Captains Letter: November 2020

Dear Members.

Captains Letter: November 2020

Milnerton Golf Club Update.

The last 7 months have been a roller coaster ride for the Club and I am happy to report that we have weathered a strong storm that hit us in March 2020 called COVID-19. With limited income coming into the club since March, the main priority was to ensure we could continue to employ our staff for as long as possible. The committee would like to thank the members for coming forward and starting a fundraising initiative for the caddies. Coupled with the club support, I am pleased to say we managed to support our staff through the initial COVID phases by ensuring that they returned to work in staggered shifts.

The Club experienced significant financial impact in Q2 2020 and it was a huge relief when we could start operating and getting back to the game we all love.

Since re-opening the club in Mid-June, the Management Committee would like to acknowledge the support from the members on the adherence to the required Covid-19 protocols that were set in place by Golf RSA and the Government .The check-in protocols are still currently in place and once again my request to all members is that you support the required hygiene measures whenever visiting the club. It is for the safety of all members, our staff and visitors.

The current National State of Disaster coupled to Level 1 lockdown has unfortunately not allowed us to convene our 2020 Annual General Meeting. As communicated earlier in the year, the AGM would remain postponed indefinitely due to the State of Disaster. The current level 1 -lockdown regulations does not allow the club to host sufficient members at one time to hold a successful AGM. The committee has discussed various options over the last few months to try holding a virtual AGM but due to the number of members and the connectivity issues that come with virtual meetings; this would not get the desired effect on communication and the voting required. This matter has been raised and with our President and the Board of Governors and the decision is to continue with an indefinite postponement of the AGM until further notice.

With reference to the golf course during lockdown: On behalf of all our Members, Committee and Board of Governors , I would like to take this opportunity to thank Craig and his team for the commitment they showed during lockdown to maintain the course greens , the fairways and the rough. They managed to give the members a top-notch course on the return in mid-June 2020 and all achieved with a skeleton staff.

The financial arm of the club remains priority for survival in these tough times. With that in mind the Finance Committee reworked the budgets on returning from lockdown, recalculated what they believed would be a fair throughput on golf rounds for the balance of the year and looked at all expenses that could be better managed on the day to day running of the club. As you are aware, international travel and our normal visitors will unfortunately not be hitting our shores for the balance of the year and possibly into the first quarter of 2021. This will have a negative impact on the income line for 2020/2021.

The Financial Committee are confident that the club will achieve a financial break even for the year ended 2020. This will in itself be a major achievement during the current lockdown level one that we find ourselves in for an indefinite period. The budgets for 2021, subscriptions and green fees will be finalized by the middle of November 2020 and communicated to the members before the end of November 2020.

Currently the focus areas of importance are the following.

1. Replacing of the protective fence at the 6^th tee – Quotes being obtained.

2. The refurbishment and replacement of necessary course equipment.

3. Replacing of awnings on the deck area and painting of the wood.

4. COVID-19 protocols being adhered to by all staff, members and visitors.

The Management Committee continues to engage on a monthly basis via virtual meetings. Accountability remains a high focus for all committee members to the running of the club, ensuring that we can offer a great course and facilities whist under lockdown.

In closing , I respectfully request that we all continue to practise COVID-19 measures whilst at the club and on the course , it is imperative as we get more visitors and members playing golf that we maintain the wearing of masks, washing hands and sanitizing at all times . We will continue to apply the Golf RSA COVID-19 Good Golf Practise and Risk Mitigation Guidelines as required by legislation during Level 1 lockdown until further notice.

Yours in Golf

Peter Pretorius

(Club Captain)