It was a fabulous evening. Guests, "dressed to impress" arrived around 7pm being greeted by Kevin Kenny with their table details and a welcome drink. Guests brought their tickets which gave them a chance to win a variety of prizes (total value just over $1500). Our sincere thanks to those who donated the prizes for the night. Tables and room were decorated by ladies Di, Leonie, Wendy and Carole. The excellent meal was provided by member Robin Murray of the Centennial Restaurant. The live music added to the ambience of the evening. "The best function I've ever been to at the club' was typical of the comments about the evening. In my very short address at the start of the evening I covered that "Our Bowral Golf club is a true club – not just a golf course with a building but a club – a club of members each enjoying club life, other members, the facilities and sometimes golf. We owe a lot to those who came before us. Tonight, we celebrate having our course at Kangaloon Road and the benefactors who made it possible. Benefactors, not only with funds but benefactors who gave their time, expertise and enthusiasm to the project of Bowral Golf Club having its own course." Members attending events, such as this, show their support for our club in a tangible way and on top of that have a great time. Some photos follow The photos can also be seen on-line - please click here The new french doors between the Oxley and Samuel Hordern rooms now allow us to accommodate much larger numbers of guests for functions. The Centennial Ball was the first club function with the new doors. Reducing the number of elected positions - on the Board and allowing the elected directors to appoint two further directors. A proposal has been discussed at the club's board meetings for many months. The discussions were triggered by 'best practice' recommendations stemming, in part, from the IPART report on clubs as mentioned in previous entries to this blog/newsletter. The mooted proposal is that the number of elected board positions be reduced from 9 to 7 which gives a possibility of a further 2 members being appointed by the then elected board from any membership category. (The legislation was amended to allow a maximum of 9 board members.) Those appointed members who may wish to continue on the board, may offer themselves for election at the next Board election. The eligibility for election to the board is to remain as it is at present, i.e. full members of the club. This proposal will be drafted in legal terms as a change to the Club's Constitution. When the modification to the Constitution has been drafted it will be circulated to the members as required for the legislation prior to the 2018 AGM where it will be voted on. If adopted the change will be written to be implemented for the 2019 AGM elections. As written elsewhere in this blog it is not the current intention of the Captain to stand again for the Club Captain’s position in 2018. It is also not the current president’s (me) intention to stand for the position of President in 2019. This matter (the appointment of two directors by the Board) has been the subject of recommendations by the State government and the industry body, Clubs NSW, following a State Government IPART report. At our club the directors follow developments of governance issues, especially those directly to do with clubs such as ours and discuss the potential benefits of adopting the recommendations. This proposed change will, in the opinion of the directors, further the opportunity of the club to prosper in future years. I am very happy to explain the rationale for this proposed change to any member or group of members. | The club was formed in 1901 and didn’t own a course however golf was played on land owned by others including Werrington, Mr and Mrs C.J. Royle's nine-hole course at Eridge Park Road, The Glebe near/now Bradman oval, Merilbah on Centennial Road. In November 1916 a committee meeting was held in the knowledge that the lease on Merilbah was not going to be renewed. However on the 14th November 1917 the Bowral Golf Company was registered and over time this company acquired land where the club is now situated – one of the directors was Sam Hordern (the then president of the club and shown in the photo) with the intention of leasing it back to the club. An arrangement was made between the club and the Bowral Golf Company. In December 1938 Bowral Golf Club Ltd was formed and over time took ownership of the course from the Bowral Golf Company. Play didn't commence at Kangaloon Road until 1919. Sam remained as president until 1936 and had an incredibly strong influence on the club development. Doug Stalley's "Bowral Golf Club 1901-2001" is on our web site, please click here THE COURSE PRESENTATION is superb and draws favourable comment from many visitors. Our ground staff, lead by Damian Gair, does an extraordinary job in giving us a course of such a standard. Thank you Damian, Nathan, Matt & Adam. Expressions of Interest. Paul Carroll has called for 'expressions of interest' from our members for the role of Club Captain. Paul has decided that, after he has completed 3 years early in 2018, he will not stand again as Club Captain, but give another member an opportunity to stand for this position. Paul will however stand for election as a director position on the board in 2018. As Paul points out, the Club Captain is a senior Board position with the attendant responsibilities. Over the years the Club Captains' role has changed as we have moved into the digital age. Now we have an online calendar that forms the source document for the printed book. We also have progressive results and a history of all competition results available online. As time goes on there will be further enhancements to the way that we do things. Paul has done a tremendous job these last years and I can vouch for what he says to be club captain. For Paul's blog entry, please click here. Governance. Clubs NSW has just published "Governance Future Directions 2017-2021" - a paper dealing with the next phase of governance development for NSW Clubs. The paper outlines the five key strategies that will be rolled out to clubs in the next 12 to 18 months. An extract from the paper is below:- "All boards should use a skills matrix to promote diversity, measure performance and aid succession planning. Targets should be introduced for gender and other diversity attributes. Other enhancements include ‘emeritus’ status for respected directors, optimal board terms, encourage the use of two ‘specialist’ positions to fill core skills and formalise accreditation for all directors. " |
Have a look at the video below - we should be so lucky !