President’s Letter – ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTIONS

I am writing the annual letter advising subscription levels for the 2025-26 year prior to sending out invoices in March.

The financial result for the 2024-25 year is expected to be a satisfactory outcome but will fall short of budget by some $84k which is around 2% of subscription income. More than 50% of the shortfall is due to a rise in insurance charges and the increased cost of gas and power. We are also feeling the pressures from wage and salary increases, inflation in the food and beverage activity as well as general cost increases of fuel and course chemicals. Fortunately, the revenue budget has held up, the issue is on the expense side and is contained to a large degree by careful management and deferring some activity.

The course repair and maintenance project is running to schedule. Stage 1 is on time and on budget and I remind Members that this is funded by internal cash generation over the following 2½ years. Hence the importance of operating to a disciplined financial plan.

As I indicated last year the Club is now operating with a managed waiting list for admission to Full Playing Membership, the course is at capacity on most Saturdays and many Sundays, cost increases can only be met by raising individual subscriptions. The volume effect on revenue of the past years has come to an end, the unavoidable and general increase for 2025/26 will be in the order of 5.7%.

Once again, the Board is willing to accommodate some movements between Membership categories within the caps that have been set. Transfers for men and women to Limited Playing as well as transfers for men to 6 Day 2 will be considered. This frees up space to admit more Full Playing Members who pay the current $8,000 Heritage Fee payable on admission to Membership. This fee is effectively a “buy in” by new Members to immediate enjoyment of amenities provided by the subscriptions of existing Members. It is likely to rise substantially after 1 April this year and again as the R&M Project reshapes our wonderful course.  

Members who are ill or who face extenuating circumstances are eligible to transfer to become Absentee Members. This maintains their golf link number and enables them to play golf according to the conditions and entitlements of an Absentee Member and return to a playing category when their circumstances allow.

Emeritus Membership is available to Members generally over the age of 70, and who are not playing golf and who have been Members for 20 years or so. Members who meet these criteria may seek transfer to become Emeritus Members as part of the Membership renewal process. This new category has been a wonderful success and was introduced to recognise and celebrate the contribution of long serving Members of our Club. It allows the cohort to attend the AGM and enables them to continue their ongoing relationship after golf with the many friends they have made over the years at our Club.

Fees are set according to the needs and priorities of our Club; they are not set relative to other clubs. However, the comparison is inevitable, and it is sensible to check that we are pricing and therefore operating in relation to our peers. The following table provides a comparison of full playing subscriptions at peer clubs. Please be aware that the subscriptions of peer clubs in the table are for the 2024/25 year whilst PHGC is for the 2025/26 year. Peer club increases generally apply from 30 June.

The rates of subscription for 2025/26 and the actual cash increase over the previous year are outlined in the following table. A more comprehensive table including senior and special playing categories can be found on our web site, click here to view.

Working with the Kendal Binns Junior Fund Committee, the Board has amended the categories of Membership for Juniors to better align to the needs of each cohort and the cost relative to market practice. This has resulted in an overall decrease of fees for certain Junior Member categories. The importance of Junior Members is best illustrated in our Major Pennant squad where some of them are regular Members of the team.

Once again, the Board has elected not to increase the basic House charge for the 2025/2026 year. This recognises the stretched nature of some household budgets in current economic circumstances.

Members should also note that our Financial Year is the traditional fiscal period from 1 July to 30 June while our subscription year commences 1 April and ends 31 March. This allows the Board to set a budget with greater certainty as subscription income is known.  

Membership invoices will follow this letter; I trust it puts the fees and the fee setting process in perspective.

Good luck with your golf,

Michael Rowan
President