Presidents Patter – March 2023
Published on 7th March 2023 in Members NewsDear members,
The recent Leschenault Classic turned into another very successful event for the Club. The feedback from attendees at the dinner on Saturday evening was fantastic and as Brad Whelan spoke so eloquently on behalf of the Veale Family at presentations on Sunday, Terry would have been extremely happy with how the weekend progressed.
Our Club is extremely fortunate to have enjoyed the support and sponsorship of Terry and his father Vic before him for many years, without which, long standing events like the Leschenault Classic would be much more difficult to hold.
That is not to say that the days leading up to the event were not without issues. I highly commend our new club professional Travis Lord in what was his first major event at the Club. This all came at a time when our GM was still on his honeymoon and so Travis lacked the general support, albeit that Des came in and had a briefing with him on the Tuesday, that he would usually have had available to him. Both Captain Errol and myself locked in as much support as possible particularly as Travis has been faced with a vertical learning curve since starting at the Club and has risen to meet the challenges presented. You expect people to make mistakes because that is the only true way to learn, but the attitude of a small minority of members of the Club has been disappointing to say the least and I strongly doubt that those so quick to criticise would have done as well in the circumstances. Travis was rightly praised for his efforts and I know in discussions with him that the next event will present less challenges for him than this one, such has been the learning that has occurred.
On top of the complexities of creating a draw to satisfy what was a field of 211 players, all with particular ‘requests’ in play, our Functions and Events coordinator was presented with a significant and very late challenge when Chef Ross became ill and subsequently was unable to be at work. To say that Tanya coped well in an incredibly stressful lead up to the event is an understatement of massive proportions. With a thinly stretched team of staff and some last-minute volunteers including brand new Social Member ‘Chris’ who answered Tanya’s call for help and brought her daughter along as well. I would like to personally thank these members for their time and efforts to support Tanya and the Club and whose contribution ensured that the buffet dinner was a complete success with a standard of food that many restaurants would envy. With tables marshalled by Di Mader – accounts master and people herder – participants attended the buffet in an orderly fashion with ample quantities of mouth-watering delights available followed by a great selection of desserts. Our Club is really blessed to have such a great staff who all rallied around on the night to ensure the highest standards of service were achieved. My heartiest congratulations to all!!
Grounds Super Dave and his team presented a fantastic course and we were blessed with magnificent weather throughout. Truly a great effort from everyone in whatever capacity.
The Board is continuing our work on the new Development Plan with our second meeting approaching and we anticipated completing this by June this year. Alan Grist has taken over the Director of Grounds role from Bruce Clapp and in Alan’s usual manner has jumped in with his usual dedication and commitment to the Club. Rod Cutler continues to grow into his role as Director of House and Social and Friday night at the Club continues to be well supported.
With the Opening Day for the women looming on the 8th I wish Women’s President Annette Coote and Captain Lorna Hammond and their committee and all the best for a great day.
So, a lot happening around the Club over the next few weeks and as ever I wish you health and happy golfing till next time.
Rob Littlewood
Club President