MGC Board Meeting Summary from the 28th February 2017

Dear Members,

From the President:  Over the last month we have experienced a dramatic change in weather conditions and the playability of our course. The recent rain has seen an accelerated grass recovery across fairways, as well as the playing membership experiencing the benefits of works completed in recent years around our course drainage in very wet conditions. This is testament to our course remaining open and playable throughout March.

In February we welcomed our new Caterer’s, Jimmy and Vicky, and celebrated the Chinese Year with a Restaurant Grand Opening. We have witnessed increased patronage in the Restaurant across all nights of the week, as well as a steady stream of members leaving the Club with take-away food orders.

Our Club has also extended the local community partnership with North Rocks Soccer Club (NRSC) into its second year.  NRSC continues to grow and this year expects to have around 1,000 players on their books, across junior and senior teams. An initiative this year for NRSC is the establishment of a Men’s Premier League squad, in conjunction with their existing Women’s Premier League squad. This will see NRSC have 2 senior men’s teams play at this ‘elite’ level in amateur soccer. And as part of our sponsorship, the Muirfield logo will be on the playing shirts of the Men’s and Women’s Premier League squads.

The Club has been successful in securing a grant under the NSW Government Local Sport Grant program. The grant is for $5,000 and is to be used in the future purchase of a specialised Golf Cart for Golfers with a Disability. There will be more on the fund raising around this initiative in the months to come.

In further support of the Club’s objective of becoming an Empower Golf Hub, Peter Jones and Scott Barsby recently completed a PGA Blind and Disabled Coach Training and Accreditation workshop. Through this accreditation, PJ and Scott are now able to deliver coaching and development programs at our Club in support of training programs for golfers living with a disability.

The 47th Amitee Interclub Golf visit at Tea Tree Gully in Adelaide was held from Friday 10th March 2017 until Sunday 12th March 2017. There were 170 plus participants from Muirfield (NSW), Amstel (VIC), Tea Tree Gully (SA) and Nudgee (QLD). There were 47 attendees from Muirfield, and whilst the golfing results for Muirfield were not as good as in previous years, word is in that Muirfield were the winners in the partying and dancing activities across each night.

I would also like to take this opportunity to mention our Volunteers who continue to provide fantastic assistance to our Greens staff in activities around our Course. In recent times this has included assistance in the sand link drainage works on the 10th fairway, the work with the new concrete path around the 8th green, landscaping of the area between the 13th and 14th fairways as you approach the 13th green, and this week’s green renovations.  A big thank you to all our volunteers.

From our Sub-Committees:

Finance: The Treasurer tabled the January Finance Report to the February Meeting which indicated a profit for the month of $976. This was against a budgeted loss of $7,435 and a loss last year of $10,325.  The result is better than budget and last year, however this is due to the profit received from the sale of old carts ($23K). The closing cash position was $1,119,011 against a budget of $814,093. This increase can be mainly attributed to the new finance of $147,600 for the refurbishment of the golf cart fleet.

Match: The recent weather has had an impact on the rounds and completion of the Club Match Play Championship. Match will make a recommendation on the scheduling of the remaining games and this will be confirmed after the March Board meeting. The 2017 Fixture book has been printed and is now available for collection in the Clubhouse for those that require a printed version. Saturday 18th March 2017 saw the first round of the Muirfield Premier League, an internal team based competition run in parallel to normal club rounds. Muirfield is the only NSW based Club participating in this type of league and look out for bragging rights across teams as the competition progresses over the next few months.

Greens: Recent months of activity on the golf course has seen the completion of works for the approach to the 13th green, sand link drainage on the 10th fairway and the establishment of concrete pathing around the back of the 8th green. The remaining drainage work to be completed at the front of the 13th green has been delayed waiting the completion of the Club Matchplay Championships.

Junior Development: The Tyro Shield competition recently completed and the Muirfield team finished on top of their group. Congratulations to the team comprising of Anbarsan Mitchell, Ethan Mear, Kasia Spaul and Jack McDonald. The date for the Muirfield Junior Metropolitan has also been confirmed as Friday 2st April 2017, and entry forms are now available.

The Junior Sub-committee has tabled the outline of a 4 phase development program for Junior Golfers at our Club. The objective of the revised approach will be to capture, develop and then retain Junior golfers, providing certification and recognition as they progress through each phase of activity.  More on this program will be published over the coming months.

Membership & Marketing: Tap and Go payment facilities are now in place across all areas of the Club, including the Pro Shop. Refer to signs that indicate conditions around this type of payment for the different types of available services.

House & Social: The most recent social event held was the Little Wings Cash Housie fund raiser, and several more of these will be held throughout the year. The next major event is ‘Band on the Green’ on Saturday 25th March 2017, and this will be followed by a Trivia Night on Thursday 6th April 2017.

Policy & Governance: The Board has reviewed and approved amendments to the following administration policies – #14 Golf Course & Deceased members, #18 Social Golf Club Bookings, #25 Responsible Service of Alcohol, #27 Junior Development Fund, and #35 Hardship. These items are available for viewing from the Members Website.

 

Kind Regards and good golfing!

The Board of Directors