Page 5 - Northbridge Golf Club 85th Annual Report 2021

NORTHBRIDGE GOLF CLUB LIMITED PRESIDENT’S REPORT
At the close of my first year as President, I look back and think, well that was interesting! We started off playing in fours with the Restaurant and Bar in full swing then along came Delta in June/July and a very much more restricted club life became the norm whilst we all got vaccinated. To all members and staff at the club can I send a heart-felt thank you for bearing with us as we wrestle with the constant changes brought upon us by this pandemic. A special personal thanks is due to our Vice President, Geoff Glenwright, for his wise council during this time. We remain constantly committed to staying open and preserving our collective health and well-being by carefully following advice from Golf NSW and the Health Dept. We also look forward to the new COVID normal once we’re mostly double vaccinated and that should be beginning by the time our AGM comes around.
It is no news to anyone that our golf activities have been incredibly busy over the year. Having managed to stay open, our course is being loved to death. So, the work of our ground staff, led with passion by Malcolm Harris, has been unrelenting trying to maintain the course. In spite of these huge maintenance demands, they have also managed to complete several course improvements such as the landscaping around the 16th and 17th holes as well as the new artificial turf paths on the 6th and 18th. The Board has been delighted to be able to support their sterling efforts with several new pieces of equipment including the new blower seen recently clearing excess sand off the greens after renovations.
Of course, no review of our activities could ever ignore the enormous contribution made by the wonderful Dad’s Army, so capably led by the incomparable Billy May. They have epitomised the roll-up your sleeves, can-do attitude that is the life blood of this club; turning their collective hands to all manner of tasks, they help to share the work load with our ground staff with coordination from our Greens committee chaired by Phil Peterson. More recently with the lockdown and increased visitors from our neighbourhood, we have increased our marshalling efforts to ensure we comply with the relevant health orders and fill all those divots. Again, we have people volunteering to help the club by offering their time and they deserve our sincerest thanks.
Not only have people been volunteering their time, but also, they’ve been donating so generously to our Paths project via the Australian Sports Foundation that we’ve now exceeded our initial target of $20,000. We’re currently planning to renew the path from the clubhouse to the halfway house as well as several other sections and looking at installing high quality artificial turf on the middle tee of the 5th, so keep those donations rolling in.
Whilst we have had to curtail some of our competition golf program, we did manage to complete some competitions before we were locked down again. This ever-changing landscape remains under the watchful gaze of our Captain, Phil Peterson ably assisted by Andy Wong, Di Simpson, Bev Lewis and Peter Lotz and their continuing care and commitment deserves our collective admiration. Whilst the range of competitions remains limited recently, we have brought in new Golf Management software from Mi-Club which we believe will enhance everyone’s experience and we are fortunate to have extensive experience with this new system in the Pro-shop to help guide us.
Clinton and Todd and their staff have been extraordinarily busy, but remarkably always seem cheerful and helpful, even when camping out in the Undercroft! The range of retail wares in the shop has been expanded greatly and they are hoping the space may do likewise. Their ambition to have the best golf shop on the North Shore is a real plus for our club and I’d encourage members to make the Pro-shop their go-to place for all their golfing equipment and clothing requirements.
Perhaps unsurprisingly with the popularity of golf during COVID and closures of clubs around us, our membership has been growing strongly. From a position of having to fight for members, we are now having to put all new membership requests onto a waiting list in all categories. This unprecedented situation is under constant review and we hope to accommodate many of those waiting once we get back
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