President Report

Hi Members,

Thank you to all those members who attended our AGM on Mon 27th November. I am honoured to be endorsed as President for 2018 and am excited for the future of the Bunbury Golf Club. I am particularly pleased with the skill set of our Board and am confident that this team will help shape the future and leave our Club in a strong position.

I know there are numerous members of our Club that enjoy helping out and have some time to assist. We do need volunteers to join the respective committees. House and Social is one committee that we need volunteers to help, particularly as we are entering our 70th Anniversary year at Clifton Park. Please contact Tami Mepham if you would like to be on her committee. Similarly if you would like to be on the Match committee contact Brad Grinter, on the Grounds Committee contact Daniel Tylor, or on the Finance Committee contact Mark Thomas.

In November our Club staged the annual Castieau Classic, 36 holes of mixed 4BBB. What a fantastic weekend. Numbers are steadily increasing each year as this event establishes itself on the golfing calendar. Thanks to Barney and Erica (Gina’s Home Care Agency) for your very generous sponsorship, I think you would all agree the trophies were amazing and thanks Libby for your help in organizing the prizes. Congratulations to Meryl Brown and Dean McEldowney on your success and also congratulations to Jane Anderson and Chris O’Keefe on being Runners Up. Pauline and Guy would have been wrapped with the success of the weekend

The Club Closing Day was also a successful event. We thank Lynne and Bob Morton for their sponsorship on that day. Some people struggle with American Foursomes however I enjoy the format, drive it into the bush, your partner finds it for you and you hit their perfectly placed drive from the fairway. Congratulations to Doug and Sally Brankin for their success on that day.

The Sunday Mixed Winter competition finished last Sunday. Thank you very much Errol and Lorna Hammond for being the convenors for the past three years and we would like another couple to help run Sunday golf which is very much an institution at this Club. That evening capped off a terrific weekend for the Club. The atmosphere following Friday Night Twilight for the Members Draw was excellent, the crowd was big, food was great and music by Bruce Clapp was engaging. The ability to open up the bi-fold doors and connect inside to out is proving to be a real winner for the Club.

The Club Upgrade is progressing well, the windows around the main function area are being replaced this week and that area should be ready to use by the end of the year. The Bar Refurbishment should commence at the start of next year and be finished before the Australia Day Classic. All members will have noticed that all of the Honour Boards have been removed. Once all work is completed to the Bar then we will commence setting out the newly designed Honour Boards in position. They will go behind the Bar and above the fridges as well as on the Match Office wall to the left of the door and on the wall that goes from the central door to the Bar. Damian Peacock will use wood from the existing wooden bar top to make the table that will go in the meeting room.

The sponsor for the Australia Day Classic this year is the Bethanie Group. We welcome them to our Club as new sponsors and hope we have a long association with this company. Some of our members are residents in their lifestyle homes and I am sure there will be more in the future. This year the Australia Day public holiday falls on the Friday 26th January. On that day we will run an 18 Hole Mixed/Matched 4BBB Stableford event preceding the 36 Hole Individual Stableford on Sat/Sun 27th & 28th January. The entry forms will be out soon for what promises to be another great weekend of golf.

We wish Jenny, one of our delightful barmaids, all the best for the future. She is moving up to Baldivis to be closer to Perth. The Club is delighted to announce the selection of Sharn Hisop as our new Functions & Beverage Manager. Sharn has spent the last four years as a Team Leader at the Sanctuary Golf Resort and has worked in the hospitality industry over the last 15 years where she has gained a wide range of knowledge in organising many different types of events from weddings, corporate and social events. We also welcome Chad Fauchoux to our Grounds staff. Chad is from Canada and will be working through to the end of the South West Open in June in a similar way Dave the Scot did last year. He has taken up residence in Halliday House. Please introduce yourselves to our new staff and make them feel welcome.

As a Board we welcome all feedback. Please note that the Suggestion Box is now located on the Members Menu.

On behalf of the Board I would like wish all of our members and employees a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year.

Warren Mezger

President