
We are again seeing some phenomenal scoring in our competition days with members - Steven John 48 pts, Kim Mathwyn 45 pts, Julie Anne Taylor 41 pts and Kath Allen 40 pts! I think we all better get out and practice…
Pennants – Men’s A grade division 2 continue to be competitive with 2 wins, 1 loss and a draw. They are currently sitting in 3rd place with the last round this Sunday playing against Shortland Waters at Toronto. Good luck boys.
Ladies A grade NBGC Dolphins (1) played NBGC Nemo’s (2) at Belmont which resulted in a squared match. We have our first junior girl, Amy Squires, in the pennant squad. Well done ladies.
Course – As I said, good to see the rain however we hope to see more follow up rain next week. We continue to receive good comments about the Course and I can personally say from playing various golf courses recently, we are in good shape and compare very favourably against other Courses.
The 6th green is well under way and is being constructed by our contractor McMahons. We will also be resurfacing the men’s 6th tee and until further notice we will be playing off the forward tee.
The greens staff will be happy as we are now moving into autumn and cooler weather which suits our greens.
Member Deryck James broke his femur. He is in John Hunter Hospital. Any information required may be referred to Geoff Cavanagh.
Member John P O’Shea had an unfortunate accident on the golf course recently and broke his femur. He is recovering in Newcastle Private Hospital.
We wish them both a speedy recovery.
I look forward to seeing you on the Course or in the Club.
Peter Power PRESIDENT
Newsletter - 2nd February 2018
Dear Members and Guests,
The 2018 golfing calendar is underway, and I wish you all well for the coming season.
The defects liability period (warranty) for the clubhouse rebuild continues with Club Projects our builder completing most of the items on the list, there will be some modifications made with a new access door installed adjacent to the Bi-Fold doors leading to the veranda, the ceiling in the smoking section adjacent the sports bar will be modified and the unfinished ceiling on the veranda will be completed at this time.
We continue to see new and old faces (returning) to visit the new club which is great to see, trade has slowed slightly since the end of the holiday season, this is to be expected what with the cost of Christmas and New Year and back to school fees etc.
FINANCE We continue to trade well with a nett profit of $39,000.00 dollars recorded for December with YTD being $42,000.00, I should point out that until we have traded for a full financial year we will not know or have a comparison of our true finances. We do not expect to draw down on our debt reduction account or NAB facility until April. Green fees both Social and Members are up, and this has to be contributed to the condition of the Golf Course and the New Clubhouse and Management in general.
The Board Recently had a special meeting to review and update the clubs Strategic Plan and Course Masterplan this will shortly be updated to the club’s website.
MARKETING Our first Wedding Expo went very well. We had 40 registered brides who gave us their information to send out to the suppliers and for Natalie Kelly to follow up. This equated to approx. 150 – 180 people who walked through the door with them bringing their partners/family. Most of which stayed for lunch or had a drink. We booked two weddings and one engagement party on the day. With strong leads to book other weddings. We had 21 trade stand holders. The feedback from them was good. They felt the boutique feel, quality and variety of the trade stands was great and that they’d all do it again next year. As a marketing exercise this brought locals in who said on the day that they hadn’t been to the Club before and generated additional revenue the Club wouldn’t have had on the day. We have ordered the new 8-seater buggy from Club Car which will be utilised for Weddings and Kangaroo Tours we would not have been able to purchase the cart without the Stronger Communities Programme $5,000.00 grant and the assistance of our Federal Member Meryl Swanson. Well done Natalie & Mandy
MEMBER GIVEAWAY - $5,000 Travel Voucher
This initiative has been running since September with a “2nd Chance Draw” of $250.00 being given out each month with 5 lucky members collecting. The MAJOR prize will be drawn on Thursday, 18th February 2018 in conjunction with the member’s badge draw at 6pm. We would love to see you be there to collect it if you were the lucky winner!
JACKPOTS – Nelson Bay Marlins Joker Poker and Member Badge Draws These have been growing incrementally each week. The Joker Poker supporting the Nelson Bay Marlins AFL Club drawn on Friday nights is at $6,200! Tickets are sold from 5pm each week. Come on in and try your luck. Our Member Badge Draw is drawn on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday evenings at 6pm and is now at $3,100 you have to be in the Club to Club to collect.
RULES CLARIFICATION Quite frequently we have queries from members about relief from paths around the course. This was discussed at a recent Match Committee meeting, and we have come up with the following description and ruling.
It is not as simple as saying relief from the obstruction can only be taken between the path borders because a number of our paths don’t have borders. There is also the fact that the gravel can spill out over the path borders. The advice we received from Golf NSW some time ago was that relief can be provided if the ball is sitting on a surface that is predominantly artificial and/or introduced. For the purpose of this rule “predominantly” would mean clearly more than 50%.
The new procedures allowing competition play by both genders on all days have come in smoothly. A number of ladies, including some visitors, have played on Saturdays, and a number of men have been playing on Thursdays. Please note however, that the Match Committee has the right from time to time to set limits for logistical reasons. For instance, there is no men’s competition offered on Ladies Gala Day on 13 Feb where there is a shotgun start for over 170 ladies, many of them visitors. Similarly, on Men’s Monthly Medal days, a ladies competition is offered on Course 2 Stableford only, not on Course 1 Stroke.
Thank you to Alan Daubaras and David Birss for volunteering as Marshals. We hope to continue and expand this service as we are working on a permanent arrangement.
LADIES GALA DAY, 13th FEBRUARY 2018 A warm welcome to our visitors I trust you enjoy your golf and the hospitality of our club and members.
Please note parking will be a premium on this day. I ask for those who can car pool to please do so to avoid any disappointment and remember there is an area set aside for parking at the bottom of the practice fairway.
LADIES AND VETS OPENING DAYS We look forward to welcoming back the Ladies & Veteran golfers after their Christmas break.
CLUB & BUGGY STORAGE As previously advised a secure dedicated area under the main clubhouse is now available for members to store their golf bags and hand golf buggies. The fee from January – June 2018 is $50 with a renewal payable with your annual subscription. Please contact reception if you would like to secure a space.
COURSE REPORT Put simply dry, dry, dry, the promise of rain never seems to eventuate and according to the BOM we had the hottest 2017 on record. Notwithstanding this our super Greg Stynes and staff are doing a remarkable job the Greens are as good as I have ever seen them and in these current conditions our fairways are holding up quite well, however, some tees are struggling they have been treated with a wetting agent. The ladies 6th & 7th tee are now in play. The new Bore pumps are up and running. Recently our Course 3IC Dale O’Donnell resigned after 10 years of service at the Club to start a new career in the building industry which will enable him to spend more time with his 6 children. Dale was a wonderful employee and will be missed.
FIXTURE BOOK A soft copy of the 2017 -2018 season is on our website with a hard copy of February’s events posted at the kiosks and other locations around the club.
The Board and Management look forward to seeing our Volunteers and Sponsors on the Golf Course 15th February for the annual “Volunteers and Sponsors” thank you day.
Peter Power PRESIDENT
NEWSLETTER – 19th JANUARY 2018
Dear Members and Guests,
Happy New Year to all and welcome to all our visitors, at this time of year we are especially busy, on the Golf Course and in the new Clubhouse which is great to see. We are now in our sixth month of trading and enjoying a brisk trade.
COURSE As previously advised we have had little or no rain for some months and have been relying on our Bore Water System to top up the irrigation dam. This has placed a strain on the 12th Bore pump and it has failed after 10 years of service and will be replaced within the next week.
To remove the pump, we have to hire a large crane as the pump and discharge pipework are approximately 30 meters long, whilst we had the crane on site we arranged to remove the Bore pump adjacent the 7th tee as it has not been in operation for about 5 years; this will also be replaced.
Irrigation is a priority for The Board and greens staff and over the years we have implemented several measures to ensure that the Course is irrigated satisfactorily. In this instance we will rebuild one of the failed pumps or purchase another new pump so that we always have a pump on standby for immediate replacement.
BLUEWATER GRILL BOOKINGS With an influx of new members and visitors, Bluewater Grill has been booked out most nights for the past three months. To avoid disappointment members are reminded to book early if you are planning a special occasion or book early in the week for a weekend booking. Bookings can also be made online through the club’s website www.nelsonbaygolf.com.au or Bluewater Grill’s website www.bluewatergrill.net.au
GOLF All members, including Social members and visitors, are invited to play in the 9 HOLE TWILIGHT COMPETITIONS being held on alternate Thursdays in February and March. Hit off is at 4.00 pm in a “shotgun” start. Entry fees are: Golfing Members: $10, Social Members: $16, Visitors: $20. The formats for these events are: THURSDAY 15 FEBRUARY: BIG AS A BUCKET. (Holes double the size of normal golf holes) THURSDAY 1ST MARCH: TENNIS RULES. (One “second serve” per hole) THURSDAY 15 MARCH: 4 PERSON AMBROSE THURSDAY 29 MARCH: CROSS COUNTRY (A special course mapped out through the trees). Players will be encouraged to stay for dinner after this final event for the Twilight season.
Timesheets open 14 days prior to each event. Entry online, through the kiosks or through the Pro shop. We really hope some of our Social members take this opportunity to play golf in a fun atmosphere. Golf Handicap is not required.
INFORMATION FOR PLAYING MEMBERS We have some changes to course markings: 1. OUT OF BOUNDS BEHIND THE 18TH GREEN has now been determined as the curb on the cart path below the pro shop. Suitable markings have been made on the curb. 2. The GARDEN IN THE POND BETWEEN THE 18TH AND 9TH GREENS IS NOW IN THE HAZARD (Previously this garden had been compulsory GUR). The HAZARD LINE around the pond will be altered in coming weeks so it will be marked on the edge of the concrete path. This is to provide clearer definition. 3. Some time ago a mat was installed in the DROP ZONE between the pond and the half-way house. This drop zone is OPTIONAL when taking a penalty drop from the hazard or a free drop from the path. Please note that a ball is in the hazard if any part of the ball touches the line of hazard, or a vertical extension above it. (See page 44 of the Rule book). Players should also take care when dropping the ball in the drop zone. Under the rules of golf, the ball is in play if it strikes the ground inside the drop zone but then rolls out of it less than a distance of two club lengths. (See page 153 of the Rule book). 4. With Ladies and Men now able to play on all days, it has been necessary for the Match Committee to come up with procedures for fields with smaller numbers: a. A “Voucher competition” will only be held when there are 16 players or more. b. For less than 16 players there will be a Ball competition. The number of balls will be determined by the number of entrants. The distribution of balls to be determined by the Match Desk personnel on that day. Balls won will be allocated to players’ accounts by the Pro shop. c. All scores will be sent to Golflink. d. On Men’s Monthly Medal days on Saturdays, ladies will only be offered a competition on Course 2.
PACE OF PLAY We have enjoyed huge fields in recent weeks, with some Wednesday fields being in excess of 260 players. This inevitably causes problems for the pace of play. We are having volunteer Marshals on the busier days, but members are expected to do their best in keeping to a satisfactory pace of play. The following TIPS TO SPEED UP PLAY are included in our Fixture Book: 1. Walk quickly from the green to the next tee. 2. DO NOT MARK YOUR CARDS AT THE GREEN YOU HAVE JUST FINISHED. Go straight to the next tee and mark your cards after you have teed off. 3. As soon as it is safe to do so, move forward to your ball, check the distance and select your club. This can often be done before your fellow competitor has played his/her shot. 4. If you are still falling behind, the first two players to putt out our can leave the green immediately and hit off while the remaining two players complete the hole.
The R & A’s PACE OF PLAY MANUAL provides some valuable tips for improving the pace of play. See the link below. We hope our members can take all this information on board to tackle this age-old problem that seems to afflict all golf clubs. https://www.randa.org/RulesEquipment/Pace-of-Play/Manual
We frequently receive posters and emails about different events around the country. Two that have recently arrived are:
1. Golf NSW Calendar of events, including the NSW Sand Greens Four Ball Championships, 17/18 March, Cobar NSW - http://www.golfnsw.org/golfbox#/customer/1012/schedule/2017
2. Alice Springs Masters Games, 13 – 20 October - www.alicespringsmastersgames.com.au
3. Of course, we are hosting the Australian Veterans Golf Championships from 12 – 16 November - www.gogolfing.net.au/vets-2018
HOUSE MATTERS A day bed has been purchased and if required is located in the utility room next to the ladies locker room.
The Club has two Defibrillators located at Reception and the Greens Sheds if required. These two locations cover the main two areas of the golf course and are available when the course or clubhouse are open. Staff are trained if they are required.
Canadian Club & Dry is now available by the glass. The complete range of Brygon Wines are now available from the main and function bars. The Reserve & Bruce range are proving very popular.
CAR PARKING Additional car parks are available at the bottom of the practice fairway to cater for the extremely busy golf days. Entry is via the Dowling Street cart shed gates and is surrounded with orange netting.
While this area is in use as a car park the practice fairway is restricted to no more than a 7 iron.
CLUB & BUGGY STORAGE As previously advised a secure dedicated area under the main clubhouse is now available for members to store their golf bags and hand golf buggies. The fee from January – June 2018 is $50 with a renewal payable with your annual subscription. Please contact reception if you would like to secure a space.
WEDDING EXPO We are hosting our very first Wedding Expo tomorrow from 10am – 2pm. There will be 20 exhibitors, ceremony site dressed, entertainment and more! We are very excited to show off what the Club can do which will hopefully result in more weddings and functions at the Club. Exhibitors have been asked to park next door to alleviate car park stress. There will be a number of people attending the event so please be patient and if possible car pool or have a lift to golf organised.
I look forward to seeing you on the course or in the clubhouse.
Peter Power PRESIDENT