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Captain's Announcements
Friday 7th July, 2006

1/ Course Master Plan – “Special Forum”. Thank you to the 60 members who attended last Tuesday evening and to those unable to attend who provided written submissions. The Golf Committee will give consideration to all issues raised during the forum. In the meantime the implementation of the Course Master Plan program will continue as outlined in the Strategic Directions Document.

2/ Function – Our next Social function is on Saturday July 29 for the popular “Ausmas Dinner”. A “White Theme” (wedding dresses acceptable!) is proposed. A 2 Course Christmas Carvery and Pre dinner drinks with music by the popular Tony Voglino. Place this night in your diary, make up a table of members and friends. Cost is $35 per person.

Friday Evenings - During the winter months thru July and August Friday evening dining will be only available on a fortnightly basis. Members and guests dining will be on Friday 7th, 14th & 28th July, 11th & 25th August from 6.00pm. Reservations are requested by contacting our Office staff. All birthday vouchers expiry dates are extended to 2 months during this period.

3/ Ladies Tee: The Club this week hosted the WGTS Southern Open – resulting in a win for Div 2 Foursomes of Susan Kenny & Yoshi Chijiwa, runners up Karen Barwick & Marion Krishna. Div 2 net winners Alison Sully & Denise Schilling, runner up Susan Kenny & Yoshi Chijiwa. Open Championship Ashlee Dewhurst was runner up after a birdie blitz. Div 2 Championship won by Karen Barwick at the first play off hole from Jeanette Mulcahy. Karen also won the net title. A great all round performance from our Royal Hobart lady members!

4/ Events: The annual J G Mitchell Knockout 4BBB Matchplay entries closing date is now Monday 31 July at 4.00pm. Contact the office to pay the $10.00 per pair entry fee. Entries will be capped at 32 teams. Round 1 to be completed by Sunday 27 August.

5/ Course –On advice of Golf Australia at the recent Australian Amateur the “Out of Bounds” pegs on the right side of the 12th fairway were removed and the out of bounds rule no longer applies. The original designated Club boundary had previously been redirected.

6/ Golf Rules – Answer to last week’s question;(Player “A” whose ball was in a hazard casually leans on his club in the hazard while waiting for Player “B” to play, what is the ruling?). Answer: “A”, was in breach of rule 13-4b for touching the ground in the hazard with the club before making a stroke, the exceptions to Rule 13-4 do not apply.

This week’s question: A ball enters an underground drainpipe, the entrance to which is out of bounds. The ball is found in the drainpipe under an area which is through the green, what is the ruling?

7/ Office Hours – We remind members, as indicated in the Fixtures Programme that the Club Office will be closed on Sunday’s 9th, 16th and 23rd July. All golf enquiries on those days are to be directed to the Pro Shop.

Captains signature

Stewart Wardlaw
CAPTAIN

CLUBHOUSE CHARGE – TO HAVE OR NOT HAVE?

The sources of funds to operate the Club are broadly:-

Membership fees 600,000 74.2%
Green fees 98,000 12.0%
Competition Fees
(net of trophies) 59,000 7.3%
Bar Profit 52,000 6.5%
809,000

Membership categories and subscription levels are reviewed each year on principles of equity. Green fees are based on user pay principles.

Competition fees are partly hypothecated towards competition prizes and the balance to Club revenues. Payment of the retainer to the Club Professional is closely aligned to the conduct of competitions. It is reasonable that part of the green fees be seen as a contribution towards this retainer.

Bar trading profits ($52,626) are derived from members and visitors who use the clubhouse facilities. It is generously estimated that approximately 40 to 50% of members who enter Club competitions (ie 25,000 competition entries each year) use the clubhouse facilities. Using 50% for the purpose of this exercise, for every visit to the clubhouse members spend on average $15.65 (ie $195,864 gross bar income /12,500 members per annum using the clubhouse).

The bar trading profit is 26.9% of bar income (ie $195,864/$52,626). Therefore members spending on average $15.65 each time they use the clubhouse contribute $4.20 towards the upkeep of the Club. Assuming members using the clubhouse facilities do so on 75 occasions each year, they are in effect contributing $315.00 (net) more to the maintenance and upkeep of the club than members who do not use clubhouse facilities.

If the Club was to introduce a Clubhouse Voucher of, say, $100.00 per year (bar drinks, takeaway drinks or meals) those Full, Six Day and Five Day members who do not use the Clubhouse (ie estimated 308) would contribute a minimum of $8,800 net to the Club if they use the voucher in the clubhouse. If some do not use the voucher the contribution is obviously more.

Members using the Clubhouse Voucher for purchases they would otherwise make either at the Club or elsewhere would be no worse off. Improved equity between members would be achieved and this in turn will be reflected in subscription levels for all members going forward.

30 May 2006

Stewart Wardlaw
CAPTAIN

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Everything on a golf course is part of the game and on our course trees are an essential feature. The beauty of the course is an important part of the planting and replacement program so that attractive shape, size, foliage and colour of species are considered. The bird life is also important and the native flowering trees keep the honey eating birds in the area.

Basically the tree management program involves removing dead and unsuitable trees and replacing them with seedlings but there are several aspects to take into account. Of the unsuitable trees most are wattles, particularly the silver variety as they live for less than 20 years, are invasive and grow in unsightly clumps by suckering. The white gums are dying in increasing numbers of some unknown cause and because of their size need to be felled by professionals, an expensive process. They are also an unsuitable variety because of the danger from falling limbs particularly as they self-prune when least expected. Pines are effective as a windbreak as they are along the west side of the 13th fairway but they would take over the course if not kept under control. They shed needles over a wide area and create a nasty problem on the greens. Of deciduous trees there are fortunately very few so that we are not plagued with the leaves on the fairways and greens in autumn, For this reason one of the criteria for replacement trees is that they do not shed either leaves or bark and naturally are chosen from varieties that thrive in the various environments of the course. For example there are areas of different soil types whose capacity to absorb and retain water varies. Sites that are sheltered or exposed to wind, shady or in direct sunlight are other considerations.

For the past eighteen years Geoff Cuthbertson has been planting trees and watering them twice a week until they are established, most of them germinated from seed by his wife. For the last few years the greenhouse has been used to germinate seed collected from local specimens and to grow and keep a good many trees on standby. Because of the large number of seedlings destroyed by possums, rabbits, hares and wallabies we always need to have plenty of replacements on hand. Predators are frustrated by banding the large trees so that the possums can’t climb and the cages around the seedlings give them a chance to take hold. However about 20% of young trees are destroyed and there are about 1000 vulnerable young trees at present. Watering during the summer months is time-consuming and necessary for the first two years until the root system matures but recently waterlines have been laid which will help to lessen that problem.

Reg Carr

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