GMA Journal (Autumn 2022)

Golf Management Australia

JOURNAL AUTUMN 2022

Official Journal for Golf Management Australia Ltd.

INSIDE THIS EDITION

6

15

20

CONFERENCE NEWS

STATE NEWS

BMI PROGRAM

Early Bird registrations, Keynote speakers announced

Golf event, scholarship winners

An Epicurean experience

Golf Management Australia would like to sincerely thank all our valued partners for their ongoing support of GMA and our members.

MAJOR PARTNER of

Golf Management Australia

ELITE PARTNERS

PREMIER PARTNERS

NETWORKING PARTNERS

NATIONAL BUSINESS PARTNERS

Golf Management Australia

JOURNAL AUTUMN 2022

Official Journal for Golf Management Australia Ltd.

CONTENTS 4

FROM THE CHAIR Cathy Neagle

STATE NEWS

5

FROM THE CEO

6

CONFERENCE NEWS

11

17

Paul Vardy

Sullivan-Brook wins SA trophy

Early Bird registrations, Keynote speaker announcements

GMA NEWS

Lion extends partnership agreement, NSW appoints Operations Manager, GMA Connect launched

BMI PROGRAM

15

STATE NEWS

20

GMA NEWS

26

IN FOCUS

32

GOLF AUSTRALIA NEWS

41

Oxley win in QLD, Sullivan-Brook wins in SA, GMV Women’s Scholarship winners, VIC & WA events

An Epicurean Experience

20

BMI Food & Beverage Management - An Epicurean Experience, Club Car extends partnership agreement,

Moving with the times - Fiza Errington & Joseph Sinnott

PGA Learning Hub opens, Cypress Lakes wins environment award, Vision 2025

GMA EDUCATION

IN FOCUS

Moving with the times

26

Executive Golfer Network, Business case for solar batteries, The burden of harm, Due diligence and insurance

COVER PICTURE: Carbrook Golf Club is one of the many golf courses in south-east Queensland and New South Wales mopping up after major flooding in their regions.

GOLF AUSTRALIA NEWS

Glenelg creating a sustainable future

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Golf Management Australia Journal / Autumn 2022

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From the Chair CATHY NEAGLE / Chair, Golf Management Australia

We’re excited to be in the final stages of planning for the combined GMA/ASTMA Conference & Trade Exhibition to be held June 2022 in Melbourne.

The range of speakers and topics will have learnings for everyone. It will be over two and a half years since the last conference and we can expect many new faces at the event, having had so much change in that time.

The GMA Salary Census Survey will be held in the meantime so it’s ready for the conference. We encourage all Full and Regional members to complete the questions in order that GMA members can receive the valuable report which benchmarks

Golf Management Australia (GMA) represents a membership of more than 400 golf club managers across Australia.

Managers in New South Wales and South-East Queensland have been involved with flood clean-ups for over six months as the impact of the La Niña phase continues its alteration of rainfall patterns. Ironically, it was the GMA Journal edition in Autumn last year that we were writing about the clean-ups in NSW and South-East Queensland due to heavy flooding.

The Conference will be a chance for members to shift gear and enjoy time networking with fellow members and corporate partners, hearing from experts on topics relevant to golf and club management, and enjoying the evening social events.

GMA, through its state associations, provides a platform of professional and personal development and networking opportunities for General Managers and Assistant Managers/COOs of golf clubs.

GMA also has a focus on member support, club development, and member health and well-being.

Golf Management Australia Ltd. PO Box 859 CROYDON VIC 3136 www.golfmanagement.com.au

The Conference will be a chance for members to shift gear and enjoy time networking with fellow members and corporate partners, hearing from experts on topics relevant to golf and club management, and enjoying the evening social events. salaries in key roles and is segmented into departments and club size in terms of member numbers and subscription rates.

Due to commonly held labour resourcing issues, a Part 2 of the survey has been developed which will give ideas on how to deal with the issues.

With the ongoing demand for golf, members who are less travelled, and with a back-log of functions, many clubs are feeling shortages of qualified staff. Add to that the interruptions due to loss of staff from Covid exposure and many GMA members have found themselves literally on the tools, making coffees, peeling onions or delivering plates.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Cathy Neagle (Chair) Elanora CC, NSW Aaron Muirhead Oxley GC, QLD Gavin Burt Lake Karrinyup CC, WA Peter Busch Green Acres GC, VIC Mathew Loughnane Kew GC, VIC Kieran Semple The Coast GC, NSW Mark Tan Mount Osmond GC, SA

The Conference will also be a chance to recognise a small group of managers who will receive the GMA Distinguished Service Award. This award recognises a manager of high ethics, professional standards and good standing with a long term pattern of contribution to their club, GMA and its members, and to the profession of golf club management.

We’re confident it’s going to be a fantastic event and we’re excited to be sharing with the Australian Sports Turf Managers Association to create the biggest golf industry conference event ever.

We look forward to seeing you in Melbourne in June.

GMA TEAM Paul Vardy Chief Executive Officer Courtney Flores NSW Operations Manager Mike Orloff QLD Operations Manager Rod Haines VIC Operations Manager, Finance Jodie Alaban WA Operations Manager David Brand SA Operations Manager, Media & Comms.

Contents may not be reproduced without written permission.

Views expressed in editorial contributions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this publication and it’s management.

Golf Management Australia

BOARD OF DIRECTORS & MANAGEMENT

CATHY NEAGLE Chair

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AARON MUIRHEAD Director

www.golfmanagement.com.au

GAVIN BURT Director

PETER BUSCH Director

MATHEW LOUGHNANE Director

KIERAN SEMPLE Director

MARK TAN Director

PAUL VARDY CEO

RECENT INDUSTRY MOVEMENTS

From the CEO

GMA Board member and GMASA Chair, Mark Tan, recently took up the GM position at Royal Adelaide GC, replacing the outgoing Andrew Gay, with Andrew now helping out as Interim GM at Mark’s former club, Mount Osmond during their recruitment process.

PAUL VARDY / CEO, Golf Management Australia

We hope you enjoy reading this Autumn edition of the GMA Journal. There’s lots of GMA activity around the country with golf days, BMI Food & Beverage Management, corporate partner announcements and information and industry news. We’re also seeing a continuation of the higher than normal changes in GMA membership.

Also in this edition, are thought provoking articles on the demand for golf, golf education through the PGA, junior girls golf, due diligence and insurance as well the cost of unsafe care with employees and environmental sustainability.

In speaking with some Queensland managers recently, we joked that rainfall gauges now measure in metres and not millimetres. It’s hard to comprehend the rain that has fallen in recent weeks in SouthEast Queensland and New South Wales, particularly the Northern Rivers regions. In talking with Kevin Gates, living near Byron Bay, he was cut off from internet and power for eight days. Ironically, if you’re the last ones to see the news, it’s probably because you are the news.

No doubt there have been lots of backbreaking hours undertaking clean-ups.

GMA’s Elite Partner, Lion, has kindly offered any GMA member club that has been impacted by the recent floods and clean-ups with $100 worth of Lion beers details below. Also, information on the Golf NSW Flood Relief Fund is on page 40.

As I write this, the email is pinging away with registrations coming in for the GMA/ ASTMA Conference & Trade Exhibition

in June. Combining with the Australian Sports Turf Managers Association, it will be fantastic to be together after two and a half years. By all reports GMA members will be there with bells on. With so much change in golf club managers, there will be many new faces amongst delegates and we remind everyone that part of the conference networking is catching up with old friends and another part is forming new networks, so let’s mingle widely.

Importantly, it will also be a chance to see our wonderful corporate partners, with the conference proudly hosted by our Major Partner, Schweppes, who are also host partner for the gala dinner on the Wednesday night at Crown. Our partners will be together in the large trade exhibition and joining us for the evening social events.

There are lots of great daytime sessions to attend with informative and inspirational speakers. In addition to Craig Bellamy, Jessica Gallagher, Michael McQueen and Louise Mahler covered on page 9, we’re announcing speakers on a weekly basis over the next month.

Early Bird registrations close on 14th April so don’t delay with your registration.

We’ve produced a “Justify Your Attendance” document to help those who are in any doubt, get across the line.

Lastly, the GMA Connect online members-only forum was launched in February with lots of great discussion threads in recent weeks. If you have a question to throw to our expert panel (of about 360), let your fingers do the talking.

Have a well deserved beer on us!

SUPPORTED BY LION For GMA member clubs impacted by recent floods and the clean-up, email a photo of your staff or volunteers with subject line: “Lion: Have a beer on us!” promotion to paul.vardy@golfmanagement.com.au and GMA will send $100+GST to cover the cost of the drinks.

Conditions: Only available to impacted clubs of GMA members.

Drinks must be from the Lion range of beers.

Tracey Lea-Tiley has gone cross-country, relocating from Links Hope Island in Queensland to GM at Cottosloe GC in Western Australia. Her position at Links Hope Island has been taken up by David Hogben, who has moved over from RACV Royal Pines.

Neangar Park’s former GM, Joseph Sinnott has made the move north, taking on the GM role at McLeod Country GC in Brisbane.

Oscar Morris returns to his former club after previous roles at Cheltenham GC, replacing Joseph as Club Manager at Neangar Park.

After a short stint outside the industry, former Dunsborough Lakes GM, Paul Devaney, has returned to the fold as GM at Capel GC in WA. Sam Hodge, who moved from Joondalup CC to take on the GM - Golf & Sports position at The Vines G&CC in mid-2021, has appointed Kristie Jones and Krystal Mosca to an allfemale management team.

Patrick Carter is returning to his roots, accepting the GM role at Sorrento GC, where he had previously held the Finance Manager role. He was most recently Assistant Manager at Kingston Heath GC. James Woite has moved from Gardiners Run GC to Box Hill GC as Assistant Manager, with Dean Trobbiani appointed to James’ former club management role at Gardiners Run GC. Portsea GC recently announced the appointment of Adam Hosie to the GM role.

NEW GMA MEMBERS New South Wales Karah Chapman* - Oatlands GC Mark Stamopoulos - Warringah GC Queensland Stephen Porter - Maleny GC Dale Williamson - Pelican Waters GC Victoria/Tasmania Philip Lambers* - Riversdale GC Nicole Taylor* -Sorrento GC Andrew Pryn* - Devil Bend GC Adam Hosie - Portsea GC Mark Hayes* - Portarlington GC Oscar Morris - Neangar Park GC Jacob Harrison* - Royal Melbourne GC Sally McKenna* - 13th Beach GL Ingrid Morrison* - Rosanna GC Ben Ferguson* - Rosebud CC Western Australia Jason Roach* - Wembley Golf Complex Kristie Jones* - The Vines G&CC Krystal Mosca* - The Vines G&CC * Provisional members

CLICK HERE FOR MEMBER ONLY GMA RESOURCES & LINKS: • GMA Connect • Industry News • Member Assistance Program

Golf Management Australia Journal / Autumn 2022

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Early Bird conference registrations open until 14th April Registrations opened in early March for the 2022 GMA/ASTMA Conference & Trade Exhibition to be held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre in June.

Members of Golf Management Australia and the Australian Sports Turf Managers Association will see a wonderful array of speakers at the conference.

Proudly hosted by GMA’s major partner, Schweppes, and ASTMA’s major partner, Toro, the combined conference will attract the biggest gathering of golf club and facility managers, turf professionals and industry service and product providers in Australia. It will be a lot of learning, networking and fun.

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www.golfmanagement.com.au

Early Bird rates are in place and accommodation options available for booking. Early Bird pricing will be available until 14th April 2022.

GMA members will have the option of joining in a Melbourne city bike tour as the 2022 Bicycle Chautauqua.

GMA members will also enjoy playing Melbourne’s premium sandbelt golf courses - Royal Melbourne and Kingston Heath - as part of the GMA conference golf championships.

Keynote Speaker Announcements DR LOUISE MAHLER View video Dr Louise Mahler is the foremost expert in the psychology of face-to-face engagement. She is a global thought leader in confident leadership communication.

Passionate about staying human in a virtual world, Louise helps leaders and teams bring their best through body-language, voice and divulges the algorithms of engagement in high-stake engagement.

While her tools and techniques are useful, practical and highly relevant, her impersonations of world leaders and in-the-moment audience analyses are hilarious while being tangible and highly informative. Engagement, humour and learning with energy are the mainstays that see Louise highly sought after internationally.

Authenticity and trust are now inescapable. People demand them from financial institutions. From leaders. From everyday brands. They are fundamental to success. Louise will present on “The Currency of Trust”, presenting practical skills for building credence and restoring the building blocks of trust.

Louise believes everyone has a voice, so let’s get heard.

CRAIG BELLAMY

DR JESSICA GALLAGHER

MICHAEL MCQUEEN

View video

View video

View video

Talking culture and mastering leadership, Craig Bellamy is one of the most sought after conference speakers on uncovering talent and bringing out the very best in performance.

Jessica Gallagher was just 17 when she was diagnosed with a rare, degenerative eye disease. Although her diagnosis impacted her sporting dreams as a netballer, Jessica never lost sight of her dream to fulfill her sporting and academic potential and to represent her country.

Michael McQueen is a multi-award winning speaker, trend forecaster and bestselling author of nine books.

Neither did it stop her from creating stunning sports history by becoming the first Australian athlete to medal at a summer and winter Games (Vancouver 2010, Sochi 2014 and Rio 2016), successfully represented Australia in alpine skiing, athletics and most recently track cycling and is a World Champion and World Record holder in the tandem sprint track cycling.

Michael is a regular commentator on TV and radio, and is a familiar face on the international conference circuit having shared the stage with the likes of Bill Gates, Dr. John Maxwell and Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak. He is known for his engaging, entertaining and practical conference presentations.

As head coach in charge of the Melbourne Storm for 20 seasons, Bellamy has consistently demonstrated his ability to achieve outstanding results through his team - week after week, year after year.

Widely considered as rugby league’s and Australian sport’s super coach, Bellamy’s teams are perennial achievers, challenging each year for finals and ultimate premiership success.

Be inspired by Bellamy’s insights into hard work, accountability and handling pressure to achieve elite performance, the hallmarks of Bellamy’s coaching.

In her keynote, Gallagher shares the challenges she has faced, overcoming fear, taking risks and the most unique relationship in sport.

Her mantra Trust - Mindset - Courage are skills required and relevant in all facets of our lives, none more so than when flying down a mountain at over 100km/hour and entrusting someone else telling you how to get there.

With clients including KPMG, Pepsi and Cisco, he has helped some of the world’s most successful brands navigate disruption and maintain momentum.

Michael will be presenting on “Mastering the Art of Momentum” and the secret to achieving effortless and enduring growth. Audience members will leave this presentation with a clear action plan for achieving effortless growth and maintaining it over the long haul.

Having been formerly named Australia’s Keynote Speaker of the Year, Michael has been inducted into the Professional Speakers Hall of Fame.

Golf Management Australia Journal / Autumn 2022

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IN FULL SWING UNTIL THE LAST HOLE.

RED BULL IS NOW AVAILABLE FROM ASAHI LIFESTLE BEVERAGES WE GET GOLF

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SPEAK TO YOUR TERRITORY MANAGER OR CICYELLOWDESK@ASAHI.COM.AU

www.golfmanagement.com.au

GMA/ASTMA CONFERENCE & TRADE EXHIBITION NEWS

Justify Your Attendance

Justify Your Attendance

Attending the 2022 GMA / ASTMA Conference & Trade Exhibition is an investment of your time and your club’s financial resources.

As a professional development opportunity, it is without equal in the golf club industry in Australia, and as a combined event this year, it will attract over 1,000 delegates from clubs and facilities throughout Australia.

For those of you who have previously attended the GMA National Conference, you will appreciate the enormous benefits, both personally and professionally, that networking with your peers in such a motivating and educational environment affords.

To first time attendees, you will appreciate the numerous opportunities that will assist you to meet the challenges of the industry,

whilst identifying trends and outcomes that the conference will focus upon.

This document includes information that we hope will assist you in being able to register your attendance: • general tips; • reasons why your club board should send you to the 2022 GMA / ASTMA Conference & Trade Exhibition; • how to justify conference attendance; • sample justification memo; and • link your Club’s needs to conference programming.

Link your club’s needs to conference programming You, your Club and/or Course needs:

How attending the 2022 GMA/ASTMA Conference & Trade Exhibition can help your Club:

Industry News

An update on The Australian Golf Strategy, key industry data and the role of golf clubs and facilities in meeting future challenges and opportunities.

Future Trends

A presentation on shifts in the landscape

Sustainability

Working with Superintendents

Panel discussions on the best ways to achieve productive working relationships between GMs and Superintendents.

Leadership

Keynote presentations covering the keys to leading teams and achieving the best out of yourself as a leader and your staff.

Human Resources

HR practices that employers must know and uncovering issues of performance and retention.

Coaching Culture

Developing a coaching culture in

Presenting with Confidence

Realising the Potential of your Golf Course Asset

WHO IS IT FOR? GMA Full and Regional members are asked to complete the survey. The data is confidential and all individual data is collated in tables.

in retail.

In depth look at the financial options available meet the future needs of capital replacement. for clubs with income streams to

Financial Management

Expert speakers on key metrics that can be frequently used to understand the club business

New Products & Technologies

For two and half days, 25-30 exhibitors will be on the GMA Partners Trade Exhibition floor showcasing their newest products and services in golf club management.

Networking & Knowledge Sharing

Countless opportunities throughout the week will provide ample time for networking and knowledge sharing.

These include the Industry Panel Sessions, Q&A Forums, GMA Golf Event, dedicated networking events and the GMA Partners Exhibition

Download the Justify Your Attendance document here

Cross reference measures

Statistical measures used

In order to determine the most appropriate and relevant measures for analysis of the salary data provided, correlation analysis was undertaken against a number of these measures. It was found that the measures with the highest correlation to salary data (meaning that any increase in these numbers would also see an increase in salary levels) were total operating revenue and the sevenday member annual subscription fee.

This finding is also logically consistent, given annual subscription levels are a key driver of total revenues, which, in turn are a determinant of the level of staffing and service a club can provide, along with the size of course maintenance budgets.

TABLE 2 – CATEGORIES & COHORTS

The GMA National Golf Club Salary Survey is being undertaken from Friday 7 April. This follows reports prepared for GMA members in 2019, 2017, 2015 and 2011.

Due to staffing shortages being experienced across all industries in recent times, this year’s report will include labour research.

with confidence.

Experts advising on the best practices

Table 2 details the segmentation categories used in this report, along with the sample size within each segment.

GMA has again engaged Golf Business Advisory Services (GBAS) to collate the data and prepare the reports.

your club/facility.

Techniques to deliver presentations

Maximising Golf Shop Business

GMA National Golf Club Salary Survey

The report provides detailed benchmarks with regard to salaries being paid across the key positions in golf clubs.

of the golf industry.

Sessions on golf course sustainability with experts including representatives from R&A, Golf Australia, the Australian Sports Turf Managers Association, Golf Management Australia

ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION Less than $1,500

52

$1,500 to $2,500

33

$2,500 to $3,500

37

$3,500 +

MEDIAN: Often used when overall results can be impacted by very high or low numbers, the median is the middle number when sorted in order.

25TH PERCENTILE: One quarter from the lowest number

reported.

75TH PERCENTILE: One quarter from the highest number

reported.

USED THROUGHOUT REPORT

COUNT

TOTAL

The following terms are used throughout this report.

MEAN: The sum of all salaries divided by the total number of earners in that category.

% 33% 21%

OPERATING REVENUE

COUNT

Less than $2.5 million

41

$2.5 million - $4 million

45

% 26% 28%

23%

$4 million - $5.5 million

36

23%

28

18%

$5.5 million +

158

100%

44

28%

158

100%

TOTAL

2019 Golf Club Positions included

SALARY CENSUS REPORT

This report includes base salary and

ADMINISTRATION • General Manager / Chief Executive Officer (CEO) • Assistant Manager

• Finance Manager / Chief Financial Officer (CFO) • Administration Manager • Sales & Marketing Manager

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WHAT DOES IT ASK? Data is collected for key positions in golf clubs.

WHAT’S THE PROCESS TO COMPLETE? Survey responses will be required to be submitted via a link to be sent by GMA to GMs shortly.

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT? The information collated provides salary comparisons with major roles in golf clubs.

GMA members rely on the willingness of fellow GMA members to complete the survey. More contributors means more robust and relevant data is collected and a better report provided for members.

2019 GOLF CLUB SALARY CENSUS

total remuneration data for the following

CLUBHOUSE • Clubhouse Operations Manager • Food and Beverage Manager • Functions Manager • Bar Manager • Executive Chef

19 directly employed positions as

GOLF OPERATIONS • Director of Golf • Golf Operations Manager • Golf Shop Assistant • Trainee Golf Professional

follows:

COURSE MAINTENANCE • Course Superintendent • Assistant Course Superintendent • Greenkeeper • Groundsperson • Equipment Technician

REPORT | Methodology & Report Scope

WHEN DOES THE SURVEY NEED TO BE COMPLETED BY? The survey will close by 23rd April.

Members will be reminded in advance of this if they have not submitted their data.

It is anticipated that the report will be made available to participants at the GMA/ ASTMA Conference & Trade Exhibition in June. Generalised data will be available to be presented.

WHO GETS THE FULL REPORT? The report will be available at no cost to contributing GMA Full and Regional members.

Golf Management Australia Journal / Autumn 2022

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GMA Membership Golf Management Australia (GMA) is a national body representing the golf club management industry with a vision of developing professional leaders in golf and club management in Australia.

Why is GMA Membership important?

Golf Management Australia membership is an invaluable investment. Part of our promise is to enhance your success by offering professional leadership development, ethical standards and responsive services.

Benefits to members are delivered in four key areas:

INDIVIDUAL PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

MEMBERSHIP SUPPORT & DEVELOPMENT

Provide learning opportunities for GMA members, such as the internationally recognised BMI Program, local Professional Development educational sessions and national and state conferences, to assist them in their careers to become elite performers and outstanding golf club managers.

Provide tools and resources, such as WHS & HR document templates, educational webinars and podcasts, and other professional development programs, aimed at supporting the development of members, as well as supporting golf management recruitment and post-management support.

HEALTH, WELLBEING & BENEFITS

STAKEHOLDER RELATIONSHIPS & INDUSTRY ADVOCACY

Support the health and wellbeing of our members through initiatives such as the Member Assistance Program and regular golfing and networking opportunities to ensure members feel supported and connected. These programs are aimed at providing life experiences and celebrating success.

Actively advocate for the betterment of golf club management across the broader industry and golfing landscape, providing opportunities for members to further their personal and professional networks and connections, and ensuring our corporate partners are an integral part of the organisation.

What Membership options are available?

Golf Management Australia offers a range of annual* membership options to suit the needs of the industry.

FULL

PROVISIONAL

REGIONAL

Available to a person who is a professional secretary or manager, or similar responsible position, of a golf club or facility in Australia.

Available to a person who is a professional assistant secretary or assistant manager, or similar responsible position, of a golf club or facility in Australia.

Available to a person who is a professional secretary or manager, or similar responsible position, of a golf club or facility located in excess of 150km from an Australian capital city.

$539.00

$269.50

$308.00

* Annual fee is inclusive of GST. Individual membership is available to anyone who works within the golf club management industry, including General Managers, Assistant General Managers, Finance Managers other senior management roles. All membership applications must be approved by the relevant State Executive in accordance with their constitutional requirements.

Visit www.golfmanagement.com.au for more information on GMA membership and the services we provide.

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GMA NEWS

Lion announces new 2-year partnership with GMA GMA and Lion are proud to announce a 2-year extension to their long-standing partnership, with Lion intending to take a portfolio approach to the partnership, promoting their extensive range of beverages.

“Lion is proud to announce a two-year extension to our GMA partnership. To evolve the partnership, we will take a portfolio approach as our extensive range provides a beverage for every occasion including during and after a round of golf,” said Kelly Mcloughlin, National Sponsorship & Events Leader.

“Consumer purchasing habits and tastes continue to change so our portfolio needs to change to ensure we are giving consumers what they want. Modern Alc is a new

category on the rise. It includes hard seltzers and alcoholic ginger beer. Lion’s portfolio has the market leaders with Whiteclaw and James Squire Ginger Beer. Be sure to check them out.”

GMA’s CEO, Paul Vardy said, “Lion has been a great supporter of GMA for many years. As an Elite Partner, Lion contributes significantly to GMA’s professional development and well-being events. We encourage clubs to support Lion in return and consider the range of Lion beers and

ciders. GMA looks forward to working closely with Lion to promote their offer.”

“I wish you all a successful 2022 and look forward to catching up with you at the GMA Conference in Melbourne in June,” said Kelly in closing.

Click here to access the full Lion portfolio and be sure to view the last slide to learn about the Lion Portal – a user friendly online ordering platform that gives you 24/7 access to the Lion portfolio.

Golf Management Australia Journal / Autumn 2022

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GMA NEWS

GMA NSW State Operations Manager Appointed It is with great pleasure that we announce the appointment of Courtney Flores to the role of State Operations Manager in New South Wales.

Courtney comes with a wealth of experience and skills in administration as well as a considerable golf administration background.

Courtney is currently the Executive Assistant & Administration Manager at St Philip’s Christian College in Gosford.

Amongst other roles, Courtney has been the general manager of Gosford Golf Club and the marketing and events manager at Coffs Harbour Golf Club, as well as working for the International Management Group (IMG) in London.

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www.golfmanagement.com.au

Courtney will manage the GMA role in a part-time capacity in addition to her role at St Philip’s.

In applying, Courtney expressed a strong desire to get back into golf and very much looks forward to meeting GMA NSW members and assisting with organising professional development events and golf days. Courtney’s role will also see her working closely with the GMA NSW executive and liaising with GMA staff and corporate partners on a regular basis.

GMA NSW chair Kieran Semple said, “With the high calibre of candidates, we were delighted to arrive at Courtney for the role. Her bright personality, extensive administration experience and thorough golf knowledge made her the standout candidate.”

Courtney can be contacted with the following email address: courtney.flores@golfmanagement.com.au

GMA NEWS

GMA Connect: the new GMA member online community Tell us what you think about golf and the golf management issues that are on your mind.

GMA Connect was launched earlier this year and since then, we have seen new member threads appear every few days.

An ideal thread gives some context to a topic and then asks a question to get other’s perspectives or assistance.

There’s so many topics that GMA members might like to raise and all members are invited to comment on threads with the normal decorum expected of a chat between managers.

With more contributions, the more valuable gold nuggets are shared, ideas are formed or problems solved.

We may even start rewarding people with prizes soon for some of the great content.

And we regularly run polls on the site’s

home page that we encourage you to contribute towards.

Some of the topics raised and discussed on the GMA Connect platform in recent weeks include: • Flexible membership types • Golf ball damage to neighbouring properties • Online business directories • Property re-valuations • Online voting for elections • Member competition cancellations & noshow policies

$

29.95

AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE The GMA Green Book: The Essential Guide to Strategic Planning for Golf Clubs The GMA Green Book is produced by GMA with corporate specialist Tony Sernack.

Copies of can be obtained for $29.95 each (or $250.00 for a pack of 10).

GMA members can go to connect.golfmanagement.com.au and use your GMA sign-in and password to join in the conversations.

To order your copy, please contact GMA CEO, Paul Vardy: paul.vardy@golfmanagement.com.au

Golf Management Australia Journal / Autumn 2022

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STATE NEWS

Club Car’s Kevin Gates (left) and GMA’s Paul Vardy (below)

QUEENSLAND / Mike Orloff, State Operations Manager

A COMMANDING WIN FOR OXLEY GC AT THE CLUB CAR GMA EXECUTIVE DAY This year’s GMA opening event was held with great anticipation in Queensland on 15th March.

The Club Car GMAQ Executive Day (EC Coker Shield) is the premiere event on the calendar and always sees the biggest player attendance each year.

This year was no different, with a strong member field of 60 players battling it out on Tuesday morning on the beautiful Noosa Springs Resort course on the Sunshine Coast.

The event format had each GMA member bring three executives, who were then shuffled in pairs of two with other clubs. Team scores were totalled to identify the EC Coker Shield winner.

GMA’s own CEO, Paul Vardy, made it up for the festivities, which gave him a chance to catch up with some corporate partners and GMA members after a couple years of border closures.

Winners are grinners The event was taken out by Team Oxley on 77 points and receiving the coveted EC Coker Shield for 2022 (main picture) - a commanding 4 shot win!

Some of our corporate partners dominated the leaderboard too!

The top four teams in the main 4BBB event of the day were: • 1st: Barry Hornby/Kevin Gates (Club Car) - 42 points • 2nd: Joseph Choi/Adam Groom (Chois Cleaning/PAYG) - 41 points • 3rd: Alan Westacott/Sharon Purnell (Mt Coolum GC) - 40 points • 4th: Paul Smerdon/Jeffrey Ervin (Sanctuary Cove) – 40 points As always, Club Car kindly donated a new golf cart as the hole-in-one prize.

Unfortunately, no one achieved the ultimate prize again this year and the brand-new golf cart continues to be just a dream prize!

EC Coker Shield Winners Team Oxley

4BBB Winning Team Club Car

Thank you!

As you would know, Southeast Queensland was hit with torrential weather patterns earlier in the month, with Noosa Springs CEO Mark Brady reporting 1.7 metres of rain in recent weeks. YES, metres!

Luckily, the course drained well, and we could still get carts out on the fairways. It’s a treat of a facility to have in our event calendar.

Corporate Partner De Bortoli Wines was nice enough to offer a wine tasting station on the course with some tasting gift bags available for all players to take home.

Regrettably, several of our managers and teams couldn’t make it to the event as they were still dealing with course closures and the mammoth clean up efforts needed to be able to re-open. Our thoughts were with you all, and a special thanks to the players that could still attend.

Thank you to Club Car’s Kevin Gates for the continued support, to Noosa Springs Resort general manager, Mark Brady and

team, TaylorMade for all the great prizes, and to all the other corporate partners and guests in attendance on the day.

Golf Management Australia Journal / Autumn 2022

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STATE NEWS

VICTORIA

Rod Haines, State Operations Manager

GMV Women’s Management Scholarship winners

SOUTH AUSTRALIA / David Brand, State Operations Manager

SULLIVAN-BROOK CLAIMS BRAGGING RIGHTS IN SA

Congratulations to Jessica Licen (main image above) from Patterson River Golf Club and Sally McKenna (inset image) from 13th Beach Golf Links who have been selected for the 2022 Women's Management Scholarship.

Newly minted Tea Tree Gully general manager, Craig SullivanBrook, has taken out GMASA’s 2022 NSW Salver golf event held at The Grange Golf Club in February.

Both are involved with membership support at their respective clubs and are highly valued within their teams. We look forward to seeing Jessica and Sally at some GMV events this year as well as the GMA/ASTMA Conference & Trade Exhibition in June.

Sullivan-Brook, who was appointed to the GM role at Tea Tree Gully in mid-2021, played solid golf around The Grange’s strategic West course scoring 35 points, to grab the SA championship title by two points from defending champion, Rob Vincekovic.

Former Royal Adelaide GM and current interim Mount Osmond GM, Andrew Gay, who has won the title on three previous occasions, tied with Vincekovic in 2nd place on 33 points.

The NSW Salver was originally donated by the New South Wales Division of the Golf Club Secretaries and Managers Association of Australia on the occasion of the National Conference being held in Adelaide in 1972. The event is an individual Stableford competition, and is generally held following the GMASA Annual General Meeting each year.

With the Salver only eligible to Full GMASA members, a prize run-down of Callaway golf products was included for all participants including non-Full members and corporate partners, with Glenelg’s Sam Hughes and Regency Park’s Ross Steedman

tied on 34 points and taking out 2nd and 3rd prizes respectively.

The golf event followed the 2022 GMASA AGM at which members unanimously reelected the current SA executive for another 12 months - Mark Tan (Royal Adelaide), Brett Lewis (Kooyonga), Daniel Loveridge (Blackwood), Joel Cross (Flagstaff Hill) and Rob Vincekovic (Glenelg).

GOLF RESULTS NSW Salver Winner: Craig Sullivan-Brook (Tea Tree Gully) 35 points

WE NEED YOUR INPUT!

Prize Rundown 2nd: Sam Hughes (Glenelg) - 34pts 3rd: Ross Steedman (Regency Park) - 34pts 4th: Rob Vincekovic (Glenelg) - 33pts 5th: Andrew Gay (Mt Osmond) - 33pts 6th: Chris Bailey (South Lakes) - 32pts 7th: Paul Sutcliffe (Life member) - 32pts 8th: Simon Andrew (The Grange) - 32pts 9th: Joel Cross (Flagstaff Hill) - 31pts NTP (8th): Mark Tan (Royal Adelaide) NTP (14th): Sudeera Botejue (Regency Park) Long Drive (16th): Sudeera Botejue

To assist us in better informing and educating our members, we need your assistance to continue providing relevant, interesting and unique stories from within the golf management industry that we can share in this journal.

If you would like to write a piece for the GMA Journal, we’d certainly love to hear from you.

Please send your material to our Media & Communications manager, David Brand david.brand@golfmanagement.com.au.

Golf Management Australia Journal / Autumn 2022

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STATE NEWS

Team Winners: ick Carter, Andrew Taylor, Michael Robb, Patr GC) h Heat Hayden Mead (Kingston

VICTORIA

Rod Haines, State Operations Manager

GMV STAFF GOLF DAY Winners: Tim Hewitt and Ralph Hendrich from Lang Lang Golf Club with Greg Broom and Conleth Roche from Lion (104 points)

VICTORIA / Rod Haines, State Operations Manager

PORTSEA HOSTS 2022 GMV GUEST DAY

GMV's annual Staff Golf Day, proudly supported by Heineken, was held at Yarra Yarra Golf Club on Monday, 7th February 2022 with a field of 84 players.

After a magnificent morning of golf, Captain Michael Burgess welcomed everyone over lunch and announced the days winners.

Our sincere thanks to Andrea Watson (Yarra Yarra Golf Club GM) for hosting the event. The golf course was in outstanding condition and all staff were happy and helpful all day.

Portsea Golf Club was the host of the 2022 GMV Guest Golf Day, proudly supported by De Bortoli Wines.

Newly appointed Portsea general manager, Adam Hosie, was delighted to host the event and despite having a board meeting, joined us for lunch and soaked up the GMV camaraderie.

Our naming sponsor for the day, De Bortoli Wines, showcased their "rewrite the rules" wine varieties with some pre-lunch tastings to complement their wines served with lunch. A big thank you to Peter Ferarri and Katrina Whiting for supporting the day.

The event for the day was Stableford Gentsomes teams of four. With a good turnout of 64 players and fantastic conditions on a wonderful course layout, the scoring was exceptional!

Winners for the day were Tim Hewitt & Ralph Hendrich from Lang Lang Golf Club, along with Greg Broom and Conleth Roche from Lion with a total team score of 104 points.

Individual Winner: Daniel Baskin (Rossdale GC)

NTPs: 2nd Hole (Schweppes) - Sonia Kirkman & Brad Robb 7th Hole (MiClub) - Stephanie Wearne & Anthony Masters

Individual Runner Up: Patrick Carter (Kingston Heath GC)

Longest Drives: 18th Hole (Heineken) - Sonia Kirkman & Mat Rogers

Sponsor Winner: Chris Little (MiClub)

Runners Up: Stephanie Wearne, Shaun Page, Shaun Taylor and Brad Rodd from Southern Golf Club (100 points)

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3rd Place: Damien Richards, Anthony Masters, Narelle Alford and Jeff Lord from Barwon Heads Golf Club (99 points)

Team Runners Up: Rod Lennox, Luke Young, Ray Bonicci, Greg Burgess (Nor thern GC)

STATE NEWS WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Jodie Alaban, State Operations Manager

GM & Staff Golf Day A small but eager field of 32 players participated in this year’s GMs & Staff Golf Day held at Royal Fremantle Golf Club on Monday, 17th January 2022.

The new 9-hole Ambrose format was well received and gave general manager’s the opportunity to invite staff members who had very limited golfing experience. Lots of fun was had and everyone enjoyed the cold refreshments put on by our major sponsor, Lion & Heineken 3.

Thanks to Royal Fremantle’s general manager, Lucy Guppy, and her team for a great day and congratulations to all the prize winners.

WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Jodie Alaban, State Operations Manager

GMAWA Member Dinner at The Vines A fortnightly invitational day was fixtured for The Vines Golf & Country Club on Monday, 21st March 2022, so GMAWA members seized the opportunity to have a hit in the field and stay on for dinner.

Considering it was a very last-minute arrangement, there was a great turnout with 8 general managers playing golf in the usual field of 115 players and 18 members joining in for dinner.

Special mention must be made of Wembley Golf Complex general manager, Josh Madden, who shot an amazing round of 8 under par.

The annual matchplay Calcutta took place over dinner with WA president, Gavin Burt the hot favourite.

Dinner was delicious and thanks must go to the team at The Vines for their wonderful hospitality.

Golf Management Australia Journal / Autumn 2022

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BMI Food & Beverage Management - An Epicurean Experience

Seeing 24 eager BMI participants gathered together on the last day of January, live, in one room, was a return to the good old days, as the much-anticipated fiveday BMI Food & Beverage Management course in the Yarra Valley commenced at the magnificent Eastern Golf Club.

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BMI Food & Beverage brought together management staff from golf clubs and the industry for a week of professional development with expert speakers on menu planning, cost control, staff engagement and training, service culture, benchmarking, trends, technology, sustainability and more.

Participants included general managers, operations managers, food & beverage managers, accounting & finance managers as well as Golf Australia staff working in the area of Clubs & Facilities Support.

A collaboration with Holmesglen Institute’s Hospitality Training Department, participants heard from a range of contemporary facilitators and industry experts.

It was nice to see old friends join some new BMI participants, including some very talented winners of state bursaries, or part bursaries, via the GMANSW and GMV Women’s Management Scholarships.

As Covid cases raged around Melbourne, it was RAT tests at the read. To give us a fighting chance to finish the week, we

needed to start with a clean bill of health.

Day 1 finished with a tour of The Eastern GC’s considerable facilities with operations manager, Tegan Bennett. A magnificent five course Gippsland and Yarra Valley inspired degustation dinner with matching wines awaited, compliments of Head Chef, Brian Elliott, and his team.

BMI hits the 100 As registrations came in, it was only a matter of time before the 100th registrant for a BMI program would be achieved. It took 3½ years and finally we were delighted to announce Anton Sergent (pictured),

GMA NEWS Expect more extremes in climate? You betcha! Terry Muir provided a powerful presentation with videos explaining the impact of climate change, with an emphasis on impacts on the food industry and what can be done in our own golf club environment. The data suggests extreme rain bombs and flood events are to be expected (little did we know how soon the next ones would come).

Chef Brian knows a lot abou t fresh and produce, presentation on the plate s. wine with food matching of

the food and beverage manager at Barwon Heads Golf Club, as that person.

Day 2 continued with more classroom facts and figures. Jeff Blunden gave some handy benchmarking data to put everything in perspective.

Sam Keck from Common Folk Coffee Roasters and Dale Zammit from Ritual Espresso gave an amazing insight into coffee, its origins, ethics, technique, Jersey milk, Bonsai Almond, Oat milk and how to make a great coffee and coffee conversation.

Tuesday concluded with a tour of Chrinside Park CC with 30+ year GM Barb Kelly, followed by a relaxing bistro dinner. The Chirnside Park CC story is a great lesson in strategic thinking, observing your business and advancing in stages on what the customer demands most. Barb is very happy to help other clubs and share her

Coffee talk. Sam Keck from Common Folk Coffee Roasters speaks with Karah Chapman of Oatlands GC, Amy Lennon from Huntingdale GC and Jessica Yong from Latrobe GC.

experiences, so feel free get in touch with her.

Day 3 saw the group burst out of the classroom and into the Yarra Valley with a tour of De Bortoli’s Dixons Creek Vineyard and presentation by chief winemaker, Steve Webber.

We were then on the road to Holmesglen’s Eildon Campus for a two night stay and intensive finish to

the week. On arrival, we enjoyed another magnificent degustation dinner with specially matched wines compliments of our good friends at De Bortoli.

Day four and five were focussed on staff management and innovation.

The ability of club managers to train, engage and retain valuable staff requires new ways of thinking, paying closer attention to the design of work and the experience of working in a golf club. Whilst clubs rarely live or die by the financial results of their food and beverage offering, it’s an important member amenity that enhances a club’s

Carmen Garcia and John Thermos take the group through the MyBidfood ordering app. It’s technology designed to make ordering efficient and provide all details about dietary requirements, menu planning, monitoring stock levels, cost analysis, driver tracking and paperless transactions.

Golf Management Australia Journal / Autumn 2022

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GMA NEWS

Barb Kelly takes a group tour of the expanding Chirnside Park CC facilities including new dining rooms, sports bar, gaming rooms, bistro and outdoor areas, which is soon to include mini golf.

Webber takes Barrels of fun. De Bortoli’s Steve sheds and the big the e insid tour a the group on vintages. ue uniq te techniques used to crea

At Four Pillars Gin Distillery in Heal esville, the jokes were flowing as much as the gin varieties.

The pierced and tattooed man was fit for the comedy circuit.

reputation and “clubbiness.”

Putting aside time from busy schedules for in-house training is more important now than ever before.

As with the hospitality industry at large, shortages in qualified and dependable labour in golf clubs is the issue of the times.

It is without doubt that the pandemic has accelerated trends that were already creeping along in the background.

Will things get better? In presenting on the future of work, Isabel Wu provided evidence that many of the impacts are here to stay. Historically, big shocks accelerate change which becomes the new normal.

People in all forms of work have reviewed their expectations of work. Technology is

filling voids such as robotic wait staff and ordering from phone apps at tables.

For a small number, it was their fourth such BMI course; setting the basic requirement to sit for a Certified Club Manager qualification should they have enough credit points and pass CMAA’s sizable 400 question exam. All being well, we’ll have some CCM graduates at the CMAA World Conference in 2023.

Big Thank-yous Packing so much into a week takes a lot of contributors.

A bunch of people provided their time and expertise to make this a great learning experience. We thank the following: from Holmesglen Institute – Greg O’Shea, Raj Wadhwani and Nick Blackmore; Golf Australia; CMAA – Jason Koenigsfeld; The Eastern GC – in particular Tegan Bennett, Charley Battersby, Brian Elliott and Ben Telley; from Chirnside Park CC – Barb Kelly; from Debortoli Wines – Peter Ferrari, Steve Webber and Ashley Rosco; as well as additional presenters: Trevor Jenkins, John Thermos and Carmen Garcia, Terry Muir, Sam Keck and Dale Zammit, Jeff Blunden, Ian Frost, Mel Watson and Grant Flack, Martin Kelliher and Isabel Wu.

ABOUT THE BMI The importance of live training is clear to see. Participants ask questions of experts, share experiences and form new networks that make for ongoing reference points. Hearing perspectives from other clubs and people in different roles at other clubs allows for a great pollination of ideas.

The Business Management Institute (BMI) is a program offered by GMA in collaboration with Golf Australia and the Club Management Association of America. It contains four core units - BMI Club Management, BMI Leadership Principles, BMI GM/CEO, and BMI Food & Beverage Management, as well as a BMI Review. We now have 106 participants in the program and 177 week-long courses have been delivered to participants who are typically a GM or senior management in their club.

A repeat of BMI Food & Beverage Management is planned for the Hunter Valley NSW in Spring.

Click here for more information on the BMI Program

Golf Management Australia Journal / Autumn 2022

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MiMembership’s newest feature, ‘Online Membership Application’, digitises the approval and invoicing process by integrating membership application forms directly from your club’s website into MiMembership.

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credit card.

www.golfmanagement.com.au

GMA NEWS

Club Car & GMA announce record 5-year partnership agreement Club Car, the world’s leading manufacturer of Golf and Lightweight Utility Vehicles, has recommitted to its partnership with Golf Management Australia (GMA) for a further five years.

“This ongoing relationship is central to our success here in Australia and we are focused on providing support to the education and development programmes provided by GMA to members around the country. We have extended our traditional three year agreement to five years to allow for longer term planning and greater consistency of support across the country,” said Club Car vice president Kevin Gates. “The opportunity for Club Car Channel Partners throughout Australia to engage locally with GMA members is an important component of strengthening our mutually beneficial relationships.”

This has been an exciting and dynamic time for Club Car. After more than 25 years of Ingersoll Rand ownership, the company was acquired by Platinum Equity last April in a transaction of over $US1.7billion.

Under the new structure, Club Car operates independently as a standalone business and as Club Car’s vice president of Global Product Management & Marketing, Jeff Tyminski commented, “Club Car is now better positioned than ever to provide support to regional associations like GMA

in locations all over the world. With more than 500 distribution outlets in more than 80 countries, thinking globally and acting locally is what we do every day. GMA is one of our most effective and valued relationships that we have as a company we are thrilled to be playing our part for another five years.”

GMA CEO, Paul Vardy, commented, “I can’t speak highly enough of the relationship we have with Club Car and the support their people provide us. Kevin and the team at Club Car Channel Partners bring unique insights to the golf industry. They are also fully invested in developing and supporting GMA members to advance the golf industry through the outcomes of professional development. To have the opportunity of a new five-year agreement is a first for our association and a credit to Club Car’s longterm commitment to GMA.” The relationship between Club Car and GMA stretches back well over 20 years.

Prior to 1998, local distribution managed the relationships on a state by state basis.

With the arrival of locally based Club Car corporate management in Australia nearly

25 years ago, combined with the subsequent incorporation of the GMA national body, the transition to an agreement aligning the two organisations soon followed.

“We take on the responsibilities of being the Exclusive Golf Car Partner of GMA very seriously.” Kevin Gates added. “Both organisations are committed to continuing to develop industry leaders and effectively trained golf club managers. We will invest in the careers of our customers for the next five years and beyond, building strong local relationships and brand loyalty as we go.

Any long term partnership at this level needs to provide benefit to all parties - and we’ll work to ensure that continues well into the future.”

For more information on the services provided by Club Car, please contact: Kevin Gates Vice President - Club Car P: 0417 659 640 E: kevin_gates@clubcar.com W: www.clubcar.com

Golf Management Australia Journal / Autumn 2022

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IN FOCUS MOVING WITH THE TIMES! Continuing our series of “In Focus” profiles of GMA members, GMA Journal special contributor, Karen Harding, sat down for a chat with two recently relocated GMA members - Fiza Errington on her move to Gosnells GC in Perth, and Joe Sinnott on his relocation to McLeod Country GC in Brisbane.

Does anyone remember the good ol’ days?

The days when a good plan could be reasonably expected to produce a good result? When golf management was time spent studying the business, getting to know the membership and then, after a settling in period, putting your own stamp on the job?

The days when changing jobs was a little nerve-wracking but mainly exhilarating … because you could reasonably expect that it was unlikely to throw up anything out of the ordinary?

Fiza Errington Fiza Errington has moved around the world with ease. Her first foray into golf was at the old Burswood Park golf course in Perth, working on the driving range and in the pro shop.

At 22, after studying for two degrees, she headed to Dubai, working in reception and retail before becoming the golf shop manager of The Els Club. Then it was back

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to Perth to take a position with Women’s Golf WA before moving to Victoria.

In her time there she was appointed general manager at Cardinia Beacon Hills GC before moving to Spring Valley GC as general manager and then to Yarra Yarra GC as operations manager.

It’s a varied CV requiring multiple relocations. So when the opportunity arose back in her home state as general manager at Gosnells GC, 21 km south of Perth, the prospect of packing up her family didn’t faze her at all.

“Pre-Covid it was quite simple. You set a date, you think about the things you want to take with you, organise a removalist, say your goodbyes. Every time we moved, we got better at it. We considered ourselves the ‘experts of move’.”

Of course, the significant part of that quote is, “pre-Covid”. The story of her move

from Melbourne to Perth during Covid is ‘a whole lot of different’.

Fiza’s appointment was announced at the end of November. At that stage restrictions in Melbourne were easing but the WA Government was some time away from opening its state to travellers from Victoria.

The only way Fiza could get to Perth was to spend a minimum two weeks out of Victoria before entering WA from a low-risk area. With husband Daniel unable to join her until completing his own commitments, she decided to head to Adelaide with fouryear-old son Cayden for a two-week holiday and then enter WA from its neighbouring low-risk state. A sound plan.

But when the Omicron variant of Covid-19 spread to South Australia, she was forced to scrap it. That left a two week stay in the Northern Territory as the only safe option.

And that’s when she was caught in a tangle

IN FOCUS: MOVING WITH THE TIMES! of red tape.

From here, the tale gets more complicated, both riveting and farcical at the same time: • To enter NT from Melbourne, she was required to quarantine upon arrival at Howard Springs. Howard Springs is a former mining camp which in 2020 was re-named the Centre for National Resilience and became a quarantine facility for Australians returning from overseas. Having been double vaccinated, Fiza was only required to quarantine there for seven days whereas those not double vaccinated had to quarantine for 14 days.

• BUT, reasonably, Fiza preferred to do the full 14 days in one stint so that she could enter WA directly with its 14-day qualifying period under her belt.

• HOWEVER, Howard Springs insisted she leave after its seven-day requirement, meaning she would be doing seven days there, then another seven days in Darwin to complete the full 14 days away from Victoria.

• THEN the WA government ruled that because her second seven days in Darwin did not meet requirements, she would have to

start a 14-day quarantine once she arrived in Perth.

• Fiza offered to pay Howard Springs if she could stay there an extra week, but the answer was no.

If your head is spinning reading this, imagine living it. And it’s not over yet.

Facing two separate sets of quarantine was not something she was prepared to put young Cayden through, especially over the Christmas-New Year period, so she made the difficult decision to leave him in Melbourne with Daniel.

Fiza began working for Gosnells remotely from Darwin and flew into Perth just before Christmas in the hope things would go smoothly from here.

Wrong.

Upon landing, she had to argue strenuously with authorities to avoid being sent back to Melbourne. WA police, suspicious as a result of two men breaking rules entering the state for the AFL Grand Final, spotted her Victorian drivers’ licence and refused to believe Fiza had spent the full two weeks quarantining in Darwin.

During interrogation, she produced a copy

of her new work contract, plus the address of the new apartment she had been able to book from Darwin, plus the credit card record of the transaction. Trouble was, she and Daniel shared the credit card and he’d been making purchases in Melbourne. Mass confusion!

Eventually, border police said they would “make an exception” and let her in. That was good news but she still had to spend two weeks over Christmas and New Year in an unfurnished apartment.

“All I had was a fridge, a microwave oven, an air mattress and a chair and desk so I could continue work.”

She used Facebook to keep family and friends posted on her travails, finding humour in the situation wherever possible.

Like the one day she was briefly able to escape for some “fresh” air, when Perth’s 40-degree heat caused the electrical system to go haywire and the building had to be evacuated when the fire alarm sounded.

She was also determined to the see the positives from a work point of view.

“I thought: ‘Right, you have time to understand the business you are about to

Golf Management Australia Journal / Autumn 2022

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IN FOCUS: MOVING WITH THE TIMES! walk into. So put your head down, look at the paperwork, see how the business works and immerse yourself in that.’

Quarantine over (again), Fiza headed to Gosnells.

But still the pandemic was playing havoc.

The WA Premier had announced the state would open to the rest of Australia in early February and both Fiza and Cayden had been counting down the days until their reunion. Then WA went cold on opening up, Premier McGowan instead delaying it indefinitely.

With her son not old enough to understand extending the countdown (after not having seen mum for two months already) and Fiza herself feeling she couldn’t hold on to an indefinite date, Daniel said they would fly over, drop Cayden into Fiza’s arms and fly straight back to Melbourne.

But a few days before the flight, Daniel came down with Covid.

Cayden was negative, so there was still one option. “I decided I would go and get him, and I would do two more weeks quarantine on top,” Fiza said “That’s what a mother would do. And Gosnells was great. They just said ‘go and get your son. We will help all we can from our side.’”

So in February Fiza flew out of Perth on a 6am flight to Sydney, caught a connecting flight to Melbourne, collected her son and flew straight back to Perth, arriving the same night.

“Then it was back to the apartment in quarantine but this time with a four-yearold. Working full time became a juggle on a different level but at least my son was with me.”

Happily, the tide of fortune turned. Three days into her third batch of quarantine, Premier McGowan announced a reduction in the quarantine period from two weeks to one.

It meant she only had four more days to go before getting a seven-day reduction ‘for good behaviour’. At least that’s what her friends said when they threw her a party on release with a cake congratulating her on her ‘parole’.

In March the Errington family unit was finally reunited when Daniel arrived in Perth.

What lessons has Fiza learned about relocation in the modern era? “Don’t travel during a pandemic,” she laughed. “Stay positive. Use humour. Focus.”

And how would she describe this whole episode? “Resilience 101.”

JOE SINNOTT Resilience was also needed for Joe Sinnott’s introduction to McLeod Country GC in Brisbane in February this year. We speak of ‘baptism by fire’ but in this case it was baptism by flood.

Fortunately, he had learned early on the need to go with the flow.

Originally from Bendigo, Joe qualified from university with a degree in sport development and management. He worked in operations at council leisure centres in Geelong then worked further in operations at a soccer venue in Dandenong before becoming operations manager at Lonsdale GC. His first position as a golf club manager was at Neangar Park, back in Bendigo, where he spent three years before landing the role of general manager at McLeod Country Golf Club at Mount Ommaney, 17 kilometres southwest of Brisbane.

Going from a regional club in Victoria to a city club in Queensland with about 1000 members and a vibrant hospitality and function sector was a big change, but Joe was excited and undaunted.

Unlike Fiza’s experience in WA, there were no quarantine or border issues for Joe heading to Queensland. The week prior to his leaving, RAT tests were required but luck had gone his way in timing.

Joe just packed up, jumped into the car with his 12-month-old ‘rascal’ beagle pup Randy and drove the 18 hours from Bendigo to Brisbane with a one-night stopover “in the middle of nowhere”.

Happily, Randy loves the car and just curled up to sleep through the journey.

So far, so good.

Then the fun began. Joe commenced work on February 21. On February 24 the rain started. By February 25, Joe’s fourth day on deck, the course was submerged and had to be closed.

“It was quite amazing,” he said. “The whole course was underwater. Some of our holes have got a contour that goes down about six to maybe seven-and-ahalf metres, and it was right up.”

While this is not the worst the club has seen – it went higher in 2011 – that’s a lot of water. Enough to prevent him and most of the other staff actually getting to the club when roads were flooded.

So, with just three days experience at the club, Joe jumped into the task of trying to maintain revenue. The club, which with 40 percent of women members has one of the most gender equal balances in Australia, responded with enthusiasm.

“We pushed a lot through our hospitality, tried to get everyone in for lunches and dinners when we were

operating. We probably had over 1000 people through our door. We tried a few initiatives. We did a putting competition inside the clubhouse because we couldn’t do it outside. We did a food truck night.

“It is one of those things when you have no revenue coming in the door, you just have to need to find new things to create that revenue stream. Speaking with other managers across the country, there are a lot of ideas and some of them are extremely creative.

“It was very successful. I was quite astonished by it. We may even keep doing some of these initiatives in the future, rather than just through a pandemic, because it’s proved to be such a success.”

The course was ultimately closed for two weeks. The Mount Ommaney Creek, which runs through it, is normally an attractive feature. But it runs into the Brisbane River, which was raging, and so the water was stagnant and could not drain until the river went down.

When it did, that’s when the hard work started. Everything needed to be cleaned, washed, removed or rebuilt.

Joe put out a call for volunteers and that’s when he learned how dear the club was to its members.

“A lot of people are passionate about this golf club. The number that came through was just astonishing, just wanting to help out and get the club back where it was before all of this happened.”

While all this was going on, Joe had a phone call with the new manager of Neangar Park GC. He reflected that for the whole of last year, Neangar had 56mm of rain. McLeod had 700mm in three days.

If there is such a thing as ‘normal’ these days, Joe and McLeod are back to normal operation.

In the over two years that the pandemic has affected golf club management – from closures and staff standowns to creative fiscal management to vaccination policy to difficulties finding staff as golf returned with more players than before - the requirement for golf club managers to be able to pivot has never been greater.

Add in the tales of Fiza and Joe and it would seem the unexpected should now be considered part of the expected.

“We keep getting things thrown our way, but we just keep knocking them back and moving on,” said Joe.

Golf Management Australia Journal / Autumn 2022

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INSIDE GOLF: GMA MEMBER PROFILE

GM Adrian Boyle at home at Wakehurst Inside Golf ’s Michael Court recently caught up with GMA member, Adrian Boyle, who successfully transitioned from assistant professional to general manager at Wakehurst Golf Club just under two years ago.

You could say it was really a natural progression in his career.

And indeed, Adrian Boyle must have felt like he had come ‘home’ when appointed the general manager of Wakehurst Golf Club at Seaforth on Sydney’s north shore.

That’s because Boyle grew up in nearby North Balgowlah and actually went to primary school across the road from Wakehurst GC before going on to Balgowlah Boys High School. He began playing golf at the neighbouring Balgowlah Golf Club’s nine-hole course, in tandem with Wakehurst GC, before joining another popular layout not far from home, Cromer Golf Club.

It was while playing his amateur golf there that he began working with Cromer’s longserving club professional Brad Wall before going on to complete a PGA traineeship.

Even though Boyle then began a playing career he was shrewd enough to realise that would not be enough to pay the bills.

“So, I took a job working with Ray McGlinn at Northbridge GC, where I stayed for 17 years,” said Boyle.

“When Ray retired, Andrew Webster offered me the job as assistant professional at Wakehurst GC, and, yes, I did feel like I was coming home.

“Having known Andrew and many others from being a junior at the club, it was the perfect fit, and I remained working with Andrew for two years.

“During this time, my predecessor, Glen Hickey, was searching for a replacement and felt I was best positioned to be Wakehurst’s next general manager.”

Boyle knew what he was doing: Wakehurst does have a history of employing from ‘within’, and that philosophy has served the club well for almost 50 years.

Normally the club carries around 1100 members, with 900 or so playing members.

“It’s been challenging to accommodate

everyone during the pandemic,” said Boyle.

“But I believe that we have done a great job and we will look at letting more new members in once some normality returns to life.

“Wakehurst’s future is bright, with more course renovations planned as well as constant improvements to the clubhouse.

“I believe membership remains full, with player participation rates high.

“I see this as a job for life and I want to be a part of Wakehurst’s growth for a long time.

“Hopefully, they agree.”

Wakehurst Golf Club has always had a perfect blend of members and public playing there and Boyle explains the reason the club has never gone private is because the course is on Crown land, leased by Northern Beaches Council.

“I transitioned into the role with Glen’s expert guidance and have now been the general manager for 16 months,” he said.

Certainly, it has been busy as the club continued a long history of construction work and constantly looks to improve its offering to members.

“We have recently completed four new greens, a new pro shop and built a simulator/ fitting room for all to enjoy,” Boyle told Inside Golf.

“The members have been great during the process; inquisitive and excited to see the club moving forward.

“Constant communication has kept them invested in the work and understanding that any short term disruption of the construction work would be beneficial to all.

“They are now reaping the rewards with some fantastic new greens to play on.”

Membership is also booming at Wakehurst and, at last count, there were 65 people waiting to join and the club had a joining fee in place.

“We are part of the Manly Dam War Memorial Reserve and will always remain

accessible to the public, providing an excellent asset for the whole community,” he said.

It’s no wonder Boyle is proud of the club – its facilities are as good as anywhere.

A modern clubhouse serves a wide variety of beverages: they even have their own Wakehurst Lager!

The restaurant, Flavour Buds, is wellknown to locals and meals can be enjoyed on an expansive balcony overlooking the course and Manly Dam. The par-72 course is picturesque and challenging and overloaded with wildlife including numerous lace monitors, water dragons, ducks, turtles, echidnas, birds and the odd wallaby.

So, what’s the best thing about Wakehurst Golf Club?

“Everything combines to make it unique,” says Boyle.

“Besides the course, the members make it a fun place to be; we are a very social club with great camaraderie.”

While the general manager’s job is often challenging, Boyle says the rewards far outweigh the challenges.

“It is a great honour to help shape Wakehurst’s future and look after members’ best interests,” he said.

“We are busy, which is a good reflection on our offering, and I aim to continue this.

“We average roughly 5500 rounds a month, mixed with the public and members.

“Our membership base is very local, with high participation rates all year round.

“We tend not to have too many visitors in our competitions.

“During the pandemic, we have not allowed visitors unless there was a lastminute spot, and we did not offer any reciprocal times for other clubs . . . we’ve been flat-out catering for our members.”

Golf Management Australia Journal / Autumn 2022

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GOLF AUSTRALIA NEWS

PGA Learning Hub to deliver more diverse, qualified workforce A more diverse and qualified workforce servicing the six key pillars of the Australian golf industry will be the driving motivation of the PGA Golf Learning Hub that opened officially at Sandhurst in March.

The relocation of PGA administrative staff to the Australian Golf Centre in Melbourne has paved the way for an expansion of the PGA’s educational infrastructure already in place at the Sandhurst Club alongside its two championship golf courses.

To operate in conjunction with the existing PGA Membership Pathway Program, Accreditation and Continuing Education Program and the PGA’s Registered Training Organisation – the PGA International Golf Institute, the PGA Golf Learning Hub will serve to provide the entry point to a career in golf as well as a place where the existing workforce can advance their skills and education.

A world-first golf industry education hub, the facility will not only provide additional training opportunities to the more than 25,000 people currently employed throughout Australian golf but provide a clear pathway to anyone wishing to pursue a career in golf.

The six primary pillars that will be catered for are: • Small Business • Management • Coaching • Turf-grass management • Tourism and events • Hospitality Officially opened by PGA of Australia Chair Rodger Davis and Cr. Nathan Conroy – Mayor Frankston City Council (pictured), the PGA Learning Hub will also aim to raise the profile of under-represented groups within the golf workforce for a more complete and inclusive industry where everyone feels welcome to participate at every level.

“When developing the concept of the PGA Golf Learning Hub, we were determined that the Hub should service all six of the primary workforce pillars of the industry

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and we are proud that will become a reality,” said Geoff Stewart, PGA General Manager, Membership and Education.

“We believe this is a world-first, with all six of the primary pillars of the industry provided with training and education opportunities via one facility.

“As a sport and recreation, golf has grown significantly over the past few years and the PGA Golf Learning Hub will play a key role in servicing this growth with a well-trained workforce.”

The PGA Learning Hub includes a collaboration with Holmesglen Institute in assisting with the delivery of training to some of the industry’s six workforce pillars.

The project would also not have been possible without financial support from the Victorian Government and the Frankston City Council.

Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events Martin Pakula said the Victorian Government’s investment would support the growth of jobs in the state.

“The Hub will be a real asset for the game and will establish Victoria as a key destination for people seeking world-class education and training in the golf industry,” Mr Pakula said.

“Golf is a major employer in Victoria and initiatives like this will ensure the next generation comes through well trained and ready to hit the ground running.”

By offering industry-specific training and qualifications, the PGA Learning Hub will not only become a central point for Australians seeking a career in golf but also a major drawcard for international students throughout Asia and the South Pacific.

With 110 years of history including 17 as a Registered Training Organisation (RTO), the PGA of Australia is ideally positioned to deliver every aspect of golf education and training at the one facility at Sandhurst.

The PGA is currently the only RTO in Australia with golf-specific qualifications (Diploma of Golf Management and Diploma of Sport – Golf Professional) and has a proven ability to work on training and education projects with other golf industry stakeholders.

In the near future, the Hub also plans to provide secondary school students with the opportunity to complete entry-level qualifications across the six pillars of the golf industry whilst completing their school education, before moving into core programs guided by their individual career aspirations.

“Our Association (the PGA) has a strong and proud history in golf industry training and education and we are fortunate that we are in a position to take the lead in the implementation of the PGA Golf Learning Hub,” said Stewart.

“It’s great to see the PGA Golf Learning Hub move from concept to implementation today – we look forward to the positive impact it will have on our industry for many years to come.”

Cypress Lakes honoured for environmental initiatives It was instigated out of necessity yet the water management plan implemented in 2017 has earned Oaks Cypress Lakes Golf and Country Club one of the major gongs at the Sports Environment Alliance #SEAChanger Awards at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. The PGA of Australia’s Tony Webeck writes.

The Sports Environment Alliance – of which Golf Australia is a member – is established to be a charity with a purpose of protecting and enhancing the natural environment of Australasia by promoting sustainability, sustainable development, regeneration and use of resources.

As the Australian Grand Prix Corporation took out the #SEAMember category, Cypress Lakes was the recipient in the nonSEA member category for the innovative and sustainable solutions for golf course maintenance systems.

Under the guidance of Course Superintendent Craig Molloy, Cypress Lakes harnesses 200,000 litres of effluent water from the resort on-site each night – enough to water all 18 greens – have cut their consumption of potable water by 18 per cent across the property and the Elysia Wellness Retreat educates guests on organic and sustainable gardening.

Molloy received the Australian Sports Turf Managers Association Excellence in Golf Course Management award in 2021 and took great pride in Cypress Lakes being

recognised amongst a wide range of sporting organisations and facilities.

“It was nice to be recognised by an industry outside of golf for the work that we are doing,” Molloy said following the success of the recent TPS Hunter Valley tournament at Cypress Lakes.

“We’re enhancing and improving the environment. The award is a great recognition of that.”

A member of the turf industry for 26 years, when Molloy arrived at Cypress Lakes in 2013 he was immediately faced by a crisis of water, the only solution to purchase 120 million litres at a cost of $76,000.

In 2016 the bunkers on the golf course were redone so that up to 5mm of rainfall would generate 12 million litres of water to feed into the irrigation storage that boasts a total capacity of 180 million litres.

But it was the ability to use treated effluent water from the resort and transfer it to the golf course that provided a water source that would otherwise simply be flushed down the drain.

“It was the first site I had worked on with

effluent water and in 2013 when I started here water was an issue,” Molloy explains.

“We just had to come up with something.

In 2013 it was so dry here. It wasn’t drought conditions but it was really hot and we just didn’t have enough water to be able to produce decent surfaces.

“Without water we didn’t have a golf course and we weren’t able to succeed.

“To improve the property we had to be able to manage our water better.

“The last two years we haven’t had to use any of the water that we buy in. Not one drop. We’ve been self-reliant in our own practices.”

The resort is now beginning to see the financial rewards that come from a sustainable management plan and have set their sights on positively impacting the environment that they nurture even further.

“Now we’re starting to see some financial benefits of what we’re doing and it’s about trying to be as carbon neutral as possible,” Molloy said.

“That will be the next step, to reduce our carbon footprint even further.”

Golf Management Australia Journal / Autumn 2022

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GOLF AUSTRALIA NEWS Left: (l-r) Eva Norris, Summer Thomas, Imojen Burgess, Tegan Siekman, Emma Hastie, Ava Strazdins, Sarah DouglassNorris. Absent on the day - Lexi Payne.

A 300% reason for celebration in 2022!

Above: Craig Williams (NEXTGEN), Paige’s father, John Walters (NEXTGEN), Paige Moorfoot, Travis Smyth, PGA Tour of Australasia and Asian Tour player.

The number of girls receiving Australian Golf Foundation (AGF) Girls Scholarships has tripled in 2022 compared to the inaugural program last year.

“The pilot program in 2021 involved 37 centres and 226 girls across Australia, and our ambition was to double that figure but much to our delight, we have tripled that figure to a staggering 117 centres and 681 girls in 2022 – a 300% increase,” said Bonnie Boezeman AO, scholarship programme founder and board member of the AGF. “This rapid expansion would not have been possible without support from the entire golf industry, a principal partner and some generous donors.”

As a part of the program, each girl holds a scholarship at their local club that includes group tuition, membership for the year, along with a branded shirt and cap for the girls to wear with pride.

“Golf Australia is extremely proud to be working with the AGF to provide opportunities to keep girls in the game.

By encouraging and supporting girls to continue their golfing journey beyond clinics and obtaining a handicap, we hope to increase the number of girls enjoying our wonderful game,” said David Gallichio, General Manager of Golf Development at Golf Australia.

The scholarship program has already given seven girls at Flagstaff Hills Golf Club in South Australia a wonderful experience.

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“We have kicked off our year with a tea-party on-course,” said Sarah DouglassNorris, resident PGA Professional. “One of our members lives on-course and set up a beautiful tea party for the girls with cupcakes, marshmallows and balloons. The men’s and women’s captains attended and presented the girls with their membership kits and shirts.

“It is wonderful to bring girls together of a similar age to enjoy golf. They are all very keen to either obtain, or lower their handicaps this year through the program.”

Another scholarship recipient has also kicked off 2022 with a bang - Paige Moorfoot from Curlewis Golf Club recently enjoyed a unique experience, playing in the Vic Open pro-am.

Australian Golf Foundation has partnered with NEXTGEN Group as the principal partner. Very kindly, and in the end strategically, NEXTGEN invited Paige to play in their Tour Scramble team.

Paige was a star and lead the team to victory on the Creek course at 13th Beach!

For more information and to see a list of funded centres, 2022 visit the Australian Golf Foundation website.

ABOUT THE AUSTRALIAN GOLF FOUNDATION The Australian Golf Foundation (AGF) is thrilled to partner with NEXTGEN Group as the principal partner of the AGF Scholarship Programme in 2022, with significant further support provided by Golf Australia, Golf Victoria, Victorian Golf Foundation, Golf Queensland, Golf South Australia, Golf Tasmania, Golf Western Australia, Western Australian Golf Foundation, Golf Northern Territory, Jack Newton Junior Golf, Golf Management Australia, WPGA Tour of Australasia and PGA of Australia, as well as a number of additional generous private benefactors.

The AGF is the national foundation for golf in Australia. It supports Golf Australia’s vision to grow golf by investing in targeted initiatives to inspire all Australians to enjoy and play the game.

Visit the Australian Golf Foundation website for further information.

GOLF AUSTRALIA NEWS

A story to tell Visionary of the Year The search has begun for the 2022 Visionary of the Year and some of the golf industry’s heavyweights are excited to hear more stories of positive change around gender equality within the golf community.

One such figure is Australia’s greatest major champion Karrie Webb who recently crowned the 2021 winners Lynley Eadie and Kim Morris from Shepparton Golf Club.

“I think this is an amazing concept”, Webb said. “I thoroughly enjoyed announcing our winners of 2021, Lynley and Kim and I look forward to hearing from many more golf clubs and people in 2022.”

Visionary of the Year stories celebrate, reward and inspire those doing terrific work to achieve gender equality in golf and Golf Australia Chief Executive James Sutherland said the award had uncovered some of the best golfing stories of the year.

“The Visionary of the Year award is an absolute winner,” he said. “The people who we’ve seen nominated for this award – and many others around the country – are doing amazing work for golf. We’ve seen some outstanding success stories already and we’ve highlighted those through the award.

“We look forward to it getting bigger and better in 2022 as we pursue our strategic philosophy that golf is a fun sport for all – and all of us can be golfers.”

Nominations highlight a variety of ways to engage women and girls in the game, from culture and leadership, grassroots participation, marketing and positioning and high performance and coaching, and everyone is invited to submit their entries.

Throughout 2022, nine nominations will be recognised as Visionary of the Month and awarded a $500 online voucher from Drummond Golf, along with having their story told by Golf Australia in a case study format on golf.org.au.

The 2022 Visionary of the Year will win up to $10,000 worth of products from the latest Callaway REVA product range – designed specifically for women’s golf.

The winner (plus finalists) will also have a talented network of photographers, writers and directors create video content to tell their story.

Visit golf.org.au/vision2025 to learn more about Visionary of the Year and read existing case studies, or head straight to the nominations form here.

Golf Management Australia Journal / Autumn 2022

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GOLF AUSTRALIA NEWS

Glenelg creating a sustainable future Adelaide’s Glenelg Golf Club boasts a rich history, but in its 95th year, the club is looking forward rather than back, in the midst of a sustainability project that will ensure there are many more chapters added to their own history books and those of clubs around the country. Golf Australia’s Dane Heverin explains.

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Indigenous vegetation in Glenelg’s out of play areas are being restored and the club has joined with three other Adelaide golf clubs - Kooyonga, The Grange and Royal Adelaide - in enriching the local ecosystem by creating a safe space for native insect and animal species.

“We’re hoping to create a corridor of habitat for the butterflies between the four golf courses,” Glenelg’s biodiversity manager, Monina Gilbey, said.

The project began last November when the four clubs’ received a Green Adelaide Grassroots Grant and Gilbey is leading the charge.

“We’ve already been working on rewilding a butterfly. The butterfly larvae have been collected from other parts of South Australia and we’re trying to reintroduce them to the Adelaide metropolitan region,” she said.

“We’ve done our first two butterfly releases at Royal Adelaide and a release of caterpillars too.”

The project also aims to connect vegetation pockets

- including a plan to relocate a rare orchid from The Grange to Glenelg - between the courses, hold educational workshops on local Kaurna history and cultural burning practices, and install nest boxes and bee hotels.

Those objectives are an expansion of the work Gilbey and Glenelg’s maintenance team have undertaken in the four years since she joined the club on a part-time basis.

She began her role alongside Glenelg’s superintendent Tim Warren and has implemented a staged process to restore native vegetation.

Her work began with the removal of pine trees - which were classified as weeds - and other dead plant material from the course and has progressed to protecting the corellas, Australian painted lady butterflies, ducklings, fairy wrens, bees, caterpillars and many other wildlife that enjoy the safe spaces of Glenelg.

These native animals and insects feature prominently on the Glenelg maintenance team’s Instagram page and they have caught the eye of people around the globe.

“The Instagram account is driving a lot of interest and people really get what we’re doing. It is something quite different for golf clubs,” Gibley said.

“I think this is quite a new thing in Australia. If you look at other parts of the

world it seems to happen a lot. I’m not sure why.

“At Glenelg we’re very lucky to have Tim Warren who is very passionate about environmental issues. Nathan Bennett at Royal Adelaide is really good too. It just takes more superintendents to get it, but it’s happening. More people are starting to understand the benefits of it.

“Things like reducing irrigated rough and managed turf areas means less chemical usage and less resources.

Using electric vehicles around the course helps too.

There are wider benefits. It’s not just happy, fluffy environmental things.”

One person who has shown strong support for Gibley’s efforts is David Speirs, South Australia’s Minister for Environment and Water.

“This is a real sign of leadership as golf courses recognise that they actually do play a significant role in sustainability,” Speirs said when he visited Glenelg last month.

“At Glenelg we’re seeing work done around the Yellowish Sedge Skipper, that’s a butterfly, which is rare and native that we need to be looking after.

“They’ve been doing insect surveys, working with Kaurna people to find out about the Kaurna heritage of these sites.

“I want to congratulate them for that and look forward to this partnership between Green Adelaide and these golf courses going from strength to strength for our environment.”

Golf Australia’s Clubs and Facilities Senior Support Manager Matt Chesterman is also delighted by what he has seen at Glenelg and he is looking forward to seeing more clubs and facilities following suit.

“The project really demonstrates how golf courses can contribute to society in ways that typically aren’t associated with sport,” Chesterman said.

“Golf courses have attributes that differ to those of typical suburban open space such as parks and other sporting fields which allows for the regeneration of indigenous flora and fauna. Golf as a sport occupies significant amounts of land across the country, both in metropolitan & regional areas, and initiatives such as this demonstrate that the custodianship is not just environmentally responsible but extremely positive.

“While Glenelg have resources to drive these projects forward, they have shown that funding bodies have confidence in golf courses to deliver on investment. If your club or facility has an interest in returning some areas to indigenous vegetation, or doing some positive environmental activity, some work sourcing some passionate volunteers or exploring funding opportunities might be all that you need to get started.

“If you don’t know where to start, I encourage clubs & facilities to reach out to their clubs & facilities support manager where we can discuss what opportunities you could investigate.”

Find out how your club can be involved in creating a sustainable future at www.golf.org.au/clubsupport

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Golf Management Australia Journal / Autumn 2022

37

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GOLF AUSTRALIA NEWS

TOTAL GOLF PARTICIPANTS

21%

Golf boom in full swing as newcomers tee up

Adults

5.7%

0.6%

CLUB MEMBERS

BY STATE

409,970

6.4% 24,485

Juniors

1.8%

% adult pop.

TOTAL CLUB MEMBERS (incl. Social Clubs)

(excl. Social Clubs)

1-year trend

NT 1,942 +6.4%

New members

QLD 65,340 +6.4%

WA 27,425 +7.0%

55.3

SA 24,812 +7.2%

64.3

NSW 152,939 +4.8%

19%

56.9

% change in club membership numbers from 19/20 to 20/21

FEMALE MEMBERS make up 19% of club membership numbers

AVERAGE AGE reported for club members

JUNIOR MEMBERSHIP

15,304

+16%

VIC 99,724 8.9%

Change greater than 5% Change 1% to 5% Change less than 1%

AUSTRALIAN CLUBS junior members

3.7%

2020/21 vs 2019/20

% all members

Regional Sm. 952 (58%)

Metro Lg. 60 (4%)

55%

Metro Sm. 57 (3%)

38%

Social clubs 345 (21%)

4.4%

total rounds played

Regional Lg. 30 (3%)

11.769 million

31.5

+12.4%

2020/21 vs 2019/20

rounds per player

7%

Regional Med. 115 (7%)

20/21 876 517,492

+20%

TAS 10,353 +4.6%

AUSTRALIAN CLUB MEMBERS

Metro Med. 86 (5%)

COMPETITION ROUNDS PLAYED

clubs with 9-hole rounds

9-hole rounds

2020/21 vs 2019/20

Golf Australia has announced record growth in club participation and total participation, with the release of the 2020-21 Golf Club Participation Report.

1.7%

1,204,000

1 year trend

The 2020-21 Golf Club Participation Report, which was prepared by Golf Business Advisory Services, showcases a combination of Golf Australia’s club member participation data and Sport Australia’s AusPlay data, with both data sets providing the golf industry a year-on-year view of the game's participation trends.

More than 24,000 new players joined golf clubs in 2020-21, with the 6.4 percent increase the largest jump in percentage terms recorded since data collection began in 1970, taking the total number to 409,970.

Junior members also experienced a major increase, with 16 percent more kids under-18 joining their local club.

AusPlay’s data reveals that Australian Golf ’s vision to be a sport for all is gradually becoming a reality, with an estimated 1,204,000 total golf participants playing 9-hole or 18-hole rounds of golf in the 202021 period.

This is supported by Golf Australia’s nine-hole round data which experienced 20 percent growth with more than 517,000 rounds played in 2020-21.

At club level, Victoria experienced the biggest lift in membership (up 8.9 percent) despite access to golf clubs being limited during the ongoing pandemic, while all states experienced substantial growth.

South Australia grew by 7.2 percent, WA by 7 per cent, QLD by 6.4 percent, NSW by 4.8 per cent, Tasmania by 4.6 percent and the Northern Territory by 0.5 percent.

Golf Australia Chief Executive James Sutherland said the findings were “monumentally encouraging for the game”, pointing out that the results buck the gradual decline in golfers endured between 2000-2019.

“Our purpose is simple – we want more Australians playing more golf. There are

OVERALL PARTICIPATION RATE

(15+ years old)

(28.1) in 2019/20

+5.7%

26,716

Social club members 345 clubs

155,526

Metropolitan club members 203 clubs

+7.6%

+5.3%

227,009

Regional club members 1,097 clubs

KEY FINDINGS

many different forms of golf making it truly a game for everyone,” he said.

“It’s fun, it can be played at any age, and it’s proven to be good for your health. These are just some of the factors driving this phenomenal growth.

“Interestingly, these latest figures tell us there are far more casual golfers that are not members of a club than there are club members. This suggests we have a fantastic launching pad to continue to grow our sport and bring new people to our game. We want to keep driving this by making the sport more accessible and creating more options to play to ensure golf continues to be a sport for all,” he said.

Sutherland said that the launch in December of the Australian Golf Strategy – a strategic plan for the entire golf industry – has highlighted participation as the most important factor in the health of the industry into the future.

“So many new people have come to the game in recent times, they need to be embraced so they remain in the game while we continue to innovate to appeal to more Australians.

“It will be vital for us to understand these newcomers - what they want is not going to be the same as it has been in the past, and we need to acknowledge that and evolve to suit our new markets,” said Sutherland.

“The elite game is also incredibly important in providing role models for our young golfers to aspire to, and we’re excited to see some of Australia’s best players in action at the Vic Open this week at 13th beach. It’s been fantastic to see the PGA Tour of Australasia getting back into the full swing of things this season and there’s no doubt the tour will play an important role in building on the 16% growth in junior members this year.

• Positive member movement was evident in all key market segments. Both member clubs and social clubs enjoyed growth around six percent, driven by growth in male numbers of more than seven percent. Junior numbers also enjoyed substantial growth, increasing by 15 percent compared to the prior year.

• All states except Northern Territory enjoyed growth well in advance of recent trends. Despite long periods of course closures due to lockdown measures, Victoria recorded the largest growth of 8.9 percent.

• New members coming to our sport are younger than the broader club member age profile, with 60 percent of new members under the age of 50. Of new members, 34 percent were between 15-34 in 2020-21, compared to 25 percent in 2019-20.

• Female members make up 19 percent of all golfers.

• The national new club member attraction rate was 13 percent, with an attrition rate of 10 percent.

Of all new golfers in 2020-21, 60 percent were under 50 years old, compared to the number of 30 percent of current members.

• The average age of club members in Australia is 56.9 years. The average for male members is 55.3 years and for women, 64.3 years.

• There were 11,769 million competition rounds played in 2020-21, representing a 12 percent increase over 2019-20.

• The report estimates ‘total golf participants’ at 1.204 million people, according to Ausplay, up 21 percent on the previous year.

• Get Into Golf, the adult introductory program, saw 313 clubs and facilities registered, with 224 actively participating, and 6594 participants in 1230 programs. Of the total participants, 5564 or 84 percent were female.

Golf Management Australia Journal / Autumn 2022

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INDUSTRY NEWS

Golf NSW Launches Flood Relief Fund Through the NSW Golf Foundation and the Australian Sports Foundation, Golf NSW has established the Golf NSW Flood Relief Fund to help clubs in the golfing community get back on their feet following the devastating floods that have ripped through New South Wales.

The efforts to thwart rising waters was impossible for many clubs and has left many with considerable cleanup expenses.

Golf NSW CEO, Stuart Fraser, said witnessing the damage suffered by clubs across the State was a sobering experience.

“It is humbling to hear of the efforts of so many staff and members in our family of clubs trying their hardest to protect vital assets without putting themselves or others at risk.”

“Sadly, with the water now receding, the task of cleanup begins and with the doors of many places unable to be opened, the task becomes all the more difficult.”

To assist golf clubs in NSW with the recovery and rebuilding process, the Golf NSW Flood Relief Fund will provide resources directly to affected clubs with the NSW Golf Foundation contributing

$100,000 to launch this initiative.

The Golf NSW Flood Relief Fund is an opportunity for clubs to assist others in the State’s golfing community.

Golf NSW is asking clubs and individuals to consider raising funds to assist others and donating via the Golf NSW Flood Relief Fund. Any donations will be tax deductible for individuals. Likewise, industry stakeholders can also donate directly to the Fund.

Like the Golf NSW Bushfire Relief Fund, every dollar donated to the Golf NSW Flood Relief Fund will be used to assist affected golf clubs impacted by the disaster.

Financial contributions are being collected through the Golf NSW website in conjunction with the Australian Sports Foundation (ASF).

Making Management Simpler R

unning a modern Golf Club comes with many challenges, but none are more frustrating than having to deal with separate systems to manage the different parts of the operation. You’ve got your Golf Management system. Your Point-of-Sale system. Your Gaming system. Your Revenue Management System.

If all these tools exist separately from each other, it can be tough to move the relevant information from one to the next in an easy fashion. Not only that, but this also adds an extra set of steps in your workflow that wastes your time and energy.

What if we could make that whole workflow painless and simple though? SENPOS and our preferred Golf Management System provider, MiClub, have teamed up to do just that! With a fully integrated solution between our two flagship systems, you can extend the capabilities of both systems to incorporate all the exceptional functionality you enjoy from each, into one seamless workflow.

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MiClub will be front and centre, managing your members details, billing, and golfing requirements, with SENPOS handling all the clubhouse food, beverage, and member marketing duties. SENPOS will also integrate with your Gaming and Revenue systems through MiClub to create one homogenised workflow that requires very little human interaction to drive all your operational systems without you needing to think about it. It truly is a win-win!

Like two parts of a giant puzzle that fit perfectly, SENPOS and MiClub working together can create efficiencies beyond what you ever thought possible. Both are developed and supported right here in Australia too, so you get help fast, and directly from the people who built them.

If you’d like to know more, please contact SENPOS at info@senpos.com.au or 1300 621 313.

GMA EDUCATION

Due Diligence and Insurance Due diligence is a phrase used by many golf club boards to describe their responsibility to members. When it comes to insurance and presumably other purchases made by golf clubs, it’s often believed the action of obtaining multiple quotes at the time of purchase constitutes a board upholding their due diligence.

For the purchase of some items this concept may hold true. For the purchase of insurance however there are greater considerations at play that can be disguised by the thinking that the obtaining of multiple quotes equates to due diligence.

When it comes to insurance, due diligence isn’t limited to the purchase of a policy, but the broader consideration of effective risk transfer.

Risk transfer is the wider process of identifying, categorising and treating risks faced by a golf club. This process transfers a risk from unidentified / untreated to treating the risk in a way that is satisfactory to the club. Insurance is just one treatment option, it does not constitute the full risk transfer process.

If a board has only considered the insurance purchase component of the full risk transfer process, have they really satisfied their due diligence obligations?

Risk Transfer Strategy A risk transfer strategy is a comprehensive plan to address the risks faced by golf clubs. The complexity of the strategy varies according to the size of the club and its operations. Smaller clubs, are able, with some guidance, to put together and action their own strategy. Larger clubs can benefit greatly from the expertise of third party

consultants.

A golf club’s insurance broker is a very good place to start. A golf club specialist insurance broker offers the service of assisting clubs to design a bespoke risk transfer strategy.

For smaller clubs, the broker should be able to guide the club to design their own strategy; for larger clubs, brokers should be able to recommend and work with a specialist third party.

Having a solid risk transfer strategy takes some reliance off a club’s insurance policies, leaving insurance for times when a club really needs to get back on their feet.

Other treatments include risk management, risk mitigation and contingency budgeting which can be implemented to reduce the weight carried by a club’s insurances. In turn this leads to a more stable and sustainable insurance program for the golf club industry.

Conversely, not having an understanding of a broader risk transfer strategy places all the risks in full onto a club’s insurances.

Recent flooding at Carbrook GC in Queensland

This can have the effect of rising claims and rising premiums leading to high volatility and potentially unsustainable insurance options. Asking for multiple quotes in this environment is counterbeneficial because insurers do not view the opportunity to quote with any desire.

When it comes to insurance and risk, golf club boards may need to re-consider what they believe due diligence is.

Victor Insurance and Australian Golf Insurance are partnering with Golf Management Australia and Golf Australia to educate golf clubs on the need to consider insurance in a broader context.

Golf Management Australia Journal / Autumn 2022

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GMA EDUCATION

How long will this demand for golf last?

The 20-45 years olds have surprised everyone by playing significantly more golf and joining clubs in record numbers. For GMA members, how long this demand will last is a live debate as we search for signs of a post Covid normal.

It’s these younger members who will be of most interest to many managers. As returning to the office and other forms of sport occurs, where does it leave the outlet of golf that was enjoyed in the past two years?

GMA CEO, Paul Vardy, got some ideas from Ivan Ang from Executive Golfers Network.

PV: Ivan, you’ve left the corporate world to pursue your passion for coaching and training people in leadership, in the sectors such as retail, banking & finance, manufacturing, IT and professional services. As a keen golfer, you’ve been exploring the link between businesses retaining employees and employee wellbeing and golf. What have you discovered?

IA: I think golf has experienced a oncein-a-lifetime phenomenon that may never happen again. Many in the corporate world have had the flexibility of working from home for the first time purely due to Covid restrictions. So many golfers, myself included, were in the fortunate position to be able to book in our regular games of golf and work around it.

We’re now seeing a partial return to office work arrangements, yet hybrid work arrangements between work and home looks set to continue, possibly for good.

PV: Requiring everyone to return to the office full-time is not the norm. What are you seeing for golf?

IA: This is where the opportunity for golf lies, I believe. The majority of businesses I’ve spoken to are happy to implement hybrid working arrangements where employees would be allowed to work some days from home and the others in the office. This presents opportunities for meeting the needs of business, employees and continue to allow time for golf.

PV: What are you working on in this space?

IA: It starts with understanding what employee well-being means to the business, the leaders and also the individual team members. In my background in the banking industry and more recently in training and executive coaching with various industries, I’ve seen in the past too many businesses

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take a one-size-fits-all approach to wellbeing and it rarely works.

Not everyone wants free lunches, cupcakes or virtual yoga classes to feel better. For many, it’s having the work/life balance to fit in the things that are of greatest interest and benefit and for many people we know, that’s golf.

PV: For golf club managers and the golf industry at large, that’s music to our ears – (and I’m not talking Meatloaf, Bucks Fizz or Nickelback btw).

AI: Yes, it presents an opportunity for golf clubs and public courses. It’s playing more golf for golfers and everyone - bosses and employees - understanding why golf ticks so many well-being boxes.

We know that our bodies produce natural chemicals - dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin and endorphins - that help us perform better.

People who lack these chemicals can experience higher levels of depression and anxiety which may result in a lack of focus, drive and enthusiasm. Finding chemicals through artificial means, such as excessive coffee, sugar, alcohol or other drugs can be really damaging to our health in the long term.

These hormones are released at different times before, during and after playing a round of golf. They stay in our bodies throughout the week and can help us at work.

PV: So it is good for us, and well-being of employers can improve employee retention, how does this all tie in with what you’re doing?

Improving employee well-being in order to avoid burnout and resignations is one of the reasons why I created Executive Golfers Network. It’s an online golfer community aimed at professional development and

encourages networking.

If I can 1) show corporate leaders how they and their employees can be more effective at work and feel better by the end of the week, and 2) help employees with an interest in golf to be able to schedule a mid-week round of golf, I think that’s a big win for business and golfers.

I want employers to consider tailoring a well-being plan that works for their people.

It’s a matter of finding an activity that gets those natural chemicals in our bodies flowing and golf ticks all the boxes in that respect.

And I say mid-week golf deliberately. We know that for many, playing golf on the weekends is a luxury and that commitments to the family schedule will often stop this from happening.

I’ve surveyed golfers I know about the reasons why they stopped playing golf and it’s exactly what you would expect.

It’s family and work demands.

That’s not

GMA EDUCATION going to be a surprise to anyone and regardless of Covid or any other external factors, family and work will always impact on anyone’s ability to play more regularly.

The issue is that most golfers will wait until their personal circumstances change.

Many unfortunately wait until they are approaching retirement before playing more golf. Most golf clubs will have traditionally seen this in their new member applications.

I’m an example too. When my kids were younger, time spent doing things with them and as a family was more important to me than playing golf each week. So, golf became this occasional pursuit when there was absolutely nothing else we needed to do on the weekends. And even when I was out on a golf course, knowing that I’m not with my family, there’s the occasional guilt that would come over me. Now that’s not conducive to playing good golf as you can imagine!

Covid came along and created the conditions for a lot of younger people to get into golf. We’ve got to harness these people and the demands on employers to be employers of choice in order to embed better forms of employee well-being that includes the facilitation of golf.

PV: So, how do you communicate with companies and with employees in these sectors?

IA: I start with executives and business owners who are keen to play more golf but don’t know how. I invite them to join the Executive Golfer Network and being a community member exposes them to the benefits of a tailored well-being plan and how they can better manage their time.

Many are mid to senior people who know they need to prioritise their own well-being.

It’s just that they didn’t know that golf can play a significant part in that plan. Once they have developed an effective hybrid work week for themselves, as leaders, it can then filter down through their teams via tailored programs.

Firstly, working with these executives, they get a better sense as to why playing golf is not just a fun activity but how it can really make a difference to their effectiveness at work. It’s also important to understand why playing during the week makes more sense than only playing, or hoping to play, on weekends.

Then we look at how that can be achieved.

For those who do have flexible work arrangements, it’s crucial to look at how their productivity and effectiveness can be

maximised over the work week.

Having worked with many executives, I have found that people waste more time than they realise doing things every day that they don’t necessarily need to. Some don’t prioritise their tasks in the right way. They spend too much time on things that are not important and leave too little time for the important tasks. Think about it. If they can save just one hour a day over a normal work week, that’s the five hours you need to get out on a golf course!

Many will need to have a discussion with their manager or with HR, but they need to have a greater understanding of the issues in order to have the conversation.

PV: What about employees playing in Corporate Days?

IA: Absolutely. We know that companies largely hold these as a means of branding, networking and thanking clients. It’s a fun break from being in the office but the focus is not necessarily on well-being, probably more so business development.

The messages we’re sharing at the Executive Golfers Network about building golf into a sustained well-being program are perfectly aligned to this segment of corporate day golfers. It’s a shame that many of these participants love golf but may only play a small handful of days a year.

If we can encourage more of these corporate-day golfers to become regular golfers, there’s an alignment of objectives here too. If they can incorporate regular golf games that improves the well-being for the employee whist giving the opportunity for guests to be invited to play golf for business networking, that’s a win-win.

You could take it even further by possibly holding walking meetings with your team members over a round of golf. Some GMA members could consider assigning blocks of mid-week tee times to facilitate these oncourse meetings. It’s something that’s worth exploring as we look at how we can grow the sport.

PV: What would be your message for clubs?

IA: GMs know the lifetime value of a new member joining when they are retired is significantly less than the lifetime value of a younger wealth accumulator. It’s not only how much they could spend on playing golf.

Think about their ability to spend on F&B in the clubs too.

I think there’s a lot that golf clubs can do to help their members, especially those in that critical wealth accumulator age group. No

doubt with the growth in the number of 2045 year old members, golf clubs are tracking them where possible with the aim that the new ones stay for the long term.

We also know that in golf clubs there are a lot of mid and senior executives who already play, and have aspirations to play more when they retire. Clubs can communicate directly to this segment about their needs to fit in more weekday golf rather than waiting until retirement. This has a direct impact on their own well-being. But importantly, beyond this, these people are often influential leaders in their companies. They may well be able to influence how golf fits into a wellbeing program for employees.

PV: The Australian Golf Strategy encourages clubs to grow the game, even if it’s not directly or immediately at their own facility. What you’re saying is a great example of clubs being able to help the industry. Having read these ideas, what would you ask managers to do?

IA: I respect that managers and clubs have different needs. It would be great for GMA members to pick up the phone and talk through how their needs, particularly around member retention, can be addressed through the ideas raised here and what we do.

I’ve partnered with some great executive coaches and consultants across Australia, all passionate golfers themselves, and we’re all keen to help as many executives as possible play more golf. We can partner with golf clubs on delivering workshops and work with individual executives and their businesses. We run executive round table discussions after a round of golf where the executives get to discuss the issues with work that is impacting them.

We now have executives from all over the world in our community and more joining each month. I’d love to get it to 10,000 executives worldwide. By then, there’s no excuse for not bringing your clubs when travelling as there’s bound to be someone in the community at your destination who you can arrange a round of golf with then talk a bit about each other’s work.

I’d love to hear from GMA members to get their thoughts and discuss their needs. They can call me on 0411 488 889 or email me at ivan@ivanang.com.

PV: Lots of ideas to think about here. If you’re successful we may find long term benefits for the golf industry. Good luck Ivan.

Golf Management Australia Journal / Autumn 2022

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GMA EDUCATION

CRITICAL THINKING TO UNDERSTAND THE COMPLEX GOLF PARTICIPATION QUESTION In a Ted Talk, speaker Sebastian Wernicke talks about the process of decision making to solve complex problems and the use of data.

By collecting data, we take the problem apart into bits and pieces for analysis then put them back together in order to come to a conclusion.

GMA CEO, Paul Vardy, ponders how this applies to the complex golf participation question.

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Wernicke warns, with good examples however, that when data is the starting point to drive decisions, things can go wrong.

Complex problems are called ‘complex’ for a reason. Making sense of the bits and pieces of data requires the use of the brain. None of the data really tells us much without the element of critical thinking.

Golf participation is one such complex problem. There are so many working parts that impact the final participation outcomes between segments. There’s lots of really good data around at present, compliments of some very insightful research. As all the headline data shows, golf has done very well during the pandemic in terms of the growth in golfers, members and rounds.

If you can sit down with a copy of Golf Australia’s 2020/21 Club Participation Report, a copy of the AGIC 2021 Nature Report and, for a bit of context, the Sport Australia Ausplay data tables for 2020/21, then all sorts of insights can flow. Add to this club benchmarking data you can get through GBAS or your local clubs, your own club’s P&L, Balance Sheet, Cashflow, member numbers and segments, various

financial ratios and market analysis and there’s a lot of parts and pieces to hold up to the light. Then there’s the Australian Golf Strategy that can be overlayed to give an industry wide perspective on where golf ’s opportunities may lie and where your strategy may like to point.

Golf boom yet longer term issues for sport Ausplay reports that in 2020/21 there were 1,204,100 golf participants aged over 15, up 21% in a year and GA can report 409,970 club members, a rise of 6.4% in a year. Great numbers indeed. Clubs with capacity to take more members were able to fill their boots and maybe event introduce a long-lost entrance fee.

Golf ’s not alone in having a Covid related rise in participation. Ausplay reports a large number of sports with increases. Yet often this is despite all other indicators on the ground being to the contrary. This is where headline data can mislead. Ausplay, quite openly, measures participation as being at least once a year. If you had a hit of badminton in the year, you might be part of

GMA EDUCATION its 54% growth! If your team managed only a couple of rounds of footy or netball for the season, it would most likely not harm the headline participation numbers for your sport at all.

A closer look at the data tables shows many cases of participation increasing while organised participation via sports clubs and associations declined. We hear cases of Covid-induced football, cricket and netball teams that have fallen apart due to being only a few players short. The only retained participants are the ones that were to seek trades to competitor clubs and the remaining, formerly willing, participants exited the sport prematurely. It will be interesting how all this plays out.

Often seen as a sport with similar characteristics to golf, bowls has not been spared. Perhaps due to its older age cohorts, bowlers were more spooked by Covid than younger people. It declined in club or association participation by 20%, yet it’s total numbers of participants remained almost unchanged.

The true health of the sporting landscape perhaps won’t be clear for some time. The trends of traditional sports losing out to informal forms of recreation had been in place for many years and Covid, on the whole, has enhanced this. But it’s the communities of people, the volunteers and the impact on local towns and suburbs where a loss of sport will be most negative for society, let along the mental health problems for individuals that seem to be more prevalent.

Golf, with its inherent advantages has been a great option for people restricted in their normal sport and recreation but cards don’t land on your lap like this very often.

That the golf growth was largest in the under 35s is a great revelation for our sport.

In fact, it’s a brilliant sign 1.7% 1,204,000 and shouldn’t 21% 5.7% 1.8% 0.6% be taken lightly.

409,970 For a long time, 6.4% the jury has GOLF CLUB 24,485 PARTICIPATION been out as to REPORT 56.9 19% whether young 2022 Published by Golf Australia • February people will play golf in their 15,304 older years like +16% 3.7% 40-50 year olds 26,716 876 had been already 155,526 11.769 +12.4% 517,492 +20% 4.4% doing now. Most 227,009 31.5 (28.1) sports get their participants aged 10-15 and try to keep them as long as possible. They know if the canary is in the coal mine very There are growth opportunities to be quickly. Golf has to wait and see. explored in other forms of golf, but it’s So, with junior numbers remaining low for coming off the back of a lot of green grass 20 years, it’s this very group that has come traditional golf. out of the woodwork. Ausplay data tells us For golf club and facility managers at most that whilst the total participation increase levels, getting people from round players across all ages in two years was an impressive to new members is the lifeline of the club.

31%, in the 15-17 year old group it was Barriers to participation in membership are 320%, and from 18-24 it was 156%, 25-34 something to be aware of.

136%. Changes in circumstances revealed In the 2021 AGIC Report prepared that young people like golf after all. Now,

by Nature, the biggest barriers to golf largely it was young males flocking to golf membership were not playing enough golf so the issue of golf for young women needs (57%), subscriptions are too expensive (47%) continued investment. and joining fee is too expensive (46%).

In the 55-64 year-old cohort there were These issues relate to the value proposition many playing golf already. There was an of the experience versus the cost. The capital increase of only 12% and the 65+ age group and operating costs of maintaining golf only 11%. facilities largely dictate the subscription In golf, broadly we know that there are and entrance fee costs charged to golfers. around 800,000 non-member golfers Clubs that can find alternative revenue playing an average of six rounds a year streams may have a way to mitigate the and 410,000 members play 39 rounds a cost barriers to participation, but most will year. Ausplay drops a bombshell. Of all remain burdened with the realistic charges participation time spent on the various to golfers in order to put on the show. Unless forms of golf (driving ranges, mini-golf, puttyour club is in a market where members putt, …), 98% is spent playing (traditional) have the means to pay a premium, new ideas golf, a staggeringly high figure. For children will be needed. The alternative is declining under 15 it’s still facilities and services. a whopping 94%.

At the present time, with so much upheaval and a strong How to better engage different groups? demand for golf, now is a good time to crunch the numbers, read the industry reports and consider the long terms business Accessibility and affordability is key to driving engagement for all groups sustainability of your golf club and the market you wish to meet.

The GMA conference will be a great place to compare thoughts with others as you do the critical thinking.

TOTAL GOLF PARTICIPANTS

Adults

1 year trend

(excl. Social Clubs)

NT 1,942 +6.4%

New members

QLD 65,340 +6.4%

WA 27,425 +7.0%

55.3

SA 24,812 +7.2%

64.3

NSW 152,939 +4.8%

20/21 20/21 AVERAGE AGE reported for club members

VIC 99,724 8.9%

Change greater than 5%

Change 1% to 5% Change less than 1%

AUSTRALIAN CLUBS

junior members

2020/21 vs 2019/20

% change in club membership numbers from 19/20 to 20/21

FEMALE MEMBERS make up 19% of club membership numbers

JUNIOR MEMBERSHIP

Regional Sm.

952 (58%)

Metro Lg. 60 (4%)

Metro Sm. 57 (3%)

% all members

Social clubs 345 (21%)

2020/21 vs 2019/20

million

total rounds played

55%

38%

Regional Lg. 30 (3%)

2020/21 vs 2019/20

rounds per player

7%

Regional Med. 115 (7%)

+5.7%

clubs with 9-hole rounds

9-hole rounds

TAS 10,353 +4.6%

AUSTRALIAN CLUB MEMBERS

Metro Med. 86 (5%)

COMPETITION ROUNDS PLAYED

Metropolitan club members 203 clubs

+7.6%

in 2019/20

Social club members 345 clubs

+5.3%

Regional club members 1,097 clubs

Key Findings • Golf Club Participation Report

Make membership more flexible & accessible

COMMERCIAL IN CONFIDENCE

CLUB MEMBERS

BY STATE

1-year trend

Round Players

Prioritise making as many current golfers advocates as possible

2021 Summary

Juniors

% adult pop.

TOTAL CLUB MEMBERS (incl. Social Clubs)

Members

AGIC Opportunity Research

OVERALL PARTICIPATION RATE

(15+ years old)

Offer more flexible formats and group options

Ball Hitters

Offer new on course formats & continue to invest in more public facilities

Alt Players

Showcase the social aspect of more traditional activities

Make driving ranges more accessible, through easy to access lessons and equipment hire

7

Not engaged yet

Talk to golfs ability to connect

Continue to support new and exciting formats

6

Golf Management Australia Journal / Autumn 2022

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The business case for solar batteries Continuing our 3-part educational series from GMA partner, Enervest, on energy management and solutions, Jason Downes outlines a business case for the use of solar batteries.

For further information please contact: Jason Downes - 0499 198 320 jason.downes@enervest.com.au www.enervest.com.au/gma/

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If you’ve considered a ‘solar battery’ for your club but have no idea if the business case stacks up, this article is for you.

Since 2007, Australians have installed over 3 million solar systems on homes and many hundreds of thousands of systems into businesses, making us the gold standard for solar take-up globally. In the early days of solar installation, feed in tariff incentives were very high but as the uptake of solar accelerated, the incentives have reduced to almost zero. During daylight hours, the grid has too much solar energy and they don’t want more!

With the obvious solution being to install batteries to store that excess solar, it’s time to start doing some number crunching on the value of a battery at your club. Most people are aware battery costs are typically high, but don’t realise there are multiple services a battery can provide in addition to providing

power to the premises. Each of these services increase the viability of your business case but getting the right-sized battery for your site is an important first step.

Like with any energy buying decision (solar panels, change of retailer, etc), understanding your current usage is critical.

The more data you have, the better the buying decision you’ll be able to make. This should include not only the raw amount of energy you consume but critically, when you consume it and at what rate. Now is a good time to do a deep dive on your last three years of energy consumption (Covid lockdowns will likely have altered your recent demand profile) as well as the set-up of your tariff. Also take into account any existing solar system, the amount of energy you’re exporting and when.

GMA EDUCATION Energy Use Checklist: • How much energy does the club use?

• When is it used?

• If there are multiple meters, repeat the above questions for each meter • How much solar do I have (or plan to have) and what is the output of this system?

• How many kWh do I export in each month of the year?

Battery Value Streams = Value Stack Now you have your detailed site usage data, the first step in creating a viable battery project is to find multiple battery services which create value (together known as a ‘value stack’). The simplest of these value streams is arbitraging your time-ofuse tariff - that is, offsetting your daytime export against your night-time usage.

Increasing your solar self-consumption is another simple value stream that adds to your stack.

When operated as part of a Virtual Power Plan (VPP), batteries can access and participate in external value streams that can add significantly to the batteries’

viability. These include wholesale market arbitrage (buy cheap energy, store it and sell it high later) and FCAS market participation (grid stability services).

Building a successful value stack relies heavily on how the battery is operated knowing when to charge and discharge across each service to earn maximum value from the battery asset.

Ener vest-ins talled battery system at a commercial premises

Battery Checklist: • What size battery will be best?

• What value streams can I utilise with the battery?

• What is the likely return on each of these value streams?

• Which VPP partner will be best for my club to operate the battery and gain the most value?

• Considering all of the above, what is the likely payback period and rate of return on a battery investment?

The science of modelling battery viability has improved enormously over the last 2 years thanks to some impressive work by both battery manufacturers and specialist software modelling companies.

If your club is keen to continue the journey towards energy independence and reduced energy spend, Enervest is working closely with the leaders in this field to provide the best business cases to Australian energy users.

Golf Management Australia Journal / Autumn 2022

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GMA EDUCATION

The Burden of Harm – Meeting a Rising Business Imperative Unsafe care resulting in unnecessary harm continues to inflict a considerable toll on people, society, and the planet, as epar’s Terry Muir explains.

Based on previous and recent evidence, harm resulting from sports turf maintenance operations remains a major environmental, health, and safety issue with the true burden being continually under reported.

The true burden - morbidity, mortality, disability, cost, pain, distress of workplace and work-related environment, health and safety diseases, incidents, and injuries, are significant. Yet, because of under reporting they are underestimated by many decision makers.

This underestimation affects the way decision-makers view both the burden of harm and the value of investing in worker and environment protection. A simple burden assessment will include the individual worker, the worker’s family, the community in which the workplace is located, the employer, society as a whole, the business brand, and management’s risk appetite.

It will also take a broader view of the workrelatedness of disease, injury, and pollution and assess the entire impact of the workinglife continuum, concept of “well-being” and the overall sustainability of the business.

The golf sector needs to do more to improve burden estimates and burden outcomes. The death of a groundsman from a chainsaw incident and the recent conviction and fining of his employer is of relevance here and begs the question – How did we get here and why was the obvious burden of harm so significantly underestimated?

In this case, the employer was fined $90,000 for failing to provide or maintain safe systems of work and another $50,000 for failing to provide information,

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Figure 1: The Multiple Domains of Burden of Work-Related Injury, Disease, and Distress.

Source: An Approach to Assess the Burden of Work-Related Injury, Disease, and Distress. Paul A. Schulte and others 2017.

instruction, training, or supervision. This was after the employee was found with a fatal head wound, lying next to a large eucalyptus branch, with inadequate PPE, and two chainsaws nearby with one still running.

Simple interventions like procedures, training, risk assessments, and communication, could have avoided this preventable incident. The burden of harm could have been minimised if preventable factors were appropriately considered and actioned. A narrow view of burden of occupational disease and injury, with an emphasis on injury, has been the norm and this incident was influenced by inadequate burden estimations by the employer.

This burden under estimation limited the ability of decision-makers to initiate and prioritise targeted interventions and resulted in a death because of the inability to evaluate the effectiveness of the existing and required interventions. The importance of estimating true burden is to use it to plan investments in environment, health, and safety interventions and to prompt

decision-makers to allocate funds for such investments. On this occasion the employer failed.

The conversation needs to change from the narrow focus - “What impacts the club’s operations could have on workers and the environment” to go on the offensive and also question - “How harming workers and the environment will impact the business.”

The burden of harm is multidimensional as shown in Figure 1. Had these factors been truly considered, a more accurate and detailed accounting and consideration of burden would have eventuated, and the fatal incident may not have eventuated.

So, let’s crunch the financial numbers of this fatal workplace incident and the costs of implementing simple harm prevention measures. The direct costs are the health system resources needed to ameliorate the effects and consequences of the harm to the worker. This includes medical care and attention that would not otherwise have been needed had the worker not been harmed in the first place.

The direct expenses of this accident and

GMA EDUCATION resulting injuries or any environmental clean-up are fairly straightforward. These are the numbers directly represented in accounting features and therefore recognised as impacting on your business profitability.

They also include medical, hospital and rehabilitation expenses, and workers compensation payments. These direct costs are obvious and can be high, but they are only a portion of the total cost the company pays as a result of the incident.

The indirect costs or the hidden costs cover all other downstream consequences of the unsafe care. Based on a human capital approach, these costs comprise lost time of workers and those that rendered assistance, lost productivity, incident investigation, reporting time, staffing issues, welfare payments or financial compensation, brand, and professional reputational damage.

Indirect costs can also include the lost wages and decreased productivity of co-workers who are often described as the ‘second victims’ of unsafe care.

The actual cost adds up quickly. The process is simple, but the results, in financial terms are staggering. Let’s unpack this and look at the economics of the fine for the fatal chainsaw incident. We can do this by examining the level of sales the business must achieve to pay for the cost of a workplace incident and fine and maintain their existing profit margin.

Many will view the total financial fine for the workplace fatality of $140,000 as low. If we calculate its impact on the profitability of the business and include the indirect costs of the incident, the true costs and the cost burden is staggering. To simplify it, we have included just the direct cost of the fine at $140,000.

The indirect costs of this incident are calculated at $154,000 for a combined direct and indirect cost of $294,000. If this business is operating on a typical annual 5% profit margin, the total profitability impact on the business is $5,880,000.

If we assume the business is operating on a 5% profit margin, the revenue required to offset the loss of $294,000 is $5,880,000.

This is the estimated additional sales needed to maintain this company's 5% profit margin.

Now let’s examine a $1,500 fine for a small chemical spill event in your chemical store.

The direct costs is $1,500 and the indirect costs of this incident are calculated at $6,750 for a combined direct and indirect cost of $8,250.

If your business is operating on an annual 5% profit margin, the total profitability impact on the business is $165,000. This represents the sales required to pay for the fine and to maintain your 5% profit margin. This certainly makes the cost of that $50 epar spill procedure, a $200 spill kit, and epar spill training look like a great investment.

The best way to address your burden of harm and minimise its impact is to implement an effective environment, health, and safety program to reduce the likelihood of incidents, prosecutions, and fines in the first place. The cost of implementation or improvement of your risk management systems will quickly be recouped in reduced injuries and pollution incidents, often with a high ROI. To err is human and expecting flawless performance from human beings working in complex, high-stress golf businesses is unrealistic. The burden imposed by occupational injury and illness encompasses numerous areas of personal and public life. It deeply affects personal well-being, it affects relationships between workers, their families, and their communities, and it affects the institutions, and governing and

regulatory bodies. This burden also includes the economic component of loss which this article also examined.

By adding an economic dimension to addressing the incidence and prevalence measures of loss associated with workplace incidents highlights financial risk which we all know assists decision making. If the burden of harm is fully understood, safeguarding processes can be actioned.

Currently, many decision-makers are not widely aware of the burden of work-related injury, illness, distress, and environmental pollution events. Therefore, they have not moved to support the need to address these issues in a comprehensive way, even though existing partial estimates of the burden— particularly economic ones—related to work and work-related hazards have shown it to be significant.

Golf must reach a consensus on what is an acceptable burden of harm and use those targets to define an acceptable new normal.

Doing so may well influence decisionmakers to commit to the appropriate investment priorities and spend a fraction of what they’ll save — in lives and money.

Don’t give up! It’s a Safe Investment.

GOLF’S CLIMATE CHANGE RISK EXPERTS OUR CLIMATE CHANGE RISK MANAGEMENT CREDENTIALS Cambridge University – Business and Climate Change Towards Net Zero MIT Sloan Climate Ambassador Training Program Commonwealth Registered Carbon Neutral Consultant for Organisations Commonwealth Registered Carbon Neutral Consultant for Events Climate Leader – Climate Reality Leadership Corps Certified Environmental Systems Auditor Master Environmental Science and Technology Graduate Certificate Disaster Risk Reduction and Sustainability Bachelor Environmental Science (Hons) Bachelor Environmental Assessment and Management Diploma WHS

OUR CLIMATE CHANGE RISK AND EDUCATION SERVICES Climate Adaptation and Mitigation Planning Climate Risk Registers Emergency Drought Plans Climate Action Plans Climate Literacy and Education Workshops Scope 1, 2 and 3 GHG Emissions Assessments SDG Alignment Nature Based Climate Change Solutions Mapping P: 02 4917 3166 | M: 0412 294 514 | E: terry@epar.com.au | W: epar.com.au

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BARNBOUGLE

CAPE WICKHAM

JACKS POINT

Great Golf Made Easy Promote member engagement and retention by booking a club trip with The Golf Travel Agency and take advantage of:  A single point of contact to organise everything  In-depth knowledge of golf destinations  Market leading service levels

Speak to a member of The Golf Travel Agency and realise the potential of golf travel for your club and members.

Call us on (02) 9555 5311 or email us at: info@thegolftravelagency.com.au

www.thegolftravelagency.com.au 50

www.golfmanagement.com.au

EDITORIAL

5 reasons to outsource your course maintenance to Golf Course Solutions How do you stand out from the competition and convince golfers that you’re the course of choice for your market, all the while juggling budgets, paperwork, hospitality staff, committees and maintenance staff? Are you finding it challenging to maintain a high-quality golf course with budgets constantly under pressure?

It’s time to look at new ways of doing things.

Golf Course Solutions are experts in golf course maintenance with expert personnel on our team. We’ll take care of the particulars, leaving you free to maintain your reputation by delivering a first-class product - leaving no room for criticism.

With Golf Course Solutions as your partner, you can concentrate on delivering exceptional customer service, while we deliver your desired outcomes in course management.

Here’s five reasons to outsource your course maintenance to Golf Course Solutions:

REDUCE YOUR RISKS We help our clients by reducing the time and money they spend managing staff, leaving you free to focus on the other aspects that require your attention. Annual leave, no worries – we have sufficient staff numbers that this can easily be covered, meaning your maintenance program will carry on as normal.

budget? No problem. With us, you receive the benefits of our large-scale purchasing power. We have the resources and financial capabilities to provide you and your site team with the machinery best suited to your situation, without the struggle to find capital.

UPGRADES FIRST, PAY LATER

BUDGET CONTROL

To ensure you’re in the best position possible to attract and retain your customers, we can complete these upgrades up front; whether that’s a redesign of your tees, greens and bunkers or an irrigation installation. We’ll put forward agreed payment plans that can be spread over the contract term, eliminating up front funds.

If budget blowouts are a constant battle or budget repair is required, we can resolve part of that problem and give you more time to focus on other areas. We deliver our services according to plan and budget. You never have to worry you’ll pay more than agreed in our original budgeted plan.

Outsourcing to us will free up your funds to spend in other areas, and quite possibly provide an immediate cash injection to the club. Most importantly, outsourcing will free up time in the delivery of new methods for attracting members and guests to your course and club.

Your course is in dire need of upgrades to attract more members – but without members you don’t have the funds for the upgrades. Sound familiar? We’ve found this to be a common issue for many course managers.

Chat to our team about what you envision for your course and club, and we will work with you to plan the best way forward.

Click here to find out more information or download our free e-book.

We also know the best way to schedule the day to optimise productivity. The team on your course will be regularly trained in skill development, equipment and most importantly how to operate safely. We reduce your risk of an incident or accident.

OUR STAFF, OUR RESPONSIBILITY With our third party certified WHS system, we take full responsibility for our staff so that you can be comfortable that it’s no longer an area that will cause you concern. You can get back to focusing on your brand. Yes that’s right, we manage Workers Comp, Return to Work and how to replace an employee who may have resigned.

EQUIPMENT WITHOUT THE HASSLE Equipment broken down?

New machine way over

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Golf Management Australia Ltd. Artwork & design by Brand Media & Consulting

PO Box 859 CROYDON VIC 3136 www.golfmanagement.com.au