President Update
September 2023
Doesn’t time travel fast? I’m into the last three months of my three-year term as President. I have to say, it has been a thoroughly enjoyable experience, and I’d like to believe that after picking up the role from Peter Clayton, the club is still in fine order.
I have been working with one hell of a team – we have wonderful staff, and your management committee is very strong; all attributing to a club that we can be proud to be members of.
It certainly hasn’t been all plain sailing – several issues of concern popped up within the last year, but all were sorted with the professionalism that we have been accustomed to.
Course Superintendent Ben Simons was at his wits end when the course came down with Pythium disease in February, right on the eve of the NZ Men’s Seniors and the PGA. It seems a mixture of rain and humidity was the cause and Ben and his team were working overtime to present the course in the best condition as possible considering the circumstances. It wasn’t fixable overnight, but you’d have to agree, a tremendous job has been done to get it back to where it is today.
Gordon Trembath took responsibility for the burning of the slash piles in the paddocks beside the 5th and 17th fairways. Hiring a digger and using Gordons skills got the job done at a far more economical cost than had been quoted.
Aviation rules meant we had to deal with several trees that were a potential hazard for planes using runway 29; the runway that runs east to west across our course. Twelve trees needed to be felled and another five were trimmed up to meet the necessary requirements. In reflection, I believe the course is much better for their removal; the 10th in particular is a different hole! A major job well done.
You will notice that a lot of the trees have been tidied up leaving space underneath them to find your ball if you have the misfortune to go into them. This is in the interests of speeding up play, slow play being a problem that haunts all golf courses. Ben will continue to look for ways to speed it up, but of course it is primarily the players responsibility to be on the tail of that group in front!
It’s natural that we lose members due to passing away and condolences to the families of their loved ones who have lost someone this year. Jim Newbigin passed away in July and he can be truly described as a magnificent stalwart of the club. Aged 93 and still playing; he was still very active, had his opinions and in my view was an absolute gentleman. We’re expecting the Newbigin foursomes to be a very big tournament this year. Deepest sympathies to Louise and the family – Jim’s character will be missed.
Food and Beverage manager Grant Nicholas left us during the year but had lifted the standard of service and quality to new levels during his tenure. It is with much pleasure I can confirm the standard is even higher now with the appointment of Liz Clarges as Kitchen Manager. Liz and her team have retained the quality, increased the choice and included the option of takeaway meals as well. The meatloaf wrapped in bacon and the cottage pie are two that I have tried, and they are great. Give it a try!
A special day last Friday as a morning tea was held to acknowledge 20 years of service to the club for our General Manager Michelle Campbell. Starting out as the Administration Manager to Ken Dungey in 2004, Michelle was covering that role as well as the General Managers role upon Kens departure in 2011. In 2017 Michelle was finally confirmed as the official General Manager of the Hastings Golf Club and during this tenure was voted as the Club Manager of the year within NZ Golf clubs. Congratulations Michelle: I believe one of the reasons our club is so successful is Michelles effort.
This current financial year has been more demanding on the club than the previous years, primarily due to course expenses, the setbacks we had and the unbelievable increase in costs for chemicals and the likes for maintenance. We believe we will still have our heads above water come year end, operating close to final budget.
It brings us on to our next financial year. A meeting of the strategic sub-committee met with the requirement to digest our financials, our expectations and our budget and then make a recommendation to the overall management committee for confirmation. In previous years any increase in subscriptions has been based on the current CPI and with a couple of minor exceptions, we found no reason was found to differ from that for next year. The CPI is currently 4% so that is the increase for the next financial year.
Two exceptions. Statistically, it is a fact that while 9-hole membership is on the increase (which is wonderful – strongly driven and led by Vicki Sutcliffe), on average those members are using the course more than 18-hole players (full playing). A survey was conducted with 6 similar clubs to our own to see how they dealt with 9-hole subs, based on a percentage of full subs. Currently our club is 50% but the range of other clubs was from 55% to 67%. After discussion it was recommended that the 9-hole sub be 55% of the full playing member sub.
We also have a category called Quiet Day Membership, where members are restricted to play Sunday, Monday and Wednesday. Modern trends suggest there is hardly a quiet day at the club now but while we currently have 61 quiet day members, we’d like to encourage them to become full playing members. To be fair, it’s likely this category will be phased out with time but while it is there, the management committee believe it is worth 65% of the full playing membership, an increase from the current 60%.
Also, Junior full playing, Student and School U13’s will not be subject to any change.
I reiterate the outstanding job Michelle does, especially the finance – her role along with the management committee in ensuring the clubs finances are well managed is exceptional.
I take the opportunity to thank the management committee, Michelle, Ben, Liz, Brett and all the club’s staff in ensuring the Hastings Golf Club, is a club, that it’s members can be a proud to be a member of.
Wayne Mudgway
Club President
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