President’s Patter
Published on 11th January 2023 in Members News
Happy new Year to you! I trust your Christmas and New Year was a happy and safe one with family and friends.
Well, here we are again at the start of what is sure to be an eventful and busy year for our Club not least of which because this year we will be celebrating 75 years. Watch out for information relating to this significant milestone for the Club in future issues and of course on our website.
By now most of us will be getting used to using our Member Card when transacting business at the Club. Amongst other things the use of the card eliminates visitors from claiming to be members in order to access the member discount and from member numbers being used by others. I have been amused by the ‘conspiracy theory’ I have heard being proposed by some members.
No, big brother is not watching you nor is there any clandestine purpose to monitor members!
The practice of using our member cards aligns us with current ‘best practice’ being used by many private Clubs around the country. Also, if you wish to pay cash you may still continue to do so. Simply inform the staff member serving you that you do not wish to use your club account to pay when you swipe in. Like all change it takes a little getting used to but with time this will become the norm and it does make life easer for our staff particularly as we host private events in conjunction with Club fixtures.
On Friday the 6th January BGC held our annual ‘Junior Open’ with 60+ players in the field from across the State. All members should take pride in the very positive feedback we received as to the running of this event. My thanks to the members who volunteered their time in any capacity to assist on the day and of course to our hard-working staff who do so much to ensure the success of all our events. I would like to congratulate Peta Van Wyk, our Junior Coordinator ‘par excellence’ whose organisational skills, energy and enthusiasm are a feature of the Junior Program in our Club. Congratulations also to our new Junior Captain Krishan Burgermeister, in his first ‘official function’ as Captain. We have a group of juniors who represent our Club with pride and in a very positive manner, a great reflection on their parents and on our Club. I look forward to next year’s event. We are contemplating moving the 2024 Open to a date later in the year but will survey participants prior to making a firm decision in this regard.
Finally, a warm welcome to our two newest staff members in PGA Pro Travis Lord and Golf Ops Manager Shane Morris. (Incidentally Ayisha Morris, Shane’s daughter, came runner up in the Girls Gross – a great effort!)
Travis has already made some positive changes in the Pro Shop and has put forward a number of positive suggestions for improvement, not bad in his first 5 days here! Both Travis and Shane are on ‘vertical learning curves’ and I am sure they will receive your strong support and encouragement as they become familiar with their roles. On behalf of the Board and members I trust their time at our Club will be a happy and fulfilling one.
2023 is shaping up to be another great year for the Club and I look forward to seeing you all on the Course.
Till then ‘happy golfing!’