Grafton Golf Club Newsletter February 2023 from the Presidents Desk
Signature Care Development Many would be wondering what is happening with the stalled aged care development on the old 10th & 11th fairways. The reason progress halted over 12 months ago was because the developers couldn’t find a solution to satisfy Clarence Valley Council as to how the development would link into Council’s existing sewerage infrastructure. In December 2022 Council finally approved a proposal for Signature to link into the existing sewer mains in Fairway Drive. Tenders are being called at present to construct such works which will involve a lot of underground boring. Signature hope that construction will of such sewer line will be in this calendar year. Construction of the facility itself can’t commence until the sewer line is in place. Hence it appears that we won’t see anything major emerging out of the ground until 2024. Signature management assure us they are certainly not abandoning the development and are still very keen to make it happen. They have several other like developments on the go around the country. They have prioritised completion of those whereby they have met least resistance from Local Government authorities.
In the Club House Members will have noted that the much-anticipated Club House renovations are well underway. Greg Harvison Building and Design are hoping to be able to complete most of the works by the end of September 2023, conditions permitting. Our new CEO Scott Polglase has provided invaluable input into variations on the approved design such that significant costs savings have been identified by tweaking a few things. His experience in the Club and Hotel industry has already come to the fore. Your consideration, co-operation, and patience whilst these most important works are underway is greatly appreciated. Our restaurant has been renamed. It is now to be known as the Club House Bar & Bistro. Note there is now available a new lunch menu with $17 specials to choose from. Available Tuesdays through to Saturdays. Further innovations from the restaurant will be introduced once the renovations are completed.
On the Course Despite the relatively dry start to the year the Course is in excellent condition, a tribute to our hard-working greens staff and volunteers. Some upgrades to various parts of the course are planned for 2023 which predominantly centre around providing better drainage in times of wet weather and removing the “moguls” from some of the fairways. Stay tuned for further updates in this regard. Over a decade ago the then Board of Directors adopted an overall course redesign and upgrade plan. A lot of those works have been completed, such as the new 14th and 15th holes. The one major component that has not been completed is the replacement of the five remaining couch greens on the course. (ie) 8th,11th, 12th, 13th and 16th greens. A motion was passed at the most recent AGM that replacement and repositioning of the 13th green be put on hold. In line with the mood of this meeting the Board have decided to put all green replacement proposals on hold for the foreseeable future and to concentrate on other more important areas of Course management. The only likely change to the greens this year is the conversion of the five couch greens to the same grass as the other 13, (ie) 328. That way we will have consistency throughout the Course and more efficient management of the greens when it comes to care and maintenance and renovation.
New Grafton Golf Club Website Our web site has recently been given an extreme makeover by Troy Cochrane (@Troy Designs Studio) New innovations to the web page include drone fly overs of each hole, up to date results, fixtures and updated facebook posts. Book for golf via the Our Golf login link on the right. Check it out @ www.graftongolfclub.com.
Upcoming Dates to Remember March 24/25/26: Men’s Virginia Trip. Nominate on sheet in the Clubhouse. April 22/23: Men’s Club and Grade Championships - Rounds 1 &2 April 29/30: Men’s Club and Grade Championships - Rounds 3 & 4 May 24 – 27: 59th Annual Ladies May Tournament June 16/21/23/28th : Women’s 72 Hole Club/Grade Championships Rounds 1 – 4,
Regards, Matt Dougherty
Club Manager News To all Club Members that I have not yet met my name is Scott Polglase and I would like to take the opportunity to introduce myself and give a brief overview of my experience within the hotel and club industries. I have had 30 years in the hospitality industry and have worked in both the hotel and club industry working at venues such as The Freemasons Hotel Nimbin, Cabarita Beach Hotel, Cudgen Headland SLSC, Currumbin RSL & for the last ten years as licensee of the Pottsville Tavern. Most recently I worked with at the Wooli Hotel as a duty manager for three months up until I was offered the position with the Grafton Golf Club which I gratefully accepted. I look forward to working with the club to achieve a friendly and vibrant environment with comfortable facilities for all to enjoy.
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